To Have Heart-field with Good Soil
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June 28, 2015 |
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 "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty" (Matthew 13:23).
Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
In Matthew 13, the heart of man is likened to fields and it is categorized as the field with good soil, the thorny field, the rocky field, and the roadside. If you want to cultivate your heart into good soil and bear abundant fruit, you should remove the thorns and rocks, and break up hard soil. Let's look into how to have such a heart with good soil.
1. We should cast away untruthfulness of the heart and achieve the truthful heart
Proverbs 4:23 reads, "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life." What does it mean here that we have to 'watch over' our hearts?
It is to watch out for the enemy devil and Satan. Satan tries to tempt people and captivate their minds. We sometimes say we are engrossed in someone or captivated by something. We should be engrossed and put our hearts in God, the Lord, Heaven, and the truth. But if you let your hearts be taken captive by the world, you may be tempted by Satan. If you allow this to happen, little by little your heart may be taken away by Satan and become its servant.
For example, we should receive God-given grace and strength through the worship services. We can then be protected from the world. And when we put the Word in our hearts, we gain strength to overcome the world. But Satan tries to give idle thoughts and cause drowsiness to come upon you and tempt you with worldly thoughts and things like using your cell phone.
It may not end at this level. It may go further, even to the point of losing spiritual life. When one fails to watch over his heart, he cannot watch over his thoughts. Then, he may put the thoughts into practice that leads to death.
However, if he tries to think, "My heart must not be taken away by Satan…" and he tries to watch over his heart, then he can receive strength, and it can be a chance for his faith to increase.
Then, what is the way to watch over our hearts? It is possible when we resolve the fundamental problem. When we root out the untruth completely Satan cannot take away our hearts. It is because Satan uses untruthful hearts in men and takes control of them through the untruth. Thus, as long as we continually try to root out the untruth in our hearts, Satan cannot control us.
When we pull out the main root of a tree, countless lesser roots follow it and are also removed. That way, we can cast off the untruth and achieve the truth in heart. By doing so, we can watch over our hearts and receive whatever we ask from God.
2. The Seventeen Attributes of Untruth to Be Cast off in Cultivating Hearts into Good Soil
The first one is the Hardened Heart. Those who have a hardened heart never change even though they listen to the Word and see God's works. They do not accept God's power in their hearts and have doubts about it all the time. The result is going in the way of death.
The second attribute is the Heart of the Coward. This is the heart that avoids responsibility that we must take. For example, when God asked if Adam had eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam shifted the responsibility onto God and Eve as written in Genesis 3:11-12.
The third is the Heart of Retreating. This is fear that comes from the heart knowing what is right and wrong and retreating out of fear in a situation where what is right ought to be revealed. This heart may show an indecisive attitude when pressured by exterior elements. Such a heart is caused by fear of being disadvantaged or harmed by what lies before him.
The fourth is the Indifferent Heart. Those who have this heart have no interest in something that they think has nothing to do with them. It seeks personal benefits, so they don't care about things that are of no benefit to them. They usually think, 'What is the use of getting involved in this or that business?'
The fifth is the Heart of Wanting to Become the Head. The heart includes the heart that pursues fame or authority. It can be discovered in the hearts of leaders. Those who seek to be leaders should see if it is to serve their subordinates or if it is the desire to be served. This heart can be discovered by self-reflection and examination.
The sixth is the Deceitful Heart. Those with this heart often break their resolutions and run hot and cold seeking their own benefits. It leads to the heart of betrayal. This deceitful heart is a big root of evil we should pull out from our hearts.
The seventh is the Heart of Excuses. It comes out from the deceitful heart. When those who have this heart are pointed out, they keep making excuses. Their excuses are even inconsistent. Those who usually make excuses concerning their inappropriate actions and behavior have this heart.
The eighth is the Heart of Deceiving Others or Hiding Fault. Those who have this heart talk about favorable things for themselves, but not about unfavorable things since they want to hide their fault. They tend to exaggerate what they do right and trivialize their faults.
The ninth is the Heart of Pretending Not to Know. Some pretend not to make mistakes although they did so. This is because they think people don't know what they did. Even when others are wrongfully accused and have hard time on account of them, they just pretend innocence. It is until others point them out that they admit it and make excuses.
The tenth is the Heart of Boasting. Men with this heart want to show off and make themselves known to others. What's worse is that they want to show off in front of those who don't know them well, not those who know them well.
The eleventh is the Jealous and Envious Heart. People usually don't feel jealousy toward others who have nothing to do with them. But they feel uneasy when friends in similar situation to theirs get praised and loved by others. People usually have jealousy in their hearts without revealing it.
The twelfth is the Heart that Hates and Avoids Those Who Aren't in Agreement with Them. If you hate and ostracize a person who doesn't agree with you, or if you avoid a person who points you out and hate him, then you find yourself having this heart. Such a person doesn't listen to others' advice or reprimand, but stays away from the advice-givers.
The thirteenth is the Heart of Rudeness. The heart of rudeness arises from arrogance. One with such a heart hurts others' feelings with rude words and behavior, so he can't be united as one with them. Some people appear to be rude just because they haven't learned proper etiquette.
The fourteenth is the Heart of Refusing to Sacrifice. If you have this heart, you sacrifice yourselves or give things to others only when there are benefits for you or things that agree with your thoughts. Pastors and church workers in particular, must not have this heart. It causes harm to others since it seeks its own benefit.
The fifteenth is the Heart of Reading Others' Mind. If you try to get recognition not from God but from others, you naturally try to read others' minds. Those who have such hearts pretend to be holy when they are with others, but act as they please when they are alone. If they had true faith, they wouldn't try to 'read' others' faces.
The sixteenth is the Heart of Attributing Faults to Others. This heart comes from deceiving heart. One who has this heart usually makes excuses for mistakes. Of course, we sometimes have to explain what happened correctly, but you must not attribute your faults to others to avoid responsibility.
The seventeenth is the Heart of Feeling Sorry for Not Being Rewarded. If you have this heart, you feel sorry when you do not get proper rewards nor get recognition from others. Some harbor ill-feelings that come out of this heart and end up revealing their evil.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter how barren the soil is, if we diligently cultivate it, the field can become one with good soil. I urge you to listen to God's Word diligently and cast away these untruthful attributes from your heart. I pray in the name of the Lord that by doing so you will receive whatever you ask from God and give glory to Him.
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