March 23, 2013

 

 "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 seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”  Mark 4:1-9

Growing up in Northern Indiana I am very familiar with seed and planting and soil. In that part of the country we were blessed with some of the most fertile soil in the world. But, as good as the soil is it still has to be plowed and harrowed and fertilized in order to be prepared for the seed that will be planted.

In the parable Jesus told in Mark  4 the seed represents the Word of God which is always fertile seed, but the emphasis is placed on the condition of the soil. The soil represents the human heart and He mentions four soil conditions, or conditions of the heart.

The first condition is represented by the path. Because of the constant foot traffic over this soil it has become hardened and unreceptive to the seed. Before the seed has a chance to put down roots it is either crushed under foot or snatched by the birds.This is the hearer who may hear the Word but doesn't listen to it.

I call him the ego-centered hearer. He doesn't think he really needs to hear the Word and so when he does he only listens to what he wants to hear. Therefore, his heart becomes hardened.

The second sort of hearer mentioned in the Parable of the Sower is represented by the rocky soil. This is the hearer who listens to the Word and receives it gladly. His faith is stirred and is initiated within his spirit.

Often this is the person who experiences trouble and rocky times in his life and turns to faith looking for help. And he finds it because any time you sincerely call on the name of the Lord you will find Him.

But while he heard the Master's voice and listened, he didn't have time to learn from the Word and put down deep roots. Since his faith is shallow from lack of knowledge he doesn't withstand the heat of life's trials and faith dies.

 

Regarding the second hearer, he is what I call the emergency hearer. This hearer finds himself in a bad situation and his life has become rocky so he turns to God for help. Sure enough, he finds help from a faithful God. But he doesn't diligently continue to listen and learn from the Word so his shallow spiritual roots are not deep enough to sustain him.

 

Jesus talked about a third condition illustrated by thorny ground. When the seed lands among the weeds and thorns it springs up quickly but is choked out by the weeds before it can produce a harvest.

 

Such a heart is one who hears the Word and listens but doesn't learn the truth of it. Therefore, it cannot survive the attacks of the weeds. I call this the emotional hearer. He hears the Word at an emotional point in his life, listens and believes but depends on emotions when emotions change so does he.

 

Let me ask you, "Which sort of soil is in your heart?"

 

One of these conditions is true of your heart.

 

Are you an ego-centric hearer, an emergency hearer or an emotional hearer?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 22, 2013

"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." Mark 4:5-6

 

When I was growing up one of the leading brands of electronic products was RCA. Their logo showed a dog sitting near an old Victrola-style phonograph with a listening ear leaned toward the speaker. The tag line attached to the logo was, "The master's voice".

 

 

Shouldn't this be the picture of a Christian listening to hear the voice of their Master?

 

The second sort of hearer mentioned in the Parable of the Sower is represented by the rocky soil. This is the hearer who listens to the Word and receives it gladly. His faith is stirred and is initiated within his spirit.

 

Often this is the person who experiences trouble and rocky times in his life and turns to faith looking for help. And he finds it because any time you sincerely call on the name of the Lord you will find Him.

 

But while he heard the Master's voice and listened, he didn't have time to learn from the Word and put down deep roots. Since his faith is shallow from lack of knowledge he doesn't withstand the heat of life's trials and faith dies.

 

So, we have the hearer who doesn't listen and we have the hearer who listens but doesn't learn.

 

The first I call the ego-centered hearer. He doesn't think he really needs to hear the Word and so when he does he only listens to what he wants to hear. Therefore, his heart becomes hardened.

 

Regarding the second hearer, he is what I call the emergency hearer. This hearer finds himself in a bad situation and his life has become rocky so he turns to God for help. Sure enough, he finds help from a faithful God. But he doesn't diligently continue to listen and learn from the Word so his shallow spiritual roots are not deep enough to sustain him.

 

Do either of these scenarios apply to you?

 

Are you listening to the voice of God through His Word or through preaching or teaching ministries? Are you studying to learn from God's Word so you can put down deep roots?

 

 

 







 

 

 

 

 

March 21, 2013

^"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." Mark 4:2-4

 

When someone who is in authority says, "Listen!" you should listen. When that person commanding you to listen is Jesus, well..............!

 

After He called the crowd to attention He began telling the parable about the sower and the seed. Sowing is how they planted seed in those days. First they would plow the soil of their field and then walk across the field and back tossing the seeds onto the soil from their hand. I assume the more experienced a sower was the more accurate his tossing of the seed, but still there was seed that landed in unintended places. In His parable the Master made each place represent a different type of hearing heart and the seed represents the Word of God.

 

Some seed landed on the path. The path would be the equivalent of a sidewalk today. It was where everyone walked when they passed by that area and because it drew so much traffic the dirt was packed down hard. So hard was this packed down soil that seed landing there had no chance to put down roots before a bird swept down to snatch it. Any seed that landed on the path was wasted seed unless you were a bird.

 

A heart becomes hardened just as a path gets hardened, by the pressure of constant use. When a heart frequently hears the Word but never listens to it that heart becomes hardened. The Word of God never has a neutral result. When the Word is heard and obeyed it becomes soft and molded like clay. But if the Word is heard and deliberately disregarded or disobeyed that heart becomes hardened.

 

My mother tells me I earned my first spanking when I intentionally disobeyed her. I was three years old at the time and loved to crawl into the cabinets under the kitchen counter and play with her pots and pans. She gave me stern orders to not do so again.

 

One day she couldn't locate me and began to call out my name. As she continued to call with no response her level of concern increased. Just as she was about to panic she heard a clank in the area of the lower cabinet. Opening the doors she saw me sittting under there playing with her pots and pans.

 

Relieved but angered, she sternly rebuked me, "Bradley, didn't you hear me calling you? I have been calling your name for quite awhile now!"

 

According to her my response was, "I hear you - but I pay no attention!"

 

She got my attention! She warmed my cold, disobedient heart from the backside up!

 

What is the condition of your heart? Are you obeying God's Word? Are you hearing but paying no attention? Do you listen to what He says to you? Are you yielding to conviction or are you resisting it?

 

Once a heart grows hardened it is hard to change. It is a dangerous condition to allow.

 

When you hear God's Word today - will you listen?

 

 

 

 

March 20, 2013

"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 seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” Mark 4:1-9

As someone who has been married for over a quarter century, I know the importance of listening to my wife, Barbara.

I discovered early and painfully the difference between hearing her and listening to her. It is the one area where I find the most trouble. If she senses that I didn't pay attention to what she told me she will ask, "What did I just say?"

I'd better give her that right answer when she asks or she gets her feelings hurt and I get in trouble.

Failing to listen to Jesus is a sure prescription for disaster as well.

In this part of Mark's Gospel Jesus begins His parable by saying, "Listen!" and ending the portion by again saying, "He who has ears to hear, let them hear!"

Parables were Jesus' favorite and most effective way to teach. In this parable of the sower He is teaching us that there are four types of listeners. And we also discover that hearing happens with the heart, not just the ears.

Over the next several posts I want to explore those four types of "hearing hearts" but this evening I want to call you attention to how Jesus addressed the audience assembled on the lake shore that day. And according to Mark's account it was a large crowd.

Those familiar with this area where Jesus did this teaching tell us the rocks that line the shore are positioned like church pews. Behind those rows of boulders are steep banks that rise above the level of the lake. That combination of terrain made an ideal ampitheater. When you consider that Jesus was in a boat on the water several yards from the shore speaking over the water, he had perfect accoustics for being clearly heard by anyone who was present that day.

So when Jesus began His teaching by saying, "Listen" He had no doubt that everyone could hear Him clearly. He wasn't so sure everyone who was hearing was really listening.

Jesus knows how to position Himself in your life so you can hear Him when He speaks to you. But you must position your heart so you will listen.

Will you listen to God today? Will you open your heart to hear what He will say to you? He will be speaking! I hope you're listening!

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." James 1:22







  

March 19, 2013

"He that has ears to hear, let him hear"' Matthew 11:15

Let me ask you a question. "If the Word of God fell near you in the woods, would you hear it?"

 

This variation of the "if a tree fell in the woods" question actually has a serious point. It is very important to learn to listen to God. I am sure you would agree. But do you know how to listen to God?

 

Hear what God says.

 

Read His Word and listen for His voice. Spending regular time reading and studying the Bible is a primary way of hearing God speak.

 

Listen to the preaching of the Word and the teaching of the Word on a frequent basis.

 

Romans 10:17 says, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing through the Word of God."

God's Word is the only way to build a life on a foundation of truth. But that is only possible if you are hearing it.

Hear what God says to you.

As important as it is to hear the truth of God's Word, it is even more important to hear the truth specifically applied to your life and your situation.  That is the function of the Holy Spirit and the purpose of the Word.

Hear what God says you should do.

James says, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." James 1:22

When Jesus prefaced His teachings with, "He that has hears to hear, let Him hear" He is not just suggesting they listen, He is telling them to hear it AND obey what it specifically says to them!

If listening to God doesn't result in living for God then you haven't really heard His Word. Listening to God involves hearing what He says, hearing what He says to you, and hearing what you should do - and then doing it!

Are you listening to God?
 

 

March 18, 2013

"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." I John 4:10

One way the need for significance manifests itself in 2018 is the phenomenon known as "social networking". Millions are texting or tweeting or posting on Facebook. Essentially, they are saying, "Notice me!" or "Let me know I matter!" or "Make me feel significant!"

The more friends you have or the more tweets you get the more accepted you feel. you want to be known and know you matter. I contend that the wild popularity of these social networks is fueled by the fear of not mattering.

I am sure God is beyond fear, BUT if He would have a fear I believe it would be the fear that He would not matter to us. He needs for you to recognize His significance. It is in your best interest as well as His.

So, God texted you! Yes, He did! He sent His Commandments through His servant, Moses! He made it clear what matters to Him. He showed you what should matter to you!

Next, God tweeted us! Through His Prophets and His Patriarchs He inspired the great Scriptures of the Old Testament to let us know what He was doing and what He was planning to do in the future. He did not want you to miss what He was doing in our behalf.

Finally, He posted on Facebook! Yes, He did! He sent His Son, Jesus - the God-man - to allow you to get a look at His profile. He wanted us to know what He looks like and what He loves. By posting His picture in the portrait of Jesus, God revealed His nature and His heart. He wanted to know you and to be known by you!

One way you can know you are significant to God is to understand through Scripture just how badly He wants to matter to you! He is the One Who created you and is the only One Who can recreate you into His image!

When you decide to let God know how much He matters to you, then you will begin to understand how much you matter to Him.

March 17, 2013

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

We are heading into the yard sale season. If you haven't done a yard sale, you may not relate to this article but for the other 99.99% of us, you know that the hardest part is tagging all the items with a price. The first 1,000 items you tend to estimate a little high because you know the hard-core yard salers will haggle the price anyway. But, after several hours of assigning value to items you don't value enough to keep, you reach a point where you stop caring and just start slapping price stickers on stuff.

Similarly, when the day of the sale comes you start the day with high hopes trying to hold the line against the bargain-hunters who show up seeking treasure among your trinkets. But as the day wears on and you still have piles of stuff, you come to the realization that your stuff is only worth what people are willing to pay for it. The thought of having to pick up all the remaining items and put them away somewhere causes you to begin throwing stuff into bags or boxes and selling them enmass for less than you sold stuff individually earlier in the day.

A day spent doing a yard sale may be the best education in economics that you could have. You learn that the ultimate value of something is determined by what someone is willing to pay for it.

As you struggle to find your own sense of significance and value, that same principle applies. You are worth what someone is willing to pay for you. So, be really careful who you allow to slap a price tag on you.

If you try to determine your own value or if you give that power to other people, you will spend your life bargaining and pleading and always feeling cheated or undervalued. You will find wild fluctuations in your value from day to day.

The way to know how much you are really worth is to understand the price that was paid for you! God bought you with the life blood of His own Son, Jesus. That means that He places equal value on you as He does His Son! That is the price tag He placed on you.

God thinks you matter! You are significant to Him! Why not accept His estimate? Why would you continue to under value yourself? Why sell yourself to the lowest bidder?