Read Exodus 9:27-35
"But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear The Lord God." Exodus 9:30
In this passage the 8th plague is currently besieging Egypt and destroying their crops and flooding the land with water (vs 33) and Pharaoh finally humbled himself and repented of his sins before Moses, and declared that the Iraelites could go from the land. But Pharaoh did not do this out of fear of God but out of the desperate want to rid his land and life of the trial. More often than not this is also our reason for repenting and humbling ourselves before the Creator of the World. This motivation is not the type that leads you to surrendering your life completely and unreservedly to Him. This motivation leads only to a works and result based relationship with Him that fades away once the trial is lifted and the result is received.
God does lift our trials when we humbly repent even when it is not lead by the Fear of God so that He may show the world that everything in it is His (vs 29). But just as Pharaoh, when the trial ends we will turn back to our ways, hardening our hearts towards the God who alone can alone redeem us (vs 34). For example having gone through cancer God has allowed me to see intimately how people deal with tragedies. For many God is just a crutch to get through the hard times and then He is put in the storage room for the next time that they need His help to move the where they want to go.
"3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying,“Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8 And others fell on the good soil and *yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”... 18 “Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20 The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, somea hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”' (Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23)
Having read this many times I always thought that it only meant that when hardships such as sickness, death, tragedy or persecution comes, in regards to preaching and living out the Word of God, come people fall away. I never thought that He could also be meaning that when life is "good" people forget their need of the Gospel and turn back to their own ways. In this passage the thorns can be the pleasures of this world; the birds can be the cute guy/girl, new phone, party with the cool kids or the dream career happening; the rocky places can be the same. Anything that draws us away from that initial conversion is what Jesus is talking about and they tend to be in the good times more that the bad.
Recently there have been disastrous tornados, school shootings and so on and despite what many people think it has drawn people towards God more than it has driven people away. People fall away and stop seeking God direction when life goes back to normal. This is because they did not truly fear God, they just sought Him for comfort and not salvation, guidance and not lordship. Just as Pharaoh, they wanted God to take the trial away yet they weren't ever willing to fear Hod and take Him at His word.
Having read this many times I always thought that it only meant that when hardships such as sickness, death, tragedy or persecution comes, in regards to preaching and living out the Word of God, come people fall away. I never thought that He could also be meaning that when life is "good" people forget their need of the Gospel and turn back to their own ways. In this passage the thorns can be the pleasures of this world; the birds can be the cute guy/girl, new phone, party with the cool kids or the dream career happening; the rocky places can be the same. Anything that draws us away from that initial conversion is what Jesus is talking about and they tend to be in the good times more that the bad.
Recently there have been disastrous tornados, school shootings and so on and despite what many people think it has drawn people towards God more than it has driven people away. People fall away and stop seeking God direction when life goes back to normal. This is because they did not truly fear God, they just sought Him for comfort and not salvation, guidance and not lordship. Just as Pharaoh, they wanted God to take the trial away yet they weren't ever willing to fear Hod and take Him at His word.
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