Nowhere is Satan more effective than where the seed is sown. And Mark, he puts that word in immediately. He pounces. If Satan finds the word just sitting on the surface and not getting in there, he moves quickly.
That's what I was talking about. The alarm is pushed and they rally. You know the angels, they cheer in heaven when there's one convert.
Hell cheers in hell when they find someone foolish enough to stick their tongue out at Jesus and say, I don't believe it. Today, Pastor Rick will continue here on Cross-Reference Radio in Mark Chapter 4 with his study called The Sower. When he was alone, they asked him. If you don't understand something, ask.
Here's the template for it. And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parable. The key is they were with Jesus. If they were not with Jesus, they could not find out. They all understood the farming and the sowing.
They all got that part. What's the point, Jesus? What does it have to do with God? What does it have to do with me and God?
What is the spiritual application? That is their question. And so he has a sort of a mild rebuke. It's more like a challenge built into his answer. We don't have his tone, but we know him. We know how he talks to us.
And so it's safe to say his tone was relatively mild, or just very mild. And he said to them, to you it has been given, verse 11, to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. But to those who are outside, all things come in parables. It's given to you. If you're sitting in a church where the word of God is preached, you're being given God's word. To whom? To all who desire to be with him. You've got to love him. You have to love the Lord. And if you don't, just ask.
Invite him. Now he says here, to you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom. Well, what is the mystery?
Well, in Scripture, a mystery is something God has revealed but veiled at the same time to be unveiled at a later time, a proper point in time. The church. The church is preached in the Old Testament, but it's veiled. Not until you come to the New Testament apostles in Christ is that veil lifted away.
And it wasn't done instantly. The church sort of evolved out of Judaism, out of the synagogues. And we see the church in the Old Testament. We today, looking back with the believers in the days of Christ, they saw no such thing. And Christ mentioned the word church, the ecclesia, the called out ones.
They didn't see it as we see it now. A fuller revelation awaited the writings of the Apostle Paul, the writings of Luke, and the Gospels, and the preaching that they all did as they moved around the various places that they were sent out to preach. So a mystery in Scripture is something that God has put out there, and it has to be developed. But you've got to participate.
You've got to stay with him to get it. He says, but to those who are outside, all things come in parables. They're willfully outside, as the Pharisees were. They were disbelievers by choice, not because the facts were not there. You know, the folly of not paying attention to Jesus.
It's not worth it. It's better to surrender to him and listen to him and to expose the hardness of those who are around in those days and these days too. The message is sent in a sort of a cryptic form. God veils it. I give you an example of that in Noah. Noah building the ark. The message was put out there, and God exposed the hard hearts of the people every time a hammer hit a nail. The echo of that strike was a sermon that something is being built to escape something that's coming.
You either believe it or you do not. And they rejected Noah, and they had nothing to reject about Noah. Noah lived differently from him. It was a righteous man, the Bible says.
They could just look at Noah and say, you know what? This man is not going to steal from you. He's not going to hurt you. He's a righteous man.
Maybe, just maybe he knows what he's talking about. How many times have unbelievers mocked good pastors and people believed the unbelievers? In my own experience, coming from them, it's a compliment, you almost say. Where they mock you and you want to say, well, if you're going to listen to them, go ahead. But I encourage you to listen to those who are encouraging you to listen to Christ.
Another example of those who were told, listen, keep hearing, but don't respond in a sarcastic kind of way. An example is Nineveh. Nineveh heard the word and opened their hearts. At least that generation did. What happened after that? Well, they turned into a cruel army that eventually conquered the northern kingdom. So Jesus says in Matthew 12, the men of Nineveh will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah and indeed are greater than Jonah is here.
Let's pause here a minute. How many of you like to pick on? Well, you know, he says it's so mean. Well, he's telling you the truth, but he's so mean when he says it. Consider Jonah. Jonah's sermon was brutal.
Nineveh is going to burn 40 days. It's pretty much what he said. And they repented. They didn't say, you know what, we don't, coming from a Jew too, we don't want to hear this.
You mean? They listened to what was being said and they avoided the judgment. So when he says, but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, to expose them, to show they're not against.
So the Pharisees, Jesus was saying, look, I'm preaching these things. You know what's going on. You know you're not honest. The people know you're not honest. And you're being called out.
What are you going to do with this? When Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea said, we're going to side with you, Jesus, that took away all the excuses from all the other ones that sided against Christ. The twisted citizens of Sodom had surrounded the house of Lot, smitten with blindness, and yet they had an opportunity to avoid the brimstone that was coming. You would think, you would think they would say, okay, wait, wait, wait, wait. This is something that's off the chart.
Who did this to me and why? No, they continued in their sin. These are facts.
These are illustrations. These are exposing human behavior when its heart is hardened towards God's word. Those in Jesus' day saw the most awesome miracles ever. And they didn't see one or two. They saw so many they lost track. It began to be expected when Jesus was around, somebody was going to get healed.
A miracle was going to take place. And yet, some still accused him of being in cahoots with Satan and perished in their blasphemy. Truth was a mystery to them because they did not care for it. That's who truth is a mystery for. God knows those who want it. He doesn't give us all the answers immediately.
Too much information. But he gives us enough. Verse 12, so that seeing that they may see and not perceive and hearing that they may hear and not understand, lest they should turn and their sins be forgiven them. Sarcasm straight out because we know the Lord is long suffering, willing that none should perish.
God gave his only begotten son that whosoever should believe in him would not perish. And many other verses that preach this. He is quoting Isaiah at the time of Isaiah's big calling. God said, who shall I send? You know, Isaiah said, I saw the Lord high and lifted up a train of his rope, filled the temple.
This is awesome. And he said, who shall I call? Who shall I send? Isaiah said, send me. And God said, OK, here's your message. And it was a negative message. It wasn't God loves you and everything's going to work out for you. Well, it will if you love God back.
But if you don't, there's a consequence. And so God says, here's what I want you to tell the people. Keep on seeing.
Oh, no, no. Just keep right on seeing and don't respond. See what happens to you. And so those who sit and hear sermons warning them of the judgment to come, hearing sermons inviting them to receive the grace of Christ, and then they thumb their nose at it. What is God supposed to do with that? He says, see what's going to happen to you. They don't like the consequence. Well, then change teams. It rubs you the wrong way. Turn around.
Face the other way. It's called repent. The world is entering into a similar phase with this increasing apostasy and sin and blasphemy in our own day. God is exposing them.
He's saying, keep on. Don't just keep right on doing that silly thing or repent, especially in places where the gospel has been preached. Look at London. You know how many amazing preachers London was blessed with before London. Take a place like Ephesus. Ephesus had Paul the apostle, John the apostle, Timothy. Apollo's preached there.
It was a hotbed for teachers of the word. And then Jesus writes to Ephesus and he says, you left your first love. With all those great teachings, you left your first love.
You better turn back. Well, Paul talks about this, exposing them, calling them out. These hearts that are hard towards God's word. Second Thessalonians. We read some of this last session.
We'll read a little bit more of this. Now he's talking about Antichrist at first. Of course, this is the great tribulation period. The church is gone now because there's no more she can do.
And God has pulled her out. There will still be great tribulation converts, but there will not be a church as we know it. The apostate church will be left behind to be apostate. And she is the woman that rides the beast and then the beast tramples her. And Paul says, listen, the coming of the lawless one that is the Antichrist and all that he brings with him is according to the working of Satan with all power signs and lying wonders and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved.
You see, keep on listening and not do anything with it. He continues, Paul does, he says, and for this reason God will send them strong delusion that they should believe the lie that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. So in the end, God is still sovereign.
He is still in control. He has given them opportunity and they have blasphemed him. They have mocked him. They've persecuted his servants. And so he says there's a consequence for that. We, the church, the believers are supposed to be part of the process to rescue people from suffering these judgments.
It's happened to us. Somebody was involved in our salvation. God sent someone in some way. I got saved reading the scripture but before that he sent a Christian to look me in the face that provoked me. And the next thing I know, sweet salvation. Verse 13, and he said to them, do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all parables?
See, there's a gentleness in that. I'm challenging you. I'm pushing you. How come you don't understand this? I don't want to hear somebody say that to me. I don't want to say, how come you don't get it? I want them to say, good boy. You're so smart.
You got it on the first try. I never had a teacher say that to me. But anyway, he says, how then will you understand all parables? There's more.
He's saying I've got more for you. Well, they were not philosophers, these men. They were not theologians. They were fishermen, but they were hungry and thirsty for all God wanted to give them. And that's why they're with Jesus hearing him say this thing.
Yeah, it's a little, you know, it's a little unpleasant hearing this, but that's what it takes. If they didn't need these kind of things, they wouldn't have given it to them. All this was changing. Through the parables, more people would be reached. We're going to find in heaven so many people that became believers of Christ when he lived that we don't read about. Parables, they grab the listener's attention. They're timeless. In every age, the parable makes its point.
They're easy to remember. When I came up, I announced that the title was The Sower. All of you who've been in Christ a while, you knew right away where this was going. Parables reveal truth to those who are spiritually ready to receive it and exposes those not ready.
We don't want to lose that part of the lesson. So two people come to church, two people get hung on a cross. Both of them hear the same message. One submits, the other does not.
One goes to paradise, the other does not. It's serious business. You think church is a joke? Some people do. Some thinks it's a little community center to make them all feel good about themselves.
We're here to worship God the way he tells us to worship, and this is part of it. You don't get it sitting at home on your sofa. You don't get it staying in bed. You've got to come out and get in the trench with everybody else. These parables, they conceal truth from those opposed to Christ, again to expose it.
Solution, what is the solution? Okay, pastor, I'm sitting here. I'm not liking you too much because you're saying all things I don't want to hear. I want you to tell me my flesh can do whatever it wants to do and Christ doesn't care.
I want you to tell me things that I hear out in the world. But I don't want you to convict, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and teaching. What is the solution then, pastor? Hosea chapter 10 verse 12. Hosea is known as the brokenhearted prophet. What he went through in his private life, God went through with his people.
And he preached in an area where very few people cared to hear what he had to say. He says, sow for yourselves righteousness, reap in mercy, break up the fallow ground, plow it. If it can't take the seed, make it take the seed. We call it, you know, we amend the soil. He says, for it is time to seek Yahweh till he comes and rains righteousness on you.
He makes it personal. Those prophets, man, they were just superstars with the message they had to deliver. Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap in mercy, break up the hard ground, get rid of the thorns, move the rocks out of the way and plant the right stuff. Verse 14, now he begins to teach them what it means. He says, the sower sows the word. In a single statement just like that, he made the rest of it plain.
That's all he had to say really is, the sower sows the scripture. I got it. Now I get it. There are certain parts of the heart that's not going to, certain parts of people that aren't going to receive it.
I got it. Seeds contain the codes of life. They reproduce after their kind. God set that back in Genesis. It's not boring reading. It's a fact. It's where everything is going. Seed is not man-made, though we have altered seeds, GMO and stuff like that.
We won't talk about that right now. God provides the seed for men to sow, verse 14. 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. What happens in hell when a demon finds a human being who doesn't believe in Satan? First there are three cheers.
Hip hip, hooray, happy about this one. Then they push the alarm like an alarm for a firehouse and they rally to that soul. Keep them stupid.
Keep them in the dark. If we have any chance of damning their soul, this is going to really do it. You don't believe there's a real devil that hates your guts?
Then your heart is hard and you're not receiving what God says. God says, I believe there's a devil and I'm telling you there's one. He is called the adversary, the enemy. There's nothing friendly about him at all.
If he pretends to be your friend, he's setting you up. And this wayside again, these common fields, compacted, nonresponsive, and what else? Vulnerable.
To what? Satan, the birds of the air. Matthew adds, he says, and they do not understand. The seed falls on the wayside. Satan comes to pick it up because they do not understand.
Why don't they understand? They don't want to be with Jesus to find out. Nowhere is Satan more effective than where the seed is sown. And Mark, he puts that word in immediately. He pounces. If Satan finds the word just sitting on the surface and not getting in there, he moves quickly.
That's what I was talking about. The alarm is pushed and they rally. You know the angels, they cheer in heaven when there's one convert? Hell cheers in hell when they find someone foolish enough to stick their tongue out at Jesus and say, I don't believe it. Verse 16. These, likewise, are the ones sown on stony ground, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness. 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. Nothing again wrong with the seed.
It's the ground that it fell on. I think of Orpah in the book of Ruth. The good seed fell on her heart, and yet she went back on her confession to Naomi. At first she said, I'm going with you, Naomi. And then she backed out, but Ruth, fertile heart, stayed in it.
Ruth stayed, and we know the rest of the story. These stony ground conversions are in the end, no conversion at all. If you're struggling, if you're struggling with these truths, I can tell you what I do. When I struggle, I look to get defiant against wrong things. I look to stand up against wrong things as far as I can and let the Lord take the rest.
And He usually takes, like, the 90%. And I encourage you, if you are struggling, muster up that defiant spirit of righteousness that is able to say like David did before the giant, who are you? You dare come out here and talk about God like that? Verse 18, now these are the ones sown among the thorns. They are the ones who hear the word and the cares of this world, the seatfulness of riches and the desires of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. Christians who are wealthy have to learn how to steward their wealth because it's not theirs. They are entrusted with it, and they have to learn how to use it. If they don't, well, they will fall prey. Not all rich people. The ones that squeeze through the eye of the needle are the ones that squeeze through with Christ. And it's just that simple. Here's a field overgrown with weeds now and thorns, the emblem of sin.
Again, no problem with the soil. It's what's surrounding the word. So maybe you come to church and the word of God falls on your heart, but then you get up and you go around your buddies, and the word of God is not in their heart.
Sin is in their heart, and they begin to choke out the word that you got Sunday morning until finally you're done. Here he says the cares, the riches, the things. These are the common hindrances. Worry, wealth, and want. If you let worry get on top of you in the wrestling match, you're going to get pinned. If you let wealth get on top of you, you're pinned. And if you let your desires for forbidden things get the best of you, you are pinned again.
And not only is it humiliating, it is dangerous. The things of this world to a fault. We all enjoy things of this world, but not to a fault. At least we fight it. Luke 21 verse 34. But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing drunkenness, the cares of this life, and that day come on you unexpectedly. You miss out.
It's too late. 2 Timothy 2.4. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.
Soldiers are there to fight. I can keep going, but we need to finish, wrap this up. Okay, one more. Luke 21 verse 34. Listen to Jesus. He says take heed to yourselves. Watch yourselves.
When my daughter, my youngest one, goes out somewhere around other kids when she leaves the house, they say watch your back, Jack. Take heed to yourself. Pay attention to your surroundings. Have fun, but not too much. And she's learning.
So am I. But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing drunkenness and the cares of this life. Take heed. Luke 21 verse 20.
But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, bear fruit, some 30 fold, some 60, and some 100. Here is where God's word is not trampled. Here is where it is not restricted. Here is where it is not choked out by wants and worry and wealth or anything else. But it is received. It is kept. It is free. It is thriving. It is a crop.
It produces something that supports life. It's not enough to be touched by Jesus. You have to remain by Jesus. That's the story of Judas Iscariot, is it not? There are consequences to not receiving the word as I've been saying, consequences to not knowing God's word. See, if you don't know God's word, Satan still does.
And he will steer you into those valleys where he can destroy you. Mark chapter 12 verse 24. Jesus says to those who were custodians of the law, he says, Are you not therefore mistaken because you do not know the scriptures nor the power of God?
Why not? They wouldn't break up the follow ground. They had no defiant spirit against sin in their own heart. They accommodated sin in their own heart. What was important to them was what they decided was important, not what God said was important. Maybe you think that if you side with God, somehow life's not going to be fun. You are a fool if you believe that.
How many? Well, I shouldn't ask that way. Do you know how many Christians walk around moping? Quite a few.
But there are a lot that don't. 2 Corinthians 6, 7. By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left. The divine spirit, the armor of God. I am ready for what's going to come at me.
That's what armor means. It means I'm ready to shield myself from the sticks of the thorns. Thanks for tuning in to Cross Reference Radio for this study in the book of Mark. Cross Reference Radio is the teaching ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia. To learn more information about this ministry, visit our website, crossreferenceradio.com. Once you're there, you'll find additional teachings from Pastor Rick. We encourage you to subscribe to our podcast. When you subscribe, you'll be notified of each new edition of Cross Reference Radio. You can search for Cross Reference Radio on your favorite podcast app. That's all we have time for today, but we hope you'll join us next time as Pastor Rick continues to teach through the book of Mark right here on Cross Reference Radio.
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