Matthew Session 9

«For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive;»
MATTHEW 13:12-14

I'll admit that when Chuck talks about the parable of the seed and the four soils-
it hurts my heart a little bit (lol, no pun intended -but hey it works!), I was like this. In my search for God as I walked, there were big swaths of time I read the bible and The Word of God, but I would understand little, plus I continued in my alcoholism soooooo....yeah good luck. The cares of this world, my addiction, Satan, whatever you want to call it- I would slip. I would regress, fall back-
not live by it.
Not all of it mind you- I wasn't a TOTAL imbecile, but I lacked with any sufficient power to stick, and to stay.
And to DO, not just believe....
For me it wasn't until I was faced with the utter abyss and possible death due to alcoholism (and MY ability to "deal" with it) - that I REALLY had to turn to the Lord.
And when He had done something for me that I knew I COULD NOT do-
That HE got me sober from alcohol-
and HE was the one KEEPING me sober-
His power and glory, and grace-
Then I began to turn and depend on Him...

Now, folks I tell you truly- I am stupid,
and slowwww.

It was still a long road- I SO envy (maybe this is a good thing, maybe I have to work on it :), maybe admire is a better word- those who come to the Lord and BAM- that's it! They are saved, they utterly change their lives, repent of their sins, and follow Jesus.
God bless them.
Seriously,
GOD BLESS THOSE PEOPLE
I look back at my self-centered slowness and bemoan the years lost I could have done more work for the Lord.

And yet....
Here I am.
Sober for the second time over a decade.
I never even think of drinking anymore.
And I know the Lord has done this,
and that He loves me,
and that I am saved, by grace
through Jesus the Christ.

I have prayed many times,
and often still do,
for The Lord to make my heart "good soil"
for His word and His seed to take root in and grow.

That the thistles not choke it out,
that the path not be hardened,
and that the birds not come and snatch it away.

And He has done this for me,
and He will do this for you.
I am a babe still
with much to learn
and a field for a heart which needs constant tending to
constant weeding. But
I have learned one of the most important lessons of all-
that I can do all things through Jesus which strengthens me.
Who has opened, and keeps open the door to the Father,
that I may be refined as He sees fit.
Come what may.

May the peace and grace of Jesus Christ be with you,
that you also (if not already) be reconciled to God Almighty
through the salvation, and repentance
of the gift of Jesus'
precious life, laid down freely for you,
and I-

«Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”»
MATTHEW 13:3-9

Resources:

Walter Veith - Total Onslaught
https://rumble.com/c/c-5247424?e9s=src_v1_cbl

What is Truth?
https://rumble.com/c/c-6844258

https://rumble.com/user/DutchUncleJohn

https://rumble.com/user/Bitcoin01

Audio bible books and many biblical movies
https://rumble.com/user/drcervantes

Some Chuck Missler lessons and talks
https://rumble.com/c/c-3633088