Grace World Outreach Church
Sunday Morning Service - Pastor Daniel K Norris
Receptivity
Learning to Cultivating a receptive spirit
Luke 8:1 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him…
Luke 8:4 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6 Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”
When he said this, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
10 He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, “‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’
Jesus then quotes from Isaiah 6 “though hearing, they may not understand”
Is. 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.
3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory…
9“Go and tell this people: “‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ 10 Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
In a time of national crisis, these angels around the throne see something that no one else can see.
"The whole earth is full of His glory"
Lord tells Isaiah, their eyes have been dulled, their ears are closed… cause if they could see it, understand with their hearts, they’d turn and be healed
If your spiritual life hasn’t changed in a noticeable way over the years, then your religious activities aren’t making a difference. You’re just going through the motions but not actually moving anywhere.
"Let he who has ears to hear, let him hear"
Jesus what did you mean…
Those who desire to discover the secrets of God’s kingdom need to learn to be like the disciples and find that secret place with Jesus where we can hear His voice and see the truth of His words. Your devotional life is the single most important part of your life. The person who fails here fails everywhere. No amount of church attendance or other religious activities will be able to replenish the deficit created by a life where prayer is absent. It’s a vital key to learning to listen. My friend, we cannot miss this. We are all masters at hearing but not listening; some better than others.
Luke 8:11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.
1) The Closed Minded
12 Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
Those who have closed themselves off, put up walls, made up their minds.
DOESN’T MATTER WHAT THE TRUTH IS – IT CAN'T SET YOU FREE
If you’ve settled something in your mind…you better know for sure that you’re 100% right about it, otherwise, you’ll never be able to hear the truth…doesn’t matter what the word says, you’re not listening
2) The Shallow Minded
13 Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.
This where the religious crowd lives
3) The Double Minded
14 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.
So many Christians live here… the Word is in them, they know what it says and believe it, it’s planted into their heart… yet at the same time, the seed of the word is challenged by doubt & fear… and the seed that should produce fruit can never mature to bear fruit in your life…
4) The Receptive Mind
15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
They hear it, believe it, plants itself into their hearts, they hold to it, and it begins to grow, mature and produces a harvest…100x what was sown
Luke 8:16 “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. 17 For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. 18 Therefore consider carefully how you listen…
Consider carefully how you hear!
Who is he speaking to?
We make the choice, how receptive we are going to be to God’s word…and thus how much fruit that word will bear in our lives…
Is there a way to measure how well I am hearing the voice of my creator?
Good seed, sown into Good Soil = a Great Harvest
Present Harvest is Previous Seed
Take a look at your life, an inventory of all you have.
Physically, Emotionally, Spiritually… everything that you have, or don’t have, everything you’re going through... is the harvest from previous seed you’ve sown
As a man sows, so shall he reap
Want to know how well you are hearing the word, want to know how well you are seeing his Glory… Look at your present Harvest…
If you don't like what you see, it's time to change something. Not the seed, for His seed is incorruptible and imperishable. It is perfect! The seed is not the problem, it's the soil.
Lord You opened the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf. I ask You to do that in me. I want to see You and Your glory here on earth. I want to hear Your voice and listen to Your words. Lord I have ears to hear; I am ready to listen.