Participants:
Series Code: THI
Program Code: THI000040S
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00:23 Welcome to
00:23 Timeless Healing Insights. 00:24 I'm Dr. David DeRose. 00:26 We continue our study 00:27 through the parables of Jesus 00:29 as they're played out in Mark 4 00:32 looking at their healing power. 00:35 Let's see 00:36 what God has to teach us 00:37 in today's episode. 00:41 Father in Heaven, 00:43 thank You so much 00:44 that You shine light 00:46 on life through Your parables. 00:49 Help us to better 00:49 appreciate that today, 00:51 as we open again Mark's Gospel. 00:54 We ask, in Jesus name, Amen. 00:58 I've got a question for you. 01:00 And don't speak out loud, 01:03 because the answer may 01:04 or may not be obvious to you, 01:05 but can you learn? 01:07 Can you learn how 01:08 to prevent disease 01:10 by looking at people 01:11 who have 01:12 staggering rates 01:13 of that disease? 01:16 And I can see 01:17 some of the wheels turning. 01:18 I see some of you 01:18 nodding your heads, yes. 01:19 Others of you shaking 01:20 your heads, no. 01:23 Well, let me tell you a story. 01:25 For many years, 01:26 I've been working 01:26 with First Nation 01:28 Peoples here in North America. 01:30 You may call them 01:31 Native Americans 01:32 or Aboriginal Peoples. 01:34 And one of the things 01:35 I've been very impressed 01:36 with is their cultural wisdom 01:39 regarding health. 01:40 If you look at their 01:42 historical traditions, 01:43 their oral traditions. 01:44 But there's an 01:46 interesting disease 01:48 that affects 01:49 Native Americans 01:50 disproportionately, 01:51 and that disease is diabetes. 01:53 Are you aware of that? 01:54 That Native Americans 01:55 have extremely high 01:56 rates of diabetes, more 01:58 so than any other major segment 02:00 of our population 02:01 in the United States. 02:03 And so 02:04 what has been so 02:05 fascinating to me 02:07 is that 02:07 if you look historically 02:09 at Native Americans, 02:10 they had no diabetes 02:12 prior to European contact. 02:15 And there's many 02:15 lines of evidence 02:16 that support this conclusion, 02:18 including data 02:19 that we have, 02:20 actual data 02:20 going back to around 1900 here 02:23 in, in the United States 02:24 that shows basically 02:25 no diabetes then. 02:27 One population 02:28 of Native Americans 02:29 with a single case of diabetes. 02:31 But that was still well 02:32 after European contact. 02:34 So very interesting. 02:35 Can we learn anything 02:36 about diabetes prevention 02:39 from a population 02:40 that has very high 02:41 rates of diabetes? 02:42 And some of you 02:43 might be saying, well, 02:43 we probably could 02:44 if they had 02:45 no diabetes to begin with. 02:48 And then Europeans 02:49 come to this continent 02:50 and they have high rates. 02:51 There's probably something 02:52 we could learn 02:53 when indeed that's the case. 02:55 Some years ago 02:57 I presented 02:57 a couple of lectures 02:59 that we filmed called 03:00 Listening to the Buffalo, 03:02 and the subtitle 03:03 was the Life Changing 03:05 Native American Wisdom 03:07 for Optimal Health. 03:08 And I shared 03:09 those presentations 03:10 in many settings, 03:11 including with Native 03:12 American groups. 03:13 I remember one native 03:14 woman came up to me 03:15 after the presentation 03:17 and she basically said, 03:18 you know, 03:19 I didn't realize 03:20 that my ancestors had taught 03:22 all these things 03:23 that I really need today. 03:25 But I noticed 03:27 something even more amazing, 03:29 and that is 03:32 that many people 03:33 who were not Native American, 03:35 if they listened 03:36 to that lecture, 03:38 they listened to it 03:39 like a story 03:40 about somebody else. 03:42 It wasn't about them. 03:44 And so when I shared research, 03:46 like was presented 03:47 in this 03:47 monograph, Diabetes 03:49 as a Disease of Civilization, 03:51 one of the chapters written 03:52 by a Native 03:53 American researcher. 03:54 Diet, culture and diabetes. 03:57 Basically, it pointed out 03:58 and connected the dots. 03:59 What changed? 04:00 What was different 04:01 about indigenous lifestyles 04:03 here on this continent 04:04 compared to what happened 04:05 when Europeans came? 04:07 And as I share these things 04:10 with people 04:11 about Native Americans, 04:12 somehow it seemed 04:14 that people were listing 04:15 better than if I was talking 04:17 to them about their diabetes. 04:18 And here's 04:19 what you should do differently. 04:20 Are you following 04:20 along with me? 04:21 So it's again, this idea 04:23 of telling a story 04:24 that people become 04:25 engaged with. 04:26 So since I've 04:27 given you this illustration, 04:28 let me just fill in the dots 04:30 a little bit more and tell you 04:32 what are some of the things 04:33 that prevented Native Americans 04:34 from having diabetes 04:36 before Europeans arrived? 04:38 First of all, 04:39 they consumed 04:40 dramatically less fat. 04:43 Very interesting. 04:44 One thing that native Americans 04:46 never did 04:47 historically 04:48 was fry their food, okay? 04:51 So fried food 04:52 especially a problem 04:54 when it comes to diabetes, 04:56 high fat, 04:57 especially saturated 04:58 fat, animal fat. 04:59 Setting the stage for what 05:00 we call insulin resistance. 05:02 Increased mineral intake. 05:04 Are you aware 05:05 there's actual research studies 05:07 that show 05:07 if you consume more magnesium 05:09 found in things 05:10 like whole grains 05:11 and beans and seeds, 05:12 you will tend 05:13 to have lower rates 05:14 of diabetes, okay? 05:16 So magnesium 05:17 has some interesting benefits. 05:18 We sometimes use it in heart 05:20 patients with heart 05:20 rhythm problems. 05:21 Wehave them take 05:22 extra magnesium. 05:23 Magnesium seems to have blood 05:24 pressure lowering benefits. 05:26 But Native Americans 05:27 were eating a mineral rich, 05:29 more plant based diet. 05:31 Lower caloric density. 05:33 That means if you take 05:34 a volume of food, 05:36 less calories in it. 05:38 Well, how easy is it to 05:40 become overweight 05:41 if your food has 05:42 low caloric density? 05:45 Think about it this way. 05:47 If you sit down 05:47 and you fill up your plate 05:48 with food, 05:49 if you feel up 05:50 with certain things, 05:51 if you fill your plate up with, 05:52 you can pack a lot 05:53 of calories in to your stomach. 05:56 But if you're eating, 05:57 especially plant 05:58 foods, 05:59 especially vegetables, okay? 06:02 Especially vegetables 06:03 that grow above the ground. 06:05 You can, 06:06 I mean, 06:07 how much lettuce could you? 06:07 How many of you think 06:08 you could have a weight problem 06:09 if you went on a lettuce diet 06:10 for a month? 06:11 By the way, I'm 06:12 not recommending that. Okay. 06:13 But my point is, 06:14 so we're looking here, I'm 06:15 sharing with people 06:16 what Native Americans did. 06:19 They didn't eat these high, 06:20 simple sugar 06:21 foods, these foods 06:22 that have what we call 06:23 a high glycemic index 06:25 that raise blood sugar quickly. 06:26 They didn't have fast 06:27 foods, okay? 06:29 They followed 06:29 temperance principles. 06:31 Fasting was a part of their 06:34 cultural practices. 06:35 And they even used herbs, 06:37 many herbs 06:38 you may or may not be aware, 06:39 have blood sugar 06:41 lowering properties. 06:42 So you do all 06:42 these positive things. 06:45 My reason for 06:46 telling you about it, 06:46 though, is 06:47 if I just took 06:48 the average person 06:49 off the street, 06:49 I say I got 06:50 some help for your diabetes 06:51 here. 06:52 Here's this list of things 06:53 that I'd say, Well, 06:53 that's not my lifestyle. 06:54 I'm not going to 06:55 change like that. 06:56 But when I'm telling them 06:57 about Native Americans 06:58 and I'm telling the story, 06:59 they become engaged. 07:01 Now, I give you 07:01 that illustration because it's 07:05 just like what Jesus did. 07:08 Now, some of you say, Oh, 07:09 well, that's a stretch. 07:11 DeRose as a physician 07:13 and as a pastor, 07:14 you sometimes 07:14 try to make these things 07:15 a little bit too tight. 07:16 But basically that's 07:18 what Jesus is doing. 07:19 He's talking about things 07:20 that they were concerned 07:21 about here. 07:22 One of the things I've noticed 07:23 most Americans are concerned 07:24 about is their health. 07:25 You notice that? 07:27 And Jesus told stories. 07:30 So let's go to Mark 4 07:34 and look at this amazing story, 07:36 this amazing parable 07:37 that Jesus told, 07:38 because I think it is 07:40 definitely worth 07:41 our understanding. 07:43 Some of you who've heard me 07:44 previously, you've heard me 07:46 recommend the book 07:47 Christ Object Lessons, 07:48 the first two chapters 07:50 of this book 07:50 excellent on parables overall 07:52 and on this first parable 07:54 that's addressed in the book, 07:55 chapter 4, 07:56 The Parable of the Sower. 08:00 Here's a simple 08:01 overview about it. 08:02 And I'm taking this time 08:03 because some of you might say, 08:04 but I know 08:05 the parable of the sower. 08:06 That's like the most 08:07 basic parable. 08:08 I mean, everyone knows that. 08:09 By the parable of the sower, 08:12 Christ illustrates the things 08:14 of the kingdom of heaven. 08:16 By the parable of the sower, 08:19 Christ does what? 08:21 He illustrates 08:23 the things 08:24 of the kingdom of heaven, 08:25 and the work 08:26 of the great Husbandman 08:28 for His people. 08:29 Like a sower in the field, 08:31 He came to scatter 08:33 the heavenly grain of truth. 08:35 Because of the simplicity 08:38 of the parable of the sower, 08:41 It has not been valued 08:43 as it should be. 08:45 Simple parable, right? 08:47 Do you value it? 08:48 We want to value it more today. 08:50 From the natural seed 08:53 cast into the soil, 08:54 Christ desires 08:55 to lead our minds 08:56 to the gospel seed, 08:58 the sowing of which results in 09:00 bringing man 09:00 back to his loyalty to God. 09:04 Well, we want to look at this 09:05 because 09:06 if you're not 09:06 making the 09:07 connection in Mark 4, 09:10 who the sower is, 09:12 I want you to think about that. 09:14 Who the sower is. 09:16 The sower is Jesus, okay? 09:19 The sower is Jesus. 09:21 And in another 09:22 parable that 09:23 Jesus told 09:24 not recorded in Mark, 09:25 but in Matthew, 09:26 Jesus put it this way 09:27 in his own words, He who sows 09:29 the good seed is who? 09:30 The Son of Man. 09:32 So Jesus, in this parable 09:33 in Mark 09:34 4, is the One 09:37 who's sowing the seed. 09:39 Look at how the parable begins. 09:41 Mark 4:3, 09:43 Jesus starts with 09:44 a single word. 09:46 And what is that word? 09:48 Listen or hear. 09:50 It is the most common word used 09:53 in Mark 4 09:54 or one of the most common 09:55 words. It's the key word used. 09:57 You know, 09:58 if you want to count 09:59 all the articles and things, 10:00 I'm sure you can find 10:00 other words used more commonly. 10:02 But the point is 10:03 this is a critical word. 10:05 He wants us to do what? 10:06 To hear, to listen. 10:08 And He says, 10:09 a sower goes out to sow. 10:11 Here's 10:11 the first question for you. 10:13 It says, 10:13 The sower goes out to sow. 10:14 We've already seen 10:15 the sower is Jesus, 10:19 but says the sower 10:20 goes out to sow. 10:22 Where does the sower 10:23 go out from? 10:24 Now, so you might say 10:25 it doesn't matter. 10:26 It's just saying he went out 10:27 and starts started selling. 10:29 No, I think it's 10:29 actually relevant. 10:30 Where did the sower 10:31 go out from? 10:32 Think about it 10:33 in the days of Jesus, 10:34 in Bible times. 10:35 People typically 10:36 lived in walled cities, okay? 10:40 Why did you live 10:41 in a walled city? 10:43 It was a dangerous time 10:44 to live, okay? 10:46 So what you would do 10:47 if you were a farmer, 10:48 you'd go out in your fields 10:50 during the day, farm, 10:52 and then you'd come 10:52 back into the city, 10:54 the walled city at night. 10:55 And often 10:56 the gates of 10:57 the city were closed at night. 11:00 When the morning came, 11:01 what would you do? 11:02 Gates would open up 11:04 and you'd go back out 11:05 and take care of your crop. 11:08 So here's 11:08 the interesting point. 11:10 Where was the safest place 11:13 to be ostensibly? 11:14 Where was the safest place? 11:16 Was it in the city 11:17 or in the field? 11:19 It was in the city, okay? 11:20 Because that's 11:21 where the walls were. 11:22 That's 11:23 where your defenses were. 11:24 So daily you'd leave 11:25 the security of the city 11:27 and you'd go out 11:28 to sow your seed, 11:29 or to harvest your crop. 11:31 Are you following along 11:32 what's going on here? 11:34 John 1. 11:36 Sonia and I have been 11:37 listening to 11:37 a testimony recently 11:40 of someone who 11:42 was not raised a Christian, 11:44 and they grew up 11:46 actually the same way 11:47 I did as an agnostic. 11:49 I heard 11:49 many people say things like, 11:51 Oh, Jesus 11:52 never claimed to be God. 11:54 Or the Bible never said that 11:55 Jesus was divine. 11:56 Yeah, He was a good teacher, 11:57 but He wasn't God. 11:59 And this young man 12:01 had grown up that way. 12:02 And as he's telling his story, 12:04 he finally decided 12:05 to actually read the Bible. 12:07 Thatevolutionary, isn't it? 12:09 You can kind of page through it 12:10 quickly. And I did this myself. 12:12 I'm just telling you the truth. 12:13 You know, 12:14 people told me this as a kid 12:15 growing up. 12:16 Oh, yeah, Jesus 12:17 never said He was God. 12:18 He wasn't God. 12:19 And I, you know, 12:19 kind of looked 12:20 at the Bible quickly 12:21 and I mean, 12:22 pretty hard to, I mean, 12:23 this is before search engines. 12:25 I know I'm dating myself, but, 12:27 you know, 12:28 I didn't find 12:29 anything in there, okay? 12:32 Well, 12:32 so this 12:32 fellow's telling his testimony, 12:34 and he says, I decided to start 12:36 reading the gospel of John. 12:37 I don't know why 12:37 he picked John. 12:38 And he starts reading, 12:39 and here's what he reads. 12:40 In the beginning was the Word, 12:43 and the Word was with God, 12:46 and the Word was God. 12:48 Now you don't have to read far 12:51 to connect the dots 12:52 if you just 12:52 read down to verse 14, 12:54 it makes it clear 12:55 that the Word 12:56 is referring to who? 12:58 Jesus, okay? 13:00 So he's reading this 13:02 and it's saying 13:02 the Word was with God 13:04 and the Word was God. 13:06 He was in the 13:06 beginning with God. 13:07 All things were made through 13:09 Him, and without Him 13:10 nothing was made that was made. 13:12 What is he confronted with? 13:14 The Bible is saying 13:15 that Jesus is what? God. 13:18 Jesus is God. 13:21 Jesus is not only God, He 13:23 is, according to John 1, 13:25 He is the Creator. 13:27 He is the Creator. 13:28 Now you say, Well, 13:30 Jesus is God, He's the Creator, 13:33 and where was He? 13:35 He was in heaven. 13:37 And He comes 13:39 as the sower 13:40 of the Divine Seed, 13:41 and He 13:42 leaves the security of heaven. 13:45 I mean, think about it. 13:46 Jesus comes for you and for me. 13:48 I want you to look at John 1. 13:50 I want you to see this 13:52 John 1 I want you to see verses 13:53 10 and 11, because 13:57 it really makes this poignant 13:58 for us, 13:59 because Jesus leaves 14:01 the security of heaven 14:02 and He doesn't come 14:04 to a grand reception. 14:06 He doesn't come 14:06 to a group of people 14:08 that just embrace Him. 14:09 We've been seeing 14:09 what happens in Mark. 14:11 John summarizes 14:13 Mark 1 through 3 14:16 in a single 14:17 pair of verses, verses 14:18 10 and 11. 14:20 He, Jesus, was in the world, 14:22 and the world 14:23 was made through Him, 14:24 and the world did not know Him. 14:27 He came to His own, and His own 14:30 did not receive Him. 14:33 But I don't want to stop there. 14:36 That's all that's relevant 14:37 for Jesus띞crifice, 14:38 leaving the security of heaven 14:40 to come down here. 14:41 But I want you to see 14:42 what continues, 14:43 because this is 14:44 part of the gospel 14:46 that we need to not forget. 14:48 Verse 12. 14:49 But as many as received Him, 14:51 to them 14:52 gave He the right, 14:53 the power, 14:54 the authority 14:55 to become children of God, 14:57 to those who believe 14:58 in His name, 14:59 who were born 14:59 not of blood, 15:00 nor of the will of the flesh, 15:01 nor of the will of man, 15:03 but of God. 15:03 And it 15:04 കving us this picture 15:05 again, 15:06 that by trusting in Him, 15:07 by coming to Him 15:08 in faith, what? 15:09 We become the children of God, 15:11 regardless of what 15:11 our background has been. 15:13 So this is the 15:14 the good news that 15:14 Jesus came to bring. 15:18 Jesus comes 15:19 as the Divine Sower. 15:20 But here's the amazing thing. 15:22 Jesus calls us to be sowers 15:25 as well. 15:25 So this parable isn't just 15:27 about Jesus뤨rk. 15:29 It has implications 15:30 for you and me. 15:31 The Parable 15:31 of the Sower pictures 15:34 Jesus as the one 15:35 who commissions 15:36 us to be sowers with Him. 15:38 Think about it this way 15:40 The very first missionary call, 15:44 if you want to use 15:44 that terminology, comes in 15:46 Genesis 12, 15:47 when someone is actually called 15:49 to leave their people 15:51 and go somewhere else. 15:52 And that call goes to Abraham. 15:55 In Genesis 12:1, 15:56 the Bible says, 15:58 Go from your country, 16:01 from your people, 16:03 from your father's household, 16:04 to a land that I will show you. 16:06 And what does Abraham do? 16:09 Hebrews 11 summarizes 16:11 that if you don't know 16:12 the story, 16:13 Abraham obeyed and went, 16:15 even though 16:17 he did not know where he was 16:18 going, okay? 16:20 So what's happening? 16:23 Abraham is going to be a sower. 16:26 He's going to sow 16:27 the seeds of truth 16:28 by his lifestyle, 16:29 by his teaching, 16:31 by those who travel 16:32 with him, by his family. 16:34 But this isn't just 16:34 an Old Testament concept. 16:36 When Paul 16:37 receives his call from heaven, 16:40 God makes it clear to him 16:42 that he's got a mission. 16:43 And God says to him, go, 16:45 I will send you where? 16:47 Far away to the Gentiles. 16:50 By the way, 16:51 was it a safe thing 16:53 that Paul did 16:54 to go 16:54 preach the gospel 16:55 to the Gentiles? 16:58 If you, listen, 16:58 read 2 Corinthians 16:59 11 sometime, just pick it up. 17:01 Starting in verse 17:02 23, just read five verses there 17:04 and you'll read about 17:04 how Paul was stoned 17:06 and how he was shipwrecked 17:07 and how he was attacked, okay? 17:09 So now I know 17:10 some of you think the narrative 17:11 should be different, 17:12 that Jesus should come down 17:14 and everyone should 17:14 have accepted Him. I agree. 17:16 When someone comes 17:17 with the gospel, 17:17 to minister people, 17:18 they should welcome him with 17:20 open arms. But I'll tell you, 17:23 as a physician, 17:25 not everyone 17:26 welcomes everything 17:27 I have to tell them either 17:28 when it comes 17:29 to their physical health, okay? 17:31 I'm just being honest with you. 17:32 Maybe you've been there before. 17:34 Maybe you want 17:35 to throw the doctor out. 17:37 Actually, the worst 17:38 job I ever had 17:39 as far as this dynamic, 17:41 was working as 17:43 in occupational medicine. 17:45 And one of the things 17:46 we had to do 17:47 in occupational medicine, 17:48 is see people 17:49 who thought they were well, 17:51 who are coming in 17:51 for a pre placement exam 17:54 to make sure they could do 17:55 whatever job. 17:56 And you want to see 17:57 people get upset. 17:59 You know, they're not coming 18:00 because they have 18:00 anything wrong with them. 18:01 When you find something 18:02 wrong with them, 18:03 that's 18:04 not what they wanted to hear. 18:05 They wanted you 18:05 just to say, you know, 18:06 you've got the job. 18:07 And when you say, well, 18:08 you've got this problem 18:09 or you've got this, 18:10 oh, they didn't like that. 18:12 So Jesus is pointing out need, 18:15 but He's also pointing out 18:16 a remedy. 18:18 So was Paul, so was Abraham. 18:21 We've 18:21 got these 18:22 amazing illustrations. 18:24 But I've got to tell you, 18:25 it's not just other books. 18:28 We're going through 18:28 the gospel of Mark. 18:29 In Mark 18:29 3, turn in your Bibles there. 18:31 I want you to see this. 18:32 We looked at it already. 18:33 I'm going to show you where 18:34 we've been 18:34 and where we're going. 18:35 Don't worry. 18:36 It won't be today 18:36 where we're going to 18:37 cover all this. 18:38 But Mark 3, where we've been. 18:40 In Mark 18:41 3, Jesus gives a commission. 18:45 We've studied this already. 18:46 But I want you to note 18:47 Jesus is calling His followers 18:50 to be sowers. 18:52 Don't miss this. 18:54 I'm in Mark 18:55 3, beginning with verse 14. 18:58 Jesus appointed 12. 19:01 We call them the 12 disciples. 19:03 Why? 19:03 That they might be with Him 19:06 and that He might 19:08 send them out to preach. 19:10 They're being given what? 19:11 They're being given 19:13 this charge to be sowers. 19:15 Turn your Bibles now to Mark 5 19:18 where we're headed 19:19 by God's grace, 19:20 maybe even the next 19:21 time we're together. 19:23 Mark 5. 19:25 In Mark 5 there is 19:26 this amazing story 19:27 of Jesus 19:28 healing a demon possessed man. 19:31 The man 19:32 wants to press close to Jesus. 19:34 He doesn't want to leave 19:35 Jesus, and Jesus gives him 19:37 this commission. 19:39 I'm in verse 19. 19:41 Jesus says, Go. 19:44 Go home to your friends 19:46 and tell them what great things 19:48 the Lord has done for you 19:50 and how 19:51 He has had compassion on you. 19:54 So why is it so important 19:56 to go out? 19:56 Let me just tell you something. 19:57 I don't know if you realize it, 19:58 but today 19:59 you could argue 20:00 that no one needs to testify 20:02 for Jesus anymore 20:04 because there's plenty of stuff 20:05 out there on the Internet. 20:07 I was telling you 20:07 just a little while ago 20:09 that Sonja and I were listening 20:10 to someone's testimony 20:11 who was reading through John 1, 20:14 the person's testimony 20:15 that we were listening to, 20:17 he died five years ago, 20:21 no longer here, 20:22 but we were 20:22 listening to his testimony. 20:24 Are you following along? 20:25 You say, 20:26 So why do I need my testimony? 20:27 What was that link? 20:28 Just give me that link 20:29 and I'll share that 20:30 with my friends. 20:31 No, Jesus wants you 20:32 to be a sower as well. 20:34 He wants you 20:34 to have that vision 20:35 that He's calling you. 20:36 He has a ministry for you 20:38 to be involved with. 20:39 That's this theme 20:40 that goes throughout 20:41 the book of Mark 20:42 and throughout the whole Bible. 20:43 It's a theme 20:44 that Jesus modeled. 20:46 So here's 20:48 the other amazing thing 20:49 about the Parable of the Sower. 20:52 Remember some of these 20:54 Proverbs, these Psalms, 20:56 if you will, theysongs 20:58 in some cases, 21:00 they've been put to music, 21:02 but these parables, 21:04 however you want 21:05 to describe them, often 21:07 have this element 21:08 that causes you 21:09 to really pause. 21:10 If you were a farmer 21:12 in the days of Jesus 21:13 and you heard Jesus 21:14 tell about this 21:15 sower, 21:16 let's just look at the words 21:17 here in Mark 4. 21:18 We haven't 21:19 looked a lot at the text 21:20 because I think many of you 21:21 are familiar with it. 21:22 But I, 21:23 I want to walk through it with 21:24 you really quickly 21:25 because we've been referring 21:26 a lot to it. 21:27 just walk through the parable 21:28 together here. 21:29 In Mark 4 21:31 after Jesus 21:31 tells them to listen, in verse 21:33 4, He says this, as He sowed 21:37 some seed fell by the wayside 21:39 and the birds of the air 21:40 came and devoured it. 21:41 Some fell on stony ground 21:43 where it did 21:43 not have much earth, 21:45 and immediately it sprang up 21:46 because it had no depth 21:47 of earth. 21:48 Verse 6 of Mark 4, 21:50 But when the sun was up, 21:52 it was scorched, 21:53 and because it had no root, 21:55 it withered away. 21:56 And some seed 21:57 fell among thorns. 21:58 And the thorns 21:59 grew up and choked it 22:01 and it yielded no crop. 22:03 But other 22:04 seed fell on good ground 22:06 and yielded a crop 22:06 that sprang up, 22:07 increased and produced 22:08 some 30 fold, some 60, 22:10 some a hundred fold. 22:12 And you say, Well, yes, 22:15 but Jesus doesn't stop there. 22:16 Verse 9, He said to them, 22:19 he who has ears to hear, 22:21 let him hear. 22:22 Now, don't miss 22:23 what's so 22:24 revolutionary about this story. 22:27 What I'm told 22:28 is that 22:29 anyone in this cultural context 22:31 would have said 22:32 this is not the way it's done. 22:34 No sower goes out 22:37 and just starts 22:37 indiscriminately 22:38 throwing the seed out 22:39 everywhere. 22:40 Not going to throw it on 22:41 the trail, 22:42 not going to throw it 22:43 where there's not 22:44 adequate soil. 22:45 He's not going to throw 22:46 that seed in the place 22:47 where all the weeds 22:48 always come up. 22:49 So what's going on 22:51 in the parable? 22:52 Why is He getting the listeners 22:53 to think like, Well, 22:54 this isn't the way you do it. 22:56 What's going on? Why? 22:58 Why is this some kind 22:59 of indiscriminate 23:03 sower? 23:04 Is this farmer not 23:05 know what He's doing? 23:06 What is Jesus 23:07 trying to illustrate? 23:09 Jesus is trying to illustrate 23:10 that He's come from heaven 23:12 and He's going to sow 23:12 the gospel seed everywhere. 23:15 Everyone's 23:15 going to have an opportunity 23:17 to accept His grace, 23:18 His love, His forgiveness. 23:20 But what is the focus become? 23:23 The focus becomes on the bad 23:26 soil, okay? 23:29 As I mentioned to you 23:30 earlier, the key term 23:32 throughout this 23:33 parable is the word hear. 23:36 It occurs 13 times. 23:39 What is the emphasis? 23:41 The emphasis is on, 23:43 are you going to hear? 23:44 Are you going to listen? 23:44 Are you going to 23:45 receive the Word? 23:46 Or are you going to, 23:47 like we saw in Mark 23:49 3, are you going to be 23:50 like those Pharisees 23:51 that resist the Word? 23:53 The idea of hearing 23:55 is the key word. 23:56 Each type of soil hears 23:58 the word but 23:59 reacts differently. 24:00 For the good soil, 24:02 the participle hearing 24:04 is in the present tense, 24:06 suggesting that it needs 24:07 to continue, okay? 24:09 So if we 24:11 want to be part of that 24:13 good soil, 24:14 we're going to 24:15 receive God's Word 24:16 and we're going to continue 24:18 to receive His Word. 24:19 We're going to continue 24:20 to receive His Word. 24:23 Now, many have seen 24:24 this parable 24:25 is really calling us, 24:27 calling us to a deeper walk 24:30 with Jesus. 24:31 Calling us 24:32 to recognize 24:32 that our soil needs 24:34 to be changed, 24:34 that we need to be 24:35 more receptive to His message. 24:38 And I would say 24:39 I would heartily agree, 24:40 because as you look at Jesus 24:41 own interpretation of this, 24:42 and by the way, 24:43 if you're wondering 24:44 why we spent so much time 24:45 with this parable, 24:46 I want you to see one 24:47 other thing. 24:48 In verse 13, okay? 24:52 Verse 13, Mark 4. 24:54 Jesus as the disciples 24:57 have come to Him, 24:58 they don't understand 24:59 the parable, 24:59 that's in verse 10. 25:01 The 12 25:02 and those around Him, 25:03 those who are following 25:04 Jesus closely, 25:05 they don't understand 25:06 the parable. 25:07 And Jesus says in 25:08 verse 13, 25:09 Do you not understand 25:11 this parable? 25:12 How then will 25:13 you understand 25:14 all the parables? 25:16 The idea is that this 25:17 parable unlocks 25:19 the keys to all the parables. 25:21 And what is the key? 25:22 The key is for us to hear. 25:24 The key is for us to accept 25:26 the Word. 25:26 Look at Jesus떸n explanation 25:28 as you continue on in verses 25:31 14 and onward. 25:32 We've seen that 25:33 the Sower is sowing the Word. 25:35 And then what happens? 25:37 Those by the wayside, 25:38 the Word comes, 25:39 the message comes to them. 25:41 But Satan comes 25:42 and takes it away. 25:44 Verse 16, 25:45 Those who are on stony ground, 25:46 they receive the Word gladly. 25:48 They might come to Jesus, 25:50 but they're what? 25:51 Endure only for a time. 25:53 Tribulation comes persecution 25:56 comes, things 25:56 they don't like and they leave. 25:58 They stop following God. 26:00 And then those among thorns. 26:02 The cares of this world. 26:03 The deceitfulness of riches. 26:06 The desires 26:06 for other things 26:08 choke out the Word. 26:10 Jesus says in verse 20, 26:14 There's something remarkable 26:15 is going to happen. 26:16 In antiquity, 26:17 they tell us that 26:18 a 7 to 10 fold 26:20 harvest was amazing. 26:21 If you put seed out 26:22 and you got 7 to 10 times 26:24 back as much, that was amazing. 26:26 Great harvest. 26:27 Jesus says 26:29 when you allow His Words 26:30 to work in your life, 26:31 you're going to have a 30 fold 26:33 or a 60 fold 26:35 or a 100 fold harvest. 26:36 You might seem to you 26:38 that God hasn't been showing up 26:39 in your life lately, 26:40 but He's going to show up. 26:42 Trust His Word. 26:43 Let it work in your life. 26:45 Put away the obstacles. 26:46 Trust Jesus 26:48 and you will be blessed. 26:52 I love how 26:53 Jesus teaches us 26:55 through the practical 26:56 things in life. 26:56 But He also helps us 26:59 with the most practical 27:00 things 27:01 that we're concerned about. 27:02 We're concerned, too, 27:04 about some of the things 27:05 that are sweeping the world 27:06 as far as lifestyle 27:07 related diseases 27:09 like high blood 27:09 pressure and diabetes. 27:11 We invite you to go 27:12 to our website 27:13 TimelessHealingInsights.org 27:16 and take advantage of our free 27:18 30 day lifestyle program. 27:20 When you sign up, 27:20 you'll get a daily link 27:22 for 30 days 27:23 to walk you 27:23 through a healthier 27:25 way of living. 27:26 To especially help you 27:27 with your blood pressure 27:28 and your blood sugar. 27:30 Let's pray together. 27:32 Father in Heaven, 27:32 we thank You 27:33 that You do offer us 27:34 practical help in Your Word, 27:36 but You also move 27:37 on the hearts of Your church 27:39 to be agents of health 27:41 ministry to the world. 27:43 Thank You for giving us 27:45 that call, not only at Timeless 27:46 Healing Insights, 27:47 but each one 27:48 who's tuning in today. 27:49 Help us to avail 27:50 ourselves 27:51 of the things You provide 27:52 in Your Scriptures 27:53 and through Your people. 27:54 We ask it all In 27:55 Jesus name, Amen. |
Revised 2023-05-23