4 Soils : Thorny Ground

The third soil is "thorny ground." Thorns grow beside the plants and draw important resources away from them. So, the seed is received. It penetrates the soil. But it grows in a situation where it is competing for resource. And often, losing the competition.

Thorns are anything that siphon off time and energy. So, life is given to unprofitable areas.

We all know people who begin to follow Jesus, and then begin to focus on unprofitable areas. They are divided in heart. So, they don't really progress in either area. They may grow some. But they don't produce fruit as they would, if they were whole-hearted. And part of Jesus' purpose for us is fruit.

4 Soils - Rocky Ground

The second soil is “rocky ground.” The seed is received and penetrates the ground. The plant begins to grow.

But the soil has no depth. There is no room for it to put down roots. The plant does not gain a firm hold. When the sun rises, and parches the ground, it loses easily accessible reserves and withers.

Some people are lured by a life of blessing — provision, protection, guidance, power to overcome. They expect to glide along easy street. And when the inevitable trouble comes, they are not well-connected enough to Jesus’ resources to stand.

People like this have expectations of what life with Jesus is like. And this conception is no where near reality. In awhile, when their expectations are not being met, they fade away, and go back to their old way of living.

4 Soils - Beside the Road

Jesus told a story about planting seed in four different types of soil. The four soils represent four different types of hearts.

The first soil “beside the road” does not even receive the seed sown on it. The soil is hard. The seed is not able to penetrate. If you have spoken to anyone about Jesus, you met people like this. “I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to think about it. I don’t want to hear about it.”

Jesus said we are witnesses. Meaning we should talk about what we see and know. We are supposed to give a defense. Meaning we should be able to give a reasonable explanation of why we believe what we believe. We are examples. Meaning we should demonstrate what life with Jesus is like. And each of these should be compelling. However, some people will simply refuse to be engaged. And it is not our job to make them curious about Jesus. We shouldn’t feel guilty about just walking away. The job of touching hearts and arousing interest is God’s.

Authority

There was a Roman centurion, who had a sick servant. He sent to ask Jesus to heal the servant. Jesus was about to go to do this, when another messenger came. Jesus did not need to come. The centurion understood authority. He had authority. He was under authority of others. Authority seems to be the ability to give commands and to reasonably expect that they will be obeyed. The centurion could give commands, and soldiers under him would obey not because of his tremendous power, but because he represented the power of the Roman Empire. It was the Roman army that backed him up with its power.

The centurion recognized that Jesus had similar authority. Because Jesus could command demons and disease to leave people, he concluded that God must be backing Jesus up with His power. So, Jesus could command the disease in the servant to leave. So, Jesus did not lay hands on the servant as he usually did. As far as we can tell, Jesus did not verbally command the disease.

Has Jesus given us authority? Is he backing us up?

Following religion hinders relationship. The rules, the rituals and the standards (set up for usually good reasons) become shackles that hinder us from walking with Jesus.

Jesus did not set us free from following the Law to establish a new set of rules. Rather the only rules that should govern us are (1) love God with all your heart, (2) love you neighbor as yourself. These fulfill the whole law, and are the basis for relationship.

We create religion because it is easier to get ones brain around it. It is easier to judge progress. It is less messy. Paul writes to different churches so they will not settle for religion. He wants them to pursue relationship.

I am reading "House2House" magazine. They quote George Barna as saying, "People who change the world are very inefficient." The family of God should be world changers. So, they should be inefficient.

This not to say that efficiency or organization are bad. But efficiency means that someone has worked through the process enough times to remove all the bottle-necks. So, they are walking over the same ground time after time.

If the people of God are working together like a smooth running engine, they are functioning on their own initiative, their own strength. They are not pressing onto new ground. God is not leading them, because God will lead to his people out of the box into places where faith is important. We will need to trust him, because we will not see where our feet land or the trail leads. But we will make progress where it counts.

It's almost like the opposite of efficiency is faith. (But let's not go quite that far.)

Religion seems to be a response of man to the Infinite. The question always seems to be — “How can I appease the Infinite?” “How can I persuade the Infinite?” It seeks to provide a predictable set of outcomes. So, it creates a law, a pattern of desired behaviors. Maintain the pattern and a person can maintain peace with God.

Abraham and God entered into a relationship 400 years before God gave Moses the Law. This relationship was established not on the basis of rules that Abraham obeyed, and he pleased God on the basis of that obedience. (Remember there were no rules. No temple. No system of sacrifices.) The relationship was established based on promises God gave to Abraham. And Abraham believed God.

What seems to please God are people living in a relationship with him, that is based on faith in what God says. Living out of that relationship, acting on God’s words. Yes, God speaks commands, but Abraham did not live out of the commands. He lived out of the promises.

Here is an interesting thought. We tend to think of eternal life as the part of our existence that begins after our deaths. (How’s that for paradox. Existing after death.) And we think of relationship as affecting our current life. Yet Jesus said that eternal life is knowing God. (If anyone wants the specific quotation, let me know.) In other words, eternal life is our relationship with God.

So, the gospel, which most people associate with avoiding hell, is about our relationship with God. Our relationship concerns how we live now. If A= B and B = C, then the gospel really is about how we live our life now. (Just be thankful that our now is going to last a very, very, VERY long time.)

God wants us to have a life of relationship with him, resulting in people taking steps of obedience, resulting in fruit. Distortions in the gospel can occur when people add to how we enter into a relationship with God. This can also occur in how when practice that relationship.

God may proclaim a fast and we need to heed his voice. Someone else may proclaim a fast. God may or may not call us to participate in it. Our relationship comprises what optimizes our connection with God. Agreement with and participation in a good thing will not bring us closer to God. Still, God may call us into agreement with this good.

The gospel is not just about avoiding hell. This is about how to establish and live out a relationship with God. This gospel is about living in ways that:

• glorify God
• are free and truly human
• completely from our hearts, and
• fully joyful.

Being a Christian is more that avoiding hell and merely being good.

If we are serious about communication with the Creator of the universe, Lord of all. If we open ourselves to him, receiving his whispers into our hearts, it is a very frightening proposition of what he could say to us.

Only a conviction that the mercy of God is vast and he takes that into consideration in all his interactions with us.

There are the stars. The moon. Sunsets. Rainbows. Ice into water into steam. Geese flying in gigantic V's. Atoms that should fly apart holding together. Caterpillars transforming into butterflies inside cocoons. The moving tides. Leaves turning color, falling off and budding in the spring. Babies forming in the womb.

In view of all this wonder, who is man that God in mindful of him? And not only mindful, but pursuing. engaging in relationship. revealing his heart and his secrets.

When we consider relationship with God, it is hard to fathom that God loves us. God will come to us Himself.

People used to approach God through the leaders — Moses, and then the Levitical priesthood. Then, people use to approach God through Jesus. When Jesus returned to the Father, the Spirit of God came to take residence in our hearts — because the Father Himself loves us.

So, He wants to care for us, abide with us, be close to us and have fellowship with us. His communication will not be through any intermediary. It will be directly to us. Relationship with God takes a quantum lead nearer.

Importance of Relationship

There was a writer who began giving a poetic description of some of the world's wonders. Kind of like:

Sunsets and rainbows. Geese flying in gigantic V's. A caterpillar spinning a caccoon, and emerging transformed into a butterfly. The moving tides. Leaves changing color, falling off trees, and then budding again in spring. Stars and planets racing through their courses in space. Two small seeds combining and growing into a human being. All the atoms of the universe should fly apart. But they hold together.

Then he asks the question, in the face of all this wonder "who is man that you are mindful of him?" Not only does God think about us, but He pursues us. He engages in relationship. He reveals His heart and His secrets.

After creating wonders, what God wants is to be your friend. It is very hard to get your head around something like that.

Relationship

It seems like it is the relationship with God that empowers. He transfers life to us when we go into His presence. It flows into our hearts. From there, those who continue in His presence can bear fruit and allow life to flow to others.

If we are not connected to the flow, we dry out. The ground around us becomes hard, and difficult to grow anything worthwhile.

If we are connected, we can produce fruit in any circumstance. It is compared to a tree thriving in the desert, because it is planted along a river. It can draw life from the river.

Vines Summary

We are the branches. Jesus is the vine. God is the gardener.

Branches produce the fruit. Taken in its most general sense, fruit is the effects of the branch. It is how the branch touches and benefits the world.

The branch cannot produce fruit on its own. It needs energy to come into it to create fruit. And it receives that energy as it is connected to the vine. Jesus is the way to this energy.

The Father is the brains behind all this. He is concerned with fruit bearing. He evaluates the state of the branch. He creates strategies and tactics for greater fruit production. And He implements them.

He evaluates the environment. What should the correct light, water and nutrients be? And He is responsible for bringing the light, water and nutrients to the branch.

The branches are responsible for maintaining the connection.

Access to the Vine

The problem with metaphors is they can only be carried so far. With a physical vine, there is a physical connection between the vine and the branch. Within the family of God, there is no physical connection. So, what is the connection like? How does it work? And can it improve?

This connection is the basis for any positive effect our lives have in the world. It does not mean that we cannot do any good. It does not stop our positive aspirations or works. But they do not have the zip that causes them to stand out.

All members of God’s family need access to this resource. God pervades every area of life, so His life-energy must pervade every area of life. Moreover, the world and the enemy do not allow lacks of experience, age, temperament, or talent as excuses for minimal effects.

And it must be effective in dealing with any and all situations. This is not wisdom, it is a flavor or aroma that covers all issues and circumstances.

So it must be readily available to all of God’s family. There is no level or maturity, special knowledge or ritual necessary to tap into this resource.

Vine and Branches

We will return to prayer sometime in the future. I am off on a tangent … sort of.

There is a metaphor that Jesus used to describe what our relationship with Him should be like to produce the type of compelling, attractive life that He is looking for. The metaphor compares He and His family to a vine and its branches.

The fruit of the vine is very beneficial to people in a number of forms: grapes, raisins, and wine. The fruit grows from the branches. The vine does not produce anything. But, if the branch is not connected to the vine, it does not produce anything. All the resources for the branch to create fruit come from the vine. All the resources for the branch to continue to live come from the vine. The connection between to the two is vital.

Jesus is the vine, of course. We are the branches. We are connected to Him, and produce a lifestyle that is abundantly beneficial to the people around us. However, if we are not connected to Jesus, we cannot produce this abundance. Abundance is directly related to the connection.

Without this connection, there can be no fruit. Without this connection, a branch withers.

With the connection, there is an increase in life. The branch grows longer and larger. Leaves are produced. Growth may happen that is actually counter-productive to producing fruit.

What do we think about branches that produce only leaves? All life and energy can be found in the vine. There should be an abundance of fruit. If there is not an abundance, does this mean the connection is inferior? If so, how do we improve it?

Prayer

Because man is a spiritual creature, he lives at the intersection of the spiritual and physical worlds. He lives in both worlds and exposed to influences from both.

Prayer is a heart focus into the spiritual world. This focus transfers energy into the spiritual world; and puts people into a position to receive energy from it.

Since all people live in this intersection, prayer becomes a powerful weapon to affect people. The heart focus transfers energy into the spiritual world. From the spiritual world, the energy returns to the physical and impacts the hearts of people for whom it was directed.

Warfare, II

So, warfare is living to counter-act the effects of the enemy's work. It is living as close to God's ideal as possible. To demonstrate the wonder of life in God. Love, a renewed life and community that demonstrate unity and kindness are all "weapons" of God.

Is there a way to combat the mind-set and atmosphere of lies the enemy promotes? Visible reality in lives and community are valuable and important. They do produce the desired effect. But is it enough? There are so many voices in the world. Each one clamoring for attention. Each one is used by the enemy to distract people away form God's family. Each one claiming their legitimacy. How can we create a wind to blow away the smoke that clouds the heart of each person?

As mention earlier, each person stands at the intersection of two dimensions: the physical and the spiritual. A person communicates with the physical with his five senses. The person communicates with the spiritual with his heart. We interact with the spiritual by focusing our hearts on it.

There are many disciplines that strive to interact with the spiritual. Many forms of medication, magic, etc. They all focus their hearts into the spiritual realm, which often results in a response from the spiritual back into the physical.

Is there a method or means for God's family to project their hearts into the spiritual? God does favor some forms of mediation. But the most direct means for God's family to positively affect the spiritual world, and indirectly the hearts of mankind, is prayer.

Warfare

And then there is warfare. There is an enemy; he does seek the destruction of your heart.

But this warfare is different. First, God’s family wages war, but it does not destroy anything. It wins the war by bringing more people into the family. By making hearts whole. By reversing the destruction of the enemy in society, in culture, and in the environment.

Second, a person can also fight by making sure his heart is whole. There are different aspects to this. One, we need to be disciplined to recognize the lies and not let them get a hold in the heart. Two, we need to be open to God’s influence. Even as ruler of all, having our allegiance, living in our hearts, he does not force our obedience. So, we need to invite his influence, and his work, in our hearts.

A human being, living and becoming more what God made him to be, and attracting other human beings to live in allegiance with him, are strong blows against the enemy.

Healing

Another aspect of discipleship is healing. And I mean heart healing, in this case, not physical healing. Before we become a member of god’s family, we have no relationship with him. We have no communication. It is open season on our hearts. The enemy bombards it with lies, with the goal of distracting us from God.

If we hold lies in our hearts, we are not going to live as we should. We will have damaged hearts. So, God seeks to repair the damage. Bring the shards together and create a new heart.

There are a number of different healing methods He can use. Some are general, for everyone. Some are individual.