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 from your heart in the Name of Jesus. 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). Underneath the soil surface is a rock… you hear something, and you are excited but after a while what happens? This is why when trouble comes, they quickly pack their bags and leave because they are shallow.

Mark 4:¹⁸ “Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; ¹⁹ but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” (NIV). The Word of God will be fruitful in your life in the Name of Jesus. From this passage, we will see three traps and three triggers for growth. There are three traps of growth, the things that drain and prevent people from having the strength for growth. And God is going to help us overcome them in the Name of Jesus. We will also see three triggering things that supply and fire up strength for growth. Are you ready?

The first trap of growth, what keeps people where they are in spite of all the power that is available to them is Familiarity. Mark 4:¹⁵ “What falls on the beaten path represents those who hear the message, but immediately Satan appears and snatches it from their hearts.’” (TPT, emphasis added). The seed is sown but because the path is hard (beaten), the seed remains on the surface, so the birds of the air come and pick it up. It never gets into the heart, it never germinates. Those pathways have been hardened because of the frequency of engagement, of experiences. Sometimes, our hearts can be hardened by thousands of experiences. You have been in church thousands of times, so you know what comes next.

You know what the choir will sing next and if they don’t sing it the way you expect them to, you get upset because you are the “master of the orchestra”. You know everything, so nothing tangible happens in your life because of familiarity. Familiarity breeds contempt. People you could never have been rude to, you become rude to them. Things you never would have taken with a pinch of salt, you begin to take with a pinch of salt.

Prayer: Father, have mercy on me and renew passion—my fire, in the Name of Jesus. Amen!