HOW TO KEEP GROWING IN THE WORD

Julie K. Nsubuga

Luke 8:5-15 (NLT)

“A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. 6 Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” 9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant………11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. 12 The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. 13 The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. 14 The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. 15 And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.”

The parable of the sower in Luke 8 above highlights three major things;

1.  The Sower; signifies the person bringing to you the word of God
2. The Seed; signifies the word of God
3. The Soil; signifies those who receive the word - you and I

A number of things happened when the sower was planting his seed. The word of God - seed, has never changed; but it is the soil that has issues, so when you find a problem in your life with the seed, you need to examine the type of soil you are. There are different types of soil as seen below:

1. WAYWARD SOIL

Luke 8:5 (NLT) “………some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it.”

This soil symbolises the wayward people; this is explained in Luke 8:12 (NLT) that;  “The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved.” 

Such a person has been born again or in salvation for many years and has heard the word of God from various ministers. We know that the word has never changed but the moment such a person exits church, he or she forgets whatever has been taught or preached. These are the people represented by the footpath, before the week even ends, a “wayward person” isn’t in position to remember what was preached or taught in church, probably because he or she encounters situations crafted by the devil that causes him or her to get irritated and thus goes astray; but this is just a tactic meant to steal the word that was received. 

The devil is always roaming around, looking for someone to snatch the seed from; he will not target one person but the whole flock, and if you gladly fall into his temptation or traps, the word will be snatched away from you. The devil has a relentless strategy aimed at turning you into wayward soil, and if he knows that your purpose and future is bigger, he will even put in more effort. 

The bible warns us in 1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV) to; "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour". 

Peter compared satan to a lion, and what can we learn from this equivalence? Rangers in a game park will tell you never to turn your back and run from a charging lion. Why? lions are habituated to their victims fleeing but standing firm and facing them scares and confuses them. In most cases the charging lion will stop, retreat and turn away, so we oppose satan’s attacks by standing up to him. The Christian life requires that we fight the good fight, finish the race and keep the faith in order to receive the crown of righteousness that God has promised to those who have loved His appearing (2 Timothy 4:7-8); and part of finishing the race and receiving the crown of righteousness is standing firm and steadfastly against the plots of the devil. We should not panic or take flight, but rather offer firm resistance.

Peter's advice on how to contend with and overcome satan is worth considering and applying in our daily lives; he advises in 1 Peter 5:9 (NKJV) to; “Resist him, steadfast in the faith…...”   Let’s look at the words in this scripture:

- Resist means to stand up to the devil and be firm. Our response should not be panic, fear (the devil uses fear to control us) and flight, but  firm resistance through faith in Jesus Christ and his word.

- Steadfast translated from ancient Greek fighting term signifies standing firm without moving even under an attack from the enemy. For true Christians, we stand steadfast in faith, because we have faith and confidence in the One who is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). 

- Faith according to Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) is described as; “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen". The foundation of faith is the word of God while the foundation of fear is deceit of the world. You can't have faith without the word of God; for faith is God’s Word activated. If you’ve ever read a verse in the Bible and all of a sudden thought, I can do this, i can face this, i will overcome, that is faith

Even though we understand that God is all-powerful and cares for us, we cannot afford to relax our guard spiritually. It is vital that we recognize that satan is relentless and wants to destroy us, and that is why we have to be faithful in doing our part - to be alert and guard the word we receive!

2. ROCKY SOIL

Luke 8:6 (NLT) “Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture.”

These are type of people who quickly pick the word and are even eager to share it; however, it withers and dies due to a lack of moisture (water). This type of soil is explained further in Luke 8:13 (NLT) that; “The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, and then they fall away when they face temptation.”

The dictionary defines moisture as water or other liquid diffused in small quantity as vapour, within a solid or condensed on a surface. The bible tells us that water is from God and this is seen in John 4:10-14 (NLT) when Jesus met the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well:
“If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

The water symbolizes the presence of God and without it is hard for you to be rooted in his word and flourish; it’s very easy to get into presence of God - when we praise and worship God, he descends down into our midst. Psalm 22:3 (AMP) says; “But You are holy, O You who are enthroned in [the holy place where] the praises of Israel [are offered].”

God delights in people, who hear the word, believe it and then start telling the world about it, so to avoid being the rocky soil, you need to continually dwell in the presence of God.

3. CONTAMINATED SOIL

Luke 8:6 (NLT) “Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants.”

This type of soil is explained in Luke 8:14(NLT) “The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity.”

From the scripture, the cares of life may be our jobs, families, business etc. We ask God for all those things but when we get them, we turn them into idols, and other times we receive the word but due to worries and desire for money and wealth, our faith is tainted and the planted seed never reaches fruition. God knows that you need those things but he wants you to have faith and fully rely on him. Do not be contaminated by life situations; you have to be cautious and determine which soil you want to be!  Do not pursue wealth but God’s word which is all powerful and fades not. The bible says in Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) “But seek the first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you”

4. FERTILE SOIL

Luke 8:8 (NLT) “Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” 

Jesus was a very good teacher because whenever he gave a parable, he explained its meaning; we see the fertile soil explained in Luke 8:15 (NLT) “And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.”

A noble heart seeks the truth. If you seek the truth but don’t apply it, then you are not good soil. Remember the problem is neither the sower nor the seed, but the soil. The good soil seeks, believes, keeps, lives and applies the truth. We should be the good soil that changes those around us. Broken unsaved people should change because of us not the other way round; do not be a lukewarm Christian - do not compromise with the world in order to fit or blend in, otherwise you become the wayward, rocky or contaminated soil chocked by the pleasures of the world. The good soil knows the truth and applies it - the good heart is one that wants to please God not people!

Being good soil is not limited to knowing that God loves you but you must crave to please him by doing what delights him. Remember the eye of the Lord is always looking around.  Proverbs 15:3 (AMP) says; “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch upon the evil and the good.”

If you are to produce crop, you need to persevere in the midst of challenges; that is the only way you can show others that God promises and fulfills. If the Lord has given you a word through the sower and that word has not reached fruition, you need check what type of soil you are.

You must work towards being the fertile fruitful soil!

Luke 8:15 (MSG)

“But the seed in the good earth—these are the good-hearts who seize the Word and hold on no matter what, sticking with it until there’s a harvest."