Spiritual Discipline and Development

Jesus said:

“God’s kingdom is like a man who plants seed in the ground.  The seed begins to grow. It grows night and day. It doesn’t matter whether the man is sleeping or awake, the seed still grows.  He doesn’t know how it happens. Without any help the ground produces grain. First the plant grows, then the head, and then all the grain in the head.  When the grain is ready, the man cuts it. This is the harvest time.”  (Mark 4:26-29 ERV)

So what does this mean to you today?  A few things:

1.  It’s easy for Christians to look at a believer who is being used of God to make Kingdom impact on this planet and want to be like them.  However, truth be told, most people want to be like you, but they don’t want to go through what you went through in order to develop into the man/woman of God you are today.  Greatness does not come without a great cost. People see your glory, but they don’t know your true story.

2.  In the parable of the man who plants seed in the ground the goal is to get to the harvest stage.  At every stage before the harvest stage the seed is growing, developing and changing. It is producing things that are impactful to itself, like a stalk, or leaves, or the head of the stalk.  But it is not until the head is full of grain that the plant has produced something that will impact someone else. The change happens in you and it is for you. But the goal of the change is to produce fruit.  Once you get to the fruit stage, you are in position to release your fruit into the lives of others. At this point you begin to impact your sphere of influence.

3.  We all want to our lives to be fruitful.  However, we don’t want to be diligent enough to endure the process required to get there.  It’s nice to get to the fruit stage. At that point the people around you can be positively impacted by the fruit your life is producing.  But if you lack the discipline required to get into the Word of God daily, and to then meditate and medicate on God’s Word day and night, your life may never produce the fruit you desire.  

4.  The Word of God contains power.  The power of the Word will produce change IN you and fruit FROM you.  But it will never happen if you don’t make it a habit to get God’s Word down in your heart.  In the parable we have been looking at, the man had to take the seed and sow into the soil. God did not do it for the man and He will not do it for you.  You have to do it.

5.  The more Word (or seed) you sow down within the soil of your heart, the more you are giving God to work with.  The Word of God has the power to produce, but you will never see divine production IN YOU or THROUGH YOU if you do not get the Word INSIDE YOU!

6.   It’s easy to get excited about the supernatural, but prepared blessings come to prepared people.  If you want God to use you consistently, there needs to be a certain level of consistency in your prayer and study life. If you don’t get the Word down in your heart, and if you don’t have a prayer life where you talk to God and He talks to you, then you can chase the supernatural all you want, but it will never become your reality.  It’s time to get serious about the discipline required to become the men/women we are called to be.