This is the last post. We hope that you found these short messages and Scripture readings helpful. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need any help on how to continue to grow in your relationship with Jesus or anything else you may need.
But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. Luke 8:15
There are three things we must do with the Word of God planted in our hearts in order for it to bear fruit
Keep hearing the Word - we need to be constantly fed by truth of the Word of God which transforms our way of thinking by reading Scripture and other spiritual books. You can also read past articles from the Youth Fellowship website (scroll to the end of the current article to find the archives) - Look up Luke 24:13-35 and read how Jesus meets the discouraged disciples of Emmaus and feeds them with the Word of God and the Eucharist.
Obey the Word of God - we need to put into practice what the Lord is telling us in His Word. This is the process of growth which never really stops. Look up James 1:22
Persevere in the ways of God - keep close to Jesus, the only way we can bear fruit. Never give up! - Look up John 15:1-7
God bless you and thank you for attending Come and See 2009. We do hope to see you at our meetings.
The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. Luke 8:14
Jesus tells us that it is important that we remain focused; he mentions three things which can ‘choke’ the Word of God in us and prevent it from bearing fruit. So we have to do some ‘good’ gardening especially in Lent to remove the thorns for our lives and take care of our spiritual life.
The three thorn bushes which need to be regularly uprooted are
Fretting about the things of this world which leaves us with no time to cultivate our relationship with God - Look up Matthew 6:26-34
The love of material riches and possessions which lead us to neglect our relationship with God and to make material things our idols - Look up 1 Tim 6:10
Living for momentary pleasures which leads us to using God’s gifts selfishly and as we want rather than as He created them to be used - Look up Galatians 5:19-23
We continue today with the parable of the seeds. The next type of people that are described are those who rely only feelings not on faith. When we are on a retreat and experience the love of God, it is right for us to get enthusiastic about it. However our relationship with God does not stop there. It need to be taken care of and cultivated otherwise it can wither away.
Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture…Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. Luke 8:6, 13
How are we to be rooted? Remememebr these important things
Regular communication with the Lord in Prayer - Look up Matt 6:6
Regular reading of the Word of God -Look up Ps 119:105
Regular reception of the Eucharist -Look up John 6:35
Regular fellowship with other who are taking their relationship with God seriously - 1 Thess 5:11
On Sunday morning in ‘Come and See’ we mentioned that God wants the type of wedding where you are his spouse, not a guest. The Lord sent His word in our hearts once again and like a seed it needs time to grow. However we have to make sure that the condtions are right. Jesus tells us a parable about the for types of soil which we shall be look into in the coming days. Today we start with the first type.
A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” Luke 8:7
This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Luke 8:12
The devil is a liar, he deceives us into believing that God does not really want our best and that sin is not too bad. However his ways lead to darkness and death and so we need to be aware that he is a thief who tries to steal what God has given us. He cannot do this without our co-operation. So we need the strength of the Holy Spirit to be able to resist his lies and the temptation to sin.
Look up John 10:10, James 4:7 and Ephesians 6:10 onwards
In the Scripture passage we used last Saturday afternoon in ‘Come and See’, four men lower the paralytic before Jesus (Mark 2:1-12). This was indeed a risky thing to do. First of all, it’s not the safest thing to cut a hole in someone’s roof and expect to get away with it; then it was risky because as the man was being lowered from that height he may easily have rolled off and fallen down on the people below; and last of all, it was rude to interrupt a Rabbi when he was teaching the people. Yet they did and their faith quickly got Jesus attention. The interesting thing is that they asked for healing of the paralysis of the body when Jesus saw that the man was paralysed in his soul because of his sin. So he dealt with the most important thing first. In this time of Lent, the Lord wants to do the same thing with us. He wants us to recognise that the worst thing that can happen to us is to live in grave sin, away from His grace. So Lent is a time of conversion and of , of asking forgiveness with faith in Jesus’ mercy - then we can really hear Jesus tell us ‘Get up and walk’.
Both Zacchaeus and Bartimeus had their fair share of problems. Zacc had all that money could buy except the love and acceptance he craved for. Bart was a blind beggar who begged for money and for mercy. He may have got a bit of the former not much of the latter - when he shouted out his prayer to Jesus they all tried to shut him up. However their problems worked in their favour when Jesus came onto the scene. Zacchaeus found that his tree ‘became a tree of life’ because it was there that the Saviour found him. The same people who tried to shut Bartimeus up were told by Jesus ‘bring him here.’ So do not despair, or lose heart. God can use the very problems, difficult situations and discouraging voices that surround us to spur us on to look for him…and realise in a deeper way that all along He is the one who is looking for us.
God works all things for our good - Look up Romans 8:29
Jesus’ cross became the tree of life through which we, like Zacchaeus, can receive forgiveness for our sins - Look up John 3:16 and 1 John 4:9-10
Jesus told Zacchaeus that he wanted to go to his house and have dinner with him. Eating with someone is a sign of intimate friendship and this is what prayer invites us to. Look up Revelation (Apocalypse) 3:20
Bartimeus was in great need and even through he was blind he was the one who saw that Jesus could really help him. He cried out ‘Have mercy on me’. The Lord who ‘isrich in mercy‘ Eph. 2:4 wants us to lift our prayers to Him. Look up Luke 11:1-13 and Philippians 4:5-7
In the weekend we spoke about Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus. In fact it was not Zacchaeus who was really looking for Jesus but Jesus who was looking for him, as He does with us. If Zach had a computer he would have certainly been one of those who would have looked up answers for ‘fear of …intimacy, rejection and people’ in his google search. The Only One who can help us overcome these fears and give us the truth about who we are is Jesus.
Lloyd Douglas in his book ‘The Robe’ pictures Jesus saying, “Zacchaeus, what led you to come down from the tree?”Zacchaeus, answered, “Master, when I looked into your eyes, I saw there mirrored the Zacchaeus I was intended to be.”
This is also true for us. The Word of God is the place where we look into the right mirror and get back a reflection of who we are to the Lord, an inner picture of our true identity.
On Friday evening, we mentioned that our image of God is very important. Often ‘God’ is used as a title like we use the title ‘President’. However our God reveals His name, a name which shows who He is:
He is our Abba Father - Look up Romans chapter 8 verse 15 and Galatians chapter 4 verse 6
He is Jesus, ‘God saves’ - Look up Matthew chapter 1 verse 21 and Acts chapter 2 verse 38
Ask the Lord to help you remember this especially in difficult times and to give you the grace to trust Him always with your whole life.
Hope you are doing well! We are glad that you made it to this year’s Come and See and hope that the experience will be helpful for you in your relationship with Jesus. As promised we will be posting some follow-up messages and Scripture everyday for the coming two weeks. Feel free to leave your own comments or questions.
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