Gtcotr/ss022320
Mark 4 NKJV
26 And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the
ground.”
Mark
4
1
¶ And again He began to teach by the
sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and
sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.
2 Then He taught them many things by parables,
and said to them in His teaching:
3 “Listen! Behold, a
sower went out to sow.
4 “And it happened, as
he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came
and devoured it.
5 “Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much
earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.
6 “But when the sun was up it was scorched, and
because it had no root it withered away.
7 “And some seed
fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it
yielded no crop.
8 “But other seed
fell on good ground and
yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some
sixty, and some a hundred.”
“Some
seed fell.” The hope of the sower was that it would fall on good ground and
produce some fruit. But it seems, in this parable, that the sower was unable to
determine where the seeds fell … seeds fell everywhere. This type of sowing is
referred to as broadcasting. It’s what Jesus said in His Kingdom analogy: “As if a man should scatter seed on the ground.”
There
are four types of people Jesus refers to in this parable and He likens them to
differing types of soil conditions found in the field.
1.
Wayside
– hardened by the traffic of life. The seed never gets below the surface. The preached
word of God is no better than noise bouncing off a hard head. The seed never
gets in, it only falls on … might as well be concrete. Lying there
without acceptance, the birds devour it.
2.
Stony ground
– shallow soil with not much depth to allow for a healthy life-sustaining root
system to develop. There is no relationship between the soil and the
seed, no personal contribution to the process … the soil has no
investment in the seed. The heat and hard times make demands beyond the
soil’s ability to nurture the seed so the seed withers away.
3.
Among thorns
– God’s Word is just one more of many other things competing for time
and attention. Wild weeds and thorns sown by the enemy can grow at an
alarming rate, demand attention, overshadow and choke out the good vines so
that they cannot produce the fruit intended.
4.
Good ground
– An open heart and a willing mind - not hardened by life; not a surface
acceptance of the seed; given priority attention; the seed produces its
potential in the unfolding season.
9 And He said to them, “He
who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
The
disciples did not understand the parable’s application to their lives and so, later
when they were alone, they questioned Jesus and asked Him to explain the
parable to them.
10 But when He was alone, those around Him with
the twelve asked Him about the parable.
13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand
this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
Jesus
explains
Mark 4 NKJV
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.”
These
four people have one thing in common, just like all of you here today: They all heard the word. The broadcasted word of
God was sown in their minds with the intent of producing fruit in their lives.
Remember:
Mark
4:26 … “The kingdom of God is as if a
man should scatter (broadcast) seed on the ground.” Allow me to ask you:
Where
are you today?
· Are you by the wayside,
hardened by the traffic of life?
· Are you that shallow
listener - unmotivated, uninspired to make a personal investment in God’s Word
today?
· Are you too busy this
week to take on one more thing and so something has to give, and it will have
to be God’s word … it’s just not your number
one priority right now? Or …
· Are you paying
attention hoping to hear something this morning you can put into your life to
bless, guide, direct, protect, encourage, increase, or inspire you to be a
greater blessing to God and others this week?
You
see Satan is walking about like a roaring lion seeking those whom he may
devour. God is broadcasting seeds of His hope, faith and love. They are falling
on you and all around you. Don’t let the devil find you along the wayside,
hard, or shallow, or not listening or too busy to receive the Word and give it
a permanent home in your heart.
Wayside
Saints … listen to me …
· The sower is scattering
seeds for the kingdom of God today.
· Seeds of life and joy
and peace and fruitfulness.
· Seeds of direction,
refreshing and encouragement.
· Seeds of revival and
renewal.
· Seeds of relationship.
· Seeds of divine
intervention and divine direction.
· Seeds of hope and love
and faith and grace.
· Seeds of salvation and
forgiveness of sins.
· Seeds of abundant life
and seeds of eternal life.
Don’t
be like concrete … Don’t be shallow … Don’t be too busy …
How
can the seed of God’s Word fall on us and not penetrate our hearts and change
our minds? Some people, when they hear the Word, like the Word today, they:
· Slap it away
· Push it aside
· Turn it towards others
· Excuse themselves from
its implications
· Remove themselves from
its authority
· Justify themselves and
their sinful actions
· Override the
conviction
· Over-talk the message
in their minds
· Devalue the seed of
God’s choice for their lives
· Deny the challenge it
affords
· Turn it off
This
is like an automatic response to the good Word of God for some people. It’s
just the way they are … not the way they have to be … just the way they are.
They need to change but the very thing that will help them is the one thing
they aren’t open to. When the seed falls on anyone’s ears, it will endeavor to
take root in their heart and mind. Jesus said, take heed to the seed …
A
hard heart is like concrete. Can you imagine trying to grow a garden by casting
seeds on concrete? An unrepentant heart is like fallow ground, (Useable, but
unused soil; Tillable, but untilled land), hard, crusted over, impenetrable,
resistant and unreceptive … like the top layer of ground in a garden after a
long hard winter. So full of promise underneath that hard unbroken exterior and
covered with thorns to keep the plowman at bay. Fallow ground sits idle,
gaining a wealth of potential that will never be realized unless and until it
is broken up and receptive to the seed.
Break
up your fallow ground.
Jeremiah 4:3 For thus says
the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, And
do not sow among thorns.”
How
does a person begin to break up that fallow ground? How does a man keep himself
from the habit of slapping the seeds of God’s Word away from his mind and making
them bounce off the hard heart he’s protecting? How? By seeking the Lord!
Hosea 10:12 Sow for
yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it
is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.
You’ve
got to do this for yourself … no one can do it for you. You’ve got to do it for
yourself and you’ve got to do it until God comes and rains righteousness on
you. In other words, until you experience breakthrough because you finally
broke through that fallow ground and opened your heart and mind the Word of
God.
A
broken and a contrite heart the Lord will not despise. God forgives a broken
and open heart. God restores righteousness and rains right standing down upon
the man who falls on his knees before Him. It’s time …. It’s time to seek the
Lord!
The
remedy:
Mark 3:24 Then He said to them, “Take heed (pay attention to; value)
what you hear …”
2020
is a year of increase. The devil doesn’t like it and if the devil can’t make
you bad, he will try his best to make you too busy for God, family or Church.
The
devil has two main ways he tries to manipulate and control people:
1.
Make
something bad happen in their life so they will be consumed with hurt, sorry,
worry or pain.
2.
Make
something really good happen in their lives so they will be so busy enjoying
the good that they forget God.
Blessings
and cursing is all he has to work with. How is the devil trying to control you?
Relationships
are under attack by the devil today. Don’t let him fool you. Division is not
God’s best. Hear the word of the Lord. It’s the devil who benefits from
division and name calling and accusations and arguments, no matter who is doing
it … it’s wrong to try and hurt someone or to divide them from their family,
their church or their friends.
Be
kind with your words and don’t believe everything you hear about others and
certainly don’t repeat the bad stuff. Maybe they will return the favor sometime
in the future.
I’m
just the sower, scattering seed today … which soil will you prove to be?
