Text: Luke 8:4-15
Faith needs to be rooted.
How many of us have been healed and lost it? We need to be rooted so you can endure when the enemy sends others to bring doubt and discouragement. Faith is not increased by declaration but by growth.
Understanding is essential to being rooted and grounded in the Word. When we know how understanding comes, we are:
1. Better prepared to defeat doubt.
2. Better prepared to pursue understanding
3. Better prepared to defend it.
There are three handles to grab understanding:
1. Revelation (or enlightenment).
2. Perspective (or how I look at it)
3. Application (or what I can do with it)
All of these involve our pursuit of the truth. If there is no pursuit, there will be no understanding. In the parable of the sower, we see several types of soil. See that falls by the Wayside is trampled and birds eat it. The second type of soil is Rocky, and the seed can't develope a good root system.
The Wayside soil is like those who hear the Word, but it is immediately stolen from them by the enemy. Rocky soil is like those who hear the Word, rejoice and accept it, but they do not get rooted in the soil. When tribulation and perecution come, they stumble and fall away.
Note that seed always starts off by going down. The root system is the first to develope. In the parable, the seed springs up. It has no depth of earth. Jesus is focused on the root. The enemy will send people to challenge what you've received.
How do we deal with long-term situations? How do we keep the seed of the Word of God from being poisoned? To hear the entire message, please visit our website and click on the Media Tab. You can listen online, download it to your MP3 player, or podcast.
If you'd like practical, Bible-based teaching, we invite you to our Sunday Morning Service at 10:00 AM. Zoe Christian Fellowship is located at 1111 Easton Rd. (Route 611), Warrington, PA. We look forward to meeting you!
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