The seed is always the same—it is the Word—but the condition of your heart determines how much you produce. Some hearts are hard, stony ground. Some are shallow and look good for a little while, but don't last. In Matthew 15:13, Jesus says, "…Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted."
Your goal should be for the garden of your heart to be so healthy that it can grow more fruit. It should produce good results so your lifestyle improves and brings glory to God.
We are to guard our hearts from old thoughts, feelings, and behaviors we know have been a problem. Proverbs 4:23 says, "Keep [or guard] your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life." Protect your heart from the temptation to fall back into your old nature. Uprooting that which God did not plant is critical to protecting the garden of your heart and maintaining a healthy heart.
Heart Condition and Productivity
In Mark 4:3 Jesus says, "Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow." Jesus continues in verses 14-15, "The sower sows the word. And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts." The field represents the heart, and the Word is the seed (Mark 4:16-20).
It is the seed of God's Word in your life that makes a fruitful, productive garden. You may love the Lord; however, the important question is What is going on with the Word in your life? If the Word is not big in your heart but is overshadowed by other issues, then your life will not bear fruit. Your heart must be whole in order for you to live a successful life.
People who receive the Word and embrace it are good, fertile ground. We need to be honest with ourselves. Are we producing and improving? Are we increasing thirty, sixty, a hundredfold? If you receive the Word, you will experience results, positive changes, and forward motion in your life.
Is there any progress in your marriage or health? Are you moving forward in your financial giving to the kingdom of God? If there is no increase or improvement, the Word is not growing in your heart. That is not meant to be condemning but to emphasize the importance of recognizing any problems in the garden of your heart. Someone sowed some weeds, and we have to get the rototiller out and break up the hard ground. We've got to do something if the garden isn't producing.
If you are honest with yourself, the issues of your heart will come clean. When you were saved, you began to learn, grow, and change. Negative behaviors fell from you like rotten cherries from a tree. Your life became better, and you were excited about the Lord. Is that still happening today?
Is there a thirty, sixty, hundredfold improvement in your life? Maybe not in every area of your life, but somewhere you should be making progress. Check the garden of your heart, and see which areas need change and protection.
The level of the productivity of your life is dependent on the condition of your heart. What kind of harvest are you experiencing? Do you have a "barely-getting-by, just-enough-to-pay-the-bills" garden? Is it a survival garden or a garden of abundance? It depends on the condition of your heart.
Before a gardener can plant, he must prepare the soil. Likewise, we need to protect the soil of our garden through preparation. The Bible says that some hearts are hard. The Old Testament calls such hard, crusty soil "fallow ground" (Jer. 4:3).
A person with a hard heart hears the Word and says, "Yeah, but that doesn't apply to me; I don't like it; I don't believe that; I don't want to hear that; I don't need to listen." Such a person rejects the Word, excuses himself, brushes it off, and goes on about his business. This is dangerous behavior to the garden of a person's heart.
In contrast, when the ground of your garden is soft, the seed will go in and weeds will easily come out. The blessings of God will come up thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Casey Treat shares the straightforward message that through God's Word, you can change. Through the renewing of the mind to the Word and the power of the Holy Spirit, we can all live a victorious and prosperous Christian life here on this earth.
