In Luke 8 Jesus tells a parable describing different responses to
the Word of God being sown into a person’s life. He even prefaces the
explanation of the parable saying that it holds a secret of God’s kingdom (verse
10). We will find that when we receive a revelatory word from God either
through the Scripture or through a prophetic gift we will be challenged, tested
and may even become neglectful if we have not cultivated the character of heart
that can receive and nurture the Word.
Challenges to Receiving the Word
Jesus tells us plainly that the Word sown into
your life will be challenged. The enemy does not want that Word of God to take
root because this causes your mind to be renewed. The only power he has is when
you agree with him instead of God. When
our minds our renewed by the Word of God we begin to agree with God and the
enemy loses his hold over us. The enemy
attempts to steal the truth of the Word from our hearts by causing us to
question what God has said. This is his oldest trick and it worked on Eve in
Genesis 3:1 when Satan asked her, “Did God really say?” He especially wants us to question our
identity as children of God. He tried this with Jesus challenging his identity
as God’s Son in Matthew 4. The very word Jesus had just received from God in
Matthew 3:17 was that he was God’s son and very much loved by God.
The two primary areas we find hardness of heart
is in what we believe about who God is and who he says we are. Do we believe
what God says about himself? Do we believe that he is good and loving, or do we
see him as aloof and angry? Do we believe what God says about ourselves? Do we
see ourselves as image bearers and children of God, or do we see ourselves as
beggars being passed over by God? When God tells us that he loves us, do we
question him? When the enemy sows doubt that God cares deeply about us, do we
believe him or God? If we are to cultivate a heart that can receive the Word of
God, we must believe what he has said and trust what he has promised he will
accomplish.
Testing of the
Word
Testing, while seldom enjoyable, can be a good
thing. It’s also unavoidable; just ask Abraham, Joseph, Moses and David. You
know you are being tested because everything in your circumstance seems to be
the opposite of the promise or revelation you’ve received. For over 25 years
God’s word to Abraham that he would be a father was tested (Genesis 12). During
that time Abraham made some mistakes, specifically one resulting in Ishmael
(Genesis 16). However in Romans 4:18-21 we are told;
In
hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many
nations, as he had been told. “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken
in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he
was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s
womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew
strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able
to do what he had promised.
Abraham was strengthened because he knew the
nature of the God who had made him the promise. He had a friendship with God
and knew that God was not only trustworthy but powerful so that he could
accomplish his word. Even after the promise was fulfilled and Isaac was born
the word was tested when God told Abraham to kill Isaac as a sacrifice (Genesis
22). Abraham once again passed the test because he knew God and his power.
When people fail the time of testing it is
because they have no root. They are not
anchored in the knowledge of who God is and that he is trustworthy and powerful.
Hebrews 3:8 tells us that Israel’s time in the wilderness was a time of
testing. Sadly, the first generation of
Israelites to escape Egypt did not pass the test and died in the wilderness.
Perhaps it was because they relied on Moses as an intermediary instead of
entering into relationship with God for themselves (Exodus 20:18-21). They
certainly knew about God; they saw his presence in a cloud and fire with them
everyday and night. But it wasn’t enough to transform their hearts so that they
could trust God even when circumstances told them there was no hope.
I sometimes struggle believing the prophetic
words and promises I have received. One day, when I was asking the Holy Spirit
why I had a hard time receiving his promises for my life and calling, he said,
“It is because you know that who you are now could never bear up under the
reality of the promise fulfilled. You
will need to let me transform you.” In a sense, there are rocks in our soil
(flaws in our character) that need to be pulled out by the discipline and grace
of God, so that when we receive the promise we do not sabotage it with the sin
in our lives. We are transformed by the presence of God and the cleansing of
the Word, but we are also transformed by the testing we endure. The test is there to develop us into the
person with the character to faithfully carry out the promise God has entrusted
us with; “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has
stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to
those who love him” (James 1:12). We can trust God that when he gives us a
promise he will provide what we need to be able to see that promise fulfilled.
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