Thought of the Week

Thought of the Week is taken each week from an edited transcription of the Citywide Family Hour message.

Let Us Go On

from Citywide Family Hour 19th February 2012 by Bruce Mackay

Hebrews 6:1

Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.

Our theme lately has been about being established in the foundations of Christ so that we can “go on”. Let us go on to perfection; to full maturity as sons of God. God’s purpose for you is to be a son: to grow and go on and become fully mature.

Today, as we consider further how to go on, we will look at the parable of the sower and the four soils. In this parable, Jesus spells out the journey that begins from receiving the seed of the word of your sonship, spoken of you “before”. Somewhere in your life you heard that word. We want to see that seed go all the way to the good soil, where we can be firstfruits sons bringing forth fruit.

Along the way, the word of God will come to fully establish you. The word, which is pure, comes to into the impure heart, where it tries and tests us. This is not to disqualify you, but to totally qualify you. However, the moment the word of God comes, Satan declares all-out war on you. If you obey the word, you will go on. It’s the word of you. There is nothing negative in that word. But Satan doesn’t want you to grow and mature.

Jesus clearly shows in this parable that the seed received in the heart can be snatched away by Satan; that you can be stumbled and, through temptation, go into darkness, and that you can have the life choked out of you because of other desires.

Right now, there are those who have already fallen into temptation. Your life is in darkness. You are not in the light. If you continue, you will fall into outer darkness. You can be recovered, but there are others who are hanging by a thread. Today, the Lord wants to minister to us all so we become fruitful on good soil. We will know how to possess our sonship.

We need to understand what’s happening; the struggle and the warfare we are in. This is common to all. Jesus said that every one of these things would happen. We are all tempted, but we do not have to fall. He delivers the godly from temptation. The Lord is here to help us today to overcome and to not be overcome by temptation; to strengthen us to possess the land; to go on.

We are like the children of Israel. In Egypt is how we were before we met Jesus: we were caught up in the world and slaves to sin. We were then led out from Egypt into a promised land where all have an inheritance of sonship laid out before them, but the Israelites never possessed it.

Joshua 24:14-28

Judges 1: 22-25, 27-30

And the house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them. So the house of Joseph sent men to spy out Bethel. (The name of the city was formerly Luz.) And when the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city, and we will show you mercy.” So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man and all his family go... However, Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites under tribute, but did not completely drive them out. Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; so the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. Nor did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites dwelt among them, and were put under tribute.

The Israelites never fully possessed what God had given them for an inheritance. Will you take hold of the full possession God has for your sonship? Will you drive out the enemies?

Judges 1: 18-19, 21

Also Judah took Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. So the LORD was with Judah. And they drove out the mountaineers, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the lowland, because they had chariots of iron... But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; so the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

They stopped because these ones had chariots of iron. Is anything too great for God? What is it in your life that you think is too hard? What have you not driven out? What is stopping you from possessing the land?

Matthew 13:19

When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.

Like the birds of the air, Satan snatches away the word from your heart, because you never took the time to fellowship regarding the word to you. You did not understand the word, so it was snatched away. It is not about how intelligent you are. We need to meet and relate in the word and at that point, clarity comes. In the midst of the two or three His word becomes known. We have to show diligence in bringing the word that has come to a fellowship for the word to be established.

Matthew 13:20-21

But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

The person whose heart is the stony ground receives the word with joy, but they have no root in themselves. They have not possessed their sonship.

With joy you have received Jesus; you have inherited the right to be a son. But you have not possessed your sonship. Then the word comes again and it seems hard. The word is pure; it is trying you to remove what needs to be removed so that you can be established. Satan doesn’t want your sonship to be seen and manifested. You have not driven out every enemy.

Note that this verse says, “because of the word”. There is nothing wrong with the word, but it tries and tests us. The word never tempts us, but if we struggle in obeying the word, we will be overcome and eventually fall into temptation.

Psalm 12:6

The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

The word tries us seven ways and in seven areas. All of these can be found in the letters to the seven churches in Revelation.

Firstly, the word calls us and tries us in our love for one another. We love the beauty of the word and receive it with joy, but have not possessed it. We have expectations of one another and when our brethren don’t measure up to our expectations, we start to get an attitude. We get a bit scratchy with one another. The joy of our love is waning and we justify that by the issues that we see in the other. Tribulation is happening. We are about to stumble, fall into temptation and break fellowship. As the scripture states: “I have this against you; that you have left your first love.”

Secondly, the word tries us in where we are planted. It calls us to “be faithful unto death”. Have you settled the fact that you will serve faithfully in this fellowship until the day you die? We have not joined Jesus as a firstfruits until we go into the ground and die in a fellowship of God’s people. We have not possessed the land, because we still have our hearts and our eyes elsewhere.

Thirdly, the word comes and tries us on the mixture in our lives. This is a result of not removing leaven; of not being totally given to your name. You become sophisticated, thinking that you can hold onto your old evangelical doctrines. You still live by a “pipeline to God” and are not fully committed to the lampstand and the administration of the lamp. You are not committed to living in fellowship with the two or three, but live by your word in you rather than the word that comes to you.

For the sake of time, we will just mention the next four areas where the word will try us.

Fourth, the word tests where your desire is. Is it for sonship only or other desires? Fifth, the word tests you in your offering and asks whether it is defiled. Sixth, are you strengthening what the Lord has given you or have you stopped holding fast? Finally, are you lukewarm?

We must understand that when any of these areas show up, we are stumbling and are about to fall into temptation. We must obey and let the word work its pure work. All of us can identify with these seven areas in our lives. How you respond will determine whether you will go on.

Matthew 13:22

Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

The word is falling on thorny soil when we are tempted by the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches. Mark’s gospel calls this “the desire for other things” and Luke’s “the pleasures of life”. What desire for things other than your sonship have you got? What desire for things other than what He has given you? If you are not fully resolved that your fullness and contentment is in being 100% obedient to your name, you are on the verge of being choked. To not remove the desire for other things – things other than your sonship work – will lead you into temptation.

As Jesus said to the disciples in the garden, “pray that you are not led into temptation”. He woke them up and said, “watch and pray”, yet the disciples cut and ran. They had to be recovered. You can find recovery, but you need to be prepared to remove your desire for other things.

James 1:14-15

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

Paul says to Timothy that these other desires are foolish and harmful, and will plunge you into ruin and destruction.

This is a time to understand what’s going on in your life.

Are you resolved with the way your life is now? When it comes to being married or being single, your family, with your brethren, where you live, your work, or your sonship, is there something getting at you or chewing you out? It will bring you down. Are you resolved in who you are; in your education, your sport, your looks or appearance, your weight and so on? Where are you unresolved in these other desires?

Consider David and Goliath. David chose five stones. He was fully prepared. He could have got the brothers of Goliath as well. He was not content with killing Goliath, but removed his head and then paraded around with it. That’s living! David fully possessed the victory.

Are other things getting in the way of your sonship? Are you going to slay the giant and cut its head off so that it doesn’t come back at you again? Will you find a victory over it?

Do any of the following statements sum you up: “burdened excessively”, “beyond strength”, “despairing of life”, “great ordeal”, “perplexed”, “persecuted”, “struck down”, “conflicts without” or “fears within”?

Every one of us experiences these things, but if we don’t know how to respond, we will fall into temptation. You will lose your love for your brothers and sisters, become angry, reactionary and act foolishly, develop low morale, become depressed, be tempted and fall.

We must understand the parable of the soils. We must negotiate all these issues and possess our sonship. We must drive out all enemies and every other desire, and complete the battle.

Enter into fellowship so that the word of you is not snatched away. The Lord wants to test and purify you. Right at that point, Satan wants you to fall. Will you be delivered from that?

This is unique to every person. You have to know what is happening with you. If you don’t bring your darkness into the light, you will plunge into the darkness.

How much do things consume you? Go on to possess your sonship.