This morning, we continue our series on “The Parables of Jesus.” We will seek to glean “Pearls from the Parables.”
Before we get to the parable, let’s look at a scripture we have been looking at all year. This is something I believe the Lord wants us to meditate on.
(Psalm 126:4 TPT)
Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again.
This is a season of refreshing and restoring for us.
We have been looking at “The Mother of All Parables.” Let’s get back to 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.
The primary issue with the people Jesus likens to the thorny ground is that they have allowed their lives to become “full of other things.” The Word of God has been sown in their hearts, but they have allowed “other things” to consume their thoughts and actions. Today we will discuss what it looks like to actually clear the way for the Word to work.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Choosing God’s Way Over Mine.
When you read or hear God’s position on any given topic and immediately know that your position does not align with it, you have a choice. You can either accept that you disagree with God (and maintain your place of disagreement/disobedience), or you can make your mind up (at that moment) that you will change. If you switch to God’s position, you are positioning yourself to walk in His best. But if you stubbornly maintain your position, even when you know it is against God, you are living a life of disobedience, which will cost you. At that point, the Word sown in your heart will NOT produce a harvest.
2. Embracing Conviction for Growth.
When I first started walking with God, it seemed like I was discovering conflicts between God’s ideas and my ideas every day. But this was a good thing. My hunger for God was so intense that I wanted to know all the ways in which I was NOT pleasing to Him. Every time I came across a scripture I did not line up with, or every time the Holy Spirit convicted me about something, I was quick to repent and head in a new direction (God’s direction). This is how we allow the Word to work in our lives. This is what God is looking for.
3. Seek the Holy Spirit In Conflicting Beliefs.
When you encounter conflicts between your beliefs and God’s Word, see it as an opportunity for growth. Open your heart to the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to lead you concerning what to do next. In most cases, He will simply lead you to embrace the revelation of God’s truth and be quick to change. Your willingness to align with Him will unlock unprecedented favor and blessings in your life. You will begin to experience God’s best like never before.
4. Quick to Repent, Forever Transformed!
If you make it a practice to clear a way for God’s Word to work in your life — being quick to repent and change EVERY TIME you find a conflict between you and God — the Word will start to work in your life. The Word of God will produce fruit in/with/through you. Not only will you feel like a different person, but others will also notice the change. The world will begin to see and experience Jesus in and through you.
5. The Key to the Supernatural.
The unlimited power and potential found in the Word is God is only fully unleashed when we clear our hearts and minds of everything that disagrees with it. In other words, when we remove the blessing blockers. When we do, the results are amazing and supernatural.
Many people claim to be waiting on God to do this or that for them, while God is actually waiting on them to remove the things blocking His blessing. It’s not that God is withholding His best; it’s that their lives are so full of other things that there is no place for God’s will. When they change, the blessings get to flow freely, and they get to experience God’s best.
6. Aligning with God’s Ways and Thoughts.
Changing your will and ways to align with God’s is more than worth it. If you make a practice of this, you will wake up one morning to realize that your ways are God’s ways, your thoughts are God’s thoughts, and your conduct is Godly and holy. When you get to this point, there is nothing God cannot do through you!
This is when John 15:7 applies to you. Jesus said, “But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!” Once you have so much Word in you that your ways are God’s ways and your thoughts are God’s thoughts, you can ask for whatever you want because everything you want is what God wants for you. This is the goal: perfect alignment and agreement!
7. Clearing Your Heart for God’s Purpose.
Understand that clearing your heart for God’s Word is not about compromising your identity, but discovering your true self in Him. Embrace Godly conviction as a pathway to purpose. As you allow the Word to take root, your life will manifest its God-given potential.
8. Personal Testimony.
I am not telling you something I read; this is how I live. I just had this conversation a few days ago with a pastor friend. I told him my story.
When I got Born Again on August 27, 1995, I was not one of the many people who sensed a call to preach and then ran from it. Instead, I ran towards my calling with all my might.
On the very night I was Born Again, I told my friend Leo Jacobs (who invited me to church) that I needed to know what to do next. I expressed that I had never been “average” at anything, and if I was going to commit to the Christian journey, I needed to do it wholeheartedly. Leo advised me to purchase a Thompson Chain Reference Bible, Ungers Bible Dictionary, Vine’s Expository Dictionary for Hebrew and Greek, and Strong’s Concordance. I asked where I could find these resources, and he said the only place (since we were in Kuwait at the time and before the Internet era) was the NECK (National Evangelical Church of Kuwait). This was the only sanctioned Christian church in Kuwait.
The very next morning, Jake and I set out in my Jeep Cherokee to buy everything he recommended. From then on, I devoured the Word of God, spending hours and hours in it daily. I had hundreds of CDs with worldly music, which I decided to throw away (not giving them to anyone else). I disposed of them in the trash. I did not want anything to hinder my transformation into a disciple of Jesus. Additionally, I used to be part of the Masonic Lodge and decided to break my ties with masonry, discarding all of my Masonic paraphernalia. I only kept my Mason ring because it cost so much.
Then one night, in a dream, I saw myself opening my briefcase and throwing the ring over the wall into the sand. Around 3 a.m., I woke up, pulled out my briefcase, found the ring, and replayed what I saw in my dream. I threw the ring as far as I could, wanting nothing to hold me back. I knew I had 23 years of programming that had prepared me to live a particular lifestyle with a certain attitude. I came to God as a young, brash, arrogant, and pseudo-violent young man. So if the Word of God was going to work in my life, I needed to change, and I was determined to clear any obstacles from its path.
As a result of purposefully and intentionally clearing a path in my heart for the Word of God to work, I became good ground. Within five months of being Born Again, I taught my first Bible study. Three months after that, I preached my first sermon. That was 28 years ago, and I have never stopped.
In closing, my brothers and sisters, let’s clear the way for God’s Word in our hearts! As we embrace change, align with His truth, and let go of distractions, we open the floodgates of heaven’s blessings. I urge you. Open your heart to God, clear away everything that is not like Him, and watch as the power of God’s Word transforms you into a vessel of His glory!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me! I boldly declare:
I choose Your will and Your ways over mine, aligning with Your truth in every area of my life.
I embrace the conviction of the Holy Spirit for growth, quickly repenting and turning towards You daily.
My obedience to the revelation of the Holy Spirit leads me to experience unprecedented favor.
I am quick to repent and change, transformed by Your Word, a vessel for Jesus to shine through.
Your Word’s power is unleashed as I remove every blessing blocker!
My life reflects Your thoughts and holiness.
I can ask for whatever I want because I only want what You want for me!
My heart is good ground, yielding abundant fruit daily!
You open the floodgates of Your blessings because I have cleared the way for Your Word in and through me.
I die to sin, self, and selfishness. As a result, 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!
