Gtcotr/ss112909
Mark 2 NKJV
1 ¶ And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.
2 Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them.
Hear the Word of God:
God loves you so much that He sacrificed His only Son on the cross of Calvary to pay for your sins.
If you will believe on Jesus as God’s Son, Messiah to the Jews, and Savior of the World, you can be born again.
You can become a spiritual child of God today.
Ask God to forgive your sins and save your soul.
Personally accept the only payment God will accept for your sin.
Accept Jesus as Messiah, Savior, Lord and Friend.
Live a life that is pleasing to God and,
Tell others what you believe.
This is the Word of the God.
It will not change.
The Word of God to man is the same today as it was yesterday and will be forever.
However, there are 4 types of people who heard the Word of God I preached this morning. Which type are you?
Mark 4 NKJV
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."
When they were alone, those close to Jesus along with the twelve disciples, asked Jesus about this parable. So Jesus explains:
Mark 4
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."
#1 – Wayside
Are you on the wayside this morning? Are you hearing but not truly listening, never really opening your heart to receive the Word? Do you place any value on the Word of God you hear today or will you discard it like so much trash. Will you leave church today without being affected one way or the other, robbed of the Words of Life because they hold no value. Are you going to let the devil take God’s Word away from you again?
#2 – Stony Ground
Those of you who are stony ground types this morning really did listen to the Word and gladly received it. What was said made you happy and gave you hope for your future. However, your history reveals that most likely the Word only has surface access to your life and when you leave here you will spend no further time or investment in the Word God brought to you this morning. As a result, all of your hope and gladness will be turned to sadness and loss at the first temptation you encounter. Why, because you are attempting to produce fruit without sufficient root. The Word of God is first meant to go down, below the surface of our life, into our heart and begin changing our life from the inside out, not the outside in. God wants to work in you and on you before He works for you and through you.
#3 – Among Thorns
This group of people seem like they are really going to make it, but they just never quite measure up. They hear the Word, and no doubt mean well, but they allow so many things in their life to compete with the Word. They get busy with good stuff, or become focused on making money, or get bored with what they have, and all of the sudden … the Word which God gave to them gets choked out, suffocates, and their life becomes unfruitful in Kingdom matters. It is not that God does not have a plan and purpose for their life, but rather that they just can’t seem to stay focused and on track. At any rate, these among thorns types end up with no fruit from the Word they heard.
#4 – Good Ground
This type of person is in the majority of the Church. These people represent the normal Christian experience. Jesus said:
"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."
We should all strive to be good ground upon which the seeds of God’s Word can be sown.
· Hear the Word of God this morning
· Accept it as a Word from God
· Cultivate the Word and Care for it like precious seeds from heaven
· Keep it watered and weeded and it will continue to grow and produce greater fruit for many seasons to come
Ok, maybe some of you weren’t ready when I sowed the seeds of the Word of God earlier. Let me go back over it again so you can have another chance to be good ground.
You decide what you want to be.
The truth is that we get to decide what type of ground we will be. I know what I am talking about, believe me … I sat in church for years hearing the Word of God preached without it affecting me. I had two children and seven years of marriage under my belt before I surrendered to the Lord and His call on my life. The decision to start listening & applying the Word to my life, was mine …
Take just a moment right now to decide what type of ground you are going to be today. Are you ready? Ok, let me sow the seeds of God’s Word one more time --- here goes:
Hear the Word of God:
God loves you so much that He sacrificed His only Son on the cross of Calvary to pay for your sins.
If you will believe on Jesus as God’s Son, Messiah to the Jews, and Savior of the World, you can be born again.
You can become a spiritual child of God today.
Ask God to forgive your sins and save your soul.
Personally accept the only payment God will accept for your sin.
Accept Jesus as Messiah, Savior, Lord and Friend.
Live a life that is pleasing to God and,
Tell others what you believe.
This is the Word of the God. What type of ground are you?
