In Mark 4 Jesus got into a boat on the Sea of Galilee with a large crowd around him and taught many things in parables…

The parable listed there is the “Sower who went out to Sow”

What was Jesus doing that day, and every time he taught the large crowds? v4 he sowed, some seed…

He is then telling them what he was doing. In that parable he talks about different kinds of soil, differing circumstances regarding the reception of the seed.

• some fell along the path – that is hard ground, no reception, birds stole it
• other on rocky ground – not much soil – it grew quickly, but had no roots and died easily – it was scorched and… withered away
• other fell among the thorns… but didn’t produce fruit because it got choked out
• still other fell on good ground – it grew up, produced fruit of increase

Then Jesus says, Let anyone who has ears to hear, listen

The story has four different receptions of the same seed sowed. Only one of them does not become a plant. Only one is stolen and never germinates and roots, the one on hard ground. The other three all sprout, but have different results

I won’t spend a long time here now, but let’s think as sowers of seed, let’s observe:

• some would say… “the path is the path… it’s hard… not our fault.” Others would say, “Or, I could break up the ground and make it useful. The question is do we want to work at that effort
• Regarding the “Rocky Ground”, some would say, “Wow, look at that plant that came up so quickly – Let’s Celebrate.” but then “Wait, where di that plant go?” – I’ve got to tend to the rocks and bring in more soil, if I want that little plant to survive
• Regarding the “Thorny Ground” – again this is about tending the ground. There is work to be done. Though rocks can be easily recognized and removed, the thorns are plants with roots. If I remove them too aggressively, I might remove young spouts as well. I might not even notice the thorns… but there is my plant, yet without fruit? Hmm, I need to do some work here. I need to understand the situation
• Then the Good Soil – and all of its fruitfulness, that’s the result of the work having been already done before, and continued to be done during the process.

I’m going to be doing a lot of looking at this passage this year… but what first had my attention that drew me to the passage in the first place was in v10, when he was alone, those around him with the Twelve asked him about the parable… He answered them…

Our desire to know and to learn, to grow and develop must take us ALONE with the Lord – Ask, Listen, Learn, Do. v9 let anyone who has ears to hear LISTEN

If we have ears… are they ears that want to Listen? That word is in the Present, Active, Imperative – that means, right now, actively, I MUST take heed. And in this case, those with ears and a desire to take heed, ASKED – “Explain this Lord”.

As you start a new year, do we get alone with God? I will break this down some more later… but let me start right here with the simple… WHEN we Get Alone with God, Daily –

P. R. A. Y.

This is simple but doesn’t get old

• P – Pray – “Lord, you are God, I am Not. Thank You, Speak to Me, Teach Me, and I will LISTEN
• R – Read – open the passage you have to read – Read looking for God to Reveal Jesus, Give direction, Show you want you need to know…
• A – Apply – You asked God, he has shown you something – what is he saying to me? Write it down, make sure that what you heard is true in regards to all of the full revelation of God in scripture. Then…
• Y – YES – Say “Yes, Lord” – Now, make an Action Plan to align yourself to the truth. Tell someone you trust and be accountable. Ask them “I believe God is saying this, is this true, will you pray for me and ask me tomorrow, next week, next month if I am doing what God said.

How must time should I spend Pastor? Depending on the time of day, your time with the Lord, the depth of your knowledge, that measure will change. But set some “alone time goals” that are achievable and grow from there. It might be a short time in the morning and then more time later. Let it grow naturally, but more toward consistent, growing time, and the increase will come

More on this later…