How To Listen To God: The Good Soil - Mark 4:20-25 Series

Mark 4:14 The sower sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. Immediately Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it become unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.”

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 on its stand? 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. 23 If anyone has ears to listen, let him listen.” 24 “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”

Introduction

Why Don’t We Hear from God?

Have you ever thought about how many promises the Bible makes about itself? It promises to be food to your soul, pure, spiritual milk, refreshing water, sweeter than honey, it promises to revive your soul, make you wise, give joy to your heart, give light to your eyes, keep you from sin, give you life, show you the glory of God—the list goes on and on and on. So here’s a question: why doesn’t it work? Sometimes it does those things, but why are there so many times when it doesn’t? I get up in the morning, I read a chapter of Scripture, I pray about it, think about it, and none of those things happen. Some of the stuff I read I don’t even understand. And the part I do understand is usually stuff I already knew. So it feels like I’m not really any better off after reading the chapter than I was before I read it. For many Christians, that’s their experience with the Bible most of the times they read it. They read the Bible, but they don’t really hear from God.

Why Are People Rejecting Jesus?

And if God has spoken in his word, why is it that people arrive at so many different conclusions? Why are there so many different interpretations of Scripture? We’re only 3 chapters into the Gospel of Mark and look at the variety of conclusions people have already arrived at about Jesus. “He’s satanic.” “No, he’s insane.” “No, he’s the greatest preacher ever.” And the crowds say, “We don’t know what to make of him.” They are all observing the same man, witnessing the same events, hearing the same preaching. Why so many different reactions to the same Jesus? And why is God’s word still so hard to understand for you and me today? Is God’s word unclear? Did God speak in ways that were designed to confuse people?

Hidden Truth

Intentional Obscurity

It sounds like it when you read vv.11-12

11 He told them, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that, “ ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding.

Usually we think of a parable as a story. But sometimes the word parable refers to a riddle, or a hard saying—something that is difficult to understand. And that’s how it’s used here in this context. Jesus said, “To the outsiders I speak in riddles and hard sayings, so that they won’t understand.” Why Jesus? Why make the Bible so hard to understand? Why hide the truth from people? Did Jesus intend for the gospel to be a secret that is kept under raps? No. Look down at v.21.

Revelation is for Revealing

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 on its stand?

God’s word is a lamp. And the only purpose of a lamp is to shine, not to be covered up. The purpose of all revelation is to reveal. It’s to turn on the lights. God communicates in order to be understood. If he didn’t want you to get what he’s saying, he wouldn’t say it. The purpose of planting seed is to get a harvest.