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Ears to Hear
Wednesday, August 12, 2009 Preached at Brother Bryan Mission
Do you have ears to hear, and hearts to receive the Word of God? To Receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Will you make a place in all of your life for the Word of Christ?
Tonight, as we continue to look at some of the parables of the Lord Jesus Christ, we come to a parable that speaks to us, no matter where we are at spiritually. It speaks to those who do not believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but it also speaks to those who have received the Gospel. The parable that we will be looking at tonight comes from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 4 if you would turn with me there. This parable is the first parable of Jesus that was recorded in the Gospels. It is the Parable of the Sower, or often called the Parable of the Seed, or perhaps most appropriately, the Parable of the Soils.
As you turn there, I want to tell you about three of my friends. My first friend is a friend from my childhood. He is one of the nicest people I have ever met, but he is not a Christian. In the past, I have shared with him the Good News of Jesus Christ, but in the end, he told me that it all sounds so strange and hard to believe.
I have a second friend with whom I shared the Good News of Jesus Christ, and he received the Gospel. It seemed that he was growing, but after some time, he fell back into his life of sin when his friends encouraged him back into a life of drugs and sexual promiscuity.
I have a third friend who had an extramarital affair. He was sleeping with another man’s wife. The Lord sent him a miraculous and healing word, and it seemed that he accepted it for a time. But his repentance was short-lived, and he has gone on to indulge in the lusts of his flesh.
It is my fear, that some of you here might be like my three friends whom I love dearly. And if this is the case, the parable of the soil is for you.
Please read with me starting in verse 1.
“1He began to teach again by the sea And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land.
2And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching,
3"Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow;
4as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up.
5"Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil.
6"And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
7"Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.
8"Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
The Gospels tell us that Jesus was going throughout the cities of Galilee, preaching and healing the sick. It is no wonder that His healing powers would draw a crowd. But when a huge crowd of people came to see Him, Jesus preached a very strange sermon from a very strange pulpit—a boat.
You all have heard bum sermons—sermons that did not seem to make sense. I know you have heard some, because I have preached some! But this sermon by Jesus by all appearances seems to be a great let-down.
You see, Jesus tells what sounds like a lesson in botany—a lesson in how to plant a garden. The explanation of the parable which we will read in a little bit, was not given to the crowd. The explanation was only given to the Disciples who walked with Jesus. Before we get into the explanation of the parable, let’s look at the parable that Jesus gives.
Jesus tells the crowd about a man who throws seed on the ground. You might imagine that this man looked forward to the time when the seeds would grow into a plant which would produce fruit or vegetables. He threw the seed down and wanted it to grow up and give him corn, or beans, or apples, or peaches. But some of the seeds that he throws down go in three places which will make it impossible to grow the fruit that he desired.
The first seeds fall on the side of the good soil and rest on the ground. My wife tried to plant some flower seeds in a pot. She was so disappointed because birds kept coming and eating the seed. This is what happened to the first seed. Birds kept eating it.
The second set of seeds fell in the rocks. We have all seen how fast weeds grow in rocks. But even though they grow up fast, they are also the first to die when it gets hot.
And finally, there is the seed which falls among thorny vines. You have all seen plants with vines twisted around it, wrapping it up, and finally killing it.
You see, the point of the story that Jesus tells is that in order for seed to grow into a plant that bears fruit—to bear those juicy oranges, those luscious apples, those healthy green beans, it must be put in the right place. It must be put in good soil. If it is put in good soil and taken care of, it will bear much fruit.
We find in the explanation, that this seed represents the Word of God, and the ground represents the place in our lives that the Word enters in. And where we place this Word in our lives will determine whether we will be fruitful and mature Christians, or whether we will live lives outside of the Word and counsel of the great and almighty God.
But I am jumping ahead of myself. The original crowd did not get this interpretation of the story. I imagine that there were some who left from this strange sermon and said, “What was His point? I have better things to do than listen to instructions on how to grow plants!” But even in the way that Jesus told this parable without an explanation is a lesson in itself.
Look with me at verses 9-13 where we see that in order to understand the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you must believe in, walk with, and follow Jesus. Read with me:
9And He was saying, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
10As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables.
11And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables,
12so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN."
13And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?
You must walk with Jesus. You must walk with Jesus in order for His Good News to make sense. You see, the crowds had come to see a spectacle, or to get the benefits of Jesus, like healing or even entertainment. They were not there to follow Jesus, and as a result, they were left puzzled. Have you come to meet Jesus only for what He can do for you? Have you come to Him only to get healed, or to get rich or simply to have a good story to tell others, but had no intention of staying with Jesus? If you do not put your complete trust and faith in Him, His wonderful Gospel will never make sense. If you do not have an ear to hear—if you do not have a heart to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you will not stand in the last day—that terrible day of judgment.
We have recorded in this passage Jesus’ explanation of this parable. And we see that the seeds are not just seeds, but they represent the Word, the Word of the Kingdom, the Word of God.
And we see in the explanation of this parable three dangers which will kill the Word of God from doing its most wonderful work in your life. And these warnings are for each of us tonight. You see, if the Word of God does not penetrate deeply into your heart, and into every aspect of your life, it will not bear the wonderful, luscious fruit in your life.
Read Jesus’ explanation of the parable with me, starting in verse 14:
“14"The sower sows the word.
15"These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.
16"In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy;
17and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away.
18"And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word,
19but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
20"And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."”
Jesus tells us three areas which will kill the Word of God, the very Gospel of Jesus Christ, in your life.
The first is the seed which falls beside the road and is eaten by the birds. This is the one who lets the Word of God be, and does not consider it, or cherish it. This is the one who will not let the Word of Christ penetrate into his heart. This is the one to whom the Gospel of Jesus Christ does not make sense. The one who hears the words of Scripture that say that “All have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God,” and as a result say to themselves, “I have made some mistakes, but surely I am still a pretty good person, and not a sinner.” And when he hears that the only way to enter into the kingdom of God is to put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, he says, “Since I am not really a bad person, I am going to go to heaven. Surely God will let me in!” To this person, like my childhood friend, the message of the Gospel seems strange. Indeed, the Gospel is foolishness to those who do not believe. But my friends, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God for salvation! There is no other name under heaven that has been given…by which we must be saved than by the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12).
Perhaps some of you here might have some of these questioning thoughts. Do not fool yourself. You are not under your own control. It is Satan, the Devil, the Evil One who is blinding you from your need for Jesus Christ. It is he who is taking the Word of God from doing its work in your life. And you are helping him in your unbelief.
The second danger which will kill the Word of God from its power in your life is the shallow and weak root of the seed that falls into the rocks. This person is characterized by a description Jesus uses twice here: Immediately. Immediately he received the Word, and immediately he left. This is the person who runs from one solution to another, always seeking, but never finding. This is the person that Paul describes as a child, “tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” (Eph. 4:14). Or as James says, this one is “like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind” (James 1:6). It is this person who, when Christianity does not make you healthy, wealthy and without any pain or struggle, goes on to the next religion, philosophy or self-help idea. This person has not been deeply rooted in the truth of Christ.
Are you running from one solution to another, but not really trusting in and walking with Jesus Christ?
The third danger which kills the Word of God from working in your life is that of the one being choked—like the seed in the vines—by the cares and desires of this world. This is the person who has heard the Gospel and received it, but then begins to be frightened by the anxieties and cares of the world. This is the one who continually worries and is anxious, and takes his eyes off the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the one, as Scripture says, whose love and longing for money and riches has caused him to wander away from the faith and as a result has pierced himself with many griefs (1 Timothy 6:10). You see, you don’t need to be rich to love and long for money. And this is the one whose lusts for women, sex and other desires of the flesh which overcome him. Do not be fooled. Scripture teaches, and is right, that we must “abstain from fleshly lusts since they wage war against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11).
I fear that there are some here who are in danger of wandering away from Jesus Christ because of the anxiety of the world, or the lusts of the flesh.
How then do we receive the Word? How do we get from ones who do not hear and understand the Word? How do we get from being swayed by various doctrines and trials? How do we get from ones encumbered from the cares and lusts of the world? into deep, rich believers in Jesus Christ who live fruitful lives? How is it that we can put this seed—the Word of God—in its rightful place in our lives?
We find the answer in verse 20 which tells us that we must hear and receive, or accept the Word of God. You will remember that the second seed, which fell among the rocks, was received with joy, but immediately left when trials came. But here, the word received is different. It is to receive the Word into your life just as we would accept a guest into your home. Make room for the Word of God and prepare yourself for it. Receive the Word of God. Think about the Word of God. Meditate on the Word of God. Pray about the Word of God for your life. Memorize the Word of God.
In short, as Paul writes in Colossians, “Let the word of Christ richly live within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16).
As you let the Word of Christ dwell within you, the Lord will take over your life and begin to bear fruit in your life. You will become like a “tree planted by streams of living water, one that extends its roots deeply by a stream. You will be one who will not fear when the heat comes, but your leaves will be green. You will be one who will not be anxious in a year of drought, nor will you cease to bear fruit.” The Lord will help you to grow into that mature plant that bears joyful fruit as you receive Him.
But what are you to do if you are like one of these seeds that do not bear fruit? Let’s take a look. If you are like the seed that is choked by the worries and lusts of the world, meditate on these words from Scripture:
For the anxious.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, let your requests be made known to God” (Phil 4:6). And
“Cast all your anxiety on [the Lord], for He cares for you” (1 Pet. 2:7). And another Scripture: “Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Is 41:10).
If you are stuck in your lusts for the flesh—for sex or for money, or for any other lust of the flesh—be diligent to “Flee from these youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace with those who call on the Lord with a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22). Remember that these lusts wage war against your soul. You must fight them in the power of Christ.
And what if you are like that seed that fell among the rocks and rapidly grew at first, but now you are starting to wonder if you can continue on in Christ. Your roots in the faith are shallow, and the heat of difficulty and persecution are too strong for you.
Remember the words of Jesus, “In this world you will have trouble, but I grant you My peace.” I keep repeating these words of Jesus because they are so important. They fly in the face of preachers who say that when you receive Jesus, you will be healthy and rich. Health and richness are not promised by Jesus. In this world you will have trouble. But Jesus Christ grants you His peace.
And so, “as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith” (Col 2:6-7). Instead of giving up, dig your roots deep. And as you dig your roots deep, you will bear much fruit (Is. 37:31).
And finally, if you are one who has not accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ into your heart or taken it to consider it, I want to encourage you to begin tonight. Consider the truth that you are a sinner and that Jesus Christ came to save you from your sin and to give you life. Do not let Satan control your life any longer, stealing the precious words of hope from our Lord Jesus Christ. There is nothing more wonderful, glorious and hopeful than receiving the Gospel of Jesus Christ into your heart.
Wherever this parable, wherever this word finds you tonight, I ask that you do not let it pass you by. Cherish the Gospel of Jesus Christ and meditate on it. Take time every day to read, and meditate on the Word of God, the Bible. Write down verses on note-cards to memorize. And watch, as this most powerful Word begins to change you into a man who can endure any difficulty, and overcome all your worries and all the sinful desires of this world.
If you are worried that you are one of these in danger of killing the Word of God in your life, I encourage you to come and talk and pray with me. I want to walk with you and encourage you, as you walk with Christ.
Let’s pray.