Believers Report
Believers Fellowship Ministries ~ 180 Old Stone Road ~ Sturgis, SD 57785
(605) 347-4866 www.believers.us.com
July/August 2009
Volume 6 Issue 4
©2009
Page 2
Believers
Report
Volume 6 Issue 4
The Parable of the Sower Plus By Fred Wilson
John 10:10 (AMP)
10
The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life,
and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).
Mark 4:13-20 (AMP)
13
And He said to them, Do you not discern and understand this parable? How then is it possible for
you to discern and understand all the parables?
Meditate on this statement and what it says about our understanding of the principles of the
kingdom that Jesus related through the parables.
14
The sower sows the Word.
A sower sows seeds. The purpose of seed is to germinate, to grow, and to produce. In the
natural however, not all seeds are capable of fulfilling this purpose. If you were to look at the
label on a sack of seeds, you would see a breakdown of the contents. The label would list the
percentage of the contents, it would include; the desired seed, other seeds (weeds, etc.), inert
matter (dirt, etc.), and whatever else might be included to comprise 100% of the contents. Also
included would be a germination rate, a statement of what percentage of the desired seed was
“live” and would actually germinate and try to grow.
In this parable, Jesus said the seed that was being sown was the Word of God. If the Word
came in a seed sack, you would see this statement on the label: Contents – 100% Pure Live
Seed, Germination Rate – 100%. The soil (environment) this seed is being sown in is the hearts
of those who are being exposed to the Word. The purpose of God’s Word (as seed) is to produce results.
Isaiah 55:10-11 (NASB) 10 "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do
not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed
to the sower and bread to the eater;11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It
will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in
the matter for which I sent it.
15
The ones along the path are those who have the Word sown [in their hearts], but when they hear,
Satan comes at once and [by force] takes away the message which is sown in them.
“The thief comes only in order to steal….”
Satan steals the Word before it has the opportunity to germinate and to take root in their heart.
Once a seed germinates, and begins developing a root system, it becomes increasingly more
difficult to dislodge the plant from the soil. Therefore, the best time for Satan to stop the Word
from affecting someone’s life is before it takes root in them.
Believers
Report
Volume 6 Issue 4
Page 3
… continued from page 2 Parable
16
And in the same way the ones sown upon stony ground are those who, when they hear the Word, at once
receive and accept and welcome it with joy; 17 And they have no real root in themselves, and so they endure
for a little while; then when trouble or persecution arises on account of the Word, they immediately are offended (become displeased, indignant, resentful) and they
stumble and fall away.
Offend: Transliteration: skandalizō
ciation: skan-dal-id'-zo
Phonetic Pronun-
(“scandalize”); from (skandalon); to entrap, i.e. trip up
(figurative stumble [transitive] or entice to sin, apostasy or
displeasure) :- (make to) offend.
—Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary
Apostasy: is the formal religious disaffiliation or abandonment or renunciation of one's religion, the term refers to renunciation and criticism of, or opposition to, one's former
religion. This is a personal choice to turn away from, or to
turn against, the religious beliefs that were held.
“The thief comes only in order to steal and kill….”
Kill: Transliteration: thyō Phonetic Pronunciation: thoo'-o primarily denotes "to offer firstfruits to
a god;" then (a) "to sacrifice by slaying a victim,", to do sacrifice;, to sacrifice, "hath been sacrificed," of the death of
Christ as our Passover; (b) "to slay, kill," —Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words
Verse 16 begins with; “And in the same way…”, which refers back to the actions of Satan in verse 15 where he attacks the Word. Keep in mind, Satan’s target is the Word, the effects his attacks have on the lives of people are just collateral damage. These
people, v.17, have no real “root” in themselves. They are not stable, or secure, in the reality of who
Christ is in them and/or who they are in Him. You could say they are spiritually immature. When
Satan brings trouble their way, (because of the Word); “they immediately are offended, (become
displeased, indignant, resentful) and they stumble and fall away”, some to the point of rejecting
their faith.
The Word in them is killed because they have sacrificed it, ("to offer firstfruits to a god”), to
the god of their injured pride and/or their hurt feelings. The opportunity to be offended is the first
thing (first fruit) we must deal with when trouble confronts us in any area. Verse 17 states that the
way these people dealt with the situation was; “they immediately are offended (become displeased,
Page 4
Believers
Report
Volume 6 Issue 4
… continued from page 3 Parable
indignant, resentful) and they stumble and fall away”. Satan didn’t kill the Word, the person did, because they were manipulated by him through their allowing themselves to be offended.
To be, or not to be (offended that is), is a choice we must constantly make as we go
through life. It is paramount that we choose not to be offended if we want to avoid this particular scheme of the devil, which can negate the opportunity for the Word to develop and
be productive in our lives.
18
And the ones sown among the thorns are others who hear the Word; 19 Then the cares
and anxieties of the world and distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things creep in and
choke and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless.
“The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy.”
These people have survived the blatant stealing and killing tactics that Satan uses
against the Word being productive in their lives. Consequently, he must devise a more subtle scheme against those in whom the Word has become more established. So we have the
situations mentioned in v.19 “creep in” on us. They sneak up on us and distract us, directing our attention away from the Word and focusing it on the “stuff” of life that swirls
around us.
Jesus related this to weeds that are allowed to overtake desirable plants and choke
out their ability to produce. Satan couldn’t steal or kill the Word in this group of people, so
he works at destroying the Word’s fruitfulness in their lives by diverting their attention
away from the Word to all the other “things” of life.
20
And those sown on the good (well-adapted) soil are the ones who hear the Word and receive and accept and welcome it and bear fruit—some thirty times as much as was sown, some
sixty times as much, and some [even] a hundred times as much.
John 10:10 (AMP)
10
The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may
have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).
John 1:1-2, 14 (NASB)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. 2 He was in the beginning with God ….14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt
among us, …
The sower sows the Word. Those who nurture the Word in their life; who do not
allow it to be stolen, killed, or destroyed, will not only see the Word bear fruit in their lives,
but v.20 says that they will bear fruit in abundance.
Believers
Report
Volume 6 Issue 4
Page 5
… continued from page 4 Parable
Our goal, as a Christian, needs to be the maintenance and nurturing of the Word of God in
our heart, so that we can become fruitful sowers as well. We cannot allow it to be stolen. We cannot sacrifice it because we choose to be offended. We cannot allow the Word to be reduced to unfruitfulness because we have become too involved/distracted with all the “things” of life.
Heb 12:1-2 (NASB) 1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding
us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run
with endurance the race that is set before us,2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of
faith,…
Fixing our eyes on Jesus, focusing on Him, is what enables us
to “run our race” in the most
fruitful manner. We are told
that we need to lay aside the sin
which so easily entangles us.
Most people can easily understand that eliminating sin is the
most basic avenue to having the
Word being productive in us.
This can be related to the
schemes of Satan stated in the
Parable of the Sower (Mark
4:15-19).
However, too many people
overlook laying aside the encumbrances that so easily entangle us. Encumbrances are
not necessarily sin. Simply put, an encumbrance is anything that interferes with the Word
being fruitful in our lives. They include, but are not limited to, those things that “creep in”
(Mark 4:17) and choke and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless. They can be negative or positive things in our life, and many times are good and useful things that we do.
It is all too easy for us to get so involved in “going about doing good” that our relationship
with the Word suffers. It is ironic that being “busy” building the kingdom could actually become
an encumbrance, but it is possible. We are not called to be involved in every good thing that happens, we need to avoid being busy for the sake of being busy. Activity does not necessarily equate
with productivity. God has a plan and a purpose for each of us. Once we have His direction, we
need to “get busy” fulfilling His plan.
We must be on guard for this situation because these are not things that Satan has sent to
confront us as “problems”, they are things that we allow to take our focus off of Jesus and the Word
that is sown in our heart. As we eliminate the encumbrances in our lives, the negative (Mark 4:17)
and the positive, we will see ourselves moving in that category of people who bear fruit - some
thirty, some sixty, and some a hundred fold.
Page 6
Believers
Report
What’s Growing in Your Heart?
Volume 6 Issue 4
By Deb Moken
The book of James has been the New Testament book I’ve spent the most time in. 35
years ago my interest was piqued when I discovered that this was the brother of Jesus, and
that was very intriguing to me. I was intrigued first of all because James wasn’t always a
believer in Jesus’ message of the Kingdom, and secondly he had come to experience a complete turn about in his belief (granted everyone must do this, but James’ repentance is remarkable to me because he had grown up watching his brother and his turn around proves to
me that even though familiarity might be a breeding ground for contempt that doesn’t mean
it is an irrefutable law). Ok, while I’m on it, why oh why do people insist on quoting Mark
Twain?
Maybe this is my own personal soap box, but I have heard “familiarity breeds contempt” quoted for decades as if it were gospel. And I still remember the first time I heard it
used as such; the feeling in my heart that said, “NO! Don’t believe it! That’s a lie.” But it
was coming from a pulpit and the warning was coming from the inner voice I hadn’t yet
learned to trust or believe. I know the voice was so adamant because I had spent so much
time in James (every morning for two and a half years) and the whole time my fascination
with this letter was fueled by the understanding that James was more familiar with Jesus –
the human being – than possibly any other New Testament writer. I was also intrigued by
the fact that so many had such difficulty reconciling James’ teaching, wisdom and insight
that they would just as soon write him off as embrace his teaching.
I believe one of the double-minded/double-souled belief issues that many must surrender is this very idea – that if you ever got to know me you wouldn’t like me. Think
Believers
Report
Volume 6 Issue 4
Page 7
...continued from page 6 Growing?
about it. If I believe that as an absolute truth, I must keep people from ever getting to know
me, and if I want relationships that are free of contempt I must avoid ever getting to really
know others. How completely backward is that from the invitation God has made to us?
The truth is that the only way contempt is produced (remember seed only produces
after its own kind) in my relationships is if I’ve already allowed a crop of contempt to be cultivated in my
heart. If a relationship has produced a crummy
crop of contempt –
then count it all
joy! You’ve been
given a huge bit of
insight into your
own heart issues –
and you can then
do something about it! What are my hidden agendas concerning this specific relationship?
This goes for every relationship beginning with the one I have with myself and my own heart
(which might be the first place you begin looking for those original seeds of contempt), to
my parents, spouse, children, friends, church, and ultimately the Father.
I am absolutely convinced that intimacy and authenticity can never be realized if this
Page 8
Believers
Volume 6 Issue 4
Report
...continued from page 7 Why?
needling belief is present: familiarity breeds contempt. James knew his brother from childhood. He developed his beliefs by observing his big brother (my personal favorite learning
method) and though he failed to understand what his brother was truly going to usher into this
universe (along with every other person on the planet) when it was fulfilled James got on
board. And his insight into how to minister loving counsel to the struggling has been a guide
to me for years – mercy triumphs over judgment – has been my true north for many years
now. If I am every tempted to fall into judgment, it is this quote I hold true. And it’s principle I hold as my guide. Love/mercy is a higher law, a deeper truth, a more sure way to evaluate any situation.
This Summer’s Recommended Reading:
The Anatomy of a Miracle by Dr. James B. Richards
&
Ultimate Productivity by Jim Stovall
This book is a custom-
Miracles are not for the deserv-
ized guide to discover-
ing, but for the believing.
ing your personal path
Regardless of your personal be-
to success. Ultimate
liefs, you will be able to connect with the
Productivity is full of common sense we can all
immutable laws of the miraculous. This
use to motivate ourselves as well as others in
book is not religious, yet it honors thou-
both our personal and professional lives.
sands of years of religious teaching. It is not
This book peels away all the fluff and fad
scientific, yet it uses modern scientific dis-
stuff and goes right to the core of authentic
covery to explain the concepts of the miracu-
life achievement. If you can handle the truth,
lous in words that make sense to the 21 cen-
read and internalize the wisdom, then you
tury mind. It is the perfect marriage of sci-
will realize fulfillment and success.
ence and faith.