NOTE: Before I get started, I want to share that today is my wife’s birthday. Isabella is actually in Dominica on a Missions trip. But if you know her, please send her some love. Whether you know her personally or not, please pray God’s best over her today. I would not be the man I am if it were not for my amazing wife. God gave me His best when He gave me Isabella!
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.
This morning I will focus on the words, “They hear the teaching and accept it. Then they grow and produce a good crop.” Notice the following:
– The person Jesus likens to good ground accepts the Word of God, and the context Jesus provides makes it clear that this person is free of competing priorities.
– All this person did was accept the Word of God into their heart.
– Jesus said that THEY grow because of it. Did you catch that? Jesus likens the Word of God to seed and our hearts to soil. He then said that when His Word is sown in our hearts, WE grow. Jesus did not say that the seed of the Word grows in our hearts. No, He said WE GROW because of the Word. This is a significant distinction.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. The Word of God is Spirit and life. It is supernatural and limitless. When it is sown in your heart as a seed, it causes supernatural change.
– Just as a tiny seed contains the potential for a massive tree, the Word of God is filled with supernatural power.
– When you accept God’s Word into your heart, it brings life and change to every area of your life–mind, emotions, and will.
– Embrace the limitless potential of God’s Word, knowing that it holds the power to transform every aspect of your life.
2. When God places His Word in you to grow, He does not refer to the Word growing. He refers to YOU growing.
– Jesus emphasized that YOU grow, not the Word within you. The Word is the catalyst, but your heart’s response leads to growth.
– As you allow God’s Word to take root in your heart, you’ll witness incredible personal growth and spiritual maturity.
3. The more you get God’s Word down inside your heart, the better positioned you are to experience soul transformation.
– The day you were Born-Again, the only part of you that changed was your spirit. Your soul did not change, and your body did not change.
– One day, you will get a glorified body, and you will forever be with the Lord (if you are Born-Again).
– So your spirit WAS changed, and your body WILL BE changed. Your focus today needs to be your should, which is BEING changed by the Word of God daily as you meditate and apply it.
– The Word of God will transform your mind (the way you think), emotions (the way you feel), and will (the way you make decisions) to line up with God.
4. Make it a daily practice to get God’s Word down in your heart. Like the farmer who sows seed in the ground, the seed is working while the farmer is sleeping.
– This is what happens when you get God’s Word down in your heart. Day and night, whether you are awake or sleeping, the Word of God is working, producing change IN you for all the world to see.
– The farmer does not have to understand how the seed works; he just has to place the seed in the soil and let it do what it does.
– Just like the farmer does not need a degree in agriculture for the seed to GROW, you don’t need a seminary degree for the Word to work and produce a harvest in your life.
– Just get the Word down in your heart daily and remove the blessing blockers (weeds). Once you do that, then like the farmer, night and day, whether you are sleeping or engaged in something else, the Word will be working for you and changing you from the inside out.
5. The seed of the Word of God sown in your heart produces a harvest in your life. But God does not do this by making the seed grow. He actually makes YOU grow. You become the harvest from the seed. People can’t see the seed down in your heart, but they can see the change it produces in your life!
– Just as a farmer cannot see the seed in the ground but can observe the growth of the plant, the Word works unseen within you, producing visible transformation in your life.
– Consistently planting the Word in your heart will lead to a life marked by peace, joy, and alignment with God’s purposes.
– People will SEE the change the Word produces IN YOU and the fruit the Word produces FROM YOU!
– This should be your goal: personal transformation (that’s inner change) and Godly production (that’s the fruit your life will produce). This is important because Jesus said, “People will know you by your fruit.”
6. The power is not in the soil (YOU); the power is in the seed (God’s Word).
– Receiving God’s Word in your heart is like receiving the blueprint of God’s best for your life. It positions you for success and prosperity.
– The Word of God in your heart becomes a wellspring of wisdom, guiding every decision and leading you into a fruitful and purposeful life.
– God’s Word is a creative force that molds you into His image. Your life becomes a living demonstration of His power and glory.
In closing, as you receive and meditate on God’s Word, remember that it is YOU who grows and changes. The seed of the Word sown in your heart produces a bountiful harvest of transformation. Embrace the power of God’s Word, and let its life-changing impact shine through you for the world to see as you experience the greatness of God’s love. Let God’s Word be the foundation upon which you build your life, impacting your family, community, and the world at large. Stay rooted in God’s Word and watch as your life becomes a living testimony of His goodness and grace.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me! I boldly declare:
Your Word is my supernatural source, causing powerful change when sown in my heart.
I grow and mature as I embrace Your Word and respond to it with a receptive heart and corresponding actions of faith.
Daily, I saturate my being with Your Word, aligning every aspect of my life with Your truth.
Your Word works ceaselessly within me, transforming me day and night. Whether I am up or sleeping, aware of oblivious, Your Word is always working in me!
I am a living testament of Your wisdom and power because Your Word is the foundation for my decision-making process and subsequent actions.
I am rooted in Your Word. Therefore, my life produces abundant fruit, reflecting Your goodness to the world.
My life impacts others as they see the transformation Your Word brings forth.
I am a vessel of Your love and grace, shining Your love and light to my family, community, and beyond.
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!
