Mark Chapter 4

Mark 4:1-12 ~ The Purpose for Parables

There is a twofold purpose for parables: to draw people who have a heart for Christ, and to cause people that do not have a heart for Christ to turn around and leave, and go away. Jesus purposely presented the parables in story form so that people outside of Christ would not understand.  You see, we think differently.  We think everybody needs to know, everybody needs to listen to me tell them about Christ.  That is not the way Jesus was and it is not the way He is.

Mark 4:13-15 ~ The Perception of the Parable of the Sower Part 1

The Word of God exposes both belief and unbelief. But it the word of God remains all-powerful able to save. There is nothing wrong with the word of God. It is the all-powerful Word of God. But God has planned in His design that a person's heart would have an influence over how that person is going to respond to the truth that the Word of God is presenting.

Mark 4:16-17 ~ The Perception of the Parable of the Sower Part 2

It is not what you can see that counts, it is what we cannot see. What is going to take me into a personal relationship with Christ and help me through this earthly life?  My life rooted and grounded in Christ.

Not how many experiences you have, or whether you have a bright smile on your face, or whether you are excited and jumping around - none of that is evidence of the Spirit of God. It is the stability that comes in Christ, that is what counts.

Mark 4:18-19 ~ The Perception of the Parable of the Sower Part 3

Interesting concept. A person can hear the Word of God and they can get saved. They can be totally changed and transformed. And yet another person can hear the same message from God's Word and just say, "Oh yeah, well, whatever," and the influence of God's word is choked out. That does not mean there is anything wrong with the Word of God. God makes it so that the Word of God is received depending on the condition of the heart.

Mark 4:20 ~ The Perception of the Parable of the Sower Part 4

God's Spirit takes His word and embeds it in our hearts. And our hearts are changed and transformed and a crop of fruit comes up. The threefold way in which one hears the word of God properly is (1) continually hearing and (2) continually receiving and then (3) it bearing fruit. I am to allow God's Spirit to take His word and continually work this whole cultivation process in my heart. When the trials and tribulations come they cultivate the soil. One person will quit the things of the Lord because of the difficulties. But the true believer, who is born of the Spirit of God, will continue on and learn how to trust the Lord through them.

Mark 4:21-25 ~ The Parable of the Lamp

If a person does not respond then the effectiveness of the word of God is removed from that person's life. The more we respond, the more God adds. The hungrier we are, the more we seek, the more God adds to what we already have. His Spirit takes the truth of God's word and shines in us. And He reveals the hidden things; the covered things; the things that He wants to transform and change. And we respond.

Mark 4:26-34 ~ The Function of the Word of God

The Lord is impressing to His disciples that the kingdom of God functions like the sower sowing seed. Once the seed has been sown, it functions automatically, in and of itself. It is not man's work. It is not people going out and trying to motivate other people. We can encourage them, but we cannot get people to respond to be obedient to Jesus Christ. God's kingdom functions on its own, totally dependent upon God's Spirit and not upon man.

Mark 4:35-41 ~ The Calming of the Sea Part 1

Face life with courage. Not a human courage, a spiritual courage because Christ is with him wherever he goes. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. He is always with us and what He wants us to do is face life with courage. Not courage just as a general principle to practice, but courage because He is there. I am to face every situation with courage because the Lord is with me wherever I go. And He is never going to leave me nor is He ever going to forsake me. And no one is ever going to be able to stand up against me and my relationship with the Lord because they are going to have to destroy Him first and they cannot do that.

Mark 4:35-41 ~ The Calming of the Sea Part 2

Is it not amazing that once we grow close to Christ and learn how to trust Him, He moves us on to a different situation where we do not know Him? We know Him but not in this way. We have trusted Him on land but do we know how to trust Him on the sea? See, it is a completely different situation and circumstance and we are dealing with different elements, but it is the same Jesus. And so He places us in various conditions which He Himself directs. And He places us in circumstances which are over our head but He is in total control - to the point that He can go to sleep in a hurricane if He wanted to.