When it comes to our spiritual growth it's not entirely up to God. Yes, He is the one that makes things grow, but we have a part to play when it comes to sowing the seed. Many sow lots of seeds in their own heart, reading the Bible, praying and so on, but without any big results. The problem is not the word of God, but the soil the word is planted in. This is what Jesus is teaching us in Mark chapter four, and here he also reveals some very dangerous weeds. Our hearts should be like a beautiful garden, but the truth is that the heart of many Christians looks more like a forest of worldliness. Instead of preparing the soil and removing the weeds we pour new seeds in our forest, letting everything grow wild.

There is a rising number of Christians today that are really hungry for more of God, and during the latest years the Christian media have been reporting several different outpourings. People are flocking to the different outpourings, hoping to get some new revelation or a spiritual breakthrough.

It's encouraging to see more and more Christians seeking God, hungry for revival, longing to see lost people saved. But why don't we see more happening, especially here in Europe? We hear reports of mighty miracles, like the dead being raised, from third world countries, but here in the West we see so little spiritual power.

Is it because God doesn't want to demonstrate His power here? No, I don't think so, because the Bible says that God is no respecter of person, and that He wants all people to get saved. He wants to do mighty things here in Europe, but there is something that chokes Christians and makes them unfruitful.

Now, you might think that it's the devil or his demons that are choking them, but that's not completely true. Surely the devil has had his influence, but the Christians are doing the choking very well on their own. The answer is found in Mark 4:18-19.

• Mark 4:18-19
  Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.

Jesus is saying that it was the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things that were choking the word. In Matthew 13:24-30 we learn that these things are weeds the devil has sown into the world we are living in.

• Matthew 13:24-30
  Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

When Jesus is praying for His disciples in John 17:15, we see that He does not want to take us out of this world yet - but He is asking God to protect us. The Bible has strong warnings when it comes to our relationship with the world, and this is because the world is full of weeds. We must take heed and constantly be alert, so that the enemy doesn't plant His seed in the garden of our life.

The forest of worldliness
Many Christians have not been alert. They have not taken heed to how much the world is influencing them. The result is that you can hardly see any difference between the forest of worldliness around them and their "garden of life".

Many of them are born-again Christians with a sincere longing for more of God. They come to church, read their Bible and pray, but still they see so little of God’s power in their everyday life. I'm sure that many of them really wish they had more time to pray and read the word of God, but there is so much to be done. The daily routine and cares of this life are so numerous that it's just impossible.

When they get the chance, they take time off to go to some kind of conference or outpouring. Then they let new and refreshing seeds from God rain down on their garden, which actually almost looks like a forest.

The seeds are sown, they are happy, and they go home to their daily routine to take care of the responsibilities of life. After all, they have to go to work, their kids have a dozen of different activities and hobbies, they have to renovate their shack, keep the house in order and make sure that all the bills get paid.

Now you might wonder if it's wrong to have a house or to pay your bills, but this is not the case. The problem is that too many have filled their life with so much that their garden looks like a forest of worldliness. All the other couples they know send their kids to kindergarten all day, so that they can work two full-time jobs. Their friends are involved in different hobbies so why shouldn't they? Their friends’ kids go to several different activites every week, so to be like the rest they send their kids to soccer practice, boy scouts, swimming and junior church club. Besides all the activities the kids go to school and the parents have to make sure they do their homework.

There is a reason why the Bible tells us to take heed. It's because it's so easy to be caught up in daily routines that we suddenly find ourselves spending 80% of our time to maintain our life, and 20% on God. This life is just a preperation for the next, and still we spend most of our time doing things that concern this life, and very little time doing what God has told us to do. 

In 2.Timothy 2:4 Paul is saying: "No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier." Still this is exactly the situation for many Christians - they have entangled themselves with the affairs of this life.

This does not mean that we should neglect the duties of life, but we don't have to live a life exactly as the world around us. The unsaved people around us that are setting the standard for what a normal life should look like don't take into consideration that there is a life after this. The devil has done a good job here in the West, making sure that the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things keep people away from seeking God.

The problem is that many Christian look at the weeds that the devil has sown, thinking: "That looks nice! I think I want some of that in my garden, too". God has specifically warned us to not develop any love for this world (James 4:4), and He has told us not to conform ourselves to the norm of the world around us (Romans 12:1-2). Still this is what many Christians are consciously trying to do - some even put an effort in becoming more like the world.

Then we wonder why we see so little spiritual power. The truth is that the lives of many Christians are like a forest of worldliness and not like a beautiful garden. We like the worldliness, so we don't try to remove it, and at the same time we want more of God. So instead of cleaning up our garden, we just sow the seed of the word of God on top of all the weeds that are planted in our hearts - hoping that it will produce some new revelation. We might have "seed-potential" for amazing revelations that would produce great spiritual power, but since we don't take time to remove weeds like the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things, we never see the change we hope for.

So examine yourself, remove the weeds from your heart, and prepare the ground of your heart. Don't try and be like everyone else, don't be conformed to this world, but let the word of God renew your mind.