Spreading Spiritual Knowledge (Part B)

It is trying to appeal to the people saying if you want to go to hell you insist on going. You will go, God will ratify your decision. God gets the last word he gives the final blow because there is a consequence to rejecting his word and therefore we shine the light and say don't do it D tour turn away from this path of destruction come to the Lord and we are hated for. This is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston.

Ricky is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Mark, please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching, and now here's Pastor Rick with part two of his message spreading spiritual knowledge in Mark chapter 4 is the same yesterday today and forever.

You know why this is nothing wrong with him. There's nothing to change.

There's nothing to adjust and any any development that there is in our relationship to him is been mapped out in Scripture for us as a path we see the progression from what we call Old Testament law to New Testament grace because it's been mapped out for us and we work within the confines of that and it's good enough. If you say is not good enough for you. Just remember, is good enough for a lot of others. You have no excuse. So if God's word was to change.

Would mankind send and his commandments would be a joke in this is the thing about his commandments is light from benefit the frosts not for him. God is not going to wake up the sleeper, slumber, breathing awake us and I really feel good. The date of the doing what I want them to do better. God today that I was yesterday when they weren't doing doing it like it believe this is a marvelous God's going to be God no matter what people do is for us when he says don't steal.

Don't gossip, don't do these things is for us to have a better life so that we can have those rapid chinos roundtables outside so the consequence Isaiah is is trying to reach his own people to similar donkeys know their master and you can you don't know your God, what, what's wrong with this.

So one point he says you know what you praying in the hell you just marching in the help of the band Isaiah chapter 5 verse 14. Therefore, she old has enlarged itself and opened its mouth beyond measure. The picture, the pitch of a snake swallowing its prey, and then he says their glory and their multitude and their pomp and he who is jubilant shall descend into it.

The happy going to hell. That's the pages and with what is wrong with you people might you have this parade in you being devoured.

Why do you hate God's word.

What is so bad about what God has to say to you come in church and you sing songs… Moving your heart. Which one they both should be moving, moving together back of your lips are moving in your heart is moving. That's just as acceptable, but it is just lip service. You are piling up against yourself, a judgment you're not ready for Isaiah is not finished speaking of the king of Babylon.

He says hello from beneath is excited about you to meet you at your coming is stirs up the dead for you and the chief ones of the earth is raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nation's latest beta speech Isaiah is that when you strive you to go to hell all to celebrate your entry is easier. Hip hip hooray still hell is not like he's going into this resort is going to be horrific.

The prophet is trying to appeal to the people and saying if you want to go to hell if you insist on going.

You will go, God will ratify your decision. God gets the last word he gives the final blow because there is of consequence to rejecting his word and therefore we shine the light and say don't do it D tour turn away from this path of destruction come to the Lord and we are hated for it. Verse 24 then he said to them, take heed what you hear with the same measure you use it, it will be measured to you and to you who hear, more will be given this fair enough. Another warning your eyes and your years of gateways. Pay attention to what you're listening to what you gonna do with what you hear and you see how we react to what we hear from God will either save our souls would damn our souls. Many voices that speak into our years in this life we hear all sorts of things.

Again, our teens are young adults, even Satan would like me to not address you he would like me to just pretend that all this goes over your head and you don't count because you might hear, and you might understand, and you might bow down to the Lord, you might stand up with courage and says for me as for me I will follow the Lord from my youth forward. I will not miss a chance to serve the Lord, regardless of how I fail regardless of what I hear I will listen, I will understand what he has to say. So help me God. That's what we want because you will hear false words you will hear foolish words. You will hear filthy words. You will hear fiendish words catch the alliteration. All those loose, filthy, fiendish, but there also faithful words in the light and the power of those faithful words they are to check all that other stuff they are to filter out those things. So Jesus says with the same measure you use it.

I'm in verse 24. It will be measured to you and to you who hear, more will be given first. Let Scripture comment on this. Second Corinthians 9, but this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he will sows bountifully will also reap bountifully so this is the basic law you do a little you get a little you do more, you get more gumming to go join a gym and and you know to say you know you that yet the 2 ounce dumbbells.

I want to just stay with them. You'll get weaker. Galatians 6 do not be deceived, God is not mocked. You think God is a joke jokes going to be on you and will be funny.

That's what that means God's not playing that doesn't mean we should be terrorized by him. We join him. Do not be deceived, God is not mock whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he was sows to the Spirit of the Spirit will reap everlasting life. What happens if your flesh is sewing corruption what your spirit is fighting it.

Your righteous soul.

That's what you are engaging the curse head on. That's what what happens if your flesh is blatantly sending and there is no sort of the Lord in your heart and your life then you will reap corruption. First Corinthians 15, Paul says this of the Christians who had lives just like ours is, is, therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work the Lord, knowing that your labor is not for nothing in the Lord is not a waste. As God doesn't give you what you want doesn't mean your life is a waste. And so he says again immovable. How many of you are movable in the sense that you want to back away from Christ, you want to turn again to perdition. You can either be given something very special and see it for what it is and treated that way and do something with it, or you can just come in all and in great you don't have to get burned. You can do the burning to hell's agenda. You don't have to touch and taste those things. Anybody want a little sip of arsenic placement, taste her some anthrax and we got that to know you said I don't want the poison. I want the good stuff vanilla milkshakes not to sit with the same measure you use, it will be measured to you and to you who hear, more will be given. That's what he says in the Scripture has addressed it in the three verses that I read verse 25 for whoever has two him more will be given in but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him as what what was he talking about light still in a mess subject of light. If you've got the light and you snuff it out, you lose.

You don't go forward. You stay where you are. You go backwards you lose miss out what happens if you have the light, you get stronger, but people come the church of Bible teaching churches. You're right, knows what you could do with those notes is the storm away. I spent almost all my time checking notes, making notes, trying to get it in my head so that the word is mine that I don't come up here and repeat to you something else, but it's mine.

Others have contributed to this, many others have hundred lab a large library, I want to hear what other men of God had to say. I do not want to bury my talent nor there's benefit from that person wants to act in a vacuum. When he has choices not too will suffer because of it, even what he has will be taken from him. If you're nonresponsive or careless. As a consequence to that works out. I'm just getting your car and don't gas it up again just on driver. I drive middle road there.

The outcome would be darkness. And so we moved to verse 26 and he said the kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground and should sleep by night and rise by day and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how these verses 26 and seven that I just took Bart speaking of spiritual life. We got through with light. Now it's the distribution of the life which is in the seed. This is the style of God. The seed is the word of God.

If we want to remain consistent to what is been taught in this chapter in Mark 414. He says the sower sows the words okay were going to keep that is been no reason to abandon it in the in its meaning and markets put them together for us and so here when he talks about the seed is the word of God. Now the law of life, states that there can be no life without antecedent life.

In other words, a dead piece of furniture cannot make a live piece of furniture you have to have life to create life.

This law stomps the evolutionist stubbornly cling to misfit theories anything then to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord. At one point if you remember when Carl Sagan, the pagan was alive. He said were going to abandon evolution were going to look to the universe of Martians or something put us here anything but God anybody but will put the Martians there that would just expand if there were Martians just think what that would do the major league baseball would have more teams and and less of these political statements. I'm sure Martians when put up with that mess.

But then again the green with envy like you saw one so life, even spiritual life. It is a mystery you can code it. You can DNA it is still a mystery. You can just keep saying to the same house that and after a point is I don't know, he may get a lot of them right. But in the end, I don't know what we know the finger of God is make it happen that seek just be a Dead Sea till he gives it life. Verse 28 for the earth yields crops by itself. First the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. So here at this portion he's confining his illustration of the surface what people understand Hebrews chapter 11 verse 13 goes deeper. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. There's more to it there deeper things we accept these things progress with light and life is illustrated for us in John chapter 4. The woman at the well, you know, she's the woman of shattered romances. It's almost comical how Jesus handles are is magnificent. He so gentle but he doesn't back down from truth.

Does he. So when she says you know my husband is of the truth is you had five poems, sister wine to and it seems like I do see that coming.

But he doesn't say and therefore I can didn't know he does not do that. He is there to win her to bring her to life because of the light that comes from him so she first meets him. She first says to him. You what is a Jew talking to me. She's a Gentile gets better after she starts hearing what he's got to say she stopped referring to him as Sir Sir this and survived three times uses that phrase.

Then in the end.

No longer is it Sir or a Jew or Sir. Now he's a prophet.

I perceive you are a prophet. She tries to get the subject offer her to talk about religion, but not me. And finally, she confesses he is the Messiah see that progression is what Mark is saying over the Lord is saying the earth yields crops that's for us to consume by itself. First the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. This is progression. As we just saw on the woman at the well more. Verse 29 when the grain ripens, immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest is come there's the farmer's responsibility. We still have work to do but it's what you brown everything is a sweat of the brow rose you lose very simple and very meaningful. Not just simple, it's meaningful and we depart from these basics what happens we make rookie mistakes and nobody wants to do that. I don't want to make any mistakes, sophisticated or otherwise. I want to get everything right and you been noticing me do this for decades. We just got one wrong there brother verse 30.

Then he said to what shall we liken the kingdom of God or with what parable shall we picture it. He's like it's a sickness teacher that into his lesson is like okay what we picture this, he said we lose to tone in the print unless we really look at it realistically. Christ was not a boring teacher you would not have these multitudes coming out setting for these lessons.

If he was boring. He truly meant and we should do the same thing.

I so miss you of the pastor ideal almost exclusively with Christian, I am Mrs. not too much to be sent back yet but I do miss being in the workplace, preaching the gospel.

I do miss that in most of the time the people that I encountered knew nothing of the gospel.

What they had was damaged goods, and I had a chance to set it right or did you hear that God helps those who help themselves. What you mean by that what you get that from just giving them the words of Scripture well here in verse 30 and 31. Now it is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground. It is smaller than all the seeds on earth. Of course he speaking to them what they know of seeds is not going to magically go somewhere and bring another smaller seed and see their other seeds. This serves his purpose for his lesson would've been complicating the lesson otherwise the mustard seed is so small you can hardly see if you sneeze of Jahan open-ended in your head is gone. It's rather insignificant. Still, that tiny little seed has life in it a break does not a large brick does not have life and that tiny little see what makes it special as it has life and it will grow when planted, and it will produce and provide things for life is now.

This is true of all the thing all the seas, but is using this one for reason. The point of the parable lies in the contrast of the size of the seed in the size of the plant mustard plans get 10 feet is just like me. I'm the small, insignificant, little mustard seed but inside me because of the gospel there is the potential for big life. There's an awful life, but the birds will come this space for them. What could talk about the symbolic meeting in a minute but the size of the plant is really no longer interested in the size of the sea because it's it's grown. Maybe you think you're insignificant. Maybe you think you're too small to be useful.

Jesus Christ says that's not so Jesus Christ is remember the mustard seed so tiny, but you planted and becomes big.

The kingdom may seem significant in the eyes of man, it certainly does in the world. So much so that they crucified our King.

King was insignificant to them will be when he returns and certainly won't be when they die and stand before him, Caiaphas and Annas, for example, they died eventually. Then what happened, they realized that Jesus Christ is Lord, one whom they had something to do with crucifying the growth that is disproportionate to the seed is potential we all have. In verse 32, he says, but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all the herbs, and shoots out large branches so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade. So the mature plant.

As I mentioned 10 feet if they can get that big. From that tiny seed if we want to remain the system of the Satan part first. Get that out of the way. If we remain consistent to the symbol that he already mentioned in verse 15 of Mark for says Jesus does these are the ones by the wayside. The seeds planted by the wayside with a wordless song when they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sewn in their hearts and he said the birds come and take the seed that is Satan. So if we see that the church gets so big that even the devil begins nesting in there. We understand you see from that little bit of life things physical and things spiritual are both impacted. There's a dynamic. There are forces there is kinetic energies is all the spiritual stop pushing and shoving pressing into the kingdom. We are there's a lot of activity going on in front of us and around us, visible and invisible, that is the point. Satan is very alarmed about her by a church that preaches and teaches the word because of its potential to produce life spiritual life based on the light invincibility you can have growth without sunlight. Light is essential for life.

Everywhere the kingdom of God is gone it is brought with it hospitals and schools and truths, morality, ethics, decency in comparison to so many others out there that have not brought these things, but above all is brought salvation. The preaching of the word of God is abolished in almost all the planet cannibalism not talking politics child sacrifice, widow burning, which was common in parts of India, polygamy, slavery, thousand other things is the preaching of the gospel that is change these things Christians practicing morality condemned Roman Empire just by their morality they have to say a word, just the fact that they've refused to participate in what Rome wanted them to participate in condemning wrong things such as infanticide, abortion, abandoning infants suicide. I mean, just think of the you know the Japanese and corrodible Chino.

I mean Christianity had something to stopping that stuff. Of course, and there is cruelty and the many other sins. Sins that going around and Christians for 300 years after Christ ascended into heaven in some form endured intermittent persecution is a book Alvin Smit how Christianity changed the world. You might want to read that member in China used to bind the feet of the of the women was little tiny cartoon feet like Mr. Magoo and thought of that Christianity comes along.

This is you know this stuff is cool is not kind. Verse 33 and with many such parables, he spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it, but without a parable he did not speak to them and when they were alone. He explained all things to his disciples, so the spiritual lessons now. This method of parable teaching by parables, effective and parabolic illustration put in with that, the countless miracles of Christ in only about you know couple of dozen or three dozen or so are recorded in the Gospels, the countless parables and stories that he had to have given and only again about three dozen or given to us.

That's why they call the synoptic Gospels Matthew Mark and Luke because they just give you an overview of his life John at the ends is what this is too much as he did this. Case has What it all and into print it.

So imagine the lessons and yet they still do not grasp it, and I am encouraged by that I don't say those foolish disciples assembling face struggled if they struggled after hearing these things, and seeing these things and he still retained them as his disciples that he's going to do the same for me. If you are unable to spread the word shine the light then you can support those who do this no way out that there's always something to do as Christians next Mark is going to say okay, you've had the lesson Bible reader. Now the test. Next session is going to put us in a boat in a storm and see how we do move thanks for tuning in to cross reference radio for this study in the book of Mark cross reference radio is the teaching ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia to learn more information about this ministry.

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