The Gospel
of Mark - Chapter 4
Sometimes people
get discouraged. They say well nobody
listens to me. Well, what difference does it make if nobody
listens as long as you lovingly share God’s Word? If you ever feel bad, think
of poor Noah. Preached 120 years and
nobody listened. And if you get
discouraged, you just put yourself in his shoes once, right? And the greatness of the thing is people, if
it’s God’s Word, and we lovingly share it.
We don’t have to force it down anybodies throat. We don’t have to go around and say, look, you
do this or else. We know better than
that. We simply know it’s God’s Word and
we lay it out before God’s people and the hungry people eat and we thank God
for them, but we also thank God that somehow or other maybe some of the rest of
them will get enough sense to eat some day.
If not, we love them. Because
people, the greatest
thing we have is the love of God in our hearts shed abroad by the
Holy Spirit that’s in us and we share this love of God. Now people, this greatness of this Word
sometimes is not accepted because of the enemy and what he does. And in the fourth chapter of Mark, we have
this tremendous record.
And he, Jesus,
began again to teach by the seaside. By the
way, if you want to be a teacher there is no better method of learning to teach
intellectually than to study the Gospels and see the methods that Jesus
employed in teaching. He was a genius. He was God’s best, you know. The greatest teacher that
ever lived, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Tremendous.
He began again to teach by the seaside and if you’ll think about it, why
did he do it at the seaside? Well,
because, if you’re going to teach, you’ve got to get people away from the
humdrum of their society. You’ve got to
get uninvolved and get them someplace where they can, well, the best word I can
think of, get relaxed. Because if you’re going to receive great truth you can’t be tied up
like that. You have to be at
ease. And your mind has to be sharp and
you have to be willing to learn. Took
them to the seaside and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, and he
finally entered into the ship, and he sat in the sea; because the whole
multitude was by the sea.
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. -- Mark 4: 1
And he taught them
many things by parables and he said unto
them in his teaching and his right believing, doctrine.
And
he taught them many things by parables and said unto them in his doctrine, -- Mark 4: 2
This is what he
said: Behold, there went a sower to sow.
Hearken;
Behold, there went out a sower to sow: -- Mark 4: 3
And it came to
pass, as he sowed. Now a sower could go
forth and not what? Sow. But this sower went forth and he had ssomething to sow.
That some of this which he sowed fell by the wayside and the fowl of the
air came and devoured it up.
And
it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the
air came and devoured it up.
-- Mark 4: 4
Some fell on stony
ground, where it had not much root and immediately it sprang up because it had
no depth of earth:
And
some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it
sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: -- Mark 4: 5
But
when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered
away. And some fell among thorns, and
the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 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. And he said
unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. – Mark 4: 6 - 9
Now, you see that
we can begin guessing again, remember?
The Scriptures, the Word of God has to interpret itself in the verse, in
the what? Context. That’s right.
So you keep reading, you keep looking.
And when he was
alone, after the multitude left, they that were about him,
that were with him. The 12 asked
of him the meaning of the parable.
And
when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the
parable. -- Mark
And he said unto them
and unto you, it is given to know the mystery of the
And
he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the
That seeing they
may see and not perceive;
hearing they may hear and not understand; lest at any time they
should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven. Really quite something. Some day I’ll handle verse twelve. No interest in it tonight right now. And he said unto them, Know ye not this
parable? How then will you know all the
parables? The sower soweth the
word. That’s the parable.
That
seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not
understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. And he said unto them, Know ye not this
parable? and how then will you know all parables? The sower soweth the word. – Mark
The sower soweth the Word.
That’s why in verse 3, it says the sower went out to what? Now how in the world are we going to sow the
Word if we don’t know it? How can you
sow grass seed if you haven’t got any grass seed in the sower? How are we going to sow the Word without
knowing the Word? This is why the first
thing all of us have to do is to get a knowledge of
God’s Word. You don’t have to know it
all, but you’ve got to know that Word of God so that you are able to sow the
seed. The sower soweth the Word.
These are they by the way side, where the Word is sown; but when they
have heard, they heard the Word, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the
Word that was sown in their personal lives, their hearts.
And these are they by the way side, where the word is
sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the
word that was sown in their hearts. -- Mark 4: 15
This is number 1. There are people who heard the Word but who comes? Satan comes.
And immediately after they’ve heard the Word, he steals it away. And there’s no Word left. Why does he steal it away? Because the people allow
Satan to do so. There are 4 different types of people that are going to
show up here and 4 different types of results.
But this type as the first one given here is singularly significant
because this happens in a man’s ministry of the Word of God constantly. He’ll sow that Word of God, the people will
hear it but immediately thereafter Satan comes, snatches it away and you
talk to them tomorrow and nothing left.
It hasn’t changed their life. It
hasn’t turned them around. It hasn’t done
anything for them. I often think about
this because in the Holy Spirit field, this is what is happening so many, many
times among people in outlying areas where the film ministry is not taught or
where the tape ministry of the Way is not taught or where our people like you
are not teaching the Word.
Talked to a man in
But I see this all the time and I’m sure this communicates with you
too. Because you people minister the
Word, you help, you try to set the Word out there. And lo and behold, the next day, you wonder what
happened to it. Where’d it go? Ha ha.
Satan cometh and immediately taketh it away. Satan does.
You know what a recent survey in the last 3 months according to the
publication that came out in one of the national periodicals? Less than 23% of all the so-called
Christians, church people in
And these are they likewise which are sown on stony
ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with [what?] gladness.
-- Mark
Are they born again? The verse 16. You
students, you graduates of the advanced class ought to know that answer. How do you know they’re born again? That’s the word. What? Lambano. Right. Because the word receive is lambano.
You can’t lambano anything until you first dechomai, right? Man, they’re born again and their hotter than
a firecracker for the Lord. They stand
up and give their testimony, you know, like God saved me from this, here I am
glory hallelujah I’m on the road. That’s
right. The word’s
lambano. They immediately, they
lambano it and they’re tickled to death.
And if you are looking at it sense knowledge wise, you will say, boy
those people are going to turn the world upside down cause look at them,
they’re just moving out, they’re talking
to everybody on the street corner.
They’re talking to everybody at Adolf’s, all over, we’re just talking,
talking, talking. Verse 17 says but they
have no root. No root. Boy, in the
teaching ministry of the Way here at the headquarters and in our outlying areas,, the thing we’re always after people is to get rooted,
rooted. Remember Ephesians. Rooted, rooted in him. So that when old Satan comes, he just can’t
take that tree and blow it over, pronto.
It’s got some roots, it down in.
This is why we have to know, that we know, that we know, that we know, that
we know. We’ve got to get rooted. They have no root so they endure for a time -
a little season of time. Boy, they’re
the greatest. But when affliction or
persecution arises for the Words sake, immediately they are offended.
And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a
time: afterward, when affliction or
persecution ariseth for the words sake, immediately they are offended. -- Mark
The next door neighbor comes over and he says Awwwww. You’ve been to that class on Power for
Abundant Living. I heard that’s of the
devil. So immediately, down goes the
Word, but boy, before that, you’re the greatest. You’re sitting in that class, for instance,
for 2 or 3 weeks and boy night after night when that Words
taught you just lambano, you manifest and that’s the greatest. Three weeks
later you’re walking down the street.
Somebody else meets one of them and says, hey
do you speak in tongues? Well, uh, uh.
Number 2: The people who receive
the Word with gladness, but no root, no depth, no depth and it doesn’t hold
unless you get a depth of God’s Word.
You gotta be able to give a testimony of the believing that’s in
you. Rightly. I’m not talking the wrong believing,
I’m talking the right believing. Number
3:
And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
they hear the word. But
the cares of this world, the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches,
the lust of to have other things entering in choke out the greatness of the
Word that the Word becomes what? To them. Unfruitful.
And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as
hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the
deceitfulness of riches, and the entering in, choke the word, and it becometh
unfruitful. -- Mark
You see I tell our people we’ve got to travel fast and far, we’ve got
to travel light. Most of us in
The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, the lust of other
things and I told you lust begins where need ceases. God says he’d fill all of our what? Needs. Lust begins where need ceases. The lust of other things entering in, it’s
that that chokes out the Word.
And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of
riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it
becometh unfruitful. -- Mark
You see, people say quote me that Scripture ‘cast your bread upon the
water and it’ll come back’. But it will
be blessed soggy, I guarantee it. Unless
somebody gets, gets that Word. Unless
people, we receive that Word and believe that Word and get rooted in it, we
fall into these categories and all the people you will be ministering the Word
to are going to fall into one or the other of these 4 categories.” Cause the Lord says so and the Lord was never
wrong. He was always right, he’s our
Savior. This is why number 4 says, verse
20:
And these are they which are sown on good ground. The good ground is such as hear the
Word. And the word hear is hear it and
believe it. It doesn’t go clean clear
through. Hear the word, and receive and
bring forth fruit. Some thirtyfold, some
sixty, and some what?
An hundredfold.
And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as
hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some
sixty, and some an hundred. --
Mark
Commentaries talk about hearing the Word, and somebody producing enough
for sixty, some thirty, and those that are producing a hundredfold, they’re the
best. That’s not what that verse is
saying. You know why? Because we have different
potentials, different ability.
And some of our people when they bring forth 30%,
are bringing forth their maximum. Some
who are bringing forth 60% bring forth their maximum and some who are bringing
forth 100% are bringing forth their maximum.
That’s what the verse says. If I
have a greater potential to bring forth fruit, then I have a greater obligation
to bring it. If I am a 60%er and I only
bring forth 30%, I’ll fall in one of those other 3 categories. That’s what I want you to see. If I have 100% ability to gel something and I
only gel 60%, I’ll fall in one of the other categories. But if I only have 60% ability and I receive
that Word and I glory on that Word and I stay put on that Word, I’ll bring
forth the maximum. And the Will of the
Lord is that we produce according to the ability that is set within us, the
greatness of His Word. Those are the
four kinds, there are no more. And in verse 21.
And he said unto them, is a candle brought to be put
under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick? -- Mark
For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested;
neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. If any man have here ears to hear, let him hear. -- Mark
And you’ll notice in verse 21, you’ll have a paragraph marking in your
King James, right? I’d scratch it. You know why?
Because these verses go directly with the teaching of
the Word. And he’s still talking
about the greatness of the Word. He said
unto them, is a candle to illustrate the greatness of the Word. Do you ever take the greatness of the Word
and hide it? Do you put it under a bushel? Or do you set it out there where people can
see that candle and walk in that light?
For there is nothing hid which shall not be manifested, future wise,
according to the revelation God has given in His Word. Either was anything kept secret, but that it
should become open abroad out in the open. And he said if any man has got ears to hear,
let that fella’ hear. Class, it is our
responsibility to hold the ineffable greatness of His Word. We are sowers who are to sow the Word. We don’t put our life under a bushel but we
hold the greatness of God’s Word there and we sow the Word. Knowing that some of the Word is going to
fall by what? The
wayside. Knowing
that some is going to fall among thorns.
Receive it with gladness but no root.
And in the fourth place, we know some are going to hear.
Wasn’t it Thursday night when we read from Acts about Mars Hill the
Areopagus. Was that in our Thursday
fellowship? We’re in the Word so much
all the time, I forget the date. But you
know when Paul was on Mars Hill where they had all the gods from all the world.
Temples to them, places to worship, every one of them. They had one up there with an inscription to
the Unknown God in case they missed anybody.
That’s right.
Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of
For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an
altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, and
declare I unto you. -- Acts
And there, he preached the Word, and the philosophers, the Epicureans
and the Stoics were there. The great
philosophical brains, always to hear something new, they said. And the thing that was new to them was that
this fellow Paul was preaching something that wasn’t quite kosher. Because he’s teaching false gods or strange
gods as they call it because he preached that God raised Jesus Christ from the
dead.
Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the
Stoicks, and conquered him. And some
said, What will this babbler say? other
some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto
them Jesus, and the resurrection.
-- Acts
And there he preached that Word
and one group said well we just don’t believe one lousy word. The other group said well
were going to think about it for a while.
Another group said they believed the Word. And to those who believed the Word it says,
the Lord added to the church daily such as what? should
be saved.
Praising God, and having favour
with all the people. And the Lord added
to the church daily such as should be saved. -- Acts
Isn’t that something? People,
God has given us a most wonderful ministry in the world today. In a number of very significant ways, but among which is the
freedom that we have and the beauty of just presenting God’s Word without any
compulsion. Where I would have to say,
Jerry either you believe this or go to hell.
Isn’t that wonderful that I can just say to Jerry, Here’s the Word, this
is God’s Word. Try it out and Jerry says
well I will. And bless God he gets the
results. Somebody else says, well I
don’t believe a word of it. Well, God
bless him. You see, this is the greatness
of the ministry because every basically every other little group wants to put
you under their flag. All we want to do
is God’s Word to live. And teach it in
love. Just be sure you’re sowing the
Word. Then if it falls among thorny
grounds or stony grounds, or if it’s choked out, that is not your responsibility, that is theirs. And therefore, it’s a wonderful time,
people. Here we are in the fall season,
another year of the way ministry on the move.
Pretty soon we’ll have our 27th anniversary. Sunday nights. Well, it’s the Word that’s permeating the
area. Tonight we begin for the first
time to move the Word in the great state of
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