30-60-100 Fold Principle
Consider carefully what you hear, with the measure you use, it will be measured to you – and even moreMark 4:24 NIV
I just wanted to know what made you lucky enough to be considered 100 fold material? Of course that is a term taken from Mark chapter four where Jesus was talking about the fruitfulness or production of the seed.
Let me first of all explain what 100 fold means. It does not mean 100 times more. That means that the seed has produced to its “fullest potential”. It was interesting to me that the same ground that produced 30 fold also produced 100 fold. I always assumed that the 30 fold production came from bad ground. That is not true.
The subject of this parable is not the ground. The subject is the Word of God, and the object of this teaching is to see the Word produce to its fullest potential, or 100 fold. It is the responsibility of the hearer to move out of the 30 fold realm into the 100 fold. This teaching shows the law of increase. Here is how it operates.
We measure everything that we hear. When I hear the Word regarding my situation, I determine whether it is received or not, and to what level it is received. I measure everything that I hear. The Word of God responds to my measuring device. Mark 4:24 says, “The way “you” hear it, the way “you” measure and respond to it is the measure that it works in your life. God is not measuring this for you. The man got 30 fold because that is what he heard and responded to. Another man got 60 because that is what he heard and responded to.
You must understand that you respond to everything that you hear. If I told you that you would be a millionaire by the end of the week, you would measure what I said and would either accept or reject it. “I doubt it” is a measure. “I believe that”, is a measure. The point is that everything that comes to us is measured. It is then accepted or rejected based on that measurement.
Do you remember the story of the woman with the issue of blood? She pressed her way through the crowd to get to Jesus and said, “If I can but touch the hem of his garment I will healed”. She saw it on the inside. Her faith responded to that measurement. Jesus confirmed that. He said, “Your faith has made you whole”. Everything responds to how you measure your circumstances.
Another example is the story of the Centurion soldier who asked Jesus co come and heal his servant. He said, “Speak the Word only”. He did not need to touch the garment. He measured it differently. And then we could look at the example of the twelve spies’ when Israel came out of Egypt. Ten spies measured it to be impossible. Two measured it differently. They said “We are well able to take the land”. The ten said “I know there are grapes, but did you see the size of the giants?” Joshua and Caleb said, “I know that there are giants, but did you see the size of the grapes?” Both sides addressed the same challenge, but they both measured it differently. The way you measure it is the way that you are going to get it.
When people say “I can’t do that”, that becomes their measurement. We draw boundaries around ourselves and our potential. 30 fold mentalities never excel to 100 fold opportunities. Being negative is a measurement. Born on the wrong side of the tracks is a measurement. I wasn’t born with the right ethnic or social back ground. All of these are measurements. And they become the water mark for your life.
That is why Jesus said, “Take heed what you hear, because the way you hear is the way it is going to be measured back to you”. This is the danger of being hooked up with the wrong people or church. Many of them are famous for believing nothing. They don’t believing in healing; they don’t believe in receiving from God on hardly any level. It is important what you hear. The way you hear it is the way that you will measure it, and that is the level that your faith will respond to.
It is important that you realize this. When we measure something, God operates within the boundaries of that measurement. If you have a grass hopper mentality, that will become the boundary that affects everything that you do. Avoid people who can never see a way out. Stay away from complainers. They will destroy your dream and bring you into captivity.
One man says the tank is half full, the other one says it is half empty. They both said the same thing but they measured it differently. Maybe this is your problem. Maybe you only see the tank as half empty. Maybe you have been disappointed so many times that you are afraid to stretch your faith out there. I want to encourage you to begin to dream again, to pursue your dreams. Let the weak say “I am strong”. Let the poor say “I am rich”. What you measure allows or disallows opportunities in your life. You may have to apply 2 Corinthians 10:5 to your life. It says, “Casting down imaginations and every high things that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and brings into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ”. Change what you see, change what you say and you will turn the direction of your life toward fullness and health.
Dr. Jerry Edmon