Hear Ye, Hear Ye!
ICS Daily Devotions
Mark 4:14-19 (NKJV) The sower sows the word.And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
The Word of God is still being sown today. Through the parable of the sower, Jesus gave us an early warning that after we have heard the preaching of the Word, the enemy will come to steal it immediately. He will use tribulation, persecution, the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desire for other things to make the Word ineffective in our lives. However, his attempt will only be successful if we have chosen not to allow the Word to germinate and take root in our hearts. The enemy knows the Word of God will create faith in our hearts, and that faith comes by hearing, and hearing the Word of God. Therefore, we need to ensure that the enemy does not succeed in stealing the Word from our hearts.
To truly experience the abundant life that God has intended for us to enjoy, we need to develop our faith through the Word of God. The key is to proactively hear, accept and act on the Word. Jesus wants the Word that was spoken to us to produce fruit and faith in our lives, because faith pleases God and it helps us to live in His Kingdom because God’s Kingdom operates by faith. Our faith in God’s Word will help us to overcome the world and the challenges that come with it, because we will act on our conviction of the Word. Once we have a certain conviction of the Word, we will choose to walk in the ways of God.
We are the ones who determine what kind of harvest we will experience in our lives because we can deal with the conditions of our hearts to make them good soil. Meanwhile, we also need to water the seed, which is the Word of God, through meditation so that it will produce the manyfold in our lives. Once we take responsibility to do these and refuse to let the devil steal from our lives, we will experience breakthrough in the different aspects of our lives.
Sermon Series: Don’t Let It Be Stolen
