Are You Listening?

Are You Listening?

Mark 4:1-20

An elderly man had serious hearing problems for a number of years. His family tried again and again to convince him to get a hearing aid. Finally, he gave in and went to the doctor and was fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed him to hear at 100 percent.

A month later he went back to the doctor. The doctor said with a smile, “Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be really pleased that you can hear again.”

The old man replied, “Oh, I haven’t told my family yet. I just sit around listening to their conversations. I’ve changed my will three times!”

It’s amazing what we hear when we really listen. In today’s text, we’re going to see how Jesus couched his teachings in stories designed for those who would listen.

In our passage, we find Jesus is still ministering in the city of Capernaum. Bigger and bigger crowds have gathered to hear Him teach and experience the miracles He is performing. The crowds have gotten so large that Jesus gets into a boat and uses it as a pulpit to teach the people thronging along the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

He is going to use parables to teach them spiritual truths. In fact, Jesus often used parables in His teachings. There are nearly sixty of them in the gospels.

The word “parable” means “to cast alongside of”. Someone has defined a parable as “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” In a parable truth is cast alongside life and life interprets the truth. In other words, a parable takes the common, everyday events of life and uses them to illustrate the deep things of God.

And we need to be a little cautious when we try to interpret the parables in Scripture. Some people make the mistake of trying to make every single twist in the parable mean something spiritual. As a result, many false doctrines and foolish teachings have sprung to life. A parable is really designed to teach one primary truth. When that truth is understood, the parable becomes clear.

So, why did Jesus preach in parables?

He actually answers this question for us in verses 11–12. He used parables to reveal truth to those who were open to what God was saying and to conceal truth from those who had closed their minds to what God was saying. They had heard the truth preached and they had rejected it.

So, Jesus began to preach and teach in a way that required people to think about what they were hearing. Those who were sincere and hungry for the truth would have that truth revealed to them. Those who were closed minded to the truth would have that truth concealed from them.

Today, we are going to study what is known as the parable of the soils or the parable of the sower. It’s a parable that was shared with the multitudes in public and then explained to the disciples in private. And in explaining this parable, Jesus tells us what each part means.

So, let’s pray and then we’ll work through this passage together.

Pray!

Mark 4:1–20 ESV

Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that “ ‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’ ” And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

Now, you need to understand that everyone who heard this could immediately relate to what Jesus was teaching. They’d all seen a farmer walk into his field and begin to sow seed. They’d all seen the crops spring up and start to grow. Jesus used a very common scene to teach an important spiritual truth.

He tells us that the “sower” is one who sows the “word”. The sower might be the Spirit of God, a preacher, a teacher, a missionary, a Gospel song, a tract, a one on one witness. It can be a lot of different things

The “seed” is the Gospel. It’s the good news that Jesus came into the world, died for sinners, rose from the dead and offers salvation to everyone who will receive Him.

In this parable, some of the “seed” produces fruit and some doesn’t. The problem doesn’t lie in the “seed”. All the “seed” was good “seed”. Each kernel held the potential to produce fruit. The problem wasn’t the “seed”; the problem was the “soil”.

The “soil” represents the heart or the mind of the person who hears the Gospel. Everyone who hears the Gospel hears it in a different way. Some revile it, some reject it and some receive it. The “soil” that is the primary emphasis of this parable.

I want us to look at the kind of minds that hear the gospel and how each respond to it. And as we do this, take a look at yourself because you will see your own mind in these verses.

The first one we’ll look at is the:

Closed mind

Some of the seed fell on the narrow footpaths that ran beside and through the fields. These were the roads of the day and the soil on them had become as hard as concrete from the feet of the travelers and animals that had walked on them.

When the seed fell on the path, it couldn’t penetrate the soil and it remained there in the open, only to be eaten by the birds like they were visiting an all you can eat buffet. Farmers had to live with the fact that maybe one-third to one-half of all the seed they sowed would be eaten by the birds.

Matthew’s gospel tells us that this is the person who hears the Gospel, but who doesn’t “understand it”. They can’t quite make the connection between the claims of the Gospel and their own life. They can’t see how the Gospel could possibly hold any value for them or their life. They can’t see the benefit of leaving their sins behind for a life of following Jesus.

· Maybe they’re so caught up in sin that they refuse to believe.

· Maybe they’re calloused and cold toward God and refuse to hear.

· Maybe they’ve hardened their hearts for years against the Gospel and like a path trampled underfoot for centuries, they’ve become hard hearted.

Whatever their need, they’re hard hearted and the seed of the Gospel can’t penetrate the soil of their mind. They hear the Gospel and dismiss it as foolishness.

When the seed is sown, the devil and his underlings come “immediately” to snatch away the Gospel seed. Satan does this by distracting and diverting the mind. He causes them to forget what they have heard by focusing their thoughts on earthly matters.

He’ll use anything he can.

You’ll start thinking about something else during the message. What are we having for lunch today? Will we be able to pay all of the bills this month? Why haven’t I gotten my test results yet? I hope church gets out early today, I got things I need to do. I know there are some other people here today who need to hear what he’s saying.

And those with closed minds reject the gospel and their hearts become even more hardened towards God.

The “seed” that fell on the hard soil was good seed, but the “soil” was unprepared to receive it. The “seed” couldn’t penetrate the “soil”. The “seed” couldn’t germinate. There could be no life and no fruit.

This is a picture of a lost mind. Is it a picture of yours?

There is the closed mind and next the:

Confused mind

Stony and rocky places are common in Palestine. Often there’ll be an outcropping of limestone rock covered by a thin layer of topsoil. The soil looks like it is ready to be sown. The ground looks good and productive and seed cast here will germinate and quickly spring up into a promising plant. But, because there is no depth of soil, as soon as the sun beats down, it withers and dies without producing any fruit.

This kind of soil speaks of the mind that makes an emotional response to the presentation of the Gospel. They “receive it with joy.”

· Maybe they heard the heard the gospel and said, “That sound like something I should give a try.”

· Maybe they came forward during an invitation because a friend did.

· Maybe Jesus was a spare tire during a time of crisis. They ran to Him in their trouble and abandoned Him when the trouble passed.

· Maybe they experienced. an emotional service, an emotional plea from a preacher and got caught up in the moment and made a profession of faith.

· Maybe they heard a shallow presentation of the gospel that spoke of the benefits and never shared the cost of following Christ. There was no mention of repentance, dying to self and turning away from the old life.

· Maybe the preacher asked everyone to bow their heads and repeat a prayer after him assuring them that this would mean they were saved.

Whatever, however it happened, they made a profession, and they’re accepted as the real deal. But because all they have is their profession, they fall away. When the trials come (and they will), they walk away from their so-called commitment.

· They start having problems with simple things like coming to church, praying and reading the Bible.

· They have a difficult time making a genuine, lasting break with their sins.

· They get offended when they’re mocked, ridiculed, laughed at or persecuted for their faith.

These are the people who make a profession, often doing well for a time, and then wind up right back in the world. In the end, they are further away from God than they were before they made their profession.

Were they really saved?

No! How do we know? There’s no fruit in their life! When a profession of faith is real, it will last! We’ll call these people “backsliders” but the truth is that they were probably never saved in the first place. If you’re saved, He will change your life and when He changes your life, it will last.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Anyone can fall. Anyone can mess up. But if you’re saved, you’re not going to stay away from His presence, His Word, His people or from His will.

There are closed minds and confused minds that hear the gospel. Next there are those with a:

Cluttered mind

This soil looks like it is ready to be sown, but underneath the surface are the roots and seeds of thorns and weeds. The soil has been tilled and the thorns have been cut down, but their roots are alive and well, just under the surface. When the seed falls here, it springs to life quickly and gives every indication that a good harvest will follow.

But, when the seed springs to life, so do the thorns and weeds that were already there and they soon choke out the plant. The young plant withers and dies without producing any fruit at all.

This is a picture of a person who tries to have the benefit of the Gospel while still clinging to the old life of sin. The seed of the Gospel can’t survive to produce fruit in a heart filled with the things of the flesh and the world.

The seed will have the ground or sin will have the ground, but it cannot be shared!

Jesus said it was “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things” that spelled disaster for this kind of soil. This kind of person begins well, but soon fades away, having their profession choked out by sin and the world.

Were they really saved?

No! How do we know? There’s no fruit of salvation in their life! Their so-called profession produced no fruit. When Jesus comes in to a life, He causes the redeemed person to make a clean, clear break with the old life of sin.

I’ll say it again, we like to look at people who have made a profession and who are back out in sin and say they are “backslidden and out of God’s will.” Most likely, they have just never been saved to begin with.

Preachers have fed a generation the lie of “easy believism”. They’ve failed to tell lost people that a holy God demands repentance, and faith, before a lost soul can be saved. If you’ve made a profession and there’s been no change in your life, then you need to repent and call on Christ for salvation.

There are closed minds, confused minds, cluttered minds and finally:

Cultivated mind

Some of the seed fell onto good ground. This ground had been worked and prepared. It had been plowed and tilled and was ready to receive the seed when it came. The seed germinated and the plant began to grow. When the plant reached maturity, it began to produce fruit that brought honor and gain to the farmer.

This is a picture of the heart that has been plowed deeply by the Word of God, and tilled by the convicting work of the Holy Spirit. It’s a picture of a heart that has been worked over and prepared by the grace of God.

When the seed of the Gospel enters this kind of heart, it germinates, grows up and bears fruit. This heart pictures that kind of life that can truly call itself saved! Why do I say that? This is the only soil that produced fruit!

The only difference between these types of soil was fruit. On the hard soil, the seed never penetrated the ground and was carried away. On the other three soils, the seed penetrated and disappeared, but only that which fell on the good soil produced fruit!

This soil represents the only soil among the four that pictures a saved heart. When Jesus enters a life through the Gospel message, He will make His presence known beyond all doubt.

He will cause the new believer to begin to bear fruit for the glory of God. Jesus even tells us that some will produce more fruit than others in verse 20. The amount isn’t important. The fact that there is fruit is what’s important. Every child of God will produce fruit in their lives and if someone is lacking fruit, well, maybe they aren’t really part of His family.

So, what kind of fruit does good soil produce?

· Good works (Colossians 1:10)

· Righteousness (Philippians 1:11)

· Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22–23)

· A burden for souls (Romans 1:13)

· Praise and thanksgiving (Hebrews 13:15)

· Sharing (Romans 15:27-28)

Jesus issued both a challenge and a warning to His audience.

9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

As Jesus looked out at the crowd gathered on the shore to hear Him teach, He was aware of their diversity and that there was a whole range of hearing and understanding going on. Some of those listening to His words were coming to faith and others were hardening their hearts in unbelief.

He wanted them all to listen with receptive hearts and minds.

9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Not everyone had ears to hear that day. Some of them understood His words and others were left in the dark, even among His own disciples.

Today, He’s challenging you to look at your own heart and to examine your life. He is asking you, are you listening?