An Appointment with Christ: the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1), Part 4

As you will recall, those of you who have been tuned in with us during the last few programs, we are taking time to reflect on the parable of the sower because we want our brothers and sisters and our friends who listen to us to have the necessary tools to measure themselves according to the Word of God and determine what type of soil they are before the seed of the Gospel. We have seen that there are different soils that correspond to different types of personalities or different types of attitudes that people adopt toward the word of the Gospel, toward the message of the Word of God, toward the teaching that Christ Jesus wants to be their Lord and Savior. Different people receive this message of the Gospel in ways that are sometimes indifferent, or in ways that are enthusiastic but superficial, but that is not enough. The Lord wants us to be like just one type of soil, which we will see later, that receives the word in the proper way that God desires.

And I want to briefly review the last type of soil we discussed, which is the rocky ground, where, when the seed of the Gospel falls, there is an enthusiastic reaction at first, but it is, unfortunately, a short-lived reaction. It is a vain enthusiasm that quickly fades and has no root, and the Bible says that this is the type of person who, when affliction or persecution comes because of the word, quickly stumbles and abandons or turns away from the Gospel.

And I want to tell you, my brother, my sister, that when we receive the Gospel, it will not necessarily bring an easy life. There are people out there who preach that if you follow Christ, you will have no problems, that you will be a millionaire, that there will be no sickness in your life, and that you will have no difficulties in your family or at work. I want to say that, unfortunately, this is not true. The Lord never preached an easy Gospel. What the Lord promises us when we enter the ways of God is power and grace to endure and emerge victorious from any trial that comes into our lives, but trials will come. In fact, many times, our embracing the Gospel will put us in situations of trial and difficulty, because the devil will try—he will do everything possible to make sure that, if you have entered the Gospel, you face trials and difficulties so that you will turn away, because Satan knows that if you receive Christ as your Lord and Savior and remain in the Gospel until the end, you will be saved, you will have eternal life, you will have peace with God, and God will bring many beautiful things into your life. But before one enters into the fullness of the life of God, sometimes one has to struggle with the devil, or the devil will struggle with us, because Satan does not give up his prisoners easily.

There are people who have followed the ways of destruction and vanity all their lives, and when they enter the ways of the Lord, that slave owner who is Satan does not let them go easily. In Scripture we have the story of the Hebrews in Egypt. When Moses was sent by God to bring them out of Egypt, out of the slavery they had suffered for centuries, Pharaoh, who is a type of Satan, struggled with God for a long time because he did not want to let the Hebrew people go to the Promised Land. A pitched battle took place in which God had to send one plague after another upon Egypt until Pharaoh finally let God’s people go. And it is the same with the devil: the devil does not easily release his prey. When you receive the Lord Jesus Christ, the devil will do everything possible to make you suffer trials, to see whether you renounce what you have embraced, whether you quickly give up and take your hand off the plow and say, “I was better off when I was Satan’s slave,” and turn away and go back once again to the things of the world.

Trials will come, but if you remain firm in what you have confessed and continue seeking God—not because of the easy life He will give you, but because God is God, and because without God you are nothing; without God you are worse than an animal, because God is your Creator, God is your Father, God is your lover, God is your friend, and without Him you have no meaning—if you receive Him in this way, then no matter what may come into your life, you will remain firm in the ways of the Lord, and God will give you victory. You will emerge from the trial and enter times of rest, refreshing, joy, and peace, and you will have grown in the things of the Spirit. But if you abandon the Lord at the slightest threat, at the slightest appearance of trials and difficulties, if you turn away from the Gospel because things have become hard and difficult, then you are falling into the trap the devil wants to set for you, and you are losing the opportunity for eternal life.

In fact, the Bible says that the Kingdom of Heaven becomes strong and the valiant take it by force. Many times we will have to enter the Kingdom of God through many hardships and much suffering. But the important thing I want to tell you is that in the midst of all those trials and all those difficulties, the Lord will be with you. In fact, the Word of God says that when you are going through trials, that is when the Spirit of God rests upon us with greater power.

The Bible also tells us not to be surprised by the fiery trial that may come upon us, because many times we Christians believe that if we are Christians, we should not suffer trials. But we have so many illustrations in Scripture showing us that the children of God can suffer situations of difficulty. In Chapter 11 of the Epistle to the Hebrews, which speaks about all those giants of faith recorded in Scripture, it speaks of a type of hero of the faith who, the Bible says, endured great tribulations and great difficulties and who, in fact, often did not live to see the things God had promised them, even though they were people of great faith. It says here in one passage that all these died in faith without having received what was promised, but seeing it from afar, believing it, and greeting it.

There are people in the Gospel who, though they may have tremendous faith, tremendous power, and great love for the Lord, will not receive the reward they perhaps deserve. But the important thing is that you remain faithful, that you hold firmly to that profession of faith you made. When you remain firm, the Lord comes into your life and removes the trial from you, and then you are stronger than when you began the trial. Sometimes the believer will have to be tested, it says, like gold. But you know that when gold is placed in the furnace with all its impurities, a process takes place through which that fire, that tremendous heat, melts the impurities and separates the fine gold from the other base and impure metals. What remains is purified gold that shines and has a quality and flexibility that allow it to be shaped into beautiful jewelry. But when gold is impure, it does not have the same beauty or the same nobility as when it has been refined, and the only way to refine gold is through fire, the furnace, and the trial. In the same way, many times those carnal and sinful aspects of our personality can only be removed from us through certain sufferings and certain trials that God, in a very powerful but also very delicate and very wise way, will bring about and carry out in our lives. If God allows you to enter a trial because of the Gospel, do not worry.

The Bible says that you will never be tested beyond what you can endure. When God allows a trial to come into your life, He knows exactly how long it will last and what level of trial it will be, so that it does not overwhelm you or destroy you. So, if you are seeking God and are suffering through trials, do not abandon the Gospel. Do not be like that seed that falls on rocky ground, where, because it has no root, the Gospel soon disappears. Instead, be soil that holds the seed tightly, that clings to it until the time of trial has passed and then the time of blessing comes. May the Lord bless you. We will continue with these passages in our next session.