10-21-2023 West Palm Beach 7th Day BAPTIST Minister Donna “Soiled Conditions In The Heart” Mark 4;2-23, Jeremiah 17;9-10

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10-21-2023 West Palm Beach 7^th Day BAPTIST Minister Donna “Soiled Conditions In The Heart” Mark 4;2-23, Jeremiah 17;9-10

 

The heart is what keeps us alive. If our veins are cluttered, the doctors have to go in there and clean. If our veins are cluttered with sin, Jesus has to go in there and free us. We thank God that He is working on us. We see from the beginning in Genesis that the lust of the flesh, lust of the eye and the pride of life are the three temptations and the primary pathways that the enemy used to deceive. He searches out the desires of our heart and then he dangles selfish ambitions before us; we grasp it and then fill our hearts with the things of the world rather than the things of God.

Eve was deceived and disobeyed God’s instructions and God’s eternal plans came to a halt. The result is that Adam and Eve were banished from the garden and all plans for their eternal life were put on hold. Every offspring, including us, has been infected by sin. The Bible tells us that all have sinned and come short. We are living in a contaminated environment. Jeremiah 17;9 says the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Jeremiah wasn’t just talking about then but hes talking about then and now. The Hebrew translation for deceitful is corrupted, polluted. This gives you a clear indication of what God thinks about our selfish conduct and attitudes. In God’s judgment it is a foul, polluted environment to be considered no different than a moral cesspool.

Another meaning for deceitful is to mislead, to cheat, to give false appearances or impressions. To lead astray, to impose false ideas and to obscure the truth. Deceitful means that the heart is full to the brim of the enemy. After all, these are the ways that we describe the enemy. These conditions in our heart express themselves in broken homes, broken governments and broken systems that are designed for people to fall and fail. This is all stemming from a broken heart.

We are to guard our hearts. Our heart is the part of our relationship with God. The heart can either draw us closer to God or push us away from God. In Jeremiah 17;10 it says God searches the heart and He finds a sinful heart separated from God’s original plan. In the text in Mark 4, Jesus is using figurative language to describe what it is like for the Word of God to take root in the heart of mankind. We are given four types and its just one type that qualifies. Jesus described the four conditions that determine the outcome of the seed. This seed in the soil is referring to God’s Word in our hearts. Jesus described the kingdom of Heaven as a farmer who scattered seeds on the ground. The sower takes God’s word, the seed, to others. The ground that the seed is planted into is our hearts.

The seeds are scattered randomly so that everyone has access to the seed, the Word. It is not the sower or the method that is used to plant the seed that determines the outcome. The same seed thrown into different conditions has different outcomes based on the soil. The heart condition. It is the heart condition of the person that received the seed, the word, that determines the outcome. Its the condition of the receiver, the soil, the heart that makes the outcomes. In Mark we learn that the seeds are really sown by only believing and repenting and then the seeds are actually sown. The heart must have and be in the right condition in order for it to take root.

1^st Condition – The Wayside: These are they who when they hear the Word, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. These are people that no matter what you tell them, they don’t want to hear it. These are the lost souls.

2^nd Condition – The Stony Ground: The seeds are scattered and some fall upon the rocks and some managed to seep thru to the soil. Jesus said these people hear the Word but have no root in themselves. When trials and persecutions come because of the Word, they immediately stumble. There is no depth to their belief.

3^rd Condition – The Thorny Ground: This is when the seeds fall and the thorns grew up and choked the seed, the word and it yielded no crops. Jesus said these are the people who hear the Word of God and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desires of other things enter in and choke the word and its unfruitful.

4^th Condition – The Good Soil: Proverbs 4;23 says to keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. The solution is to stay in the Word of God. Belief in Jesus as the Son of God is how we are saved. Our hearts must be filled with this belief. Once we believe then the Holy Spirit comes into us and the Holy Spirit is our guide. The seed that fell on good ground springs up crops. This is the soil that we want to be in. Jesus said these people are the ones who hear the Word, accept it and bear fruit. I Peter 5;8 tells us to be sober and vigilant because the devil walks about seeking who he can devour. So don’t believe that because you are in this good soil that you are safe. Satan is particularly after the good soil people.

The Apostle Paul tells us that we are not wrestling against flesh and blood but against principalities, powers and rulers of darkness. We are fighting against spiritual wickedness. How can we defeat this? With the Word of God. Guard your hearts with the Word, with prayer and faith in the Lord. We must listen to God’s instructions and obey them. God is calling his children to be obedient even in the most dismal conditions. We must guard our hearts with all intent and put on the whole Armor of God.

 

AMEN