Psalm 119:2 (ESV) “Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,”
Thanking God
Luke 17:11-19 (ESV)
Seeking God Mark 4:3-9 (ESV)
Snatched
● ‘ And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. Mark 4:13-15 (ESV)
● Have you ever gone to do something, and when you get there you forgot the reason you’re there? Or have you ever heard a sermon that you couldn’t remember the next day? How many of you know all the unfulfilled prophecies you’ve been given?
● The path is heavily trafficked
● Birds of the air.
○ Technology should be a servant, not a master.
○ Seeking is replaced with scrolling
○ Herbert Simon. “What information consumes is the attention of its recipients. Hence the wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”
Scorched
● ‘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. ‘ Mark 4:16-17 (ESV)
● Have you ever received experienced difficulty in following through with something God told you to do
● Offended – KJV
Strangled
● “The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced.” Mark 4:18-19 (NLT)
● Worries of this life
○ Worry: give way to anxiety or unease; allow one’s mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles.
○ “Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.” Proverbs 12:25 (NLT)
○ “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)
○ The word, not worry, is the way forward. Psalm 119:105
● Deceitfulness of riches
○ The deception of riches. If you get money, you get everything.
● Desire for other things
○ One of the greatest desires of today is to be entertained.
○ Consumed by desires that aren’t even sinful.
○ Watch Netflix for 4 hours a day. Pray to God 4 minutes a day. Can’t figure out why you don’t hear God.
How to prepare:
1. Remember
2. Set something aside this week
Psalm 119:37 (NLT)
The Good Ground
● “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.” Mark 4:20
● Great expectation without good ground brings great disappointment
● Great expectation with good ground brings great joy