Receive the Word of God

Whenever the Word of God is read, seen, or heard in any manner---we have all four possibilities of responding to that "Word."

This has NOTHING to do with the "Word" itself.  The issue lies in the condition of our hearts.  Jesus' parable in Mark 4 talks about four heart conditions.  We--in western culture--critique the preachers and presenters of the Word that we hear.  We make the mistake of thinking "Oh, that person is really anointed---I got a lot out that sermon---etc."  When Jesus tells us that the issue is NOT related to the speaker of the WORD but the condition of the heart of the one who listens!  Yikes!

• Every time we read the Word--our heart ---has the possibilities--of being in one of these four conditions
• If you are not a follower of Jesus--not one of His disciples--every time you are expose to the Word of God--these four possibilities exist

Mark 4:14-20 “The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop--thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.””