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About The Episode:
Have you ever considered how the state of your heart can influence your ability to embrace wisdom? Join us on a spiritual odyssey as we dissect the Parable of the Sower from Mark 4, exploring the profound effects that the metaphorical soils of our hearts have on the growth of our faith. Through this narrative, we confront real-life obstacles that challenge our spiritual resolve, from the distractions threatening to derail us to the tribulations that test our tenacity. This episode isn’t just a regurgitation of biblical stories; it’s an invitation to reflect on the themes of your own life in the light of these timeless parables.
Wisdom isn’t just a concept to be admired—it’s a seed that can yield incredible harvests in our personal and spiritual lives when planted in the fertile soil of a teachable spirit. I urge you to embrace a disciple’s mindset, approach each day ready to learn and grow, and humbly acknowledge our imperfections. As we navigate life’s journey with this attitude, we find ourselves better equipped to weather the storms that come our way and reap the rewards of our diligent sowing.
Delve into the nurturing process of our burgeoning faith, drawing inspiration from the Parable of the Mustard Seed to appreciate the magnitude of small beginnings. Like a farmer nurturing their crops or a mother caring for her child, we must be patient and devoted stewards of our spiritual walk. As our conversation ends, I extend a heartfelt thanks for allowing me to accompany you in exploring faith’s landscape. I warmly invite you to continue this dialogue beyond the podcast through my website or email. Together, let’s nurture the seeds of wisdom so they may flourish into sturdy shelters amid life’s tempests.
Where to dive in:
(0:00:00) – Faith Building Through Parables (14 Minutes)
This chapter examines the reasons and implications behind Jesus’ use of parables, as illustrated in Mark 4, to impart wisdom and spiritual truths. I discuss the Parable of the Sower, emphasizing how the different types of soil represent the varied responses of individuals to the Word of God. I highlight the challenges we face in retaining and acting upon spiritual wisdom, particularly when confronted with difficulties or distractions that may cause us to abandon these teachings. Additionally, I reflect on the significance of understanding Jesus’ parables, which are not just simple stories but profound lessons about faith and the kingdom of God. The chapter encourages listeners to consider their own life circumstances as stories, urging introspection on the main themes playing out in their lives, and how these relate to the deeper messages within the parables.
(0:14:17) – Seeking Wisdom for Growth and Harvest (7 Minutes)
This chapter explores the significance of wisdom and understanding in achieving a fruitful life, drawing parallels to the parable of the sower. I discuss the importance of truly hearing and acting on words of wisdom, much like the seeds in the parable, to cultivate a meaningful harvest in various aspects of life, including personal growth and spirituality. The need for a teachable spirit, humility in seeking knowledge, and the willingness to confront personal shortcomings are highlighted as essential for anyone seeking true change and growth. Emphasizing the daily effort and commitment required for this process, I encourage listeners to adopt the mindset of a disciple, someone who actively seeks to understand and apply the lessons to their life, overcoming the hindrances of pride and complacency for a rewarding harvest.
(0:21:38) – The Parable of Growth and Harvest (6 Minutes)
This chapter reflects on the challenging journey of spiritual growth and the discipline required to live a life that honors Christ’s sacrifice. I discuss the importance of daily dying to oneself and finding strength in the joy of the Lord, emphasizing the significance of the end goal and the coming harvest. I explore the parable of the seed and how it pertains to our lives, questioning whether we have maintained the truth that God has planted within us. The chapter highlights the necessity for self-reflection and honesty when looking into the “mirror of the word,” acknowledging the fear but ultimate worth of such introspection. Finally, I assure that growth will inevitably follow those who sincerely seek it, using the analogy of farming and the natural process of growth to illustrate the patience and faithfulness required in nurturing one’s spiritual life, much like a farmer tends to a crop or a mother cares for her unborn child.
(0:27:55) – Seed Time and Harvest Parable (13 Minutes)
This chapter reflects on the lessons we can learn from adversity, using “Little House on the Prairie” as a metaphor for the struggles we face in life. I discuss how, much like the Ingalls family battles storms and heatwaves to save their crops, we too must work tirelessly to protect the seeds of our faith and endeavors. The episode emphasizes the importance of community support during hardships, drawing parallels between agricultural perseverance and nurturing one’s faith. By examining the parable of the mustard seed, I encourage listeners to remain steadfast, assuring them that even the smallest beginnings can lead to great shelters of faith for themselves and others. This chapter serves as a reminder that God’s promises are steadfast, and by seeking wisdom in our circumstances, we can uncover the lessons meant to guide us through life’s challenges.
(0:41:07) – Thank You and Contact Information (0 Minutes)
This chapter marks the conclusion of our time together, where I express gratitude for your company and invite you to stay in touch through my website, jamieloosecom, or by emailing me directly. I acknowledge the charm of video mediums and their tendency to record every mistake, which adds a touch of humor and authenticity to our interaction. It has been an absolute pleasure sharing this moment with you, and I look forward to our next encounter. Farewell until then!
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Full Transcript
This transcript is auto-generated and not perfect. We hope it blesses you.
0:00:00 – Jaime Luce
I mean it’s just gone, like we never heard it. It was there and it’s just gone the seed of it, everything it’s gone. Or we can hear it and think that’s great and we immediately hear that word and we act on that word. But as time goes on, it tests us. We’re needing to change in some area, we’re needing to grow in some area, and that’s uncomfortable and because of the persecution, finger quotes, because of that, we now let go of it. Because of the pain that it’s going to or the cost that it’s going to be, we let go of it. The word talks about how there, because there’s no root, there’s no real substance to hold it, or the other cares come in, priorities get shifted and the right priorities don’t stay in place and we lose the words that were spoken, we lose that seed, we lose that wisdom and then there is no harvest. Welcome to the Jamie Luce podcast. Thank you for joining me.
Today we are going to be looking at the Book of Mark, chapter 4. And this whole area that we’re going to be talking about is the parables. And I don’t know about you, I know for me I was like the disciples and they would ask why do you talk to them in parables. Why don’t you just say plainly I mean, how many times do you talk to them in parables? Why don’t you just say plainly I mean, how many times have we been in circumstances and situations? And we think I wish he would just write it on the wall. Just tell me what you want me to do, just show me. And we want this very clear thing spoken to us. And there seems to be a mystery here on why Jesus uses parables. And I really took this to be a learning experience for us that we could take what we hear today and we can use it to look at our lives in a different way. And maybe, if we kind of, in preparing for this today, are thinking about what is the main situation going on in our lives right now? Doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad what is the main story? If my life today were a story to tell, what is the point of the story? And so, with that in mind, let’s look at Mark, chapter 4. This is really going to be about faith building today through the parables and how we should view our circumstances. And I think you’ll find this really interesting Because if you’re reading in the New Testament, every gospel kind of tells the same.
There’s some differences and there’s some added information, some missing information. There are some things found in one gospel that are not found in another, and sometimes they’re the same things found but maybe told a little differently. But we get all the parables. The gospels are full of parables, these stories, and they’re important.
God was intentional about how he taught us. He’s intentional about what he says. He is not picking something. We tend to think. Oh well, the people of the day Jesus told them parables because they couldn’t understand. That’s not the truth. I want to expose what the truth is today, and maybe we can find this out about ourselves. Why does God end up talking to me in the way that he does? Anyway, if we look at chapter four, we’re going to see this is a series of parables. So I’m going to give you a lot of word today, but we’re going to stay in this book. We’re going to stay in Mark, chapter four. So I won’t have you jumping around, but let’s just start reading Again.
He began to teach beside the sea and a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea and the whole crowd was beside the sea, on the land, and he was teaching them many things in parables. And in his teaching he said to them listen, behold. So he’s really wanting them to pay attention to the story he’s going to tell. And you’ve all heard this parable before. A sower went out to sow and as he sowed, some seed fell along the path and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil, and when the sun rose it was scorched and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among the thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding 30-fold and 60-fold and 100-fold.
And he said he who has ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was alone, those around him with the 12,. So I want you to pick up on this little nuance. It says and when he was alone, those around him with the 12. So there are others there, more than the 12. So he’s away from the huge crowd now and he has his disciples with him, but he also has others who are there. So these are people who are being distinguished, a little different than the big crowd, ok, and when he was alone, those around him with the 12 asked him about the parables and he said to them to you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything is in parables, so that they may indeed see, but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven. And he said to them do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? So we can see that he’s saying I’m going to continue to preach in parables and it’s imperative that you understand the parables.
Okay, the so or so is the word, and these are the ones along the path when the word is sown. When they hear, when they hear, satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground, the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy, and they have no root in themselves but endure for a while. Then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things Enter in and choke the word and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty fold, and sixty fold and a hundred fold.
And he said to them Is a lamp brought in and put under a basket or under a bed and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest, nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. And he said to them Pay attention to what you hear, pay attention to what you hear. I’m going to say it again Pay attention to what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And I know that sounds very familiar.
Those are the same ending words to the parable of the talents, verse twenty six. And he said the kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day and the seeds sprouts and grows. He knows not how the earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear, but when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle because the harvest has come. We’re almost done reading and he said with what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth. Yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.
With many such parables, he spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately, to his own disciples, he explained everything. Okay, that’s a lot of word, and thank you for staying with me being good students of the word, wanting to know the word, don’t? We love the word? I love the word. Anyway, there’s so much there.
But what did Jesus mean in verse 12? Let’s look at verse 12. So that they may indeed see but not perceive. This is to the answer of the question why do we speak to them in parables? In fact, let’s, let’s back up, let’s read verse 10 again. But my point is to get to verse 12. And when he was alone, those around him with the 12 asked him about the parables and he said to them to you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything is in parables, so that they may indeed see but not perceive. They may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven. Now, if you read that verse by itself, without context and without reading that whole passage, it would be easy to misunderstand what that verse is saying. In fact, to me, at first glance, just reading it face value by itself, it sounds like Jesus is saying he doesn’t want them to hear and understand. So he tells them in parables. But that’s not what the verse means. Jesus, in this whole stretch of parables, is making a couple points, and that’s really what I want to draw our attention to, because we hear over and over again, all through scripture.
He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying right, and to the churches we would hear that. You hear that in the book of Revelation. We need to know what it is that we’re hearing. If I go anywhere, I could go to a church service and listen to a message. I can be listening to a podcast. I could be watching television. I could be sitting and having a conversation with someone. We all know how easy it is to sit there and be hearing but not really listening. So in the end, we didn’t hear what was really being said. We really didn’t hear it. We heard it without hearing it. We heard noise, we heard talking. We weren’t really listening. We can hear what someone says and miss the point completely. So this is really important.
Jesus is explaining something about why he uses these parables and the contrast. But the balance I guess if we were trying to pick something that we could equally balance it with, I would say again I want you to try to think of your life and what’s going on and what is the storytelling right now, what is the story of your circumstances telling and if we are willing to really look at it, if we’re willing to really listen and hear what the Lord is teaching us or saying to us through our circumstances. You know you can have a circumstance and it’s not necessarily God teaching this to you but wisdom speaks. We know that all through the book of Proverbs wisdom speaks, wisdom talks. Wisdom makes manifest. So we can be going through something and not have the understanding and not know what’s going on. We don’t know.
Wisdom is the thing that causes us to be able to truly see what we need to see and know and hear what we need to know and hear, and the wise thing to do then is to act appropriately so that I am ensuring that I have, well, according to this parable, a good harvest, and I want either a 30, 60 or 100-fold harvest. If I’m reaping no harvest, something’s wrong. I need to go back and see and, according to this first parable of the seed, it talks about the word. Now, of course, this is talking about the word of God that’s being shared, but I want you to think about that in terms of whatever it is. If this is in your personal relationships and words are being shared, it’s important that we hear these words and understand the things that can happen.
The word can be snatched away. I mean, it’s just gone like we never heard it. It was there and it’s just gone the seed of it, everything it’s gone. Or we can hear it and think that’s great and we immediately hear that word and we act on that word. But as time goes on, it tests us. We’re needing to change in some area, we’re needing to grow in some area, and that’s uncomfortable and because of the persecution, finger quotes, because of that, we now let go of it. Because of the pain that it’s going to or the cost that it’s going to be, we let go of it. The word talks about how there, because there’s no root, there’s no real substance to hold it, or the other cares come in, priorities get shifted and the right priorities don’t stay in place and we lose the words that were spoken, we lose that seed, we lose that wisdom and then there is no harvest.
So we can take these parables and we can look at how our life, how wisdom is either speaking to us or how the Lord is trying to speak to us and bring wisdom to us, to teach us how to walk in His ways. What is the word? The word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. If I need to know what to do, I need to have the word. I need to hear the word, but I need to listen to the word. I need to do the word, I need to understand that word so that I can act on that word. So if we look at what is this saying?
The truth of this particular scripture, jesus isn’t saying I don’t want them to know, I don’t want them to understand. That’s not what he’s saying. The truth is that only seekers, really true seekers, find truth. Who was hearing the result? Who asked the question? What does that mean? We don’t have the crowds coming to Jesus and saying what does the parable mean? What did you mean when you said that? How am I supposed to use that? What changes can I make now that I know this? Are there expectations of me Folks? The crowds didn’t ask that question. The disciples did and there were some from the crowd. There were others around. There were sincere seekers who really wanted to know Jesus. What did you mean? How do I need to take that? I really want to know because I’m really seeking after you. I really want this in my life to change right now. I really want my circumstance to look different. I really need something to be different, to change. If you really need that. You really want that, folks.
We’ve got to be truly sincerely seeking for the answers. I can’t have look for the answers. I can’t hope that the answers are just going to come. I can’t stay in my place of comfort. I have to get out of my comfort zone, me as a person and my personality. I have to work hard to change certain, certain parts of my personality that don’t lend themselves to to growth, and I think we all do that. We all have places that we think well, that’s me and we tend to think we’re right and we tend to get comfortable and it’s painful to do it differently. And we have to confront ourselves. And if you don’t like to confront period, you may not like to confront other people, but you probably don’t like to confront yourself and we have to really dial down and look at ourselves.
I mean, I’m assuming, because you’re watching this, that you are someone who truly wants growth. You’re somebody who wants to know the word, you want to know God, you want to live according to what he says and you want to please the Father. I mean, that’s my assumption that you’re even paying attention and watching this. So knowing that, knowing that, I would put you most likely in the disciple camp, or at least somebody who’s seeking out something. If you haven’t sought it before, you’re starting to ask some questions and say hey, what did you mean by that? How does that affect me? What do I need to do with that? And so this is the truth of what this means.
Because pride if I think I already know, or if I am too proud to ask, because then I’m afraid that someone’s going to look at me as that I should know, and I don’t know If my pride is involved if I am too proud to humble myself to ask, or too proud to look like I don’t know and not ask, or too proud in that I think that I’ve already heard all this before and there’s nothing new for me to learn. I’ve got this. Yeah, no big deal. I’m not teachable. I don’t have a teachable spirit. Folks, that pride will hinder us from true harvest in our life. If we want a harvest, it takes time.
What did the parable say that Jesus said in verse 26? And he said the kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day. This is a daily effort. This is something that we do day and night. It’s not something that we turn loose of. It’s work. It’s actual all the time, sometimes really difficult work. It’s not easy to be a disciple. It wouldn’t need to be said by both Jesus and by Paul that we have to bear our cross. We have to pick up our cross and follow him.
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This book is available today, that I have to die daily. Those are not easy things. Those are really really hard things. It’s really hard Now. What makes it easier is when we can do it with the joy of the Lord, which is our strength, to know that the end is worth it. The harvest is coming. My hope, then, is aroused and it strengthens my soul, and I know that it will be worth it, because I know not just that it will be worth it, but what Christ has done for me already and what he has purchased already for me is payment in itself. I know that I have enough, but that I want to live for him and I want to know this one who came and sacrificed everything for me. I want to know him, I want to be in close relationship with him, I want to be able to live a life pleasing to him. This is going to take work. This is going to take work.
These parables followed along here. Jesus tells the parable of the seed and that the harvest. That can be expected, and it will look a little different for some and for those who don’t do anything, it won’t be anything, but it’s the good ground. I mean, sadly, only one fourth. Only one fourth of this parable is good ground. The other all lost it. They either lost it right away or along the way.
And this is where we have to look and say have I held on to the seed? Have I held on to what God has planted in me? Have I held on to the truth of what he has spoken to me, or have I turned loose of it? Did I turn loose of it because it was attacked? Did I allow it to just be snatched away and I didn’t allow it to take root? Did I allow other things to come up and take precedence and take the priority and the first position in my life? Did I not seek ye first, the kingdom of God? What have I done along the way? How have I been a steward of the seed that has been sown to me? What have I done with that seed?
If I will look at that, I probably could make some sense out of some of the things that are going along in my life, that are happening in my life, or the circumstances that are surrounding me. I might be able to make some sense out of those things. Now that takes some real self-reflection, that takes some honest reflection. But isn’t that what the word is supposed to be to us, that I look into the mirror of the word and it reflects back to me the truth of what is to be seen in me. It can be scary, it can be scary to take a look, but, folks, it’s worth it. It’s worth it to do it now. It’s worth it to do it right now. The longer we put it off and trust me, I’m somebody who has learned this the longer we put it off, not only the harder do we make it, but the further out we put our harvest. I’m sure you want to harvest now, I want to harvest right now, but I’m not gonna get a harvest without sewing and tending that seed and Doing it day and night. Now here’s the beautiful thing Growth will follow a sincere seeker. It’s not a maybe, it’s not. I hope so. This is a fact you can take to the bank.
Let’s look at verses 26 to 29 again. And he said the kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows. He knows not how I mean, you’re not even gonna know how this happens. You just have to be faithful because you don’t see what’s happening underneath.
This is the hard part. We want to see results. We live in an instant society. We all do this. I’m guilty of this. We we do something and we want to see the result right now. But that’s a shame because you know, a farmer would get this easy.
Somebody who Dilligently takes care of an actual harvest understands. Somebody who has waited on a crop just to see first the blade Well, let’s continue reading. He sleeps and rises night and day and the seed sprouts and grows. He knows not how it sprouts and grows. The earth Produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. So there’s a process of growth and we first see just a blade of hope. You know it take, and then you have to take time to watch. That Isn’t it’s wonderful if you’ve ever watched those time-lapse videos and you can just see when life takes place. Or think of a baby in the womb and how I’ve watched the videos where they show every day as this, as that baby is growing and changing and Becomes ready for birth. Even in that process there is time, night and day, taking care, making sure you know if you are a woman and you have given birth. You understand the pregnancy process and that that process is that Not only are you going and your stomach is growing, but you’re eating differently, you’re making sure you’re taking in the right vitamins. Your doctor is measuring and he’s checking and he’s he’s giving you things he wants you to do and things he doesn’t want you to do. He tells you okay, you can be this active, but don’t overdo it. And I want you to rest and if you have any complications, you have to make adjustments for those complications and some people have very severe things and they are on bedrest, so that that baby has the health and the care that it needs. I mean we, you could look at a crop. That has been.
I used to love to watch the the program and if I catch it every now and again and have time to watch, I’ll still watch. But little house on the prairie and Pa was a farmer and mr Ingalls and there was one episode where they are going out to do this harvest and there is a massive, massive storm that is Threatening to wipe away all seed and everything that was planted, to wipe out the crop and folks. We can come into circumstances and Things are Overwhelming and they come to wipe away. I want you to think of the parable. I want you to think of of your life as the parable of the seeds that are sown, that there are things that could come to try to take that seed away, to wipe out your harvest. But, just like in a pregnancy, they go out there and they’re working in the in the storm. They’re working in the storm. They’re working to save their crop. Same thing if there’s a horrible, scorching Heat that comes and it wants to dry out. There was another, another episode where they had that too, and at the time that it was scorching, laura Ingalls wants to help her mother while their father is gone and they’re having to take care of this Crop while he’s gone and they’re hoping to save it and Laura is pregnant at the time and she ends up collapsing Trying to do too much in the heat. And we can do that, folks, instead of the. The moral of that particular story Was they went and finally got all the help of everybody else instead of them just trying to do it themselves. They knew the goal was to save the crop.
Folks, we’ve got to look at our lives like these parables and we’ve got to save that seed. We’ve got to save the word, whatever it takes to keep that word in our hearts alive, growing and being stirred so that it produces a harvest for our life, for our families, for our churches, for our Businesses, for ministry, to reach the lost. Whatever we have to do, we’ve got to come and we’ve got to take measures to save that seed. If we Understand that this process will happen According to this word, according to this parable, if you’ll do this work, this will happen. There is seed time and harvest and this is the promise that as long as there is the sun and the moon, as long as there are Seasons, there is seed time and harvest. We have this Assurance from the word of God, from the mouth of God to us, that it will always be this way. You can count on that.
If you have not seen a harvest yet and you have been planting and watering and Nurturing those things, do not lose hope. But what does the scripture tell us? That do not faint, we will reap. If we faint, not just hang on. Keep tending that With all of your heart so that you do not lose your harvest. Let’s look at verses 30 to 32, because sincere faith, sincere Seekers, will truly grow in faith along the way. If you will stay faithful to the task, you will grow and see a harvest. Verse 30 through 32. And he said With what can we compare the kingdom of God?
Or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth. You might feel that what you have to start with is so minuscule, it is so unimportant, it is so weightless, it is so thin and ill valued and not worth anything. And your faith you may feel like your faith is barely there. You’re barely hanging on. Hear me now. Hear me. I know you’ve heard this before, but this is the promise of God. What you do with what I say right now out of this word, is what you do, just like the parable with the seed that is sown. I am sowing seed right now. What kind of ground are you going to be here? This parable, it is like a grain of mustard seed which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth. Yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large Branches so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade. Folks, this is your faith. If you will stay faithful, if you’ll stay faithful, those who come after you, whether you are single and you have friends who are watching you, whether you are married and you have children or grandchildren, if you will stay faithful, your faith will grow and your circumstance will produce to the point that Everybody else, all the smaller ones, will then come and be able to nest and find shade and find comfort in what you have produced. This is the promise of the word. This is the promise of the word. This is the promise of the word.
What is verse 33 say, with many such parables, he spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately, to his own disciples, he explained everything. So, in your circumstance, god is speaking. He’s trying to tell you something. Wisdom is speaking to you. Let’s look at it. Let’s really look at the seeds of what our life is produced. Let’s really look at this parable. What should we be searching for in our current circumstances? What should we be looking for? We should be looking for the message, the message that tells us this is how I got here, this is how I can get out of here, this is how I can produce and do more. What is your circumstance speaking to you? But listen to this. I have a question for you. Is it possible that God is speaking to you through your circumstance a story right now and waiting for you to ask him about it, that he could be, to ask about what it is that he is teaching you? This is the end of verse 33.
I loved it so much because it’s again saying, in reference back to verse 12, he’s telling this parable, he’s speaking, but it’s only those who are willing to hear who will hear it. It’s only those who are willing to hear who will hear it. Look at verse 24 again and he said to them pay attention to what you hear. With the measure you use it, it will be measured to you and still more will be added to you, for the one who has, more will be given and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
Folks, how we listen is imperative. How we listen is imperative and to the measure that we’re willing to listen is imperative because it is by measure. It is by measure. Do you want to hear what the Lord is saying, then be faithful with what he has said to you, because he’s saying I have spoken to you. If you don’t use it, that means you’re not really listening, and I only tell more to the one who’s listening and has done something with what they’ve got. If you listen to the measure you listen, more will be given to the measure you listen.
So if you want to hear more from God, I have to be faithful with what he has spoken to me already. I have to be willing to look and say what is the story of my life telling? Have I been listening? Have I been obeying the word? Have I been doing what he’s called me to do? Have I been faithful to that word? Have I taken care of that word? Have I nurtured that word? Do I care about it day and night?
You know the scripture teaches us that we are to meditate on his word day and night. Meditate on it day and night. I believe it was David who told us that in the Psalms. We have to meditate on the word day and night. One scripture says we want it like frontlets on the front of our head. We want it right here. I mean it’s just right here. It’s ever present. It’s just. It’s what I see.
First, we need that tenacity, we need that drive, we need that resolve, we need that conviction, because it is with that that we will see, that we will see a truly great harvest. I’m standing with you, I’m contending with you. We can do this, folks. He’s not given us an impossible task. He has said that he will be faithful. What is the other? Scripture tells I should have looked all these. I had all these others that are running through my head and I didn’t take the time to write down their address for you. But you can look them up. He says if you seek, you will find. If you knock, the door will be opened. Right, I mean, we have to, we have to ask it what is? Are you waiting? Is God, I’m sorry, is God waiting? I should say is God waiting on you? Is he waiting for you to ask him? What does this parable mean? What does this circumstance in my life mean? What are you wanting to teach me in this parable? Folks, that’s up to us. I can’t do it for you. Nobody can do this for you.
We each are accountable and responsible with what we hear individually. It doesn’t matter what my parents heard when I was growing up. It matters what I do with what I hear, it doesn’t matter. I guess no one else is going to get saved off of what I hear and what I do with what I hear, unless they also hear and do with what they hear. Hearing the word alone does not make us righteous. Hearing the word alone does not produce a crop. Going to church every Sunday and hearing the word by itself, just hearing the word by itself, that doesn’t do anything, because I have to do with what I’ve heard. I prove I’ve heard by what I do. I prove I’ve heard by what I do, and the same will be for you. I really hope you could take this to heart today. I know this is kind of fast and hard at you. My hope is that each of us will take this season that we’re in, no matter what we’re dealing with, and we will make sure that we are doing the work Right now.
You know it says no one puts their hand at the plow and turning back is worthy. I have to keep my hands at the plow. I can’t start it and not finish it. I want to be worthy of whatever he’s wanting to entrust to me, and that includes what I hear. He has entrusted me to hear things from him, whether I heard it through reading the word, whether I heard it through the wisdom he speaks to me through the circumstances of my life. I need to be faithful with what I hear, and if I am, he will be faithful to give me even more.
Let me pray for you, heavenly Father. You have been so good to us. You did not leave us lacking or without. You have provided your perfect word that establishes us, teaches us, trains us, convicts us, encourages us, helps us to stand. Father, I pray that we become diligent hearers of your word, those who are ready to act on what we hear, and that we are able then to diligently stay the course, taking care of that seed and receiving the beautiful bounty of a full harvest. I ask for that for every single person who is listening to this or watching this video. And, father, we will be careful to give you all the glory for your goodness and your faithfulness to us. Everything we receive has come from your hand and we give you the glory for it, and it’s in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen, amen.
Thanks so much for joining me today. It’s been my pleasure to be with you. If you want to reach me, you can do that by going to my website, that’s jamieloosecom. You can send me an email at mail at jamieloosecom. I’d love to hear from you. Thanks again for seeing me. That’s funny. Thanks again for joining me, not seeing me you may even be hearing this and not seeing. Anyway, don’t you love video and they capture all the slip ups, but it was my pleasure to be with you. We’ll see you next time. Bye.
Transcribed by https://podium.page
