Mark 4:18-19 (NKJV) And 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.
The seed in this parable is the Word of God in our lives, and we need to guard it, water it and let it grow in our hearts. The key to dealing with the cares of the world and anxieties that threaten to choke the Word is to meditate on the Word of truth so that the peace that guards our hearts and minds will remain in us.
Peace is the fruit of the Word. It is God’s will for us to have that peace and He has already given it to us—we just have to maintain it. It is a supernatural and inexplicable peace that surpasses all understanding and is present in all circumstances. Peace comes about when we are aware that God is with us. It is always His desire to be with us which is why He sent the Holy Spirit to live within us. He is our Teacher, Helper, Comforter and Counsellor, and will help us in our time of need and bring Scriptures into our remembrance to help us to hold on to that peace whenever we are tempted to look at our circumstances, think negatively or worry. However, how much we have of this peace is proportional to how much we allow our circumstances to affect us.
The world has gotten many of us to associate our identity with our achievements. It has deceived us into believing that security comes with climbing to the top of the corporate ladder when the exact opposite is true. When our priorities in life are driven by the need to make money, we will believe that we are a loser unless we can afford a certain lifestyle, and when we trust in riches, we will feel stressed and miserable whenever things don’t happen our way.
1 John 2:16-17 (KJV) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
The desires for other things are another threat to our fruitfulness. In hindsight, many people will admit that there is a price to pay for being affluent, such as their marriage, relationship with their children, and their health. Could the market for luxury spiritual retreats be explained by the fact that in spite of how much money we have, the vacuum in our lives can only be filled by God?
Though the prince of the power of the air has certain influences in the world that we live in, let’s not forget that the Kingdom of God also rules and reigns in our lives. Therefore, we can live our lives differently in accordance with the Word.
Sermon Series: The Seed Can be Stolen but It Is Difficult to Uproot the Tree! (Part 3)
别让任何东西挤掉你的种子
马可福音 4:18-19 还有那撒在荆棘里的，就是人听了道，后来有世上的顾虑，钱财的迷惑，和别样的私欲进来，把道挤住了，就不能结实。
在这则比喻中的种子正是我们生命中的神的话语，我们需要守护它、灌溉它，并使其在我们的心中成长。尘世的牵挂和那足以掐熄圣言种子的焦虑，要应付这一切的关键在于默想真理的圣言，好叫那守护我们心思意念的平安长存在我们里面。
平安是圣言的果实。让我们享有平安是神的旨意，而且祂也已将这平安赐给了我们—而我们只需要持守它。这是一种超自然的，不可言说的平安，超越所有理解，存在于所有的现实情况中。当我们意识到神与我们同在时，平安就会到来。祂总是渴望与我们同在，这就是为什么祂差遣圣灵住在我们里面。祂是我们的老师、帮助者、安慰者和顾问，会在我们有需要的时候帮助我们，让我们记起经文，任何时候当我们忍不住审视自己的环境、消极思考或忧虑时仍保有平安。然而，我们拥有这种平安的程度与我们允许环境影响我们的程度成正比。
世界已经让我们中的很多人将自己的身份与成就相提并论。它迷惑我们错误地相信职场上只有不断晋升才是安全感的来源，而实则恰恰相反。当我们的生活优先级被赚钱的需要所驱使时，我们会相信我们是失败者，除非我们能够负担得起某种生活方式，如果我们信仰财富，每当事与愿违时我们的内心就会感到 紧张和痛苦。
约翰一书 2:16-17 因为凡世界上的事，就像肉体的情欲，眼目的情欲，并今生的骄傲，都不是从父来的，乃是从世界来的。这世界和其上的情欲都要过去，唯独遵行神旨意的，是永远长存。
对其他事物的渴望是另一个阻碍我们结果子的威胁。事后想来，很多人会承认， 富裕的人生是有其代价的，比如婚姻、亲子关系和健康。奢侈的灵修会市场是否可以用这样一个事实来解释：无论我们有多少钱，我们生命中的空虚只能由神来填满？
尽管那空中掌权者的首领对我们所生活的世界有着一定的影响，我们不要忘了，神的国度同样在我们的生命中掌权。因此，我们可以按照神的话语活出不一样的人生。
讲章系列： 种子会被偷走，但很难把树连根拔起！ （第三部分）