Order, Words, & Voices
01.21.24, Hearing, Mark 4:1-34
Order
Pre Worship Music – Spotify – Open and Close
Songs Billy/Team
Glory to His Name
Shout to the Lord
Reading and Prayer Cricklin
Songs Billy/Team
I Will Never Be
Show Me Your Ways
Passage Mark 4:1-34 Mitch
Message Hearing Rick
Music Show Me Your Ways Billy/Team
Community/Benediction Rick
Closing Peace Rick
Music Jesus, Name Above All Names Billy/Team
Post Worship Music – Spotify – Open and Close
Music (slides) Billy/Team
Glory to His Name CCLI Song # 57667
Verse 1
Down at the cross
where my Savior died
Down where for cleansing
from sin I cried
There to my heart was the blood applied
Glory to His name
Chorus
Glory to His name
Glory to His name
There to my heart
was the blood applied
Glory to His name
Verse 2
I am so wondrously saved from sin
Jesus so sweetly abides within
There at the cross
where He took me in
Glory to His name
Chorus
Glory to His name
Glory to His name
There to my heart
was the blood applied
Glory to His name
Verse 3
O precious fountain
that saves from sin
I am so glad I have entered in
There Jesus saves me
and keeps me clean
Glory to His name
Chorus
Glory to His name
Glory to His name
There to my heart
was the blood applied
Glory to His name
Verse 4
Come to this fountain
so rich and sweet
Cast thy poor soul
at the Savior’s feet
Plunge in today
and be made complete
Glory to His name
Chorus
Glory to His name
Glory to His name
There to my heart
was the blood applied
Glory to His name
Shout To The Lord CCLI Song # 1406918
Verse
My Jesus my Saviour
Lord there is none like You
All of my days I want to praise
The wonders of Your mighty love
My comfort my shelter
Tower of refuge and strength
Let every breath all that I am
Never cease to worship You
Chorus
Shout to the Lord
All the earth let us sing
Power and majesty
Praise to the King
Mountains bow down
And the seas will roar
At the sound of Your name
I sing for joy
At the work of Your hands
Forever I’ll love You
Forever I’ll stand
Nothing compares to the promise
I have in You
Participatory Reading (Slides) Cricklin
Leader: May I strive to have a heart that is good
Response: May my heart be soil that receives the seed of truth
Leader: May I release the Spirit to guide me in all I do
Response: May I permit the Spirit to enrich and heal me
Leader: May my heart hold a space where peace is understood
Response: May my heart lead me to the waters and nutrients of trust
Leader: May God break the stone away when my heart is cold
Response: May the Lord warm my mind so that I may accurately discern
Leader: When my heart is lost and my mind is cluttered, may the Lord Lead me on the way
Response: May the Lord remind me be good soil
(adpted from CCLI Song # 806698)
Leader: Join me in the prayer of Jesus,
[Slides] Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, On Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses, while we forgive those who trespass against us. And, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Music (slides) Lynn/Team
I Will Never Be CCLI Song # 1874911
Verse 1
I will never be the same again
I can never return
I’ve closed the door
I will walk the path
I will run the race
And I will never be the same again
Chorus
Fall like fire soak like rain
Flow like mighty waters
Again and again
Sweep away the darkness
Burn away the chaff
And let a flame burn
To glorify Your name
Verse 2
There are higher heights
There are deeper seas
Whatever You need to do
Lord do it in me
And the glory of God fills my life
And I will never be the same again
Show Me Your Ways CCLI # 1675024
Verse
Show me Your ways
That I may walk with You
Show me Your ways
I put my hope in You
Chorus
The cry of my heart
Is to love You more
To live with the touch
Of Your hand
Stronger each day
Show me Your ways
Passage (Slides) Mitch
As Jesus was beside the sea he began to teach. The listeners were such a huge crowd around him that Jesus finally had to get into a boat and speak to them from there – Jesus was in the boat and the listeners were on the shore.
Jesus taught the crowd through parables: “Listen! A sower went out to seed his land. As he sowed he wanted to use all of his land so some seed fell on a path, and the birds came and ate it up.”
“Some seed fell on rocky ground where soil was very shallow, so the seed sprang up quickly. When the sun rose, the sprout was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away.”
“Other seed fell among thorns which grew up and choked the seed out so there was no grain for harvest.”
“The fourth group of seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”
Jesus said to the crowd, “If you have ears to hear, then hear!”
When Jesus was alone with the twelve along and some others, they asked him about the parables. Jesus said, “You have been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything comes in parables.”
As Jesus explained, he echoed the words of the prophet Isaiah, ‘they may indeed look but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand; so that they may not turn back and be forgiven.’
Jesus asked, “If you do not understand this parable, then how will you understand all the other parables?”
So, Jesus began to explain, “The seeds that the sower sows are God’s word, God’s truth. The soil is you and the other listeners.”
“The seed that lands on the path is immediately taken away by Satan. The seed on rocky ground is quickly received with joy but these listeners have no roots, they persevere for only a while but when trouble or persecution arises they immediately fall away.”
“The seeds sowed among the thorns are those who hear the word, but as they carry the worries of life and succumb to the lure of wealth and the desire for other things, the truth is choked out and yields nothing.”
“Finally the seeds sown on the good soil are those who hear the word and respond by accepting it and bearing fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”
Mark 4:1-20
Message Rick
It sounds like the stuff that conspiracy theories are made – a hidden message that only a select few can understand, a secret that has kept a majority in the dark, a hidden truth that is designed to keep the masses entrenched in ignorance, a centuries old process that benefits the entitled while leaving most humans in the dark and missing true freedom. A conspiracy that is leaked only to an inner circle.
[Screen Share]
[Slide] ‘so they may indeed look but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand; so that they may not turn back again and be forgiven’ (Mark 4:12)
These were Jesus’ words as he began to explain to this small inner circle after they asked what he meant when he told them the parable of the sower and the seed.
‘So they may indeed look but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand; so that they may not turn again back and be forgiven’ (Mark 4:12)
Words that seem to blatantly admit to an intentional effort to keep the average person in the dark, at least I think this is what it would seem to be a concerted effort to the weathered conspiracy theorist.
[Slide] Jesus admittedly saying, ‘I’m here for people to see me but to not truly recognize who I am, to hear my words but to not fully understand the meanings, because, it they do fully see and it they do fully hear, then they will turn back to God, for the uptenth time and then they will, again for the umptenth time, be forgiven.’
This kind of echoes the attitude of the prophet Jonah who fought against going to the people of Ninevah because he knew that they too would turn back again to God.
And, to make the conspiracy even deeper, Jesus was not the first ‘holy’ person to make this statement. Centuries before, the prophet Isaiah, had not only said these same words, but God seems to exhibit more vitriol as he instructs the prophet Isaiah to go and speak to the people on behalf of God.
[Slide] God says to Isaiah “Go and say to this people: ‘Keep listening, but you will not comprehend; keep looking, but will not understand.’ Isaiah, make their minds dull.
[Slide] Mute their ears, and, while you do that, shut their eyes, so that they may not look with their eyes and not listen with their ears.
[Slide] Do this so they will not comprehend with their minds and especially turn to God and be healed.”
(Isaiah 6:9-10)
[End Screen Share]
However, this conspiracy does not meet the bar of truth because it does not match the words, and especially the life, of Jesus – It does not match the words of God. So, we have to consider, contemplate, and investigate what is meant.
So, what did Jesus mean, what did Isaiah mean, what did God mean, in this use of these cryptic words?
Let’s take a look at the element of the moment starting with the prophet Isaiah. We have looked at this many times. Isaiah was speaking to a people who, either them or their descendants, were going to experience being conquered by another nation, their holy city of Jerusalem would be decimated and their even holier temple would be destroyed. On top of this, they would be exiled, enslaved, and they would, for almost a century, experience a life feeling abandoned by God. Isaiah’s call was for them to repent, to turn back to God before it was too late. Sadly, in that date and time, the people were going to hear Isaiah’s words, but never fully digest their meaning. The ancestors of this people had repeatedly turned back to God in difficult and hopeless times – these were the ancestors who had again, turned away from God in good and successful times.
This was the generational DNA of these people. This turning away, turning back, and then again, turning away from God, was a human trait that had settled into their very being, a trait that they had, as well, settled into. So they listened to Isaiah’s word but did not hear the truth. The ultimate consequence was the only way they, and their descendants, would turn back to God for real, it would not be an all in mentality, a full heart and mind commitment, a full sacrifice. Only then would they recognize the reason and purpose for turning back, only then would they understand the act of turning back.
This is also why John the Baptizer so passionately said to the crowds coming to the waters of repentance, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? You will know what this baptism means when you bear fruits worthy of this repentance, when you quit saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’.” (Luke 3:7-8a)
Jesus knew what John had meant when he said those words, John knew what Isaiah had meant when he said God’s words, the inner circle was now learning what Jesus was saying as they digested his words, as they carefully began a life of checking the condition of their soil.
[Slide- Screen Share]
Modern theologian Roy Harrisville labels the parables in Mark four as containing the ‘messianic secret’. In this label, Harrisville is saying that Jesus’ uses the literary form of parables to hide the deeper meanings. Basically keeping the message a secret so that the people will not turn back to God too quickly and then turn away again. If you are thinking that this motivation seems harsh, I agree, however, in being human, and knowing humanity, as well as knowing myself, and the fact that sometimes I am not ready, and all of humanity is not always ready, to fully digest many truths – then understanding the ‘why’ of this secrecy, is a bit more understandable.
[End Screen Share]
Before we sink into Jesus’ explanation, let’s face our modern religious reality – a look must be considered as we contemplate ourselves. – Jesus, and Isaiah, and John, were aware and weary of the short lived emotional impact of a crowd in making decisions. The three were also fully aware of the impact of a larger than life charismatic speaker who can woo an audience, or individual, with a words said with the use of volume, sentences put together with a tone of confidence and self professed expertise, and with the help of a reputation heightened by public relations, significant endorsements, teamed with numbers and crowds. Think of our methods of evangelism – emotion, ‘celebrity experts’, mass enthusiasm, scary facts and possibilities, judgment and condemnation. All are fashioned to bring a quick ‘transformation’ in a person and a quicker decision that 95 plus percent of the time does not last the test of time or life. Think of church youth camps, revival meetings, worship and praise nights, and other times when the intended act of praise evolves into a mob mentality aimed at religious fervor that seldom has a lasting impact.
In order to help his inner circle to understand this parable, Jesus breaks it apart. He explains humanity to the humans in front of him, and in doing so he explains all of us to all of us. Jesus explains how God works in our lives by enlightening us about ourselves.
So, having been human long enough to recognize the negative impacts of quick decision and fickle emotions, Jesus tells a parable, a story. A story that involves a sower, which I will refer to as the farmer, the seed that is planted, and the soil into which the seed is planted. Jesus, along with the Spirit, is the farmer, truth/God’s word is the seed, and we are the soil.
Soil can be healthy and fertile, welcoming the seeds without hesitation or, soil can be corrupted, and therefore very infertile. Bad soil can be repaired, either by outside forces and by inside forces – however, either way, it is a lengthy process. It can sometimes take years, decades, or more to make soil once again fertile and healthy. Time, an extended time, a long time, we already know how we humans are about waiting, we are not always patient, we almost never want to wait…for anything to happen.
So, let’s talk about those soils that keep us from truly hearing.
A hardened path, a rocky corner, a weed and thorns infested strip. A soil too hardened to ever receive the seed, a soil so shallow that roots are impossible so the seed cannot survive, a collection of invasive prohibitors that kill the seed almost as soon as it, if it, reaches the soil.
[Slide – Screen Share]
Subtly, as Jesus talks about the crowds who do not understand the parables, and explains to his inner circle what the parable means, he is saying that the inner circle is really no different than the larger crowd…except for the fact that he is about to explain so they can self check and self correct the soil that is them, the inner circle.
[Slide] So, again subtly, Jesus’ explanation is a caution to us about our own soil as well as the dangers of soil corruption that and are still ignored thousands of years later among followers of Jesus thousands of years later.
[End Screen Share]
Basically here is the simple version of what Jesus is saying…
The hardened path is a totally closed mind, this is what Jesus speaks about later Jesus as he warns us not to harden our hearts to the Spirit. A hardened heart and mind, like the hard path, cannot receive truth. Truth is quickly brushed away when our mind is closed and our heart is set not to even listen to anything other than the hardened path we have set our course on. Ultimately, this path of closed minds hardens our heart and then turning back to God is genuinely impossible. Note: Having a hardened heart yet still being able to sound and look religious is a reality Isaiah called out. If you willingly consider God’s confrontation or correction you do not have a hardened heart but, you still need to watch those you listen to.
The shallow soil, the rocky soil, is that which can listen but not last. This is where emotional and pressured choices cannot last because we have no healthy soil left to support them. Biblical scholars say that even Paul was not permitted to speak or preach until ready.
The final corrupt soil is the weed and thorns. When we allow our soil to be tainted, or crowded by others, religious leaders, effective preachers and Bible teachers, politicians, and others we allow to have undue influence over us. When their teachings, politics, and other elements take us over, our truth becomes dependent on, or choked out by their persuasiveness, untruths, and passionate agendas. Their interpretations, doctrines, and agendas become our truth rather that the true words of God.
Let’s go back to the baptismal waters of John the Baptizer where he baptised for the forgiveness – he was not giving forgiveness as in forgiveness from God – instead he was offering them the freedom to listen and to hear – the freedom to check their own soil. The freedom to shed their bad soil so they could truly hear Jesus.
Checking our soil may be the most abandoned practice and focus, and therefore, the greatest threat to Christianity that exists today.
Music (Slides) Billy/Team
Show Me Your Ways CCLI # 1675024
Verse
Show me Your ways
That I may walk with You
Show me Your ways
I put my hope in You
Chorus
The cry of my heart
Is to love You more
To live with the touch
Of Your hand
Stronger each day
Show me Your ways
Community (Slides) Rick
- [Slide] Next Sunday, 01.28.24, Mark 4:35-5:20, After the Shouting
- [Slide] ‘In-Between’ Bible Study, ?Begins this Wednesday?, January 24, Wednesdays at noon, Mark 5:21-43.
Benediction (Slides) Rick
May the heavenly Father open our eyes and ears to truth. May we be teachable to the Spirit, willing to adapt to the life of Jesus, and available to hear confrontation from the father.
May we have a heart that is open and prepared to search for God in everything said and all that is done. May we have a mind that accepts truth even when truth is unpleasant or uncomfortable.
May we grow in grace, increase in knowledge, and strive for the understanding of Jesus Christ. May we leave here with a desire to know God and to live lives that reflect God.
Closing Peace (Slides) Rick
[Slide] Leader: May the peace of the Lord go with you.
[Slide] Response: And also with you.
[Slide] Leader: Go in the peace of the Lord.
Music [Slides]
Jesus name above all names
Beautiful Savior glorious Lord
Emmanuel God is with us
Blessed Redeemer living Word
Order, Words, & Voices 