TUESDAY: "A PASSION FOR GOD'S WORD!"

“A Passion For The Word”

A while back our Sunday School class went through the book “Radical” by David Platt.  The book was about taking our faith back from the so called “American Dream.”  In the book, David Platt pointed out the Bible and what it says it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, goes contrary to the “American Dream” we hear so much about.  He told of several stories from his mission trips to China and other countries where the Gospel has been banned and to have a fellowship of Christians who read the Bible is not only against the law, but can be punishable by death.

In one account he tells of preaching in a Secret Church.  It is a dark room underneath someone’s barn.  They met in the middle of the night by candle light.  The room wasn’t much bigger than a standard bedroom in most houses, but gathered were nearly 35 people.  David Platt talked about how he preached for an hour or so and started to wind down when one of the church members asked him to read and expound more on the scriptures.  When it was all said and done he preached and explained the scriptures for more than four and a half hours that night.  The people pleaded with him to continue but daylight was their enemy as they snuck their Bibles in and out of their secret church, so they ended for the night.  This went on for days until he returned home.

 

Yesterday we learned that devotion to God’s word is a skill and a discipline that we must learn through consistently reading His Word.  But it is more than that. 

As we looked at Psalm 1:1-3 told us about finding happiness and delight in relation to God’s Word.  It’s like this:  If you love God, you will love God’s Word.  We love God’s Word because it reveals to us the heart of God Himself.  Because of this fact, the more you read the Word, the more passionate you become about reading the Word.

So today, I want you to think about the condition of your heart in relation to God’s Word.  What is it that you are really passionate about?  Where does God’s Word rank among the passions in your life?

 

When I think about the people all over the world, like those in China, who have every reason in the world not to read their Bible, but go to great lengths and risk to do so, I wonder where our passion has gone?

They would rather risk their lives and sit for hours just to get more of God’s Word, than to find ease just going with the flow.  That is passion.  If we are church past 12:00 we become impatient because of everything else we have planned.  Doesn’t make much since considering we claim this Book to be the Word of God.

 

TODAY, we read Mark 4:1-20.  In these verses the Lord refers to a farmer broadcasting, or throwing the seeds out into his field.  In the field, the seed finds several different paths.

Soil On The Beaten Path: If you remember in our video, this is the road or walkway.  The ground has been hard packed by traffic and might as well be like concrete.  The seed lays on top of the ground and never penetrates the hard soil.

Rocky Soil: The soil in this example is some good, but mostly rocks.  The seed may grab hold and penetrate what little good soil is there but is unable to develop a root system because of all the rocks that will stop growth.

Thorny Soil:  Here we have a picture of weeds that grow up around the young seed as it tries to grow.  The weeds rob the plant of the nourishment it needs and eventually chokes out the plant and it cannot survive.

Good Soil:  This is the rich, cultivated, enriched soil where a seed was meant to be.  The seed takes up residence in this soil and finds the right environment and nourishment to become a tall, strong, established plant.

The seed is a picture of God’s Word and the Soil a picture of our hearts.  For some, our road of life and experience has hardened our hearts in such a way that even when the most powerful Word’s of God are brought our way, it can’t penetrate because of our hard hearts.

Others are like the rocky soil.  Our hearts at times are soft and eager to listen to God’s Word but even when the seed penetrates it is impossible for it to do much because of all the junk in our hearts and lives that prevent it from going deep and taking root.

 

Some are like the thorny soul.  We hear God’s Word and for the most part we receive it.  But the enemy makes his way in through sin and pride begins to work away at what root system we have.  Our hearts harbor the sin and eventually it chokes out the good that God’s Word has given us.

 

Then there is the good soil.  This is where God wants the seed to be.  We have clean hearts and clean hands.  We have open minds and open hearts.  We are ready to not only receive God’s Word and respond to God’s Word, but we are also ready to grow in God’s Word.  The seed hit’s the good soil of our hearts and like the Psalmist in Psalm 119, we hide His Word in our heart.

 

Think about the different kinds of soil and think about the condition of your heart?

How do they compare?  What kind of condition is your heart in?  If this study, or any future study of God’s Word will be of any effect to us, we must make sure our hearts, the soil, are in the right condition.

Whatever answer you come up with relates back to the “SPACES” we talked about in class.  Remember?  LIFE SPACE and HEART SPACE!

 

If you say about some activity “I don’t have time for that!”  What you are saying is that there is not an opportunity, a block in schedule to accommodate that thing.  That is Life Space.

If you say “I don’t care to do that.”  That is a matter of Heart Space.  Heart Space refers to the room in your heart for one thing or another.  Your inner life.  That part inside of you that processes things deeply and are special to you personally.

It’s important to deal with these spaces.  Figure out what the issue is for you when it comes to being consistent to God’s Word.  Is it an issue of making time for God’s Word?  Maybe it’s an issue of not really being concerned with God’s Word.

 THINK ABOUT THE ISSUES AT HAND AND ASK YOURSELF:

• Do You Make Regular Time For God’s Word?

 

• If Not, Identify Things You Can Eliminate To Make Room For Bible Reading or Other Adjustments That Need To Be Made.  What Are They?

• Do You Have Enough Emotional, Mental, and Spiritual Space In Your Life To Process God’s Word Deeply?

• If Not, Pray and Ask God To Show You What Needs To Change So That You Can Focus On His Word.

• Describe What You Would Like For Your Interaction With God’s Word To Look Like Six Months From Now.

Just as we learned that God’s Word has to have a central place in our lives, we know that in order for that to be so we have to make sure our hearts are in the right place when we read God’s Word.

“Dear God,

Give me a real passion for your word.

Cleanse my heart and mind and help me to make space for You.

If it is a time issue, help me be a better steward of my time.

If it is a heart issue, heal me and forgive me so that You can be heard.

Ignite a burning desire to Read, Respond and Be Renewed by Your Word.

Amen.”