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KEY TEXT: Matthew 13:4 (KJV) – “And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up.”

Matthew 13:19 (KJV) – “When any one heareth the Word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.”

A huge population in the church go to church and hear the sermon but do not understand it. That is one reason why our spiritual lives seldom grow.

When the Bible says, the wicked one catcheth away (snatches away, NKJV), what does it mean?

One way the devil uses to snatch the Word of God from you is when you do not understand it. For instance, most of us do not understand what God requires of us, and the devil knows this, and therefore, he will use it against us.

What are the dangers of lacking understanding?

Deuteronomy 32:28 (KJV) – “For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.”

The Israelites were void of counsel and lacked understanding, and as a result, this is what the Lord told them: Deuteronomy 32:35 (NLT) – “I will take revenge; I will pay them back. In due time their feet will slip. Their day of disaster will arrive, and their destiny will overtake them.”

What can make you not understand?

Not seeking God for understanding

Romans 3:10-11 (KJV) – “¹⁰ As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: ¹¹ There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.”

Naturally, the carnal mind does not seek God. We seek other things but never seek God. We can seek a good and prosperous life, a peaceful life, good health, and a good marriage partner but not God. We seek these things first, not God. Afterward, we go to God to ask Him to give them to us. When we do this, we usually think we have sought God first, but in reality, we have sought Him last.

Hardening your heart

Mark 8:17 (NKJV) – “But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened?”

The reason why the disciples were not understanding is that they had hardened their hearts. One way to harden your heart is failing to believe God can make you overcome your situation and disobey God.

This is how dangerous hardening your heart can get:

Isaiah 42:25 (NASB) – “So He poured out on him the heat of His anger And the fierceness of battle; And it set him aflame all around, Yet he did not recognize it; And it burned him, but he paid no attention.”

Not remembering what God has done for you

Mark 8:18 (KJV) – “Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?”

The Sabbath Commandment starts with the word remember, meaning that we need to remember God at all times. The disciples did not remember what Jesus had done earlier, for example, feeding the 5,000 people with five loaves. They were complaining to Jesus, telling Him that they had remained with one loaf only (take note that that complaining was immediately after Jesus had fed the multitude with very few loaves of bread).

God has blessed us so much in life and has done many good things for us, but when we face a small challenge, we forget what he did and has been doing for us. Before God gave the Israelites the Decalogue, He reminded them of His goodness to them, how He had taken them out of slavery (Exodus 20:2).

The Israelites kept complaining while they were in the wilderness, not remembering the ten plagues that the Lord had made the Egyptians encounter (Exodus Chapter 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11). They did not remember the Lord’s miracle for them by parting the Red sea into two (Exodus 14). Failure to remember all these made them not understand that the Lord is with them in every step they make.

A choice to sin sometimes results from forgetting God’s goodness. Failure to remember what God has done for us in the past results in unbelief. In Luke 24 (the story of the resurrection of Jesus) Jesus appears to the disciples in verse 36. Luke 24:37 (KJV) says, “But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.” One of the reasons the disciples were frightened and thought they had seen a ghost was that they did not remember. Another reason is they did not take the Word of God seriously, thus leading to unbelief. If they had believed, they wouldn’t have been frightened. They would have run to hug him and welcome him.

Leaning on your own understanding

Proverbs 3:5 (KJV) – “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”

As human beings, we are limited. Our knowledge and understanding are limited. We can only understand something to a limited extent. 1 Corinthians 13:12 (KJV) – “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”

Isaiah 56:11 (KJV) – “Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.”

Seeking the wrong avenues for understanding

Ideal examples of the wrong avenues are your family, friends, and sometimes even some church pastors/clergy. They can provide you counsel, but as they provide you counsel, like the Bereans, read the Word of God and check if their advice is in line with God’s Word.

John 16:16-18 (KJV) – “¹⁶ A little while, and ye shall not see Me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see Me, because I go to the Father. ¹⁷ Then said some of His disciples among themselves, What is this that He saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see Me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see Me: and, Because I go to the Father? ¹⁸ They said therefore, What is this that He saith, A little while? we cannot tell what He saith.”

Instead of the disciples asking Jesus what He meant by saying “a little while,” they decide to ask each other. Let’s say there was one who was leaning on his understanding or was malicious and decided to explain it to them. They would have been led to believe a lie.

One reason most of us don’t seek Jesus for understanding is that we think He is too far, while the truth is that He is closer to us than we think. The disciples were close to Jesus but could not ask Him what He meant. In Genesis 3 (The fall of humankind), the devil deceived Eve into eating the fruit. Before sin, man could talk to God directly and hear His voice clearly without distraction. Instead of Eve seeking God’s guidance on the matter, she decided to follow the devil’s deception.

John 3:10 (KJV) – “Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?” Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews (John 3:1). This means he had studied the Scriptures thoroughly for quite a long time (He may have even memorized them). In the eyes of the population, many people thought that Nicodemus understood the Bible entirely.

Let us say someone depended on him to understand the scriptures; that person would have been lost. This story is illustrative of depending on your spiritual leaders for understanding instead of depending upon God. Does this mean we should ignore everything the spiritual leaders tell us? Not at all. Seek their counsel but then ask God to give you the spirit of discernment to discern between truth and error, also pray for them for God to put his words in their mouth (Jeremiah 1:9). Ask God to give you wisdom and understanding while listening to them and searching the scriptures.

“We should not take the testimony of anyone as to what the Scriptures teach, but should study the words of God for ourselves. If we allow others to do our thinking, we shall have crippled energies and contracted abilities. The noble powers of the mind may be so dwarfed by lack of exercise on themes worthy of their concentration as to lose their ability to grasp the deep meaning of the word of God. The mind will enlarge if it is employed in tracing out the relation of the subjects of the Bible, comparing scripture with scripture and spiritual things with spiritual.” – Homeward Bound, Page 16.3, Ellen G. White.

God is not far from us. Jeremiah 23:23 (KJV) – “Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?”

How can we get understanding?

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness

Matthew 6:33 (KJV) – “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

What does that include when God says He shall add all these things unto you? It includes adding the quality of understanding to you.

Matthew 5:6 (KJV) – ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

How to seek God?

Deuteronomy 4:29 (NASB) – “But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.”

Most Christians only depend on the sermons preached to them on Saturday or Sunday. This alone cannot lead to significant spiritual growth. Hebrews 11:6 says that God rewards those who diligently seek Him. If we seek Him diligently, He will give us understanding, among other blessings.

We seek God by praying (when you are praying, pray to God the Father, in the name of Jesus and through the Holy Spirit). We seek God by putting thorough study in His word (guided by the Holy Spirit to get the correct interpretation). “Never should the Bible be studied without prayer. Before opening its pages we should ask for the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, and it will be given.” – Homeward Bound, Page 16.7, Ellen G. White.

“There is nothing more calculated to strengthen the intellect than the study of the Scriptures. No other book is so potent to elevate the thoughts, to give vigor to the faculties, as the broad, ennobling truths of the Bible. If God’s word were studied as it should be, people would have a breadth of mind, a nobility of character, and a stability of purpose rarely seen in these times.” – Homeward Bound, Page 16.4, Ellen G. White.

Ask God to give you understanding

John 16:23 (KJV) – “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you.”

Ask God to give you understanding every day in everything that you do.

Jeremiah 33:3 (KJV) – “Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

When you go to God to ask Him for anything, you must have faith. Hebrews 11:6 (KJV) – “But without faith, it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” The keyword here is ‘must.’ This means that when you go to God, the only option available is to believe in Him. There are no two ways about it. Having faith is compulsory when approaching God.

Humble yourself

Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a law teacher, and a ruler among the Jews. In those days, most Pharisees despised Jesus because they thought they ‘knew everything. Nicodemus acknowledged that he did not know everything, so he sought counsel from Jesus (John 3). By humbling himself, Nicodemus received an understanding of the Word of God.

Let’s see the blessings that come when you humble yourself:

Matthew 5:3 (KJV) – “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 5:5 (KJV) – “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”

Blessings that come from gaining understanding from God

You will be closer to God

God is always close to you. Revelation 3:20 (KJV) – “Behold, I stand at the door and knock” If you open, you will be close to Him, but if you refuse to open, you will be far from Him; nevertheless, He will still be close to you.

You will have good relations with fellow men

The basis of all quarrels and contentions results from a misunderstanding. What is another way of saying misunderstanding? Lack of understanding. Your associations will be a blessing to others since Jesus had understanding. Everywhere He went, He blessed people.

Matthew 25:1-13 talks about the parable of the ten virgins. The five virgins understood the value of attending the wedding by understanding that they prepared themselves and were diligent enough by carrying extra oil, and the master was pleased with them.

Matthew 25:14-30 talks about the parable of the Talents. Out of the three servants, two of them understood what was required of them. Therefore, they went to increase the talents that the master gave to them. The last servant did not possess the quality of understanding, therefore making his master angry.

God will bless everything in your life, from your family to your career

The Bible gives instructions on how to live a successful life on earth. Therefore, it is crucial to understand it. God will bless everything you do, and you will understand what you are doing.

Proverbs 2:6 (KJV) – “For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.”

I wish you a blessed encounter as you get understanding from God.

GOD BLESS YOU!

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I come before You with a humble heart, asking for divine understanding. Open the eyes of my mind and heart that I may grasp the truths of Your Word. Help me not to let Your Word fall by the wayside, but to understand it and live it. Remove every hardness of heart, every distraction, and every pride that keeps me from knowing You deeply. Teach me to seek You first, to remember Your goodness, and to trust in You above my own thoughts. Fill me with the Holy Spirit and give me discernment, that I may walk in truth always. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Activity

• After your daily Bible reading or listening to a sermon, write down one key point that stood out to you. Start with writing down what stood out to you in this lesson
• Then write one question: What does this mean for my life?
• Finally, write one action step: How can I apply this today?
• Share this message with someone.

Author: Mark Alex   

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