Explaining the Parable of the Sower to a Chinese Student

     My husband and I have been reading the Bible with international students for over a year.  Besides explaining difficult terms to them, sometimes their questions give opportunities to  share an illustration. Last week we were reading Luke 8 and our student admitted he didn't understand what that chapter was talking about.  


   He knows I like gardening, and so it was easy to point out that when the Lord spoke to people their hearts were like different kinds of ground.  I summarized for him what I had learned about the  different types of ground by reading some of the footnotes from my  Recovery Version of the New Testament.  (You can order a free study Bible by clicking on this link!)

BESIDE THE WAY -  Let's say I had a bunch of seed and  then started to scatter it, the Bible says some of it fell on the wayside--that's ground that's near the side of the road and because people walk on it so much, it gets packed down.  So if seeds fell on it, it would be hard for them to penetrate the ground.   That's like letting worldly traffic make our hearts hard so the Lord's word can't get in and sprout. 

IN THE ROCKS - Then some of the seed landed in the rocks, and in that kind of ground  it's hard for the seed to grow very well. This is a picture of a daisy that is growing between two rocks in my rockery.  The soil is very shallow and because of that the  plant's roots can't grow very deep.

IN THE MIDST OF THORNS  - I pointed out to him that out by my compost bins in the alley were a lot of dandelions.  I told him that if a seed landed in there, it wouldn't get enough light or food, and the weeds would crowd it out so it would  die. Mark 4:19 says the thorns  are the anxieties of life or all the cares that take up our time so we don't get  spiritually nourished.  

THE GOOD EARTH - That evening we were sitting at the dining table that looks out on the backyard, and because we live in the Northwest, my yard is full of flowering bushes, flowers, and my small garden.  So I told him if a seed landed out there, it would grow because that's good ground.  

   
  
I like the footnote in Mark 4:28:  "...the good earth (v. 8) signifying the good heart that was created by God (Gen. 1:31) so that His divine life can grow in man.  Such a good heart works together with the seed of the divine life sown into it, allowing the seed to grow and bear fruit spontaneously for the expression of God...."       

                               

Blog update 8/5/13:  This morning I was listening to a song on Youtube called Blossom of Gold--it's about the Lord as the seed of life growing within us.  It goes to the tune Edelweiss. 

Other Posts on the Life-Study of Mark:

You can listen to excerpts from the Life Study of Mark along with excellent commentary by tuning into the Life Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.    

What's the Purpose of Mark's Gospel?
How Does the Kingdom of God Come in Mark 4:1-20, 26?
Explaining the Parable of the Sower to a Chinese Student
How Does the Lord Heal People's Hearts According to Mark 7:24-30?
Seeing the Healing Power of the Cross in Mark 15:16-41

Other Posts on This Topic:
What is the Connection Between the Kingdom & the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13:3-23?

Seeing the Healing Power of the Cross in Mark 15:16-41

     

Golden Ears in British Columbia

   Everyone is sick.  Maybe not on the outside, but for sure on the inside.  I  was touched to find out in my reading of Chapter 65 of the Life-Study of Mark that all the cases in Mark 15 show us the true condition of all of our hearts.  

    It was amazing to see that actually we're the paralytic, and the deaf man, who apart from the healing work of the cross cannot serve God or hear God's word.  And we're also unable to speak for the Lord or see spiritual things. 

Embedded in this gospel is the classic parable of the sower. I was intrigued when Witness Lee connected on page 550 all these accounts to the Lord's crucifixion:
  

As we have seen, to follow the Lord is to be put into His “pocket.”  But how does the Lord heal the soil that is in His pocket?  He heals the soil by bringing it to the cross and causing it to die out and then bringing it into resurrection” (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Mark. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1983, Print).  

When I read this it made me realize that the cross was not just something the Lord did objectively to accomplish our redemption and destroy Satan.  The Lord also brought us there with Him because He knew that through His crucifixion He would make the way to truly heal us.  

Other Posts on the Life Study of Mark:

You can listen to excerpts from the Life Study of Mark along with excellent commentary by tuning into the Life Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.    

What's the Purpose of Mark's Gospel?
How Does the Kingdom of God Come in Mark 4:1-20, 26?
Explaining the Parable of the Sower to a Chinese Student
How Does the Lord Heal People's Hearts According to Mark 7:24-30?
Seeing the Healing Power of the Cross in Mark 15:16-41

How Does the Lord Heal People's Hearts According to Mark 7:24-30?

I took this as we flew over the Grand Canyon.

     Why are there so many records of healing in the gospels?  In my reading of the Life-Study of Mark lately the chapters have been on the healings in Mark chapter 7 and 8 and what they signify. 

     In the first part of Mark 7 Witness Lee explains that the Lord as the Physician discloses the true inward condition of man’s heart. 

     Many times I find it hard to understand the significance of different accounts in the Bible, like the cases of healings presented here. I like the explanation that he gave for how he studied the book of Mark in Chapter 26: 

 “We need to fit together various portions of the Gospel of Mark like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.  When the individual pieces have been fitted together, we see a picture” (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Mark. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1983, Print).  

     He points out that the record of the Syrophoenician woman's asking for her daughter's healing is connected to the Lord showing her that He is crumbs of bread (verse 27).  I was enlightened by his sharing that the WAY our hearts are healed is by our taking the Lord as the living bread. I would never have put these two together like this!  So many times I may think my need is outward, but in these accounts I see a little bit more that only the Lord Himself within me can heal all the complicated twists and turns in our hearts.  

Other Posts on the Life Study of Mark:

You can listen to excerpts from the Life Study of Mark along with excellent commentary by tuning into the Life Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.    

What's the Purpose of Mark's Gospel?
How Does the Kingdom of God Come in Mark 4:1-20, 26?
Explaining the Parable of the Sower to a Chinese Student
How Does the Lord Heal People's Hearts According to Mark 7:24-30?
Seeing the Healing Power of the Cross in Mark 15:16-41

Have You Seen What the Hope of Glory is in Colossians 1:27

      I'm a multi-tasker.  It's a thing girls find particularly easy to master.  I  like to cook and listen to Living Stream ministry messages.  This week I was listening to a message on the Lord being the captain of our salvation that is found in Hebrews 2.  

   Immediately I perked up when he started to talk about the seed of glory because that reminded me of the Colossians Life-Study I had read last week.  The brother’s sharing was so clear, and sometimes when I really like a part, I will type up some of it so I can read it over again.  Here is a small excerpt from his speaking that was almost exactly what I was reading in the Life-Study:   

  “He’s the seed of glory within us.  Colossians 1:27-- Christ within you is the hope of glory.  When I put that seed in the ground, there’s hope in that seed that it will blossom with many grains in glory.  Christ has been planted into us. According to 1 John 3:9, the seed of God is in our spirit. God’s Spirit abides in us; you could also say God’s gene abides in us. We have His DNA in us. We need to allow Him to grow in us.  Lord grant me this day’s growth in life so You can lead me into glory [Hebrews 2:10].  He is leading us into glory through a growing process” (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Colossians. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1979, Print).

     The Lord has made this new to me again—that God’s life comes into us as a divine seed that has heavenly DNA.  This seed is programmed to end up in glory.  It was also encouraging when the brother shared that Christ as our High Priest is interceding for all of us every day that the seed of life in us would grow to maturity. 
  

More Posts About the Seed of Glory

Explaining the Parable of the Sower to a Chinese Student What's the Purpose of Mark's Gospel?
Mark 4:1-20, 26  - How Does the Kingdom of God Come?
Mark 7:24-30 -  How Does the Lord Heal our Hearts?
Mark 15:16-41 - The Crucifixion was a Healing   

You can listen to excerpts from the Life-Study of Colossians given in 1979 on The Life-Study of the Bible with Witness Lee. 

Other Posts on the Life-Study of Colossians:

What is God's Will in Colossians 1:9?
What is the Stewardship of God in Colossians 1:25?
What is the Hope of Glory in Colossians 1:27?
What is the Mystery of God in Colossians 2:2? (Part 1)
What is the Difference Between the Mystery of God in Colossians 2:2 & the Mystery of Christ in Ephesians 5:32?   (Part 2)
What is the Greatest Mystery?
What is God's Intention for Your Life?
From the Life-Study of Colossians - What Happens When We Pray?
How Does God Get the One New Man in Colossians 3:10?
What Does Colossians 2:7 Say About Spiritual Growth? (Part 1)
What is the Goal of Spiritual Growth in Colossians 2:19?  (Part 2)
What is Christ Doing at the Right Hand of God in Colossians 3:2?

How Does the Kingdom of God Come in Mark 4:1-20-26?

     Did you know that you can see God's desire to have a kingdom in Genesis 1?  I never thought about that before I read Chapter 13 in the Life-Study of Mark.  On page 117 Witness Lee explained how God's creation of man in Genesis 1:26 relates to the kingdom of God:  

 "God in His creation wanted man to express Him.  In order to have such an expression, God needs a sphere, and this sphere is the kingdom, a realm where God can exercise His authority" (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Mark. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1983, Print).

My grandchildren checking out the garden I had just planted.

   He also brings out in this message that the reason God needs such a kingdom on this earth is because of His enemy Satan.  In the garden of Eden he came and  tricked Eve and ever since he has been working to damage God's purpose on this earth.    

     You can see God's intention to have a kingdom again in Exodus 19:6 when He tells the Israelites:  You shall be unto me a kingdom of priests.   But God knew that unless He could indwell man, He couldn't really gain His full intention.

     I really like the way Witness Lee makes this matter so clear.  He said that  when the Lord was teaching in the Gospels, His speaking was a sowing.  In both Peter and John's epistles God's divine life is likened to a seed.  Again in Chapter 14 he talks about the gene of the kingdom seed:  "Now we must see that the Triune God in humanity has been sown into us to be the gene of the kingdom.  Praise the Lord that this gene is within us!  Eventually the kingdom will issue from this gene" (Page 131).  

       He then talks about how this seed is daily growing and  developing within us.  This gene has divine DNA; it's programmed to have a specific outcome--we will be as 2 Corinthians 3:18 says transformed into the Lord's image from glory to glory!  And when that happens then Genesis 1:26 will be finally fulfilled!

Blog update 11-9-17:  Here's a song from the New York City Young People's CD entitled O Jesus Most Desire--it's called Man's Creator Has a Purpose.  It ties this matter of the kingdom is like a seed growing in us.

Other Posts on the Life Study of Mark:

You can listen to excerpts from the Life Study of Mark along with excellent commentary by tuning into the Life Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.    

What's the Purpose of Mark's Gospel?
How Does the Kingdom of God Come in Mark 4:1-20, 26?
Explaining the Parable of the Sower to a Chinese Student
How Does the Lord Heal People's Hearts According to Mark 7:24-30?
Seeing the Healing Power of the Cross in Mark 15:16-41

What is the Purpose of Mark's Gospel?



I took this picture in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona

 When I was in college, I heard Witness Lee share that there are 4 gospels because each showed a different aspect of the Lord's life--

Matthew shows us that He is the heavenly King, 

Mark shows us that He is the Servant of God, 

Luke that He is both God and Man to be our Savior, 

and John that Jesus is the very God incarnated.  

    In the first few messages of the Life Study of Mark Witness Lee gives a background of the book, and he shows through verses in Isaiah 42:1 that Mark’s gospel does show us that the Lord came as the Servant of Jehovah:   Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My chosen One in whom My soul delights; I have put My Spirit upon Him, and He will bring forth justice to the nations.  

Of course, this verse reminded me right away of the scene at the Lord’s baptism (Mark 1:9-11) when God spoke these very words from the heavens. He also mentions that because Mark portrays the Lord as a servant, you don’t find a genealogy in this book. Because of that Mark shows  more of the Lord’s actions than His speaking like in Matthew's gospel. 

Other Posts on the Life Study of Mark:

You can listen to excerpts from the Life Study of Mark along with excellent commentary by tuning into the Life Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.    

What's the Purpose of Mark's Gospel?
How Does the Kingdom of God Come in Mark 4:1-20, 26?
Explaining the Parable of the Sower to a Chinese Student
How Does the Lord Heal People's Hearts According to Mark 7:24-30?
Seeing the Healing Power of the Cross in Mark 15:16-41