Thorny Ground

And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 

                                   Luke 21:34 KJV

Jesus taught with many parables. Perhaps one that is very familiar to us is that of the sower, sowing seed, with it falling upon various types of soil (see Matt 13:1-23).

While we can glean much from identifying the four types of soil Jesus used in this parable, I would mainly like to stick to that of the thorny ground in this post.

And some fell among thorns; and the thorns spring up, and choked them.

                                    Matthew 13:7 KJV

The seed is the word, and Jesus explains the thorny ground in verse 22.

He also that received seed among the thorns is he that hearth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

                                Matthew 13:22 KJV 

We are expected to receive the word and allow it to shape and mold our lives. The word of God should transform us from the inside out, into the likeness of Christ. It should produce a harvest of fruit in our lives. 

What happens in a garden when weeds are allowed to grow up with the sprouting seeds that were carefully planted just a few weeks earlier?  Those of us who have gardened know that if the weeds are not pulled up, the plants we are expecting to produce a crop will not make it. The weeds will take the water and nutrients out of the soil, block the sun, and ultimately our harvest will be very disappointing.

Just as this is true in the natural world, it is true also in the spiritual. Jesus explains it well in Matthew 6:19-34.

Starting with our "treasures", where are we laying them up? Are we working towards the heavenly kingdom, storing our treasures there for eternity, or are we storing up possessions here on earth? Where our treasures are, is where our hearts are.

People often fool themselves, thinking that this thing, or that hobby, doesn't have my heart, while in reality it does. What consumes our time, money, talents, etc? Suppose a man has a wife whom he says he loves. He works a 40 hour week, stops by the bar for a drink with friends on his way home, after supper turns on the football game, falls asleep in his chair until midnight. He does this several times a week. Weekends are spent with the "guys." Fishing, golf, and hunting consume most of the weekend. Sure, he does spend some time with his wife, but can he honestly say that she has his heart? Who or what really does hold his affection?

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

                                Matthew 6:24 KJV

That is what Jesus says about our treasure. What about the cares and necessities of life? If we read on in Matthew, Jesus tells us not to worry about food and clothing. These are the things, He tells us, that the "Gentiles" (the world) eagerly seek after. Our focus, our priority, is to seek His kingdom and righteousness. He will take care of us, making sure that our needs are met.

What does that tell us about the cares of life? It is so easy to be consumed by them, losing our focus on what really matters. Just like treasures that steal our hearts, the cares of life can just as easily take our hearts as well. Stress and worry are signs that our hearts are in the wrong place. If one follows the context of Jesus' teaching here we see that He links our treasures to our hearts, the focus of our "eye" to serving one master only, and then says, "Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" These things can become our masters too according to Jesus.

Too many of us are working for nothing more than to make ends meet. Does Jesus forbid work? No, I don't believe that for a minute. However, our focus still must be on the advancement of His kingdom. That is our main objective in life as Christians. We have to eat, we need clothing, and jobs provide the necessary income to purchase these things. Yet, if we let our need for the basics of life become our pursuit, we are again trying to serve two masters. This is the danger of thorny ground. The word gets choked out every time.

Jesus, in speaking about the last days leading up to His return, warns against becoming caught up with loose living, and being weighed down with the cares of life. The day of the LORD will come like a trap on all who are not carefully watching for it (Luke 21:34). To be consumed by these things flies out of a heart of unbelief. Jesus, once while teaching about prayer, asks, " When the Son of man returns, will He find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8)

Instead of anxiety, we are to take our needs to God in prayer, leaving them there in God's hands (Philippians 4:6-7). 

Then we read this warning in Hebrews 6:7-8,

For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God.

But that which beareth thorns and briars is rejected, and us nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.

This steps on toes, and I am stepping on mine also. It is so easy to get caught up in either the pursuit of things, or the cares of life. Just like a farmer who fertilizes and waters his field expects a good yield, so too God expects us to bear much fruit for Him. He blesses us and gives us whatever we need, so how can we justify it when all He gets from us is thorns and thistles? 

Jeremiah the prophet's ministery to the southern kingdom of Judah began just before, and continued during the early years of the Babylonian captivity. His message was primarily that of impending judgement, however we do see a call to repentance that is just as relevant for us today,

For this saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up the fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.

Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

                              Jeremiah 4:3-4 KJV

To repent is to return to the LORD. It involves putting away our abominations (Jeremiah 4:1). This is painful, and we must be thorough. As someone who has had a garden, and then let it go, I can relate to breaking it up so it is useful again. It's not easy to run that tiller through that hard packed ground, roots and weeds wrapping themselves around the tines.

Fallow ground is soil that has been allowed to lie dormant over time. It becomes overgrown, with roots tangled up below the surface. It needs to be broken up with a plow if it is to be useful again. All those weeds have to go, roots and all.

Just like the parable of the sower, Jeremiah uses the figure of thorny, fallow ground to make a spiritual point. Many Christians today slowly neglect things in their lives over time. Often, without realizing it, they have been caught up with the cares of life and the pursuit of money or possessions. Their once soft hearts have become hard and unyielding. This fallow ground of the heart must be deeply plowed. The soil must be turned up and the thorns and weeds must be thoroughly pulled up. All of it must go so that we have a soft, tender heart once again. Then when the word of the kingdom is sown it has a chance to grow and mature into a bountiful harvest. It is not easy work. The things that steal our hearts away from Jesus have to be pulled up by the roots. This is repentance, to cut out sin, to turn away from it, and return to Jesus, with a heart once again devoted to Him.

To Dwell in the Presence of God.

LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. 

He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor.

In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

                                   Psalm 15:1-5 KJV 

Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who shall stand  in his holy place?

He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.

                                   Psalm 24:3-6 KJV 

Obedience in the presence of almighty God go hand in hand. This can be seen in the example of Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, who offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, as priests. Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them. God has an eternal standard for all who would approach Him. God will be sanctified or shown as Holy in all who would draw near to Him. He must be glorified before men (see Leviticus 10:1-3).

Again, when Moses struck the rock in anger, he, along with his brother Aaron, were denied entry into the land of promise. Why? Because they did not treat the LORD as holy in front of the congregation of Israel. God was sanctified in the midst of Israel now, through Judgement. That was a steep price to pay for a moment of anger (see Numbers 20:1-13).

This is not an Old Testament thing, where God is an angry God, but now under the New Testament he is living and forgiving. Just ask Ananias and Sapphira, who were struck dead when confronted by Peter for their hypocrisy. This had a cleansing,  purifying effect upon the early Church, as "great fear came upon the Church" (Acts 5:1-11).

Jesus tells us that it is the pure in heart who will see God (Matt 5:8). We fool ourselves if we think that we can enjoy intimate fellowship with the Holy God, while indulging our sinful desires.

Yet many professing believers, who were once passionately pursuing Jesus, have grown cold. They are unaware that the presence of God is absent from their lives. It's like the proverbial frog in the kettle of water. The water heated up slowly, the frog unaware, until it was boiling. A backsliding Christian grows colder and colder, until like Sampson, one day wakes up to the realization that God has left them ( see Judges 16:1-20).

There is a remedy however. When one has come to the realization of their backslidden condition, the only thing one can, and must do is to repent and return to God. 

Evan Roberts, the man mightily used by God during the Welsh revival of 1904-05, consistently emphasized these four points. 

1. Confess all known sin.

     Your past sins that remain           unconfessed must be dealt with.       Confess them to God, and forsake them. Confess them to those you have wronged, and do what is in your power to make it right.

2. Prompt obedience to the leading of the Spirit.

     Obedience must be prompt. To hold back our obedience to the promoting of the Holy Spirit is to grieve the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30), and to quench the Spirit (1 Thess 5:19). In Acts 5:32 we read that the Holy Spirit is given to those who obey Him.

3. Get rid of all doubtful habits.

     Are there things in your life that you are uncertain of? Are you doing things that you are not sure if they are right or wrong? Remove them from your life. There are actions that are not specifically addressed in scripture. Our conscience then becomes our guide. Romans 14 explains this. We must not allow our liberty to become an occasion to cause a brother to stumble (Romans 14:13-15). We also must be convinced in our own mind, and abide by our conviction, because to act contrary to this is to sin, because our actions do not flow out of faith (Romans 14:20-24).

4. Confess Christ openly.

     If we desire the presence of Christ in our lives we must openly confess Him before men. If we are ashamed of Him in this sinful world; if we deny Him, He will deny us before the angels of God. The Holy Spirit comes to empower us to be witnesses. As above, we quench the Spirit when we do not obey Him. How can one expect the presence of God while being ashamed of Him?

During this time period Wales was transformed. A sleeping Church was wakened, and while there is no exact count, they agree that well  over 100,000 souls were saved in this move of God. Bars were shut down, Judges had no cases to try in court. The mules used in the coal mines had to be retrained. They were used to being cursed at. They didn't know what to do now that the miners' language had been cleaned up. This is what happens when God draws near, and it begins with one individual who seeks after Him.

As we read above in Psalm 24:4-6, it is the one who has clean hands and a pure heart who receives the blessing from the LORD. This is the generation, or people who seek after Him. In a allusion to the story of Jacob, who wrestled with the LORD until the break of day, we also must tenaciously go after God with the same attitude, "I will not let you go until you bless me!"

The term "selah" at the end of this verse literally means "stop and think about that "

The story of Jacob does not start well. He deceives his Father and steals the birthright and blessing from his brother Esau. Forced to flee, he ends up working for his uncle Laban, who takes advantage of him, just like Jacob once took advantage of others.

God was with Jacob however, and when Jacob finally leaves Laban to return to back to Isaac, his father, he was a different man. Fearing Esau, he prays for God to deliver him. This is the point where he wrestles with a man, who turns out to be the LORD, and prevails (see Genesis 32:1-30).

Are we like that? Is our hunger for the presence of the LORD such that we can also say, "I will not let you go until you bless me." And is it temporal blessing that we seek, no matter how important that may be, or is it God Himself who we desperately desire?

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