Good morning and welcome in everyone. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture from the book of Mark.
Mark 4:3-14 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?
The sower soweth the word.
Farmers can relate with this parable because they plant a seed and it grows right out of the ground. If you plant an apple seed you can get an apple tree when it’s matured. If you plant a tomato seed you can get a tomato plant when it’s matured. God’s Holy Word is an incorruptible spiritual seed that you plant deep inside a person’s heart by teaching and preaching scripture.
1 Peter 1:23 – Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
Spiritual seed planting is a job that men of God are called to do, beginning with your wife and children and spreading out to communities and church goers, but there are things that can hinder spiritual maturity and growth in a person’s life.
Mark 4:15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
Some people hear the word of God taught, but the devil steals it away, just like a bird stealing the sower’s seeds off of the ground. The devil doesn’t want you in heaven, he wants to take you to hell with him. This is why he must be resisted in your heart. When resisted, he will flee like the coward he is. The devil will try numerous ways to prevent you from becoming faithfully obedient to Christ, and maturing into a perfect son or daughter. The devil hates the truth of scripture so if there’s any way he can take it away from you, or lead you away from it, he will try it. Just like a child needs to be fed milk to mature and learn how to walk on their own someday, Christians need the milk of God’s Word in their life, each and every day. Like someone stealing candy from a baby, the devil will try to steal scripture out of your heart.
Mark 4:16-17 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.
There will be some who happily receive scripture but the problem is that they never develop a root. If a plant doesn’t have a root, it cannot draw water and nutrients out of the ground to survive. The end result will be the eventual death of the plant. This group of people become Christians for a period of time, but then reject the faith. I guarantee you that when someone becomes a Christian, everything’s not going to be honky-dory, take it from someone who knows. You will have to go through persecutions, sufferings, and betrayal from people that you used to know, even at the hands of your own spouse and relatives. Christianity it’s not about everybody getting along, because Jesus didn’t come to send peace on the Earth but a sword. It’s people’s negative response to biblical truth that brings on hatred from others who wholeheartedly reject it. When a soldier goes into battle they have to expect that somewhere they will run into somebody who hates them and wants to do them harm. Welcome to Christianity. Shake the dust off and move on.
John 15:18-19 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Mark 4:18-19 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
Have you ever had a green garden hose that was pumping water across the road, but when somebody parked on it with their car tire, it completely stopped the water from flowing? Our hearts need to be filled up each day, being watered by God’s Word, but there are things that can stop that flow of scripture into our hearts, just like a dam across a river, or shutting the faucet off on your kitchen sink. Things in this world can become more important to you than seeking after God, things like jobs, relationships, and other worldly concerns that only take your eyes off Christ, and being in a close relationship with Him, seeking to be in His presense day by day.
Mark 4:20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
In order to have a fruitful life, one must become faithful and obedient to scripture. This is called “keeping the word”. You are not just a hearer but an obedient doer of what it teaches. If you are going to graduate from college someday, you need to obey the instructions of your teachers. If you want to graduate into eternal life someday, you need to listen and obey the instruction of biblical truth, by which we are converted into what God wants us to become. Jesus taught that in order to obtain Paradise we need to do the will of God and that requires obedience and not being distracted by the things of this world.
So I ask you,… What gets in the way of your relationship with God? It all comes down to…..
….Keeping Focused.
Let’s think about these things for right now, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️
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