Hearing and Believing, Part I

In Mark's account of the Parable of the Soils, Jesus makes a statement that is very important for believers to grasp..."He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Mark 4:9). This is not to mean to only listen, but to grasp in understanding. Why is this so important? Because Jesus makes another statement concerning this parable that should cause one to hear, understand, grasp..."Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?" (Mark 4:13) It is very important that believers really give ear to God's Word. The Apostle Paul said, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17) Faith in Christ is the result of hearing the word and then faith continues to grow by hearing the word.

Let's look at Mark 4:13 And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? from other perspectives. (My intent in the following is in no way trying to add or subtract from God's but to give us something to think about, to hear) so think about Mark 4:13 from this perspective...
Do you not have a full understanding as to what salvation is? How then will you understand kingdom principles like faith, grace, healing, deliverance, prosperity, baptism of the Holy Spirit, Gifts of the Holy Spirit, etc.

Do we really have ears to hear God (His Word) or do we tend to only have ears to hear what man says about God? Let's face it, the four gospels show us Gods will lived out in Jesus Christ, but many in the church teach that there are things which do not apply today as it did in the ministry of Jesus and the early church. For example healing. I like to reference healing because this seems to be one of the the biggest controversy's among evangelical believers. The controversy is whether God heals today or not or when people pray for the sick and they do not receive healing then God has a mysterious plan for them. If either of these are so, then why did Jesus spend so much time telling us about the incredible power that is release through faith? Why does the Book of Acts and the Epistles devote so much time talking about faith in the name of Jesus and how much incredible power that is released in His name?

Even Peter did not take the credit for healing the lame man in Acts 3 but it says, "And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all." The key is FAITH, not hope, not wishing, not demanding God to make good on His word, not saying it didn't work for me so it must not be for today, but FAITH. Jesus said, "If you have FAITH and do not DOUBT", "These signs follow those who BELIEVE", "He who BELIEVES in ME, the works that I do he will do also" (to name a very few).

Now if these words are true (they most certainly are) and Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" and Ephesians 5:30 say, "For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones" it appears we have a problem that is contrary to the Word of God. Could it be that many ministers in pulpits today say the word faith but do not teach it, preach it or demonstrate it? Could it be that much of the Bible that is being taught today is mingled with phychology to help us feel good about ourselves? Could it be that many in the church today do not have ears to hear God's Word and therefore do not believe? You decide...

"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)