By MARK Heid |
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12βͺSEPTEMBER 2024βͺwww . cmausa . org |
AT its very core , CMA is an evangelistic organization . Our members take the Gospel message outside the walls of the church to reach those who might not otherwise hear the life-changing message of Jesus Christ .
Jesus shared the parable of the Sower , as recorded in Matthew 13 , Mark 4 , and Luke 8 , to encourage believers to share the Gospel and leave the results up to God . Not all who hear the Good News will respond , yet we carry the message far and wide , knowing that the Holy Spirit is working in the lives of some who will accept the gift of salvation .
As CMA members , it is easy to see ourselves as the Sower sharing the Good News . But as we look deeper into the parable , it seems we might also be represented by the seed and the soil .
Jesus told His disciples that the seed was the Word of God . Some unbelievers we meet may not yet have encountered the written Word of God . However , they can come into contact with it when they see it in the lives of believers around them . They will experience the
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truths found in Scripture when you exhibit the Fruits of the Spirit : love , joy , peace , patience , kindness , goodness , faithfulness , gentleness , and self-control , especially in situations that would not normally produce these characteristics . By these responses , they see the Word of God being lived out . Through your actions and attitudes , the Holy Spirit can create curiosity and openness to God β s Word in the life of an unbeliever .
Then what about the soil ? It is easy to see the soil represented as the heart condition of the unbeliever when presented with God β s Word . They can receive it with a hard heart , a superficial heart , a divided heart , or an open heart . But it can also represent the heart condition of the believer .
Every believer can have these same heart attitudes when presented with sin in their lives . It can come in the form of conviction , correction , or temptation . You might be reading a passage of scripture , and the Word of God speaks directly to you . You may be called out by another believer who sees something in your life that is
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not Christlike in its appearance . Or you may be convicted by the Holy Spirit of a sin or temptation surfacing in your life . How you respond to each of these situations is very telling of your heart attitude and the condition of the soil in your life . You must ask yourself if it is hard , shallow , thorny , or good .
Matthew 13:23 ( NLT ) challenges us with Jesus β words , β The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God β s word and produce a harvest of thirty , sixty , or even a hundred times as much as had been planted !β May you go and do the same . CMA
Mark and Tammy Heid oversee the Rocky Mountain Region as National Evangelist .
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