The Living Word: Protecting the Word
“Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. 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. 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. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 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. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.””
Mark 4:13-20 NIV
Every seed demands a harvest.
Anything of value to you, you protect.
1.) Protect the Word, So the Word Can’t Be Stolen
“The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away.”
Mark 4:15 NLT
The enemy knows if the Word gets in you, faith will come out of you!
We need to be committed to protecting the power of God’s word.
2.) Protect the Word From the Chokers
“Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 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.”
Mark 4:18-19 NIV
3.) Instead of Being Shaken, Get Yourself Stirred
“And some are like the seed that lands in the gravel. When they first hear the Word, they respond with great enthusiasm. But there is such shallow soil of character that when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.”
Mark 4:16-17 MSG
People of the world get shaken, people of the Word get stirred!
“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
II Timothy 1:6-7 NKJV
Stop listening to what shakes you up, and start listening to what stirs you up!
The One who defeated sin, death, and the grave is standing by your side, why should anything shake you?
4.) It’s All About Your Heart
“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!”
Mark 4:20 NLT
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.”
Psalm 51:10-13 ESV
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech.”
Proverbs 4:23-24 NLT
The only thing that can heal your heart is the power of Jesus Christ.
““But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams.””
Mark 4:20 MSG
