Today we continue our new series entitled, “Expecting the Word to Work!” This is part 9.
We have been looking at the Parable of the Sower. Let’s get back to it again today.
“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.
Other people are like the seed planted on rocky ground. They hear the teaching, and they quickly and gladly accept it. But they don’t allow it to go deep into their lives. They keep it only a short time. As soon as trouble or persecution comes because of the teaching they accepted, they give up.
Others are like the seed planted among the thorny weeds. They hear the teaching, but their lives become full of other things: the worries of this life, the love of money, and everything else they want. This keeps the teaching from growing, and it does not produce a crop in their lives.
And others are like the seed planted on the good ground. They hear the teaching and accept it. Then they grow and produce a good crop—sometimes 30 times more, sometimes 60 times more, and sometimes 100 times more.” (Mark 4:13-20 ERV)
We’ve been discussing the soil along the path. We already learned that when God’s Word is sown into the hearts of these type of people, satan comes immediately and snatches away the Word away. Why? Because their understanding is unfruitful. A lack of understanding makes you susceptible to losing the Word you received. We have been looking at this passage for days, so it should be clear to you by now that understanding is absolutely critical.
Yesterday we looked at people who see, but fail to actually see, and who hear, but fail to understand. This morning I am led to discuss the role of the Holy Spirit in this understanding. In 1 Corinthians 2 Paul explained part of the role of the Holy Spirit. He said, “No one has ever seen, no one has ever heard, no one has ever imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. But God has shown us these things through the Spirit. The Holy Spirit knows all things. The Holy Spirit even knows the deep secrets of God… No one knows God’s thoughts except they have God’s Spirit.. We received God’s Spirit so that we can know all that God has freely given us.” (1 Cor 2:9-12). There is a lot in this passage. I could teach on it for today. But for today, I will attempt to give you a few points that line up with this series.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
- We have already learned that the Word of God is extremely powerful. When you receive a Word from God, you must realize that the POWER TO DO is locked up in THE COMMAND TO DO. No Word from God is without the power to perform it. However, God’s Word will not benefit you if you do not understand it. Further, any Word you fail to understand can be snatched away from you by the enemy. So when you receive a Word from God, understanding it critical, because if you do not understand it, you may lose it (to satan) before you ever tap into the power to DO what you heard.
- This series is about living with an expectation of the manifestation of God’s Word. If you want the Word to actually work in your life, you must get an understanding of what you received from God. Without understanding, you may have expectation and anticipation, but it will prove to be fruitless, because you do not receive a harvest on a Word you do not understand.
- You probably know of people you admire so much that you have thought to yourself, “He/she should write a book. If he/she wrote a book, I would buy it and read it. I would love to get that information out of their heads and onto paper.” While is great, many people fail to approach the Bible the same way. God wrote a book! Since God Himself wrote a book, shouldn’t you want to read it? Furthermore, if you are Born-Again, the author of God’s book lives IN you. So as you read God’s book, you can actually sit down with the author and ask him what He meant as He wrote the chapters. Isn’t that amazing? The Holy Spirit, who is the actual author of the book, will give you understanding of what He said, what He meant, and how it applies to your life today.
- God gave you His Spirit so that you would know, comprehend, and spiritually understand the things He has freely given you. This includes an understanding of the scriptures.
- When you are in-tune with the Holy Spirit and you open up your Bible, it is like the words jump off the pages and get down in your heart. The Holy Spirit can give you insight, clarity and understanding that far exceeds human ability. This is not reading the Word of God with your head. This is receiving from God’s Word in your heart.
Closing Confession:
Father, this is a season of expectation for me. My expectation is tied to Your Word. You wrote a book. You left me 66 books full of divine wisdom. In and of myself I cannot truly untap the power of the wisdom You put in the Bible. Your ways are above my ways, so I cannot understand Your Word with just my intellect. I need supernatural intervention. This is why You provided me Your Spirit. Your Spirit reveals to me the secret things concerning my life. Your Spirit reveals things TO ME that would otherwise remain concealed FROM ME. Your Spirit illuminates the scriptures in a way that only He, as the author, can. Thank You Father for giving me Your precious Holy Spirit. I am led of Your Spirit every day, and as I am, I continually become the man/woman You birthed me to be and I get to leave a mark in this world that will not easily be erased! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
