Sowing Seeds of the Heart

Chapter One
Preparing the Heart

Many that discover the blessings of God through His Word seek to understand how to appropriate His blessings to their lives and the lives of others. In my own life I have struggled to receive what is available from God. The further I have walked along life's journey, I have come to know that when I place my dependency and trust in Him there is so much more He appropriates to my life. As a street evangelist, I have an opportunity to journey deep into the inner cites and see the needs and desires of so many people. It is in these times that I can sense His real desire for His people. There is so much He wants to appropriate to lives that are hurting and those that are in bondage. I can often feel the emotion that He has for His people. Some nights it almost becomes unbearable. It nearly breaks my heart to see the pain in people's lives and to know the answer is in Christ. It is at times like these that my only desire is to have the faith to believe God for the needs of others and for the wisdom to know how to share His Word. If we could come to a place in our lives where we would seek to allow the Lord to fulfill His Will in our own life then He could fulfill His Will in the lives of others. His heart is to minister to His people and His desire is to use you to be the vessel to touch others. However, many of us struggle for the needs of our own life. We need to move past this point of struggle and move further into our trust and faith in Him.

Matthew 6
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

It is my hope that I may be able to share how we might help others to receive what the Lord has freely given. Could it be that we have failed to see the simplicity of the Word? Have we missed the opportunity to minister to those who are hurting? Have we received what He has for our own lives? I have come to know that the Lord has placed salvation, health, freedom, and so much more into His Word for those that would find them. We need to know how He may place this treasure into our hearts and how this treasure may be appropriated to others. The Lord has spoken to us in Proverbs concerning His Word and the role of our heart upon His blessings for us.

Proverbs 4
20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

The explanations that Jesus used were not only intended to be understood, but also to provide principles we might live by and be able to receive what He has promised. I have sought to know His heart in the hope that I might be able to help others to enjoy the benefits made available through Christ. This desire has come from the Call He has placed upon my life. My search for answers was not that I alone would be the one to minister to His people but to understand in such a way that I might share what He has shared with me. I think that there is too much emphasis placed upon the messenger than the message. Through His touch upon my life, I have received a desire to know Him as a friend and to allow Him to live part of His life through me. The night when He placed His Call upon my life, my heart not only heard His words calling me to share the message of salvation to this world but to know the pain that God felt when His creation died, lost in sin. I will always remember the pain He felt and the emotion in which He spoke to my heart. He said, "Will you go and tell others about My Son." I said, "Yes, I will go." I had to respond to what I heard and felt in my heart. God was hurting for His creation and somehow I knew His pain was forever for those who already perished. I sought to understand the pain He would feel forever as just one would perish and be in eternal torment. How could I not respond to His Call?

I have walked in this Call and have seen thousands saved as I extended my hand inviting them to Christ. He has been faithful to teach me and to guide me to those that were lost and hurting. The longer I walk with Him the more He has shared His heart with me. I have shared what He has shared with me in books and teachings so others would discover His Will. His touch upon my life continues even today. Yes, there is always more to know and more to receive from Christ. Now this journey has brought me to a place to listen to Him as He seeks to help me understand even more of Him.

John 16
13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.
14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.
15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.

I have met so many different kinds of hearts, as a street evangelist, which all seemed to have different needs. The Lord has shown me that through sowing His Word into the lives of others that the Word will produce results. The Word is as a seed and the heart is as the soil. Therefore, if we place His Word in our heart we will find His Will fulfilled in our life. The Lord can prepare the soil and produce His Will in our life. We must yield to His touch upon our heart.

Hosea 10
12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

Our ministry in the streets must be one of sharing the Word while increasing people's faith for what they need. Since we may have only a brief opportunity to minister to someone, we will seek to share the Lord's Will though His Word and expect their healing to be complete. We should be in expectation for Him to touch all people. Most people seem to limit their faith by their past experiences rather than the Word of God. We should expect the Lord to fulfill His Will in the lives of those we minister to.

Acts 10
38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Christ shared the concept of sowing seeds of the heart. There is a difference in hearts and how the Word responds to a heart. Also, we can see that there is a thief that seeks to steal the Word from our heart. The enemy knows that if the Word is left deposited into a person's heart that it will produce what the Lord has for their life. It is interesting to know the increase that will result when the Word is placed in good soil. Christ was sharing a principle of the Kingdom of God. We need to prepare the soil of our heart to receive His fullness in our life. Expect the Word to increase to such an extent that it will overflow from your life into the lives of others. We can clearly see that if we will take time and seek to prepare hearts that the Word will produce. Could it be that what we seek is a relationship with the Healer? The Lord does not seek to just touch a life as to heal, but to indwell a life and therefore produce health. The dependency we have upon Him is greater than a physical need. It is a spiritual one. Let His healing be received into your heart, radiate into your life, and touch every need.

Luke 8
4 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:
5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.
8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?
10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.
11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

As we have seen in Luke 8, the Word produced in all circumstances. However, in some cases the enemy stole the Word from their hearts. We see that although the Word was received in the person's life, if it was not established temptation caused defeat. Even the world can choke the Word in your life. However, there is a heart that seeks to keep the Word and patiently bears fruit. What we seek is available through obedience to God's Word. Some would say that it is difficult in that it is dependent upon me. Let's examine this a little more closely. The Word that is deposited into your heart to produce salvation, deliverance, and healing is the same Word that will produce the attributes of what we need to nourish and defend it. Although the conditions of our heart may vary, the Word can work in your life to produce life and abundance. The rocks could be broken in your life and turned into fine soil. The weeds could be removed to allow the fruit to produce. Remember the Word not only contains the health that we seek but the faith we need to defend its deposit in our heart.

Psalms 119
11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Psalms 10
17 LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:

Moses sought to understand the heart of God. His walk with God lead Him into the tabernacle where He ministered unto God and sought atonement for himself and others. The Lord spoke to Moses as a friend. His relationship with God changed his heart and changed his focus. He was more concerned about the lives of others than himself. On one occasion he stood between the judgment of God and the people.

Exodus 33
11 And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
12 And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.
13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.

The Lord responded to Moses and showed grace upon His people. We can clearly see that the Lord wants to reveal more of Himself to His people. The grace and the relationship which the Lord developed in the heart of Moses brought him to a place which he could move closer in His relationship to God.

It is so simple and yet the cost is so great. If you would only allow the Lord to touch your heart and place His nature within it. The more of His heart we receive the more His nature would be reflected from our life. The Lord yearns to touch lives though you.

The Lord was ready to respond to the request of Moses to reveal more of Himself and to have mercy upon the people. The anointing upon my life has brought me to a place where I know that while I am touching other lives, He is touching mine. He seeks to strengthen my relationship in Him to equip me to touch lives through Him. The same mercy and grace He shows to others as I minister in the streets He shows to me. While I yield my own life to Him I receive more of His heart.

Exodus 34
5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.
6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

In the verses above the Lord revealed His heart to Moses. The most personal nature of God is His mercy, grace, patience, goodness, and forgiveness of sin. We can see that He will judge sin but we must remember that forgiveness is available. Many seek to develop faith alone. Could it be that our relationship with Christ is the most powerful aspect of our life and our ministry? The Lord is wanting to be close to His people through you. Develop your relationship while being in expectation for Him to touch His people.

A pure heart is what the Lord desires for His people. Our lives are guided by our heart. Our desires and our intentions often control our lives from within. In this journey of life we seek to hear His voice and pray for guidance. We must come to understand that it is to the heart the Lord speaks and directs our lives.

Chapter One Preparing the Heart

Chapter One
Preparing the Heart