Today we continue our new series entitled, “Expecting the Word to Work!” This is part 14.
We have been looking at the Parable of the Sower. For the past few messages we have been looking at the “rocky ground” in the passage. Let’s get back to it again today. Jesus said:
“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.” (Mark 4: ERV)
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. God plants His Word in your heart as a long-term investment.
a) Jesus taught that believers who are like rocky ground are believers who only keep the Word of God for a short time. This means Jesus expects us to keep it for the long-haul. Is that your attitude towards the Word? Do you receive a Word from God as something to hold on to for enduring change or do you see it as something for the moment? If you see it as simply something for the moment, you will get excited, but you won’t hold on to it long enough for it to produce results in your life. Unfortunately, in today’s “microwave society,” people claim to want results, but they only really want them if the results come quick. When days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months, people move-on to the next thing and they forget all about what they said they were believing God for. People who live this way fail to ever tap into the true power of the life of faith.
b) Faith believes what God reveals and it keeps on believing until you see (in your hands) what you saw (in your heart).
c) Some people get excited by a Word they receive from God in church, but unfortunately many of those same people can’t remember what God said the next day.
d) God does not give you a Word for entertainment. He gives it to you to produce supernatural change in your life. Don’t see church as a place to get entertained. See church as a place to experience true and lasting change.
e) If you retain, remember and rehearse the Word God sows in your heart you will be rewarded. The Word will produce a life-changing harvest in your life.
f) Don’t allow the Word God spoke to you fall off of you like water falling off a duck’s back. The God of the Universe loved you enough to speak to you. Don’t be casual with God or His Word. Honor Him enough to cherish what He says, to obey what He commands, and to follow where He leads, no matter how long it takes!
2. The Word will endure, but will you endure with the Word?
a) Jesus said, “The whole world, earth and sky, will be destroyed, but my words will last forever.” (Mat 24:35). The Word of God is infallible, immutable, inexhaustible and supernatural. When you meditate and medicate on God’s Word day and night, you position yourself to think like God, to represent Him in the earth, and to experience His best.
b) The Word of God works. The question is: Will you work the Word?
c) Keep your mind fixed and focused on God and His Word in this season. This way you will not be swayed by opposition, dismayed by current events, or derailed from your destiny.
d) It takes determination, perseverance and old-fashioned grit to hold on to a Word from God until it manifests in your life. There is normally a SPACE between the promise and the performance. In that SPACE satan will stir up problems. You have to endure, for the long haul, through the problems, long enough to see the promises of God come to pass. Paul said, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Gal 6:9 NIV). The KJV calls the “proper time” your “due season.” The point is that there is a season when your breakthrough comes “due.” The key is NOT giving up before that season. If you hold on, you shall reap. If you give up, you won’t, and it the failure was not a failure of the Word (or seed), it was a failure of the soil!
Closing Confession:
Father, this is a season of expectation for me. My expectation is tied to Your Word. I meditate and medicate on Your Word day and night. I refuse to be casual with You or Your Word. You took the time to leave me Your Word in the Bible, and You also take the time to speak to me concerning what You said. I honor You enough to honor what You tell me. I cherish Your Word. I play it over and over again in my mind. I keep it at the forefront of my heart. I live by every Word You speak to me. I thank You for the Words You speak to me through my Pastor, through others, and directly. I don’t take them lightly. I release my faith for every promise to come to pass while I am in the earth. I wake up every morning with great expectations, believing You will make Your Word “good” in my life. Like Abraham, I am fully persuaded that what You have promised, You are able also to perform. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
