Mark Four: Mysteries and Parables

So, onto the second part of Mark four.  Jesus gives the disciples several other parables and explains to them that these parables speak of Kingdom mysteries.


 Later, when Jesus was alone with the twelve disciples and with the others who were gathered around, they asked him what the parables meant.

He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secret of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders, so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:

‘When they see what I do,
    they will learn nothing.
When they hear what I say,
    they will not understand.
Otherwise, they will turn to me
    and be forgiven.’” 

Mark 4:10-12


It's taken me a little while to realize, but God still speaks in parables today.  And He does so in a way that is modeled by how Jesus did so for His disciples.  Often I'll perform an everyday task, just going through the motions, when the Lord reveals to me a parable relating to what I just did.  God wants to turn even the little things into a learning experience for us.  He wants to give us revelation and understanding on the big things by speaking to our minds as we work on the small.

It is a great feeling when you are working on something, and then the Lord begins to speak.  He tells you the symbolism behind what you just did, and how you essentially just walked out a Kingdom principle by your actions.  He gives you a now word that reveals a new segment of truth.  Our God wants to redeem every bit of our time--provided we are using it to try to please Him (Ephesians 5:16).  He wants to re-purpose the ordinary and turn it into an opportunity to learn from Him.  He wants to speak to us through parables!

And it's within our own minds and in our time alone with the Lord that He reveals to us something that unbelievers just wouldn't understand.  He reveals a spiritual truth out of the ordinary, and as we spend more time with Him, He imparts more and more.   The parable may be played out in public, but the interpretation, the knowing, comes with His inner stillness as we take time to put our attention onto Him.


Then he added, “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given—and you will receive even more. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.”

Mark 4:24-25


There is no end to the depth of revelation we can find in a parable.  God can just keep giving more and more!  He may symbolize His love by our action first, and as we go deeper into the parable's symbolism, He can then reveal a message of spiritual giftedness, too.  If we listen, He will continue to speak.  If we listen more closely, He will speak more deeply!  We can be comforted in knowing that if we try, God will come in and equip us with all the understanding we need to discern what He's saying.

We need to take every message from God seriously.  Every word from Him gives life, and every parable from Him gives understanding.  If we have an ear to hear, He can speak to us nonstop!  He can redeem every action, and turn it into a parable or an opportunity to learn.  God wants to speak to us about even the little things--He wants to give us that 'blessed assurance' even while we work on smaller tasks.

Confirmed:  The Lord spoke to me about Mark four yesterday afternoon, and in the evening, I came across a new word on the Elijah list.  It's called "God Has a Specific Word Waiting For You", and for me, it in itself was a very specific word, as it ties in so closely to what God had just been showing me!  So cool.  That's the link, if you have time to read it.   

Mark Four: Sowing a Better Word

Earlier today, the Lord said "Mark 4", and told me to read it.  And so I turned there, and it was the parable of the sower!  And I realized that it was such a word in season. The Lord has led me to start gardening this Spring, in hopes of one day restoring our farm, and so the concept of sowing seeds really resonated.

“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn't have deep roots, it died. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

Mark 4:3-9

SOWING WITH OTHERS

All of us are spiritual farmers.  All of us can sow a seed.  And all of us should--we should all speak the truth in love so that others can hear and believe. All we need to do is lay out God's word in front of others.  The more God draws me near, the more I have a desire to sow the truth among those who have not yet heard it.   And once we share, our work is done--we can rest in the knowing that God will work!  

We need to sow goodness into those who don't yet possess the light.  We need to encourage and exhort.  And we will probably need to rebuke.  But we need to do all of this in love and in the spirit of prophecy.  We need to plant into the minds of the lost and confused good thoughts.  And all of us will feel lost and confused at some point! So we can sow truth into both believers and unbelievers.

Sometimes we may give the truth to others, only to see satan come in and steal that word away from them.  And that's sad--but we need to know that we did what we could, that we pleased God.  We are not accountable for the effects of someone else's shallow or thorny soil--we are just accountable for our own efforts to sow.  Once the Word is sown, it's up to the receiver to humbly accept it (James 1:21).

SOWING WITH OUR WORDS

So we sow seeds among those with less knowledge; among unbelievers and less mature Christians. And that's great!  But we also need to sow good seeds in our own life.  We do this in 3 ways:

1)  We speak life over ourselves 
2)  We speak life over our surroundings and families
3)  We make sure that our soil is good

Remember that the power of life and death is in the tongue (Proverbs 18:21).  Let's make positive confessions accordingly!  We can speak life in many ways--by thanking God, by declaring His goodness, by claiming His promises, etc.  Praying in tongues--praying in the Holy Spirit--is also a way of speaking life.  It's a way we can speak life and build ourselves up in our most holy faith (Jude 1:20).

If the seeds sown are good, then we should ensure that our soil is,too.  We are not of the world, so our thoughts, emotions, and words should be sanctified.  We can then walk in humility and accept any seed of truth that might come along.  Anything opposing our belief of the truth needs to be cast down by the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:5).  Then we can say something over ourselves or our families--something pure and true--and also be conditioned to believe it.  If we confess and believe, not only are we saved (Romans 10:9), but we will also become more and more fruitful!

SOWING WITH GOD'S WORD

We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).  And we sow into others because He first sowed into us!  We need to let Him sow. by the Word.  We need to accept His truth and accept His reality, because that is when more can be given.  We need to accept all that He has to give us.  This, too, happens in 3 ways.

1)  We receive God's written Word
2)  We receive God's personal (prophetic or specific--rhema) word
3)  We prepare our soil to accept God's power.

Step one is obvious, but it's most important.  There are so many promises in God's Word.  These are the seeds Jesus was referring to!  And many are conditional.  Just like seeds, they will not grow nor become fully manifested unless properly nourished.  So we need to read and believe the Bible, God's written Word.

Step two is also important.  God stills speaks today, so we need to continue to listen.  He gives personal promises.  He speaks mysteries and talks of the future.  He reveals to us great and mighty things, which we otherwise would not know (Jeremiah 33:3).  We need to position ourselves and spend time in the presence of the Most High.  We need to hear His loving, comforting voice for ourselves.

Step three--we need to get ourselves out of the way!  God dreams big, and I think it's very biblical to say that He also likes to show off.  Don't be surprised if He says something daunting.  Don't be surprised if a personal promise from God seems unlikely--or even impossible.  On your own effort, it is!  The solution starts with a transformation of our own thoughts into His, as we take on God's mind.  We need to have enough faith and enough trust to believe God for something great.  We need to do away with old ways of thinking and old strongholds, in order for our soil to be a nourishing climate for God's rhema words.  In short, we need to acquire from the Lord new wine skins (Matthew 9:17)!

If we receive and accept every word that God speaks, we will also receive every one of His blessings. We will become more and more fruitful in bearing good fruit!

"You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you; And light will shine on your ways."
~Job 22:28