He who has ears to hear

He Who Has Ears To Hear

Pastor E. Keith Hassell

Foundation Scripture:  Mark 4:1-25

I.             Two types of people

A.               True disciples

1.          “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God.”

B.                Those who are “outside”

1.          “All things come in parables, so that ‘Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.’”

2.          Ezekiel 12:2 “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, which has eyes to see but does not see, and ears to hear but does not hear; for they are a rebellious house.”

II.          The Parable of the Sower

A.               The Sower: The one who God uses to preach or teach the word

B.                The Seed:  The word of God

C.               The Soil: The heart of the hearer

III.      Four types of hearers

A.               Doubtful hearers

1.          These are the ones who hearts are like the wayside (not in the “Way” or the path)

2.          They hear the word of God but do not understand it. Therefore it is easily laid aside and forgotten.

B.                Discouraged hearers

1.          These are the ones whose hearts are described as “stony ground”

2.          They hear the word of God and immediately receive it with gladness

3.          They do not allow the word of God to take root in them

4.          Because of this they will endure only for a while

5.          Then when tribulation and persecution arises for the word’s sake, they stumble and fall away

C.               Distracted hearers

1.          These are the ones whose hearts are described as “thorny ground”

2.          They hear it and believe it. They know it is true.

3.          They have allowed let the word gain root in their heart

4.          They have endured the tribulation and persecution that they word has brought

5.          The problem is that they have allowed other things to grow alongside the word

6.          They are listening to things other than the word

a               The voice of worldly cares

b              The voice of riches

c               The voice of desire for other things

D.               Doing Hearers

1.          These are the ones whose heart is described as “good ground”

2.          The hear the word

3.          They accept it, meaning that they allow draw it to the center of their attention. They are focused on keeping and guarding it.

4.          They endure the tribulation and persecution

5.          They do not allow distractions to choke out the word

6.          They are obedient doers of the word

7.          They are fruitful (30, 60, and 100 fold return)

8.          James 1:21-25  Doer and not hearers only will be blessed

IV.       If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear (Mark 4:23)

A.               Revelation 2-3  “He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

V.          Principle of Hearing and Doing (Mark 4:24)

A.               The more you hear and put into practice what you have heard, the more that will be given to you

B.                The less you hear and put into practice what you have heard, even what you once understood will be taken from you

VI.       “O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!” (Ezekiel 37:4)

A.               When people are dead, dry, and deaf, it is time to prophesy to the hearing!