Sower, Seed, and Heart

Written by: Johnny Israel

An old acquaintance of mine, an immigrant from Romania, was a member of the same charismatic church I attended. His prayers were loud, fast, and repetitious. Often times, during church worship, prophecies bellowed from my acquaintance that usually proclaimed some doomsday disaster. His church attendance was exemplary. On many occasions, he substituted teaching Sunday school classes, or filled in as a lay preacher. By all outward appearance, he was considered by the congregation a pillar of the church. However, there was another side to this man. A side that was dark and devious. One early morning the local police arrested him on charges of child molestation, possession of child pornography, money fraud, and felony theft. At first he had convinced the church he was falsely accused. Then as the evidence surmounted, he eventually plead guilty on all counts. To say the least this particular church was dumbfounded. How could a man that prayed, read his Bible, attended church regularly, and taught Sunday school allow the Devil to hold him captive to sinful devices?

The answer is in the Book of Matthew, chapter 4. A sower went out to sow, the Word says. Some seed fell by the way side, some fell on stony ground, some among thorns, and some fell on good ground. Jesus tells us the seed that fell by the way side the birds came and devoured the seed. The seed that fell on stony ground began to sprout life, having shallow root; because there was no depth of earth for the roots to dig down, the sun’s heat caused it to dry up. Those seed on thorny ground grew, but the weeds choked the life out of the seed. However, the seed that fell on good ground sprang to life, yielding fruit. My friend’s heart was filled with thorns: cares of this life, lust, greed, and sexual desires. The Word (seed) began to spring forth with life, but due to sin gripping at his heart, the seed was choked off. Sin eventually took full control of his life. The end result was disgrace for him, his family, his friends, not to mention the pain and suffering of his victims.

God only desires one thing from you: your heart. The Devil is after the same heart. If God has your heart, He has all of you. The Devil is constantly bombarding the Christian heart with lascivious desires. God’s Word is the antibiotic to sin’s desire. The Word mixed with Spirit produces life. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the Word of God is alive, and powerful, and sharper than any two edge sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. God is not looking for great warriors; He desires a tender heart, one that will allow Christ to reign in. My friend’s heart became corrupted with sin, and eventually sin wedged its way onto the throne of his heart. The best remedy to destroying sin is to open your heart to Christ. Christ’s throne is just a heart beat away.