Not Having Understanding Is Not Good for Your Christian Journey
According to Matthew 13: 4-6, the wayside hearts are hearts that hear the word of God but don’t understand it. Consequently, Satan takes away that word from their hearts. For this group of people, the cause of their problem is, “Lack of understanding”. We won’t add to or subtract from what Jesus gave as the reason. They’ve got a bad hearts because they lack understanding of the word. According to Matthew 13:4, they lack the understanding of God’s word because they are by the wayside! So there are two issues here. Lack of understanding is the cause of their problem, but at the root of this problem is their current spiritual location, they are by the way side. Put in a simple language, they are not in the kingdom. That is why they are by the wayside.
It is not impossible that many Christians in our churches today are wayside Christians, they were not really saved, and that’s why they lack understanding of God’s word, and are not productive at all. And this is one of the major crisis in the body of Christ. A lot of mixed multitude exists in our churches today. People who go to church every Sunday to warm pews but who have no genuine encounter with Jesus fall into this category. They may even be hearing the truth of God’s word, but they won’t understand it, and consequently Satan would just grab the word out of their hearts. In fact, Satan would not have easy access to their hearts if they were genuinely saved. The life of genuinely saved people are hidden in Christ with God. “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colosians 3-3).
The First Category of Unsaved Christians Are the Problems of the Church Today
If you’re genuinely saved, Satan has no unlimited access to go in and out of your heart at will to carry out covert military operation. You are seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). This first group is one of the main causes of the current crises in the church, a lot of wayside pastors and wayside Christians. They appear to be saved because they quote the bible. But they aren’t. That’s why the word of God has no effect on their hearts. They divorce, marry and re-marry; they curse, lie, cheat, sleep around and have no fear or respect for God’s word, they are wayside Christians, unsaved folks.
Those By the Wayside Are Not In the Kingdom
According to Jesus, this group of people have got a wayside heart, which according to Jesus is a bad heart. According to Matthew 13:4, they lack the understanding of God’s word because they are by the wayside! So there are two issues here. Lack of understanding is the cause of their problem, but at the root of this problem is their current spiritual location, they are by the way side. Put in a simple language, they are not in the kingdom. That is why they are by the wayside.
Much of the Problems In the Christian Fold Is Not Just About False Teachers, But Also About “Wayside Christians
You can’t be a lover of Jesus, a genuinely saved person and join people to backbite and tear down your pastor, that man that you yourself know is genuine, loving and caring. Much of the problems we are having in the Christian fold is not just about false teachers, but also about “Wayside Christians” people who look and talk like Christians but are far from the faith. There is no transformation of character in their lives at all. And they are in droves in many of our churches, they are called, “wayside Christians”…The word of God can never profit them.
Discipleship Must Be Taken Seriously To Effectively Form Christ In the Second Group
Now let’s look at the second group of bad hearts, the stony hearts. According to Jesus, this group of people have stony hearts. What are the characteristics of this stony heart? First, they don’t have much sand; second, they immediately shoot up plants and thirdly, they have no depth. In verse 20, Jesus explained to the apostles the predicament of this guy with a stony heart. Jesus said, this guy is a quick growth person. This guy is always very excited to hear the word (always excited to attend conventions and conferences); but he lacks root and depth. And when persecution and tribulation hit him because of the word, he immediately crashes. Now, this group is the group of genuinely saved Christians who were not discipled. So, the lack of discipleship in their lives produced quick-success syndrome in them. They want quick results.
They don’t like process. They want to start today and arrive tomorrow. They were mentored by people who have no respect for sound doctrines and in-depth grooming. Consequently, when troubles hit them, they collapse immediately. And sadly we see this group of people as ministers and as Christians all over our nation. All they’re looking for is endorsement by the big pastors. They want to associate with big trees but don’t want to go very deep into root development. And that is why their characters crash under the weight of temptations. Put them in government, they will disgrace God by stealing and looting. Yet, they are deacons in some of our big churches. They have got stony hearts. Discipleship is the major key to making them giants for the lord. May everyone go back to the highway of discipleship. Amen.
Ayo Akerele, a leadership and system development strategist and minister of the word, writes from Canada and can be reached through ayoakerele2012@gmail.com.
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