John Bunyan, that great Puritan soul said these words. “If you would be rid of a hard heart, that great enemy to the growth of the grace of fear, be much with Christ upon the cross in your meditations, for that is an excellent remedy against hardness of heart. A right sight of him, as he hanged there for your sins, will dissolve your heart into tears, and make it soft and tender” ¹. Stony ground is the term Jesus used in the Parable of the Sower to describe a hard heart which won’t produce a harvest. What does Jesus say about how we can avoid it?

The Problem of No Roots

Mark 4:5 (KJV)
5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:

Mark 4:16–17 (KJV)
16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.

• The problem with stony ground is the root system.
• Jesus said they had no root in themselves.

Proverbs 12:3 (KJV)
3 A man shall not be established by wickedness: But the root of the righteous shall not be moved.

• In order to have harvest, we must understand the Word and have the Word rooted in us.
• Why must we be rooted?
• The problem of no roots is a problem of no fruit.
• Roots are the source of fruit.

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Illustration: If you hired someone to plant a garden and he asked if you wanted all roots or all fruit, what would you think? Both are essential! – Source unknown

What Jesus Said about Affliction, Persecution and Roots

• Jesus gives us another clue in the Parable of the Sower.
• We are to be rooted because, if we are not, affliction and persecution will cause the Word to not produce a harvest.

Mark 4:17 (KJV)
17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.

• Jesus gave us the reason why affliction and persecution comes. It comes for the Words sake. It doesn’t come for your sake.
• It’s the Word working in you the enemy is after, not you personally.
• He’s afraid of that Word and what it will harvest.
• Harvest spells Satan’s doom.
• When Satan sees a believer acting on God’s Word, only one thing comes to his mind, defeat.

Definition: affliction – trouble that inflicts distress, oppression, affliction, tribulation ².

Definition: persecution – a program or process designed to harass and oppress someone, persecution William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker, and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 253].

• Tests, trials, and difficulties do not come to you because you may have a pretty face.
• They come because of the Word you are engaging.
• The war in the Spirit realm is a war about the Word.
• On God’s end you have ‘Thus says the Lord. On the enemies side, you have ‘Yes, but did God really say that? (Gen. 3:1)’?

What a Rooted Believer Looks Like

• What does rooted mean?

Definition: root – the underground part of a plant, root.

• In spiritual terms, rooted means established.
• When the Word is established in a believer’s life, it’s said to take on roots.
• How can the Word become rooted in your life? There’s only one way.
  • By reason of use.
• Note the man spoken of in Psalm 112.

Psalm 112:1, 7-8 (KJV) 
1 Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, That delighteth greatly in his commandments. 7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. 8 His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, Until he see his desire upon his enemies.

• Why is this man’s heart fixed? Why is it established?
• Because he is trusting the Lord.
• Trust is another word for faith which comes by God’s Word (Rom. 10:17).
• In Ps 40:2, you have a believer experienced in God’s Word, in God’s deliverance.

Psalm 40:2 (KJV)
2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

• David used the Word to get out of the pit. The result? He is established or rooted. His feet are on a rock.
• The next time affliction comes for the Words sake, what will David do? He will look to the same God, the same Word which delivered him the first time.
• David experienced God’s deliverance. He knew what standing on the Word can do.

The Word: Use it or Lose It

• You have to use the Word or you lose the Word.
• Losing the Word means it becomes an unreal option in your current situation.
• When God’s Word isn’t a living reality, one doesn’t even think about using Bible principles to manage a problem.
• You turn instead to more comfortable solutions.
• We lean on ‘microwave’ shortcuts.
• Anything to get us back to business as usual.
• All of which is an indicator of where our roots really are in the first place.
• Use it or lose it is a God instilled eternal principle which Jesus referenced.
• James speaks much about using the Word in the midst of trials.

James 1:3 (KJV)
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

• For more on this see Why Should You Embrace Patience to Overcome Trials? – [James 1:2-4]
• The writer of Hebrews has similar thoughts.

Hebrews 5:13–14 (KJV)
13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

• Strong meat is a byproduct of ‘reason of use’.
• When you use the Word, when you apply it to the problems of your life, when you lean upon it in the everyday situations you encounter, you become strong, established and rooted.

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Where Should I First Set My Roots?

• Where in God’s Word should I begin to set my roots?
• There’s much to study in the Word.

ILLUSTRATION: Much to Study
G. Campbell Morgan’s son testifies that his father arose early each working day and spent several hours with his Bible, having only a light breakfast of tea and toast. After fifty-five years of intensive Bible study Morgan said, “I have only touched the fringes of the Bible” ³.

• There’s all kinds of subjects.
• There’s a multitude of topics.
• There are sixty-six Bible books.
• When you’re first getting started, it can be overwhelming.
• Where do I start?
• Many have suggested John’s gospel as the place to start because of passages like…

John 3:16 (KJV)
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

• God so loved…
• There is certainly nothing wrong with starting with the subject of love.

Ephesians 3:14–18 (KJV)
14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

• Notice this prayer Paul prayed for the Ephesian church which is the second prayer recorded by the Apostle in his letter to that church.
• Paul prayed for the Ephesians that they would be rooted.
• What did Paul desire them to be rooted in?
• Paul inspired by the Spirit of God prayed the saints would be rooted and grounded in love.
• Love is the supreme commandment of the New Testament (Matt. 22:36-39).
• Love for others is the highest motivation for harvest.
• The only other place in the New Testament where the word rooted is used is in the book of Colossians.

Colossians 2:7 (KJV)
7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

• You can only be established in faith if your life is energized by love (Rom. 5:5).
• Put these two verses, Ephesians 3:17 and Colossians 2:7 together and you have a picture of a person who is properly rooted.
• Believers who are rooted are walking in love.
• They are built up in Him.
• They are established in faith.

Call to Action:

You have to use the Word or it won’t be a rooted force in your life and when trouble comes you may fall away. Make the decision today to put God’s Word first. Read it first. Study it first. Live it first and use it in your everyday life.

Question: What steps have you taken to establish God’s Word in your heart? Please leave your comments in the comments section below?

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