God reminded me of a parable. Many people have read it and read it and read it…and still don’t see themselves in it. They see “seeds” because this is the parable of the sower. 

Please turn with me to Luke 8:1.

(READ THIS CHAPTER to verse 18)

Luke is talking about you, me and the Word of God.

Point 1: What are you “receiving” when you read the bible? (I mean what do you “get out” of it?)

Let me ask you a bold question and be careful how you listen to my question. *Has the bible become “blank” words to you, with (what feels like) no life in them?

What is your motive to read? Could it be that you’re rushing through it just to maintain some sort of peace of mind that you’ve read it? In this case: Verse 12 talks about you.

The devil is coming against you to take away the Word from your heart. Just reading it doesn’t do anything for you. You’ve got to pray about what you’re reading; before, during and after! Care about what you’re reading! See how it applies to you or others you care about. (Elaborate)
TAKE the time! Don’t walk along the path…walk ON the path! Get it into your heart and not just your head!

Point 2: I believe a lot of the “so called” Christian world is in danger of receiving their seed on the rock. (verse 13)

Praise and Worship can make EVERYONE feel good, but how many know that just singing and dancing won’t get you through a bought with Cancer or a bank account with a zero balance at the age of 60, or a ten-year sentence in prison for something you didn’t do!

You need MORE to make it through things of that magnitude!

You can’t say you have roots just to think that you have them.

Point 3: What about the seed among the thorns? (verse 14)

Well, let me ask you this…Is your mind so cluttered with all of your plans. Scheduling your meetings. Making your phone calls that you’re having trouble grasping anything NEW out of the Word of God. Don’t be quick to say, “no” that’s not me.

(The bible says to BE CAREFUL HOW YOU LISTEN to this.)

Examine yourself. It’s between YOU and the LORD and no one else.

Being “busy”…whether it’s for you and your house or for the Lord and His…is still just that… being “busy.” And if you stay in that frame of mind and don’t apply what you read, the bible says that the Word in you will not mature because there’s no room for God.

I had to throw this is my notes because the Lord brought it to my remembrance while preparing for tonight.

I have a mustache story for you…

My dad had one of those big, bushy mustaches from the early 70’s and I used to love it! He had the side-burns like Elvis to match. I can’t tell you how much I loved that mustache! He would make me laugh by tickling my face with it. He’d make funny faces with it and just
being silly. I enjoyed my early childhood in Emporia and that mustache represented it ALL!

The dancing to the loud jukebox with the windows at home open wide.The hours my brother and I spent building model forts out of the Sonic Drive In signs. Running through the rain in my swimming suit with good friends. Getting my back scratched by my mom until she fell asleep. (and then I’d move) It was a ‘moment in time’ and that mustache was a collection of that time. 

Then, one day there was talk about him shaving it but for some reason…I didn’t think it would happen. The next thing I knew…my dad had the whitest upper lip that I have ever seen! I thought he would grow it back, but he didn’t.

When I asked him why he did it…he said, “People in business don’t respect a guy with a mustache. Bankers won’t take them seriously and that could cost us a lot of money.” He said that it was time to grow up.

I was so sad. I wanted to hold on to that last bit of my childhood through his mustache…but we both had to let go to make room for growth.

What am I saying? I’m saying that if you don’t “consider carefully how you listen” to the Word of God (*verse 18) and let go of your childish ways of thinking…whatever you THINK you have will be taken from you.

Don’t let that happen. Make up your mind tonight to plant the Word of God in good soil. Plant it with a noble and good heart. Retain what you hear and persevere.