That Dirty Bird: Mark 4:13-15
“13) And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? 14) The sower sows the word. 15) These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.” Mark 4:13-15
The first kind of soil in the parable where the seed was sown is beside the road. We now discover that the seed is the word of God. We often think in terms of “the gospel”, but it could relate to any subject or theme of Scripture. Any time the word is shared, it has three enemies trying to prevent it from coming to maturity.
The first enemy is Satan. Immediately he comes to snatch away the word that has been sown in people. Notice the word “immediately.” That dirty bird follows right behind the sower. He does not want Gods word to take root and have a chance at coming to maturity.
According to 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, this is especially true when unbelievers hear the gospel. Satan works hard at interference. He blind minds, closes hearts and brings all kinds of distractions.
Some, myself included, believe that Matthew 12:29 refers to actively binding the strong man in the context of evangelizing the lost. I am an advocate of evangelistic praying. I believe that praying for the lost includes spiritual warfare praying to bind the enemy in the name and blood of Jesus Christ.
I see this as the thrust behind 1 Timothy 2:1-8. The context involves kings and those in authority coming to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. In Romans 10:1, Paul conceded that his hearts desire and prayer to God for his country men was for their salvation. He understood the importance of praying for the lost.
Intercessory prayer and preaching of the word go hand in hand. This is the most effective way to deal with birds when the Word of God is being preached. Paul begged believers to pray in this fashion to sustain the spread of the gospel. (See Ephesians 6:18-20; Colossians 4:2-4)
In the New Testament, effective prayer always undergirded the preaching of the word. One of my favorite texts to highlight this point is Acts 4:23-31. As they prayed for God to punctuate their preaching with signs and wonders, the earth was shaken, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak the word of God with boldness. If it was needed in the early church… it is urgently needed today as well.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
“13) And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? 14) The sower sows the word. 15) These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.” Mark 4:13-15
The first kind of soil in the parable where the seed was sown is beside the road. We now discover that the seed is the word of God. We often think in terms of “the gospel”, but it could relate to any subject or theme of Scripture. Any time the word is shared, it has three enemies trying to prevent it from coming to maturity.
The first enemy is Satan. Immediately he comes to snatch away the word that has been sown in people. Notice the word “immediately.” That dirty bird follows right behind the sower. He does not want Gods word to take root and have a chance at coming to maturity.
According to 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, this is especially true when unbelievers hear the gospel. Satan works hard at interference. He blind minds, closes hearts and brings all kinds of distractions.
Some, myself included, believe that Matthew 12:29 refers to actively binding the strong man in the context of evangelizing the lost. I am an advocate of evangelistic praying. I believe that praying for the lost includes spiritual warfare praying to bind the enemy in the name and blood of Jesus Christ.
I see this as the thrust behind 1 Timothy 2:1-8. The context involves kings and those in authority coming to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. In Romans 10:1, Paul conceded that his hearts desire and prayer to God for his country men was for their salvation. He understood the importance of praying for the lost.
Intercessory prayer and preaching of the word go hand in hand. This is the most effective way to deal with birds when the Word of God is being preached. Paul begged believers to pray in this fashion to sustain the spread of the gospel. (See Ephesians 6:18-20; Colossians 4:2-4)
In the New Testament, effective prayer always undergirded the preaching of the word. One of my favorite texts to highlight this point is Acts 4:23-31. As they prayed for God to punctuate their preaching with signs and wonders, the earth was shaken, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak the word of God with boldness. If it was needed in the early church… it is urgently needed today as well.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
