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SM1134: On-Line

SM1134: PREPARING THE HEART

PROVERBS 24:30-34

Interwoven throughout the book of Proverbs Solomon speaks of the slothful or lazy person. Solomon must have had some dealings with these kind of people who are basically all talk and no action. Solomon said in Proverbs 10:26, "As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy man to those who send him." In other word, Solomon is saying not to use a lazy person to work for you, for it will only bring irritation to your life and a bad taste in your mouth.

Now don't get me wrong, its not that they don't have big plans, great ideas, they just don't want to work to achieve those goals. Solomon said in Proverbs 21:25-26a, "The desire of the lazy man kills him, For his hands refuse to labor. He covets greedily all day long..." You see, they desire many things, covet to have what they refuse to work for, and that just eats them up inside, it kills them.

Now Don't think they don't have good excuses either. They have worked very hard to come up with reasons why they can't work. Proverbs 22:13 says "The lazy man says, 'There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!'" He is saying that it is too dangerous to go out and work today, despite the fact that the rest of the world has no trouble getting to work. But he knows better than they do, it is just to dangerous!

Now it may be easy to pick on a lazy person and see how clearly they fit into this picture of what Solomon has painted. And we may joke around, laugh at their laziness, even becomeangry at how slothful a person may be. And I would doubt if any of us here would consider ourselves lazy or slothful. We work far to hard to be called that.

But what about your spiritual condition? What are you desiring in your spiritual life? what are you coveting and can't obtain because you refuse to do anything about it? What excuses have you made regarding your time with the Lord, going to Bible studies, using the gift that God has given you? Are you seeing lions standing in the way or are they just excuses?

Solomon, in Proverbs chapter 24 is going to relate to us a story he saw and how it impacted his life. And as we look at this story we will first look at the natural meaning of what he saw, and then see if we can glean any spiritual lessons. We will see how we can apply it, learn from it, grow from it in our walk with the Lord. So if you would, please turn in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 24, and lets begin reading in verse 30.

PROVERBS 24:30-34

"I went by the field of the lazy man, And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; And there it was, all overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles; Its stone wall was broken down. When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on it and received instruction: A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest; So shall your poverty come like a prowler, And your need like an armed man."

Notice the picture that Solomon is painting for us. As he was walking one day he passed by a garden that belonged to a lazy person, a unwise man, a man who did not count the cost of his actions or lack of actions. And as he passed by this garden, it was all overgrown with thorns and prickly shrubs. The walls around the garden were all broken down, it was a mess.

Have you ever driven by a house that was in disrepair? It is very hard to miss. The same is true here as Solomon walked by. This was not a thing of beauty, but it was disgraceful and it reflected the nature, the character of the man. And as Solomon gazed at this garden he saw some lessons, some reasons for the outcome of this garden.

The person was just plain lazy, refusing to work, making all kinds of excuses why he can't work, most of them relating to sleep and being a couch potato! But you can put in whatever excuse you want. It is not the right job. The sun is to hot. It is to cold out. You get the point. And the lesson that Solomon saw in a person that lives this kind of lifestyle is they will be poor. There will be no fruit produced in this garden for the weeds and the thorns will chock out any life that may have started to grow. The animals will get in through the broken down walls and eat anything that may have started to grow. And by the time harvest time comes around, there will be nothing to harvest because no time was invested to cultivate the soil, work the soil, and-so-on.

Now I can see this with my own garden. If I don't take the time to prepare the soil, it will be very difficult for the new plants to grow. If I don't water the new plants, fertilize them, they also will be stunted in their growth. And one of the things I hate to do is weed the garden. But if the garden is not weeded it will become overgrown with these weeds, choking out the life of the plants that I wanted to grow. Now I don't know about you, but I seem to be able to grow thebest weeds around, but you get nothing from that. Also, if the garden is not protected, if the fencing or walls are broken down, those rascally rabbits and other creatures will get in and have a field day on those new plants. I have seen this in my garden as these baby rabbits have eaten the heads off my plants!

Now Solomon said "When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on it and received instruction." When Solomon gazed upon this site that was before him, he learned some valuable lessons, he received "correction which resulted in education." And we have looked at the physical lesson he learned from this, which is very important if you want to eat, but there is an equally important spiritual lesson we can learn from this.

William MacDonald said this regarding these verses we are looking at this morning. "When we succumb to laziness in spiritual matters, our life (vineyard) becomes infested with the works of the flesh (thistles and nettles). There is no fruit for God. Our spiritual defenses (the wall) are down, and the devil gains a foothold. The result of our coldness and backsliding is poverty of soul."

It is important to evaluate where you are going, what you are doing in your walk with God. And please understand this, this study is not to make you feel guilty, to put you down, but to help you look inside so that you can be aware of what is going on, and work on those areas of your life so that you may be fruitful in your walk with the Lord. You might say this is a heart check-up, a spiritual physical exam, which we all need from time to time. And so in this spiritualphysical exam we will be examining five different areas: THE SOIL, THE WATER, THE SEED, THE WEEDS, and THE WALLS.

1. THE SOIL

The soil speaks of our heart, how we prepare it to receive the things of God, the Word of God. Is it hard, dry, or is it soft and fertile ready to receive the seed of God's Word? In Hosea 10:12 we read, "Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you."

Driving down to Sheboygan four times a week I am getting some lessons on farming, and I need those lessons being a city boy. And as I pass by the many farms on my way to work I can see how hard they work as spring time comes around and the farmer is out there breaking up the fallow or hard ground. In fact it is very lumpy ground, very hard and if the farmer planted his seed in that kind of soil, the seed would not penetrate the ground, but would remain close to the surface or on the surface, and the birds of the air would eat them or it would be destroyed by the heat of the sun.

Thus, the farmer goes out and breaks up the fallow ground, he works the soil until it becomes soft and ready to receive the seed. During this time he is fertilizing also, making sure the soil is rich and healthy so the seeds can take root and grow strong. Thus, as the seed is planted, it goes into the ground, protected by the soil from the birds and the heat of the sun so that it can germinate and grow, producing fruit in season.

The same is true in our own lives, with our own hearts. If we don't prepare our hearts, if they are hard and rocky, the Word of God will not be able to penetrate it. Thus, the enemy cancome and snatch it out before it has a chance to germinate and grow. Also, the heat of the day or tribulations can cause us to become discouraged and doubt what God has promised us. How can we prepare our hearts to receive the things of God? How can we break up that fallow ground so the Word of God can take root and grow in our lives? That is our second point this morning.

2. THE WATER

Without water the soil will become hard, parched and the seeds will not be able to germinate. Don't water your flowers for a period of time, especially when it is very hot out, and what will happen? They will wither and die. The same is true in our spiritual life. Without the refreshing water of the Holy Spirit in our lives we will become hard, we will begin to wither and spiritually we will dry up.

Listen to what we are told in Isaiah chapter 32. We read "People shall mourn upon their breasts For the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. On the land of my people will come up thorns and briers, Yes, on all the happy homes in the joyous city." Isaiah 32:12-13. How many people have found themselves in that dry, unfruitful position before? Maybe some of you are in one right now? There is a remedy for it. God says that this condition will continue "Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, And the fruitful field is counted as a forest." Isaiah 32:15.

What happens as the Holy Spirit is poured out upon your heart, as you yield to the Holy Spirit, giving Him control of your life? That dry, parched ground, your heart, is softened by its rain and before long fruit is produced, so much so that it turns into a beautiful forest. But, even if we prepare our hearts, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us, we need something else in order to produce fruit, that is our third point.

3. THE SEED

Now it sounds silly, but I don't care how much you prepare the soil, water the soil, you are not going to produce any fruit unless you first plant the seed! And yet many people try to be fruitful in their spiritual life without ever planting the seeds of God's Word in their hearts.

Peter tells us in I Peter 1:22-23, "Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever." You see, it has to begin with believing in the truth of God's Word, that salvation only comes through Jesus Christ. It is as James 1:18 says "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of His creatures."

The problem is that many people just stop there. They no longer are planting the seeds of God's Word in their heart so that as the Holy Spirit waters them, it begins to take root in your life. James makes it clear what happens when we allow God's Word to grow in our life, and when we don't allow it to grow or when we don't plant it. In James 1:21-24 we read, "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was."

Notice the contrast in these two people. One receives the Word, has that seed implanted in his heart, it is not just a bunch of head knowledge. Now as that seed grows it is manifested in his actions, the things he does. And what will flow from his life is the fruit of the spirit, which is LOVE, and its 8 characteristics - JOY, PEACE, LONG-SUFFERING, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, and SELF-CONTROL. (Galatians 5:22-25).

Now a person who does not allow the Word of God to sink deep down into his heart is being deceived. In fact he will think more highly of himself than he ought to. James likens this person to someone who gets up in the morning and looks in the mirror, and then goes away and does nothing about it. And yet what he may have forgotten or ignored will be seen by those around him very clearly.

Picture it like this. You get up in the morning and look in the mirror and your hair looks like you just stuck your finger in an electrical socket. Some of you know what I mean. Your face is dirty and unshaven. You have broccoli stuck between your teeth. And you nose, well we will leave that one alone. Now instead of doing anything about it, you just walk away and ignore it, forget about the way you look. But of course your appearance will be hard for others to miss!

Now we may laugh at that, but that is how many Christians live, not physically, but spiritually. They may feel very comfortable, but others are repulsed by their condition. Why? Because the works of the flesh which are being manifested in this persons life are ugly.

You see, David tells us what the Word of God does in our lives. Back in Psalm 119:9-11 he said "How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!" Plant the seed of the Word of God in your heart, allowing the Holy Spirit to water it so it may grow and produce fruit in your life.

Now we can run into a problem if we mix the Word of God with other things or we don't care for the ground, which brings us to the fourth point.

4. THE WEEDS

Now you can buy grass seed that may not be totally pure, it may have some mixture of grass seeds and some weeds in it. Thus, when you plant it you will get grass, but you will also get some weeds that tend to grow and choke out the grass you want to grow.

Also, in our gardens, if we are not diligent to remove the weeds, they will invade the space of our plants, and may eventually choke them out. Jesus, in His parable of the soils, said in 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."

We can allow the things of this world to come in and choke out the Word of God from growing and producing fruit in our life. We must be careful to weed out those things that will cause us to stumble. The flesh is something that we need to guard against or it will resurrect itself and hinder our walk with God.

Paul put it this way in Romans 8:12-14, "Therefore, brethren, we are debtors; not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." In other words, you were born again by the Spirit of God and not by the works of the flesh. Thus, don't live according to the flesh by which you have been deceived, but by the Spirit of God!

Because of that Paul admonishes us in Romans 13:14 "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts." And again in Galatians 5:24"And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Fill yourself with Jesus making no room for the flesh, those weeds to begin to take root and grow in your life. For once it begins to grow, its roots seem to run deep and they grow very rapidly. Now how can we protect ourselves? That is the fifth point.

5. THE WALLS

The walls were used for protection, to keep the enemy out. During the time of Nehemiah, the Jews had returned home from their captivity and all was not going well. The walls of the city remained broken down and thus, they had no protection from the enemy. So Nehemiah begins a work project, and in 52 days the walls of the city were built. An amazing task and yet he saw the necessity to have these walls built.

Around our gardens we build walls or fences to keep deer, rabbits and-so-on, out so they won't destroy our plants. We do a lot to protect our homes with doors and locks and security systems, and-so-on. But when it comes to our spiritual defenses, we are ignorant. Read and study our spiritual weapons in Ephesians chapter 6, be ready for battle. Yes God is in control, but He has also given us a responsibility to put on the whole armor of God so we can stand against the attacks, the schemes of the devil.

And in a sense, the Word of God is our spiritual defense system. It is like what antibodies are to the physical body, attacking any foreign substance or infection that would harm the body. The Word of God attacks false doctrine, lies, it makes us aware of them, exposes them for what they are. It is when we let our spiritual defenses down, let the walls remain broken, that the enemy can come in and defeat us.

Let me give you an example that will sum up what we have been talking about this morning. "The nuclear submarine Thresher disappeared on [the] 10 [th of] April 1963, bearing 129 men to a watery grave. Poor workmanship and sloppy testing may have led to the loss. Probable cause of the sinking has been pinpointed as the failure of the salt-water piping system that cooled the propulsion machinery. Such a failure would have flooded the submarine and knocked out all electrical power."

"Before sinking in 8,000 feet of water, the Thresher had undergone extensive overhaul at the Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. But only five percent of the Thresher's salt-water piping system was inspected by the shipyard. Even in that small sampling one of seven inspections showed piping or fittings 'below standard.'"

You see, we must understand that laziness, slothfulness produces deterioration - ALWAYS - in our gardens, buildings, and even our own personal lives. If you are saved all the enemy can do is cause you to stumble, you can't lose your salvation. But in stumbling many times we remove ourselves from the place that God wants to use us, the ministry He has for us. If that is where you are at, repent and get right with God and press on!

The Christian life is not a sprint, but a long distance race. We must be careful not to stop, or drop out. If we are not careful and watchful, evil will come in and spoil our work, our home, our souls. BE CAREFUL! You see, our life can be in utter turmoil because of a simple omission sin of self-neglect in our spiritual lives.

Let me leave you this morning with these words from Paul found in Philippians chapter 3. He said starting in verse 12 "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind." Philippians 3:12-16.

Don't be discouraged. Paul blew it, he in fact was persecuting Christians, kicking or fighting against God, the one he wanted to serve. He repented, got right with God, and couldn't do anything about the past except learn from it, and move on. His focus was Christ, the finish line for him. It is what drove him and sustained him throughout his days. And so, wherever you areat in your walk this morning, don't give up. Fight the good fight. And let us each walk in a manner that would glorify God and build others up. Invest the time needed to keep yourself spiritually healthy and strong. As Paul said in Philippians 4:19 "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." HE WILL!