John 1:16-17 (Amplified) says, "For out of His fullness (abundance), we have all received, all had a share and were all supplied with, one Grace after another and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing and even favor upon favor and Gift heaped upon Gift. For while the Law was given through Moses, Grace (unearned, undeserved favor) and Spiritual Blessing and Truth, came through Jesus Christ."
Mark 4:24 (Amplified) tells us, "And [Jesus] said to them; Be careful what you are hearing. The measure of thought and study you give to the Truth you hear, will be the measure of virtue and knowledge that comes back to you-and more besides will be given to you who hear."
Jesus was giving "The Parable of the Sower" when He made the above statement. Many who heard Him speak, didn't grasp the Truth of what He was saying. I dare say that today, we still miss out the Light of His teaching. Neither the Church or the world, have any concept of the power words have. Many only teach that, "God's Word is Seed." The Truth is that ALL WORDS ARE SEEDS. This is why Jesus instructed, "Be careful what you hear." Adam wasn't careful about the words he heard in the Garden of Eden, which resulted in sin and death for mankind, according to Genesis 3:4-5 (Amplified) where satan tempts Eve to eat from The Tree of Knowledge. Thus it says, "But the serpent SAID TO THE WOMAN, You shall not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you shall be like God, knowing the difference between Good and evil and Blessing and calamity."
I have no idea why anyone would want "to know evil and calamity," but this was the seed sown into Eve's heart. Satan sowed this seed (word) into her heart and it began taking root there, until it produced a harvest. I believe there was a lapse of time before this all took place, because of Jesus' Words in Mark 4:15 (Amplified) where He says, "The ones along the paths are those who have the Word sown in their hearts, but when they hear, satan comes at once and by force takes away the Message which is sown there."
What "Message" had been sown in Eve's heart, which needed to be taken away? Genesis 1:27-28 (Amplified) says, "So God created man in His Own Image, in the Image and Likeness of God He created him, male and female He created them. And God Blessed them and SAID TO THEM, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, using all it's vast resources in the service of God and man; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth."
God formed a physical body for the Spirit man to live in on this earth in Genesis 2:7. In Verse 8, God placed His children (Adam and Eve) into the Garden of Blessing and fullness He had planted for them. God spoke to them (planting His Word or Seed), "But of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and evil and Blessing and calamity, you shall not eat, for in that day that you eat of it you shall surely die," in Genesis 2:17 (Amplified).
Notice that God didn't say that they, "Don't eat from the Tree of Life," that was also in the center of the Garden. Genesis 2:9 (Amplified) says, "And out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight or to be desired (good, suitable, pleasant) for food; the Tree of Life also in the center of the Garden, and the Tree of the Knowledge of the difference between Good and evil and Blessing and calamity." I believe that like most fathers do while their children grow into maturity, our Heavenly Father gave Godly Wisdom and instructed Adam and Eve in what was Good and evil and Blessing and calamity. He still does this today, by His Holy Spirit.
Eve allowed words to be sown into her heart, that weren't the Seeds or Words from God. The harvest or crop that sprang forth, was the very calamity that God wished to prevent. Some might question, "Why was that Tree in the Garden at all?" Because, man was to have dominion over this earth and everything in it. Adam and Eve must have been aware that satan was there and his evil displays of disobedience would have to be dealt with. God would have instructed them in the dominion He provided over satan. They should have obeyed God's Word and used that dominion to rebuke the enemy. God has given us back that dominion to rebuke the enemy, using Jesus' Name.
Since mankind had never existed in human form before this, they needed to understand the place they were created for. We are born-again and are new creation men and women, so we must also learn to function in our new life in Christ Jesus. We must also learn to walk above the evil and calamity that came upon the earth, because of the harvest of the word seed that was sown into Adam and Eve's heart. That harvest brought sin and death to mankind. What we allow to be sown into our hearts, is the harvest we will reap. That's why Jesus instructed, "Be careful what you hear." The entire calamity mankind faces, came from Adam and Eve's not being careful what they heard.
The things we hear, are as much or perhaps more important than what we say, because "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks and brings forth fruit," according to Matthew 12:34. Let's read more of Jesus' "The Parable of the Sower" from Matthew 13:18-21 (Amplified) which says, "While anyone is hearing the Word of the Kingdom and does not grasp and comprehend it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart; this is what what sown along the roadside." Jesus gives an example of those who "don't understand the Kingdom," in Verse 20. Jesus refers to them as, "rocky soil," saying, "Yet it has no real root in him, but is temporary (inconsistent, lasts but a little while): and when affliction or trouble or persecution comes on account of the Word, at once he is caused to stumble, he is repelled and begins to distrust and desert Him Whom he ought to trust and obey, and he falls away."
Many in today's Church, dismiss this teaching, because many "have no real root in themselves." We have left the "thought and study" to others and tried walking on their faith, instead of building our own. Remember that Jesus said "The thought and study you give to the Truth you hear, will be the measure of virtue and knowledge that comes back to you, and more besides will be given to you who hear," in Mark 4:24 (Amplified).
We have the personal responsibility to study God's Word and let the Teacher (the Holy Spirit) to teach us. Many have been deceived, because they failed to listen to the Holy Spirit's teachings about God's Kingdom, for themselves. Mark 4:10-11 (Amplified) says, "And as soon as [Jesus] was alone, those who were around Him, with the twelve apostles, began to ask Him about the Parable. And He said to them, To you has been entrusted the Mystery of the Kingdom of God, that is the secret counsels of God which are hidden from the ungodly, but for those outside of our circle, everything becomes a Parable."
Jesus said that "The Parable of the Sower," is the Mystery of the Kingdom of God and the secret counsels of God." Could the Mystery of God's Kingdom, be as truly simple as we must hear God's Word and allow it to come to completion, without being rooted up by the world and the enemy? Can it really be as simply as not allowing words of doubt, unbelief, distrust or teachings about, "These things are passed away," to be sown into our heart, where they then come out of our mouths? What comes out of our mouths, determines what goes on in our lives. Jesus said in Matthew 12:37 (Amplified), "For by your words you will be justified and acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned and sentenced."
The things we hear and say, are the cause of so many troubling things that occur in our Christian lives. Our words give place to either deliverance or calamity in our lives. We must study God's Word for ourselves and be careful what seeds we allow to be planted in our lives.
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