Written
By: Kirk Peterson
The closest person I have ever met to God told me once, “Always
listen to the Holy Spirit when He tells you something.” He went on to tell me a story about how he longed
for some shrimp and grits, oh how he loves those shrimp and grits, but the
Spirit told him “stay away.” He heard what the Spirit had said, but the temptation
of the shrimp and grits was too great and he picked them up anyway. He got food poisoning from the food, but said
he learned his LESSON well!
HEART
As I was sitting there in Bible Study, watching the other
children’s leader teach about the first parables of Jesus, he said something
that had the Holy Spirit tug at me. He was teaching about “wheat” and “weeds (Bearded
Dardanelle)”, when one of the children asked, “When you speak about our
heart, do you mean our actual beating heart?” The co-leader went on to teach
how God can see right through our exterior and into the very innermost part of
us. He explained that when we teach about our HEART, we are talking
about the deepest part of us that makes us who we are. He said that innermost
part is our SOUL and that--“We are not simply a BODY with a SOUL,
but rather a SOUL with a BODY around the outside.”
The Holy Spirit had me take notice that there is
something profound in those words. It
tugged at me, and putting into practice what my friend had told me about always
listening to the Spirit when He tells you something, I blurted out to the
children to listen to his words. I told
them that this was another homework assignment for them, and that they needed to
memorize those words. One of the other children’s
leaders started a “Rap” trick in memorization
with the kids, using beats to help with remembering. Being encouraged by the power of the Spirit, I
started to pound the table in beat. I
looked up and started prodding everyone to start to rap with me, “We are not a
body with a soul, but rather a soul with a body”. I looked over to the other co-leader, as he
sheepishly smiled at me, almost telling me “you thought those words were cool
did you?” My smile back at him said, “Yes
you goof, those words were AWESOME!”
It was a fun moment, but one that I try not to take for
granted. For I believe the Holy Spirit
lead all of us into a truth that was buried in the scripture, digging up for us
one of the buried treasures in God’s great Kingdom.
11He
replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven,
but others are not. 12To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding
will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who
are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away
from them. 13That is why I use these parables, For they look, but they don’t
really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand. (Matthew
13:11-13, NLT)
MYSTERIES
SET APART
16“But
blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17I
tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you
see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they
didn’t hear it. (Matthew 13:16-17, NLT)
To the prophets and all those in the Old Testament, many
of the mysterious of God’s plan were left unanswered. The Bible now has the COMPLETE gospel (good news) that reveals ALL
that God wants to tell us in His word, and explains how He plans to redeem his
lost people from their fall into darkness.
Part of God’s plan is to set apart the treasures of His Kingdom, for
those that trust in Him. God our
heavenly Father is ALWAYS there to embrace those that TRUST in Him. But God's
word, and the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, are designed to have layers
that can only be UNLOCKED by the power of his Holy Spirit.
The apostles themselves did not understand everything The
Good Shepherd was teaching to them. We
see how with Jesus’ parables (relevant stories
with a deeper meaning) those that truly walk with the Lord, having good
soil in their heart, SEEK to understand and go to GOD for
help in understanding. While those who do
not listen, loose the “seed” that
is God’s word in the hard, rocky, or thorny soil that is their heart. (Matthew
13:3-23; 36) I encourage you to go to
God in prayer when you do not understand something in the Bible or a sermon,
and ask God to reveal His truth to you through his Holy Spirit.
SOIL
OF YOUR HEART
18“Now
listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: 19The
seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the
Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the
seed that was planted in their hearts. 20The seed on the rocky soil represents
those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 21But since
they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as
they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. 22The seed that
fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly
the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth,
so no fruit is produced. 23The seed that fell on good soil represents those who
truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or
even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” (Matthew 13:18-23, NLT)
How is the soil of YOUR heart? I know that too often, my heart soil is
rocky, where my roots are too shallow to stand up to adversity and
hardship. I turned to the children that
night in Bible Study, and with a pen shoved down into a Tupperware filled with
rocks, I asked them what we could do to have our roots grow strong. Indeed I ask you now, what can you
do to have your roots grow strong in the LORD? I believe some great places to start are with
Bible Study, Church, Prayer and Fellowship with other believers. I hope and pray that God’s “seed”, which is His word, can grow in
fertile soil in your heart--producing a righteous harvest to the honor and
glory of our Great King!
