In the parable of the sower the people who receive the Lord Jesus are likened to four kinds of earth. The first is the wayside, the margin of the field. This margin or border of the field lies between the field and the road and is somewhat neutral, being neither the road nor the field. Because this kind of earth is close to the road, it has been trodden down by the traffic of the world and has become hardened and preoccupied, making it difficult for the seed to get in. The birds of the air realize this situation and come immediately to snatch away the seed. When some people listen to the word of the gospel of the kingdom, their hearts are preoccupied by the worldly communication and traffic. They may listen to the message and nod their heads in agreement, but their hearts have been hardened. After the message is over, they retain nothing because the word has been snatched out of their heart. The Lord Jesus told us definitely that the birds in the air signify the evil one, Satan (Matt. 13:4, 19). Satan moves upon the earth, but he dwells in the air. From there he watches over the earth. Satan never sleeps; he is always working on the earth, watching for an opportunity to snatch the word of the kingdom from the hardened hearts. The worldly traffic with all of its complications hardens the hearts of men. We need to pray: "Lord Jesus, keep me from being the wayside. Don't let my heart be hardened by the traffic of this world."
Even if your heart is not like the earth by the wayside, do not be confident that you have no problems. There is still the second kind of earth—the rocky places. The Lord Jesus said that the rocky places are covered with soft soil which is apparently very good for growing something. In reality, however, the soil is shallow—perhaps only a half-inch deep. On the surface there is good, soft soil, but underneath are rocks. These rocks do not mainly represent the sinful things, but they represent our natural mind, emotions, and will. Our unrenewed mind, our untouched emotions, and our unsubdued will are three huge rocks in our heart.
For several years I have been traveling, visiting, and ministering in this country. I am very happy to see the growth in life among so many saints during this period of time. However, I am concerned about some of the brothers and sisters, because year after year they seem to have very little growth. We simply cannot see the increase and expansion of the Lord Jesus within them. They may be good, gentle, and nice, but there has been little growth of Christ. The kingdom is not a matter of being nice; it is a matter of having Christ spreading Himself within us. Because of hidden rocks in the heart, the Lord Jesus has not been able to spread in some of the brothers and sisters.
The first rock is the natural mind. We may even call it the religious mind, the doctrinal mind, or the mind filled with Bible knowledge. You may feel that there is nothing wrong with such a mind, but for the sake of the kingdom it must be broken through. The book of Matthew reveals that it was the people with a religious mind who troubled the Lord Jesus most. Thus, if we are going to have Christ as the seed of the kingdom growing within us, we need to unload our mind, to empty our mind of the old concepts. We must realize that what prevents the Lord Jesus from taking deep root within us is the natural mind underneath the soft soil. Do not read this for others; read it for yourself. If you consider that you have heard this before and understand it already, this also is a rock. You need to pray, "Lord, unload my mind and understanding."
Another large rock is the untreated, undealt-with emotions. If your emotions are very raw and, in a sense, fragile, they have probably never been dealt with or trained by the Lord. If your emotions have been trained and treated by the Lord, you will not be easily offended by other people. You will be flexible, but not fragile. Our emotions must be dealt with and treated by the Lord in a deep way. We need to pray that the Lord would deal with our emotions. Some of the problems in the churches are caused by the fragile emotions. Sisters, how about your emotions? If you want to convince a sister about something, it is not necessary to talk much. You simply need to shed two tears, one from each eye. By two tears the sister will be fully persuaded because her emotions are untreated. How we need the Lord to deal with our emotions!
One day the two sons of the high priest, Aaron, were burned to death by the Lord (Lev. 10:1-7). As a father how could Aaron hold back the tears and keep from mourning over his sons? However, Moses charged Aaron not to mourn. We might think that Moses had no human feelings. The fact that Aaron could control his emotions and hold back his tears indicates he was qualified to be such a high priest. In God's kingdom, in the church life, do not play with your emotions. It is very easy for the sisters to be emotional, to weep, and to shed tears. However, by the Lord's mercy and by His life within us, we can all subdue our emotions and have them thoroughly dealt with. Our emotions must be dug deeply, and the rock of our emotions must be dug away. If we do not deal with our emotions, the Lord cannot take deep root within us. The large rock of our emotions hinders the growth of Christ.
Now we come to the will, a rock even harder than the mind and the emotions. This is perhaps a problem particularly among the brothers. I have seen several strong-willed brothers. Once they have made a decision, nothing can change them. Of course, some brothers are "wishy-washy," but most are very strong. Sometimes, the strong-willed brothers would not listen to what the ministry or the elders say. Brothers, your will needs to be broken, crushed, and ground into powder. I hope that eventually the strong-willed brothers will let the Lord deal with their will. Then the church will be rescued. You need to pray: "O Lord, have mercy upon me. Don't let my heart be hardened by the traffic of the world. Dig out the rocks of my natural mind, emotions, and will. Spread from my spirit into every part of my heart."