Sweet Surrender
Mark 4:13 NKJV
[13] And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
[15] And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.
The Apostle Paul reminds us of something that must be done.
I believe that it is a vital aspect with our walk with Christ. If overlooked it can have such a detrimental effect on our faith of not done on a regular basis.
II Corinthians 13:5-6 NKJV
[5] Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. [6] But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified.
How often do you examine yourself?
This should be a habit that we develop in order to ensure that we are not just following Jesus Christ.
We have to do this examination of our heart and souls to see if the soils of our hearts are receiving the Word of God.
Now if it is receiving it is that seed growing?
We have to look to see if that seed is properly watered, fertilized.
Now what about the fruit.
At ReAwaken City Church we started the New Year in the Parable of the sower.
There are four types of soils.
The Wayside soil
The Rocky soil
The Thorny Ground
The Good Ground
We often take the Word of God and try to apply to someone else instead of ourselves first.
I asked at Church
“ Which soil are you?”.
Many answered Good Ground.
My next question was “ How do you know you are Good Ground?”.
All of us want to be the Good Ground. But not many fully are, there can still be some hardness in there.
The four soils are meant to teach the Disciples of Jesus the types of hearts that they would be speaking to about the Kingdom of Heaven.
But it was also for them to examine their own hearts.
The Wayward soil was the soil like the side of a road. Overtime with traffic the soil starts to become impacted. And after a while the ground becomes hard. So when the Seed of the Good News of the Gospel comes it bounces off and never takes root.
The seed gets exposed to the elements and dies off.
Hardened hearts are stubborn hearts to the Word of God.
Salvation must be accompanied by change!
When that seed finds its way to this type of soil something happens.
The seed, the Word of God, The Gospel of Jesus Christ is refused by the hard and walked on, trampled on ground.
The Word of God falls on a heart that had been calloused and hardened by sinning and rebelling or hurt, pain and suffering. It hardens against the very Word that can save the hardened heart.
And just like the birds, the Word of God never penetrates or roots into the hardened hearts and Satan snatches it away just as easily as the birds!
Until the ears are ready to hear the Word of God. Until the mind is ready to contemplate it. And until the heart is ready to accept it, what can be done for this seed to take root.
So how do we prevent our own hearts from becoming hardened to the Lord?
One word.
Surrender.
Every single one of us can easily have a hardened heart to what the Lord has to say.
No one is safe or immune to even a small section to be hardened.
Even if it is a small portion it can lead to big problems.
Many of our hearts have been trampled over many times.
All of us have muted our ears.
We all have turned a blind eye to His Holiness, His Righteousness.
We have all doubted, feared and worried.
Are there still sections of your heart that are not pliable to changing Word of Restoration!
Praise Him for His Mercy and Grace.
The Sower still throws down the Seed of His Holy Word, even to the hardened heart!
So it takes a daily surrender to the One that Sits on the Throne.
James 4:7-10 NKJV
[7] Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. [8] Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. [9] Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. [10] Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
It all starts with submission.
Do not be an easy target for Satan by staying rooted in your pride rather than the Word of God.
Submit. Put yourself under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is the responsibility of every person proclaiming Christ we are to come off of our throne and come under His.
This type of submission is difficult for those that are proud and self-reliant where there is no need for the transforming truth.
It is under that submission that the Word of God can start to break up any hardened, compacted heart.
It is the only essential to cure.
The Cure is found not just in His Words.
It was found in the nail pierced hands and feet. It is found in every strike He took.
The cure for a hardened heart was Crucified and Rose again!
Some still have a piece of hard road that has been trampled on.
But I tell you what that day when either the Lord comes for us or we meet Him after our last breath, our hearts will melt with love and compassion the moment we see our Salvation!
It is also important to understand that this submission is voluntary.
No one can be forced to submit, because the spirit of rebellion is never far away and always close ready to snatch whatever Truth that has been revealed!
But there is total peace in that Sweet Submission.
There is love, hope, joy, Redemption.
I urge you today to examine your heart.
Be brave to ask the Lord to reveal to you any leftover hardness.
Then ask the Holy Spirit to till it until it is pliable to receive the Seed.
Then pray for the Seed to take root.
Then ask for the watering of the Gospel.
Then see it grow.
Then see it mature.
Then see it fruit.
Then praise Him for the Victory for the of Good Ground.
Sweet Surrender to the Glory of the Throne of Heaven and the One that sits on it, Jesus Christ of Nazareth!
Remember this today.
No one is immune to a hardening of their heart. Not even the closest Disciples of Christ.
When Jesus washed the feet of His Disciples Peter refused at first.
He refused until Jesus told him that if He didn’t wash Peter’s feet He could not be a Disciple of His.
Peter denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed.
Peter was the only other man to walk on water, but sank shortly after.
But the Lord restored Him. Peter realized and understood finally, that it had to be total surrender. No fear, doubt or worry.
But trust, faith and hope.
Now don’t ask yourself which condition of soil your heart is, be brave and courageous enough to ask the Lord what condition of soil your heart is.
Ask what needs to be done to make it soft and fertile again. Then do it.
Then and only then can you START to become Good Ground either again or for the first time.
Pastor Ed