Today we continue our series entitled, “Expecting the Word to Work!” This is part 34.
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)
Yesterday I shared a message entitled, “Declutter your heart and mind.” The message struck a chord with lots of people. I think we can all acknowledge the fact that we are too busy and if we are not careful, we can allow our hearts and minds to be “full of other things.” This is dangerous because, as Jesus taught, the “other things” contaminate our heart and it creates a sub-optimal environment for the Word of God to grow. Today’s message will flow in the same vein.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
- If you live your life off of a schedule or calendar, then schedule time for rest and meditation. You need time to think, rest and to simple hear from God. During this time, give yourself the license to release your “to do” list and every nagging thought from your mind. It’s okay. Learn to enjoy a Sabbath rest.
- People acknowledge how important it is to declutter their home or workspace, but many of those same people fail to even consider the benefits of decluttering their hearts and minds. You must create and environment in your heart and mind that is conducive to the Word of God producing what it was intended to produce.
- You owe it to yourself to establish a time when you can rest in the presence of the Lord without emails, text messages or to-do lists on your mind.
- People today are so busy that they even feel guilty (as if they are doing something wrong), when they clear their schedule and take time meditate and rest. You were not designed to work without rest. Rest is spiritual. Many acknowledge the need for physical rest, but it is even more important to rest your heart and mind in the presence of the Lord.
- It’s okay to slow down long enough to spend time with God. I know it sounds awkward, but many people today have to be told that it is OKAY to give yourself the approval to rest. And not just one day a week. Its best to find time EVERY DAY, even if it is only for a few minutes, to REST in the presence of the Lord.
- When you slow down and rest in God’s presence, you are giving God a chance to speak to you, you are giving yourself a chance to listen, and you are giving the Word space to work. If you don’t slow down, if you don’t enter into God’s rest, if you don’t declutter your heart and mind, your life will continue to be so “full of other things” that the Word will not work for you.
- Your life produces what you think about all day. As a man thinks, so is he (Prov 23:7). This is why it is critical to make the time to meditate and medicate on God’s Word. You will never maximize your purpose and potential until you BELIEVE what God BELIEVES about you!
- If you make time to meditate God’s Word, you will begin to think like God and see yourself the way He sees you. Once this happens, you start living AS JESUS IS in this world. That’s the goal! But it starts on the inside. It all begins in your heart and mind.
Closing Confession:
Father, this is a season of expectation for me. My expectation is tied to Your Word. I slow down long enough to hear from You. I enjoy a weekly Sabbath rest and I also make time daily to rest in Your presence. I don’t want my life to be “full of other things.” I want my life to be full of You. So I make time to spend time with You. I give myself license to release myself from email, text messages and my to-do list, long enough to sit, rest, meditate and listen in Your presence. As I do, I declare that You speak, I hear, and I receive the insight, wisdom, knowledge, revelation and understanding I need to become the person You sent me to this planet to be. So as I enter this day, I also enter into Your rest. I declare this by faith! In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
