Some Fell

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Some Fell, But One Got Up

Luke 8:15

"But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience."

There is a valuable truth that is often missed in the parable of the sower. The phrase, "some fell" is mentioned four times in this parable. The seed fell in four different situations, and only once will you see that the falling of the seed produced stable growth. In the verse above, when the seed fell on the good ground it came back up and brought forth fruit.

No matter who you are, and no matter what your status in Christianity may be, you will fall. Notice that God said, "some fell." Everybody is going to fall sometime in their Christian life, but only in one instance will they get back up from their failure and produce. The reason we know that everyone will fall at some time is because everybody is a sinner. Romans 10:13 says, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:" The Scriptures reinforce this statement by saying in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" In both of these verses God makes it obvious that everyone will sin. Therefore, you will fall through failure or sin. The hope is that once you fall that you will rise again. The parable of the sower shows the key to getting back up after failure is what you fall into.

First, some fall because of wrong associations. The seed that fell by the wayside illustrates those who fall because they were influenced by wrong associations. One of the reasons your associations are so important is for the fact that when you fall in this area, the possibility of getting back up is rare. Therefore, because it is rare to recover once you fall into wrong associations, be careful about those with whom you choose to associate.

Second, others fall because they won't listen. When God talks about the seed falling onto the rock, He is illustrating someone who won't listen because of a hard heart. My question to you is this, do you ever think you are wrong? Are you one who always blames wrong on others? It scares me when I watch people in church who never go to the altar to get things right with God. The reason it scares me is because I see people whose hearts are so hard that God can't get through to them. If you won't listen to the preacher, authority or friends who warn you about mistakes, then the possibility of getting back up once you fall is scarce. If you won't listen now, then you probably won't listen once you fall.

Third, some fall because of worldly cares. The seed that fell among the thorns never recovered. Likewise, those who fall because of worldly cares rarely, if ever come back to God. Christian, this is why you need to set your affections on things above, and not on the cares of this world. If you fall because of your worldliness, then it will most likely take over your life and cause you to never recover spiritually.

Last, some fall while serving God, but when they fall, they have the Word of God that picks them up. The last seed fell, but it fell on good ground. The result was that it came back up and produced fruit. If you will wrap your life around the Word of God, then It will give you a tender heart that is capable of learning from mistakes. The Word of God is the rebounding agent for God's people. When a person makes their life about fulfilling the commands of God's Word, then when they fall, that failure will teach them to be a better person once they get up. Christian, become like the last seed that fell on good ground. Let the Word of God cause your heart to become that fertile ground that causes you to rebound once you fall.

Belief

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Belief Opens the Door to Possibility

 

Mark 9:23

"Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth."

The story from the verse above is about a man who had a child who was controlled by a dumb spirit. This spirit caused this young boy to act like a crazy person. When the spirit would control him, he would foam at the mouth, stop eating, bite himself and even throw himself into a fire. The father of this boy went to Jesus with hopes that He could help. Of course, Jesus is the hope for any problem a person faces in life, and this man came to the right person. The disciples of Christ could not help, but Jesus could. After a short conversation with the father, Jesus cast the spirit out and the boy and his father went home for the first time as a happy family.

A key statement was made to this father about the possibility of his son being healed. The door to this possibility rested in this statement, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." Belief was the door that opened the possibility. However, that statement applies to everyone. The door to the possibility of all things happening is belief. Possibilities will never happen unless you believe. You may currently face many obstacles in your life, but the key to overcoming any obstacle is belief. Let me show you several things to help you accomplish all things.

First, only you can make yourself believe. Notice the statement, "If thou canst believe,..." Belief is in your court. Your preacher can't make you believe, but you must make yourself believe. Your spouse, parent, boss, friend, teacher or leader cannot make you believe. You are the only one who can make yourself believe that all things are possible. You must realize that if God said all things are possible, then all things are possible.

Second, doubt is always in the presence at the door of possibility. The door is belief, but doubt will tell you there is nothing on the other side. The father said in verse 24, "...Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." Though this father believed that Jesus could heal his son, doubt was still present in his heart. Christian, believing does not mean that no doubt will be present. No, according to this verse doubt will still be present when you believe.

Third, whatever you act upon is what will determine the possibility of all things. You can act upon the voice of doubt and not see all things possible, or you can disregard your unbelief and act upon your belief and see all things. It is up to you. You can let the discovery of possibilities waste away by listening to doubt, or you can experience the possibilities by acting upon your belief and go through the door.

The key to all things being possible is action. Action is belief. Belief is acting upon what you think is possible even though doubt still lies within your heart. All things are possible for you, but you must act to see them happen. I don't know what possibilities you face today, but you can allow doubt to keep you from seeing your possibility come to fruition, or you can act upon your belief and take the first step to experiencing that possibility. Don't let your doubt stop you from seeing great possibilities. God has some great things in store for you, but you must believe that they are possible. God can't make you believe, but you must step out and start pursuing your possibility to see it happen. Remember, all things being possible does apply to you if you will believe.

Teaching

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Teaching by Parables

 

Mark 4:2

"And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,"

When you think of the greatest teacher you ever had, you will probably come up with someone who kept their teaching practical. One of the greatest teachers I ever heard was Dr. Jack Hyles. Bro. Hyles was my pastor for many years. He had a way of making difficult truths sound so simple. When you walked away from his teaching, you knew exactly what he was trying to get across. You never walked away from his teaching and asked yourself, "What was the point of his sermon?" Though he was criticized for not being very deep, he never let the criticism of others stop him from being simple. This practical teaching style caused him to be in great demand with pastors who would request him to preach in their church.

The greatest teacher of all time is Jesus. If you were going to pattern your teaching after someone, I would highly advise you to copy Jesus' pattern of teaching. The verse above tells us that Jesus always taught in parables. A parable is an earthly story filled with godly truth. Jesus knew that the best way to get people to understand godly truths was to wrap those truths in everyday illustrations. That is one of the reasons why people would flock after Him, because they understood what He was teaching. The Pharisees would try to impress the people with their education, thus the people could not understand their teachings. However, Jesus took truths and brought them down to the bottom shelf where everyone lived. This type of teaching resulted in changed lives and crowds wanting to hear Jesus teach another truth.

Everybody is a teacher of some sort. Because you are a teacher, you would be wise to follow Jesus' example of teaching by parables. Your purpose of teaching is to help those whom you teach to understand the truth that will change their lives and cause them to do right. The best way to do this is to teach by parables. Let me give you three thoughts about teaching by parables.

First, be simple in your teaching. Don't try to impress people with how much you know. When you try to show people how "educated" you are, you will end up not giving people the truth that will help them. Stop worrying about how people view your intelligence. The most educated person is not one who can spew out a ton of big words. Anybody can go to a dictionary and memorize big words. An intellectual person is one who can take profound and deep truths and make them simple so everyone can understand. I like to put it this way; take the peanut butter and put it down on the bottom shelf so everyone can taste it. The purpose of you teaching is to convey the truth to those whom you teach, and the best way to accomplish this is through simplicity.

Second, use life to teach truths. People understand life, and when you take situations of life, they will understand your truth much better. Jesus constantly used the daily tasks of people to teach a truth. For instance, I love to use sports to teach because sports resemble life. People can understand sports, so if I can apply a truth using sports, then I will use it. Always find a way to use life to apply a truth.

Last, use object lessons as illustrations to present a truth. When people can see a truth, then the truth will always be remembered. Most people see in pictures, therefore visible illustrations are the best way to teach. You may have to think a little more to come up with an illustration, but it is worth it if you can help people to understand a truth.

Teaching people is a great responsibility. Don't waste this responsibility by trying to show people your intelligence, but rather use this responsibility wisely by teaching through parables.

The Few

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The Importance of the Few

 

Matthew 25:21

"His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."

The verse above is about the parable of the talents. There was a man who went on a long journey, and delivered to his three servants some talents to take care of while he was gone. Two of the three servants took their talents and reinvested them so at their master's return they had doubled what was given to them. One servant took his talent and buried it in the ground to keep from losing it. However, at the master's return, it was the two servants who doubled their talents who were commended. Their lord said to them, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things:..."

In this parable you can see that Jesus was teaching that every small thing is important to Him. Too many people want more, but they don't treat what they have right now as important. God is interested in how you treat the few. Why should anybody be entrusted with more when they won't treat the little that they have right now with the proper importance? Though you may not think what you have is important, to God everything is important.

Your few is the testing ground for the many. You are not worthy of the greater until you treat with proper importance that which you currently have. I often hear people say that they want more responsibility or greater position, but the problem is they don't treat the responsibility or position they currently have with importance. You must realize that many leaders give the little tasks to you to see how you treat them. If you don't handle your little tasks and responsibilities importantly, then they will never give you greater responsibilities or positions.

If a pastor of a small church would treat everything in his church like it were a big church, then maybe God would allow the church to grow. Though this is not why every church is small, this could be a big part of why many churches don't grow. When pastors and church members of small churches treat their "small" church like it's small, then God sees this church can't handle growth. Let me remind you that in God's eyes there is no small church. If you are a pastor or member of a smaller church, then treat every duty like you would if your church was larger, then maybe God will decide to give you more.

Moreover, if you would like to be promoted to greater position, then treat your current position like it's big. Any wise leader will never promote someone who treats their position as little to a greater position. This would be a recipe for disaster. It is those who excel in their lower positions who should be promoted to greater position. If you want a higher position than you have now, then excel with where you are right now.

Likewise, you will never be blessed with greater finances if you don't handle your current finances wisely. There are many people who want to get rich, but they don't handle their current finances in a wise way. They spend instead of saving, and you will never be blessed with greater finances until you use wisdom in how you handle your current financial situation.

Simply put, treat everything you have responsibility over with importance, and you will find that the few things will increase to many. Everything you do and everything you have should be treated as important. Until you treat the little that you have importantly, then don't expect God to bless you with more. Treating the little like it is big is how promotion comes.

Unfair

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Forgiveness is Unfair

 

Matthew 18:34

"And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him."

God never said that forgiveness fair. In fact, when you forgive someone it is truly unfair because you are the one who has to pay the price. The story from the verse above is about a man who owed ten thousand talents to someone. This man's loan came due and he had nothing with which to pay it back. Because he had no money, he begged the debtor to have patience with him until he could pay. The Scriptures says that the debtor forgave his debt. However, this same man went out and found someone who owed him an hundred pence. Now a hundred pence is far less than ten thousand talents. Yet, when the man who owed a hundred pence begged for mercy, the man who was forgiven ten thousand talents had him cast into prison until he paid the debt. When it was found out what this man did, the original debtor took this man who owed ten thousand talents and delivered him to the tormentors until he paid his debt. This story of forgiveness teaches us how unfair forgiveness is.

First, someone must be wronged for forgiveness to occur. You cannot forgive someone until you are wronged. That means that some time in life someone is going to wrong you. You must realize that you will not get through this life unscathed. This is why you must have forgiveness available for people, because at some time you will be wronged.

Second, the wrong comes from someone you know. You will notice in the story above that there was a relationship between the characters of the story. Likewise, when you are wronged it will most likely be by someone with whom you have a relationship. It may be a family member, friend, or church member, but you will most likely be wronged by someone close to you.

Third, forgiveness is not about the offender paying a price. The whole story was not about the one who did the wrong paying for what they did, it was about the one who was wronged offering forgiveness. Many people wait to until they see the person who wronged them pay for their transgression before they will forgive them. This is not forgiveness! There are people who will not forgive because they don't see the person who did the wrong suffering. You must realize that if you are going to forgive, you must not be concerned with whether they pay a price for their transgression. Stop waiting for someone to pay before you decide to forgive. God will make sure that person pays, but true forgiveness is not concerned with them paying.

Fourth, forgiveness means you will lose. It says in verse 32, "...I forgave thee all that debt..." Notice that the one who forgives pays the biggest price. If you practice forgiveness, you will have to pay. That means if you forgive the one who owes you money, you will be out the money. When someone wrongs you, you will end up losing. Stop waiting for everything to balance out and realize that when you forgive, you will get the short end of the stick.

Last, you are the one who pays the biggest price for unforgiveness. In the verse above, you will see that because this man did not forgive he was tormented. Christian, if you don't learn to forgive, then you will live a life of torment. You must be willing to pay the price of forgiveness so that you are not tormented with it the rest of your life. Yes, forgiveness is unfair, but it is better to pay the price of the unfairness than to be tormented the rest of your life.

Soiled

Soiled and Abused

 

Ezekiel 23:38

"Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths."

God was very particular in how the temple was treated and used. When you study the commands to Moses in how they should conduct themselves in the setting up of the temple, you will see that God took its treatment seriously. You may remember how Jesus went into the temple and threw out the moneychangers because they"...made it a den of thieves." (Matthew 21:13) In the verse above, one of the reasons why God judged Israel was because they had defiled the sanctuary and profaned the Sabbaths. You will notice that God called it His sanctuary. It was not their sanctuary to do with it what they wanted, but it was God's, and they should have treated it the way He wanted it to be treated. Because they defiled the sanctuary, God judged them by sending them into bondage.

According to 1 Corinthians 6:19, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost. God said in this verse, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" Because our body is God's temple, that would mean that we have no right to treat it the way we want, but we should treat it the way that God wants it to be treated. God judged Israel for defiling and profaning the temple in the Old Testament, and likewise He will judge us when we defile and profane our bodies.

The word "defiled" means to soil. In other words, God does not want us to soil our bodies. This is not talking about getting dirty from soil, but it is talking about getting dirty with sin. Christian, you have no right to soil your life with sin. Just because something makes you feel good does not give you the right to soil your life. Your body belongs to God, and every time you commit a sin you are soiling your body. Be careful about soiling yourself with wrong pictures. Don't soil your body with fornication and adultery. Don't soil yourself with gossip and filthy talk. Don't soil your life with worldly lifestyles. Remember, you are the temple of the Holy Ghost, and every time you commit a sin you are soiling the very temple that the Holy Ghost must live inside.

Furthermore, the word "profaned" means to abuse. Not only should you not soil your body with sin, but also you should not abuse your body physically. This is why you should not get tattoos, because it is abusing the temple of the Holy Ghost. Every time you put a print from a tattoo upon your body, you are virtually putting a tattoo upon the Holy Ghost. When you abuse your body with piercings, you are abusing the temple of the Holy Ghost. When you abuse your body with the vices of alcohol and drugs, you are abusing the temple of the Holy Ghost. If you are saved, your body belongs to God, and you have no right to do with it what you want.

Christian, don't soil and abuse your body. Your body belongs to God. It is the temple of the Holy Ghost. Be so very careful that you live your life in a way that you don't soil it with sin. Don't make the Holy Ghost have to put up with your filth. Moreover, be careful about abusing your body, the temple of the Holy Ghost. Always keep in mind that whatever you do to your body you are virtually doing it to the Holy Ghost. If you will keep that in mind, I believe you will do a better job of not soiling and abusing your temple in which the Holy Ghost lives.