{"id":36770,"date":"2022-09-13T13:09:57","date_gmt":"2022-09-13T18:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/how-can-i-be-fruitful-according-to-matthew-13\/"},"modified":"2022-09-13T13:09:57","modified_gmt":"2022-09-13T18:09:57","slug":"how-can-i-be-fruitful-according-to-matthew-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/how-can-i-be-fruitful-according-to-matthew-13\/","title":{"rendered":"How can I be fruitful according to Matthew 13?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>Jesus teaches the <strong>parable of the sower in Matthew 13:3-23<\/strong>.&nbsp; In this parable, soil quality represents <strong>heart condition<\/strong>.&nbsp; If the good seed (gospel \/Kingdom message) falls on good ground (an honest, humble heart), it will bear much fruit (a Christ-like character).&nbsp; &ldquo;&hellip;the <strong>fruit of the Spirit<\/strong> is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control&hellip;&rdquo; (Galatians 5:22-23 ASV).<\/p>\n<p>God may allow, not cause, the plowing up of the soil (heart) by allowing difficult experiences to humble a person. This prepares that one to receive the gospel with the goal of bearing spiritual fruit.&nbsp; &ldquo;&hellip;<strong>get rid of all moral filth and&hellip;evil<\/strong>&hellip;humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.&rdquo; (James 1:21 NIV). In addition to God&rsquo;s loving efforts on our behalf, we are responsible for actively maintaining <strong>pure thoughts<\/strong> and refusing to dwell on impure thoughts.&nbsp; It benefits us to avoid tempting sinful environments. &ldquo;Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.&rdquo; (Proverbs 4:23 KJV).&nbsp; Philippians 2:12 (ASV) states &ldquo;&hellip; work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>We should <strong>study the holy scriptures daily,<\/strong> <strong>applying the lessons<\/strong> to all areas of our lives.&nbsp; &ldquo;&hellip;blessed are they that hear the word of God, and <strong>keep it<\/strong>.&rdquo; (Luke 11:28 ASV). See also 2 Timothy 3:16.<\/p>\n<p>We may freely serve God, our brethren, and fellowmen. &ldquo;&hellip;God loves a cheerful giver.&rdquo; (2 Corinthians 9:7 KJV). The heavenly Father expects us to lovingly serve our brethren, even those that seem to show us less warmth. &ldquo;&hellip;let us <strong>do good unto all men, especially unto&hellip;the household of faith<\/strong>.&rdquo;&nbsp; (Galatians 6:10 KJV).<\/p>\n<p>Developing perfect love is essential to entering the kingdom. By <strong>meeting with other Christians<\/strong>, we assist and encourage one another in spiritual goals (see Hebrews 10:25). &nbsp; If we are willing, God will work in us, giving us desire, strength and ability to do His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).&nbsp; &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>We must <strong>pray continually<\/strong> (1 Thessalonians 5:17). &nbsp; A constant trusting connection to Jehovah is vital to spiritual health and peace (see Isaiah 26:3). &nbsp; &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Although we try desperately to do good God&rsquo;s will, sometimes we will fail, but&nbsp; &ldquo;&hellip;a <strong>righteous<\/strong> <strong>man falls seven times, and rises up again<\/strong>&hellip;&rdquo; (Proverbs 24:16)<\/p>\n<p>If possible, for our part, we should <strong>live peacefully with all <\/strong>(see Romans 12:18). &ldquo;Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.&rdquo;&nbsp; (Hebrews 12:14 KJV).&nbsp; And remember Jesus instructs us in Matthew 6:15 to <strong>forgive others just as God forgives us<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>This is how we can be fruitful.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jesus teaches the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:3-23.&nbsp; In this parable, soil quality represents heart condition.&nbsp; If the good seed (gospel \/Kingdom message) falls on good ground (an honest, humble heart), it will bear much fruit (a Christ-like character).&nbsp; &ldquo;&hellip;the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/how-can-i-be-fruitful-according-to-matthew-13\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;How can I be fruitful according to Matthew 13?&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36770\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}