The wayside,
as Jesus would show us, are those who just happen to be
around where the seed was falling. He may be in a funeral
service, or he may have just visited the House of God on
an Invitation of a friend. He might hear it on the radio
as he went on some errand or journey. The seed was sown,
but it did no good. Why? Because of the condition of the
wayside ground. There was no desire for the Word of God.
It was that of just falling upon ground, and it brought
forth no fruit. It may have made somewhat of an impression
to the fact that they may change their lives a little bit.
They are not interested enough to come to the place of
getting an understanding of the Word of God. When you
don't understand the Word, you have not got it. You are
open to all of the attacks of the 'fowls of the air' and
are liable to lose it at any time and have something else
put In it's place. We must understand the Word of God if
we would hold and keep it.
We are
told of the one that heareth the Word and understandeth it
not, that the wicked one comes or, as expressed in
Matthew, the 4th verse, "the fowls come and pick it
up." The Individual is called 'wayside' here because
his life is taken up in other things. Just too busy to
serve God. When the Word is sown on him it merely falls by
the wayside. The very center of his life is taken up in
earthly and human Interests. When the Word falls 'around
the edges,' it will never bring forth an experience with
God.
If the
Word of God ever takes root, the seed must fall in the
center of an open, honest heart. Wayside earth never did,
never will produce an experience with God. There needs to
be much plowing done. This wayside ground must be plowed
up. Surely God does not want a lot of wayside ground
around the Church. The ministers and the lay members need
to get the ground in shape for the seed, so that when it
falls, it can take root and bring forth, for God.
Thank
God, in the midst of the very age in which we live, that I
can make this statement (faithfully by God's eternal
Word), that we can understand the Word of God. Many people
think you cannot understand it, but Jesus said, "Seek
and ye shall find, knock, and It shall be opened, ask, and
It shall be given you." Many are putting
understanding of the kingdom of God, along with other rich
things, until some other age. But we can understand it
now, thank God! People are asking, "Why is it
necessary to preach that?" People, once 'saddled in
the truth,' often make such remarks as this: "What
makes the difference whether there is or is not a
millennium?" It makes all the difference in the
world. God has given us understanding and He wants us to
ask of Him. "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of
God, and it shall be given unto him." Some are
content to sing, "We'll understand it better by and
by." That song was written back in the days of
confusion. The true saints are singing, "Oh, the
unsearchable riches of Christ." We can have an
understanding if we look Into God's eternal Word.
When
Christ spoke to Nicodemus of a new birth, he could not
understand how a man could enter the second time into his
mother's womb. That thought came from an educated but a
confused mind. People today look back and say, "What
was wrong with that poor fellow?" But at that he was
ahead of the educators of today. They can't even figure
out how Christ, the Son of God, was born of a virgin the
first time. They are a step behind Nicodemus. Yet, these
men are the religious leaders of the church (nominal)
today. Only the Spirit of God can give us spiritual
understanding.
The only
way to get a real understanding of the precious Word is to
get an experience of salvation through an experience In
the heart and be spiritually born again and the Spirit of
God will unlock and give you an understanding, for these
things are spiritually discerned. When men don't have
understanding they are open to the attacks of the fowls of
the air. We read in Luke, chapter 8, verse 5, "The
fowls of the air come to pick it up." If you do not
understand the Word some one can come along and take it
away and give you something else in its place. But when we
understand the truth through the Spirit of God, no one can
rob you of it. Christ takes the material things to teach
us in the Word of God. He takes the natural things to
teach us the spiritual.
Man goes
out and sows seed on the ground where it has not been
cultivated and worked and it is still hard. The seed lies
on top and the birds come along and take it away. When the
Word of God falls on hearts that are hard, no
understanding is gained and it is not hard for false
ministers to come along and take away the good that has
been done with their watered down teachings of the Word
and so rob that soul of what it did have. Unless the heart
of man is open and receptive to the seed and it is
enclosed within it through the Spirit of God, and we are
born again, we do not gain an understanding and it can be
taken away. "And I saw an angel standing in the sun;
and he cried with a loud voice, saying: to all the fowls
that fly in the midst of heaven." Don't forget that
the fowls are false ministers coming to pick up the true
seed. Someone says: "How do they pick it up?" A
person can hear the Word of God and it will make some kind
of impression on them and they may become awakened. It may
be they hear the Word in a funeral message and see the
condition of their souls. They begin to talk to a friend
and these take them to some false preacher to get help.
The person tells how he heard a minister tell that If a
man does not get right with God and be born again that his
soul will be lost in hell.
But, the
modern minister will say: "Tut, tut, there is nothing
to that. You can't pay attention to that fellow."
Then he will put some other idea in that man's mind in
place of the simple truth. And he will pick up that seed.
Again,
people will hear a message of how God's people are being
called back to the oneness and unity of the morning
church. And some false one will come around and pick it up
and put something else in its place. Again, let me repeat.
"I saw an angel standing in the sun, saying to all
the fowls of heaven, come and gather yourselves together
to the great supper of the great God." Here is
another supper table. Some one may say, "How do you
know it is a different table?" Because it has
different things on it. The other table had the true
sayings of God on it. What is on this table? Answer:
"That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of
captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of
horses."
