Lets say you have, because of everything you have learned, decided that Jesus is the Son of God and you want to follow him.
Now what?
You say a prayer and ask him into your heart as your savior and it is done. Now you go to heaven. Is this all there is to it?
A lot of people do this first step and then go back to what they where doing and nothing changes.
Do you think they are truly saved? Lets read a parable (Bible story) told by Jesus himself:
Matt 13:3 Then he [Jesus] told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop--a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
Jesus used parables many times to make his point. In this parable he uses the farmer in place of a preacher and the seed in place of the message he wants taken to people. He goes on to give an explanation to what he meant with this parable in Matthew 13:18-23.
He starts with the seed falling on the path:
18 "Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
This would be the person that doesn't bother to try to understand what is being told. If it doesn't make sense, you sure are not going to get it. So the devil helps you to forget what you did hear.
Then he explains what he meant by the seed falling on rocky places:
20 The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.21 But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.
Some people believe and get excited, but because they don't ground them selves in the word (read the Bible) a little bit of trouble or pressure from others and they drift away. They go back to where they where before.
Next he talks about the seed that fell amongst thorns:
22 The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.
This is the person that is way too busy to worry about church because of things like there job, the house, the family or maybe racing. In other words everything is more important and there is no time for God. A lot of these people tell themselves there is always later.
Last he speaks of the seed the fell on good soil:
23 But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
This is the person that makes his decision and then spends the time it takes to find out what its about and applies what he learns. In other words it is like learning how to MX, it takes practice to be real successful at it. Anyone can say they Motocross, but do they really know how? Are they doing it right?
So lets sum this up: You don't just say you are a believer or follower of Jesus, there is more to it then that:
1. You receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior.
2. If you want to succeed, you start reading the Bible to find out How to be a Believer.
3. You apply what you learn
So here you are sitting here going: "There is no way I can do this".
Here is the awesome part:
You don't do this on your own. You do this with the help of God and other believers and you are guaranteed to succeed. Notice in verse 23 the crop that is produced is not the same for everyone, so don't measure yourself against others. We all have to walk our own walk.
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