Can You Hear Jesus Now? Responding to His Word

Oct 18, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Can You Hear Me Now? Tuning Out the Noise

Jesus’ question echoes like a cell tower test: are we truly receiving His signal? Our lives overflow with notifications, playlists, and chatter, yet God’s voice often gets drowned out. Just as a blocked mailbox prevents delivery, distractions like hurry, criticism, or apathy can keep God’s word from penetrating. Hearing requires intentionality—praying before service, reading Scripture beforehand, and silencing phones. The enemy works overtime to steal what’s sown, but an alert heart stays tuned. [51:44]

“And he said to them, ‘Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.’”
(Mark 4:13–15, ESV)

Reflection: What distractions most often block your “mailbox” from receiving God’s word? How might you create space this week to listen with undivided attention?

Day 2: Guarding Against the Thief of Hardened Paths

A hardened heart is like the Louvre’s stolen crown—precious truth snatched before it takes root. Resistance grows when we dismiss Scripture, cling to pride, or let bitterness trample our souls. Satan swoops in like a thief, exploiting stubbornness to steal liberation, healing, or purpose. Staying soft requires humility: admitting we need the Word, letting it confront our blind spots, and refusing to let familiarity breed apathy. Vigilance protects what’s sacred. [56:26]

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
(1 Peter 5:8, ESV)

Reflection: Where has resistance or cynicism made your heart a “hard path”? What step will you take to let the plow of grace break up that ground?

Day 3: When Joy Fades Without Roots

Shallow soil sprouts fast but withers faster—like claiming a title without earning it. Emotional highs at church or quick fixes crumble when trials hit: a diagnosis, betrayal, or dry season. Roots grow through daily habits—Bible study, prayer, and accountability—not just Sunday enthusiasm. Depth means clinging to Christ when feelings fade, trusting His character over circumstantial “proof.” Survival isn’t about initial excitement but endurance. [01:01:08]

“And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.”
(Mark 4:16–17, ESV)

Reflection: When has a trial exposed shallow faith in your life? How will you cultivate deeper roots this month through consistent spiritual practices?

Day 4: Choked by Life’s Noise and Thorns

A car stereo blaring over sirens mirrors our chaos: worries, greed, and endless wants drown out God’s urgency. Thorns aren’t obvious sins but good things turned idols—careers, relationships, or even ministry hustle. They choke slowly, leaving faith fruitless. Regular “signal checks” help: What consumes your mental bandwidth? Does Scripture shape your decisions more than cultural trends or financial fears? Clear the thorns to let life flourish. [01:06:30]

“And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.”
(Mark 4:18–19, ESV)

Reflection: What “thorns” quietly compete for your spiritual oxygen? What one priority needs pruning to center Christ this season?

Day 5: Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Bearing Fruit

Good soil isn’t passive—it’s prepared. Like signing for a package, we actively receive God’s word through prayerful anticipation, note-taking, and post-service reflection. Fruit isn’t forced but flows from abiding: love, patience, and justice become natural. Harvest looks like voting for the marginalized, mentoring others, or baptizing 630 souls. Every yes to Scripture reshapes us into Christ’s likeness, multiplying His kingdom. [01:13:48]

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
(Galatians 5:22–23, ESV)

Reflection: What “fruit” has God grown in you recently? How will you intentionally cooperate with Him this week to sow seeds in others?

Sermon Summary

Jesus opens Mark 4 by pressing one big question: “Can you hear me now?” The word “hear” keeps showing up because disciples cannot follow Jesus well if they cannot receive his voice, his instructions, and his direction. The farmer represents Jesus and his followers, the seed represents the word of God, and the soil reveals the condition of the heart receiving that word. The seed has life, power, salvation, redemption, liberation, forgiveness, and transformation in it, but the same seed produces very different results depending on the ground.

The hard path pictures the hard heart. The hard heart stays apathetic, stubborn, critical, and unmoved by what God says, allowing Satan to snatch away the word before it can take root. Satan knows the word is valuable, so he comes to steal what can turn around a life, a marriage, a family, and even a city. God calls His people to stay alert and keep their hearts open.

The rocky soil pictures the shallow heart. The shallow heart receives the word with joy and excitement, but its enthusiasm has no roots. Trouble, criticism, disappointment, a hard diagnosis, a broken relationship, or a difficult season exposes whether faith has depth. Jesus does not call His people to be shallow and melt away when life gets hot. The word calls for deep roots that keep praying, reading, worshiping, and trusting when feelings change.

The thorny soil pictures the crowded heart. Worries, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desire for other things grow like thorns and choke the word. Noise can become so loud that a heart misses the emergency sirens of God’s voice. The word may be faithfully delivered, but distraction can block the mailbox. Jesus calls hearts to move the clutter, reduce distractions, receive the word with humility, and make room for it to land.

The good soil pictures the fruitful heart. The fruitful heart does not merely hear for a moment; it keeps hearing, keeps receiving, and keeps accepting. The word calls believers to prepare before gathering, follow the text, take notes, pray over what God says, meditate on it afterward, and put it into practice. God produces a harvest through that kind of surrender: fruit of the Spirit, justice that rolls like a river, and disciples who grow and bring others to Christ. Jesus remains the King of Glory, the everlasting God who gives strength to the weary, and His word still asks, “Can you hear me now?”

Key Takeaways

1. Guard your heart from spiritual theft The hard heart does not always reject God loudly; it can dismiss, minimize, or delay the word until it disappears. Satan aims to steal the word before it settles into faith, obedience, and hope. An open heart stays alert because God’s word carries greater value than anything the enemy can take. [1:00:35]
2. Depth matters when trouble comes The shallow heart can feel real joy without developing lasting roots. Difficulty does not create shallowness so much as reveal it. Jesus forms disciples who keep standing when disappointment, criticism, and pain make quitting feel easier. [1:05:28]
3. Crowded hearts cannot hear clearly Worry, money, cravings, and constant noise can choke what God is trying to grow. The thorns are not always evil things; they are often good things allowed to become ultimate things. God’s word requires focused attention rather than a heart filled with every other demand. [1:07:25]
4. Receive the word with ongoing faith The good soil keeps hearing, receiving, and accepting rather than treating God’s word as a passing moment. Preparation, humility, reflection, and obedience make room for the seed to go down deep. God gives fruit where His word is welcomed and practiced over time. [1:14:08]
5. Fruit includes justice and discipleship The harvest of God reaches beyond private character into public faithfulness. God’s concern for the oppressed calls His people to pursue justice through voting, service, advocacy, and care for neighbors. Christ also sends fruitful disciples to make disciples, helping others know and obey Him. [1:20:54]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[45:30] - Mark 4 and the Call to Hear
[51:31] - Can You Hear Me Now?
[53:48] - The Seed Is the Word of God
[56:09] - The Hard Heart
[1:01:08] - The Shallow Heart
[1:06:06] - The Crowded Heart
[1:13:48] - The Fruitful Heart
[1:14:49] - Preparing to Receive God’s Word
[1:18:37] - The Harvest of Spiritual Fruit
[1:20:54] - The Harvest of Justice
[1:24:56] - The Harvest of Disciples
[1:27:05] - Can You Hear Me Now?
[1:28:55] - Prayer and Invitation

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Mark 4:13-20
“And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” [49:33]

1 Peter 5:8
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” [01:00:35]

Galatians 5:22-23
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” [01:19:13]

Observation questions

In Mark 4:13–20, what does Jesus identify as the seed, and what are the four different places where it falls? [55:05]
What happens to the word in the hard-path heart, the rocky-soil heart, and the thorny-soil heart?
What specific pressures and distractions does Jesus name as threats to fruitfulness in the thorny soil? [01:07:51]
According to Galatians 5:22–23, what kinds of fruit does the Spirit produce in a believer’s life? [01:19:13]

Interpretation questions

Why does Jesus describe Satan as taking away the word immediately from the hard heart? What does this show about the value and power of God’s word? [59:24]
The rocky-soil hearer receives the word with joy but falls away when trouble comes. Why can strong emotions and excitement alone be insufficient for lasting faith? [01:02:25]
Jesus says that worries, wealth, and other desires can choke the word. How can good things, such as work, relationships, comfort, or financial goals, become thorns when they take first place in a person’s heart? [01:08:12]
The good soil hears, accepts, and produces a crop. What is the difference between simply listening to God’s word and receiving it in a way that leads to ongoing fruit? [01:14:08]

Application questions

Which soil best describes the current condition of your heart: hard, shallow, crowded, or fruitful? What specific evidence do you see in your response to God’s word?
Are there ways you tend to dismiss, delay, minimize, or criticize God’s word when it challenges you? What would it look like to keep your heart open and alert this week? [01:00:35]
Think about a recent disappointment, criticism, hardship, or stressful season. Did it reveal deep roots or expose places where your faith has been shallow? What practice—prayer, Scripture reading, worship, community, or something else—could help your roots grow deeper? [01:05:42]
What are the loudest “thorns” competing for your attention right now—worry, financial pressure, a craving for comfort, social media, busyness, or another desire? What is one practical way you can make room to hear God more clearly? [01:13:03]
What could change in your weekly rhythm if you prepared to receive God’s word before gathering, followed along carefully, and reflected on it afterward? Choose one practice you will try this week. [01:14:49]
Which fruit of the Spirit do you most need God to grow in you right now? How might surrendering to God’s word shape your attitude, speech, and choices in that area? [01:19:40]
Fruitfulness reaches beyond private growth into justice and helping others follow Jesus. What is one tangible way you can serve a neighbor, advocate for someone who is overlooked, or encourage another person in their walk with Christ this month? [01:24:03]

Sermon Clips

46s

#DeepRoots

“He didn't call us to be shallow. Right. He called us to have some death in our lives. He didn't call us to to to not last one week on the job. He called us to have some death in our lives so that when difficulty comes, we don't melt away. We don't stop coming to church. We don't stop praying. We don't stop reading our bible. We don't give up on the church because somebody hurt our feelings. We don't give up on the church because I feel it. We didn't feel it that Sunday. No. We keep on coming because we've got some roots in the ground. We ain't shallow, we deep.”

32s

#HundredfoldHarvest

“That's what the text... He said he says, I'm a I'm a give you a harvest. If you accept this word in your life, you you you receive this word in your life. You you meditate on this word on your life. You review this word on your life. He said, I'm a give you I'm a give you a harvest, not just 30 times, not just 60 times, but in some cases, a 100 times the seed that was sown in the first place.”

38s

#KeepReceiving

“But this last one, the tense of the verb means continually and ongoing. It it means not just hearing and passing, but it means to hear and keep on hearing. It means to receive and keep on receiving. It means to accept and keep on accepting. Look at what the text says. He says, you gotta accept You gotta you gotta receive. He says, when that word, this this this this fruitful heart, when that word comes, it says that that it accepts it.”

48s

#OpenYourHeart

“in church, sometimes God is trying to send word, but you you've got a block in front of the mailbox. He... The message can't get through. You've got a block. Sometimes God says, I'm not gonna deliver it. Now somebody's at the house to sign for the package that I'm delivering for. Sometimes God says, listen, without a signature, I can't deliver it. And if you're not ready to receive it, you gotta sign for some stuff. God, I receive it in the name of Jesus. God, I I I accept it right now, God. I believe it right now. He says, be careful. Don't allow other things to block you, block your mail from being delivered.”

41s

#RootedFaith

“emotion is a good thing. But the text tells us in this particular passage, it's short lived and has no root. Consequently, when trouble comes, break up with your boo, car broke down, job change, a diagnosis, somebody hurt your feelings, somebody was mean to you at church, somebody said something. Somebody criticized you. A friend pushed back on your commitment to the Lord. Something didn't go as planned. Church didn't feel like it used to feel. And all of a sudden, they quickly fall away.”

32s

#HardHeart

“See, it is a reminder that as Jesus had been teaching, he spoken to three groups of people. The first group were these religious leaders. They represented this hard group. It's a heart that is apathetic, a heart that is unmoved, unmotivated, critical even. It's a heart that rejects the truth, minimizes the word, discounts it, and ignores it. You know, it's it's it's a it's a heart that is stubborn.”

47s

#SeedOfFaith

“The seed has power in it. You know this. Agriculturally, seeds have power in them. When you plant a seed, there is life in that seed. When you plant that seed in the right circumstances, give it water, give it sunlight, sooner or later life will come out of that seed. Not just life, there is power and potential in that sea. He now begins to relate that same thing that the word of God is the same way. It's a sea that's being planted. He wants us to understand that when the word is planted, there there can be at least four responses to the word of God.”

33s

#HearJesus

“can you hear me now? Because he wants his followers to understand that if they don't hear his voice, if they don't hear his word, if they don't hear his instructions, if they don't hear his direction, then they can, they will never be able to be the disciple he has called them to be. So he spends these first 20 verses of this chapter four to help them to understand how to hear Jesus well.”

39s

#PrayBeforeChurch

“Here it is. Before service, you ought to pray on your way to church. I'm trying to try to help, this is how we're do this y'all. We're this together, right? You ought to pray. You ought to pray for your church. You ought to pray for your pastor. You ought to pray for the lost. You ought to pray for any guests. You ought to pray for somebody to get saved. You ought to pray for your heart to be open to the word. You ought to be praying on your way to church.”

37s

#DontChaseMoney

“Then he says, not only worries, but he says, the deceitfulness of wealth. He's not saying that that that money is a bad thing. No. He's just saying he's just saying there's some deceitfulness. When you begin to become so consumed with trying to make money, consumed with trying to catch, secure the bag. When you become so stuck on money, here it is, deceitfulness of wealth. What's that mean? Somebody today is gambling on a football game, and that game got their full attention, and they ain't been played yet.”

36s

#BringYourBible

“you ought to take notes or bring your bible, follow along with your bible. Listen, you you don't let nobody preach and you don't see where they're going. You did... This is this is what happened. We're this is this is this is to get... We're in the get some of y'all. We we're together in this. Right? Some people go to churches where they they ain't touched that text. That text, they read it and never went back to it again. You need to be able to go along with the preacher and say, okay, I see that. Okay. I got you. Okay. I'm tracking with you. Okay. No. Wait a minute. I didn't see that. Go back and look again.”

42s

#FruitOfTheSpirit

“That doesn't mean that's the only thing we'll produce, but it does mean that when you let the word of God settle in your life, he will produce some fruit in your life. Some fruit that you can't even imagine, some fruit that you can't claim. He can make you more loving. He can make you more joyful. He can make you more peaceful. He can make you more patient, he can make you more kind, he can make you more good, he can make you more faithful, he can make you more gentle, he can make you more self controlled.”

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