Matthew 13:3-4 "And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came an devoured them up:"
The seed is the Word of God. The birds represent the devil. When the devil steals the seed then it doesn't get a chance to take root. There are some different "birds" that the devil will use in people's lives.
1) The bird of discontentment...The devil gets us to be unsatisfied with anything and everything in our lives. We need to learn to be content. Discontentment is sin. It brings a critical attitude. That person always sees the problems. The children of Israel were like this. They were critical of everything. Are you like that?
This person will also get to where they put themselves higher than others. They are also hard to get along with. A person who keeps their eyes on Christ will be a pleasant person and is content.
2) The bird of discouragement...This brings the attitude that nothing is working for us or in us. The devil will use anything to get us discouraged. We serve a God Who can do anything!! God has the devil on a leash. He can only do to the child of God what God allows him to do. If we allow ourselves to get discouraged...God will let us live in that state. Its our choice whether we live discouraged and defeated. There is always something that we could be discouraged about. Discouragement will defile our attitude. A discouraged Christian doesn't serve God. So it stands to reason that the devil wants us to live in this state.
3) The bird of delay...This will cause God to put us on a shelf. God will not use a person in sin. There are those who delay in getting saved. God deals with them and they put off doing what they know they should. This is probably the most dangerous "bird". The person who continues to delay is in danger of eternally sealing their fate for eternal damnation. God is not promised to deal with our heart more than once. So when God is speaking to us about something....we need to make a move in our heart to do that which He is telling us we need to do.
4) The bird of doubt...The devil wants us to doubt. Some things he wants us to doubt are our salvation...His existence...His faithfulness...His power...His provision...and much more. When we doubt we aren't serving. Of course the devil wants this "bird" to have his way in our life. Doubt keeps us preoccupied and therefore we're not focused on Him and living for Him.
These are only four "birds" that came to mind. No doubt there are many more. We must be aware of these "birds" and not let them have their way in our lives.
These are notes taken from a message my husband preached recently. I've added some of my own thoughts as the Lord was giving them to me as well.
4 comments:
Since I started reading blogs w/bloglines, I have taken a lot less time about commenting. This is an excellent post. What caught my attention- was the title. You see, I have some dear pastor friends in New Mexico who have sponsored an Evangelist in Nigeria.
The Evang. sends them testimonials on a regular basis. More than once testimony has been given of folks being set free from demons. I guess(demons being cast out) is the more common way of putting it. Anyway, one e-mail she forwarded me described in detail demons coming out of persons and the demons were in the form of birds. At first I was skeptical- but as I pondered it and prayed; the Holy Spirit assured me that it was a true testimonial. After reading your e-mail, I thought it wasn't so strange after all.
sista cala...I have to say I'd never looked at demons being in the form of birds either. My husband wasn't so much getting across the thought that these were literal birds but that he was making a spiritual application. But I suppose anything is possible with demons taking on any form. Thank you for leaving a comment on this post.
Sis. Julie, these are excellent examples of what will hinder the Word of God from bearing fruit in our lives.
Sorry, I've gotten a little behind in my blog reading...
Almost finished that series Kate and I are doing on our blogs. It has been a pretty neat one. We certainly had no idea of where the Lord was going to take us - and what kind of blessings the series would result in, such as greater closeness with the Lord, so many wonderful promises, and the many blessings and assurances the Lord gives us each day!
You might appreciate the devotional I preached yesterday: Turning Bitter Waters To Sweet. Not sure if you saw my reply to your comment on my site, but I think I will probably write out my message on The God Of Second Chances (on John Mark turning back from the ministry, and then how the Lord later used him) for my last post in that series - that would end my part of it with devotionals on the theme of Forgiven, second chances, new beginnings, etc.
God bless.
bro. jerry....I sure have enjoyed the posts you and Sis. Kate have done in the series. They have been very informative, helpful and also a tremendous blessing. I will check out that devotional...thank you for letting me know about it.
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