As we’re looking at the parable of the Sower and just analyzing, what condition is our heart really in?  What are the things that I have to deal with to make sure that my ground is being prepared constantly to receive this perfect seed of God’s Word?  Well, the Scripture gives us a lot of different understandings.  One thing we need to do is flee youthful lusts.  And let me remind you: you don’t have to be youthful to be lusting.  I like what one of the Pastors said over in Africa one time when he was acting inappropriately, and he was rebuked.  And he said, “Pastor, it’s just those old-man lusts.”  Lust is lust.  It’s through our life, amen?  Some of these old men lusting and can’t even do anything about it.  The lust doesn’t go away.  If you think you’re going to outgrow it, you will not.

So, what we want to look at is the third aspect, the lust of the natural things in our lives, that choke the Word of God out.  Where your treasure is, is where your heart is, and out of the abundance of the heart, is what we’re lusting for, where those strong desires really are.  Most of us are just not truthful with ourselves, when it comes to looking at these things.  We know the right things to say.  We know what we ought to be desiring, but what’s predominant?  We are what we do habitually.  That’s why we don’t get under condemnation when we fall into sin because each and every one of us is going to be caught up at times, and we will sin when we’re drawn away of our own lust and enticed.  But aren’t you glad that sin doesn’t have dominion over you?  We will sin, but He’s faithful and just to forgive us when we confess our sins.  And He’s faithful to cleanse us from all of our unrighteousness.  Thank God for the legal righteousness that we live in and are assured of in our redemption through the finished work of Jesus Christ.

But, beloved, as sure as we are—and we spent a lot of time talking about it—we do not live in the false doctrine that we hear being propagated today.  It’s not a new thing; we all know that. It’s part of the Calvin five points.  But, beloved, we need to understand that the Scripture teaches that we can fall away and lose this grace that God has extended to us.  “The Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel” (1 Samuel 15:35).  We are eternally secure in the finished work of God’s grace, the redemption, His blood that was shed, Him having become the propitiation for our sins, the appeasement to God.

We stand right today and justified by His righteousness but listen to what He declared very early on as He was introducing God’s great love and plan of redemption for us and His introduction of the kingdom of God. “If you love me, if you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you will keep My commandments, and they will not be grievous to you.”  The commandments of God should be your delight.  We found your Word, and we ate it and it became the joy and the rejoicing of our hearts, amen?  For us to trade in all that the world is trying to seduce us with, for obedience to Christ tastes really good, hallelujah!  It’s a life that we should be longing for.