Today's Passage - Matthew 13:17-23

Matthew 13:17-23   "...Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:  When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.  The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.  But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.  The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.   But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."     In this parable of the sower, we must pay attention to the fact that all the seeds were the same, but the soil where the seeds land determines the outcome from the seeds.  In other words, the condition of our hearts determines how much of God's grace and abundance we can receive.  There are four conditions here: along the path, rocky ground, thorny field and good soil.  There are many things in the world that can occupy our eyes and make us shift our focus from following Jesus.  The last one is good soil, which means we can follow the Lord's word in our lives and put them into practice.  The ultimate goal of listening to God's word is not to increase our knowledge, but to follow the will of God.   We've always heard others say that "don't ever become an 'old' Christian."  It doesn't mean that you have become old in age; you might have just accepted the Lord, but have already become like an "old" Christian.  Actually, an "old" Christian is one who knows the truth well but cannot put it to practice.  For example, we all know that it's important to study the Bible and pray, and also it's the Lord's command to share His love with others, but are we doing these things?  A brother once told me that he felt that his spiritual life is rather dry, and neither worship, cell group nor studying the Bible are interesting to him.  Later on, he realized that the reason he felt that way was because he never brought the truth that he was familiar with into his daily life.  Then, he began to boldly live out everything in the truth that he's already known, and his life was turned around and filled with joy and energy.  He described that the rekindling of his first love for God almost felt like his first romance!   Are you feeling heavy burdens in your life and your spiritual life is tired with no energy?  What you need is not to listen to more renewal sermons, but to truly repent in your life and follow the Lord's commandments.  Once we boldly take this step forward, our life will be different.  Today, God no only cares about whether we become Christians, but also what kind of Christians we are.  What's our attitude towards the word of God?  Are we willing to listen to His words and follow His commandments?   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, we ask that you help us to become good soil.  When your word enters the field of our heart, let is bear good fruit.  In our daily life, help us to follow your word and let you will be done in us.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!           Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow us on our Facebook page!