This morning we continue our series entitled “Leveling Up with the Word!” We have been looking at the parable of the sower. So let’s continue through it today.
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.”
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. The condition of your heart impacts the yield it produces.
— Jesus likened your heart to soil and His Word to seed. God’s Word is sown into the soil of your heart. The better the condition of your heart, to more God’s Word will produce in your life.
— The more you die to self and grow in God, the more God’s Word produces in your life. It’s not because the Word changes (the Word never changes). It is simply because you change/grow/develop.
— In this parable, there are two sides involved in the harvest: God’s seed (His Word) and the soil of your heart. We know there is nothing wrong with God’s Word. So if the Word is not working, the issue is with us.
— If we have hearts full of love, peace, patience, kindness, and faith, the Word will do what it does. It will produce change IN us and an amazing harvest THROUGH us. However, if the condition of our heart is not in alignment with God’s heart, the Word won’t produce a harvest, and it will not be God’s fault.
2. You have to protect the condition of your heart.
— In Proverbs 4, Solomon told us to protect our hearts and minds. Our hearts are the control centers for our lives.
— If you honor what God is doing in/with/through your life, you must protect your anointing. Your eyes and ears are gateways to your heart. You cannot watch or listen to things that do not please God and think they won’t affect you. They will. If you allow ungodly things into your heart, you are hindering yourself from long-term success because you are ruining the internal condition of your heart.
— You must protect your heart from lust, sin, and selfish desires if you want God’s Word to produce a harvest in and through your life.
— In this parable, Jesus taught us that an unprotected heart would be filled with things that choke out God and His Word.
— An unprotected heart is not filled with God’s Word (Psalm 119:11). David said that he filled his heart with God’s Word so that he would not sin. Without this protection, the Word you do get down into your heart may get choked out before it produces anything.
— The same seed went into the good soil and the non-productive soil (wayside, rocky and thorny). The condition of the soil impacted the harvest the seed was able to produce. The lesson is that the condition of your heart will either be conducive to the Word of God working, or it will stifle the Word from working in your life.
— By protecting what gets down in your heart, you are protecting your life!
3. The Word is only limited by the condition of your heart.
— The power of the Word is unleashed when it is sown into a heart cleared off all distractions and yielded to God.
— To ensure your heart is clear of all distractors, repent as often as the Holy Spirit convicts you. By doing so you will ensure you are good ground daily.
— The reason why the same Word produces different results in different people is because there are levels of submission and agreement within the hearts of the people. To ensure God’s Word produces a max-harvest (100 fold) through you, search your heart daily, repent as often as you are led to, and maintain a heart that is yielded to God!
4. The equation to extend heaven to the earth is: God + You. Therefore the “You” part matters, because you are half the equation.
— Some people undervalue their part in the equation. They think God will do whatever He planned on doing whether they are “good ground” or not. This is simply not true. You get a vote—the condition of your heart matters.
— Without God, we cannot. Without us, He will not. This is the partnership God is looking for in the earth. It comes down to us working with God and God working with us. This is how the supernatural manifests through mere humans on this planet.
— To be clear, it’s not about your effort because God does not need your power. He provides power and grace. What He is looking for from you is a yielded heart and faith. If you provide those two things, God will use you as a conduit to change the world, and you will be amazingly blessed in the process!
— Submit to God and live by faith. If you do those two things, you will experience heaven on earth!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of LEVELING UP for me! I LEVEL UP my life by honoring You in all my ways. I declare that I am good ground, and my heart is conditioned for godliness. I am free of all distractions. I am free of all ungodly desires. I repent daily. I protect what goes through my eye and ear gates. My heart is conditioned to receive, believe and unleash the power of Your Word. Your Word works for me because my heart is a breeding ground for supernatural belief, miracles, and power. Therefore, 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.
