SERMONS

Jesus was going to proceed across the Sea of Galilee in Mark 4.

He taught while standing in a boat.
It was because there were so many people that he had to find a place to appear to everyone, and not be lost among the huge crowd on the shore where some would not be able to see him.
But there was a symbolic reason as well.
Boats are for journeys.
He was going to journey across the Sea and come to a land called Gadara where he would cast at least 2,000 demon spirits out of one single person.

Because Jesus said the Kingdom is come when He casts out devils, we can associate the country across the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus cast out all these demons, with THE KINGDOM.

GADARA is a perfect example of the promised land or the Kingdom, because GADARA means PLACE SURROUNDED BY WALLS.

Recall that Israel doubted they could take the promised land because of the well walled cities and the giants.

The walls around the KINGDOM LAND look like they're too hight to cross and enter into.

They are barriers, but to the carnal and doubtful and the unbelieving.

Mark 4:3-8 KJV Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: (4) And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. (5) And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: (6) But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. (7) And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. (8) And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.

This really opens up the means by which we shall be able to enter this Kingdom domain.

Before taking the journey, Jesus speaks about HOW PEOPLE HEAR THE WORD.
In every case, each time Jesus spoke of the seed sown into a type of soil, he explained it as follows:

Mark 4:15 KJV And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

Mark 4:16 KJV And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;

Mark 4:18 KJV And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,

Mark 4:20 KJV And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

Then He said:

Mark 4:24 KJV And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.

Luke 8:18 KJV Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.

When He is told his mother and brothers wanted to see Him, He stressed the point about hearing the word by saying..

Luke 8:20-21 KJV And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. (21) And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.

And he set forth to cross the sea.

Mark 4:35-37 KJV And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. (36) And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. (37) And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

Notice something stirs up as the journey begins.

In the next several examples of people and their reactions, we are going to see the various types of SOIL that Jesus spoke about.
The very first experience with the storm told something about His very own disciples that revealed them to be a certain type of soil.

Mark 4:37-41 KJV And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. (38) And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? (39) And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. (40) And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? (41) And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

They acted just like the Exodus doubters of Israel here!

Just as the Exodus doubters did not even stop to think that the peril of the well walled cities and giants was something God was able to deal with, these disciples do not realize this storm is something Jesus can deal with, so BE STILL!

Jesus asked them why did they have no faith. How come they were so afraid?

They remind us of this soil:

Mark 4:16-17 KJV And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; (17) And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.

The way they heard the word was revealed by the AFFLICTION of a storm that occurred, which caused them to be offended and TRIP UP.

Obviously they heard the word LIKE PEOPLE WITH STONY GROUND for hearts.

And even when Jesus rebuked the storm they were still afraid of HIM!

(41) And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

SECOND EXPERIENCE

Mark 5:1-9 KJV And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. (2) And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, (3) Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: (4) Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. (5) And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. (6) But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, (7) And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. (8) For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. (9) And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.

This man's heart was so under possession, that he had enough devils in him that they called themselves LEGION, which is an army of 2,000 to 6,000 soldiers.

And when Jesus cast them into 2000 swine, we know he head to have cast out enough devils for at least one to possess each of the 2000 pigs, showing us there were at least 2000 demons in ONE MAN!

But when the disciples had walked with Jesus and heard lots of preaching of the WORD, and feared a storm and became afraid, a man with 2000 demons in him would not allow those devils to stop him from running to Jesus for help!

I believe that is an example of GOOD GROUND.

No matter what state the Lord finds you in, no matter how bad you think you are, you can be the type of person whose HEART is so hungry, that when the WORD comes to you the way YOU HEAR IT is without stones or shallowness or thorns!

While some people are living comfortably, and have no desire for bible study and preaching and word, those who may not have very much int his life have a far greater hunger!
And the way they hear the word allows them to experience MIRACLES!

EXPERIENCE THREE:

Mark 5:11-17 KJV Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. (12) And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. (13) And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. (14) And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. (15) And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. (16) And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. (17) And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.

When people came to see what happened after being told of the demoniac being set free, and 2000 pigs being killed, they were afraid like the disciples.

Knowing Jesus had performed a miracle and seeing the possessed man sitting, clothed and in his right mind is like KNOWING the truth that THERE IS A GOD.
They received the WORD by seeing the word made flesh having done all these things.
AND THEY CAST HIM AWAY.

This is this kind of soil:

Mark 4:18-19 KJV And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, (19) And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

These people allowed their care for possessions like swine for market to be more concern than a man's wellbeing who was possessed.

They'd rather have the devil around than Jesus around, since Jesus upset the situation with some of the things they owned.

Then we read something more about the possessed man.

Mark 5:18-19 KJV And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. (19) Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.

This man wanted to DO SOMETHING for Jesus.

What GOOD GROUND!

And when he arrived at the original side of the sea again, Jairus came.

Mark 5:21-23 KJV And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea. (22) And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, (23) And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.

A ruler of the synagogue!

No wonder it says BEHOLD!
This was VERY unusual!
This man was a ruler of the synagogue, who had a position in the Jews' religion, and came out in public, openly and even fell at Jesus' feet!
His only daughter was dying and he cast aside all pride and reputation and fear of the Jews, and openly called out to Jesus!

GOOD GROUND!

Mark 5:24-34 KJV And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him. (25) And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, (26) And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, (27) When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. (28) For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. (29) And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. (30) And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? (31) And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? (32) And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. (33) But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. (34) And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

A woman has so much faith in Jesus, that she KNEW she did not even have to interrupt Him, but that if she only touched his robe she would be healed.

She was wanting to sneak a healing through the crowd and run off without Jesus even knowing.
She came amongst the crowd to be healed.
She did not want to mention this situation.
Just sneak some virtue for her healing and be unnoticed.
BUT JESUS TAKES GREAT NOTICE IN PEOPLE WITH GREAT FAITH!
Although the ruler of the synagogue had great faith despite his reputation and what other religious Jews might think and OPENLY called out to Jesus...
This woman tried secretly reaching out to Jesus, but she astounded Jesus just the same.
In secret, though not for pride, or openly, it does not matter.
A heart WITH GREAT FAITH is going to be noticed and get its reward!

You can have a GOOD HEART OF GOOD SOIL whether you're a lofty man in position or a lowly woman with an embarrassing ailment.

Her heart was so good that while hundreds of people thronged him and grabbed him again and again, her one simple touch caught His Spirit, as though no one else had touched Him at all.

HOW DO YOU HEAR THE WORD?

WHAT REACTIONS DOES YOUR LIFE PORTRAY FOR IT?

Some might be in church if miracle workers ministered every night.

But where are the WORD listeners?
If some folks who throng a prophet to see a sign or wonder would have as much desire to hear the fresh preached word of God and to get it into their hearts, we'd have a powerful congregation of believers!

TRULY SPIRITUAL PEOPLE want both SPIRIT and TRUTH.

BALANCE.

I want to see miracles and signs as much as I want to receive IN DEPTH WORD and bible preaching.

Look what happened to Jairus' daughter due to his GREAT FAITH.

Mark 5:35-36 KJV While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further? (36) As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.

Jesus encouraged the man to KEEP believing.

Mark 5:41-42 KJV And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. (42) And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.

THE KINGDOM JOURNEY: WHY SOME MAKE IT & SOME DON'T