Young People's Group

A GOOD AND NOBLE HEART

by Pastor Mitch
February 13, 2015

Examples Of Definite Signs Of Spiritual Growth

Seeds will definitely grow to be plants and trees when they are planted on good and fertile soil. Each week, obvious growth would be seen and this will continue till they are fully grown. Similarly, seeds of the word and faith will grow in an evidential manner when they fall on “good ground”. In the text of Luke 8:1-3, the capable physician Luke recorded for us a group of women who specially ministered to Jesus and His disciples. Some of them were delivered of evil spirits while others were cured of their infirmities. They expressed their gratitude to the Lord by supporting and providing for Him and His disciples from their own wealth. This was a definite expression of spiritual growth. Young people, is the seed of the word bringing about obvious growth in your life? Let’s make sure that it does.

Checking For Spiritual Growth

The heart of the matter is the heart. This is true with regards to how we receive the word of God. If we want to check whether we are really growing, we have to check our own heart. The Lord Jesus spoke of three different types of ground that were faced with three different challenges. Firstly, when the seed of the word falls on a hardened heart, it will not take root at all. Then the evil one will come and take the word out of the heart before the person can believe and be saved. Secondly, when the seed of the word falls on a superficial heart, it will bring joy to the heart for a while. However when the testing of life comes, that person with such a heart would fall away (Luke 8:13). Thirdly, when the seed falls on a distracted heart, the faith of that person will grow for a while until it stops growing because of the cares, riches and pleasures of life (Luke 8:14). This person’s faith does not have any fruit growing towards maturity. His growth becomes stunted and he ends up with no spiritual maturity. Young people, let’s make an honest evaluation of our own heart. Are we really experiencing true spiritual growth? Let’s make sure that our heart is not like any of the above.

The Challenge To Have A Good And Noble Heart

“But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.” 
Luke 8:15

The challenge for us ultimately is to have a good and noble heart. When we have such a heart, the word of God would be specially received into the heart. When we are faced with challenges, the seed of the word will still remain and grow. The evil one will not be able to snatch it away. When in times of testing, we would still continue to grow because the seed has deep roots in our heart. No care, riches or the pleasures of life would be able to choke our growth because we would seek not to hold fast to these things. Instead, we would hold fast to the truth of the word of God. The word “keep” in the Greek means to “lay hold”. We are meant to hear the word well and to hold fast to it. How would we know whether we have a good and noble heart? It would be seen by the way we regard the word of God. We would treasure it with all our heart, wait patiently for it to take root, and let it grow till it affects all that we think, say and do. We would endure with it till there is fruit in our life. This is the kind of heart that we should have. Let’s make sure that our heart is always one that is good and noble when it comes to receiving the word of God. Let’s seek to have a faith that bears fruit.

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