Mark 4 has many important things to say concerning the Christian life. Concerning this passage, the first thing that brothers and sisters often ask is whether this passage refers to saved ones or unsaved ones. But we should not ask whether the seeds refer to saved ones or unsaved ones. The parable of the sower is not for the purpose of showing how these four kinds of soil relate to saved ones or unsaved ones. The purpose of this parable is to show us the four kinds of conditions under which man receives God’s word. Therefore, it does not refer only to the word of regeneration. If it is God’s word, there will be these four kinds of reactions. There will be four reactions in the case of Gentiles receiving eternal life, and there will be four reactions in the case of Christians being perfected before God. Please remember that the principle and teaching covered here have to do absolutely with the condition of the one who is receiving the word; they do not have anything to do with whether or not a person is saved. Therefore, we must not bring the issue of salvation into this passage. This passage only tells us the condition of man’s receiving or refusing God’s word. It is therefore applicable to the believers as well. In other words, this portion of the Scripture is not just for the Gentiles but for the Christians as well.
Now by God’s grace, I will show you the kind of living that is pleasing to God and that will remain. What is the kind of living that will last and stand the tests? By God’s grace, I will show you the deep degree to which God’s word has to work in us before we can have the real growth in the divine word.
I know that all of us are after spirituality before God. I know that all of us desire before the Lord that we become believers who please God. We all hope that our living and work will be acceptable to God. No doubt this is what we are after. But why are there so many people who have failed along the way? Why are there so many who have only gone halfway? How many today are fully obedient to the Lord? How many are following the Lord all the way? There are many who have a good start but not many who have a good continuation. It is not surprising for anyone to have a good start. What is precious is a good continuation. A good start does not guarantee a good ending. Those who are obedient at the beginning may not be obedient at the end. When we read Leviticus, we find that those who are twenty years old are evaluated more highly than those who are sixty years old. Why? The reason is that some who were fully for the Lord when they were twenty years old retired before they were sixty. How many will follow the Lord all the way? When you were young, you were obedient. Why then have you now slackened? Perhaps a few years ago, things were not as they are now. Perhaps the heart you now have is totally different from the heart you had when you first began to follow the Lord. Perhaps some time ago, you were willing to suffer for the Lord and endure tribulations for the sake of God’s will. But your condition today is different from the beginning. Is there anyone who will follow the Lord all the way and not stop halfway? Before you encounter tribulations, and before you find things contrary to your own will, it is easy to say, “Lord, I will obey You at all costs.” But when the Lord’s will is different from your will, when the Lord’s arrangement is different from your expectation, and when you see a great mountain blocking your way and consider it too high to climb over, you will not say before the Lord, “I will obey You at all costs.” This is the way many obey. In the beginning, when you see the importance of God’s eternal will and the seriousness of His will with respect to Christ, you make up your mind, saying, “God, I will obey at all costs.” But when God’s ordained way becomes different from your way, and your expectation different from God’s, you drop the necessary yoke, go around the cross that is set before you, and lose your heart to follow the Lord all the way.
Brothers and sisters, there is only one kind of life that will glorify the Lord; it is a life that bears the cross all the way to the end. Oh, we can never avoid the cross. If we are not truly dealt with by the Lord, and if we do not deny our self and take up the cross to follow Him, sooner or later we will not be able to get through. If we have not been thoroughly dealt with and have not fully consecrated ourselves once for all, there will be a day when we come face to face with something we will not be able to endure. False spiritual growth can deceive us and deceive others, but sooner or later, we will see that we cannot get through in a certain matter. A man can give up everything, but he cannot give up himself. If we are not thoroughly dealt with, we will not be able to get through in anything; we will find that the price is too great to follow the Lord and will give up.
Now we want to see the reason why some cannot follow the Lord all the way. May we find light from the Scripture, and may we receive help from God and revelation from the Holy Spirit to see this reason.
Mark 4:5 says, “And other seed fell on the rocky place, where it did not have much earth, and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.” Immediately it sprang up. This is what happens today. To spring up is to have the hope of life. To spring up means that the seed has sprouted. To spring up means that the word is no longer just the word but has been changed to life. To spring up means that you have not only confessed the word but have received it into you; the word has begun to grow within you. To spring up means that the outer shell of the seed has been broken and the seed has sprouted. It means that you have accepted the word and made a start. Thank the Lord that we have all made a start. The word of the cross has already made a start in us. Its sprout has come forth. But the Lord said that even though some began this way, they did not have a good ending. He said, “And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered” (v. 6). What kind of persons are these? They are the ones who have a good beginning but do not have a good ending. They are the ones who have obeyed at the beginning but have turned back halfway. What kind of persons are these? They are the ones who are willing to give up everything for the Lord at the beginning but become reluctant to do so later. They are the ones who sprang forth but have eventually dried up. They are the ones who sprang forth but are now drying up. To spring forth means that life is present; to dry up means that the hope that was present is gone. Many who failed halfway had much hope at the beginning; they knew that this way was the right way, and they expected much from this right way. Yet after three to five months, or three to five years, they are finished and dried up. The life they initially had is gone, and all the signs of life have disappeared from them.
What is the reason for this? The Lord Himself gave an explanation: “And likewise, these are the ones being sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. Yet they have no root in themselves, but last only for a time; then when affliction or persecution occurs because of the word, immediately they are stumbled” (vv. 16-17). According to the Lord, they have met with affliction and persecution and have fallen back. The persecution spoken of here comes because of the word; it is not the ordinary kind of persecution. The affliction spoken of here comes also because of the word; it is not an ordinary kind of affliction. They received the word but cannot receive the affliction and persecution that come with the word. As a result they fall.
With every word, there is its affliction and persecution. When a Gentile, that is, a sinner, receives the Lord, spontaneously he encounters affliction and persecution. However, I will not go into that now. What I am saying is that when a Christian receives the word, any kind of word, he will surely encounter affliction and persecution. Therefore, he cannot take the word as his ornament and presume that whatever he heard, he can preach. He may be able to do this with other kinds of knowledge, but he cannot be so quick with the word. He must pass through genuine dealings, truly be dead and crucified for the word’s sake, and truly broken by God for the testimony’s sake before he can be a proper testimony. It is not a question of putting together a few similar verses, categorizing them a little, and composing a little to come up with a message. That is not a message. He can find many things like this in a concordance. He must be genuinely dealt with before he can have a message. Therefore, no word can be free from its accompanying affliction and persecution.
Why is this the case? After we have heard a teaching and received it, God will surely create an environment that calls for the need of that word. For example, we may hear a word on patience today and receive it. God will then create for us an environment that requires patience. Or we may hear a word on brotherly love and receive it. God will create for us an environment that requires love. What the ears hear and the mouth says is not reliable. The only thing that is genuine is being able to practice the word when things occur. This is why all the words bring their affliction and persecution. They are there to test if you have really received the word. There is not one teaching in the Bible that can be acquired without paying a price for it. Coming behind all His teachings is God’s creation of an environment that calls for the need of such teachings. The purpose of this is to test if the things we have received are genuine or false.
Many times, when the brothers and sisters hear a word on the cross, a word on absolute consecration, or a word on absolute holiness, they become very excited and think that they have it, know it, and understand it. Brothers, do not rejoice so soon, for shortly thereafter affliction and persecution will come to you. They will come to test if you have indeed received this word. If you have, the affliction and persecution will prove that you have received it. If you have not received it or have only received it in a superficial or shallow way, the coming of the affliction and persecution will overwhelm you. Please remember that the affliction and persecution are there only to expose your true condition; they will never take away what is real. They only prove that you have indeed received the Lord’s word; they will not cause you to lose the Lord’s word. If something is gold, it will never be turned into brass through the testing of fire. No matter how hot the fire, it will not change the nature of gold. However, if something is only gilded with gold, if it is only covered with a coating of gold but does not have gold within, its nature will be exposed by the fire.
Please remember that you may hear a teaching, but the teaching is not necessarily yours. After you hear it, God will immediately give you a test to determine whether or not the word is yours. Although you have heard a word and have some scriptural knowledge about that particular word, you have not paid the price to join yourself to the word; you have not denied yourself and accepted the cross in your experience. You say with your mouth that you will obey. You may even pray happily saying, “Lord, I am willing to fully lay aside myself.” Brothers and sisters, I can tell you that the Lord’s sun will soon come. If you really have life, if you really have roots, and if you are genuine toward the Lord, the sun will help you to grow; it will help you with your development. But if you do not have roots, you will be dried up as soon as the sun comes out. All the trials are there to help you grow. If what you have is not genuine and not purely for the Lord, the trials will smash all that is not real and deceptive. They will show you what you really are within, exposing everything you have within and without to show you if both are the same.
Brothers and sisters, do you know what the sun is? Do you know what affliction and persecution are in reality? Let me tell you. They are the ultimate expression of the Lord’s love—the cross. There is nothing that cultivates our life more than the cross, and there is no better trial than the cross. The cross has separated the whole world into two classes. On the one side are the overcoming ones, and on the other side are the defeated ones. The difference between the two is the cross. The cross makes a separation between the two. I know of many people who were just like the people in the world in the beginning; they felt happy in the world. But once they were enlightened and received God’s revelation, they resolved to serve the Lord properly from that time forward. They resolved to be disciples, set aside everything else, and follow the Lord properly. They felt that they were quite good and that they could probably go on in this way. But they were deceived because they did not know their real condition. God would not allow them to be forever ignorant of their real condition. For this reason, He did something to expose their true self. They had a high evaluation of themselves, so God gave them special trials. He could not allow them to remain in darkness forever. This is why He had to give them the cross, to expose their true self. Then one day, they found that they had a problem with God and began to argue with Him. I am afraid that many Christians have already had an argument with God and developed a problem with God. One day you will find that God has not dealt with you according to your expectation. You will find that God has not done what you expected. You hope that God will do things one way, but He decides to do them another way. You hope that God will not do things that way, but He does them exactly that way. You feel unhappy and consider in your heart that God has done the wrong thing. When you see that God’s speaking is different from yours, that His work is different from yours, and that the places He wants to go are different from the places you want to go, you will be dissatisfied with His arrangements and begin to argue with Him, asking why He is doing these things. You will begin to be angry with God and misunderstand Him. It may never occur to you that a servant of the Lord will encounter these things. But to your surprise, they will take hold of you. These things will not be a part of your plan, but they will fill your environment, school, home, and office. As a result, you will begin to argue with God and blame Him. Brothers and sisters, please remember that this type of argument will keep you back and make you dry. Please remember that all of our spiritual dryness begins with arguing with God and being unwilling to yield to Him. Every argument is followed by failures. If God has failed, and you have won, you will surely become dry. Therefore, every time you go to God, the cross is your test; it will determine if your life is rich or dry.
I know that many of you have argued with God this way. I also know that many of you are still in the midst of arguments and have not settled them yet. You continue to complain about the way God has dealt with you. Brothers, let me tell you that the outcome of such arguments will determine how you live from this point forward. In other words, the richness or dryness of our life depends on the way you handle such arguments. If you win, God will fail, and there will be no other result but dryness. Never rejoice at your victory or your freedom. Never think that you have won forever just because you have gained what you desired. This is really a pronouncement that your life is drying up and that your living is falling fast. This is the experience of many people. All spiritual dryness comes when you begin to argue with God, when He has failed and you have won. Your life will never flourish when God fails. Actually, this will never happen. Brothers and sisters, if you are in the middle of a dispute with God and the matter is not yet settled, if there is an unresolved problem between you and God, and if you are still not clear concerning the will of God, I can frankly say that this is very dangerous. You have to be very careful. If you blame God or despise His arrangement, you will fail right then. There is no need to wait until the whole thing is exposed; your dryness will begin right then.
Therefore, God will not allow us to hear a message or offer a consecration and let the matter be concluded. Every time you say that you will not fail, that you will be an obedient Christian, and that you will follow the Lord to walk in the way, the Lord will test you immediately. The Lord will not allow you to bear the name of being obedient to Him, without first testing you. He can only use those vessels that have passed the test. Whether or not you are faithful is not determined at the time you hear a message, nor is it determined by your confession or acceptance. Since God cannot trust in you, He allows affliction and persecution pertaining to His word to come upon you and test you to see how you will react. Then you will prove if you really are for God or if you were merely making a superficial confession. At the time of your trial, you may not praise Him as much as before. During those times, you may not be as clear about God as before. But He still has to test you.
Friends, when I first began to work for the Lord, I went one day to visit an elderly sister, Miss Barber. We sat in the living room together. She began to ask me, “Is your intention in giving yourself to serve God something that God wants? What does the Lord want you to do?” I answered, “He wants me to serve Him.” She then asked, “What if the Lord does not want you to work for Him?” I answered, “He surely wants me to work for Him. I know that.” She then began to read with me the passage in Matthew 15 concerning the Lord feeding the four thousand with the seven loaves and the fish. She asked me what this passage meant. I answered that the disciples put the loaves and the fish in the Lord’s hand, and when the Lord had blessed them, they became manifold and the four thousand were fed. She then added one word, which I can never forget to this day. Of course, at that time I was quite bewildered. She said that all the loaves in the Lord’s hand were first broken before they were distributed. Any loaf that was not broken could not be changed and could not sustain another’s life. She also said, “Brother (actually she was older than my parents), please remember that many times we are like the loaves, who would say: ‘Lord, I will consecrate myself to you.’ But even though we have consecrated ourselves, we secretly hope in our heart that the Lord will not break us. We hope that the loaf can always be whole, beautiful, and always remain unchanged. But no loaf that is in His hand is ever unbroken. If you do not want to be broken, it is better that you do not put yourself in His hand.” It has been twelve years since the day she talked to me about this. During these twelve years, I have deeply learned this lesson. I realize deeply that this word is true. Every loaf that is in the Lord’s hand is broken by Him. Therefore, allow me to say the same thing to you now: “If you do not want to be broken by the Lord, please do not put yourself into His hand.” This is where the problem lies with many people. When they hear the teachings concerning overcoming, they are very happy and say, “God, I will consecrate everything I have to you.” But when God begins to break them, they cry, “Oh, I did not expect to encounter such things.” Brothers and sisters, this kind of living is painful and difficult to bear. On the one hand, God has laid hold of us, and we cannot be like other ordinary men anymore. On the other hand, we do not want to be broken that way. Therefore, if you have not counted the cost and are not ready to be broken by Him, you will find yourselves dissatisfied with God, and God will be dissatisfied with you.
If you do not want to follow the Lord, God can do nothing with you. But if you realize that it is right to obey the Lord and do not want your life to dry up, wanting instead to have a strong and vigorous life, you will have to allow God to test the reality of the word you received with affliction and persecution. I do not know how many people have experienced dryness as a result of failing the test of this word.
In another two days, we will consider God’s eternal purpose. It is questionable whether or not we can come up to that standard. Many times we hope and desire, but we have not passed through the dealings in a proper way. As a result, we cannot be as we wish. Therefore, the cross is our test. The cross will separate us, and we will see on which side we are. I will not go into this at this time. I will speak on the reason that the seed becomes dry. Why do seeds grow so fast, yet dry up so soon? Why do they dry up immediately after the sun comes out? The Lord gives us three reasons in Mark 4.