Hearing Jesus' Words

Christianity Explored study which will be happening in the new year which is going to be looking at Mark's Gospel after.

Mark 4 verse 1

Mark 4:1

Again Jesus began to teach by the lake.

The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake.

While all the people were along the shore at the water's edge.

He taught them many things by parables and in his teaching said,

Listen, a farmer went out to sow his seed.

As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path and the birds came and ate it up.

Some fell on rocky places where it did not have much soil.

It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow.

But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and they withered because they had no root.

Other seeds fell among the thorns which grew up and choked the plants so that they did not bear grain.

Still other seeds fell on good soil.

It came up, grew and produced a crop multiplying 30, 60 or even 100 times.

Then Jesus said,

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

When he was alone, the twelve and others around him asked him about the parables.

He told them,

The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you.

But those on the outside, everything is said in parables.

Then Jesus said to them,

Don't you understand this parable?

How then will you understand any parable?

The farmer sows the word.

Some people are like seeds among the path where the word is sown.

As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.

Others, like the seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy.

But since they have no root, they only last a short time.

When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

Still others, like seeds sown among thorns, hear the word.

But the worries of this life, the seedfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word,

making it unfruitful.

Others, like the seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accepting it,

and produce a crop thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.

Verse 21.

He said to them,

Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed?

Instead, don't you put it onto a stand.

For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed,

and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.

If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.

Consider carefully what you hear, he continued.

With the measure you use it, it will be measured to you.

And even more.

Whoever has will be given more.

Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

He also said,

This is what the kingdom of God is like.

A man scatters seed on the ground.

Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up,

the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.

All by itself does the soil produce of corn.

First the stalk, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it,

because the harvest has come.

Again he said to them,

What shall we say the kingdom of God is like?

Or what parable shall we use to describe it?

It is like a mustard seed,

which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground.

Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants,

with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade.

With many similar parables, Jesus spoke the word to them

as much as they could understand.

He did not say anything to them without using a parable.

But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

Thank you.

Well, let's have our Bibles open.

Take notes if you wish.

Please talk afterwards if you have any questions.

Let's pray together as we hear God's word.

Father, we come to your word.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword.

It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow,

judging the thoughts and attitudes of our heart.

Father, we come to your word.

Father, we come to your word.

And we ask that it would speak into our lives.

Speak to the very core of our being.

Showing us who we are.

Telling us what you are like.

And helping us to see the kind of response that we should have.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

We pray for your Holy Spirit in all of this.

For it is his power, working through your word,

that brings life to us.

And changes us.

So please do your work amongst us.

We ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Listen.

That's how Jesus starts his first parable in verse 3 of chapter 4.

Listen.

And then look how he finishes in verse 9.

Then Jesus said to them,

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

And if we still haven't got the point,

verse 23,

if anyone has ears to hear,

let them hear.

Consider carefully what you hear.

But why on earth should we be listening to the words of Jesus?

Of all the other voices wanting our attention and claiming that we should listen to them,

why should we hear what Jesus has to say?

What makes his words any more important than, say, the likes of David Norris,

Martin McGinnis, or Dana, or any other of the presidential candidates?

Why should we listen to Jesus?

Why are we even here on a Sunday morning with our Bibles open?

Why aren't we just at home with the telly on or listening to the radio or talking to other people?

Are their words not just as important?

Why is Jesus saying, listen?

Well, let me try and explain.

Mark's Gospel, as we've been looking at together over these weeks,

introduces us to a world of disorder and a world of darkness.

The first, or the opening scenes of Mark's Gospel,

show us that it is a world that is full of sickness and disease.

The people are broken and they're hurt.

The weak and the poor are marginalised and ostracised.

They're pushed out of society.

There's a disorder to life and to the world.

But not only that, there's something sinister as well.

Evil spirits are also active.

People are possessed by demons.

There is a darkness all around.

And it's into this world of disorder and darkness that Jesus comes.

We're introduced to him in this way.

But rather than run away from this world,

Jesus enters into it.

He deliberately goes out of his way to come into contact with this disorder and darkness.

And he begins to meet these people.

And he begins to talk to these people.

He speaks into the darkness.

Look back at chapter 1, verse 25.

One of the first accounts that were given here,

Jesus is that it's a Sunday morning and he's got up to teach

and he has his Bible open and he's speaking away.

And this evil spirit comes from nowhere and disrupts the whole proceedings.

And look what Jesus says in verse 25 of chapter 1.

Be quiet, said Jesus sternly.

Come out of him.

The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.

With a simple word, he speaks into the darkness.

It obeys him and the darkness is dispelled.

Later we see that Jesus also speaks into the disorder.

He meets a man with leprosy.

A man with leprosy would have been pushed out to the outside, ostracized.

And he comes to Jesus and he says,

verse 41, Jesus says,

Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and he touched the man.

I am willing, he said, be clean.

Immediately, the leprosy left him and he was cured.

And as we read on, he gets back into society.

With a simple word, Jesus speaks into the disorder

and it obeys and order is returned to this man's life.

Jesus is being introduced to us in these early chapters

as God's King who has supreme power and ultimate authority.

And the way that power and authority is being expressed

is through his simple words as he begins to talk to people.

Just like we're talking now.

Words like that spoken into people's lives

and everything has changed.

So when we get back to Mark 4,

when Jesus says,

Listen, if you have ears to hear,

now is a good time to start using them.

This is, chapter 4 is one of the first times

Isaiah 4 · chapter mention

we get an extended look at what Jesus has to say,

one of his first big teaching sessions.

And I don't think it's a mistake

that his first big teaching session

is to tell us about the importance of his word,

the centrality of his word.

Verse 3 says,

Listen, chapter 4, verse 3.

Listen, a farmer went out to sow his seed.

Later we're told what that means in verse 14.

Jesus says it's the farmer who sows the word.

The seed is the word.

Well, what's the word?

Well, the word is the message

that Jesus preached and taught.

It's the gospel.

It's the good news.

And it summarized for us back in chapter 1, verse 15.

The time has come, Jesus said.

The kingdom of God is near.

The time for that restoration,

for things to be put right,

for lives to be put back in order.

The time is now here.

And the way for that to happen,

he says, is to repent

and to believe the good news.

This is the message.

This is the word that Jesus taught.

And speaking this word becomes central to Jesus' mission.

In chapter 1, verse 38,

we read Jesus replied,

they're all wanting Jesus for something.

And he says,

let us go somewhere else to the nearby villages

so that I can preach there also.

that is why I've come.

His teaching this word is central.

In fact,

the word and teaching the word

becomes central to the disciples' mission.

Chapter 3, verse 14.

We're told there that he appointed the twelve.

He designated them apostles.

That he might be with them

and that he might send them out

to preach this word.

Because this word has power.

It changes lives.

And he says,

I want you to go with the same message

and do that same work.

And so as we read through this story of chapter 4,

we discover why Jesus' word must be kept central.

Why it's so primary.

Why there's such a focus on it.

Look at verse 20 of chapter 4.

Others like seed sown on good soil

hear the word

and accept the word.

He's telling us that

people enter into the kingdom,

people get restored and get renewed

as they hear the word

and accept the word.

But not only that,

look at the rest of verse 20.

It says they produce a crop

30, 60 or even 100 times what was sown.

It begins to multiply.

The kingdom grows significantly

as this word begins to be planted

and sown in people's lives

in all different places.

So if we take the word out of this,

well, we have an empty kingdom.

Nobody can get into the kingdom without the word.

You take the word out,

we've got an empty kingdom.

And we've got a dead kingdom

because it can't grow.

You remove the gospel,

you remove the good news,

and we're left with nothing.

Now if the word was central

to Jesus' mission,

the God-man coming to the world,

if this is central to him,

then I think it's got to be central

to us and to our church.

And I think people can get confused here.

And I just want to kind of take a little detour,

a little side here,

and just explain some things.

We get confused about the words of Jesus

and the deeds of Jesus.

In fact, some people think that,

well, they achieved the same result.

Some people speak about Jesus

and that gets them into the kingdom.

Other people kind of do good things

and that gets them into the kingdom.

But that's not the way.

Three things here, very simply.

Word and deed are different.

They are distinct.

The deed primarily addresses

our physical needs.

We do these one to another.

While the word addresses

our spiritual helplessness.

It comes from outside to us.

Physical deeds are done one to another.

The word comes from outside to us

in our helplessness.

So they're different.

They're distinct.

But while they're distinct,

they're also inseparable.

Mark has shown us all the way

through the first few chapters

that Jesus didn't separate them.

So neither should we.

He had compassion on people.

He spent time with people.

But he also spoke to the people.

He reached out to touch the people.

But he also taught the people.

He held them together.

So it wasn't saying

you can only do one

and you can't do the other.

No, they were held together.

However, the word must remain central.

Good deeds are never going to get people

into the kingdom.

And good deeds are never going to make

his kingdom grow big.

God's word is what enables

the people to enter

and God's word is what's going to build it.

So it's not a case of either or,

but both and.

We've got to keep them together.

But within that,

the diagram is trying to show

is that the word must remain central.

The gospel,

the good news of Jesus.

It's got to be central.

And that's the whole big point,

if you like,

of this parable.

Being word-centered

recognizes that the word,

the good news about Jesus

is the means by which people enter

and it's the way in which

the kingdom is going to grow.

It's the way this church

is going to grow.

But being word-centered

also means that this is a message

that has to be told.

It has to be proclaimed.

It's a message of good news.

It's going to be good

for people's lives.

It's going to change them

and transform them.

And the world is in desperate need

and it is this message

that Jesus brings into this world

that's going to change things.

So the word must remain central

to our lives

and to our work.

So that's the first thing.

And as we go through this story,

this word is being spoken

to a huge crowd of people

who've gathered around Jesus,

who's sitting on a boat

on the edge of a lake,

speaking to these crowds of people.

And as we read through it,

it seems like there's

four different ways to respond.

I think we all know the story

and it seems like there's

four different ways.

But the reality is

there's only two ways to respond

to the words of Jesus.

Look at verse 15.

Let's read these through.

Some people, he said,

are like seeds sown along the path

where the word is sown.

As soon as they hear it,

Satan comes along

with his temptation

and he takes the word

that was sown in them.

Then there's others

like seeds sown on rocky places.

They hear the word

and they get very excited by it

and they come along for a while

and they're reading it for a while.

But since they don't have any root,

it only lasts a short time.

And when trouble or persecution comes

because of the word,

they quickly fall away.

And then there's others

where the seed is sown

like among thorns

and they hear the word.

And they're grabbed by it.

It's something they haven't heard before.

But then there's the worries of life,

getting up for work

and having to pay the bills

and the deceitfulness of wealth

and wanting a little bit more

than we have

and the desires for other things,

wanting more and more stuff.

And it begins to replace the word

and it begins to choke

and it makes it unfruitful.

So do you see there

that these first three groups,

they all hear the word

but the result is exactly the same.

They all end up rejecting the word.

The word.

Now there may be different reasons.

Maybe on the one hand

it's Satan and his temptation.

Maybe it's troubles in life.

Maybe it's the desires of our heart.

But the end result is the same.

It's rejection.

But the last group in verse 20,

they also hear the word

and they accept the word.

Others like seed sown on good soil

hear the word

and accept it.

Now the big question

through all of this is

if all hear the word,

this big huge crowd

and we're all kind of

in that crowd too now,

if we're all hearing the word,

why do some reject the word

and some accept it?

Why is that?

That's a big question, isn't it?

Why are some of them going with it

and some of them not going with it?

Because they've all heard it.

Well, I think it all depends

on how well we listen.

How we hear the word is critical.

And hearing Jesus well

requires three things from us.

Helpless, dependent, and longing.

The first is helpless.

Those who hear the word

see their own helplessness.

Look at 4 verse 10.

When he was alone,

the twelve and the others around him

asked him about the parables.

Now that's interesting, isn't it?

Because they've all heard it,

but nobody has understood

what Jesus has first said.

He talked about a farmer

sowing the seed.

Hello?

What was that about?

Most of them have gone away

stubbornly trying to figure it out

for themselves.

They've heard them,

but now they've all gone.

A few, however,

have stayed behind

because they don't know

what it means.

And so they've come to Jesus.

And look what Jesus says

to those who have come to him.

Verse 11.

He told them,

the secret of the kingdom of God

has been given to you.

Because you see your own helplessness

and an inability for you

to figure it all out,

you are going to be given understanding.

Understanding of the kingdom,

of who Jesus is

and why he's come

and why we need him,

in some sense,

is secret.

It's a mystery.

We could never really figure it out.

And we're never going to really understand

what it's all about

unless it's revealed to us,

unless somebody gives us insight into it.

Look what it says in verse 11.

The secret of the kingdom of God

has been given to you.

This revelation,

it's a gift from God to us.

It's not something

that we can figure out by ourselves,

by our own intelligence.

So it demands

that we come to Jesus

helpless.

That we don't know.

We need to put up our hands

and say,

I'm sorry,

I don't know what that means

instead of trying to pretend we do.

In fact,

if we don't come helpless

to God's word,

it has the opposite effect.

Look at the rest of verse 11.

But to those on the outside,

those are the ones

who've now drifted away.

They've heard it,

but they don't come back

wanting to know more.

Those on the outside,

everything is said in parables

so that they may be ever seeing,

but never perceiving.

Ever hearing,

but never understanding.

Otherwise,

they might turn

and be forgiven.

Now those are difficult verses,

aren't they?

It seems like

Jesus doesn't want

people to understand.

It's as if he's saying,

I'm going to say something

so that people can't understand it.

It's almost like

he's deliberately hiding

the truth from them.

Well,

in some ways,

he is.

You see,

God's word

has this double effect.

On the one hand,

it opens people's minds,

and then on the other hand,

it closes people's minds.

Everybody can hear,

and to one group of people,

it will open their minds.

To another group,

it will close their minds.

To those who are open,

and who see their need of help,

they are given understanding.

But to those who are stubborn,

and don't see their need of help,

and don't see what's the point

in all of this,

their understanding

is taken away from them.

So people who hear well

will come helpless.

Second,

those who hear the word

are going to be dependent on Jesus.

Look at verse 21.

He said to them,

Do you bring in a lamp

to put it under a bowl or a bed?

Instead,

don't you put it up on a stand,

high up in the room?

Because the purpose

of a lamp or a light

in any situation

is to illuminate it,

to enable you to see

what's going on.

And Jesus is saying,

I am that light.

I have come to help you see.

I've come to reveal

what is hidden.

Verse 22.

For whatever is hidden

is meant to be disclosed.

Whatever is concealed

is meant to be brought out

into the open.

And if anybody has ears to hear,

let them hear.

So can you hear

what I am saying?

Are you listening to me?

Says Jesus.

I not only speak words to you,

but I am the one

who gives you understanding

of those words.

Without me,

you're always going to be

in the dark.

Without me,

you'll never know

the way into the kingdom.

You'll never be able

to figure things out.

Trusting in your own intellect

or reason

is never going to work.

Relying on the church

and their interpretation.

That's not going to work.

You must depend on me

to reveal the truth

of my word to you.

And that's the difference

between these two groups

of people.

The few that come back

to them are helpless.

They're saying,

we don't know.

Tell us.

But they come dependent

because they know

that Jesus is the only one

who's going to give them insight.

And third,

those who hear the word

come longing for more.

Verse 24.

Consider carefully

what you hear,

he continued.

With the measure you use it,

it will be measured to you

and even more.

Now,

our attitude

to Jesus' word

becomes the measure

by which Jesus

will respond to us.

So let's make this

all very real

and very practical

right now.

We're reading

Jesus' word,

we're studying it

and we're thinking about it

and we're all hearing it.

Our attitude

to it right now

will be the measure

by which Jesus responds

to each one of us

right now.

In other words,

if we come longing

for more,

if we come with an attitude

that wants to be filled,

then he is going to fill us.

He's going to respond

with a good measure.

But if we come content

and just think,

ah,

Jesus' word,

heard this story,

been there,

done that,

will receive very little.

Verse 25,

whoever has

will be given more.

Whoever does not have,

even what they have

will be taken from him.

Can you see

what's going on here?

Those who are eager

in their desire

to understand,

they'll be given

more understanding.

If we come with an attitude

that is longing

and wanting for more

of Jesus

and understanding

more of him,

God is going to respond

generously

and he's going to

fill us up

and he's going to enable us

to grasp the things

about his kingdom.

He's going to be generous.

If we come empty

and say,

please fill me,

he'll fill you.

But the opposite

is also true

and this is why

it's so critical

that we get this.

if our attitude

is one of contentment

and one of

not really into it,

then what little

understanding

we may have

is going to be

taken from us.

God's word

has a double effect.

It not only

brings people

to salvation

and opens their minds,

but it closes

people's minds.

So people

who hear

well

come longing

for more.

And this is

how we should listen.

This is how we should

hear

Jesus' words.

Jesus is God's

appointed king

who has come

to speak

into the disorder

and the darkness

of our lives.

He has something

to say to us.

But we're never

going to grasp it.

We're never going

to get it

unless we become

helpless,

dependent

and longing.

The power

of Jesus' word

then.

While hearing

is a good thing

and it's a right

thing,

Jesus wants us

to know

that at the end

of the day

it's his word

that's going

to bring about

the change.

The reason

why we listen

is because

Jesus' word

is active

and powerful.

When it is heard

it begins

to work

in our lives

in amazing ways.

First,

the word

works

supernaturally.

Look at verse 26.

He has two little

stories

that follow this.

The word

works supernaturally

in our lives.

Verse 26.

He also said

this is what

the kingdom

of God

is like.

A man

scatters seed

on the ground.

It's still

the same idea

of the seed

being the word.

Night and day

whether he sleeps

or gets up

the seed

sprouts and grows

though he does

not know how

and all by itself

the soil

produces corn

first the stalk

then the ear

then the full grain

in the ear.

As soon as

the grain

is ripe

he puts

a sickle

to it

because the

harvest

has come.

Hearing Jesus'

word

receiving it

and accepting it

is just like

planting a little

seed in the ground.

By a supernatural

power

outside of ourselves

it begins to

grow and sprout

and brings about

new life.

Just as a farmer

can't make a seed

grow

just as a gardener

can't make a seed

grow

he doesn't even

know how it

happens

so we can't

bring about

this new life

for ourselves.

The word

he's saying

has a supernatural

power

and if we plant

that seed

into our lives

if we plant

the word of God

into our lives

we can be confident

that it's going

to grow

and it's going

to bring about

a change.

We can't do it

but the gospel

is supernatural

and unless we

try and unless

we plant it in

it's not going

to grow and work.

It's supernatural

it's a powerful

thing.

But second

he says

the word works

surprisingly

verse 30

again he said

what shall we say

the kingdom of God

is like

or what parable

shall we use

to describe it?

It is like

a mustard seed

it's the same idea

the seed is the word

which is the smallest

seed you plant

in the ground

yet when planted

it grows

and becomes

the largest

of all garden plants

with such big branches

that the birds

of the air

can perch

in its shade.

And he's reminding

us here

that his word

works

with surprising

results.

Not only are we

encouraged to plant

the gospel seeds

in our own lives

we are to begin

to plant

these seeds

into other

people's lives

just as a tiny

mustard seed

grows

into a huge

big tree

big enough

for birds

to rest

so Jesus'

word

will have

the same

impact

within us

and within

our community.

Excuse me.

so the good news

is so powerful

that when we

begin to plant

it in our lives

it will bring

about a supernatural

work

and when we

begin to plant

it in others

it will cause

that growth

to happen.

God

will have

to plant

and let me

just say a couple

of things

to apply all

of this through

for us.

His word is

central

it's primary

we've got to

listen to it

in a certain

way

and if we

do

it will bring

about a

supernatural

and surprising

work.

So if you're

a parent here

this morning

and you've got

little children

their lives

are being

bombarded

by all

kinds of

words

every day

from television

from school

from friends

words

words

words

are piling

in.

The greatest

words

that you

can ever

speak to

them

is the

words of

Jesus.

Nobody else

is going

to tell

them.

That is

your prime

responsibility

as a

parent.

I'm a

parent.

Johnny

read the

Bible with

your children.

Talk to

them about

it.

Teach them

what it is

to come

to God's

word

helpless

dependent

and longing.

Every one

of us

as parents

take your

time.

Read with

each other

all of us

together

and I know

this is what

some of you

do.

Some of you

meet up

during the

week

one to

one.

You

take

time

out

in the

week

and you

begin

to read

the

Bible

and as

you

do

see the

confidence

in his

word

because

it's

so

powerful

it will

change

you

and it

will bring

about a

growth

in your

life

and a

growth

within

the

church.

The

most

important

thing

for us

to do

is to

do

that.

And I

think if

we begin

to do

these

things

we will

be so

excited

so enthused

we will

begin to

see the

change

in our

own

lives

that the

words of

Jesus will

become so

natural, so

beautiful, so

wonderful that

we will begin to

talk those

words to

other people as

well.

But if we want

other people to

hear those

words we've

got to start

hearing them

for ourselves

first.

Jesus' word

must be a

priority.

Keep it

central.

Listen to

it well

and have

confidence

in its

amazing

power

to change

lives

and to

grow big.

Let's

pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Our Father, we

recognize that

there are many

things that will

come in to

try and

steal away

the words.

Satan is

there ready

to take that

seed and

the worries

of life,

the things that

are happening

this week are

ready to come

in and bombard

our minds

and take away

what is sown.

and struggles

and pressures.

So we pray

that by the

power of your

Holy Spirit

allow that

word,

allow that

seed to

settle in

our lives.

May we

hear it.

May we

accept it.

God, may it

produce in us

amazing results

in our own

lives.

May it

produce amazing

results in this

church and in

this community.

May God do

amazing things

through his

word, we pray

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.