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August 2008
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Helping People To Find Faith |
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Like the three kinds of unfruitful ground,
many will respond to God's Word with less than saving faith.
In Matthew's account of this parable
(13:19)
he explains that a lack of understanding is responsible for a person not
appropriately responding to God's message.
The seed that fell on the path, represents people who understand nothing
and therefore are not interested in what God has to say.
The seed that fell on the rocky ground represents people who understand
something of the gospel message but do
not understand the implications and as soon as
any difficulty comes from believing they fall away.
The seed that is sown among the thorns; the people represented here also
understand a little
of what the gospel means but they do not understand the
Lordship of Jesus.
They do not realise that they may have to
change their lifestyle.
To help people understand God's message, the Gospel, we need to help by
explaining the message and its implications
and as we answer people's queries it is like removing the stones and the weeds
that hinder growth.
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Unlike organic growth, as and when we produce the
right conditions and place a seed into the right environment
it will grow; spiritual growth and producing a harvest
takes an acceptance on our part
(Mark 4:20).
In Matthew 13:23
it talks about understanding and in
Luke 8:15
it talks about a responsive heart, one which retains the message
and perseveres.
Such acceptance will produce a crop, changing our lives
for the better, 30, 60, 100 fold.
Jesus said "I have come that you may have life,
and have it to the full"
(John 10:10).
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Which of these statements best describes someone you would like to see become
a Christian?
- Awareness of the supernatural
- No effective knowledge of what a Christian is
- Initial awareness of Christianity
- Interest in Christianity
- Awareness of the basic facts of the Christian message (called the Gospel)
- Awareness of the facts of the Gospel
- Positive attitude to the Gospel
- Awareness that you are in the wrong with God
- Challenge to act upon what you know about the Gospel
- Have a measure of faith and feel the need to repent (turn to God)
- Made a decision to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour of your life
These eleven statements talk about the
process of understanding that we or
others might be at.
The first steps in helping people in this process is
giving them a clear picture
who God really is and that being a Christian
is not a bad thing.
Secondly as this process develops, we need to share
the content of the gospel,
the human problem of our rebellion
against God and the solution
God offers through Jesus death and resurrection.
The next phase is help people to understand the implications
and cost of being a Christian.
Finally it is about asking people to accept
Jesus as Lord and Saviour over their lives.
All this takes time and people move at different speeds.
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Home
Like the sower, God spreads his Word through many means,
widely among all kinds of people.
All the four types of ground have the potential because each are
types of soil.