Reaping A Great Harvest By Discovering The Power Of The Word Of God

The King's Church International Audio Podcast

The Word of God - the Bible - has far greater power and potential to change our lives and the future than most people understand (Hebrews 4:12). The Word of God can lead and direct you, save you from harm and the consequences of bad decision-making. It can bring you peace and comfort. It can encourage and uplift you, it can warn you and bring conviction. The Word of God is life-changing (2 Timothy 3:17 MSG).

Like Angus Buchan (see ‘Faith Like Potatoes), we too can discover how everything can change when you really have faith in the Word of God. In the Bible, Jesus told a parable (a story) which illustrates this (Matthew 13:3-23).

Jesus told how the sower scattered seed but had mixed results. Some seed was quickly snatched away. Some fell on rocky ground and didn’t take root. Some seed got choked with thorns. In all cases we see there was nothing wrong with the seed being sown - the Word of God - but the difference in outcome was caused by the place onto which it fell.

If you want to be a person who - as the Message version puts it - ‘produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams’ then first we need to make sure we do as this word says and are ‘someone who hears the word and understands it’ (Matthew 13:23).

We see some very simple points that will help us reap this great harvest by discovering the power of the Word of God:

1. Listen to the Word of God (Matthew 13:23; Matthew 13:34; 1 Samuel 3:10; Proverbs 19:20; Psalm 81:8,11; James 1:19)

2. Understand the Word of God (Matthew 13:23; John 12:16, Luke 18:34; Acts 8:30-31)

3. Retain the Word of God (Luke 8:15; James 1:22-25; Matthew 7:24-29).

4. Expect the harvest according to the Word of God (Matthew 23:13b; 2 Corinthians 6:2; Ephesians 3:20)

Apply

1. Listen to the Word of God (Matthew 13:23). Many times, when Jesus was teaching His followers, He said 'He who has ears, let him hear’ (e.g. Matthew 13:34). Now of course we all have ears, but let’s be real: are we listening to the Word of God? Whilst we might hear the Word at church, in our life groups, at the prayer meetings, are we just letting it wash over us, or are we really listening to what God is saying to us as individuals, as families and as a church each time? In the Old Testament, God called the young boy Samuel. Three times Samuel heard the voice but at first he wasn’t attuned to listening to God’s voice. It was only when Samuel said “Speak, for your servant is listening” that he received what God wanted to say to him (1 Samuel 3:10). We must learn to listen (Proverbs 19:20; Psalm 81:8,11; James 1:19). God will speak through His word, the Bible. He will speak to you as you pray. He will speak to you through your pastors and leaders. So how good are you at listening? What's your attitude when your boss gives you areas to improve on at work? How do you react when your life group leader highlights something in your character or habits that needs to change? What about when the Bible gives instructions we find hard to follow, like how husbands and wives, parents and children, should treat one another. We might not always like it, but we but we should always listen. You have a Father in heaven who wants to speak to you. Do you speak more than you listen? To God, to your spouse, to others? One of the main obstacles to being a person who listens is pride. We need to get rid of pride. We need to be humble. To not just hear, but to attentively listen to the Word of God. We must create a culture of listening more than we speak.

2. Understand the Word of God (Matthew 13:23). We start by hearing the word, but then we also need to understand it, to know what it means. Time and again the disciples didn’t understand what Jesus was telling them (John 12:16, Luke 18:34). Whilst you might be listening, trying to hear what Jesus is saying, do you understand (Acts 8:30-31)? In the gospels, the disciples sometimes asked Jesus: “Explain to us the parable”. We too can go to our pastors, our life group leaders and ask questions. We all need to understand the Bible. You can’t just read one part. You can’t expect to understand the New Testament if you don’t understand the Old Testament. You can’t understand grace until you understand the law. You can’t understand the greatest commandment to love one another unless you understand the 10 commandments. We need to read the Bible so we can then move to understanding it. So, if you aren’t reading your Bible, make that commitment that from today you will. But not religiously reading it because you must, and quickly ticking it off your to do list - we need to meditate on the word of God, to study and pay attention to it. This takes time and diligence to search the scriptures, to think about what they mean, to reflect on them. Of course, all Scripture is God-breathed and we can ask the Holy Spirit - Spirit of truth - to guide us and give us revelation. How a married couple should treat one another, how a family should be ordered, how to keep a right attitude in all circumstances. And there are many excellent study guides which are simple to use and can help you grow in your understanding of the Word of God. Contact us or ask your life group leader if you want some recommendations.

3. Retain the Word of God (Luke 8:15). This parable of the sower is also recorded in the gospels of Luke and Mark. Retaining the Word means that it goes down deep into the soil. The seed didn’t go deep enough in the first 3 places it was sown, on the path, the rocky ground and amongst the thorns. It was snatched away, choked, or withered and couldn't produce a harvest. But when the seed hit the good soil, it went down deep. That’s what needs to happen when we hear the word of God. It has to really become part of us. We need to retain it. Only then can it really grow (James 1:22-25). Retaining the word means knowing how to apply it in our lives. In another parable Jesus told, he taught that we should all be like the wise man who built his house on the rock, who ‘hears these words of mine and puts them into practice’ (Matthew 7:24-29). It’s not about us just being able to quote and recite scripture: that’s simply head knowledge, academia. Whilst of course that’s useful, it only becomes life changing when it goes down into our spirit.

4. Expect the harvest according to the Word of God (Matthew 23:13b). What are you expecting? If the seed of God is in you, it’s not that we just have the right to expect a harvest, but that we will see it anyway because the seed sown will produce a bumper crop. The vision of God is a vision of multiplication (2 Corinthians 6:2; Ephesians 3:20). We can expect the harvest to come as we really listen to, understand and retain the Word of God. That’s the key to this great reaping. It is how we move from small results to big results. We move from coping to conquering, from enduring to enjoying life. It’s how we move from hundreds to thousands. So are you a good listener? Do you seek to understand God's word? Are you retaining God’s word in your heart in every circumstance? Are you expecting great things from God? If we do all this, then we will for sure discover the power of God’s word and reap the phenomenal harvest.