Today we continue our series entitled, “Expecting the Word to Work!” This is part 32.
We have been studying the parable of the sower for months. Within this study we have looked at the first two types of soil and we are looking at the third: thorny weeds. Let’s get back to it this morning. Jesus said:
“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.” (Mark 4:18,19)
Jesus described three types of weeds in the thorny ground: the cares of this world, the love of money and everything else people want. These weeds compete with, and ultimately run the risk of overtaking the Word of God. We have already covered the first two. For the past few days we have been looking at the third, where your life becomes a tireless pursuit of things YOU WANT that were NOT birthed in the hearts of God. Let’s continue to flow in this vein this morning with a message entitled, “A Simple Life.”
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. God has given you the keys to success, happiness and eternal security. The keys are found in His Word. If you allow God’s instructions to be the foundation for your decisions and actions you will experience an amazing life. You will live the life God birthed you to live. However, if you allow your life to become “full of other things,” like Jesus talked about in this parable — things that do not align with God’s plans and purposes — you run the risk of living as someone you were never meant to be. If you make this mistake, you will spend your life becoming someone you were not sent to the earth to become, you will do things you were not designed to do, and you will have a hard time doing it.
2. God made plans for you before you were born. God planned for your arrival, He brought you to the earth at just the right time, and He already stored up everything you would ever need to be successful. True success, then, is directly connected to divine purpose. You cannot be successful outside of the plans God made for you. It does not matter what title you have, what car you drive, what house you live in, or how much money you have in your bank account. If you are not living the life God sent you to the planet to live, you are not a success in God’s eyes and you are failing to make the impact you were born to make. This is why Jesus warned us against allowing our lives to become “full of other things.” If your life becomes a tireless pursuit of selfish desires, you are wasting the ONE LIFE God gave you. Chase purpose, don’t chase things. If you do, God can see to it that things chase you!
3. We make life hard and confusing when we pursue things that are outside of God’s will. But when we strip away everything but God and the life He birthed us to live, life becomes simple. We know who we are, we know what we were born to do, and we can spend our lives doing it with a level of fulfillment that is supernatural. Living this way you will never become jealous of anyone else, because you understand that they have their own race and their own grace. You can celebrate them and they can celebrate you, because we all get to walk in our divine uniqueness. This mindset fosters a level of unity and cohesion within the Body of Christ that scares the HELL out of satan. The devil does not want to see us building each other up, celebrating the diversities of giftings and callings without jealousy, and walking in our purpose. He wants us to be prideful, boastful, and full of selfish pursuits, because this mindset causes division in the Body of Christ. So my message to you this morning is simple. Do your part. Discover your purpose. Walk in your assignment. Celebrate one another and never make your life about anything that was not birthed in the heart of God for you. If you learn to live this way, you will find that life is pretty simple and straightforward.
4. When your singular focus in life is doing what God sent you to the planet to do, you become constrained by divine vision.
a) When you get a revelation of your divine purpose, that purpose will give birth to vision. Divine vision is sight, birthed from insight, with the benefit of hindsight. God provides you vision because He wants you to live your life with clarity.
b) Solomon taught that those without vision cast off restraint (Prov 29:18). Conversely, those who have clear vision from God are restrained by that vision. People with vision don’t do everything. Their vision restrains them from pursuing every opportunity, from accepting every offer, and from allowing their lives to become “full of other things.”
c) When you have the clarity that comes from divine vision, your life is simple. You know who you are, you know where you are going, and you do not allow yourself to get distracted by anyone or anything.
Closing Confession:
Father, this is a season of expectation for me. My expectation is tied to Your Word and to the plans You made for me before the world began. I strip away everything that is not like You. I declare that Your purpose for my life is my single pursuit. I have no other desire. I have no other assignment. You sent me to this planet for a reason and I will accomplish my divine assignment before I die. I refuse to allow my life to become “full of other things.” My life is full of You and my divine purpose. Living this way I get to tap into the abundance of grace You provided for me before the world began and I get to experience Your best every day. My life simple, clear and focused. I declare this by faith! In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
