There are three elements involved in a successful witnessing
opportunity: the witness, the Holy Spirit, and the recipient. Jesus taught a
parable about the recipient. We call it the parable of the soils, and in the
parable, the farmer goes out to sow his seed. Typically in Jesus’ day, a farmer
would put the bag of seed on the back of a donkey, cut a hole in the bag, and
let it pour out onto the ground. As a result, some of the seed would fall on
the pathway made hard by those constantly travelling on it. Some would fall on
rocky soil and never be able to develop sufficiently deep roots. Some would
fall onto thorny ground, and as it grew, it would be choked out. But most, if
the farmer was any good at what he was doing, would fall on soil that was
properly prepared for the seed. Jesus’ point was that the hearts of the
recipients must be prepared to receive the seed, or the seed will not flourish.
The Thessalonians were ready. They received Paul’s teaching as the truth of
God, and because of that, the Holy Spirit worked powerfully in their lives.
Too often, even Christians aren’t prepared to receive.
Hearts become hardened – so much so that even the prompting of the Holy Spirit
is ignored. When that happens, indifference to the truth results in sinful
behavior. But when Christians receive the truth and welcome it as God’s word,
it effectively works in them. For these Thessalonian Christians, that meant
they followed the example of the strong churches in Judea. They suffered the
same persecution, and they continued to serve the Lord. What a blessing! And
the key to thriving in the midst of difficult circumstances? Receive God’s
word! Let it work in you! Nothing is more important to your spiritual health
and power. The best way to receive the word is to read the word. Read it every
day praying that God would prepare your heart for the truth He wants to reveal
to you. With that in mind, I challenge you to join me in reading through the
Bible in 2015. For a chronological reading plan, go to 2015
Daily Bible Reading Plan on our website. I guarantee you that you will NOT
regret it!
No comments:
Post a Comment