First I want to remind everyone to pray for the President and the upcoming elections. It is best if you could fast some as well even if it is just a meal or two a week. We must be the Lord’s Prayer Partners first. I will be at the End Time Handmaiden and Servant’s Youth Retreat this week. Please pray for the ministry to the teens and young adults.

This week in our study on God’s Garden we are talking about the Soil. You must have good prepared soil to grow fruit. Using Luke 8:5-15 the Parable of Sower, let’s look at how your soil affects your garden and your fruit. We are going to look at 6 main soils just like they did in this parable of the sower.

1. Wayside – The seed planted outside of the Lord’s boundaries in your life.
2. Rocky Soil – Deception
3. Thorny Soil – Corruption
4. 30% Soil – Idolatry
5. 60% Soil – Selfishness
6. 100% Soil – Sold out to God

First we realize that the seed is the Word of God. Jesus is the living Word. The Word in the beginning spoke the world into existence and it will speak into you as well. It will create the Lord in you. But in order for it to do that it has to grow and bear fruit in your life. To grow it must have good soil. Let’s look at the different soils.

1. Wayside soil – It says in this parable that the devil steals seed thrown by the wayside. It is outside of the Lord’s prescribed boundaries for your life. If I turn on a program that is only for brain surgeons I am not going to receive what they are saying because I know it’s not something I can apply to my life. I’m not a brain surgeon. It’s outside of my boundaries. Many times we do that to the Word of God. Say for example some one is preaching about gossiping. Yeah I know all about gossip and I don’t think that applies to me, so I tune this seed out. I don’t receive it in my garden at all. I zone out. But all Word applies to our garden. In order for it to bear fruit in us we must receive it. Where the seed falls is not up to the person doing the planting, it is up to you, the garden. If it’s God’s Word receive it. It’s not just for that person down the isle but listen to it for you and how it applies to you. It’s up to you to keep the seed in your garden.
2. Rocky Soil – Deception – no depth of earth. This can be talking about fair weather Christians in rocky soil, the rocks being curses and spirits; the hard ground being stubborn will and hardness of heart. If that is the case then the rocks (curses) need to be removed and the hard ground (self will) broken up to receive the seed of God’s Word in order to bear fruit for the Lord. Or it can be Deception. I have shared in depth before about the spirit of deception poured out on the church in these end times and how only the Lord told me only two things will protect us from it, being correctable and loving the truth. So I will not go into a great deal of detail here but let’s look at a few of the dangers and symptoms of deception.

   Deception is a blinding spirit that blocks truth. The biggest deception is that you can give your life to the Lord and still have it to do with as you wish. When you have it, then it is no longer safe. If your life is yours to do with as you please and make your own decisions then how can it be the Lord’s?

   Deception is a spirit of spirits that opens gates to other spirits that rob and kill your Christian walk. If the devil can hide your light and make you fruitless he has won, regardless of what you call yourself. Let’s look at 6 of the main things Deception causes.

   • Pride - The first symptom of a person attacked by deception is pride. They will be the first person to tell you they are not proud at all. I had one man in the Philippines demand I lay hands on him and give him the anointing that he had witnessed in me because God wants him to have it he said, because he is humble. Needless to say that humble man almost knocked a person down to make sure I prayed for him next. Yet if I had told him he was deceived and proud he would have been outraged, because deception blinds you to the truth. Pride almost always wears the mask of false humility. Pride says things like ‘How dare you treat ME like this, don’t you know who I am. I have rights and I won’t let you get by with that.’ They may call it business or just being in a hurry but it’s also being a bad witness. When we start feeding pride we find it has an enormous appetite and demands all.
   • Tarantula – I have only learned about this spirit in the last few years but I have found it to be widespread worldwide. Many of you know the prophecies about much of the church being like a carnival; this spirit goes right along with that. When the Lord was first showing me about this he had me look it up in a dictionary. To my surprise I found: The bite of the tarentula was once thought to cause a disease known as tarantism, in which the victim wept, danced, laughed and skipped about before going into a wild frenzy… a dancing mania or malady of late medieval Europe. It carries a web of deception and a poison that kills. It’s a Christian party spirit. I have been confronted with this spirit many times. It brings about a spirit of carnival where the church dances and plays thinking they are super spiritual but their heart is not in the right place. They are unable to come away when Jesus our bridegroom calls them.
   • Jezebel – There are many good books and articles on this in detail so I will be brief. Frances Frangipane has some good information as well. It is a controlling spirit, disobedient to God, lustful for position, power and can be sexual. It causes confusion, intimidation, excuses (if you have a good human excuse you do not have to obey God way of thinking), false prophecy mingled with truth and bold scheming. It is able to induce loyalty and trust in others. Its schemes are elaborate and far-reaching spinning a web that traps many. It cannot help but ensnare and trap those around it. It is deadly. Its power of control is addictive and can seem to be a necessary strength to the deceived.
   • Nicholaitan – Again there are many books on this subject so I will get to the point. This is a spirit of government and power in the church. It tears down God appointed leaders using gossip, slander, intimidation, curses, words, attitudes etc. It is never satisfied and continually draws more and more people into its deception, stirring them up against God appointed leaders. It is rebellion with a smiley-face mask. It is the traitor’s knife in the back. It seeks to exalt itself to leadership or others leaders they feel they can manipulate through intimidation. In the story of Jesus it is the Pharisees who wanted the power of leadership even at the cost of God’s obvious Son.
     It is a spirit that justifies wrong heart attitudes and creates predators (destroying, devouring) Christians instead of lamb (obedient, part of the flock) Christians. These people are noted for hardness of heart with a smile. This spirit (as do some of the others) seeks to destroy using fantasy. The thoughts of their heart imagine them as the one in power, loved and adored. They murder the God appointed leader in their hearts with fantasies that ascend from them like curses. These curses can and must be broken daily from the Godly leader.
     If this Christian is not quick to repent and work through these issues they will be devoured inside and become a wolf in sheep’s clothing and never even know it.
   • Religious Spirit – has a form of godliness but denies the power of it. Many think that is the power of healing or the glory of God but the true power is love. The religious spirit is hollow and empty inside. It has no substance and attacks those who do. It says true things with a wrong heart motive. It comes completely from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (which started all this mess) and not from the Tree of Life, which is love. NKJ 2 Corinthians 3:6b not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. The letter (Word) without the Spirit kills, that is the religious spirit. You will always produce a crop of what you are. Fig trees don’t bear carrots. If you have a religious spirit you will bear lifeless loveless fruit.
   • Confusion – Says not your will Lord but mine be done. Confusion is a spirit. It causes you to think your will and your desires are God’s will. Its job is to keep ‘your’ thoughts in charge instead of your spirit and to keep you in constant turmoil thinking of what to do or what you wish you had done or said. NKJ Romans 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. If the enemy can keep you struggling in your mind you won’t be a threat to him. It will be easy for him to lie to you and whisper suggestions to you that sound like your own thoughts. When you stay in the mind realm it is easy for the enemy to keep you in confusion and then to use that confusion against you and others. Confusion is catching. Sometimes when I pray for someone with a strong spirit of confusion I will begin to be confused. I will then take my hands off them and seek the Lord. Once my hands are off them I can hear clearly. Confusion spreads like wildfire.
3. Thorny Soil - Corruption – NKJ 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." How sad to see a sincere Christian who loves the Lord be totally useless because of the devil’s lie (deceitfulness). The trap is obligations to succeed at a certain level for family, the expectations of others or self-expectations that choke out the room for the Word in their life. ‘My kids must have the best’ so I work more but I’m not available for that child or for the Lord.
   Cares – Worries, obligations and false expectations; Fear of failure and what people think; Busyness, mental and physical exhaustion. We must make the Lord the priority of our schedule and our needs. Then we can trust Him even when it looks impossible. Impossible is just the enemy testing your trust. Pass that test and you won’t have to take it again. Cares or worries are a state of mind. It is carnal territory that is easily affected by Satan. You can train yourself to abide in the spirit by faith. The enemy cannot easily affect you there.

   We Christians do not measure ourselves by the world and we are not subject to the world’s standards. By their standards Jesus was a failure and so were all of the apostles. What did they have to show for their lives in the natural, no house, car, big retirement fund, large bank account or college degrees, nothing? But by the Lord’s standard they attained to an eternal throne. Will we trade the eternal throne for the temporary moment of importance with man? We must make the Lord and His will for our life our priority or our Word – God Destiny – will be choked out and become corrupted, rotten, useless and unfulfilled.

   NKJ Leviticus 22:25 'Nor from a foreigner's hand shall you offer any of these as the bread of your God, because their corruption is in them, and defects are in them. They shall not be accepted on your behalf.' "
   NKJ Hebrews 6:8 but if it bears thorns and briars, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned. God doesn’t accept rotten corrupted fruit. No fruit means you burn that tree. I’ll let you figure out what that means.

4. Idolatry – 30% Soil – What percentage of your garden is the Lord’s and what part is for idols. We often think of idols as only pagan gods and statues but an idol is what you spend your time, thoughts and focus on. With that as criteria let’s name some possibilities.
   
   • Money – (whether you have it or not if it has your time, thoughts and focus you’re making it an idol)
   • Television – Videos
   • Entertainment – Fun
   • Family
   • Games
   • Work
   • Food
   • Sleep
   • Fantasy – Day Dreams – non-reality
   • Religious Activities
   • Your personal down time

   Please realize what may be an idol for you may not be an idol for someone else. Don’t judge others harshly about something because God has dealt with you about it as an idol. It may not be an idol for them. God dealt with you now allow Him to be the one to deal with them. Please look carefully at the list and add to it if you need to. Ask yourself these questions.

   1. Is it taking a large portion of my time?
   2. Does it take my thoughts, emotions and focus?
   3. Does it take my money and resources?
   4. How would I feel if I didn’t get to do this (angry, hurt, loss, resentful, etc.)?
   5. How would I honestly feel if I never got to have or do this again?
   6. Do I ever put this before the Lord or family? (For example during TV time demanding the kids be quiet, leave or not listen to them or interact with them.)

   Idolatry produces little for God and much for everything else. We were created for the Lord. We gave our lives to Him. He owns us. Yet our lives are segmented in such a way that He gets only a small portion because we feel obligated or we want other things. The Lord must have all of our life.

5. Selfishness – 60% Soil – I have seen some good Christians crumble and fall when the Lord required their selfish desires. It seemed to them and to everyone around them that they were sold out Christians until the Lord touched the depth of their heart and they couldn’t let go of something He required. Every day I find a bit more of self held on to that needs burned up on the altar to the Lord. There are many different levels and many different ways. Many Christians just fall short and stay there afraid of the battle. Don’t do that. What ever the cost is you needed to be rid of it anyway. You see we cannot change ourselves. We’ve all tried and failed. We can only remain willing and obedient then the Lord will do the changing.
   I had been through so many battles that I had confidence in one thing, I was willing no matter what. Then the Lord began to ask me if I would die to self. Yes Lord. He said, “You don’t know what it means but I will take you at your word anyway because you need me to.” The next few years were a nightmare of loss and heartache. Please understand the Lord did not do this “to” me. First of all the devil comes to steal kill and destroy, not the Lord. The Lord comes to give us life and that abundantly. I didn’t face anything many others in the world haven’t faced except I had the Lord and His assurance to come out the other side that they didn’t have. The Lord knows the beginning from the end but He gives me the choice of how I will respond to it.

   It started when the Lord revealed to me the storm cellar in the foundation of my life. I have found since that most people have one. It is where we run when we are hurt or frightened. For some it is food, TV, sleep, work, etc. What ever you call it the reality of it is running away but not ‘to’ God. Running away to hide from reality and pain. How very wise the Lord was and only in looking back can I see how extremely patient He was. It has taken years and years. I remember when He began to deal with me about TV. He explained to me that it was a crutch I needed to remove slowly because if I jerked it away I would fall. He started by restricting shows more and more; then fasting TV, eventually for extended periods of time and finally after years no more TV at all. You may say why? Perhaps you have no problem with TV. I didn’t say ‘you’ did. I said I did. I was so shocked at myself because even after years of carefully preparing me for it (I was sure I wasn’t going to miss it anymore) when He finally said no more TV ever I felt a great loss, like I’d lost my best friend. God knew me better than I knew myself.

   He delivered me from the stronghold of fantasy, a simple place where I felt safe and loved. He showed me how to guard against it ever returning by seeing the symptoms afar off before it ever drew near. Slowly He began to fill in my storm cellar – my hiding place. He began to reveal the many things I used to comfort myself instead of turning to Him. It’s been a process. And though I only traded lumps of coal for gold and diamonds I suffered loss each time as though I had paid a real price.

   There have been many layers and many levels of each thing. I remember the Lord asking me one day what I wanted to keep from my house because one day He would ask for everything. I thought He was just testing me. Surely He wouldn’t take my stuff. I also thought I meant it when I smugly gave Him all. It was a couple of years latter that suddenly it was all gone. My big house, my truck, my nice things, my good salary and only then did I realize how much I had depended on those things for safety instead of Him. Now I can see how patient He was and careful He was in removing it from my clutching fingers.

   After that I thought nothing could shake me, until I lost a loved one. Then I saw that the Lord was digging a hole completely through me. In my deepest hurts He dug the deepest. I could see that in those spots where He had dug through the flesh and self I was directly connected to Him. Once I saw the results I wanted all the flesh gone. He is often more patient with us than we are with ourselves. We cannot rip apart our own flesh but it is one thing at a time as He directs. He knows what we can bear. Surely there is nothing major left but even just recently the Lord began to ask me to go to a country I don’t really want to go, to love them and perhaps be willing to live there. He has asked me to be willing to give up comforts and home on a whole new level and though I have very little left materially He is always reminding me that it’s still too much for what He wants.

   Here’s what I want to tell you about this part of your garden that withers because you have kept it for yourself. Be honest when the Lord reveals it and be willing and willing to be willing. Do not grieve over it my friend because grief speaks against faith and truth. But trust the Lord beyond what you see and know He is the one who will change you and lead you through yourself one parcel at a time. If you could change yourself you wouldn’t need a savior and we all need a savior, constantly. Never look back, never count the cost or hold the loss. Those weights will cause you to drown in troubled waters. Let it go and hold on to eternity. For everywhere you let go to the depths of your soul He can join with you there. That is what will be needed for these last days.

   Don’t be afraid of your selfishness. He will conquer it with you and use each brick conquered as a stepping stone to lead you to heavenly places where you can dwell with Him as we were meant to. This is the most selfish generation I have ever seen and the world is the most selfish I have ever seen it. So! God is the biggest I have ever seen Him. In these last days He is doing a quicker work and giving greater grace. Take it and let Him rescue you. Your job is to BE His and to remain willing and obedient. The enemy wants you to be overly aware of your selfishness and to cause you to give up. So don’t do it. Realize it isn’t about you and the Lord will lead you through yourself as lover and King of your soul.

6. Sold Out to God – 100% Soil – Then we will reach the place where there is nothing in us that holds back or grieves the Lord. We will be dead to self and alive to God as Jesus was when He walked this earth. It’s not enough to be dead to self but each piece that dies must also come alive to the Lord. It is attainable for the Lord told us it is. Don’t settle for less. It is your destiny.

Next week Part 6 in the Garden Series - The Fruit