Jump Start # 3437

Luke 8:14 “And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.”

Our passage today comes from the Lord’s explanation of the parable of the Sower. Seed was scattered. Some landed on the hard road and nothing much happened. Some of the seed was eaten by the birds. And, in our verse, some of the seed fell among the thorns. The plant started, but it was quickly squeezed out by the weeds. There wasn’t enough room for the plant to grow. It was choked out, using the language of the passage.

And, of the three negative soils, the road, the rocky soil and the thorns, it’s this last one that seems to trip us up the most. Worries, riches and pleasures seem to fill our days and our hearts. There just isn’t enough time to get done all that needs to get done. The worries, riches and pleasures of this life do not have to be bad things. They can be, but the text doesn’t necessitate that they are wrong. One of the key expressions from the verse is, “of this life.” It’s the worries of this life. It’s the riches of this life. It’s the pleasures of this life. And, before one realizes it, they have spent a life time chasing after the things of “this life.”

Here are some things to remember:

First, “of this life” doesn’t last. It’s the next life, the spiritual life, that truly endures. The problems of this life that causes us to worry, will not last. Think about the things that bothered you years ago. Most of us have a hard time remembering what those things were. We stressed about paying for cars that today we no longer own. We worried about our kids in school, and now they are grown and out of school. We worried about economy, politics, wars and storms. And, those things have moved on.

The same is true about riches. We shopped and shopped to buy furniture that we no longer own for a house that we no longer live in. We bought clothing that has since been pitched, items that have been put in the trash.

The same is true of pleasures of this life. We’ve been to ballgames, concerts and vacations that have long become distant memories for us.

The things of this life simply do not last.

Second, worries, riches and pleasures of this life all consume time and energy out of us. There is only so much time and when we are pursuing the things of “this life” there is little time for the things of the next life. Too busy to attend services like we should have. Schedules too filled to have someone over to our home. Can’t teach a class this quarter because my plate is full.

When we are busy with “this life” it is easy to kick the can down the road of the next life. Not now, maybe later is what we say to the things of the next life. Pursuing the things of this life can leave us exhausted, run down and uneasy. Jesus tells the disciples multiple times in Matthew not to be anxious, or worried. Yet, we get worried. And, the more we worry, the less we trust and believe in God. Worry and faith are the opposites. The greater your faith, the less you will worry.

Third, the things of this life leave us none the better. Worries, riches and pleasures do not build character within us. Riches and pleasures, especially, may put a smile on our faces for a moment, but they will not bring lasting joy. Our faith in the Lord is not enriched by worries, riches and pleasures. Worries, riches and pleasures do not equip us to face what storms we encounter in life. Worries, riches and pleasures do not create a heart that is like Jesus.

We chase these rabbits all through the weeds of life and find out that the pursuit was not worth it. It was a waste of time. The Lord has always been there for us. The Lord has taken good care of us. The Lord loves us.

Weeds grow faster than plants. Weeds grow in the worst conditions. Dry and hot, the weeds grow. Rainy, the weeds grow. Cold, the weeds grow. And, unless one stays on top of things, weeds can take over. It’s a constant battle that every gardener faces, getting rid of the weeds.

Imagine the opposite of our passage. Instead of worries, riches and pleasures choking out the good word of God, the good seed of God chokes out the worries, riches and pleasures of this life. There is no room for worry, because my heart is filled with the Word of God. Riches and pleasures can’t take root within us because the Word of God is firmly planted there.

These are things that we face, struggle with and must overcome to be the people that Jesus wants us to be. Don’t be chocked by the things of this life. Become filled with the things of the NEXT life.

Roger

Jump Start # 3220

Luke 8:14 “And the seed which ell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.”

Our verse today, from the Lord’s parable about the sower, illustrates how God’s word can be shut down and made powerless because of what we invite into our hearts. Worries, riches and pleasures are weeds that take over. They grow aggressively within us. And, before long, the Word of God has no place within us. Rather than letting the Word of Christ richly dwell within us, as the apostle wrote, it dies. It dies because of a heart tangled with thorns, thistles and weeds.

The word ‘worry’ comes from an old expression that means to “strangle.” The text states, “choked.” Crowded out. Pushed out. Squeezed out. No room. That’s the idea. And, the reason it got that way was because of a heart that pursued the glitter of this world. The riches, the pleasures and the worries that follow, filled a life and a heart and the word could not find a place.

Let’s think about this idea of “choked out.”

First, what doesn’t grow are the things that ought to grow. I see this illustrated every spring and summer in my place. We have lots of flowers. I have to weed often, very often. And, when we are gone for a week or so, what a mess we come home to. The weeds take over so fast. I don’t want weeds. I want flowers. What ought to grow, can’t because of the weeds. The same is true spiritually of us. God’s word ought to fill our hearts and we ought to be growing more and more like Christ. Our character should reflect kindness, grace, love and forgiveness. Our hearts need those things. We develop those from a steady diet of God’s word. But when our time is taken with riches and pleasures and then we worry about those things, those precious qualities of Christ are squeezed out. We find ourselves not as kind as we once were. We find our selves occupied with the present. We see ourselves in a hurry to get worship over so we can do the things we want to do. And when the weeds take over, it’s not a pretty sight. No one compliments me on the weeds. No ones says, “love the weeds, Roger. You’re doing a great job.” Most times, I’m embarrassed for anyone to see the flower gardens until I have worked and worked in them.

Second, weeds grow fast. Weeds will grow when nothing else will. Have a drought, the weeds will grow. A real rainy season? The weeds grow. Hot? The weeds grow. Cold? The weeds grow. If you leave the weeds, when you get back to them, you have so much more to do. They multiply fast. No one plants weeds, they just seem to pop up over night. Riches, pleasures and worries work the same way. They keep us up at night. They fill our conversations. They become our dreams. Our lives become obsessed with riches, pleasures and worries.

Third, there is a way to deal with weeds. You have to get them out of the garden. Pull them. Spray them. Dig them up. Put down preventatives. Put down plastic. I’ve done it all. It’s a battle. Winter is the only relief. And, spiritually, it’s the same way. You can’t take your foot off the accelerator. You have to stay at it. You have to push yourself. You have to be alert. You have to be diligent. You have to get that Bible open. You have to get down to the church building for worship. You have to work and work and work. If you don’t the weeds come and the good things get choked.

Fourth, it’s a disaster spiritually when God gets choked out of our hearts. Will the riches get us to Heaven? Nope. Will the pleasures do it? Nope. Will worry help us? Never. And, when God is no longer the center of our lives, we travel without a compass. We are blown every which way. We chase every fad. We believe every pied piper. The advice of friends becomes more important than the word of God. The trends of today mean more to us than God does, when a heart is choked.

The solution in all of this is to make room. Something has to go. Some things don’t belong. Some things are not helpful. Pull the weeds. Say “no,” to self and others. A beautiful heart can turn ugly because of the weeds allowed to grow within it.

Choked…not a pretty sight. Maybe it’s time to do something…maybe it’s time to pull some weeds

Roger

Jump Start # 1313

Luke 8:14 “The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.”

  Our verse today comes from the Lord’s explanation of the parable of the sower. This parable is not about evangelism, spreading the Gospel, nor the growth of the kingdom. It is about personal responsibility in hearing the Gospel message and then allowing our faith to change us to become what God wants. The Gospel makes one thing and that is disciples of Christ. This parable identifies why some never get there. It shows us the problems and difficulty faith has within our hearts. It’s not that the message is too hard to grasp, it’s that our hearts are cluttered with other things and there simply isn’t room.

The parable illustrates four types of hearts. Our verse is often called the weedy heart. It is crowded with many things. The seed finds a little soil and begins to grow. But along with the seed are thorns which seem to grow faster and denser than the good seed. Looking at such a garden, one would see a mess. There would be weeds everywhere. The weeds are stealing the moisture, sunlight that the little seedling desperately needs. The growth of the seedling is stunted and slowed. Others, in better hearts seem to be doing much better and getting there faster than this one. The slow progress becomes evident in many areas. Attitudes are just not where they ought to be. This person says things that he shouldn’t. He still holds on to old ways and old thoughts. He’s got one foot in Christ and the rest of his body is still in the world. He enjoys worship, likes his church family and wants to go to Heaven, but my, it’s slow going with this one. He seems to be stuck in neutral. His spiritual life remains shallow and it seems that the easiest things set him back.

Shepherds struggle to figure out what the problem is with this person. Just why isn’t he excelling in the Lord? Our passage has the key. The answer is within these verses. There are three negatives that are standing in the way of his growth and faith.

First are the worries. Worry and faith are opposites. The more the worry, the less the faith. The greater the faith the less the worry. Worry feeds fear and doubt. The worried heart is not joyful, optimistic, or hopeful. Chicken Little was worried that the sky was falling. Such is this person. The nightly news feeds his worries. He holds on to bad news and is certain bad things will come to him. Worried about his health, his money, his kids, his future, his safety, this person doesn’t enjoy life. He is too worried to be thankful.

Second, Jesus names riches. The thirst for more becomes a drive that occupies every waking moment. The latest, the greatest, the newest, the best occupy this person’s conversation. He’s up on stuff. He knows what’s coming out next. He already has his order in and he’ll be one of the first to have whatever is next. He likes being the go to guy for information. He knows and keeps up about stuff. Now all of this energy and information reading takes time. It takes a lot of time. His faith isn’t fed much because his thirst for stuff is always being fed first. This one has an eye for labels. He recognizes expensive things. Those things appeal to him. He measures people by the brands that they wear. His mind races and races and it’s hard for him to concentrate on lessons from God’s word. He is always thinking about stuff.

Third, we come to pleasures. This doesn’t have to be sinful pleasures, but that would be included. Enjoyment, fun, good times is what fills this heart. He likes laughing. He likes late night TV where there are many laughs. He likes to play. He likes fun. In itself, there is nothing wrong with this, except this fills his heart. This becomes all he thinks about. This defines him.

Now in this passage, Jesus throws all three together. Three thorns: worries, riches and pleasures. They are all growing fast and squeezing out the little faith in the heart. These three fill the thinking, the dreams and the ambition of such a person. There is little time, little thought, and little room for God in such a heart. Jesus tells us that the seed brings no fruit to maturity. What was intended never came about. The farmer doesn’t plant seeds just for exercise. He plants crops to harvest. At harvest time, this plant didn’t produce. It didn’t change. It didn’t do what it was supposed to do.

The problem here is priorities. This guy doesn’t have his order in order. If you are carrying boxes, you start with the largest one first, then add smaller ones on top. He’s got it all backwards. His order is messed up. This is the person that just as well skip church services to go to a show or ball game. He doesn’t see what’s so bad about that. He puts them both in a balance and sees that he’d have more fun at the game and so that’s where is choice is.

He needs some serious talking from godly folks. He needs some quality time in the Scriptures. He needs to see that at the end of a day, it’s only a ball game, it’s only a show. They don’t change your life. They don’t add character to your soul. They don’t make you a better person. There is a place for games and shows, but not over God.

Underneath much of this is a problem of selfishness. This person does what he feels like. His little faith doesn’t take top priority because he doesn’t want it to. His choices are based upon how he feels and not what’s best. If he doesn’t feel like doing something, he won’t. He has never learned the first step of discipleship and that is to deny self. He must crucify self. There will be times when a disciple may not feel like doing something, but he will because it is the right thing to do. Usually, in the end, he feels much better about it.

The riches and pleasures that have crowded this heart feeds his worries. Since he has so little faith, he worries. He is his own worst enemy. He could overcome all of this. He could be a real disciple if he would simply think less of himself and more about Jesus and the kingdom. If he would serve others, open his Bible and feed his soul, he would find peace, contentment, faith and joy filling his heart. His thirst for riches and pleasures would wane because those never satisfy. There is never enough. The thirst never goes away. Faith is the key.

Is there hope for the crowded heart? Certainly. It won’t be easy. Just like a garden, there’s a lot of pulling weeds that has to take place. Had the gardener, or the disciple stayed with it at the beginning, keeping the weeds out, it wouldn’t be such a task as it now is. Now, there’s a lot of work that must be done. It can, if he gets wanting to.

How’s the garden of your soul? Is it growing and bring a good harvest? Are things a bit weedy and messy? Maybe it’s time you took care of things and got around to putting your order back in order.

Roger