7-4-21 Protect the Seeds: Mark 4:1-20

 We're back in Mark today, picking it up in chapter 4. Last week, we saw how Jesus was persecuted and challenged by his family and by the scribes, the bible-lawyers from the big city (Jerusalem). Jesus talked about the unpardonable sin, and we talked about how our heart attitudes are incredibly important in our relationship with the Lord. The scribes who committed the unpardonable sin had gone so far away from God, His will, and His ways from the bottom of their hearts, that they couldn't and wouldn't recognize Jesus as from God no matter what He said or did. And to make matters worse, they accused Him of being from the devil and held to their opinion no matter what evidence was otherwise presented. But the main focus was the attitude of the heart in our responses to Jesus and what He says. And Jesus will bring up heart attitudes again in this next section. Jesus is going to tell the parable of the sower, and He begins the section by telling the people to listen. When Jesus says that (now I'm taking from the greek definition), He means, 'don't turn a deaf ear to what I'm saying,' 'pay attention to it,' or 'consider it and think about it deeply.' After Jesus tells the parable, or the story, to the crowds, He tells them again (in different words) to listen and think about what He's saying. Mark 4:9 ESV And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." Jesus wants the people to really listen with their hearts, with their minds, wills, and emotions. He wants them to understand at the deepest level of their being so they can change how they operate in their day to day lives. And Jesus is talking about a heart attitude that is continually open to what God says. And this kind of listening isn't about hearing only (with our ears), it's about putting what we hear into practice. We can go to church and hear good sermons, enjoy worship music, feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, and even be inspired in some ways and feel built up; but if we don't continually attempt to put into action what God tells us, then it doesn't make much difference in our lives over the long term. I love the quote by G.K. Chesterton; "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried."1 In other words, Christianity just works if we choose to put it into practice, if we choose to listen and obey the word of God. God's promises are true. He created the universe and responds when we step out in faith and obedience. But sadly, most people don't put God's principles into practice in their daily lives and then wonder why 'all that church stuff' doesn't seem to be doing much for their relationships, their finances, their feelings, their peace or their joy. You know, God isn't actually trying to trick us. As much as walking with the Holy Spirit is not a formula, (it's a relationship that is dynamic and continually moving and growing) there still is a 100% foolproof plan available to you and me when it comes to growing in the Lord. If God tells us to do something (that can be supported and confirmed by scripture), then do it. Seems simple enough, right? Of course there are difficult times, and it is tough to obey at first. But it gets easier the more and more you do it, I promise. James 1:22 CJB "Don't deceive yourselves by only hearing what the Word says, but do it!" It's self-deception to believe that God's only goal for church attendance is merely hearing the word instead of experiencing a transformation of life that results in ministry.2 And by ministry, I mean there comes an overflow of the life and love of Jesus Christ from you and it flows to others in the way you speak to them, the way you serve them, and the way you operate towards them. But my ultimate point is that doing the word, or walking it out and putting it into practice always starts by hearing the word, by listening to it, by comprehending it, and by really thinking it through and hiding it in your heart. Why? Because Romans 10:17 NKJV "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." This is why Jesus says, after He tells the parable of the sower, that if you have ears to hear it, or if you have a heart that is willing, you should listen to what He means and then do your best to put it into practice. Now I do need to back up a little, because in this passage Jesus tells the parable of the sower to the crowd and then He explains it to His disciples, who ask Him questions because they don't understand. They ask Jesus about it because they want to be doers of the word but they really don't understand what He's saying or how it applies spiritually or practically. They heard Jesus tell the parable, but they just didn't get it. So they ask Jesus to explain it and tell them what to do about it. I might add that this principle still applies today; if you are ever struggling to understand what the Bible says, or what Jesus is trying to teach you, just ask Him. He'll teach you. He'll walk you through it. But let's pray before we jump into this next section in Mark, which is the parable of the sower. Father in Heaven, thank You for this time we have together. I ask you to bless it. Give us ears to hear You speak; let us be doers of Your word and not hearers only, and give us insight and revelation into Your heart and Your character as we get to know You more. Thank You that You have made it possible for us to know the mysteries of God through Jesus Christ our Savior, and that You've forgiven our sins so that we can sit at Your feet and Your voice. Help us to follow You more deeply, and bring Your healing, Your breakthrough, and Your help to us today in any area of need. We give You glory and honor, in Jesus' Name, amen. This next section, Mark chapter 4, is the first time that Mark records Jesus speaking to the crowds in parables. You'll see this parable of the sower in Matthew and Luke, too. It's in Matthew 13 and Luke 8. In Matthew's account, we see the disciples asking Jesus why He speaks in parables when He talks to large groups of people. Matthew 13:10 NLT "His disciples came and asked him, "Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?" He tells them that because they have responded to the call to follow Him, the mysteries of God can now be revealed to them. However, the people who don't want to follow God from their hearts are still in darkness, they can't see the deep truths Jesus is talking about or understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. They are darkened in their understanding because they haven't yet come to the knowledge of the truth, which is Jesus Himself. Ultimately, as goes the Sunday school answer, Jesus is the truth, Jesus is the answer, and following Jesus and giving Him glory and honor is what every story in the Bible is about. But Jesus used parables in mixed audiences because this unique form of storytelling accomplished two important objectives for Him: Parables repelled hostile skeptics while equipping serious disciples. Parables actually make up more than 33% (⅓) of Jesus' recorded sayings. A parable is the art of teaching through story in a way that the familiar (or things we see and know in our everyday life) sheds light on the unfamiliar (which is the spiritual and the ways of God and His kingdom). The stories often appear simple and obvious, but the truths they convey are not. Two factors make correct interpretation of a parable possible for the hearer. The first factor is a willingness to try to understand what God is saying. An unteachable spirit will find it easy to twist a parable into nonsense and then use it to try to prove the teacher or storyteller doesn't know what they're talking about. You see this happen in the Bible, but those who wanted to reject Jesus found more than enough justification to murder Him based how they interpreted what He said in His parables. Second, spiritual discernment is needed to correctly interpret a parable. The parables of Jesus reveal truths that exist beyond the natural realm. His lessons cannot be accessed through scientific research. They must be revealed by someone able to transcend the natural world to comprehend the supernatural. Therefore, the listener must have the help of the Holy Spirit to understand the parables of Jesus. Fortunately, as I mentioned, He has promised to teach anyone willing to learn.3 You may already be familiar with the parable of the sower; but basically Jesus talks about a farmer who tries to plant seed in different types of ground. Some of the farmer's seed falls on the wayside (that's the road or the sidewalk; not much dirt), some falls on stony ground, some falls on thorny ground (ground with weeds), some then some falls on good ground with healthy soil. And Jesus tells this parable to the crowds in Mark 4:1-8, then His disciples ask what it means, and so He explains it to Him in Mark 4:13-20. Today I want to talk about spiritual warfare based on what we read in this parable; so for the sake of time I'm not going to read through the entire passage (I encourage you to do that sometime this week on your own). But first I do want to explain the general application of the parable, and then I want to show you some extra things I see within it in regards to spiritual warfare. So let's take a look at Mark 4:13-20 NKJV And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble. 18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred." Let's get right to it; in this parable, Jesus is asking us what kind of soil we will be. What kind of ground is our heart made of? Remember how heart attitudes are of extreme importance? Jesus gave this illustration to help us determine what kind of soil we represent right now, in this moment, and what kind of soil we will decide to be moving forward. The application in the first century is the same today: Choose the soil of your heart. Are you currently a productive, persevering believer? If so, that doesn't mean you're perfect; it means you cling to the truth and seek to apply it consistently. It means you try to be open and honest, responsive to Scripture, pliable to the Holy Spirit, grateful for grace, and hungry for righteousness. You are growing toward maturity. This is ideal soil; this is where we want to be planted! Or are you more of a busy, preoccupied believer, in soil with a lot of weeds? When you look at the priorities of your life, do you see thorns choking out the teaching of Scripture? Do you allow the desire for affluence, comfort, power, position, or privilege keep your relationship with Christ low on your list of priorities? Are you so involved in the pursuit of temporal happiness that anxiety keeps you distracted from spiritual concerns? Does your lack of contentment hinder you from experiencing the gift of God's peace within that He wants you to have? Or do you find yourself in the shallow, rocky soil of a superficial seeker? If so, you're rootless and unstable. You responded to an emotional appeal or followed a crowd or did something to please a friend, or you like the christian company you now keep, but it wouldn't take much to change your mind. You're a hearer, but not a doer. You're not really a believer. You're only slightly better off than the last kind of soil. Are you the hard-hearted, stubborn one who has no interest in spiritual things? If that's you, a day will come when you'll regret your proud, self-willed attitude.4 The good news is that God is always ready and able to transplant you and me into better soil if we'll let Him. I love the quote, 'God is less concerned with who we are than who we're becoming.' That means that no matter where you find yourself today spiritually with an honest self-appraisal, God is faithful to keep moving you in the right direction and growing you until you're exactly the person He wants you to be. All we have to do is say yes to Jesus from our hearts and do the best we can to obey Him. Philippians 1:6 ICB "God began doing a good work in you. And he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again. I am sure of that." I am sure that Jesus will transplant anyone who wants to move from one type of soil to another. And He's a great gardener; He won't hurt you in the process. The main application of this parable is the question of what kind of soil are we planted in right now and what kind of soil we want to be planted in moving forward. I also see a commentary on spiritual warfare and the types of battles we all face. In other words, there are opposing forces to our christian life that we need to recognize and fight against - we need to protect the seed of the word in our hearts. Let me explain it this way; the seed that falls on the pathway, or the wayside, is the road that satan walks on. People who hear the gospel but have no roots often have to face off against the devil right away, who snatches the truth from their hearts. And no matter where we land in our christian walk, we need to learn how to fight against the demonic. Mark 4:14-15 NKJV "The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts." The seed is snatched away by the devil. And we also face opposition from the adversary, no matter what kind of soil our hearts are in. I want to tell you that the key to overcoming the devil is resisting him. Resist, resist, resist! As we submit to God and resist the devil, he has to run away from us! James 4:7 HCSB "Therefore, submit to God. But resist the Devil, and he will flee from you." We also need to be of sober spirit and on the alert so we are aware of his schemes. 1 Peter 5:8-9 NKJV "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world." In order to resist satan fully, I'll summarize Ephesians 6:13-18; we need to take up the full armor of God so we can stand firm and win our battles. Put on the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness; Put on the preparation of the gospel of peace; and take up the shield of faith with which we can extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. We take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition , pray at all times in the Spirit and be on alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.5 We need to protect the seed of the gospel in our hearts from the devil. You may have already guessed the next one; but we also need to protect it from the flesh. Mark 4:16-17 NLT "The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 17 But since they don't have deep roots, they don't last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God's word." I interpret this as a fight against the flesh because, as we talked about a little last week, it doesn't feel good to be persecuted. It's not easy on our fleshly nature to follow Jesus, especially when we're going against our family, the culture, our friends, and our reputation might take a hit. The key to overcoming the flesh is reckoning. By reckoning, I mean that we just come to terms with the fact that we're dead. We aren't alive to this world anymore. And we act like it. One band has a song about it called 'some kind of zombie' - the idea is that we're zombies to sin. We're dead, so it doesn't affect us anymore. Romans 6:11 ICB "you should see yourselves as being dead to the power of sin and alive with God through Christ Jesus." You could also think of it as being in slavery to a Master that is perfect, right, and holy and has your best interests in mind at all times, in this life and the next one. Romans 6:16-18 NLT "Don't you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living." In other words, we get to choose who and what we're going to serve; our old sinful nature, or our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And then, of course, we need to learn how to protect the seed of the gospel in our hearts from the world. Mark 4:18-19 NKJV "Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful." The cares of the world include the pursuit of money and desires for other things, the bible says. You probably don't need help coming up with other examples of things the world tries to throw at you to knock you off of your pursuit of God. But the key to warfare against the world is renewal. In other words it has to do with renewing our minds, or changing the way we think about things from the world's way, the way we were taught in a lot of cases, and think about them from God's perspective instead, based on His ways of operating in His kingdom. We choose to set our minds on the things of the Spirit, and we keep seeking the things of Christ, where He is seated in the heavenly realms. Colossians 3:1-2 GW "Since you were brought back to life with Christ, focus on the things that are above-where Christ holds the honored position-the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne. 2 Keep your mind on things above, not on worldly things." Philippians 4:7-9 ESV "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." The take-away here is that you get to determine your own thought life. Don't let the world, the flesh, the devil, or others do it for you. Cause your mind to think about the things that bring peace to you and glory to God.6 Now that you're in Christ, you do have the choice, you are in control of your own mind. You can do it. It's often difficult, but you can, because the Holy Spirit will lead you, guide you, and give you the strength to do it as you ask Him and stay close to Him. He won't lead you astray. I want to close today by preparing to partake of communion. We talked today about taking stock of our hearts, or examining ourselves in light of our walk with the Lord. And as we do that, I want you to know that God is ready, willing, and able to transplant you to a different type of soil if you're in one that isn't good. If you are already in good soil, He's ready to pour out His rain, His living water on you so you can continue hearing His voice and doing His will. And by the power of His blood, we are given the strength to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. And so today, as we take communion together, know that Jesus Himself has provided everything we need no matter where we find ourselves on the journey. If we need healing, He is the healer; if we need forgiveness, He is the redeemer; if we need help, He is our strength; if we're in despair, He is our hope because He has overcome death itself, and in Him we have new life. 1 Chesterton, G.K. What's Wrong with the World. 2 Hayford, Jack W., editor. Spirit Filled Life Bible, P1832, Footnote on 1:22. 3rd ed., Nashville, TN, Thomas Nelson, 2018. 3 Swindoll, Charles R. Insights on Mark, P186. Carol Stream, IL, Tyndale House, 2016. Scribd, https://www.scribd.com/read/329277748/Insights-on-Mark#. 4 Swindoll, Charles R. Insights on Mark, P193. Carol Stream, IL, Tyndale House, 2016. Scribd, https://www.scribd.com/read/329277748/Insights-on-Mark#. 5 Boa, Kenneth. Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation, P359. Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan, 2001. 6 Hayford, Jack W., editor. The Hayford Bible Handbook, P391. Nashville, TN, Thomas Nelson, 1995. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ Protect the Seed |