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.”
Jesus described three types of weeds in the thorny ground: the cares of this world, the love of money, and everything else people want. We have already covered the first two. Yesterday we began looking at the third. The King James Versions calls it a “lust for other things.” Let’s talk about it.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Many people think submitting to God will cause them to “miss out” on something.
I gave my life to Christ when I was 23 years old. Whether you did so younger or older, the chances are that by the time you gave your life to Christ, you already had plans for your life. Once you are Born-Again and God places His Spirit down inside of you, the Holy Spirit begins to reveal the plans God made for you before the world began. When you start to receive that revelation (which only comes in parts because God will not reveal everything to you at once), you are then posed with a decision to make. You can either choose to continue down the path you were on before receiving God’s revelation, which is the path you put yourself on (as a mere human), or you can choose to place God’s will over your own.
It’s been my experience that many young Christians, who have not developed to the point where they truly trust God, refuse to give up their own desires. Many resist or even flat-out reject God’s plans because they are not sure that God’s plans are better than theirs. They have a fear of missing out (FOMO). They think that choosing God’s will over their own will result in some form of a lesser life. Here are some thoughts about this.
— If you think you will miss out on something by choosing God’s will over your own, it is only because you have not been walking with God long enough. You lack evidence and experience. But if you keep walking with God, you will gain both.
— God’s plans are better than your plans. You cannot out plan God. The fact that you would even think you could is evidence that you don’t know God as you should.
— The only thing you will miss out on by choosing God’s will over your own is all the pain associated with the mistakes you were going to make. God wants you to choose His will over yours because He loves you, and He wants to see His best manifested in your life.
2. Disobedience will keep you from God’s best.
— Many people (believers and non-believers) know what the Bible says about certain things, but they choose to either ignore or flat-out disobey God’s teachings because they don’t want to “lose out” on whatever their heart is set on at the time. They place their desire above God’s instruction because they fear that obeying God will be less desirable or less enjoyable than pursuing their lusts. This is unquestionably a mistake.
— If you know what the Bible says about something and you then choose to disobey it in pursuit of a selfish desire, you are placing self over God, pride over purpose, and temporary over eternal. As a result, you will reap the harvest of your shortsighted decision.
— Walking with God often means you take the “long view” of life. Living a life pleasing before God may cause you to avoid shortcuts, deny yourself of quick and ill-gotten gain, and choose the “hard right” over the “easy wrong.” These spirit-led decisions are ones that build character, unlike the selfish decisions that eat away at your character.
— In the long run, obeying God, being led of His Spirit, and placing His will over your own, will produce a life that is fulfilling, rewarding, and world-changing for you and for all those who come in contact with you. None of this will happen if you choose the selfish path over the one God destined for you. Jesus made it clear that selfish desires choke out the seed of God’s Word and keep it from working in your life. Please don’t be selfish. Submit to God so you can become the man/woman He called you to be.
3. You should not have a fear of missing out (FOMO), because, with God, you will never miss out.
I remember talking to a young lady not long ago who said to me, “I don’t know if I want God to speak to me. I don’t think I want the Holy Spirit to show me stuff. Because I have plans. What if His plans don’t line up with my plans? What if He tells me to do something else?” I was thankful that this young lady was honest, but at the same time, I was blown away by her shortsightedness. Unfortunately, she is not the only one who thinks this way.
— If you choose God’s will over your own, the only thing you are going to miss out on is the bad harvest you were going to reap as a result of poor decisions.
— Anything you give up for God becomes a seed, and as the Lord of the Harvest, He will see to it that you receive a harvest on every seed sown.
— Don’t ever think you are losing out when you are placing God first. God will never be in debt to you. The Godly harvest you receive when you obey God far exceeds anything you would have ever received on your own. I am a witness!
— Many Christians today live with FOMO (the fear of missing out). They chase every seemingly good time they hear of because they don’t want to miss out on this or that. They don’t listen to God. They don’t ask God about their decisions. They are not sensitive to the impulses of the Holy Spirit. The bottom line is that they are selfish, and they are living life as a mere human. You can have the Holy Spirit and never listen to Him, just like you can receive God’s Word in your heart, only to have the Word die within the soil of your heart because the soil is full of other things. Don’t let this be you. Give God first place. Die to self. Yield to God’s Spirit. Put His will above your own. This way, you will LEVEL UP, and you will get to experience the LEVELS God destined for you in this season!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of LEVELING UP for me! I LEVEL UP by leveling up in my heart. I place Your will above my own. I give You and Your Word first place in my life. I yield to Your Spirit. I die to self and selfish desires. I submit to You in all my ways. I will my will to choose Your ways above my own. I live a submitted life. Therefore, I declare that You see to it that my life produces Your fruit. I prosper in all my ways because my decisions are Your decisions, my will is Your will, and my life is in Your hands. I never lose out placing Your will above my own because You see to it that I reap a harvest on every seed sown! GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
