A Heads Up!
This is going to be a longer post—sorry in advance!
This also comes from a sermon I wrote as I’ve been going through Bible school, so if it feels like a sermon, that’s why!
But I hope this blesses you in some way.
A Road Trip
Imagine you and your friend are on a long road trip. They’re driving and you’re the one manning the GPS.
The drive starts off fine, but every now and then you will tell your friend to go one way and they will argue with you and go another.
You tell them they need to turn left, but that doesn’t sound right, so they continue going straight instead.
You tell them to get off at one exit, but they decide to get off at another.
And then you guys end up getting lost and the GPS has to reroute you.
When you finally get there, you sigh in relief, but a thought stirs in the back of your mind. You wonder if the two of you would have gotten there faster had your friend just trusted you and listened to where you were guiding them through the GPS.
We all have people we know and love in our lives who will argue with us about every single thing. You could tell them something you know is 100% true and they would still challenge you on it.
And then we all have those moments where someone tells us something that is true, but we ourselves struggle to believe it.
All throughout scripture we see countless instances of this dynamic between God and man—where God says something, but man’s heart struggles with believing.
We see an example of this in John 20.
Doubting Thomas
The disciples had been walking with Jesus for three years and they had seen Him perform amazing miracles:
Bringing sight to the blind
Causing a lame man to walk
Raising people from the dead
But now Jesus was dead and the disciples found themselves alone together in a locked room, afraid the Jews would find them. The body of Jesus, their Rabbi (or teacher) was missing and in their hearts they couldn’t understand what happened to Him. (although He had told them multiple times what was to come.)
I can only imagine they were marked with confusion, grief, and fear.
But then all of a sudden, Jesus appeared out of nowhere and scripture says the disciples were glad when they saw Him.
We pick up in John 20:24 and we are introduced to a man named Thomas. He was a disciple of Jesus and was not with the other disciples when Jesus had first appeared to them.
“Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into His side, I will never believe.” Eight days later, His disciples were inside and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen yet have believed.”
It’s easy for us to pick on Thomas, the disciples, and other biblical figures for not believing God, but how many times in our own lives do we find ourselves doing the same exact thing?
God tells us something through His Word, but we just struggle to believe it or flat out deny its truth.
It would be good for us to get to a place where we can say, “My Lord and my God, I see you!” in the midst of wrestling with unbelief, confusions, and questions—not after we see and feel Jesus in a situation, but before.
But at times we’re like:
The Israelites: Who were brought out of Egypt and promised a land flowing with milk and honey, but ended up in the wilderness for 40 years.
Sarah: Who laughed to herself when God said she would have a baby at her old age.
Thomas: Who didn’t want to believe Jesus was really alive until he saw Him for himself.
Jesus responded so powerfully to Thomas: Blessed are those who have not seen, yet believe (John 20:29).
Faith is believing it before you SEE it and before you FEEL it!
This is one of the biggest tensions of the Christian walk and as I have been walking through my own questions and confusions these past few months, God keeps bringing me back to this challenge:
What would happen if we dared to take God at His Word?
The Parable of The Sower
In Mark 4, Jesus taught the Parable of the Sower.
A parable is just an earthly story with a heavenly meaning—meaning that there is something spiritual that God wants us to learn and apply from this story Jesus is sharing.
As it goes, a farmer went out to sow and his seeds fell on four different areas of the ground.
When the seeds fell on the:
Path: The birds came and ate the seeds; they didn’t even get planted.
Rocky Ground: It sprang up, but because it didn’t have much soil, the sun scorched what was produced and it withered away.
Thorns: It choked and yielded no grain.
GOOD SOIL: It produced grain, grew up, increased, and yielded thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.
The disciples were confused by this, so Jesus explained it to them:
The Sower sows the Word—the seed is the Word of God and the grounds that the seeds fall on is the heart of a person.
When the Word of God falls on:
The Path (Didn’t even get planted): Satan comes and takes the Word away.
Rocky Ground (Withers away): Hearts receive the Word with joy, but because it has no root in them, when tribulation comes, people fall away.
Thorns (Choked away): People hear the Word, but the cares of the world and the desires for riches choke the Word.
GOOD SOIL (Produces fruit): People hear the Word, accept it, and the Word produces fruit in them.
“But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
The sad reality is most Christians can go their entire lives believing Jesus is God and that He died on the cross for their sins—and still end up missing the power of His Word working in them to live free, faith-filled lives—not because the Word isn’t powerful, but because it hasn’t taken root yet.
By saying this, I am not trying to minimize the work of Christ on the cross or the shedding of His blood. I am grateful for what He did, NOT ONLY because it sets us free from the consequences of sin, but also because it sets us free from the bondages of sin.
We no longer have to walk in shame.
We no longer have to hold on to sins and weights that God is calling us to let go of.
Christ not only died so that we could be free from hell, but He also died so that we could be free here on Earth.
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
God’s Word is powerful and He desires that we not just hear about it, but that it works in us.
As we go through studying this out, I want us to look at God’s Word and our hearts as SEEDS and SOIL.
I’m no gardener, but the whole purpose of a seed is for that seed to grow and develop into something.
The soil of our hearts constantly has good and bad seeds being planted in it.
Good and bad seeds are planted:
In our upbringing: The ways in which we were raised, what we learned as children, how we were conditioned to see ourselves and others.
In the way people treat us: How the majority of people treat us often becomes the view of ourselves. If we are treated like trash, we often come to believe that we are trash.
The same goes for how we treat others.
We need to be careful about the kinds of seeds we allow to be planted in our hearts. (Protect our ear-gates and eye-gates.)
At the same time, we need to be careful of the kinds of seeds we plant in others. (Be careful of what comes out of our own mouths.)
We are in a constant battle with the devil over the dominion of our hearts and minds.
“My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance [Keep CAREFUL WATCH], for from it flow the springs of life.”
I want to ask you: Who rules over your heart? Is it the worries or the riches of this world? Is it your fleeting feelings? Is it the darts the enemy keeps throwing at you? Or is it the unchanging Word of God that has the power to set you and me free if we would just take Him at His Word?
The root will always determine the fruit.
The Word is the seed, the heart is the soil, and our lives are the fruit.
There are 3 things that Mark 4:20 lays out for us to help us receive God’s Word in a way that it takes root and is firmed up in us.
#1: WE MUST HEAR THE WORD (The Word is the seed)
The Word must be planted.
Researchers are now just beginning to scratch the surface in understanding the science of neuroplasticity, or the ability of the brain to rewire itself, create new pathways, and change and adapt.
This is an ability that God gave our brains, yet we tend to use it destructively rather than constructively.
Think of all the negative thoughts we think about ourselves on a daily basis. What would happen if we put as much effort into feeding ourselves with God’s Word as we do into the degrading thoughts we allow to permeate our minds?
If we are going to take God at His Word, we must hear His Word often.
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
We are very good about feeding ourselves food to satisfy our physical hunger, but sometimes we struggle to feed ourselves spiritually. We don’t eat food only once a week, so why should we partake of His word only once a week?
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
God’s Word is not something we get to pick apart and choose what we agree with.
God’s Word is not a self-help book to make us better versions of ourselves.
God’s Word is not something we leave open at home to look “Christian” and then turn around as though it doesn’t exist.
It is a sacred text that is inspired by God—His message to humanity—”This is the way, this is the truth, walk in it, and be set free.”
His Word is useful for teaching us what is true and right, it’s useful for correcting us in our sins, and it trains us in living righteously unto God through His power.
How can we live out His Word if we don’t know it? We have to hear it, read it, memorize it, pray over it—that’s how it gets inside of our hearts.
We are often asking God for a new revelation—a sign here or there, but the quickest way to get a revelation from God is to open up His Word, study the things you are struggling with, and ask the Holy Spirit to transform your heart with His truth.
We have to hear the Word. We have to gather the seeds.
#2: WE MUST ACCEPT THE WORD (The heart is the soil)
The Word must be planted and nurtured in our hearts.
If we aren’t diligent, our hearts can become like rocky ground or thorns, where the Word is choked away—where the issues of life creep in, the devil starts whispering, and we forget what God says.
What is stopping you from accepting God’s Word simply for what it is: Truth?
We cannot just hear the Word, but we must also accept it for what it is—the truth:
Despite our feelings
Despite our circumstances
Despite what the world is saying and their perversity of the truth
If we are going to live this Christian life out, if we are going to be followers of The Way, we’ve got to believe His Word not just in our heads, but also in our hearts.
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes! With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.”
At some point, scripture has to go from being written in our social media profiles to being written on our hearts. Walking with God is much more than just hearing His Word. It’s accepting His truth to the point where it rules over our hearts.
David makes it clear in Psalm 119 that the way a young man or woman can keep their way pure is by guarding their hearts. He says “I have stored up Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You. I will meditate on Your precepts and fix my eyes on Your ways.”
David is meditating on God’s Word, he’s opening his heart to be transformed by scripture. (John 17 says, “Sanctify them in Your truth; Your Word is truth”)
There comes a time where we as Christians have to make a choice—either we choose to accept His Word as truth or we don’t. God is calling us to lay down the lies and the sins that we’ve held on to for so long and to open our hearts to being transformed by His Word, which has the power to set us free.
“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Why are we holding on to the things God has called us to let go of? Why are we choosing to believe lies from the enemy? Why aren’t we nurturing our hearts with His scriptures?
If we are followers of God, our hearts need to be filled with His Word.
Choosing to accept His Word requires faith. I would argue faith is not the absence of fear and doubt, but that it’s choosing to trust and believe despite fear and doubt.
I’m coming to learn that faith is a fight. It’s not a cute stitching on a pillow—but it’s a battle for our hearts and minds.
A person of a great faith is not one who is devoid of fear and doubt, but one who dares to believe what God’s Word says despite what they see around them and how they feel about a situation.
#3: WE MUST BEAR FRUIT (Our lives are the fruit)
The Word must be planted, the Word must be nurtured in our hearts, and in turn the Word will bear fruit in our lives.
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”
Seeds are planted in order that they may produce fruit—substance. Our outward behavior will more often than not be a direct byproduct of the condition of our inward state.
What does the garden of our hearts look like?
I truly believe in these last days God is asking His people to not just hear His Word, not just accept it, but to also live it out. James encourages us to not just search out the Word, but to persevere in it.
Scripture makes it very clear we cannot do this Christian walk on our own. We need the Holy Spirit to help us, to mold and shape us into who He wants us to be.
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
It’s not of our own effort and it’s not of our own charisma.
The fruit that we bear is from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit working through the Word of God planted in our hearts.
The Christian walk isn’t easy and Jesus made that clear all throughout the New Testament, but living a life of taking God at His Word is worth it.
Walking in power and freedom is on the other side of our obedience to committing ourselves to His Word, but it takes discipline, it takes us getting over ourselves, and it takes letting go of the things that we are holding on to.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
If we’re going to run this race with endurance, we’ve got to be equipped with the tools He’s given us.
We are being called into a deeper level of partaking of His Word.
We are being called to a deeper level of acceptance of His truth.
We are being called to a deeper level of walking in faith—with the power of His Word as our weapon.
Taking God at His Word is an act of FAITH. If you find yourself in a battle right now, I want to remind you of this: Great levels of faith are often forged in great levels of friction.
I believe God is calling us to fight.
To stop sitting on the sidelines, take up the Sword of the Spirit, and go to battle. You are not a victim in the battle over your heart and mind—in Christ, you are already victorious.
We take God at His Word despite all the chaos around us—and it’s in this pocket that we find peace as we navigate the storms of life.
Hope this helps.
Hannah