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.
Today I will deal with the condition of your heart. I will drive home the point that our hearts must be conditioned to be good ground for the Word of God to produce the harvest God wants it to produce, and the grace of God is not a license for laziness. Grace does not mean we don’t have to condition our hearts to receive God’s Word.
So what does this mean for 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, the 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, but rather because you change.
– Allow the Word of God to transform you from the inside out. Recognize that the condition of your heart determines the level of transformation you experience.
– One way to condition your heart is by declaring the Word of the Lord over your life. You cannot declare God’s goodness while thinking negatively. The more you openly declare the Word of the Lord, doing so from a believing heart, the more your heart will be changed into what you are saying!
2. Protect what gets down into your heart.
– Protect your heart from negative influences and toxic beliefs.
– Be vigilant in guarding against doubt, fear, and unbelief.
– Fill your heart with the Word of God to fortify it against attacks.
– Guard your heart against deceptive teachings and false doctrines.
– Stay connected to the Holy Spirit for guidance in filtering what enters your heart.
– Why is this important? 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. Likewise, 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.
– If you want to ensure your heart is ready to receive and produce a Godly harvest, you must protect what gets down in it. Your eyes and ears are gates into your soul (heart). You cannot allow garbage to flow unfiltered through your eye and ear gates and then expect the condition of your heart to be conducive to a Godly harvest. Garbage-in, garbage-out. Godliness-in, Godliness-out. The more you put the Word of God through your eyes and ears, the better positioned you will be to experience God’s best.
– An excellent way to protect what gets down into your heart is by surrounding yourself with the right people. Seek fellowship with believers who will encourage and uplift you. Choose friendships and relationships that align with God’s Word. Be intentional about building a support system that will help you become the man/woman God destined you to be.
3. The Word is only limited by the condition of your heart.
– The power of the Word of God is ultimately unleashed when it is sown into a heart that is clear of all distractors and yielded to the Father.
– Embrace a lifestyle of daily repentance and renewal.
– Let your heart remain soft and receptive to God’s correction.
– Receive God’s grace for a fresh start each day.
– Meditate on God’s Word day and night to internalize its truths.
– Let the Word take root in your heart as you meditate on it deeply.
– A heart saturated with God’s Word becomes fertile ground for its manifestation. In other words, your focus matters. Your attention to the Word of God can either unleash or hinder its power.
4. Jesus ushered us into a period (dispensation) of grace.
– The Bible says, “The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17).
– There is nothing wrong with the Law of Moses. Actually, the issue for us is that it is too right. The Law of Moses is so holy that no human could ever fulfill it. The good news is that Jesus fulfilled it for us. The New Testament now says, “We are no longer under the Law, but under grace.” (Rom 6:14).
– God’s grace is unmerited, unearned, and, in most cases, clearly undeserved.
– God does not bless us because we are good. He blesses us by grace because He is good.
5. God’s grace does not exonerate you from the requirement to be good ground.
– The same perfect and sinless person [Jesus] who ushered us into a dispensation of grace talked about our requirement to be good ground.
– Some rely on God’s grace to the point where they put no requirement on themselves to do anything, which is a perversion of the grace message. Jesus made it clear that the condition of our hearts (the soil) will impact the yield of the seed (God’s Word) in our lives. Even in a period of grace, God expects us to be good ground.
– Don’t mistake the message of God’s unearned grace to mean that you don’t need to do anything. Learn from Jesus in the parable of the sower. You have a requirement to seek divine understanding of the Word of God, to allow the Word to go DEEP into your life, and to rid yourself of the cares of this world, the love of money, and every selfish desire. If you don’t, the Word won’t produce a harvest in your life, and it won’t be because of God or His grace.
– Let God’s grace empower you to take charge of your heart’s growth.
– Understand that God’s grace empowers you to fulfill your purpose.
– Embrace the grace to change! Recognize that being good ground is a journey of continuous improvement, and God’s grace is on your life to do just that!
– Living #TheGraceLife means that you are embracing the grace to mature. You are committed to continually dying to self and maturing in Christ, so your life can produce much fruit!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me! I boldly declare:
My heart is good ground for Your Word to produce an abundant harvest in my life.
As I die to self and grow in You, Your Word transforms me from the inside out.
I protect my heart from negative influences and doubt, staying connected to Your Holy Spirit for guidance.
I embrace a lifestyle of daily repentance and renewal, allowing Your grace to empower me for a fresh start each day.
Your Word is unlimited in power, and I focus on it to unleash its potential in my life.
Thank You for the dispensation of grace through Jesus Christ, unmerited and undeserved.
I refuse to pervert Your grace by neglecting my responsibility to be good ground for Your Word.
Your grace empowers me to fulfill my purpose, change, and mature in Christ continually.
I am living #TheGraceLife, walking in the fullness of Your grace, growing, and producing fruit for Your glory.
Living this way, 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!
1 comment
Pastor Rick!! This word is a revival for me in a valley!! It is conditioning my heart!! To climb this mountain (OCS) and be fully capable of listening receiving and delivering God’s words and assignments while achieving my goals! Thank you oh sooo much!!!