The Heart and Discipleship Mark 4:1-20

Mark 1-3 1. Proclaiming who Jesus is 2. Demonstrating who Jesus is. 3. The Response to who Jesus is.

1. Proclaiming who Jesus is. A. He is the Christ, Son of God, Mark 1:1 B. Testimony of the Prophets, Mark 1:2,3 C. Testimony of John, Mark 1:7-9 D. Testimony of the Father, Mark 1:11

2. Demonstrating who Jesus is. A. Overcame temptation, Mark 1:12,13 B. Taught with Authority, Mark 1:22 C. Healed the sick and demon possessed, Mark 1:32-34; 40-42; 2:1-13 D. Forgave sins, Mark 2:5 E. The Bridegroom, Mark 2:19 F. Lord of the Sabbath, Mark 2:28

3. The response to who Jesus is A. Some rejected Him, Mark 3:28-30 B. Some followed Him, Mark 3:35

How one responds to the word of God is determined by the condition of their heart.

1 The Hardened Heart

Mark 4:3,4 “Listen {to this} ! Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 and it came about that as he was sowing, some {seed} fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up.

Mark 4:15 “And these are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.

Matt. 13:19 “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, the evil {one} comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.

Luke 8:5 “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road; and it was trampled under foot, and the birds of the air ate it up.

Matt. 13:14 “And in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; AND YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;

Matt. 13:15 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES LEST THEY SHOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I SHOULD HEAL THEM.’

Mark 4:15 “And these are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.

Luke 8:12 “And those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they may not believe and be saved.

How one responds to the word of God is determined by the condition of their heart.

2 The Weak Heart

Mark 4:5,6 “And other {seed} fell on the rocky {ground} where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. 6 “And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

Mark 4:16,17 “And in a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky {places,} who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; 17 and they have no {firm} root in themselves, but are {only} temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away.

Luke 8:13 “And those on the rocky {soil are} those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no {firm} root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.

Gal. 1:6,7 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; 7 which is {really} not another; only there are some who are disturbing you, and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

Matt. 13:5 “And others fell upon the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.

Matt. 13:21 yet he has no {firm} root in himself, but is {only} temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.

How one responds to the word of God is determined by the condition of their heart.

3 The Troubled Heart

Mark 4:7 “And other {seed} fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.

Mark 4:18,19 “And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, 19 and the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

Luke 8:7 “And other {seed} fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it, and choked it out.

1Tim. 6:9,10 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang.

James 1:21,22 Therefore putting aside all filthiness and {all} that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. 22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

James 1:23,24 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for {once} he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.

Matt. 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Matt. 13:22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

Matt. 13:22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

How one responds to the word of God is determined by the condition of their heart.

4 The Receptive Heart

Mark 4:8 “And other {seeds} fell into the good soil and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”

Mark 4:20 “And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it, and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”

Acts 2:37,38 Now when they heard {this} , they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter {said} to them, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:41,42 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 42 And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Acts 8:4-6 Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word. 5 And Philip went down to the city of Samaria and {began} proclaiming Christ to them. 6 And the multitudes with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing.

Acts 8:7,8 For {in the case of} many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out {of them} shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 And there was much rejoicing in that city.

Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike.

Matt. 13:8 “And others fell on the good soil, and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.

2Tim. 4:7,8 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

How one responds to the word of God is determined by the condition of their heart.

Matt. 7:13,14 “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. 14 “For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.

How one responds to the word of God is determined by the condition of their heart.