This morning we continue our series entitled “Leveling Up with the Word!” We have been looking at the parable of the sower. Let’s get back to it today.
Setting the stage:
Jesus said:
(Mark 4:13-20 ERV)
“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.”
We are still looking at the rocky ground. These are the people who, as Jesus said, “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.” Today I will key in on the words, “They keep it only for a short time.”
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. When God plants His Word in your heart, He sees it as a long-term investment.
— Jesus said 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 until it comes to pass, no matter or how long it takes, or do you simply focus on the temporary relief it gives you from whatever you are facing at the moment? To be clear, God does want to provide you hope and peace in the moment, but He also fully intends on fulfilling every promise He gives you. So He is looking for you to endure, in faith, when the temporary happiness you received from the Word He spoke is over.
— 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 week.
— God does not give you a Word for entertainment. He gives it to you to produce a supernatural change in your life. Don’t see the church as a place to get entertained. See church as a place to be changed!
— If you retain, remember and rehearse the Word God sows in your heart, you will be rewarded for it. It will produce a life-changing harvest in your life.
— 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.
— God never promises something He does not fully intend on bringing to pass. The problem is that many of His promises are contingent upon our faith. If we allow our faith to wane and ultimately to fail, we may miss out on God’s promise, and it will not be God’s fault. This is why I have done so much teaching on faith and patience over the years.
2. Why you need faith and patience.
— If you have faith without patience you will believe God, you will stand on His promises, you will make decisions that align with His will, and you will speak the language of faith. However, since most promises from God come with a SPACE between the promise and the performance, if you don’t have Godly patience, you will GIVE UP on your faith before seeing the manifestation of God’s promises.
— If you have patience without faith, you will develop the ability to suffer, endure, stand, and withstand all the attacks of the enemy. But’s that all you will be doing. You will suffer, and you will suffer long.
— Patience without faith produces a person that endures, but this person lacks the ability to CHANGE his/her situations. Without faith added to your patience, you will never tap into God’s power.
— A person with faith and no patience will eventually burn out. They will experience faith-failure after faith-failure when days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months, and months turn into years.
— The person with patience without faith will suffer and endure, but that’s all they will do. They will “hold to God’s unchanging hand” without any true sense of what God will do.
*** When you have a person who has faith AND patience, they will have the ability to believe God, to exercise the faith required to make decisions that line up with their destiny, and to hold on long enough to see every promise from God come to pass! When you have faith AND patience, you will see the manifestation of the promises of God in your life (Hebrews 6:12).
3. The Word will endure, but will you endure with the Word?
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.
— The Word of God works. The question is, will you work the Word?
— Keep your mind fixed and focused on God and His Word in this season. This way, you will not be swayed by opposition or dismayed by current events.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of LEVELING UP for me. I LEVEL UP in 2021 by giving careful attention 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 it lightly. I keep Your Word. I release my faith for every promise to come to pass. 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 believe every promise, which is why I boldly declare GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
