Hear. Accept. Produce.
Mark 4:20 “And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” (emphasis added).
To engage with the Word that you hear, you need to make it Personal. Next, you need to be Practical. You cannot just say I want to be like Jesus. Read the rest of this entry
Growth Triggers
Matthew 6:33-34 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (NKJV)
Yesterday, I was telling you that after reading Mark 4:18-19, I said to the Lord, “Is there something wrong with wanting to have nice things?” In answering the question, God said to me, “Look at Me and how I designed the world. Read the rest of this entry
Distractions
Mark 4:18-19 “The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced.” (emphasis added).
The first distraction that jumps at us from the anchor scripture is worry—the worries of this life. The antidote to worry is prayer. Philippians 4:6 “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything….” Read the rest of this entry
Root Deep
Ephesians 3:17 “And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts, living within you as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvellous love.” (LB)
Our final thought from yesterday is that most of us want to flourish quickly, and painstakingly grow roots at the same time. But the challenge is that the two do not happen simultaneously, at least not at the same time and not at the beginning Read the rest of this entry
Shallowness
Mark 4:16-17 “Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.” (NIV)
The first growth trap that keeps people where they are in spite of all the power that is available to them is Familiarity. The second trap of growth is Shallowness. Read the rest of this entry
Now!
Hebrews 3:15 “But now is the time. Never forget the warning, “Today if you hear God’s voice speaking to you, do not harden your hearts against him…” (LB)
The third thing that causes and strengthens familiarity is Declaring Without Doing. The problem is we tend to blame the things we are familiar with as the hinderance to our personal growth. Read the rest of this entry
Get Busy
Romans 2:13 “Merely hearing God’s law is a waste of your time if you don’t do what he commands. Doing, not hearing, is what makes the difference with God.” (MSG)
I am sure you know people who always sit in the same seat in church. In fact, even ushers don’t want trouble, they just allow them. Why do we do that? We do that because we have become familiar. Read the rest of this entry
Mindful
Ezekiel 36:26 “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.”
Let’s start with a quick recap. Familiarity is the first trap of growth that keeps people where they are despite all the power available to them. The first thing that causes familiarity is Hearing Without Responding. Read the rest of this entry
The Danger
James 1:22 “Don’t just listen to the Word of Truth and not respond to it, for that is the essence of self-deception. So always let his Word become like poetry written and fulfilled by your life!” (TPT)
The first trap of growth that keeps people where they are despite all the power available to them is, Familiarity. The danger of familiarity is this; it is not the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, or the purposes of Heaven that suffer. Read the rest of this entry
Familiarity
Matthew 13:10-11 “His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?” He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not.
Mark 4:15 “Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.” (NIV). Satan will not succeed in stealing the Word of God Read the rest of this entry
