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Mark 4 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

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0:00Mark 4:1
0:03He began to teach again by the sea, and
0:06such a large crowd gathered to him that
0:08he got into [music] a boat in the sea
0:10and sat down.
0:12And the whole crowd was by the sea on
0:15the land. And he was teaching them many
0:18things in parables, and was saying to
0:20them in his teaching, "Listen to this.
0:24Behold, the sewer went out to sew."
0:28As he was sewing, some seed [music] fell
0:31beside the road, and the birds came and
0:34ate it up. Other seed fell on the rocky
0:37ground where it did not have much soil.
0:40And immediately it sprang up because
0:42[music] it had no depth of soil.
0:45And after the sun had risen, it was
0:48scorched, and because it had no root, it
0:51withered away.
0:53Other seed fell among thorns, and the
0:56thorns came up and choked it, and it
0:59yielded no crop.
1:01Other seed fell on the good soil.
1:05And as they grew up and increased, they
1:08yielded a crop and produced 30, 60, and
1:11100fold.
1:14And he was saying, "He who has ears to
1:17hear, let him hear."
1:19As soon as he was alone, his followers
1:21along with the twel began asking him
1:23about the parables.
1:26And he was saying to them, to you has
1:29[music] been given the mystery of the
1:31kingdom of God, but those who are
1:34outside get everything in [music]
1:36parables.
1:39So that while seeing they may see and
1:41not perceive, and while hearing they may
1:43hear and not understand, otherwise they
1:46might return and be forgiven.
1:50And he said to them, "Do you not
1:52understand this parable? How will you
1:54understand all the parables?
1:57The swer sws the seed. These are the
2:01ones who are beside the road where the
2:04word is sown. And when they hear,
2:06immediately Satan comes and takes away
2:09the word which has been sown in them. In
2:12a similar way, these are the ones on
2:15whom seed was sown on the rocky places,
2:18who when they hear the word immediately
2:20receive it with joy, and they have no
2:23firm root in themselves, [music] but are
2:25only temporary. Then when affliction or
2:28persecution arises because of the word,
2:31immediately they fall away.
2:35and others are the ones on whom seed was
2:37sown among the thorns.
2:39These are the ones who heard the word,
2:42but the worries of the world and the
2:44deceitfulness of riches and the desires
2:47for other things enter in and choke the
2:49word and it becomes unfruitful.
2:53And those are the ones on whom seed was
2:55sown in the good soil and they hear the
2:58word and accept it and bear fruit 30,
3:0160, and 100fold.
3:04And he was saying to them, "A lamp is
3:06not brought to be put under a basket, is
3:09it? Or under a bed. Is it not brought to
3:13be put on a lampstand? For nothing is
3:16hidden
3:17except to be revealed, nor has anything
3:20been secret, but that it would come to
3:23light. If anyone has ears to hear, let
3:27him hear." And he was saying to them,
3:29"Take care what you listen to. By your
3:32standard of measure, it will be measured
3:34to you, and more will be given you
3:36besides. For whoever has, to him more
3:39shall be given, and whoever does not
3:41have, even what he has shall be taken
3:44from him."
3:47So in this telling of the parable of the
3:49swer,
3:52the parables are the secrets
3:55that God wants to come to light. He's
3:58not giving them the mystery of the
4:01kingdom plainly. He's not saying the
4:04kingdom is going to be exactly like this
4:06and then this is going to happen and
4:07you're going to feel and experience
4:09that. He's giving it to them in
4:12metaphors that help them understand the
4:15kingdom. And this metaphor of the sewer
4:19and the seed is one of the big metaphors
4:22that Jesus uses to describe the kingdom.
4:26And in this he gives four different
4:28kinds of soil.
4:32And the first soil is it's sewn by the
4:36road. And this is the the the soil where
4:41it's too shallow. We don't have the
4:44culture in our hearts and we don't get
4:47any firm root. It's been trotten down.
4:51It's been hammered down. This is
4:54emotions and a condition of heart that
4:57has gone through a lot. But the plow of
5:01God's word has not plowed up our fellow
5:04hearts. the spade and shovel and sword
5:08has not tilled up our hearts. So th this
5:12is the callous conscience. This is the
5:15the indifferent, those who are um
5:20apathetic. They're not able to feel what
5:23God is wanting to say. And and this is
5:27where the devil can immediately come and
5:31take away the word
5:33because
5:35we didn't have any root. We didn't have
5:38we didn't let it go deep. We let it stay
5:42in the shallowess of our memory, in the
5:44shallowess of our momentary agreement,
5:48but we didn't let it go deep into the
5:51foundation of our being and produce
5:53conviction and commitment and covenant
5:56faithfulness.
5:59And the second is the one that is sown
6:02on rocky places where the word those who
6:06hear the word receive it quickly. But
6:09this is another soil depth problem. It's
6:13first the soil was shallow because it
6:15was by a path and it was stomped on.
6:18These are people who've been hurt,
6:19who've been trampled, who've been made
6:21callous. This next one is people who are
6:23shallow because they're too close to the
6:26things of the world. They're too they've
6:29never had experience. They've never had
6:32depth. They they don't feel deeply.
6:34They're the emotionally superficial.
6:37Both of these soils are similar in that
6:39way. And he says about this second one,
6:42they have no firm root in themselves,
6:43but they are only temporary. This second
6:46batch is susceptible to affliction.
6:50The shallow person doesn't want pain.
6:53Nobody [clears throat] does. But the
6:55shallow person is so infatuated with
6:58their superficial comforts, their
7:00superficial life that when affliction or
7:03persecution arises because of the word,
7:06immediately they fall away. The devil
7:09doesn't have to snatch it away. The
7:11persecution does it and it just falls
7:13over. No strong root, no depth of heart
7:18in them. And then the others are those
7:21who are sown among thorns. These are
7:24those who hear the word of God, but
7:27thinking about other plans,
7:30the the rodeo they're going to attend
7:32tonight or the business concern that
7:35they have, it doesn't allow their
7:39thoughts and feelings to wrap around
7:42what God is speaking in the moment to
7:45take it deep into the depths of their
7:47heart. And so it's just coexisting with
7:51priorities that are taking up the
7:54nutrients of their life, taking up the
7:56nutrients of their soil. This is these
7:58are those who are sown among thorns. And
8:01the thorns are the deceitfulness of
8:03riches, chasing money. Um it's the
8:06desires for other things that choke the
8:10word out. This is where you plant your
8:12word among many things that you're
8:14seeking until those many things
8:16suffocate the oxygen that the word of
8:19God needed.
8:22And then the good soil, there are those
8:25who hear the word and take it in.
8:28[clears throat]
8:30They take it in. They take it deep
8:32inside and they bear fruit. And we know
8:35from Matthew's version, it all pivots on
8:38the condition of the heart.
8:40They do not understand because their
8:42hearts are hardened. So that's how we
8:45take it in when we let a broken heart
8:49produce deeper soil, not dejection and
8:53self-pity and cynicism.
8:56And then he goes on and he says, "A lamp
8:59is not to be hid under a basket." So
9:02he's saying the reason I'm giving you
9:04these insights into the kingdom is I
9:07want the kingdom to shine through you
9:10and and these secrets these par these
9:13parables these truths in parables are
9:15the secrets. He says there is nothing
9:18hidden and this goes back to why are you
9:20talking in parables? He's saying, "Well,
9:23I'm hiding the truth in your hearts. But
9:26if if this truth will take root in you,
9:29it will burst above soil 30, 60, and
9:32100fold. And that truth that I hid
9:35inside of you. It will not stay hidden.
9:38There is nothing hidden except to be
9:40revealed, nor has anything been secret,
9:43but it would come to light. If anyone
9:44has ears to hear, let him hear.
9:48Take care what you listen to." So he's
9:51saying be careful how you take in ideas,
9:55truth, parables, because
9:59the way you listen is going to decide
10:02whether you're one of these soils that
10:05bears fruit or that is a waste. For
10:08whoever has, to him more shall be given,
10:11and whoever does not have what he has
10:13shall be taken from him. And this is the
10:16idea that God does not reward
10:19faithlessness.
10:20If you walk into church and you say, "I
10:23can't get anything out of this word."
10:24Guess what? You're not going to get
10:25anything out of this word. You've got to
10:28you've got to have something. You got to
10:30have faith. You got to have some depth.
10:33You've got to have some hunger. You've
10:35got to have something because that's how
10:38you're going to get more. He's going to
10:40add to what you've already been given.
10:44And he goes on verse 26 and he said the
10:47kingdom of God is like a man who casts
10:49seed upon the soil. He's stuck on this
10:53idea of seed and soil to elucidate the
10:56kingdom. And he goes to bed at night and
10:59gets up by day and the seed sprouts and
11:02grows. How he himself does not know.
11:07The kingdom isn't like a a general
11:09marching in to conquer a city. The
11:12kingdom is like God speaking things that
11:16people take deep in their hearts in a
11:18new way. And it's so powerful. It's like
11:21a kingdom, but it's so subtle. It's like
11:24a seed. The soil produces crops by
11:28itself.
11:30First the blade, then the head, then the
11:33mature grain in the head. But when the
11:35crop permits, he immediately puts in the
11:38sickle because the harvest has come.
11:41This is a powerful statement. Do you
11:44want the kingdom in your life? Then what
11:46is your soil? Do you want the kingdom in
11:49your church? Then what is your soil? Do
11:52you want the kingdom in your family?
11:53What is your family's soil? Because he's
11:56saying he's putting a lot of weight on
11:58the soil in this final imagery here. Can
12:02you go out and plant a fig tree in
12:04gravel?
12:06Can you plant an olive tree in asphalt?
12:10No. So, what is the soil that he's
12:14talking about? He's saying this is what
12:15the kingdom of God is like. And and now
12:18in this instance, he's not just talking
12:21about the seed of a truth given to
12:23hearts. He's talking about the seed of a
12:25person and where they are planted. And
12:27he says the soil produces crops by
12:30itself. Look at the culture around us.
12:34The school system is a soil. The
12:36entertainment system is a soil. The
12:38economic environment is a soil. The
12:42family stress and and environment is a
12:44soil. The competitiveness is a soil.
12:49Does faith grow in those soils? Do godly
12:52children grow in those soils? Because if
12:55they don't, we had better come together
12:57and create a better soil. And then he
13:00tells us that the kingdom matures in
13:03three phases. What are the three phases?
13:05First, the blade, the tiny little sprout
13:09poking up above the dirt, then the head,
13:14then the mature grain in the head. And
13:17this is a principle that we're going to
13:18see in the New Testament many times that
13:21maturity unfolds in three phases.
13:25Jesus will use this later. He'll say,
13:27"First I called you servants, then I
13:30called you friends, then I called you
13:32brothers. Blade, head, mature grain."
13:36This is how we learn things. We come to
13:39we come to childhood, then we come to
13:41adolescence, then we come to adulthood.
13:43It's these three phases of life. these
13:46three phases of maturation.
13:48And he's saying that's how the kingdom
13:50is. First, you got to have a soil where
13:53the seed of promise or the person of
13:55promise can be planted. And at at the
13:58beginning, it's just going to be a
14:00sprout, one little green thing poking
14:02above the dirt. And then it'll grow up
14:05and you'll see, oh, it's got a head.
14:08It's it it's got a it's got some fruit
14:10in it. It's got grain in there. But then
14:13when that grain is mature, that head is
14:15going to bow down and and it's not going
14:18to be a tear. It's going to be one of
14:19the grains of wheat and it's going to be
14:22laden with fruitfulness.
14:24That's how we mature in our walk with
14:26God. First, we have the evidence of
14:29life. Then we have something growing,
14:32but it's still inside. And then we're
14:34bearing fruit that feeds others. One,
14:37two, three.
14:39Parable of the mustard seed.
14:42And he said, "How shall we picture the
14:44kingdom of God? Or by what parable shall
14:46we present it? It is like a mustard seed
14:49which when sown upon the soil, though it
14:52is smaller than all the seeds that are
14:54upon the soil, yet when it is sewn, it
14:57grows up and becomes larger than all the
15:00garden plants and forms large branches
15:03so that the birds of the air can nest
15:06under its shade."
15:08With many such parables, he was speaking
15:11the word to them so far as they were
15:14able to hear it. And he did not speak to
15:17them without a parable, but he was
15:19explaining everything privately to his
15:22disciples. So this is the idea again
15:25that the kingdom of God starts small and
15:28it matures in the proper environment of
15:31cultivation and care. And if you want to
15:35see a mighty rain of God in your life,
15:39pay more attention to tiny mustard seeds
15:41and the soil where they're planted. And
15:44one day they'll become the greatest tree
15:47in the garden. And its branches will be
15:49so great that strangers will come and
15:53find refuge and shade in its branches.
15:58On that day, when evening came, he said
16:02to them, "Let us go over to the other
16:06side."
16:07Leaving the crowd,
16:10they took him along with them in the
16:12boat, just as he was, and other boats
16:16were with him. And there arose a fierce
16:19gale of wind, and the waves were
16:22breaking over the boat, so much that the
16:25boat was already filling up.
16:28Jesus himself was in the stern, asleep
16:32on the cushion. And they woke him and
16:35said to him, "Teacher,
16:37do you not care that we are perishing?"
16:41And he got up and rebuked the wind and
16:43said to the sea, "Hus, be still." And
16:48the wind died down and it became
16:49perfectly calm. And he said to them,
16:53"Why are you afraid?
16:56Do you still have no faith?"
16:59They became very much afraid and said to
17:02one another, "Who then is this that even
17:05the wind and the sea obey him?"
17:08You see, he was speaking things [music]
17:11to them, but that seed of faith was not
17:14finding fertile soil in their hearts.
17:18And so, [snorts] the moment on the storm
17:21is a test of how
17:24his word is taking root in their life.
17:27And he's not asleep because
17:31he doesn't care. He's asleep because the
17:34storm he's most concerned about is not
17:36the wind and waves. The storm he's
17:39concerned about is the faithlessness
17:41that proves his word is not taking root
17:44inside of them. So when he wakes up,
17:51he's asleep in our in our storm. We're
17:53freaked out. We don't know what to do.
17:57and we wake him up and he takes care of
18:00the problem, but he's more concerned
18:03about the storm of anxiety and
18:06faithlessness that was going on right
18:08here. And what that shows is that
18:11they're still grateful for what he's
18:14preaching, but they're not embodying it.
18:17They're not internalizing it. They're
18:19not able to bear fruit, the kind of
18:22fruit that could speak the word of God
18:25to a storm.
18:26And that's a discouragement to him. He's
18:29not happy about that. [music]
18:42[music]

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