GET SERIOUS - PART TWO

Having complete the first half of this study as we looked at passages in John’s Gospel (Chapters 14 and 15) and other Scriptures, examining the source of our love, joy and peace, we now proceed in looking at another aspect of this study by considering the gravity of the cost for our salvation through Jesus Christ and Him crucified . . .

Where was there any frivolous activity in the Garden of Gethsemane when our precious LORD shed His blood, sweat and tears, crying out to the Father for the terrible terror that was before Him, kneeling in fervent prayer under the shadow of that coming Cross?

Where were the fun times when the LORD had His head covered in a sack and then mercilessly beaten with rods by cruel Roman soldiers?

Where were the light hearted escapades when the LORD was tortured by the Romans with the Cat O’ Nine Tails that was so vicious in shredding flesh from bone, that the victims often died from being disemboweled!?

Where were the good times when the LORD hung on that Cross for six long hours, bearing upon His pure and righteous and holy Soul the entirety of the human race’s sin and all that results from sin (the sorrows, the pain, the sickness and corruption) and the wrathful judgment of Almighty God upon His own Son Who was our sin-bearer?

Oh, certainly there was and is profound joy and reassuring love and peace at the Resurrection of the LORD and His visitations of 40 days with His beloved brethren!

Yet that was and is based things spiritual, and not the carnal activities that bring ‘pseudo-joy’ to the church of today. Today, it seems that the professing church seeks out ‘spiritual’ entertainment and happiness rather than spiritual edification and the genuine joy of JESUS.

Let’s hear what an old time preacher has to say about this . . . Entertaining the Church by A.W. Tozer.

In my regular reading of the Word, I came to the epistle of Paul to Titus, and there in the 2nd chapter I noticed something very pertinent.

In the midst of Paul’s exhortation of the saints under the care of their pastor Titus, the apostle speaks of the need for sober mindedness and sobriety among the saints there: for the aged men as well as the aged women, for the younger women and the young men as well – basically a need for sobriety for everyone in the church.

One could refer to this as being of a ‘serious mind’. I believe this is a great need for the church today; we need to get serious about our faith. We need to get serious about obeying the Word of God, and just as serious in our proclamation of the Gospel and in making disciples!

Professing Christians today seem sadly cavalier about the Holy Bible – picking and choosing what they believe and discarding the rest; what about prayer and prayer meetings? I remember once someone showed up for prayer meeting at my place. They said (much to my dismay) that they “didn’t have anything better to do, so they thought they’d show up for prayer meeting”!?!

How many of professing Christians are able to share the Gospel effectively or even see a need to do so? Where are the elder saints that can come alongside of young believers in need to the spiritual ‘TLC’ of discipleship, helping them to learn the Word of God and applying it to their lives, and conduct in saintly living?

YES, SOBRIETY, SERIOUSNESS IS SOMETHING DESPERATELY NEEDED IN THE CHURCH TODAY!

So let’s examine what Paul instructed to Titus and his congregation:

TITUS 1:1-4

But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:
2 That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

The Greek word for “sober” in vs. 2 is nephaleos and it means, “to be sober, circumspect, temperate, abstaining from wine, either entirely or at least from its immoderate use; of things free from all wine, as vessels, offerings” One could justifiably add abstaining from any influences that would cloud the mind and impair sober judgment in the matters of life.

The elder women, according to Paul were to do likewise and he supplements this with “behavior that is befitting holiness” The younger women were to be taught sobriety as well and here this word in the Greek is sophronizo and it refers to “of sound mind, to discipline or correct, to teach to be sober; to restore to one’s senses, to moderate, control, curb, disciple, to hold to one’s duty, to admonish, exhort earnestly”.

TITUS 1:6-7

6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,

Here the word for “sober minded” is closely related to the previous word; the Greek word employed here is sophreneo and it means, “to be of sound mind, moderate, to be in right mind, be sober minded, soberly, to exercise self control, to put a moderate estimate upon one’s self; think of one’s self soberly; to curb one’s passions.”

TITUS 1:11-13

11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Here again the Greek word used is closely related to the previous two and it is sophronos and its definition is as follows: “with sound mind, moderately, soberly, temperately, discreetly”. This is especially important in the light of vs.13 where it speaks of “the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ”.

We know that our LORD is coming back and we know the times and the seasons, but not the day or hour – and so we are always admonished to be ready, praying and watching for His coming again (Mark 13: 32-37):

LUKE 21:34-36

34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.


Being prepared and ready spiritually for our LORD’s RETURN is something that should be uppermost in our hearts and our service and ministry unto the LORD should reflect this with a kind of fervent urgency (not hectic or panic driven, but with a serious mind, dedicated to the cause of Christ).
We should be taking our lives for Christ very seriously, guarding our hearts and protecting them from infiltration of influences by the enemy that would seek to bring us to a state of unfruitfulness.

For more on this, please check out another article on FROM The MIND Of FIRE A Scenario of Four Seeds.

The enemy likewise understands the true nature of this world that it is a battlefront – not a play ground – between good and evil; and in such warfare we must be sober, far more sober than any soldier on any earthly battlefield with bombs and bullets blazing all about him.

1 THESS. 5:8

But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

1 PETER 5:8-9

8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.


You will note something else of great importance in this chapter of Titus that seems associated closely with soberness and that is the word “sound”. It appears three times in this chapter and a total of five times in this letter (Titus 1:9, 13; 2:1,2 and 8).

TITUS 2:1

But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:

The first time it appears in chapter Two is in regards to sound doctrine and it means “to have sound health, be well (in body); figuratively, to be uncorrupt (true in doctrine); be in health (safe and) sound, (be) whole (-some); of Christians whose opinions are free from any mixture of error; of one who keeps the graces and is strong.”

So we see that a sound and sober mind is at least partly, and dare I say a great deal involves sound doctrine, that is the teaching of the Word of God without any impurities, falsehoods or errors, no doctrines or traditions of human (or otherwise) origin.
This same word is used in the second verse as well:

TITUS 2:2

2 That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

To have such purity and free of any taint or marring in regards to our faith and love and patience; the word for faith is well known, that is pistis and it refers to “moral conviction (of religious truth or truthfulness of God or religious teacher); especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in system of religious (Gospel) truth itself; assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.

"The conviction of truth if anything, belief in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervor born of faith and joined with it. A) Relating to God – 1) the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ. B) Relating to Christ – 1) A strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God. C) The religious beliefs of Christians. D) Belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ, springing from faith in the same.

* - Fidelity, faithfulness – the character of one who can be relied upon.”

Then this word “sound” appears again in verse 8:

TITUS 2:8

8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.

This word is very similar to the previous one, that being hygius and it means, “healthy in body; figuratively true (in doctrine); sound, whole.
1. Sound: a. of a man who is sound in body.
2. to make one whole, i.e. restore him to health.
3. Metaphorically, teaching which does not deviate from the truth.”

The word “speech” in the Greek is logos, and this refers to “something said, including the thought, by implication, a topic or subject of discourse; also reasoning (the mental faculty) or motive; by extension . . . the Divine Expression (i.e. Christ), doctrine, preaching, reason, treatise…”

“Sound speech” therefore not only has to do with teaching of doctrine and maintaining the wholesomeness and truth of such doctrine, never deviating from the truth but also in the common speech of every day conversation, that we ought always to speak the truth in every matter, and especially in spiritual matters where the Gospel and the Word of God are concerned.

Such should be the purity of our speech that even our enemies who will certainly scrutinize every word we speak will not be able to condemn us in any way, but rather be ashamed, even as our LORD Himself stated:

MATTHEW 5: 10-12

10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Elsewhere Paul admonished the saints regarding “sound words”:

2 TIMOTHY 1:12-14

12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
13 Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
14 That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.

I pray that we all (myself included) will prayerfully examine our lives and scrutinize them in the light of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to determine if and where we need to make any changes in our attitudes, conduct and lifestyle and determine to obtain and keep an attitude of seriousness where the things of God are concerned and like our LORD Jesus, even at so young an age of thirteen, that we in fact will “be about [our] Father’s business” as our number one priority (Matt. 6:33).

We live every day of this temporary life in the light of eternity where our labors will be judged by our LORD and SAVIOR and so, the urgency and vital importance of our mission is plain.

We cannot presume upon time and our life here on this Earth; we may be called home tomorrow or the LORD may return and take us there at the Rapture of the Church – are we ready for that trial at the bema seat of Christ.

1 PETER 4:7

7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

In closing, let me offer you one last article from The RED PILL Consortium that deals with our LIVING IN LINEAR ASSUMPTIONS

May the Grace of the LORD Jesus Christ be with us all, as we grow in this grace and the knowledge of Him – the Holy LAMB of God and LION of the Tribe of JUDAH! Amen!

GET SERIOUS!! - PART ONE

In the Gospel of John the LORD Jesus Christ said,
JOHN 15:11

These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

And in the previous chapter, the LORD said this,


JOHN 14:27

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Again in the Gospel of John the LORD spoke of His love for us:


JOHN 15:9-10

9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

With such joy, peace and love, the Christian ought to never feel the burdens of life the way that the lost do; they should never feel beneath the trials and circumstances that this fallen world is prone to; they should never live a defeated life, believing the lies that they will never be free of besetting sins and strongholds that the enemy has snared them in. . . isn’t that right? Or is it?

We all know Christians today who live life very much like this; perhaps even we ourselves have experienced, or are experiencing such things? Where then is this peace? Where is this joy and love? Why are we not experiencing these things in the face of trials and tribulations when the Word of God clearly indicates that such is the legacy for all of God’s children?

I think there are a number of factors, most of which involve the verses just cited, but then there is another aspect that I will get to a bit later. First of all, let’s take a closer look at those Scriptures found in John’s Gospel.


The LORD spoke of His joy remaining in us, not departing from us, but remaining (He says this twice in vs. 11) and not only will it remain, but that it would be full! Why don’t we experience this? Note that this is HIS joy in us at the first, not our own; then as a result of His joy in us, we obtain such joy. This isn’t something we have to ‘drum up’ ourselves, or psyche ourselves up by telling ourselves repeatedly that “God loves me”.

A bit earlier the LORD spoke of His love for us, and if ever there is cause for joy sublime, it is the sure knowledge of the LOVE OF GOD for us! We acknowledge that “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so…” but why aren’t we experiencing this love?


In the book of Jude it states:
JUDE 1:21

Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

It’s logical to assume that if we are to “keep ourselves” in the love of God, then it’s likewise possible to ‘not keep ourselves’ or allow ourselves to drift from experiencing this love, and how can this happen? Let’s return to John’s Gospel and look again what the LORD says about His love . . .

The LORD tells us that as the Father loves the Son – and how pure and powerful and holy and complete and all encompassing is that love! How supreme and sublime – it is the brilliant sun light that outshines all other glimmerings of human love! And in the same way, the Son loves us (vs. 9)! INCREDIBLE!!

The LORD told us that if we keep His commandments we shall abide in His love just as the LORD Himself kept the Father’s commandments and abides in His love. Is this some sort of ratification by the Son for a brand of legalism? Are we to seek approval and love from God based on obeying some laws?

Not in the sense that we might assume; the LORD is the only One to ever fulfill the Law of God (Matt. 5:16-18) and that all of us sinners have failed to keep the Law (Rom. 3:20) but there is the law of Christ for us:

ROMANS 8:2

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

See also: Romans 7:4, 25; 10:4; Gal. 2:16, 21; Gal. 3:13, 21; Gal. 5:4, 6:2; Phil. 3:9.

And as John also reminds us in his epistle:

1 JOHN 5:2-4

2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

It’s really quite simple if we ask ourselves this question, Who is easier to obey? Someone who merely has authority over us, or someone that loves us so much that they died for us? If our love is the motivation for obeying the commands of the LORD, then indeed, such commandments are “not grievous” at all. That word in the Greek implies “weighty, burdensome, heavy” or we might say “a bummer, a drag”. Obeying someone you love wholeheartedly isn’t going to be a drag!

JOHN 14:22-24

22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?

23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

Note that it’s the ones that the LORD will reveal (“manifest”) Himself to are the ones that love Him and keep (obey) His words.


This Divine love was initiated by God when He sent His promise of the coming One, the Messiah as early as the Garden of Eden when after the fall of Adam, God pronounced judgments, but then also the promise of redemption via “the seed of the woman” (Gen. 3:15) and throughout the Scriptures by the Word of the LORD proclaimed by the prophets of God and ultimately with the arrival of the Messiah Himself, and the Supreme Sacrificial Atonement He accomplished by dying on the Cross for all of our sins . . .

1 JOHN 4:18-19

18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

19 We love him, because he first loved us.

Because of the truth, that God loved us first, we who have received the salvation of the LORD Jesus Christ, then reciprocate that love, and then this love relationship is reinforced as we remain in the love of God, and that is simply by abiding in Him (review John Ch. 15 in its entirety for “abiding” in context) and this is done as we obey Him – by reading, understanding and following Him in humble obedience to His Word.

Then we are “keeping ourselves in the love of God” and we are able to experience God’s love. It’s not that God doesn’t love us already until we obey Him, for God Himself is love; but it’s only as we abide with and in Him that we experience this love.

It’s even the same in the human dimension: I know for a fact that my parents love me, but I live in Arizona, and they are in New York. Being separated as we are, I cannot experience their love. Certainly there are phone calls and email and letters, but it’s not until we abide together that I can share the love relationship between parents and child.


If we aren’t obedient to the LORD, we aren’t abiding; we are separated by our sin of disobedience and are not “walking in the light” so fellowship is broken. Yet if we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and then we are “walking in the light” and obedient to the truth; then there is that blessed fellowship of love, joy and peace (see Isaiah 59:2; 1 John 1:6-7, 9).

Then there is this peace that is mentioned in John’s Gospel:

Just before mentioning this peace, (and just as with the love and the joy, this is HIS peace that He is giving to us, and not some kind of peace of mind of our own or the peace of the world) He speaks of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter (parakletos in the Greek, or one who comes along side of to assist, to lend aid, to direct and counsel) and if we yield to the Holy Spirit and follow Him, the peace of God will follow.


Please note that before peace can be experienced, the grace of God must first be administered to the soul. You will note in all the greetings of Paul, he addresses the saints with “grace and peace be unto you” and its always in this order to demonstrate the truth that we cannot have peace with God until we come to Him and receive grace and the forgiveness of sin:

ROMANS 5:1-2

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

And once we are at peace with God, no longer at enmity because of our sins against Him (see Romans 5:6-11), we can then experience the peace of God!

PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

I believe because so many that profess Christ are not experiencing these things, that there is a tendency to resort to unspiritual means of obtaining a kind of manufactured (but not genuine) joy that is akin to mere happiness and ‘fun times’ They focus on thinking and speaking only positive things, that will never admit to sickness or hardships or sorrow, that ‘put on a happy face’ while inside their hearts are crushed. They are living in a kind of spiritual ‘denial’. It’s the same kind of psyche job as that old New Age mantra, “In every way and in every day things are getting better, and better and better.”

Then there are those who are all about fun and games; they go from one activity to another, from movies, to social outings of putt-putt golf or bowling, to pot lucks, to Christian concerts, Christian comedians and other events. Such activities that are really just ‘clean fun’ but have no real spiritual substance, but are frivolous and empty (something that the Bible calls “vain” or “vanity”). Please don’t misunderstand me; I’m not at all saying Christians can’t have a good time, because I love having such experiences with my fellow saints. But that is not our focus, and that is not what we are called to as the saints of God.


This brings me to this other aspect I mentioned earlier and that will be picked up in Part Two of this study!

A SCENARIO of FOUR SEEDS – (based on Matthew 13:1-23)

The evangelization of the world is the Great Commission as commanded by the LORD Jesus Christ before His ascension into heaven (Matt. 28: 19-20; Mark 16: 15-16). The Gospel is going out by various means today: television, radio, Internet, printed materials in newspapers, magazines, newsletters, Gospel tracts, as well as Evangelistic Crusades and street witnessing.


As the Word of God proceeds and reaches the hearts of people, there are different responses and specific causes for each response. In Matthew’s Gospel Ch. 13 (also Mark Ch. 4; Luke Ch. 8) our LORD describes these causes and effects for us.

Its worthy of note that of the four different scenarios depicted only one of these brought forth good fruit; in all of the other cases, the seed was unfruitful. This should be a warning and an admonition for us as God’s children, particularly for those just starting out in the faith (“babes in Christ” 1 Cor. 3:2; 1 Peter 2:2). We must make sure that we tend the ‘garden of our heart’ to be sure it is properly tilled, weeded and protected from those elements that would prove detrimental to good and healthy growth.

So we shall have a look at this parable to see what the LORD would teach us on this crucial matter. Before we do, however, consider the fact that this is the first time that our LORD used a parable; He never did this before this point, and when addressing the people from this point on, He spoke only in parables. This was a curiosity even for His disciples that approached Him on this issue:

MATTHEW 13: 10
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

To which the LORD answered in the following six verses:

MATTHEW 13: 11 – 17

11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.



The LORD told His disciples that the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are given to them, but not to these others. Seems a bit unfair, that the LORD would choose only these and not the rest of those that heard His words, doesn’t it? But the next verse is very telling:

12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

“Whosoever hath” – has what, one might ask? In answer, let us say a willing heart and a hearing ear; one who is receptive and even more so, seeking for the truth of God’s Word. The LORD spoke elsewhere by the prophet Jeremiah:



JEREMIAH 29: 13
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Also in the New Testament:

HEBREWS 11:6

6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

The fact that “this people’s heart” has grown hard and unyielding meant that they did not hunger for the truth; particularly the religious leaders who were content with their own version of the religion of the Jews (thinking that they were justified by the Law which God intended to show mankind his sinfulness!). Isaiah (“Esaias” in the KJV) spoke of this very thing, as we read in vs. 14 – that the people would hear, but not understand, and shall see but not perceive. They had spiritual blindness as a result of spiritual apathy and laziness, with no care or concern for heeding and learning the Word of God.

So for those who had such hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matt. 5:6), they would be given, they would be filled. For those who had no such spiritual appetite, they would be left with nothing but blind eyes and dear ears (spiritually speaking).


It’s often been said that parables are teaching tools to bring greater depths of understanding, and that is true but provisionally: it only brings greater depths of understanding for those who have a desire and love for the truth of God’s Word! For those who don’t, these are merely stories but with no real significance.


Yet what about Matt. 13:17? It says there that there were many prophets and righteous men that sought those things which the disciples sought, but did not find them; alas but that the KING of ISRAEL had not yet arrived earlier so that these men of God would know such things that the disciples came to know. Yet all things in God’s good time! When the LORD returns, sets up His kingdom, and resurrects the just from the dead (including these prophets and righteous men) then they shall know everything that they hungered for themselves!


So then, let’s now proceed with an examination of this parable:

MATTHEW 13: 1 – 9

The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.

2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

No doubt that among a crowd of such proportions there were heart conditions of many assortments; some genuinely were hungry for the Word of the LORD; others perhaps were merely interested in a curiosity but with no such zeal for the LORD. Indeed, among the mass of people, there were represented these four classifications of heart conditions which the LORD was about to elaborate on.

He speaks of a sower (husbandman or farmer), sowing (planting) seed and as he did so, the seed met with these different situations: some were eaten by fowls of the air; others fell on shallow, stony ground but withered away; still others fell among thorns which choked the life out of it; and finally some of the seed fell upon good soil and brought forth good fruit.

The seed is profitable for the work of the Gospel, in bringing salvation to souls, and also for the continued work of the Spirit in the lives of believers once they are born again.



So whether one is new to the faith or a saint of many years, we all need to take heed, be watchful over our hearts, apply them to wisdom and ‘tend the garden’ of our spiritual lives.

The LORD then declares, “Who has ears to hear, let him hear,” which He says repeatedly throughout His ministry (Matt. 11: 15; Mark 4:9, 23; 7:16; Luke 8:8; 14:35 as well as several times in the book of Revelation: 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22).

Once He completes the parable and explains the reason why He speaks in parables to the disciples, He then explains the meaning behind it beginning in verse 19; let’s go over each scenario one at a time:


SCENARIO #1) STOLEN SEED –


The LORD said that some seed fell by the wayside and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. Here is the spiritual meaning:


~ 19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. ~


First of all, in each case, the sower sows seed and this is representative of the Word of God, as described elsewhere in Scripture:
ISAIAH 55:9-11

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.


Seeds are fascinating devices of God’s creation; encoded in these little capsules is the genetic information which is entirely complete for the reproduction of that particular life form, whether you’re talking about palm trees or poodles; humans or hogs or hay. In relating the Word of God to seed which when planted in the ground begins to germinate and become active in the production of life, we understand that this Divine Seed will produce in the heart that is receptive and seeking, Divine Life akin to that Life that is in the LORD Jesus Christ; in fact in essence it is the same Life!

The Word of the Spirit when received will bring forth the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and will work “effectually” in those that receive and believe:

1 THESSALONIANS 2:13
For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

The enemy of the church, Satan, hates Christians and the life we possess in Jesus Christ. Further, he disdains the idea of losing his blind slaves of darkness (2 Cor. 4:4) to the LORD of LIGHT, and such slaves are freed when once they believe and receive the Gospel Truth – and so wherever this “Seed” is planted, he ever seeks to snatch it away as depicted by these “fowls” in the parable. Note where the seed lay: “by the way side” which suggests apathy towards the Word of God, a carelessness that would leave it there and not kept and treasured.

Fowls are typically representative of satanic/demonic forces. One of the first mentions of fowls in the Scripture was when Abram as preparing the sacrifices of animals for a covenant with God – he had to chase fowls away that would eat up the dead carcasses (Gen. 15:11); in the book of Revelation we see that the false church, the Mother of Harlots, Babylon is full of such (demonic) things (Rev. 18:2).


May we chase away any demonic fowl that would seek to steal (and kill and destroy; John 10: 10a) the work and Word of God that the LORD seeks to fulfill in our lives and the lives of others!

Likewise may we be ever vigilant in our intercessory prayers for those we are seeking to evangelize because this is the very sum and substance of spiritual warfare – we are wrestling with these demonic forces (Eph. 6:12) that are seeking to steal away the Word from sinners we are actively seeking to win to Christ! Note that it’s the ones that don’t understand the Word that get the seed snatched from them by the enemy; thus let us seek the LORD in prayer that those we preach the Gospel to, will receive spiritual/supernatural understanding by the Spirit of God, because left to our own carnal/natural devices we cannot understand the things of God (1 Cor. 2:14).



SCENARIO #2) THE SEED and STONY PLACES –

The LORD in the second scenario describes the seed being sown among stony places where there was not much earth; the seed sprang up prematurely and was scorched by the sun, not having any depth of root. Here is the spiritual meaning:

~ 20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. ~

Note here that the Word of God is received quickly and with joy; there is an initial excitement for the work of the LORD being done in the life of such an individual, but there is a problem – he has no root in himself. What does this mean?

Just as it’s difficult for seedlings to flourish in stony ground without the nutrients in an adequate amount of soil, so too without a depth of the “Root of Jesse” that is, the LORD Jesus Christ (Isaiah 11:1, 10; Ez. 36:26) in our hearts, we cannot hope to endure in our spiritual life. I submit that the excited reception with joy was not a whole hearted reception, but because of the ‘stony ground’ that is, hardness of heart, the seed becomes impotent in accomplishing what it’s meant for: spiritual life and fruitfulness in the heart of a believer.


The sufferings and injustices in life can cause us to become bitter, cold, indifferent and hardened of heart; such may even lay accusation against God for the wrongs they have suffered and in such a state, the reception of the Word of God is hardly accommodated.

Such struggles and sufferings may develop ‘trust issues’ in such hearts to the point where we find it difficult, well nigh impossible to trust in God with our very lives.

This is why its important that we lay all bitterness and heart issues that prove detrimental to our spiritual growth aside:

EPHESIANS 4: 30 – 31
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:


We must ask the LORD to plow up the soil of our hearts, the fallow earth that can become as hard as rock (fallow ground is so dry and hard that any rain fall will simply run off and not penetrate the soil, thus making it impossible for it to produce growth); may the Sword of the Spirit like a hammer, break the hardness of heart and yield the soft soil to the Seed as He intends (Jeremiah 23:29; Heb. 4:12). The LORD is well able to perform this work and turn a hardened heart soft, pliable and receptive – again, great cause for intercessory prayer for our loved ones, neighbors and all for the LORD to accomplish this work!


JEREMIAH 4:3
3 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.



HOSEA 10: 12-13

12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

13 Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.

Note that in both quotes above, the LORD commands the people to break up their own hardened hearts – while it is the LORD’s operation to do so, He waits upon us (Isaiah 30:18) to yield ourselves to His work, and once yielded, He performs what only He can!

HEBREWS 3: 7-9, 14 – 15:
7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,

8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:

9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.

14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.

(Also consider – 1 Sam. 6:6; Ps. 95: 8; Mark 8: 17; Heb. 4:7). In each case in the context of these Scriptures, the issue is that of unbelief that leads to a hardening of the heart:

HEBREWS 3: 12

Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

We tend to think of unbelief as merely a weakness, but according to this verse above, it’s actually born of an evil heart – but why is this?

Simply because the same God that has made countless promises in His Word is also a God of Truth, and for any to express unbelief, is dishonoring God and thinking of Him as untrustworthy, unreliable, and untruthful.

Let us seek God for believing faith, while remembering that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17); so let us drench ourselves in God’s Word!


The LORD is able to do His work in our hearts and then the soil becomes good; the heart is softened, receptive, yielded and willingly surrendered so that the seed will penetrate down to the necessary depths where in time, it will germinate and spring to spiritual life, with the Root of Jesse firmly planted in the depths and able to nourish that spiritual life.


Yet if that hardened heart is not dealt with, then it’s only a matter of time before persecution or tribulation arrives, and because of such troubles, the person is offended and abandons this life and relents of the work that the LORD sought to perform in them.

A lack of depth in this Root is very much the same idea as presented elsewhere in Matthew’s Gospel regarding the houses built on the Rock or the sand. The house not built on the Rock (the LORD JESUS CHRIST; Matt. 16:18) will fall when the storms of life – be they persecution or troubles of various kinds – arrive.

So whether Root or Rock, we must be fully committed to the LORD and allow our hearts to fully yield to Him; and if one doesn’t know how to yield, the LORD knows what you must do – ASK HIM!


SCENARIO #3) THE SEED and THORNY PLACES –


In this third scenario the LORD describes a situation in which the seeds fall among thorns and they sprang up and choked those seeds. Here is the spiritual meaning:

~ 22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. ~


In this case we see that the person does indeed hear the Word, but that Word is choked out; suffocating by crowding together, strangling the Word with these thorns. Of course thorns speak of cursing, pain and sin (Gen. 3:18) and in context of this passage, anything is a curse indeed that causes the Word of God to be choked out of our lives! In this case it’s the “cares of this world” and “the deceitfulness of riches”.

The entire world is under the curse of sin, and so much of what we are involved with is laborious and fraught with hardships in trying to provide a living, struggling with finances, illnesses, family strife, broken relationships, etc. and as well as these burdensome things we seek relief from them and so engage in the pursuit of happiness and ‘fun times’ with activities that appeal to the flesh – it’s the TGIF mentality where humans ‘cut loose’ and get intoxicated, seek out sexual encounters and all sorts of illicit pleasures. Sin is, according to the Bible “pleasurable” . . . but only for a season; then there comes the bitter harvest of destruction and death (in all of its forms). All of these are “cares” or distractions that keep our focus off of the Word of God and spiritual matters of the Kingdom. There are even legitimate “cares” that in themselves are not wrong, but the ‘wrongness’ is when they are allowed a place of pre-eminence over the Kingdom of God.


The LORD Jesus stated in –
MATTHEW 6: 24 - 34
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (To hold a confidence in and avarice for the riches of this world).

25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

And there is the priority for the child of God – not to allow themselves to be distracted away from the LORD and His Kingdom by the pursuit of wealth, or even anxious worrying about getting one’s physical needs met – but to make the Word and obedience to it the number one priority and consideration above all others.

Elsewhere in Scripture Paul mentions this:


1 TIMOTHY 6: 9 - 11
9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.


The distractions and cares of this world that are chased by people who seek out riches and having a love of money (indeed, the very root of “all” evil the Bible says, which leads to “temptations, snares, foolish, hurtful lusts, destruction, perdition . . .” and the “piercing . . . through with many sorrows) are carnal, which we who are saints are to “flee these things” and rather follow “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness” – the very stuff of the Kingdom of God!

Yet there are even so-called Christians (in the Word-Faith Movement) who claim that by faith we ought to be blessed with such worldly pleasures and treasures as these; Paul addresses this in the same passage a bit earlier:


1 TIMOTHY 6: 3 - 8
3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;

4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,

5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

So in all three of these scenarios perils and problems arise and bring about a state of unfruitfulness in the hearts of those that God would seek blessing for, by way of such fruit (and the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5: 22-23) is the greatest of blessing, which is “love”; this is the “greatest of these” other spiritual treasures of faith and hope (1 Cor. 13: 13))!


John the Baptist declared:
MATTHEW 3: 10
10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Do you suppose that it’s a serious matter with God that we produce fruit for His glory? Look at the end result of those “trees” (representative of people) that don’t produce any; yes, this is a very serious matter with the LORD God!


For the saint, the production of spiritual fruit is something that brings honor to the LORD, and we of course desire that He would be pleased with us and blessed by our lives which are devoted to and saved by the LORD Jesus Christ, amen? And this leads us to the fourth and final scenario:



SCENARIO #4) THE SEED and GOOD GROUND –

The LORD then speaks of the seed falling into good ground and brings forth fruit to varying degrees. Here is the spiritual meaning:


~ 23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ~


This is one who like the other that had the stony grounded heart, heard the Word, but unlike the one where the seed lay by the wayside, understood it. They remain in the place of reception and allow the Word to do its work unimpeded by hard hearted unbelief or the multitudinous distractions of this fallen, sinful world. They bring forth fruit to different degrees – some a hundred, others sixty and still others thirty. All blessed and rewarded for their obedience to the LORD as in another passage in which faithful stewardship was praised and rewarded by the Head of the Church (Luke 19: 12 – 26).

Remember that the seed of the Word contains in it all of that which pertains to the Word Incarnate – the character and blessedness as found in the Person of Jesus Christ Himself. So let the seed of God’s Word be abundantly sown and do not be sparing (2 Cor. 9:6)!


One might not produce as much fruit as another believer, but take heart – the LORD will still reward according to faithfulness and not according to quantity, but quality.
In closing, let us consider this last passage as found in the Gospel of John:


JOHN 15: 1 - 8
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

I am prayerfully considering a Part Two for this article that will exposite this portion of Scripture that speaks of Jesus Christ, the True Vine and His fruitful saints. Until such a time as that, may the LORD continue to bless and keep you (Numbers 6: 24-25); may the LORD grant wisdom in inspecting (2 Cor. 13:5) and tending your spiritual garden so that you may aptly weed out the thorns, dig up any stony earth, and remain vigilant in guarding your heart from the enemy who would steal the precious seed of God’s Word from your lives!

IN JESUS NAME, AMEN!

For an article that relates to our growing in the LORD and becoming more like Him, which is vital in these last days of apostasy, check out the following article by Anne Kisly at TTUF:

LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS - A FEW WORDS ABOUT CHARACTER

PRODIGAL SONS - Part 2

We have two sons in this story of the prodigal son (singular) and it is my contention that in a very real sense, there were actually two prodigal sons. The younger son made the bold and unwise decision to leave his father, his family and the blessed life in which perpetual relationship, not merely provisional riches were forsaken.


The elder brother is the focus on the second half of this article.

To any that would observe this young man, he was doing everything right. He, compared to his younger brother, exhibited nothing but commendable behavior and was no doubt, readily received by family and friends (and presumably by the LORD Himself) as an honorable man.

Yet just as the Word tells us that man looks upon the outward, the LORD looks upon the heart (1 Sam. 16:7); no one really knows the human heart (not even The Shadow!) as our LORD knows the human heart and all of its ways (Jeremiah 11:20; 17:9-10).

Thus the LORD would tell us a very different story about this elder brother than his family and other associates would tell. Eventually even the elder son shows his own heart and its cold condition, for indeed, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45).


Getting back to the younger son for a moment, once he came to his senses and realized he had sinned against heaven and the LORD that reigns there, he repented as he returned to his father’s home. Note that the father was standing watch, and waiting (and certainly praying fervently!) for the return of his son; yet where is the elder brother? Was he not concerned for the welfare of his younger brother?

Once the father catches sight of his son, he doesn’t merely wait for his approach, but takes the initiative and runs out to meet him. He would have had to gird up his robe so that he wouldn’t trip over it as he ran; some say that in that culture it was a shame for a man to expose his bare legs, but the father disregards such shame.


Also, since the prodigal son had wasted his father’s living in sinful conduct, he risked humiliation at the hands of the people of his father’s town as the custom was that if any departed from the faith, they could pronounce such a one as ‘broken from the community’ and shattered a clay jar on his presence to demonstrate their rejection of him.

The father, wanting to spare his son that humiliation would want to intervene before the people had a chance to do so.

Such is the Father’s love for us, desiring to save us before the Law could rightfully condemn us and destroy any chance of reconciliation, but condemn in justice those who had sinned against God.


Yet we see no such indication of grace from the elder brother; he only has a sense of justice and how he himself was dealt with unfairly.


Yet here we have another prodigal, who did not yet have the prodigious wealth that was his due one day, but he was prodigal nonetheless! And how was he so blessed with riches unseen to the naked eye as with gold and silver and fine clothes (as his younger brother no doubt enjoyed while off in the wild life)? He was indeed prodigal, and truly blessed (if he knew it) with the ever present fellowship of his father! And in dwelling in peace in his father’s house, afforded every privilege and right as a son – these are in fact, the true riches and remain untarnished by the elements of this world!

Let’s have a look at the situation:

Where we left off before, we saw the prodigal son in contrition and humility confessing his sin, but the father calls for the best robe, shoes for his feet, and a ring for his finger; further he calls for a feast and orders the fatted calf to be slain. In the midst of such celebration with joy filling the father’s heart as well as the son, and the household servants, the elder brother returns from the field, having spent his strength in the labors associated with it. Fatigued and in need of rest and refreshment, he hears a ruckus in the house.



LUKE 15: 25-28

25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.

26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.

27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.

28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.

Putting ourselves in the elder brother’s shoes for a moment: what if a younger brother of yours did what this man’s brother did by showing utter disrespect towards your father, and contempt for the riches that were labored for so diligently by wasting them? Not to mention the fact that the inheritance was to be divided in such a way that the first born was to get a double portion! NOW what would be his inheritance?

What if such dishonor was known throughout the community and as you went about your business in town, you caught the disapproving eye of others as they spied on you. Perhaps they wondered if you would be next to abandon your father.

Yet you dutifully continue in your duties and labored for your father and who’s to say that you weren’t very concerned yourself for your brother’s welfare – at least at first. Then time and brooding took their toll and you begin to resent your brother who was out there having fun, while you bore the brunt of the labors amidst the sweat and grime in laboring in the fields under the burning sun.

Now we consider this parable and can see perhaps, some justification for the elder brother’s offense. The wayward son returned and this is what he receives?? A party with music, dancing and a feast??

He was so angry – not at all joyful – at the return of his brother and the reception he gets; he refused to even go into the house; of course the servants let the master know that his elder son is outside and angry. So what does the father do? Once again, he is the one to take the initiative and seek out his son. His father “intreated him” the Scripture says. He desired to draw him near to fellowship and implored him to join them.
Then we hear the elder son speak for the first time, and what he says is most telling:

LUKE 15: 29-30

29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:

30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.



The elder son is quick to point out his years of faithful service and is bold enough to declare that he never transgressed his father’s commandment “at any time” – if this were not so, the father would know it – and he complains that his father never once gave him a feast that he would “make merry” with . . . who? The elder brother’s friends; how interesting that he would choose his friends, rather than his beloved father, as company to have a feast with.

Such a feast in the elder brother’s mind would be payment due for all the duties faithfully performed for his father. Such is the way of the legalist who recounts all that he has done for God: “I have read Your Bible, five chapters a day! Prayed every morning and night and at every meal! I go to church regularly! I share my testimony and the gospel, I give to charities, I do visitations at hospitals and prisons – and now I lose my job?? THIS is the thanks I get for all I do for You, God?”


The legalist knows nothing about receiving the grace of God, nor the depths of one’s own sinful nature and feels no great need of forgiveness. The same who is forgiven little, the same loves little.


And then what does the elder brother have to say about his sinful sibling? He can’t even bring himself to call this young man his brother! Note verse 30, where he says, “But as soon as this thy son was come . . .” So cold was his heart that it reflected in his work – it was duty rather than joy; it reflected in his relationship with his father – it was more of a business relationship than a familial one; it reflected in his relationship with his brother – he was only “his father’s son” and not a brother. No doubt it reflected in his relationship with the LORD as well – he was without any grace or compassion or mercy.

Such are eager to accuse, to judge, to blame and find fault and then reject with contempt, rather than seeking restoration and healing for those who are wayward and in rebellion.


Let’s hear what the father’s response is to this:


LUKE 15: 31-32

31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.

32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

The father reassures the son that his inheritance is untouched; that everything is kept safe in his hands and ready to be received at the appointed time. Too often we as Christians expect immediate return, but it’s a good reminder that our inheritance is forthcoming in the kingdom that is yet to arrive. If God delays in His blessings for us (even if that delay is as long as this life) it only means greater blessing!

The father states “thou art ever with me” and this is from the father’s perspective: he sees the elder brother in that light which reveals his ultimate end and not the process the son is going through now – the Father of the LORD Jesus Christ sees us in the light of eternity, not in our present condition – even if that condition is presently cold and unfeeling. The plow will do its work and cut deep the fallow ground that requires the seed and resulting fruit.

The father in the parable gently reproves his elder son and says that it was acceptable to celebrate the return of the wayward son who once was lost but now is found; he was who was dead but is now alive.

Note that the younger son was never at any time ‘not’ his son; he never lost his ‘son-ship’ but was only lost, and if dead, then dead in the sense of separation from fellowship with the father, and not dead in his present condition, for he was still a part of the family, albeit rebellious and unreceptive of love, grace, correction and restoration.

We do well to remember that if any of us are in a fault and wayward in our faith, we ought to be restored not with harshness and judgmental attitudes, but with firm conviction delivered in meekness and gentleness, brimming over with grace and truth, and the same love that the Father grants to us when we repent of our own sins.

GALATIANS 6:1
Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.


So in closing, may I ask which prodigal son (or daughter) are you? One who was adrift from the close fellowship with the Father in an overt sense – backslidden for all to see, engaged in illicit activities and observable sin?

Or one who has grown cold in a covert sense? Still attending church, still reading the Bible, praying, and engaged in all things Christian with a sense of duty but with no heart behind it?

One who honors God with your lips, but your heart is far from Him (Matt. 15:8)? I must admit that I have at different times in my walk grown cold, left attending to my Father in a tender and affectionate relationship and inwardly left Him behind. To look at me, one could never see (unless you looked with an eye of discernment) that I was adrift, but the LORD always knew, and likewise knew exactly what to do in order to restore me.


Others I know are or were like the younger son; whose backslidings are quite observable. In my mind, while this condition is a lot more alarming and filled with peril of a palpable sort, it’s the other (the condition of the elder brother) that is more dangerous, for such ones as these could deceive themselves for all their outward show that they were acceptable to God and are in no way committing sin. Such is the way of the Pharisee – hypocrisy and double standards, judgmental of others while accepting of oneself; self righteous and holier than thou (Isaiah 65:5).

In either case, repentance is necessary. And we never need fear what our Father may do with us once we do repent, even if we fear the worst as his younger son may have thought when he saw his father running after him. Perhaps he thought, “My life is over; he’s going to kill me.” That is, until he could see his father’s tear streaked face, and his arms began to open wide to receive him in a loving embrace.

Finally, here is a presentation of a modern day Prodigal Son you might enjoy reading!

As I have said before… God sprints to show us His mercy; He drags His feet to bring in the heaviness of judgment. May the LORD preserve us from ever straying from His beloved and Almighty heart of love and grace and truth, as only our ALMIGHTY GOD Whose Heart is that of a True FATHER can do for us, His beloved children!

TWO PRODIGAL SONS - Pt. 1 of 2

We have all read about the prodigal son, but have we considered that there was actually more than one in the biblical story as told by the LORD in Luke ch. 15?

First of all, let’s look at what the word “prodigal” means. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, prodigal is defined as:
“Rashly or wastefully extravagant; marked by rash or wasteful extravagance; a prodigal life. Giving or given in abundance; lavish or profuse; one given to wasteful luxury or extravagance.”

That certainly would seem to apply to the younger son of the father in this parable; but what about the elder son who remained with his father? How would he be considered as a ‘prodigal son’?
That we shall see, but let’s have a look at this parable and examine what it reveals.

Luke Ch. 15: 11-32 - The prodigal son parable

11 And he said, A certain man had two sons:
12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

Just prior to this parable the LORD gave a few other parables, and the two immediately before the prodigal son were the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin. In both cases the shepherd and the woman found that which was lost. Likewise the younger son was lost but then was found (Lk. 15: 32) and so the end of the stories are blessings indeed.

As this parable starts out, the younger brother is living with his father, elder brother and the entire household. All seemed well, until one day the younger son asks for his share of the inheritance. This was entirely inappropriate as this was that which he would inherit upon his father’s death. However, the father graciously grants that which was asked for.

The son was not content with life at home; his relationship with his father appeared to be distant and without intimacy or fulfillment. He hadn’t cultivated a meaningful fellowship with his father that would result in an abiding and growing love; he didn’t seek a depth of relationship with the one that loved him so very dearly.

Rather, what the son wanted was blessings from his father, rather than the blessing of his father himself. Once he procured this vast wealth, he set off “not many days after” which strongly suggests that he had a plan all along.

When the Christian backslides, it’s never ‘by accident’ but by willful and unwise choices. We know that wise choices tend to lead to more wise choices and unwise choices tend to lead to more unwise choices. If one chooses one road rather than another, it’s a matter of course that one will move farther long that way, and meet with whatever may be found on that road, whether good or bad.

So this younger son made the choice to leave home and make a life for himself apart from his father and family. Then what happened? He traveled through the neighborhood and found a home to live in, just a stone’s throw away? No!
He traveled to a different country! “A far country”! It would seem that this unwise son wanted a life as far away from his father as possible. Such is the way with a backslider, one who once walked with the LORD but has turned away.

They desire to get as far away from the LORD, as far away from the Bible and prayer and church; as far away from any godly people and fellowship as they possibly can. They are no longer comfortable ‘at home’ but seek out that country that is indeed “far” from the kingdom of God – that is, the world – this world whose children are of that “spirit of disobedience” and of “darkness” that is diametrically opposed to the will of God, and to such an extreme that any who choose to become friends with this rebel planet and its philosophy is considered an enemy of God!

Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (Eph. 5:8; 1 Thess. 5:5).

James 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

What was it that drew the younger son away from his father’s house and to that “far country” anyways? It was carnality, the unspiritual drives and lusts for sin that the sinful nature craves and despises anything that is godly, of the Light of God’s Spirit, of His Holy Word – that fallen sinful nature which we have all inherited from our father Adam that if left unchecked in the life of even a Christian, will propel them into perilous corruption:

Romans 8:6-8
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Galatians 6:7-8
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

This is why it’s so important, vitally important that in this contest between our own will and the will of God, the Christian must “die to self” and identify ourselves in the death of Christ (Rom. 6:2-6, 11; 8:36; 2 Cor. 4:11; Gal. 2:20; 5:24; Col. 2:20; 3:3; 1 Peter 2:24), and in so doing allow His life to manifest in us. Concerning our self-will and obstinate determination for our own way and not God’s, read what Oswald Chambers said of the matter:

How Could Someone So Persecute Jesus?

Let’s continue in the prodigal son parable:

LUKE 15: 14-16
14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.

One gets the impression that the lot of inheritance granted to the younger brother was rather substantial. Such is the grace and tender kindness of the LORD, His generosity towards His children is unparalleled by any other father. It took some time for his financial resources to dwindle, but it was not replenished because he was in that “far country” and not at home with his father where he belonged, where he would have known continual renewal in provisions.

When left outside of his father’s influences, the wayward son was left vulnerable and subject to the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” as Hamlet once said, and the tremendous misfortunes, misery, mishaps and melancholy that is part and parcel to this world of sorrow and sin.

So likewise when a child of God leaves a life governed by the Spirit, he is left outside of the Father’s domain of holiness and such an obstinate, self-ruled child cannot experience fellowship with the LORD and His love (though the LORD loves them still!).

Such a child knows enough of the LORD that he is never entirely comfortable to be back in the world, and enough of the world is still in him that he is never entirely comfortable with the LORD and His people.

Nothing ends up satisfying them and they begin to experience the famine of the heart . . . just as this son did.

A famine struck and there was no longer the lavish provision from the Father, but even the ordinary provision normally found in that “far land” were gone and he was left with barrenness. He “began to be in want” as opposed to those who remain with the Shepherd where they will know no such want (Psalm 23:1). So desperate was he to merely survive that he joined with a citizen of that “far land” in an unholy union between believer and unbeliever (which the Word admonishes us against – 2 Cor. 6: 14-17) and he began to look with hunger on pig slop, so deficient was he in proper nourishment!

Nothing of this world will ever satisfy the soul. This world, spiritually speaking is a barren desert bereft of life and vitality. As I have often said before in the acronym of O.A.S.I.S. – Only the Almighty Savior Immanuel Satisfies: “In a world of empty, sinful mirages, amidst the barren, bleak desert of parched souls, there is an OASIS”.

When all the while the LORD would desire the souls that He has made bountiful in spiritual health as found only in Him and His Spirit, such terrible blindness in sinners disallows them to see the ‘pig slop’ for what it is, and it can even begin to look desirable! The very fact that the famine struck in that “far land” at that time when the wayward son was living riotously and in rebellion against the father, speaks of God’s Almighty power and grace.

He provides such with the intent of bringing that disobedient child to their senses and makes the return home!

LUKE 15: 17-19
17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

There comes a time when the child of God, rebellious and obstinate and disobedient as they may be to the Word of the LORD, comes to realize the truth; that there is truly nothing in this world that is fulfilling, and certainly not a life of sensuality and pleasure. Even a nobler life of service and social responsibility will prove futile in bringing fulfillment.

Nothing will bring fulfillment to a person except for the very purpose that God created all souls for; until that purpose is fulfilled, the person themselves will never know fulfillment. The purpose of all souls is to glorify God and have a meaningful relationship with Him as our Father, through the grace of Jesus Christ and the propitiation for our sins that He obtained for us by His shed blood on the cross.

How much more so, should this purpose be the very heartbeat, the very conviction, the very compulsion of His child! Here we have this prodigal son coming to reason and he knows he has violated his father’s will, and “sinned against heaven” – he knows that he is unworthy of his father and his home, so he humbles himself with the offer to become nothing so high as a hired servant.

This is so contrary to the haughty son who demanded his inheritance before the acceptable time; we see here that his time away from the father had accomplished the work of humility in his young heart.

Such are all who humble themselves before the LORD; for those who will do this, they have the sure promise that the LORD will exalt them – in due time (1 Ptr 5:5-7).


LUKE 15: 20-24
20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

I have often said that “God drags His feet to bring judgment . . . but He sprints to deliver His mercies!” Here we have this very picture in the parable. The son was yet “a great way off” but the father saw him.

One can well imagine that though the distance was great, the father’s heart was yearning so, that he kept a diligent watch out for his son daily. Only a vigilant eye such as this, governed by a heart of sublime love and compassion for his beloved would catch sight of one so “great [a] way off”!

He didn’t wait for his son to come groveling in the dust and beg and plead for forgiveness . . . no, he ran to meet him, and not with a scathing rebuke but with a heartfelt embrace of loving warmth that was as warm as the grateful tears that must have fallen on his beloved son’s neck! The Father’s heart is such for His children.

I have tasted such powerful emotions that the Father has for His wayward children. I have known young disciples who once walked with the LORD and myself, but have since returned to the world (2 Tim. 4:10).
There have been times when I would wake myself with tears and prayer on my lips, interceding for those lost souls. When I considered the emotions I was experiencing I realized that this was not merely my own grief: I was feeling the very heart of God, and His agony for His own that refuse Him (See Proverbs 1) and prefer the way of this world.

This gave me serious pause and I wondered, “Lord, the times that I have been distant, and cold towards You… is this the way You felt for me? Have I caused You such pain as this?” I understood without a word from the LORD that this was in fact, the case.

My heart broke afresh for this realization and I could do nothing but repent before the LORD for this.

The son makes his confession of unworthiness of ‘sonship’, but such was the joy of the father, that he immediately seeks out his servants to adorn his son with “the best robe” and a ring and shoes for his feet. Likewise for the LORD’s repentant, returning children who have learned humility and humbleness, He adorns us anew with the robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10) and brings to us a ring for our hand, denoting family and often royal authority in that culture – such is given to us who are God’s children and heirs of the Kingdom of God (Eph. 1:6; Rom. 8:17). Shoes are granted to us by the LORD, shod with the preparation of the Gospel which alone enables us to walk righteously with unbroken steadfastness (Rom. 8:4; Gal. 5:16, 25).

If all the angels of heaven rejoice when a sinner is saved (Lk. 15:7), what celebration erupts in heaven if one who once walked with the LORD returns to that blessed life of vitality and victory?

Such is the earnest, fiery prayer of my own heart: to see those that I have known to walk with the LORD but have left Him, whether overtly (in a life that has observably forsaken the right way) or covertly (by one who has allowed their hearts to grow cold to the LORD while maintaining all of the outward show) return to our glorious, gracious and majestic and merciful LORD, Jesus Christ!