Today's Passage - Luke 8:1-8

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 8:1-8   "While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 'A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up.  Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture.  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.  Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.'  When he said this, he called out, 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear.'"   We'd like think that a person is "spiritual" if he has been a Christian for a long-time, has abundant knowledge of the Bible, or can even recite many scripture passages; however, such an assessment may not be accurate.  Spirituality is actually defined by how well a person can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit; it doesn't really matter how many years one has been a believer, but what matters is whether one can hear what the Lord wants to say.  In other words, you spiritual life is directly related to your ability to hear in the Spirit.  Such "hearing" is not just listening to sermons, but it's the ability to hear God's word when you read the Bible, pray or in your routine life.  Whether you are a Christian or non-Christian, your attitude towards the word of the Lord determines your understanding of the Lord, and the amount of spiritual abundance you can experience.  Because hearing is so important, right after Jesus chose the disciples He regularly taught them how to "hear."  In the parable of sowing the seeds, Jesus explained that the sown seed represent the word of the Lord.  Even though seeds are tiny, they contain life, and they can break out from the soil and grow to become big plants.  So is the word of the Lord.   Bible says that the word of the Lord is the Spirit and life.  As long as you have the word of the Lord, it will bring strength to your life.  It's the momentum that can help you to achieve breakthrough from your circumstance and the strength to bring our life to maturity.  Lord's word can bring you wisdom, joy and holiness in life, so we need to ask the Lord for a positive attitude in listening to God's word.  We ought to learn God's word from the Bible everyday, and also to have the courage to follow God's word in our daily life.  Let God's word have strong roots and grow healthily in our life, and spawn many more seeds.  May God help us!                Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I thank you because there is power in every word from you.  Once your word is spoken, it won't be retracted.  I ask that you give us a humble heart that is open to learning, and ears good in listening.  Let us hear your word, not only superficially, but what you want to say to us in the Spirit, so that your word will become strength of our life.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!