Are you Within or Without?
From Pastor Shemalya King
“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.” - Mark 4:11
Jesus had just finished teaching the Parable of the Sower to a great multitude by the sea side. At the end of His message He said, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Mark 4:9). This conclusion was SO important. Jesus knew that though many were present and all heard Him speaking, only a few were intentionally hanging on to every word and sincerely wanting to know what He was talking about. The ones who “had ears to hear” took action to come to a VERY important place: “within.” It's the place of intimacy, the place where you ask and find out exactly what the Word means, the place away from the crowd: “And when He was alone, they that were about Him with the twelve asked of Him the parable” (Mark 4:10).
After the crowd asked Jesus to explain what the parable meant, He went on to reveal to them that THEY are the ones to whom it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. If you take this and make it applicable to you, if you will spend quiet time with Jesus studying His Word and readily wanting to know its mystery, you too will be counted as one of the ones to whom it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom.
The ones who did not further inquire were “without.” I'd like to believe that I'm “within.” Are you?