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 for 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 have been focusing on the phrase “the love of money.” The King James Version calls it “the deceitfulness of riches.” Let’s go back to it today.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. You must trust God before the supernatural becomes natural to you.
If you never get to the point where your confidence in God outweighs your confidence in money, you will never operate in the supernatural. I will give you an example that drives home this point.
In Matthew 10, Jesus sent the His disciples with these instructions: “Don’t go to the non-Jewish people. And don’t go into any town where the Samaritans live. But go to the people of Israel. They are like sheep that are lost. When you go, tell them this: ‘God’s kingdom is now very near.’ Heal the sick. Bring the dead back to life. Heal the people who have leprosy. And force demons out of people. I give you these powers freely, so help others freely. Don’t carry any money with you—gold or silver or copper. Don’t carry a bag. Take only the clothes and sandals you are wearing. And don’t take a walking stick. A worker should be given what he needs.”
— Up to Matthew 10, Jesus was the only one operating in the supernatural. Crowds formed to see Him do ministry. But in this passage, Jesus wanted the disciples to do what He was doing. He wanted them to open up their hearts to the supernatural.
— When Jesus sent the team out, commanding them to operate in the supernatural, He did not let them take any money with them. Why? Because Jesus wanted their total trust and confidence to be in God and not in money. Many people put far too much confidence in money. Jesus was teaching His disciples (and us) to put ALL our confidence in God.
— If the disciples could not see God as their source for money, how could they rely on God for the supernatural? Jesus was sending them out to heal the sick and cast out demons. The disciples had to totally rely on God to perform acts that exceed human ability. If the disciples could not rely on God for natural things, how could they rely on Him for the supernatural? God wants you to see Him as your source of all things – natural and supernatural.
— If you can’t trust God for a few dollars, then there is no way you are going to lay hands on someone who has a deadly and contiguous disease when the Holy Spirit instructs you to do so. The fact that you don’t trust God for money, which is the least of all riches, is proof that you won’t trust God for supernaturally significant things.
— When you trust God over the things of this world (like money), you free your heart from the connection to this world you were born with. It is then, and only then that your heart is connected to heaven. When you get to that point (where your heart is in sync with heaven), the supernatural will become natural to you.
2. You must get to the point where you see God as your source for all things, including money.
— When God sees you doing what He told you to do while totally trusting Him for the resources to get it done, He will prove to you that He is a ‘more than capable’ source.
— People stay in frustration when God is not their only source of expectation. I’ve been there before. It’s frustrating when you are waiting on God for something, but you then shift back and forth between trusting God and trusting man (or money). I’ve learned that when God sees He is NOT your only source, and you start vacillating, He steps back. He wants your total confidence to be IN HIM!
— The psalmist said, “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him” (Psalm 62:5). God wants to know that your expectation is from Him and not man or money.
— Jesus said, “You cannot serve God and money” (Mat 6:24). If your trust is in money and not in God, your plan and your life will fall apart.
— Going back to the parable of the sower, when your confidence is in money and not in God, the soil of your heart is not conducive for the seed of God’s Word. You can go to church, you can listen to people like me, and you can even read your Bible, but since your confidence is in other things, the Word will not produce in your life.
3. God only entrusts the most important things in His Kingdom to humans who trust Him.
In Matthew 10, Jesus was sending people out to experience the supernatural. He wanted them to do what He was doing on this planet. He wanted them to experience what it is like to become a human conduit of the divine. He wanted them to be the vessels through which the Father manifests his glory. He wanted heaven to come to the earth through common people. So what did Jesus do to prepare these people to be used of God in this way? He told them that they could not take any money with them!
If you can’t get past the money test, God can’t trust you with real power. Money is the least of all riches in God’s Kingdom. If you fail this test, you will never experience true riches.
Please pass the money test! Please trust God where money is concerned.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of LEVELING UP for me! I LEVEL UP by making You my #1 priority in every area, including my finances. Everything I need in life is already stored up for me. So my total trust, hope, and confidence are in You, Father. You are my source for both natural and spiritual things. I don’t trust in uncertain riches. I trust in my certain God. I love You, Father, and You bless me richly with all things to enjoy. Money is my servant, not my master. I can have money because money does not have me. I enter this day convinced that I will accomplish all I was born to accomplish. I will do all You have called me to do, not by my strength, but by Your grace! Not relying on my bank account, but relying on Your eternal supply. Living this way, I LEVEL UP, and I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
