0752. Satan's Third Strategy–Seen in the Parable of the Mustard Seed
Satan’s Third Strategy–Seen in the Parable of the Mustard Seed
"The birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof" (Mat_13:32).
The third parable is that of the mustard tree.
The mustard tree is described here as a tree which overreaches all other trees. This assures us of an abnormal growth, for the mustard tree, naturally, does not outgrow the great trees of the forest.
The striking feature of the parable, however, lies in the fact that the birds of the air are roosting in the branches of the tree.
In the first parable, satan was hindering the fruitage of God’s Seed.
In the second parable, he was sowing a counterfeit seed.
In the third, his children are entering the church, as members thereof.
The birds of the air are the children of the wicked one, lodging in the Christian tree.
How true is all of this to facts. The church of today is so filled with the ungodly, that one can scarcely tell whether it is a worldly church or a churchly world.
The church and the world walk together, hand in hand. Their conversations run along the same line; their deeds are of the same cast.
The church welcomed the world into its fellowship; it let down the bars which guarded its membership; it asked the unregenerate and the unredeemed to enter in.
The church now is paying the price.
Worldly men and women, who have no vital Christianity, are found upon every important official board. They are numbered in the deacons, the elders, the stewards, the trustees, the Sunday School teachers, the choir, the pulpit committee and everything else which has to do with church life.
The church may indeed boast of her tremendous growth, but it is not a normal growth.
The church now can say: "I am rich and increased with goods;" it cannot say, "Silver and gold have I none," and, alas, neither can it say, "Arise, take up thy bed and walk."
It has gained numbers, but lost power.
It has gained influence, but lost the testimony which turns men from darkness to light and from the power of satan unto God.
Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR