“The Hidden Kingdom: Will You Really Listen?”

Text: Mark 4:1–20

Introduction: “Are You Even Listening?”

Have you ever had a conversation with someone—and partway through, you realized they weren’t really listening?Maybe their eyes were looking past you. Maybe they nodded at the wrong time. Or maybe, like I’ve experienced at home a few times, you got the dreaded: “Wait… what did you just say?” There’s a big difference between hearing and listening. We hear all kinds of things every day—music in the background, people talking in the next room, the hum of traffic or headlines on the news. But listening? That’s something we choose to do. It takes focus. Intention. Openness.Jesus knew this. And that’s why, in Mark 4, He begins one of His most important teachings with a single word: “Listen!” It’s not just a polite way to start. It’s a command. A warning. An invitation. Because what He’s about to share isn’t just a nice story—it’s a mystery that can change your life. But only if you're really listening. The first lesson in learning is to learning to listen!

Mark 4:1-9 - And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. 2 And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine, 3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: 4 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. 5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not 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 fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8 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. 9 And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

I. Jesus' Call to Listen (Mark 4:3, 9)

“Listen! A sower went out to sow…” (v. 3)

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (v. 9)

Jesus begins and ends this parable with an urgent call: Listen. Pay attention. Tune your ears to what God is doing.

This isn’t passive hearing—it’s active, expectant, humble listening. It’s the kind of listening that comes from someone hungry for truth.

In a culture overwhelmed by noise—opinions, entertainment, constant distractions—this call is just as urgent now as it was then. The question is not, “Did you hear the sermon?” The question is, “Did it shape you? Did you respond? Did it take root?”

This Reminds me of a very important prayer in Judaism called the Shema.

DT 6:4-5.

It's a call to attention.

“There is a difference between hearing and listening.”Many heard Jesus’ voice that day. Only a few let His words change their lives.

Spiritual understanding begins with spiritual attentiveness. Jesus is calling His audience—and us—not just to hear His words but to take them to heart.

The first lesson in learning is to learning to listen!

II. Parables Are Hidden Truths (Mark 4:10–12)

“To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables…” (v. 11)

After the crowds leave, the disciples ask Jesus privately what the parable means. His response is both comforting and unsettling. Parables are not just teaching tools or moral stories—they are spiritually loaded mysteries, intentionally designed to reveal and conceal.

The truth isn’t hidden because God is being cruel—it’s hidden because the kingdom of God can’t be grasped casually or pridefully. It is not a truth that can be mastered intellectually. It must be received humbly and spiritually.

New Testament scholar David Garland writes, “It is not a mystery in the sense that it is incomprehensible, but a ‘secret’ in that not everyone yet knows it.”

And N.T. Wright says,

“You can only understand [Jesus' teaching] if you believe, if you trust.”

Parables separate the curious from the committed.They draw in the ones willing to stick around and ask deeper questions. And they gently dismiss the ones who are only there for the show.

In other words: the Kingdom is available—but not obvious. It invites seekers, not spectators.

What do you think a key to being a good seeker of Jesus is? You have got to be a good listener

The first lesson in learning is to learning to listen!

III. The Mystery of the Kingdom of God

So what is this “mystery” or “secret” that Jesus refers to in verse 11?

It’s this:

The Kingdom of God has come in a form no one expected.

The people of Israel were looking for a political Messiah—someone to drive out Rome and establish a visible kingdom of power. But Jesus comes preaching, forgiving, healing—and eventually, dying on a cross.

As Ronald Kernaghan says: “The kingdom of God had arrived in a form that no one had expected...

Jesus, Was sowing the seeds of a New Kingdom. It wasn't with military might, or political prowess, or religious rigor. It was with his words, or you might say, it was a seed that was planted

The Kingdom doesn’t come with noise and spectacle. It comes like a seed—small, vulnerable, and full of potential. It takes root in the hearts of those who are willing to listen and trust.

The Kingdom of God Starts Small, but will will continue to grow larger and larger. So small, you may no even notice it at first, but its at work.

Listen to this parable.

Mark 4:30-32 - And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: 32 But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.

The Sower, Jesus, sows the seed of his word and the seeds take root. Oh it's small at first, but it is taking hold of the hearts of those who hear. Or should I say, it begins to grow in the soil of human hearts. More on this next week.

Garland again notes:“People cannot see that His sowing the Word... is God’s decisive eschatological action.” The cross—the moment of apparent defeat—is actually the climactic invasion of God’s reign into a broken world.

So when Jesus tells this parable, He’s doing more than describing how people respond to His teaching—He’s revealing how the Kingdom is breaking in. Slowly. Subtly. Transformatively.

We are a part of the Mystery! As we listen and learn to follow the ways of His Kingdom, we become a part of that mystery!

As Ronald Kernaghan says:

"If the kingdom of God has come in an unexpected way, then those who receive it must accept a word that contradicts their hopes, act on his word in some manner and persevere in embracing the word when other avenues of fulfillment open to them. Believing and repenting were the responses Jesus expected. So acting on the Word might also be called the secret of the kingdom of God. Ultimately, to act on Jesus Word is to do the will of God."

If the The first lesson in learning is learning to listen! Then the second lesson in learning would be learning to act on Jesus Word.

Following the teachings of Jesus is one way we become a part of Mystery of God's Kingdom.

And yet another part of the mystery, soon, the learner will become the sower!

But it all starts with learning to listen!

The first lesson in learning is learning to listen!

Conclusion: Are You Listening?

The Parable of the Sower is more than a story—it’s a test. It asks us not just to understand, but to examine ourselves:

Am I really listening to Jesus—or just casually hearing?

Am I letting His Word go deep—or letting it bounce off the surface?

Am I seeking the Kingdom—or clinging to other hopes?

Jesus says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”Not everyone will. But some will. And for those who truly listen, the Kingdom will take root—and it will bear much fruit. Next Steps:

Read: Mark 4

Memorize: Mark 4:9

Listen to Jesus with intention and respond with obedience.

Benediction to close Service As you go from this place, hear again the words of Jesus: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” — Mark 4:9 May you go with ears open to His voice, hearts ready to receive His Word, and lives willing to respond in obedience and faith.May the Word of Christ take root in you, grow strong in you, and bear much fruit through you.Go now in the grace, peace, and power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.