Transcription
Let us lift up our Bibles and make our confession. This is my Bible. This is my Bible. I am what he says I am. I am. I have what he says I have. I have. I can do what he says I can do. I do. Today I will be taught the word of God. I am. I boldly confess. My mind is alert. My mind. My heart is receptive. I will never be the same. I am about to receive the incorruptible, indestructible, everliving seed of the word of God. I will never be the same. Shout it out. Never, never, never. I'll never be the same. In Jesus name. In Jesus name. Amen.
You may be seated and open your Bibles to the book of Mark chapter 4. We're reading with verse 30. Um, verse 30. And Jesus said, "Where unto shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which when it is sown in the earth is less than all the seeds that be in the earth. But when it is sown, it groweth up and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches, so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it." Could I have an amen? Amen.
We're preaching a series of messages on the prevailing word. Acts 19:20 says, "So mightily grew the word of God and what?" I can't hear you. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. You see, our desire is to help you know how to live successfully and victoriously in this life. Yeah. And not only to go to heaven, but have a little bit of heaven right down here. And we go all over the world. We we speak to people through this camera we'll never see until we get into eternity. But we want you to be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. We need to have strong Christians. Could I have an amen?
The Bible says, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." And uh, the word of God is is strong and powerful. The Bible said it's alive and full of power. The words in this Bible are different than any words anywhere else. The same words can be in a magazine. The same words can be in a book, but they are different here because these words are God breathed. They're alive and full of power. They're like seeds that you put in the ground. And God God wants that seed in your life. You see, you need to read the word of God. You need to meditate on the word of God. You need to digest the word of God. You need to walk in the word of God, the light of the word of God. You need to how to know how to confess the word of God. Put it in your mouth and put it in your heart. You need to do it yourself. You don't have to find me every time you have a need. If you find out what we're talking about, the word of God will grow mightily in you and prevail.
Now, here's a scripture I want to read to you. David therefore departed then and escaped to the cave of Abdullah. And when his brethren and all his fathers house heard it, they went down to to him. And everyone that was in distress and everyone that was in debt and everyone that was discontented. The three Ds, distress, debt, and discontent. They all came to David. And you know what David did with people in any trouble, people who were bitter in their soul, people who were in distress and debt and discontented? He made them by his the word of God into a mighty army. He made that bunch of discontented, debtridden people into a great army that would honor God. And you know, that's really the picture of what Lakewood's all about. Give us your distressed people. Come distressed people. Come you who are in debt. Come you who are discontented or bitter in soul or in s any kind of trouble. And we'll preach the word of God and teach the word of God to you until you stand up on your feet. Not weak, willing, spineless Christians, but a mighty army for God. Could I have an amen? Oh, how many here were discontinued? How many here were just just disenchanted and in debt and bitter in their heart, but then they heard you could do more than sit like a bump on a log in a church.
You can know the word of God and understand it and act in it and live in it and have victory. I'm talking about so mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. The prevailing word. The prevailing word. Could I have an amen? Amen.
Now, let's look at this scripture here. The Bible says in the first part of this chapter, the seed is the word. Jesus told about this man that went out sewing the seed. Some fell on good ground, some on bad ground, hard ground, and unproductive soil and all of that. And then he said, "The seed is the word." Now, this is Jesus talking. I want you to listen to what he says. The word is like a seed. In other words, a seed has miracle life in it.
There's something about, you know, you can manufacture a seed and and just make it look in every way like any other little seed. And did you know you put that manufactured seed down in the ground, it won't grow? No, it won't grow. It there's something about a seed that has something you can't touch. You can put everything exactly like that and make it up yourself and it won't grow an inch. It doesn't have any miracle life. But you take a real seed God made and put it in the ground, something miraculous happens. It's got the life of God in it.
Now, you take I planted cotton and uh uh we planted other things, but you dig a hole down there, you know, and you drop that seed in there, little tiny seed, and you cover it up with all that dirt. Now that dirt weighs probably a hundred times more than that seed. It's in a tomb down there. And uh the dirt just begins to say, "I got you. I got you. I got you. You'll never get out, little seed." But you know, one day the life of God in that seed begins to move it around. It begins to shake itself. And that dirt says, "Hey, down there, be quiet. Oh, the seed says I'm coming up. I'm coming up." You dumb seed, says the earth. Don't you know I'm a hund times stronger than you are? I weigh so much more than you. Probably a hundred times more than you weigh. You will never get out. The little seed sings, the life of God is in me. The life of God is in me. The life of God is in me. I'm coming up and I'm coming out. And you know, it is a miracle when you think about it. That little seed begins to grow and sprout and finally one day it just peaks over the edge of the top of the dirt and then it just shoots itself out. Just comes out. Well, that's the word where the word of God is. See, there may be a mountain of trouble on you today. There may be a tons and tons of sorrow and despair on you today. But if you got the word of God in you, the word of God has the life of God in you in it. And that little word in you will begin to sing, "I'm coming out. I'm coming up. I'm coming out." And your troubles and and the foul breath of the devil will will blow up on you as he says, "You'll never get out. You'll never get out of debt. You'll never get healed. You'll never have your family with you. You'll never save your home. You'll never have any more happiness. You'll never get out. You'll never get out." But the word of God saves. I'm coming out. I'm coming out. I'm coming out. That's what Lakewood Church is all about. We want to get the word of God in Christians to where they'll be dynamic soldiers of the cross.
Amen. So Jesus said, number one, uh, you know, it's the smallest of all seats, less than all. And really when you think about, you know, just reading the Bible in the face of all your great problems, all your great heartaches, all your great unanswered questions, all the things that you're facing in life, the word of God seems so little. Jesus said it's less than all. Less than all. Oh my. When you're sick and the sickness is saying you got leukemia, you got AIDS. The word of God seems real small. By his stripes, I'm healed. That seems real small. seem like it's not going to do any good. Or when you're in debt and you don't don't know how in the world you ever get out and everybody's on top of you and on your case and calling you and creditors are knocking on your door. That scripture says, "My God shall supply all your needs." That seems mighty little. My God shall supply all your needs. My God my that that sure is faint and small. Jesus said it's less than all less than all. So, so you know, you may begin looking like the word of God is not going to do anything for you. And the devil say, "Haha, I got you. I got you. I got you." But I'll tell you, Jesus said, "It's less than all but." Everybody shout, "But". Five times. But. [cheering]
Now, shout it out. She said, "But when it is sown." There's something about seed when it's sown. I read a story and I've told it many times where they found a sealed jar in the pyramids. 2500 years old. 2500 years that seed has been in that bottle. It had not produced one thing. And yet they took that seed out, unsealed it and planted it, and it still had the life of God in it, and it began to grow. Did you know some people leave the Bible on their shelf for 2500 years? They never pick it up. It's an ornament. They see it once in a while, maybe touch it once in a while. But listen, this book is full of miracle seed and it can sit on your shelf for 2500 years. But listen, if you'll ever dare take it out and sew it in your heart. You notice in that parable of the swer, it says Jesus said the seed is the word and when it is sown, listen, when it is sown, the devil never gets excited as long as you just got a Bible. The devil is never excited just because you got it in your lap. The devil is not excited because you own five Bibles. But when you sew that Bible in your heart, he comes alive. Jesus said, "And when it is sown, the devil cometh." You get him on the move. He cometh. And then there's a word I want to emphasize to you that Jesus said there, "He cometh immediately." There's an urgency about him. Now, he's been walking around and and complacent about you and all that, but suddenly you got the word of God put in your heart and it's down in there germinating in your heart. And the devil begins to move and shout and he comes immediately. He calls all the demons and we got to do something about this. We got to do something about this. That miracle seed is in their heart. We got to get it out. We got to get it out. We can't stand it. If it if IT GROWS IN THERE, IT'LL PREVAIL OVER US AND everything else.
Jesus said the devil comes immediately to steal the word out of the heart. That's what the devil wants to do. If he can just get the word out of you and get you to give up on the word, you he doesn't have to worry about you at all. And many of you people listen to me, you don't have any word in your heart. You don't have anything in your heart, any promise in your heart. And the devil's not worried about you. He's got a hold of you. But listen, today you'll get a message that'll help you get the word of God in your heart. And you'll put the devil on the run every time. Can I have an amen? Amen.
Jesus said it's less than all, but when it's sown, see, you got to take the Bible out of the pages and put it in your heart. And your mind may drive you crazy, but your heart will sing. Your heart, your head will say, "I can't figure out how we're ever going to get out of debt." But your heart will sing, "My God is supplying all my needs." Your head will say, "It looks like I'm going to die physically." But your heart will sing by his stripes you're healed. The devil will say and your mind will pick it up that you're weak and you'll never amount to anything. But your heart sings, I'm strong in the Lord and the power of his might when it's sown. Notice what Jesus said. It's less than all, but when it is sown, it becometh. What does it become? It becomes what God sent it for. Amen. It becometh clothing. It becometh food. It becometh health. It becometh wealth. It becometh wisdom. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. It become. It's not what it is. It's what it'll become. Amen. And whatever you need, it'll become that. God said, "My word shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." It shall accomplish that which I please. and prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Did you know every scripture in here is sent for a purpose? God is pleased when it accomplishes that which it is sent. If you need healing, don't get financial seed, get healing seed. See, it becometh help. It becometh every need that you have. And it doesn't become overnight. You know, I told you some of you this that, you know, daddy had me plant digging little holes and and and dropping seeds down there in them and he's on a cultivator and going along, you know, and I had all this bag of seed and and cotton seed really was. And I was supposed to drop that down in there and, you know, daddy wasn't looking. So, I dug a great big hole and I dug a whole bunch in there. I mean, I lived a wild life. and I covered it up and my sins were covered. Be sure your sins will find you out. They were hidden. What do I have to worry about? I'm just a boy. So, I went on my way playing. My work was done. But you know, in a few weeks or months, daddy came in said, "John Hillary, when he wanted something real bad, he called me my whole name." He said, "Come down here. Let me show you something." And down on the end of the row, everything's straight. You know, down the end of the row, a whole forest of of cotton. Your seed, Jesus said, when it is sown, it becometh. What? That that seed was supposed to become cotton and it became cotton. So God has scriptures. He wants to meet your need and he sends it with that purpose. And I'll tell you, if you'll sew it in your heart, it'll become.
Don't delay in that hospital 20 days. They examined her skin and bones weighed 89 lbs. And the doctor said, "She's got metastatic cancer of the liver." She'll be dead, pastor. She'll be dead, pastor. Hear me. She'll be dead, pastor. I heard the words. I saw his eyes. I saw that. He didn't want didn't want to tell me. She'll be dead, pastor. Within a few weeks. Within a few, not months. He said, "A few weeks. Make up your mind, pastor, that your wife will be dead within a few weeks." But she had the word of God in her. That's right. She had swn the word of God in her. She had miracle seed on the inside of her. She had seed that had been sent that declared health and strength and robust, vigorous life. Yeah. That seed was hidden on the inside of her and it began to grow and it became it became what it was sent for. Divine healing and divine health. I know you don't get tired of this. Stand up, Dodie. I want him to see what it became. Healthy, strong, well. [applause] Amen. Amen. going on 12 years totally free of cancer. Come on, rejoice. [applause] [applause] It became.
And then it says when it is sown, it groweth. The thing about you need to see is that the word in you will grow. Don't get excited about it becoming so quick. Somebody said, "Well, I took that scripture last Tuesday and it hadn't become anything." You got to give it time to grow. I said you got to give it time to grow. I said you got to give it time to grow. When you put it in your Listen, as surely as you're alive, just as you put a seed in the ground, you you put it in there. Maybe it's some kind of roses or maybe it's some kind of uh uh flowers or maybe it's some kind of of vegetable or you you don't worry about that. You know that that seed is growing. You know it. And then take a ball bed and couldn't beat it out of you. That seed's growing. You know it. And you fully expect to come out there in a few weeks and see a little something coming up. Isn't that right? Well, now many of you want to go out there the next day and dig the seed up and see be sure that it is growing seed. Well, when you put the word of God in your heart, you just have the same assurance. It's growing. It's growing. It's growing. I'll tell you in the Acts chapter 19, it says the word of God grew at mightily and prevail. The word of God will prevail over every trial, every trouble, every heartache, every mountain. The word of God will grow and prevail. Give it time to grow. Hallelujah.
And then it says, it becometh greater than all. Everybody say, "Greater than all." Greater than all. The word of God will be so real and and you'll hear God's voice in it and it will be greater than all your troubles, all your mountains, all your sicknesses, all your deaths, all your problems, everything you face. It will become greater than all. How many of you want to see it do that? I can't hear you. Amen. It'll become greater than all. And then notice it says it'll shoot out great branches. What does that mean? There'll be great testimonies being shot out all over the world. God healed me. God delivered me. God got me out of debt. GOD BROUGHT MY FAMILY IN. GOD GREAT BRANCHES ARE GOING OUT EVERYWHERE. So the fowls of the air can come and lodge in it. So those sinners can come and sit under the shadow of all of that and get saved and give their hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ.
But I'm telling you folks, listen to me. This is a warning. A warning. It won't happen unless you learn to be a man or a woman of the word. You got to read it for yourself. You got to underline it for yourself. You've got to put it in your heart yourself. You've got to meditate it on it yourself. You've got to confess it yourself. It's got to be yours promise that you're speaking out in your confession. And I'll tell you, if you do that, it will grow. It will grow. I said it will grow. I said it will grow. And it will become greater than all. And you won't have to call me at midnight. You won't have to call anybody midnight. You know that you know the word of God and you can put the devil on the run and you will get the victory yourself. Amen. Amen.
I want to challenge you. Stay in the word. Come to church where we can teach you the word. Then read it yourself. Meditate it in in yourself and learn to confess the word. Amen. Say what God says.