Today we continue our new series entitled, “Expecting the Word to Work!” This is part 6. Since I am only dealing with the first of four soils today (the soil along the path), I will only share the portion of scripture that pertains to it. Let’s get to it. Jesus said:
“The farmer is like someone who plants God’s teaching in people. Sometimes the teaching falls on the path. That is like some people who hear the teaching of God. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the teaching that was planted in them.”
(Mark 4:13-15 ERV)
I already pointed out that the sower seeks out the soil and the not the other way around. The point is that God sends people out to plant seed (or His Word) IN us. Why? Because God’s Word has the power to save us from sin, and to also develop us into the men/women we are called to be. I am going to use something Paul said in Romans 10 to further illustrate this point.
Paul said, “They that called upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The Greek word translated “saved” here is a word that means: delivered from your circumstances. In terms of salvation, it means being saved from eternal death. But even after salvation, calling upon the name of the Lord will help get you saved from all sorts of situations. Now here comes the connection to this parable. Paul continued and explained that people will never call upon a Lord they have not believed in. Further, they will never believe in a God they have not heart about. Further, they will never hear unless they have a preacher. And finally, the preacher cannot preach unless he/she is sent by God to do so, with a specific Word (or seed) to a specific people (or soil).
They way it works is that God anoints certain men and women to preach and teach the Gospel, He sends them to specific people with a specific message, the people are to hear it, receive it, believe it, and apply it. If they do, they will be saved, i.e. delivered from their circumstances. Satan doesn’t want you delivered from circumstances. Which is why as soon as God plants His Word in your heart, satan comes immediately to attempt to snatch it away (Mark 4:15). Satan knows that God’s Word can produce in your life and he wants to snatch the Word before you get an understanding of it. Once a Word is sown in your heart and you understand it, it’s too late for satan. At that point the Word is yours and no one can take it from you. But if you do not understand it, you are susceptible to losing it. This is the message Jesus taught about the soil along the path.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
- God sends people to sow His Word in your heart because He is looking for you to activate your faith. The Apostle Paul taught us that God has dealt to every man “the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3). God gave you the faith you need to be able to access His grace. God offers you everything by grace (unearned and undeserved), and you are supposed to accept, believe and attempt what God said by faith, even when you have no sense-realm evidence to support what God said. So every man has been given faith and that faith can be activated and applied when we hear the Word of God. The way Paul said it is that ”faith comes by hearing the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). So God gave you faith and He then sends people to give you His Word, so your faith can be activated and applied. This is why satan is so quick to attempt to snatch the Word away. The Word of God contains the power to perform what He said. This power comes WITH the Word spoken. Our part is to be crazy enough to believe the invisible and attempt the impossible. This is why God gave us faith.
- The faith God gave you must be developed. God gave you “the” measure of faith you need to live a successful life in this world (Rom 12:3). You have faith. But like a muscle, your faith must be exercised and developed.
- Any Word from God you understand and apply is a Word that can change your life. God sends people to you who are anointed to preach/teach His Word in a way you can understand. God’s Word is incorruptible seed that can produce life-changing results in your life. This is why satan is after the Word sown in your heart. Satan wants to get the Word before you understand, because he knows that once you understand it, the Word will produce an amazing harvest in your life and there is nothing he can do about it.
- Satan is after the Word because he is after your faith. Satan knows he cannot stop you when you are in-faith, accessing God’s grace. But if he can get you before you activate your faith, he can stop you, because at that stage you are still operating in human ability. Satan wants to stop you in your humanity BEFORE you tap into your divinity. Because once you do, he knows he is powerless against God.
- God has been extremely good to you! Think about it… You did not pursue God without God first pursuing you. You could not love God until God first loved you. You did not pursue the Word until God went out of His way to send people to bring the Word to you. God even gave you the faith you need to receive the Word, so the Word can produce in your life. So please pause for a moment to think about the goodness of God. God gave you faith, He gave you His Word, He gave you His love, He gave You His Son, and now He gives you His plans for your life. Your part is to simply use the faith He gave you to access His grace. If you do, you will become the man/woman you were birthed to be. Not because you are so good, but because God is!
Closing Confession:
Father, this is a season of expectation for me. You have dealt to me “THE” measure of faith. I have the faith I need to succeed in life. You gave me faith and I know it must be developed, activated and applied. This happens through Your Word. I pursue Your Word daily. Your Word feeds my faith and starves my doubts. You anoint people to teach and preach Your Word. You then send them to me with a Word that is tailor-made just for me! The sowers come, Your Word comes, faith comes, and I know satan will come. But satan will not be successful. He will not snatch the Word from my heart. Because my heart is open to understand what You are saying. I am quick to receive, quick to believe, quick to apply, and quick to cross over from humanity to divinity. Your Word works in my life because I work Your Word! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
