Overcoming The Five Obstacles to Faith, Part 2: The Wayside
How to Understand God’s Word So That Atomic Power of His Word Produces its Harvest
Faith that consistently produces miracles is the way Jesus intended us to live. It’s not the Christian version of luck or wishing, but rather it is understanding His Kingdom and operating according to the rules and principles of it.
Outs, as I call them, are doubts. If you have a reason that what you are asking for may not come to pass, that is the doubt that will cause it to not come to pass.
If you think that you’re not good enough to receive a miracle, you would need to understand the sufficiency of His blood that makes you white as snow.
Faith isn’t just believing that God can, it is believing that God will, and that He will do it for you.
"For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." - Mark 11:23-24
There’s nothing wishy-washy about the kind of faith that Jesus taught. It’s faith that delivers. It’s faith that brings the glory of God. It’s faith that pleases the Father.
This kind of faith changes the course of history.
This kind of faith is built on understanding God’s kingdom, without which there is no harvest, and our faith is dead.
The Enemy’s Plan
There are five obstacles that must be overcome in our hearts for the word to produce its harvest. In this post we will tackle the first obstacle, the lack of understanding.
"When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside." - Matthew 13:19
The enemy knows that his best chance of successfully thwarting the Sower’s purpose is to terminate the seeds before they have a chance to germinate. Think about it. One of the most powerful beings ever created is on mission to prevent the word of God from germinating in the hearts of men.
This activity of his is in alignment with his primary mission to steal and to kill and to destroy.
If only His people would understand the importance of God's Word at least as much as the enemy does.
Think About It
In Jesus search for those with great faith, the two extremes surprised Him the most. The lack of faith of His hometown surprised Him, but so did the centurion’s faith.
This Roman centurion was singled out by Jesus as having more faith than anyone else in Israel. I love this passage because we get to see the Centurion’s thoughts—how did he come to have such great faith?
"The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!" - Matthew 8:8-10
The centurion used his understanding of his authority to recognize that in Jesus’ Kingdom, He was one in authority over the spiritual forces. He reasoned that distance did not matter. The forces of darkness would receive the message and they would have no option but to obey.
If we’re just doing daily devotionals without meditating on the Word, the enemy will just snatch it away. I’m not referring to the kind of meditation where you empty your mind, but one where you fill your mind with His Word, who He is, and what He has done for you.
The centurion used his understanding of the natural to understand the supernatural. However, if we limit our thinking to the natural, we will never see the supernatural.
Worrying About Food Will Harden Your Heart
The disciples had just witnessed the feeding of the four thousand from a few loaves of bread and a few fish. After an altercation with the Pharisees, Jesus and the disciples got into a boat to head to the other side of the lake.
Jesus was about to teach them a critical lesson about the yeast of the pharisees and of Herod, but they thought He was rebuking them because they had forgotten to bring bread.
Jesus addressed their futile thoughts:
"“Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.” “Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?” And they said, “Seven.” So He said to them, “How is it you do not understand?”" - Mark 8:17-21
Their thoughts gravitated toward the things of the natural, whereas He was trying to teach them about His kingdom, and all they could think about was food!
Their response stands in stark contrast to that of the centurion.
Jesus didn’t just expect them to know this. He demonstrated this truth through two fantastic miracles where God created food out of thin air.
In the Matthew 6:25-34 discourse Jesus tells them not to worry about food or clothing because it is the pagan’s who concern themselves with such things.
If we worry about food, clothing, homes, cars, retirement funds, we will not understand the lessons that the Holy Spirit is teaching us, and the seeds that are sown will not produce their harvest.
We’ve all been guilty of this, western civilization imposes this upon us, but we must be set apart, to bear fruit, and glorify our Father.
It does not matter how many times we’ve failed to understand. Keep in mind that Jesus chose these uneducated and untrained men to demonstrate that the Holy Spirit can do anything through those who seek Him. Although they did not understand at that time, He opened their eyes and used them to start HIs church that continues to this day!
He Must Open Our Eyes
"And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures." - Luke 24:45
Understanding is available to everyone who seeks Him. He will take the most simple person and make them wise.
In the same way that the Lord gives wisdom to those who ask, He will also give understanding. This is how Paul prayed:
“the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened…” - Ephesians 1:17
Atomic Power
Consider that the power within a tiny atom of uranium-235 is around 200 million electron volts. One gram can power a typical American home for over two years. Yet, only those who understand how this works can access the potential.
In the same way, the seeds in His Word are power packed, but only those who understand will be able to access their potential and see the power of God unlocked.
Taking Action
Ask the Lord for the spirit of wisdom and revelation.
Meditate on His Word, and think about who He is.
Consider the miracles that He has done for you.
Imitate those who are producing a harvest.
Don’t accept doubts; see what the Word has to say.
Don’t worry about material things.
We can learn so much just contemplating salvation. For example, Paul contemplating salvation says, "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things" (Romans 8:32)?
“May the Lord give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. The eyes of you understanding being enlightened."
The next obstacle to overcome is the heat of the day, which we will explore in the next article.