“And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” Mark 4:20
What and who determines if you bear 30, 60 or hundredfold fruit?
While reading through chapter four of the Gospel of Mark, I found myself asking multiple questions. Do my actions represent my beliefs? What does my life produce? Just how good is the good soil of my heart? For so long, I seemed to be under the impression that God determined the percentage of the fruit bore in my life. Yes, to an extent He does because all things are filtered through His hands and He blesses obedience, but the way you hear and receive His Word will measure the fold outcome. It is the responsibility of us, the hearer, to move out of the 30 fold realm into the 100 fold. So, I thought to myself, what does that actually look like? Are you and I living to our fullest potential? Do we produce 100 fold? In this blog we’ll look at 6 steps to fruitful living.
In Mark 4, you read about the four soils: hard, rocky, thorny and good. What does your fruit look like? (Matt 13:18-23)
- Hard = no response to the word sown.
- Rocky = emotional response to the word sown.
- Thorny = worldly response to the word sown.
- Good = fruitful response to the word sown.
We measure everything we hear. The Word of God responds to my measuring device. Mark 4:24 says, “The way ‘you’ hear it, the way ‘you’ measure and respond to it is the measure that it works in your life. God is not measuring this for you. The man got 30 fold because that is what he heard and responded to. Another man got 60 because that is what he heard and responded to. A 30 fold mentalities never excel to 100 fold opportunities. (1) But we must remember that apart from Him we can do nothing. We must stay connected to the vine, because it is the vine that produces the power not the branches. (John 15)
What do you and I need to do to live in the Hundredfold (fullest potential)?
Here are 6 steps to Fruitful living:
- Receive, Believe, Achieve Hear the Word of God (daily), believe it and then act on it.
James 1:25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.
- Move beyond the past Don’t allow past attempts, failures or fears to stop you from moving forward.
Ephesians 2:1-5 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, …All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)
- Goal-setter, Goalkeeper Make a list of what you want to accomplish and set deadlines. Be specific.
Proverbs 16:1 & 9 The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
- Know your Why Know why you are doing what you are doing and be emotionally connected to the action.
1 John 4:4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
- Trust God with the outcome Do your part as God leads and allow Him to complete it.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
- Make the move Pray, Pray, Pray and take the step of faith needed to accomplish all God is calling you to.
Joshua 3:5 Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.
Joshua 3:13 …it shall come about when the soles of the feet of the priest rest in the water…
May it be our goal for 2016 to fully Receive His Word into our hearts as we seek Him on a daily basis, Believe in Him whom He has sent and Achieve what He has set before us.
And may the Lord our God show us his approval
and make our efforts successful.
Yes, make our efforts successful!
Psalm 90:17 (NLT)
Tweet: The way you hear and receive His word will measure the fold outcome. #100fold
Journeying with Him,
Jessie
(1) Pastor Jerry Edmon, Family Worship Center, Elgin, TX