6T 401 Convicttion comes through hearing the word

Hi, who here found a real blessing in last week's study?

Annekatrine and Brent and I. Was there something in that passage for you, something that You needed?

I know this is a small group, but I am going to insist on having you raise Your hands. It's the only way I know of to make sure that we can hear the one person who is sharing and we owe them that much respect.

I love to hear stories and illustrations that help us understand the text, but they should come when we are applying the verses to our lives. We simply cannot afford to apply the word without first hearing it,

Are we letting the text speak to us, or are we speaking to it?

Since we're in a passage about hearing the word, I thought it would be appropriate to dig out a principle regarding hearing the word. Many people read the Bible and do not benefit from it. Here we want to ensure that we are not among them. GC

Matt 13. What steps must precede the bearing of fruit?

Word sown--heard, and--understood, given proper growing conditions

I must admit I was rather frustrated with last week's study, not because I think we were interpreting incorrectly, but because we did not seem to go beyond the interpretations others have given us, nor did we stick to hearing the text until its message came out loud and clear. My job is to make sure we stay in the passage, and I did not do my job as well as I would have liked. So I would like to refocus on that passage tonight to make sure we do not miss God's message for us in it.

If we are to be the good soil, in what three ways should we (soil) relate to the word?

hear, understand, bear fruit.

What is the relationship between each of these elements?

What parts of our being is involved in each?

1. hear--ears, yes, but your ears only hear as they are connected to what part of the body? mind, but what could we call the part of the mind that could "hear the words, but not understand them."? being differentiated from understanding must be the "intellect" which is the seat of what sort of processing "information."

2. Understand--certainly is the mind, but what aspect? Heart, the seat of what sort of process, "conviction." It's not enough to hear the words and accept another's comfortable interpretation. That would be like me reading you the ingredients of a pizza and telling you what it tastes like. You might know more, but you cannot be filled or nourished by it. You must eat the pizza, the word yourself. It must come inside you and become part of you. Brent and Anne and Me w/ this parable.

What do we call it when we read the Bible in order to hear what we think, rather than what it really says? If we don't hear and understand the word, what are we missing?

3. What about the bearing fruit? Actions, the doing part of our being.

You mean it's not enough to hear? How about to hear and be convicted--Norm and my visit today. My early experience after conversion.

What three steps are needed, then, in our time together in the word? I cannot emphasize this enough. We need to "hear the word." If we don't hear it, what are we missing? That's why I am asking for hands. It is vital that we stay on track.

Who here is hearing something profound about the comparison of the word to a seed?

Just as a seed must go through a process before its goal is reached, so the word must work a process in a life, before its work is done.

Who is the Word? What does that tell you about the only way for us to "bear fruit."? What is the only way for the Word to bear fruit? --Jesus the Word must come to life in us!-- Are you hearing that? Jesus wants to live in you and I. He seems to be in the business of incarnating himself in human flesh. Even in sinful human flesh! What a privilege! What a miracle! --It takes all three steps!

Alright then, lets look back at the three categories of hindrances to the growth of the word in a life that Jesus mentioned. What were they?

Place	stands for	reason it hinders growth
Path	Not understanding--then the Evil one snatches it away from heart	If the word is not understood, it cannot convict the heart!
Rocky	Receives with joy but has no root and falls away when persecuted	The seed of the word is not being fed, its life cannot be sustained through persecution. Growth is necessary in order to continue in the Xian life!
thorns	thorns came up and choked out	The word lands in a fertile life, but other things in this life grow even faster!

Application:

Who was Jesus' audience for this parable? Was it people who were unacquainted with the Word? Can this then apply to us SDA's guardians of present truth?

Can you see how important it might be to set up a pattern of hearing the word regularly.

How could an SDA Christian go through life without ever understanding the word? What steps could one take to make sure that they are not this kind of soil? --are you so hardened that you cannot understand the Love of God?

Some of you here might be the rocky soil. You need to take steps to feed and anchor the Word in Your life, to ensure that it is growing. What are some actions that a person could take to feed the life of Jesus in them?--perhaps a good clue would be to take a look at what is hardening you below the surface.

Some of you might be the thorny soil. You are doing all the right things, but the cares of life are still choking out the life of the Word/Who? Jesus/ in your heart. You need to do some weeding. What are some actions a person could take if they are in this situation? --perhaps the place to start is to ask, who or what are the most oppressive, choking, painful thorns in my life?

Do you need to understand? Are you lacking conviction in your life? No conviction comes without hearing the Word. What is one thing you can do to

Do you need feed? Weed?

If so, what is the first thing you could do?

When will you do it?--don't bother writing this down unless you are going to go clear through to the action stage. The word cannot grow with only intellect and conviction, there must be action to be good soil.