6 of 6 ... The Heart: The Key to Everything in the Christian Life - Book Review

This fourth soil of the heart is what every Christian should strive for in their walk with God for this is the fertile ground that bears fruit for our Lord.

The other three soils were not allowed to dominate the heart. The heart did not allow any of the five thorns to take root, spread and dominate its soil to the point where it choked and suffocated the Word of God. To get the fourth point where it chocked and suffocated the Word of God.

We must hear the Word of God, gladly receive it into our hearts, understand its message of truth, then hold fast to it in order to bring forth fruit reaping a harvest thirty, sixty, a hundred times of what has been sown.

We must also receive this word into our hearts to enter into this blessed fourth soil. The Greek word for "receive" means to accept deliberately, willingly, favorably and readily and to embrace with favor and delight.

We are God's tilled field according to 1 Corinthians 3:9.

Simply being a Christian does not guarantee that the soil of the heart is in this fourth category. We have a responsibility before God to guard the soil of our heart and, as James says, "get rid of all uncleanness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness."

The Word of God must also be understood if we are to abide in this fourth category of soil. All spiritual growth comes by the way of understanding the Word of God. Without understanding the seed cannot grow and produce fruit.

The next requirement of this fourth soil of the heart is that we keep and hold fast the Word of God in an honest and good heart.

The soil of our hearts is most fertile when it is living love by helping, caring for, rescuing and comforting others.

Secondly, the Word of God must be kept in a heart that is a beautiful representation of Jesus Christ so people can see our good deeds and glorify our Heavenly Father.

The last requirement of the fourth soil of the fourth soil of the heart is that it brings forth fruit with patience. The Greek word for "patience" means steadfastness, perseverance, and to remain or abide under.

Look at the patience of the farmer. He does not plant his seed and then rushes to his window the next day expecting to see a full harvest.

God's desire is that we bear much fruit, and this is His faithful promise.

Our heart needs steadfast patience and endurance to finish the race God has called us to and fully accomplish the will of God in our lives. Without this patient and endurance our heart's soil will fall into the second or third category of soil in the parable of the sower and the seed.

No one exercised more patience when he lived upon the earth than Jesus Christ.

Only when we look to Jesus can we run the appointed race with patience, steadfast endurance and not grow weary, faint, or lose heart. How many lives have been wasted by a lack of patience!

When all of the requirements of the fourth soil are met, Jesus makes an astounding promise that we shall reap a harvest thirty, sixty to hundred times what was sown. This is a yield of three thousand, six thousand and ten thousand percent.

Is this the return that we are having in the church?

Sadly, very few Christians have ever reached this forth soil. The world with all its philosophies, mantras, formulas, and education can never manufacture, replicate or create the fruit of the spirit in the human heart.

Idols have more influence on the condition of the heart than any other thing in the world! Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis and the introduction of sin into the human race, the heart has become an idol factory countless idols to love, worship and obey.

Isaiah 24:5 states that the entire earth has been polluted by idolatry and a curse has devoured the world.

The Bible is the life manual and instruction book on the ways of God and its urgent warnings against idolatry should not be ignored.

All humanity has been seduced into the snare of idolatry. Idolatry is based upon deception.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned us "Wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction and many enter therein" (Matthew 7:13).

Hosea 4:6 says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."

God never lies about about who He is and what He will do.

Perfect order, peace and joy are restored when the Almighty is exalted, praised and worshipped.

The Bible teaches that the heart is the battleground of idolatry.

The heart was never meant to be a place for idols. Idolatry turns the dwelling place of God into a pagan temple.

The heart becomes what it worship.

So what exactly is an idol? An idol is anything that is more valued, loved, sought after, desired and honored than God.

What are you most devoted to?

Your eyes guide your heart as all idolatry begins with the gaze of the eye.

How could Aaron, that stood by Moses and witnessed firsthand some of the most amazing manifestations of the power of God, be so easily persuaded to fashion a false god for the children of Israel?

You can never serve two masters.

It is too dangerous to leave even one piece of any idol in the temple of our hearts. We should never utter the name of any other god, but Yahweh.

Every idol has a spirit from the kingdom of darkness behind it that drives a person to love and worship it.

Baal was believed to be the giver of life, and entire nations were devoted to Baal because they believed he was the one who would sustain their farms, flocks, and families.

The first usage of the word "believe" in the entire Bible concerns the faith of Abraham in the name of Yahweh (Genesis 15:6).

Do you have a heart for God or an idol?

Too often we have honored God with our lips, but our heart is far from Him.

We will not be able to hold our ground as Christians and stand fast in the Lord, if we allow His mighty works, powerful words and glorious presence to fade from our conscious thinking.

The Spirit of God is always teaching, leading, comforting, encouraging, helping, enlightening, reminding and instructing our hearts so we live for Christ, and do not forget God or His precious words of life.

The old nature brings to the mind, the lusts of the flesh, and the seductive trappings of this world. The new nature exercises its influence to bring us to a place where God is supreme in all our thoughts, motives, and emotions.

Doesn't God deserve to be your first love?

Lord help me to never, ever forget you!

The author, Tim Rowe has a doctorate and bachelor's degree in biblical studies, history, and classics. An attorney and author. President of Goodness of God's Ministries and lives in Indianapolis with his wife and son.

3 of - The Heart: The Key to Everything in the Christian Life - Book Review

The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, & he saw that everything they sought or imagined was consistently & totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had made them & put them on the earth. It broke his heart. (Genesis 6:5-6, NLT)

In Genesis 6, people's thought life had so corrupted their hearts that it reached a point of no return.

The Devil is a master general at attacking the thought life of a Christian. His war strategy involves tactics of deception, pressure, & enticement to turn our thinking away from God & toward his kingdom.

The Devil knows that in order for a person to do evil, he must first think evil.

Within ten generations he was so successful that only one person on the entire earth had godly thoughts. The population of the earth at the time of the flood was between 235 million & 7 billion people.

They were wise, rich, sophisticated, & cultured for their time, but the defining characteristic of their age was wickedness because of their thinking.

Only Noah was thinking rightly & found favor with God. Noah's thought life was pure & free from evil because he walked with God.

And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, & He was grieved in His heart. (Genesis 6:6, NKJV)

As Christians our thought life should honor God first & foremost. The Greek word translated "honor" in Romans 1:21 means to make glorious, to adorn with splendor, to make excellent, & to cause the worth of something to be made known.

Do your thoughts glorify God daily? We must never give the glory of our thoughts to another.

Before Noah, Enoch also walked with God for hundreds of years.

In the Hebrew, "to walk" is to form habit patterns that determine your way of life.

We must walk with God for life to have true meaning. A thought life without God is ultimately an exercise in foolishness, & it always lead to dangerous consequences for the heart.

Toxic thoughts are like a spiritual cancer to the heart.

Toxic thoughts are like poison, but the good news is you can break the cycle of toxic thinking.

Toxic thoughts are thoughts that trigger negative & anxious emotions, which produce biochemicals that cause the body stress.

God sets the standard high for our thought life in the book of Philippians.

Selfishness did not exist in thought life of Jesus.

We cannot serve God if we are not humble. We cannot obey God if we are not humble. We cannot love God if we are not humble.

Pride is lethal because it lifts up the heart against God.

Jesus Christ did not have one ounce of fear in his thinking. During a great Storm on the Sea of Galilee, waves pounded on the tiny boat He was in, & it was filling with water. Jesus was sleeping soundly when He was frantically awakened by His disciples. He rebuked the wind, crying out, "Peace be still" (Mark 4:39), & reproved His disciples for their lack of faith.

Jesus had great compassion for people who were hurting & suffering from physical & spiritual ailments.

Jesus never had a thought of unforgiveness or bitterness. He demonstrated great mercy & forgiveness in his thinking, no matter what the circumstance or offense.

God commands us to think from a heavenly perspective, with eternity stamped on our thoughts, & no longer allow the temporal things of this earth to control our thought life.

Carelessness in our thought life, by allowing the sin natural to control it, is dangerously destructive to our walk with God.

Train yourself for godliness. (I Timothy 4:7, NIV)

I have fought the good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. (II Timothy 4:7 KJV)

So run to win!

Only God's mighty weapons have any chance of tearing down every brick of the strongholds that captivate our hearts.

The Greek word translated "stronghold" means fortress, castle, or prison.

Do not give the devil a foothold. (Ephesians 4:27 NIV)

Leave no such room or foothold for the devil (give no opportunity to him.) (AMP)

In the battle of Jericho God sets forth the pattern of how we should approach the tearing down of every stronghold in our minds & hearts.

The second thing we must do to tear down any stronghold is to consecrate ourselves. The Hebrew word translated "consecrate" is qadash, which means to be set apart, sanctified, holy, & pure, & is used to describe what is set aside for God's purpose.

Salvation is now available through Jesus Christ.

The Battle is Not Yours but God's. Believe in your awesome God. No stronghold can stand against the Almighty God!

The Ark of the Covenant: The Power of God's Word & Presence. The sixth truth is, just as the Ark of the Covenant was marched around the walls of Jericho for seven days, we can take the Word of God & march it around every stronghold, confessing its truth & claiming its power.

The seventh truth is to have faith in God & His Word. Faith is an unwavering trust & confidence in our God that he will never fail us.

The last truth in the Battle of Jericho is that we must wait on the Lord. God did not move to demolish the walls of Jericho until the seventh day.

God does not need an advisor. God does not need a counselor.

Leading Every Thought Captive to Obey Christ. The last & great truth of how to tear down strongholds in our hearts is in 2 Corinthians 10:5.

The first thought pattern is false reasoning.

It is never wise to try to out think God Almighty!

The Lesson of Lazarus. We must take off our grave clothes when it comes to our thought life.

Jesus first calls Lazarus by name. Jesus is calling you.

The Parable of the Sower & the Seed: The Four Conditions of the Heart.

This parable is an illustration of how to build the kingdom of God in our hearts & produce an abundant harvest of fruit to the glory of God.

The most important time of a man or woman's life is when the Word of God is sown into their heart.

Listen & Behold.

The sower does not sow Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Secular humanism, modernism or spiritualism. The sower sows the God-breathed Word that proceeds directly from the mouth of God Almighty.

The Devil is the supreme enemy of the heart & he is sowing his tares in every community, city, & nation.

This seed is producing hearts that hate truth & love darkness.

In this first soil of the heart, the seed of Word of God is sown, but it has no chance to grow because the Devil comes immediately & snatches away the seed.

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.

Judas was in the inner circle with Jesus Christ, one of his original twelve disciples , who followed Jesus. Yet Satan entered into his heart at the last supper & he went out into the night to betray Jesus.

There are only two spiritual fathers that can give birth to their image in our hearts: God or the Devil.

Now let us think about spiritual arteriosclerosis for a moment. This is a gradual day-by-day process where our spiritual arteries become hardened by sin, poneros evil & unbelief.

The author, Tim Rowe has a doctorate of jurisprudence & a bachelor's degree in biblical studies, history, & classics. He is the president of Goodness of God Ministries & lives in Indianapolis with his wife & son.