say...... YES

Before God Speaks, Decide To Say “Yes”

God speaks to people who decide they’re going to do what he tells them to do, even before he tells them. It’s saying, “God, if you want me to move, I’ll move. If you want me to get married, I’ll get married. If you want me to leave this job, I’ll leave this job. Before you even tell me, my answer is ‘yes.’ Whatever you want me to do, I will do it.”

Luke 8:15 says, “The seeds that fell in good soil stand for those who hear the message and retain it in a good and obedient heart, and they persist until they bear fruit” (TEV).

I used to study this parable of Jesus and think it was talking about four kinds of people: those who are resistant, those who are shallow, those who are busy, and those who are good.

But this parable actually represents four attitudes. You can have all four attitudes in the same day! One moment you go, “God, I don’t want to hear you, because I know what you’re going to say.” And the next moment you say, “Lord, tell me quick.” Then you hear it and think it’s good, but you don’t do anything about it. Maybe the fruit starts to bear in your life, but then you get busy with your job or school or your kids, and the weeds grow up. Then other times you say, “God, whatever you want. I’m totally open to you.”

God wants you to have an attitude of obedience so that you can bear fruit — the biblical term for being successful. God wants you to be fruitful in your business, your family, your friendships, your relationship with God and with others, and your health.

So how do you bear fruit when God tells you something? You pass it on. When God tells you something, the quickest way to let it bear fruit in your life is to tell somebody else what you just learned.
But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
Luke 8:15 NIV

Another translation of Luke 8:15 says, “They listen to God’s words and cling to them and steadily spread them to others who also soon believe” (LB). God wants you to pass on to others what you learn.

This devotional © 2014 by Rick Warren.

no roots dry up

Fruit Comes from Deep Roots
Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.
Luke 8:13 NIV

During the springtime, all the grass in Southern California turns green, the wildflowers and poppies bloom, and it’s really pretty. But the moment the rains stop, the hills turn brown again. Why? Because the grass has no roots. It can’t go down deep enough to get water from the springs that are deep beneath the ground.

When there are no roots, when a plant is in shallow soil, it may initially sprout and look good, but it doesn’t last. The plants wither quickly because they don’t have roots.

Luke 8:13 says, “The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it. But they don’t have deep roots, and they believe only for a little while. As soon as life gets hard, they give up” (CEV).

A lot of times we hear God’s Word and get excited about it, but we don’t allow it to change us. We act superficially. We react emotionally. We’re moved impulsively. But we don’t take the time to let it sink in.

Do you really want to be that way? No! You want to be a deep person, not a shallow person. You want to be a person with deep spiritual roots so that when recession comes and lasts several years, you’re able to keep bearing fruit. When the rough winds come and somebody in your family gets sick or somebody dies, the trial doesn’t blow you away, because you’ve got roots.

How do you develop spiritual roots? There are two ways: a daily time with God and a weekly small group time with other believers. You’ve got to spend time alone with God, and you’ve got to spend time with other believers.

If you’re not spending time with God on a daily basis, you’re going to dry up and blow away when the pressure is on. You won’t be able to handle it. You’ve got to make time to listen during a daily time with God. You have to sit and be quiet. You have to read the Bible and talk to God. Play some music. If you like to journal, do that. Whatever it takes to keep the focus on God, do it!

Are Your Circuits Too Busy?


You can’t hear God if your mind is crowded with other thoughts or concerns — particularly worries, plans, and activities. If you’re always listening to the radio or the TV, when God calls you, the circuits are going to be busy. You’ve got to eliminate the distractions.

Jesus says in Luke 8:7, “Some other seeds fell where thornbushes grew up and choked the plants” (CEV).

The kind of soil with weeds in it was actually planted with crops and begins to grow. But as it grows, weeds grow up around it, and the weeds begin to choke out the life of the vegetable or the plant, so it never bears fruit.

Here’s what Jesus says is the meaning of Luke 8:7: “The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature” (Luke 8:14 NIV).

There are three things that choke out hearing God:

Worry. Worries are weeds. When you’re so busy with the problems and pressures of daily living, it makes it harder to hear God.

Riches. You can be so busy trying to pay your bills, so busy trying to get out of debt, so busy trying to make more, and so busy making a living that you don’t make a life.

Pleasure. There’s nothing wrong with pleasure. But God said that when you’re so busy pursuing fun, you miss him and his plans for your life.

You don’t have to cultivate weeds. They grow automatically, don’t they? In fact, weeds are a sign of neglect. If you see weeds in your yard or garden, it means you’re not tending your yard or garden. The weeds in your spiritual life are a sign that you’re neglecting time with God.

When all the circuits are busy, you need to get quiet.

3 things to avoid

The Three Mental Barriers to Hearing God’s Voice

Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
James 1:21 NKJV

We’ve all noticed that the quality of reception on a cell phone varies widely. The same is true with you. You must be positioned correctly in order to hear God speak.

Sometimes we never give God a chance to talk to us. We’ve made up our minds. We want to do what we want to do, not what God wants us to do. Our hearts are hardened, and we’re unwilling to listen.

But if you really want to hear from God — and what believer doesn’t? — you have to understand what is keeping you from hearing from God. There are three mental barriers that keep your mind closed to God’s message.

1. Pride. If you think you don’t need God in your life and want to handle things yourself, you’re probably not listening for God to speak. Pride keeps you from being open to the possibility that God might want to say something to you.

2. Fear. A lot of people can’t hear God speak because they’re afraid to hear God speak. Maybe you think that hearing God’s voice makes you some kind of religious fanatic.

3. Bitterness. When you hold on to hurt, resentment, or a grudge, then you’re not going to be able to hear God, because your heart is hardened. It has grown cold and made you defensive, even to God’s love.

Some of you have been hurt badly, whether it happened this week or years ago, and you’re still holding on to it. I want to tell you that you’ve got to let it go. Not for their sake, but for your sake. The resentment is killing you! Resentment is a self-inflicted wound that allows people from your past to continue to hurt you today. You need to let it go, not because they deserve forgiveness but because you need to get on with your life.