Mark – Chapter 4
A. The Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-20)
There are 4 kinds of hearts…
● 1. The Hard Heart (Mark 4:4,15)
○ Causes of a Hard Heart…
■ Offenses
■ Unresolved Issues
■ Pain from the Past
■ Unrepented Sin
○ Jeremiah 4:3 NLT: Plow up the hard ground of your hearts! Do not waste your good seed among thorns.
● 2. The Shallow Heart (Mark 4:5-6, 16-17)
○ What The Shallow Heart Looks Like…
■ Emotions are in Charge instead of Truth
■ Values “Moves of God” over allowing God to “Move Them”
■ Desires Comfort over Character
● 3. The Crowded Heart (Mark 4:7, 18-19)
○ What The Crowded Heart Looks Like…
■ Values Things more than True Relationship with God
● 4. The Fruitful Heart (Mark 4:8, 20)
○ What The Fruitful Heart Looks Like…
■ It’s not perfect
■ It doesn’t try harder, but submits more to the Lord
■ Walks in humility and surrender to God
■ Desires to know God more
■ Meditates on the Word
■ Listens to the Holy Spirit
■ Allows the Word to saturate their soul and renew their mind
■ Walks by faith and not by sight
■ Cooperates with the Holy Spirit in shaping their character
■ Values reflecting God’s light over shining the light on themselves
■ Loves God and Loves Others
These are the 3 enemies of the Christian… the World, the Flesh, and the devil!
B. The Lamp (Mark 4:21-25)
Mark 4:21-22 MSG
Jesus went on: “Does anyone bring a lamp home and put it under a bucket (basket) or beneath the bed? Don’t you put it up on a table or on the mantel? We’re not keeping secrets, we’re telling them; we’re not hiding things, we’re bringing them out into the open.
The more we hear the Word of God, the better we are able to share it with others. Our spiritual hearing determines how much we have to give to others.
C. The Seed Growing (Mark 4:26-29)
In the parable of the soils, Jesus suggested that much of the seed scattered would fall on unproductive soil. This fact could discourage His workers… so in this parable, He reassured them, “in due season we shall reap, if we don’t faint”.
D. The Mustard Seed (Mark 4:30-32)
Mark 4:33-34 MSG
With many stories like these, he presented his message to them, fitting the stories to their experience and maturity. He was never without a story when he spoke. When he was alone with his disciples, he went over everything, sorting out the tangles, untying the knots.
E. Jesus Calms the Storm (Mark 4:35-41)
There were at least 3 reasons why the disciples should not have been afraid…
1. Jesus said they were going to cross over to the other side (Mark 4:35)
2. Jesus was with them, so what was there to fear?
3. They could see that Jesus was perfectly at peace, even in the storm.
Jesus knew the greatest danger was not the wind or the waves… the greatest danger was their unbelief! Our greatest problems are not around us… they are within us!
The boat can never sink when Jesus is in it!
Mark 4:41 ESV
“Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”