Glory be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, one true God. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
We started studying Matthew 13:1-23 in
the last class.
The seeds of the sower falling on four different
places are compared to the four conditions of our hearts. The seed is the Word
of God and the birds that take them away are the demons.
We studied two conditions of the heart in the
last class. The seeds falling on the wayside are compared to people
hearing, listening, and reading the Word of God but not receiving it in their
heart. Not even a single Word enters inside such people because their hearts
are filled with sin, greed, lust and all evil things. This is the first condition
of the heart.
The second condition of the heart is linked to
the seeds falling on the rocks. A rocky heart is a heart that remains unmoved
no matter what happens. They are the types of people who never want to change.
They will not repent even when their health, peace and their whole life is
affected. They will be bedridden but will not bother to repent their sins. They
will not have any peace in their life but they will not pray to the true God.
They will have losses and sufferings in their life, but are too stubborn to
accept the truth that only Jesus can save them. Outwardly, such people pretend
that they are happy with Jesus, but inwardly they are not willing to accept
Jesus as their lord and saviour. Such people only follow Jesus as long as they are
happy. If something goes wrong, or the Lord asks to do something that they do
not like, such people will immediately stop following Jesus.
These are the two conditions of the heart that
we studied in the last class. Tonight, we study the remaining two conditions.
The third thing that Jesus said in this parable
is about the seeds falling among the thorns. When the thorns grew up, they
choked the saplings. This is the third condition of the heart. The seeds of the
evil thorns are lying in the heart. Without removing them, people try to fill
their hearts with the Word of God. The Word of God is like pure milk. When we
take milk in a cup or pan, we make sure that they are clean and pure. If there
is any dirt or contamination in the cup or pan, when we boil the milk, it will
get spoiled. Then we won't be able to use that milk anymore. In the same way,
if our heart is impure, the Word of God cannot stay or work in our life. If the
heart is filled with all devilish things, the Word of God will not work in it.
When we sow a seed, it is expected to grow. When
the seed falls on the wayside, it does not grow at all. When it falls on the
rocky surface, it does grow but dries off quickly. In this case, the seed is
falling among the thorns. It does grow but the thorns crush the plant. It means
that the seed was sown without removing the thorns. Therefore, we need to see
what are all the thorns that are inside us. The thorns are all the evils that a
person has experienced throughout one’s life before meeting Jesus.
Imagine all the bad experiences you have ever
had in your life. There are people who had been abused as a child. There are
people who have lost one or both of their parents quite early in their life.
There are people who as a child had seen their parents, relatives or neighbours
fighting. There are people who might have witnessed a horrific accident or
death. There are people who might have been cheated. Each individual has a
story. Every individual might have an evil experience in life.
As you were not brought up as a child of Jesus,
many people like you could not experience the protection and cover of God. When
you witness an accident or a fight, the demon of fear enters inside you. If a
child is abused, the demon of abuse and fear enters inside the child. They are
the thorns. As these thorns grow inside, people have mental disabilities,
psychological problems, sleeping disorders, anxiety, panic attacks and so on.
At some point of time, if the person comes to Jesus, s/he will receive it with
great enthusiasm expecting healing from Jesus. Of course Jesus will heal. There
is no doubt about it. But, there are so many thorns inside. So the very first
thing that such people need to do is to have a whole hearted confession and get
deliverance from all the thorns which are the demons. This is the reason why
the Orthdox church instructs a confession before receiving the body and blood
of Christ.
As mentioned in the last class, the rich young
man wanted Jesus. But, Jesus said, yes you can have me. But, get rid of the thorn.
His thorn was his ancestral property and wealth. Likewise, in John 4 we
read about a Samaritan woman. She was attracted to Jesus and wanted the living
water from God. Jesus said, I am happy to give you the living water, but before
that go and bring your husband. She lied saying I have no husband. Jesus
immediately caught hold of the thorn that was inside her. Let us read John
4:16-18. Since her youth, she was actually into adultery and kept changing
husbands. Along with that evil thorn, she wanted to have a relationship with
Jesus.
John 4:16-18 Ngài bảo: hãy gọi chồng chị, rồi trở
lại đây. Người phụ nữ thưa: “tôi không có chồng”. Đức Chúa Giê Su nói: “Chị bảo
rằng chị không có chồng là phải, vì chị có năm đời chồng, còn người mà chị hiện
có không phải là chồng chị, điều nầy chị đã nói thật.
In driving vehicles, there is a road rule. For
example, when you are entering the main road from a narrow road, you must stop
completely, look to your left and right and make sure that it is safe to enter
the main road. Once it is safe, you enter the main road. The same rule applies
to follow Jesus. From the narrow and dark roads of life, you are entering the
highway of God. You need to look into your own life and clear all the evil
thorns. Once your life is clear from sins and evil spirits, you can enter the
main road of God.
What this means is you need to change completely
to receive the blessings of God. It means you need to change the way you think,
the way you talk, the way you behave with others, and the way you do things.
There should be the love and compassion of Jesus in all these things so that
others may see how different it is to have a life with God.
Let us read Ephesians 2: 1-3. As these
verses say, the children of God have a past and a present. The past is the
narrow and dark road through which you have travelled. In order to get you on
to the main road with God, Jesus shed His blood on the cross, died for your
sins, and resurrected on the third day. By the blood of Jesus, you
are saved from evil relationships. By the blood of Jesus, your anxiety,
depression and panic attacks are healed. By the blood of Jesus your miseries
are gone. By the blood of Jesus you are cleansed and made a new person. Let us
read Colossians 2: 13-14.
Ephesians 2:1-3 Anh em đã chết vì những vi phạm và
tội lỗi của mình, là những gì mà anh em đã từng theo đuổi khi sống theo cách
của thế gian, thuận theo kẻ cầm quyền chốn không trung, là thần hiện đang hành
động trong những con cái không vâng phục. Tất cả chúng ta đều ở trong số này,
đã có lần sống theo những dục vọng của xác thịt và tâm trí. Như vậy, theo bản
chất tự nhiên, chúng ta là con của sự thịnh nộ như mọi người khác.
Colosians 2:13-14, Ngài đã hủy bỏ giấy nợ chống
lại chúng ta với những luật lệ ràng buộc chúng ta. Ngài loại bỏ bằng cách đóng
đinh nó vào thập tự giá. Ngài đã phế bỏ các quyền thống trị, các thế lực, dùng
thập tự giá chiến thắng chúng, bêu chúng ra giữa thiên hạ.
Our transformation as children of God is beyond
all explanations. No amount of words can describe the transformation of a child
of God from darkness to light, and from narrow road to the main road. This is
what Saint Peter said in 1 Peter 2:9-10. As these verses say, we have
received the status as royals in the Kingdom of God. We are a chosen people,
holy nation, and God’s own possession. Early we were possessed by the devil.
But now, we are possessed by God. So we enjoy peace, joy, and happiness.
1 Peter 2:9-10, Nhưng anh em là dòng giống được
tuyển chọn, là chức tế lễ hoàng gia, là dân tộc thánh, là dân thuộc riêng về
Đức Chúa Trời, để anh em rao truyền công đức vĩ đại của Đấng đã gọi anh em ra
khỏi nơi tối tăm, đưa vào vùng ánh sáng diệu kỳ của Ngài. Trước kia anh em
không phải là một dân, nhưng bây giờ là dân Đức Chúa Trời, trước kia không được
thương xót mà bây giờ được thương xót.
That leads us to the fourth condition of the
heart. Let us read the last verse of our topic of study, Matthew 13:23. This
is the condition of our heart after becoming the possession of God. Our growth
will be immense. Our nature and behaviour will be immaculate. When we talk,
people naturally enjoy peace and happiness. All these changes are because our
heart is filled with the Word of God and the love of Jesus Christ. This is what
happened when Jesus talked to the people. In the next chapter we will study
about Jesus multiplying five loaves of bread and two fish to feed 5000 people.
There we read that it was evening and people forgot even their food as they
were immersed in the teachings of Jesus.
Matthew 13:23, Còn hạt giống gieo trên đất tốt là
người nghe, hiểu đạo và có kết quả: một thành một trăm, một thành sáu chục, một
thành ba chục.
Jesus said that the seed that fell on the good
ground produced a hundred fold, sixty fold and thirty fold. It means, the
people who received the Word of God understood it well. They took the Word of
God to their heart. The Word of God not only changed their lives but they went
and used the Word of God to change the lives of other people. Some people
changed the lives of a hundred people, some sixty and some others thirty
people. At this point, I need to congratulate Maria for organising the charity for
the blind people in her province. Our church shared the love of Jesus with 100
poor and blind people during Easter. We shared with them John 9 as well.
In this way, we were able to share the Word of God and the love of Jesus with
them. This had been made possible by the tithe that Rhoda, Huyen, and Lydia
gave to the Lord. May God bless you. Let us plan to do more of such things in
future.
The people of Vietnam need the love of Jesus.
They need healing. They need deliverance. And, you can give all these to them.
We are accountable to God. We should be able to tell God that we shared the
Word and love with the people of our country. That is how we produce a hundred
fold, sixty fold, and thirty fold.
Are you ready to be transformed? If yes, take
out all the thorns from your life. Confess your sins. Repent and forgive all
those people who abused you and tried to destroy you. Receive the Word of God
with an open heart. Let the Word of God transform you. When you are
transformed, do not forget to help others also to be transformed.
God bless you! Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment