‘One who separates himself seeks his own desire; He quarrels against all sound wisdom. ‘ Proverbs 18:1
If you are following this series on Christian Fellowship, we are tackling some excuses others will use not to engage in fellowship. This post will examine the excuse, “I don’t have time.”
Managing one’s time is vital in every area of our lives. There are two places that you can look at that will reveal where the heart of a person is, and that is what they spend their time doing, and what they choose to spend their money on.
“Yeah, John, that’s easy for you to say, but I have bills to pay and work on Sunday.”
Our priorities will shift when God gives us the faith to accept Jesus as our Savior. We will desire to pray, read the Bible, meditate on God’s Word, and be around other believers. This will require a shift in how we utilize our time—and it will cost us something!
‘On that day Jesus had gone out of the house and was sitting by the sea. And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach. And He told them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and they sprang up immediately, because they had no depth of soil. But after the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. But others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much. The one who has ears, let him hear.” Matthew 13:1-9
In this parable, the seed is God’s Word. The soil is us. We have:
The Road
The Rocky places
Among the thorns
The Good Soil
His disciples asked Jesus why He talked in parables, and He told them this:
“And the disciples came up and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” And Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘ You shall keep on listening, but shall not understand; And you shall keep on looking, but shall not perceive; For the heart of this people has become dull, With their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their heart, and return, And I would heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” Matthew 13:10-17
There are two reasons for this:
- God is just. The Gospel message will be presented to everyone. But He doesn’t force anyone to accept it. He has given us the dignity of choice.
- To fulfill prophecy in Isaiah
For those who were meant to hear, they would go to the ends of the earth to discover what it meant. For those who don’t listen, they move on.
Back to the main message:
Jesus explained the parable in which He spoke about the different soils.
‘ “Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.” ‘ Matthew 13:18-23
I will focus on these two soils: Among the thorns and the good soil.
When you look at the thorny ground, you see that the seed takes hold, but the thorns start to choke it out as it grows. The thorns can be described as the cares and worries of this world.
Here’s the truth: we always make time for what we genuinely care about, which involves our faith. When we start to put the worries of this world before fellowship with other believers, it is time to examine our motives and what we consider important.
Whatever excuse you may use to avoid being involved with other believers in a local congregation, it is time to bring this before the Lord. He may grant you repentance. This may also require that you rearrange your life to make it happen.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your grace, mercy and forgiveness.
I pray that this message reaches those who need to hear it and that You will use these words to grant repentance.
I thank You for the people You place around me. Please let them see You through my actions and words.
In the name Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!!
