Receiving from God 3
Scripture Reading - Mark 4:20 KJV
And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
In today’s lesson we will continue to explore the subject of “Receiving from God”. “Receiving from God” is special and holy, however, it is not as hard or mysterious as some would lead us to believe. In our previous lesson we talked about receiving from God when we pray. We mentioned that it is an instantaneous transaction that occurs right when you pray. In another lesson we mentioned that a key to “receiving from God” is your belief in God’s Word. You acknowledge God’s Word as truth by simply believing in what God said, then on purpose “believing you received God’s Word (which is His Will and His Way)” into your heart. We must be sure to acknowledge that “we believe we received” God’s Word into our heart because it goes into the heart (your spirit) first, then it comes out of your mouth to affect this natural realm. Since the natural realm operates on a much slower speed we must be patience until we physically see the promise of God come to pass in the physical realm of our lives. In today’s lesson we examine “receiving” from God through the ear gate. We notice in today’s reference verse that three distinct things happened to have God’s Will manifested in the natural. The three things we are keying in on today are 1) hearing the word, 2) receiving the word and 3) bearing the fruit of the word. Now today’s reference verse starts out with the statement, “these are they which are sown on “good ground” but how do we know they had good ground? We know it primarily because that was the only ground that brought forth fruit, yes some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold and some hundredfold. Now that we know the ground was good let us look at what exactly made their “ground good” because the wrong type of ground is the only thing that can stop the Word of God from producing in our life. Did you notice in the parable of “the sower sowing the word” that all four grounds heard the Word of God because the sower was in their proximity (close enough for their ears to hear). Thus, we can conclude that the ear-gate is a direct pathway to our heart. Yes, to receive from God through the ear gate one must hear the Word of God being spoken. Anyone can hear God’s Word when they are close to a source of God’s Word. This means naturally we should always hear God’s Word through church or through listening to godly ministers over the internet or radio or even hearing certain speakers on TV. This “hearing” can (and should) be accomplished every day in some form or fashion. Yes, you should be able to “hear God’s Word” through other ministers but you should also be able to hear God’s Word coming through your own mouth and another source of “hearing” God’s Word comes from within. The spirit of God speaks the Word of God, so there should be times when you hear the Word of God from within, whether it is a voice quoting a scripture or a witness and peace about what you should do next, it is all still hearing from God which is right and necessary to be “good ground”. Next, we must “receive God’s Word” into our heart because if we don’t the evil one comes immediately to take it away. Any time we choose to ignore God’s Word or not believe it Satan can access that specific word because it is on the surface of our heart instead of inside of our heart. Being on the surface just means you “heard” the Word of God but you have no desire to obey it or receive it as divine guidance for your life. It is one-thing to believe God’s Word for mankind in general but it is an entirely different thing all together to “receive” God’s Word for yourself desiring positive change through being and thinking more like God. For example, believing in general can easily take place because the promises of God sound good to us and they are right. However, to stand strong in the face of contradictory circumstances in the natural requires both faith and patience build upon the foundation of God’s Word. This is why “receiving” requires more effort and stamina because you must be willing and able to face down all your opposition with a blessed assurance that God’s Word is truth and His Word (His Will) shall be done in my life, period. “Believing you received” should still come through all possible channels but for the sake of discussing the ear-gate one should listen to faith filled messages as much as they can. Yes, the believer should even listen to the positive confessions found in the Word of God continuously to feed your heart. This constant diet of God’s Word spoken unto your ears will impact your heart in a good way, making it crucial for a good heart. Next, we do see a reward which is called, “they bring forth fruit”. Even though everyone doesn’t bring forth a hundredfold it is encouraging that one-hundred percent (100%) of the “good ground” brought forth some measurement of fruit. We (ihlcc) believe this to be a process of progression. Those who are younger in God might not bring forth as much fruit as those who have walked with the Lord over the course of several years. Yes, this even happens to those who are in the ministry full time because the demand for more fruit might be more necessary for a pastor then painter. Yes, they both need God’s Word and they both “receive” from God through their ear gates but one might spend 8 hours a day in God’s Word (The Holy Bible) while the other one might only spend 20 minutes a day looking into God’s Word. This is why we (ihlcc) believe there is a very distinct difference between those who bring forth a hundredfold and those who bring forth thirtyfold. The key is not getting caught up on why someone else is bringing in more fruit (just mind your own business) because all that you need your Heavenly Father is willing and able to provide through Jesus Christ, our Lord if you look to Him for the promises of God. The smart thing for each believer is to keep on listening to (hearing) God’s Word and “receiving” His Word into your heart by “believing you received it (received Him)” because then you shall have God’s Word (you shall have Him). Sometimes the measurement you “receive” is the exact amount of harvest you were believing for in the first place. For as a man sows to that precise measurement so shall he also reap. So definitely “hear God’s Word” with both ears because they are open doors to your heart, then “receive” it on purpose to accomplish the purpose that was promised in the Word of God then speak it forth in faith and bring forth your fruit which all the Body of Christ needs to prosper and learn. Remember, God’s Heart is not solely about you because The Lord also desires for you to be able to help others become free from the snares and traps of the wicked one in the Name of Jesus. Amen!