Well, good morning, church. Would you turn with me to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 4, verses 1 through 25.
Our passage begins on page 787 in the Pew Bible.
We will have it on the screens when I read it in just a second, but it would be good to have it open before you as we walk through our text this morning.
Let me pray for us, and then I'll read.
Father in heaven, how firm a foundation indeed we have in Jesus Christ, our Lord, and the word that he has authorized and inspired through your Holy Spirit.
Lord, as we come to your word now, would you do this work of comforting, strengthening, convicting, converting, equipping, and glorifying your great name.
Give us ears to hear, Father, what your Spirit is saying to us today.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
All right, Mark, chapter 4, picking up in verse 1.
30-fold, 60-fold, and 100-fold.
And he said, he who has ears to hear, let him hear.
And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.
And he said to them, to you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God.
But for those outside, everything is in parables.
So that they may indeed see, but not perceive.
May indeed hear, but not understand.
Lest they should turn and be forgiven.
And he said to them, do you not understand this parable?
How then will you understand all the parables?
The sower sows the word.
And these are the ones along the path where the word is sown.
When they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.
And these are the ones sown on rocky ground.
The ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy.
And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while.
Then when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.
And others are the ones sown among thorns.
They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches
and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit
thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.
And he said to them, is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket or under a bed and not on a stand?
For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest,
nor is anything secret except to come to light.
If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.
And he said to them, pay attention to what you hear.
With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.
For to the one who has, more will be given,
and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
So for a number of years, there have been articles and studies coming out saying,
that human attention span, the human attention span, is dwindling, is dropping.
Given social media, the always-on news cycle, constant interruptions and notifications hitting us through our smartphones and on and on,
it seems that we're just more distractible than ever.
In fact, one study in 2015 argued that people now generally lose concentration after eight seconds.
I've already lost you in this sermon.
Supposedly, according to this study, that's a shorter attention span than a goldfish.
Now, that study didn't really hold up to scientific scrutiny.
After all, how does one measure the attention span of a goldfish?
But, you know, even if that particular article was discredited,
the general observation seems true.
Paying attention seems harder than ever.
There's oh so much to distract us,
and we are oh so used to being entertained.
Combine those two things together, and sure enough,
really zeroing in, really paying attention,
it's hard.
Unless, of course,
something seems worth our attention.
We've been watching a lot of baseball as a family lately,
and I have to be honest,
that is not something I ever thought I would say.
Why?
Because baseball is so boring.
Unless,
unless your team is in the World Series.
And lo and behold,
the Phillies made it to the World Series this year.
They were in the World Series.
And so, we've been glued to the TV,
watching pitch after pitch of the world's slowest game.
Why?
Because we really wanted them to win.
So, there we were,
paying attention to baseball, of all things,
because we think it's worth our attention.
In our passage today,
Jesus tells us a string of parables about hearing.
Hearing and paying attention.
Just glance through the passage for yourself.
How many times do you find the word hear?
I counted at least ten.
Jesus says in verse 24,
pay attention to what you hear.
That's the big idea of this passage.
Now, as we look at the context in the beginning of chapter four,
we see again that great crowds have gathered.
Many are attracted to Jesus and his ministry.
And at this point, this has been happening for some time now.
Many have been gathering, hearing,
so much so at this point that Jesus has to find a place
along the shore of Galilee that's a bit like a natural amphitheater,
where he can sit on a boat on the water,
and his voice can be carried up across the water,
up in the surrounding cove into the hillside.
And what does Jesus do here?
At this moment, when the crowds are gathering,
when he's become so much of a draw,
when he's become so famous or infamous,
that as we saw last week,
his family thinks that he's out of his mind,
and the religious authority are trying to explain it away,
that he's demon-possessed.
At this moment, what does Jesus do?
With this great crowd.
The crowds upon crowds that gather.
Well, Jesus doesn't sort of stoke them into a fervor
or applaud them for their enthusiasm.
Instead, Jesus tells a parable about hearing,
about paying attention to what you hear.
Because, you see, it's not enough
to just go along with the crowd,
to be swept up in the enthusiasm.
It's not enough to just come to church
and enjoy the singing
and enjoy the relationships.
Jesus looks at us and he says,
pay attention to what you hear.
Now, let's look at why.
Why does Jesus want to make this point?
Well, first, what we see in our text
is that Jesus says,
pay attention to what you hear
because it's the word that's being sown.
Pay attention to what you hear
because what's being sown is the word.
Now, the first parable in our passage
is what we often call the parable of the sower.
Now, sowing here is not a needle-pulling thread, right?
That's S-E-W.
This is S-O-W.
It's planting seed.
The parable of the planter, of the sower.
And in first century Palestine,
this was done by literally taking handfuls of seed
and just scattering it quite liberally across the field.
Now, that practice might seem a little strange to us today,
but that was normal in the first century.
And as Jesus explains in verse 14,
this is all a metaphor for the ministry of the word.
In particular, Jesus' own ministry.
He has come declaring the good news,
the message, the word about the arrival of God's kingdom,
ultimately in and through his own person and work.
So you see, Jesus didn't come to give people
seven steps for successful living
or eight ways to conquer your biggest fears
and achieve your wildest dreams, right?
You probably wouldn't have found Jesus' teaching
in the self-help section of the bookstore.
The sower isn't sowing a bunch of good advice
that you can try out and modify
and paste onto your own life agenda.
He's sowing the word, the news,
the agenda-shattering message
that God's kingdom is at hand,
that God is breaking into enemy territory
to reclaim what was lost
and to set up his reign of freedom and joy
in the place of sadness and death.
And this news was just too important
to gloss over or ignore or hold at arm's length
or just be enthusiastic about,
but not really hear.
I think most people don't really give much attention
to Christianity
because they don't really think
it's all that worth paying attention to.
Often we misunderstand it
as just another way of telling people
to be moral.
As if Christianity is just
love your neighbor
wrapped up in a bunch of religious beliefs
that don't make much sense anymore.
And if that's all that Christianity is,
why pay attention to that?
Do we really need all these religious beliefs
to convince us to love our neighbors?
But friends, Christianity is so much more than that.
But aren't we guilty of this too
inside the church?
Do we really think it's worth our attention,
this word, this news?
Is it worth turning off the countless distractions
and really hearing it?
Really giving it our full attention
as if life and death really depended on it?
As if the message was not just
one more moral exhortation
to do better or to try harder,
but a life-giving word
like seed in the soil
that creates new life from the inside out.
Do we really know this message
that's about a God so holy
and beautiful
that just to gaze upon Him
would be either utter rapture
or utter ruin?
Rapture because of His inexpressible beauty,
but ruin because we've offended Him
and stand under God's perfect justice.
What a predicament we're in as human beings.
We long for the infinite,
for beauty,
for something that would ravish our souls,
but that very thing
we've offended and we stand over against
so that to see God would destroy us.
And yet this God
beheld our miserable state
and in love took our human nature.
The righteous King
took the rebel's place
and Jesus Christ
lived the life
that we should have lived
and died the death
that we deserve to die
so that all of our sins
could be forgiven
and we could be granted
eternal life
and be reborn by His Spirit
and live a whole new life
in the midst of this life
for His kingdom
and His praise,
no longer standing
under God's wrath,
but in the freedom
of God's favor and acceptance.
repentance.
Pay attention to what you hear,
Jesus says,
because it's the word
that's being sown.
But this leads us
to our second point.
Jesus says,
pay attention to what you hear
because there are many
who fail to do so.
Pay attention to what you hear
because there are many
who fail to do so.
In verse 10 of our passage,
the scene sort of cuts
from the crowds
by the lake
to a scene
to a later scene
when it's just Jesus
with the 12 apostles
along with the other disciples
and they ask Jesus,
they ask Him,
Jesus,
why are you speaking
in all of these parables?
And Jesus gives
a very surprising answer
because up to this point
in Mark's gospel,
Jesus' illustrations
and His parables
have been used
to try to help people
get the point.
Remember Jesus talking
about the physician
who doesn't come
for the healthy
but for the sick.
Or remember Jesus talking
about the wedding guests
who aren't going to fast
as long as the bridegroom
is with them.
Or the new cloth
that shouldn't be sewed
onto an old shirt.
Or the new wine
that shouldn't be put
into old wineskins.
Jesus used all of these
quick parabolic sayings
to help people
get the point.
To sort of rattle them
out of their complacency
and to help them see.
But the parable
of the sower
isn't exactly like that.
The parable of the sower
is a solemn warning.
Consider again this moment
in Jesus' ministry.
There were crowds
upon crowds
who were content
to just listen to Jesus
on the hillside
and maybe see a few miracles
and get caught up
maybe in the enthusiasm
but who refused
to really come to him.
They had been listening
but not really hearing.
Not really heeding
what they heard.
And that's why Jesus
makes the distinction
he makes in verse 11.
He says to his disciples,
he says,
to you,
that is to you
who've come to me,
to you has been given
the secret
of the kingdom of God.
Now secret here
is a bit of a technical word
in the New Testament
that means revealed truth.
That is,
it's something
that you can't figure out
on your own
but God has to make it known.
God has to reveal it to us.
And for those
who have entered
into a relationship
with Jesus,
who have moved
from being a casual observer
in the crowd
to really hearing
and following him,
Jesus says,
God has revealed to you
the truth about the kingdom.
And what is it?
Well ultimately,
as Mark is unfolding
before us
that the kingdom,
the secret of the kingdom,
the revealed truth
of the kingdom
is that the kingdom
is ultimately found
in Jesus,
the king.
But notice the distinction
Jesus then makes.
He says,
but for those
on the outside,
that is those
who refuse
to come to him,
everything is in parables.
It all remains
hidden to them.
And in fact,
Jesus even seems
to be saying
in verse 12
that the parable
of the sower
functions like
a judgment
on their hard hearts.
Because they have
refused to come
to Jesus
after all this time,
Jesus tells them
a parable
about their own
refusal
to really,
truly hear.
He confronts them
in cryptic
picture form
with their own
spiritual state.
How about you,
friend?
Are you like
the seed
on the path?
You hear it
and it just
doesn't make
any impact.
It just
immediately
snatched away.
Don't you see
the spiritual danger
that you're in?
Or are you like
the seed
sown on rocky ground?
Maybe you like
what you hear,
but there's no depth.
There's no real
engagement.
At the first sign
of hardship,
you'll fall away.
Or are you like
the seed
among the thorns?
You've listened
for a while.
You go through
the motions.
Some might even
look at you and say,
wow, you're really
growing.
But the real love
of your life
isn't the Lord.
It's the world.
It's career.
It's wealth.
It's friendships.
And there's really
no lasting fruit
in your life.
is Jesus
telling this parable
to you
to warn you,
to wake you up
before it's too late.
We don't have
all the time
in the world
to make up our minds
where we stand
with Christ.
We can't continue
to hold him
at arm's length
forever and ever.
We must decide.
Will we stay
outside in the crowd
or will we come in?
Will we surrender
our lives to him
as our king,
as our loving Lord?
In verse 21,
Jesus changes
the metaphor
as he kind of
presses the parable
of the sower home.
In verse 21,
he changes the metaphor
and he speaks
of a lamp.
And literally,
that verse reads,
does the lamp
come in
to be put
under a basket?
Does the lamp
come in
to be put
under a basket?
And again,
Jesus is speaking
here of himself.
He is the light.
He is the lamp
entering the world.
And though he may
be hidden now,
as verse 22 says,
that's not how
it will be forever.
The lamp
doesn't go in
to stay under the bed,
but to light up
the whole house.
Christ might seem
veiled now,
but it won't be
so forever.
One day,
the glory of Christ
will be clear
for everyone to see.
When he returns
in splendor,
what seems so hidden
now will be uncovered.
The king in all his glory
will be unmistakable.
And where will you
find yourself
on that day?
When the God
of glory comes
to finally
and fully
reclaim his creation.
And his glory
covers the earth
like the waters
cover the sea.
that glory
that is rapture
or ruin.
Where will you
find yourself
on that day?
Still in the crowds?
Still on the hillside?
Still among the shallow rocks?
Still chasing the world
and its passing pleasures?
Friend,
if that is you,
don't let another hour
go by
in such a dangerous
spiritual state.
Take Christ
as your king,
as your light,
as your all.
Believe that he is
God in the flesh,
crucified for your sins,
risen for your life,
seated and reigning
at the Father's right hand,
ready to receive
in mercy
all who come to him.
Pay attention
to what you hear
because there are many
who fail to do so.
Let that not be you today.
But there's one last point
Jesus makes here
in our passage.
Pay attention
to what you hear,
Jesus says,
because those who do
will flourish
beyond measure.
Pay attention
to what you hear
because those who do
will flourish
beyond measure.
You see,
the parable of the sower
isn't just a warning.
It's also a promise.
It's not just a parable
about the many
who fail to hear
and receive this word.
It's also a parable
about the power
of this word
that despite
all the obstacles
it faces,
despite all the obstacles
the word faces
from the world
and our own flesh
and the evil one,
that still the word
will achieve
its saving purpose
in those who hear.
What an encouragement
this parable
must have been
to the early church
as they brought
the gospel
to a new city,
to a new place
and as they sadly
saw some
simply ignore it
altogether,
as they saw some
quickly fall away,
as they saw some
profess belief
but then chase
after the world
as if nothing
had changed.
What an encouragement
this parable
must have been.
An assurance
from Jesus himself
that the word
will find good soil
and it will produce
a harvest
and it will create
new life
and it will flourish
beyond measure
thirtyfold,
sixtyfold,
a hundredfold.
And this parable
should still
encourage us today.
The gospel
is the power
of God
for salvation
to those who believe
and we know
that our great God
has set his saving love
on a countless
multitude
from every tribe
and tongue
and nation
and city
who will hear the word,
accept it,
and bear fruit.
So don't lose heart,
brothers and sisters.
But this parable
is not just
an encouragement
for our witness.
It's an encouragement
to keep on hearing.
In verses 24 and 25,
Jesus again supplements
the parable of the sower
with what we might call
the parable of the measure.
He says,
pay attention
to what you hear.
With the measure you use,
it will be measured to you
and still more
will be added to you.
The degree
to which you give yourself
to engaging
with this word
is the degree
to which you will grow in it.
To be clear,
Jesus is not teaching
works righteousness here.
We are saved by grace
from first to last.
Rather,
Jesus is teaching us
a principle
of the spiritual life.
And even this principle
of the spiritual life
is overflowing
with God's grace.
Notice,
Jesus says,
with the measure you use,
it will be measured to you
and still more
will be added to you.
For the Christian,
growth in Christ-likeness
is more than just
proportionate
with our engagement
with Christ and his word.
It's super abundant.
So,
brothers and sisters,
do we hear it
when it is preached?
And do we meditate upon it
when it is read?
And do we apply it
when it is understood?
If we pay attention
to what we hear,
Jesus promises,
the growth will be abundant.
Brothers,
sisters,
are you longing for peace?
Jesus has revealed himself
as the prince of peace.
So seek him in his word.
Are you longing for strength
to endure,
to run the race?
Jesus is the almighty one.
Seek him in his word.
Do you long for wisdom?
Jesus is the one
in whom are hidden
all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge.
Seek him in his word.
The measure you use,
it will be added to you
and still more
will be added to you.
You will come looking
for wisdom
and Christ will also
make you patient.
You will come looking
and longing for strength
and Christ will also
make you compassionate.
You'll come looking
for peace
and Christ will also
give you a passion
for his glory
and still more
will be added to you.
Are you willing
to put this promise
to the test?
How will you engage
with God's word
this week?
What is one way
you can take
this promise to heart
and let God demonstrate
his faithfulness to you?
We started out
by saying how much
distraction technology
has produced in our lives.
But you know,
we also live in a time
when we have more access
to God's word
than ever before.
Why not listen
to a Sunday school class
you may have missed?
Put yourself
under the teaching
of God's word
this week.
Why not download
a prayer app?
There are lots
of good ones out there.
And put yourself
under the meaningful
prayer of God's word
this week.
If you don't have
a regular pattern
of reading God's word,
start this week.
You can pick up
reading the gospel
of Mark.
That's a good place
to start.
Read slowly
and ask God
to reveal more
of himself to you
and how you might
keep in step
with his spirit
this week.
How will you
take God
at his promise
this week?
Pay attention
to what you hear
because those
who do,
Jesus says,
will flourish
beyond measure.
Let's pray.
Lord,
we pause
before you
and we acknowledge
that in these moments
when we sit
before you
and your word,
a great spiritual
battle is taking
place
between our proud
hearts
that want to do
things our own way
and your mighty grace
that wants to capture
our hearts
and make us new.
So, Lord,
we pray that the power
of your word
would be at work
converting us,
drawing us to faith,
growing us
and changing us.
God,
how we long
to be a church
where we see
this growth,
not just in number,
God,
but in depth
to see our own lives
flourish
30,
60,
100-fold
with the character
of Christ.
Oh, Lord,
we acknowledge
that we're utterly
dependent on your spirit
to do that work.
So,
would you do it,
we pray,
for Christ's sake.
Amen.