Lesson 1642

(Lesson 1642)(04-07-16) Mark 4:34-41

"But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples. And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. 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. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 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? 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. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

Today's quote relates how Jesus held power even over the wind and the sea. It also demonstrated the weakness of faith among those who were closest to Him during His ministry. They, who had witnessed the many miracles He performed, yet still were reluctant to depend upon His ability to conquer all things.

Considering those we ask to put their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ today, how much more difficult must it be for them to believe without having witnessed the awesome power of Jesus Christ first hand.

We have a daunting task as we attempt to plant the seeds of eternal salvation among the lost, yet we should be relentless in our efforts, knowing that we too can demonstrate the awesome power of God through the Holy Spirit that dwells in those of us who believe.~

Lesson 1641

(Lesson 1641)(04-06-16) Mark 4:13-33

"And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables? The sower soweth the word. 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. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 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. And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, 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. 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. And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick? For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. 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. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath. And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it."

The first ten verses of today's quote were meant to be a part of yesterday's lesson, since they simply further explain the parable of the "sower" as Jesus presented it to His apostles.

The latter part of this text explains the mystery of faith and how those who believe in Him will be continually blessed with heavenly rewards. Jesus said, "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. For he that hath, to him shall be given:" The words "to hear", as they are applied in this quote, means to understand what has been taught and to have faith in the messenger that what He has said is truth beyond all doubt.

Jesus went further to say, "he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath." This means that to those who don't believe and have no faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, not only will they not prosper, but rather, what they have earned on their own will be required of them in the end.

In simpler terms, this means that we will be rewarded for our faith and our efforts in the application of that faith toward the purpose of our Lord Jesus Christ. And, if we have no such faith, we can expect to lose all that we have, even our very souls.~

Lesson 1640

(Lesson 1640)(04-05-16) Mark 4:1-12

"And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: 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. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 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. And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them."

In today's quote, Jesus presented the parable of the sower wherein He explained how His church would come to grow and expand.

When Jesus was again alone with His apostles, they asked what the parable had meant. In explaining it, Jesus said, "Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them."

That explanation was necessary because it was not possible for anyone other than the apostles to understand what the full gospel of Christianity would be until such a time as Jesus had died, been buried, and had again arisen to fulfill His divine soul redeeming mission. The apostles were given to understand only because Jesus would teach them what was going to happen through the ministry of His gospel before He ascended back to the Father in heaven.

It behooves every child of God to remember that there was no such thing as salvation by grace through faith, as we know it today, until Jesus had died, been buried, and had taken the sins of the world to the grave with Him, leaving them there for those of us whom have placed our faith in Him. ~

Lesson 1639

(Lesson 1639)(04-03-16) Mark 3:31-35

"There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him. And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother."

Today's lesson makes it vividly clear that the family of those of us who believe in Jesus Christ, (The true church), should be much more important to us than even our flesh and blood families.

We must be willing to forsake even mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters in order to serve the Lord.~

Lesson 1639

(Lesson 1639)(04-03-16) Mark 3:20-30

"And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself. And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit."

In today's quote, the *scribes accused Jesus of being an agent of Satan and using Satan's power to cast out devils. Jesus quickly explained that Satan himself could not be his own enemy. Jesus said, "if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand". He then demonstrated by parable that in order to cast out Satan He must have overcome the power of Satan with the almighty power of God.~

*The Jewish scribes mentioned in today's quote were men who could transcribe Torah (Old Testament) scrolls, tefillin and mezuzot, and other religious writings. They were very important to the Jewish fundamentals of religion because they were responsible for keeping the religious writings pure to their original intent.

Lesson 1638

(Lesson 1638)(04-02-16) Mark 3:13-19

"And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils: And Simon he surnamed Peter; And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite, And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house."

In today's quote, Jesus, for the first accounted time, assembled all twelve of His chosen apostles in order to teach them the new gospel of salvation by grace through faith, the message they would be sent out to preach. Jesus gave them all power to heal and to cast out devils.

A thorough study of the New Testament reveals that every soul who accepts Jesus Christ as redeemer and savior, inherits that same power. "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12-13) ~

Lesson 1637

(Lesson 1637)(04-01-16) Mark 3:7-12

"But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea, And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him. And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him. For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues. And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known."

Today's quote tells of how thousands from all over the region gathered around to follow Jesus as He worked many miracles and healed the sick.~