Mark 4:13-14, 18-20 (NKJV) And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word…. Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
Our faith in God’s Word is what will help us to overcome the world and the challenges that come with it. Given the right soil condition, the seed, which is the Word of God, will produce thirty, sixty or a hundredfold. Because the devil doesn’t want that to happen, his tactic to steal the seed from our lives through tribulation, of which He is the source. The seed that is sown among thorns is deprived of sunlight and thus cannot grow. Similarly, the overwhelming influence of the deceitfulness of riches, the desire of other things and the false glamour in life will “choke and suffocate” the Word.
The devil will try and cause fear and worry in us by feeding us information, including unfounded fear or facts and figures, to distract us and cause doubt and scepticism about the effect of the Word and God’s promises in our lives. He wants us to worry, find security in money and choke the Word that we have heard about God’s provision and faithfulness.
Though we have been transferred into the Kingdom of God where He reigns and rules in our lives, we still live in the world where the god of this age can influence us. Therefore, we are always faced with a choice between God’s way or the world’s way. If we choose God’s way, we will need to allow the Word of God to take root in our lives in order that faith is produced in us so we can stand on it despite our circumstances. Otherwise, circumstances will bring about anxiety, cause us to be deceived by riches and lure us to desire other things.
We are bombarded daily by media and communication which are powerful tools that form our thinking and values directly or subtly. If we are not careful to guard our minds, concerns and fear will slowly make a foothold into our thought lives. Therefore, we must renew our minds with the Word, or we will operate in the world’s ways, and when the world’s way is stronger than the Word in our hearts, the seed of the Word of God will be choked.
We either live in fear or faith. Faith is meditating on the truth that brings peace while fear is being concerned with the unknown and the many possibilities without the God factor in it. It is a choice that we need to make so that fearful thoughts cannot choke the Word that creates faith and peace in our lives.
Sermon Series: The Seed Can be Stolen but It Is Difficult to Uproot the Tree! (Part 3)
守护你的思想生命
马可福音4:13-14，18-20 又对他们说，你们不明白这比喻吗？这样怎能明白一切的比喻呢？撒种之人所撒的，就是道。还有那撒在荆棘里的，就是人听了道。后来有世上的思虑，钱财的迷惑，和别样的私欲，进来把道挤住了，就不能结实。那撒在好地上的，就是人听道，又领受，并且结实，有三十倍的，有六十倍的，有一百倍的。
我们对神话语的信心将帮助我们战胜世界和与之而来的挑战。如果落在好的土壤中，种子——也就是上帝的话语，会结出三十倍、六十倍或一百倍的果实。因为魔鬼不希望这种情况发生，牠的策略是通过苦难把种子从我们的生命中偷走，而牠就是一切苦难的源头。撒在荆棘丛中的种子得不到阳光，因此无法生长。同样，财富的欺骗、对物质的贪恋和生活中虚假的魅力的压倒性影响会“掐灭和窒息”神的话语。
魔鬼会通过向我们提供信息，包括毫无根据的恐惧、事实和数据，来试图在我们心中引起恐惧和担忧，以分散我们的注意力，并引起对神的话语和应许在我们生命中的果效的怀疑。牠希望我们忧虑，在金钱上找到安全感，并掐灭我们所听到的关于上帝供应和信实的话语。
虽然我们已经进入了神的国度里，在那里祂掌权并主宰我们的生命，但我们仍然生活在这个时代的神能够影响我们的世界里。因此，我们总是要在神的道路或世界的道路之间做出选择。如果我们选择神的道路，我们就需要让神的话语在我们的生命中扎根，以便在我们心中产生信心，这样我们就可以无惧周遭的状况，站在这话语之上。否则，环境会招致焦虑，使我们被财富所迷惑，引诱我们贪恋物质。
我们每天都受到媒体和传播的轰炸，它们以直接或含蓄的方式成为影响我们的思想和价值观的强大工具。如果我们不小心保护我们的心思意念，担忧和恐惧就会慢慢地在我们的思想生命中站稳脚跟。因此，我们必须用神的话语来更新我们的思想，否则我们将按照世界的方式行事，而当世界的方式在我们心中强于神的话语时，神话语的种子就会被掐灭。
我们要么生活在恐惧中，要么生活在信仰中。信心就是默想那带来平安的真理，而恐惧来自对未知和许多没有神的可能性的关注。这是我们需要作出的选择，使恐惧不能掐灭圣言，就是那在我们的生命中创造信心与平安的圣言。
讲章系列：种子会被偷走，但很难把树连根拔起！ （第三部分）