Open your Bibles again to the
Scripture. Brother Eccles read Matthew 13. Our Lord says in verse 18, Hear
ye therefore the parable of the sower. Back there in verse 9, he said,
Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. But he's speaking primarily to
his disciples, for he said to them in verse 16, But blessed
are your eyes, they see, and your ears, for they hear. I have given you eyes to see
and ears to hear, and therefore I will now declare unto you the
meaning of this parable of the sower. That's what he's saying
to them. Verse 18, hear it. Hear, therefore,
the parable of the soul. The parable is to show the disciples
the different effects which the word of God, when it's preached,
has upon those who hear it. The different effects that the
word preached has upon those who hear it. and the reasons
for the difference. That's what he's saying. He says
in verse 17 back there, he said, think of it now. Verily I say
unto you that what I teach you and what I tell you and what
I reveal to you, that many prophets and righteous men have desired
to see those things which you see. And Luke added the word
kings. Luke said kings. Kings and prophets
and righteous men have desired to see those things which you
see so clearly, so plainly. Kings like Solomon, Hezekiah,
David. Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Hosea. Righteous men like Abraham, Moses. have desired to see these things
which I've revealed to you, which I've taught you. They saw these
things at a distance. They saw them, the scripture
says, afar off. They saw them afar off in promises,
in prophecies. Not like you're going to see
them, he said. Not like I'm going to show you. Not clearly and
fulfilled before your very eyes. You who have the Word of God
fulfilled and completed in the person of Christ Jesus, think
of it. He says in verse 18, hear ye
now. I've given you ears to hear,
now hear. I've given you eyes to see, now look. The Master
is going to teach us, the Master himself. He's given this parable
and now he's gathered his disciples around him, those who have ears
to hear and eyes to see. He says, now I'm going to open
this to you. I'm going to reveal this to you. You hear the parable
of the sower. Now this revelation of the parable
of the sower is found in Matthew here where we're looking, in
Mark and in Luke. And each of them brings something
out that we need to consider. Luke tells us that the seed is
the word of God. He says the seed is the word
of God. That's what we're talking about
sowing, the word of God, preaching the word of God. Matthew over
here in verse 37 of Matthew 13, same chapter, he said, he that
soweth the good seed is the son of man. The sower is the son
of man. The seed is the preached word.
The sower is the son of man. And here in verse 19, he calls
this preaching of the word, the word of the kingdom. It's the
word, see it there in verse 19, when anyone hears the word of
the kingdom. The gospel of the kingdom of Christ. We're talking
about King Messiah. the person and work and office
and grace of the king, Messiah, and his kingdom. That's the preached
word. It reveals the king, Messiah,
his person and work. It is the kingdom of his grace
in which we now live as believers, as children of God. It's the
kingdom that's already established in which we live. It's the kingdom
of heaven for which we live. and hope in which we shall someday
enter through the blood and merits of our Redeemer. And this word,
this seed, this word is that instrument by which those who
enter the kingdom are quickened and begotten of his own will. Beget he us with the word, the
preached word. We're born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible seed, by the word of God, which liveth
and abideth forever. Now here, here, therefore, the
parable of the soul, this is Christ himself talking to his
people, who are supposed to be able to hear. The seed, the word,
is the word of God. It's the word of the kingdom.
And the sower is the son of man, and those whom he sends. As my
Father sent me, so send I you. You go into all the world and
preach, preach the gospel. Preach it. And before we look more carefully
at our Lord's revelation of this parable, we need to understand
these four things. In each case, there's the hearer
by the wayside, the hearer that's like the seed sown by the wayside.
There's the hearer like the seed that's sown on the stony ground,
thorny ground, the good ground. But in each case, it's the same
sower. They hear the same sower. The
personality of the sower has nothing to do with the life-giving
seed. It's the same sower that they
hear. All of them hear the same sower.
Secondly, it's the same seed. It's the Word of God. The same
message. You don't preach a different
message to different people to bring forth different results.
You preach the same message. This sower went forth to sow.
Same sower. It fell on the wayside, the stony
ground, the thorny ground, the good ground. Same sower. Same seed, got it out of the
same place, and sowed it. Same time. Same time. When he sowed this seed, right
at that moment, that seed fell on the fallow ground. Somebody fell on thorny ground,
somebody fell on stony ground, somebody fell on good ground.
Same time. And in each case, the seed was
received by the ground. That's right. It was received.
That's what it says. They all heard. Verse 19 says,
When one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth not. See that?
Like a stony wayside. Verse 2, 20. He that receiveth
the seed in the stony place, the same is the way that heareth
the word. He heard the word too. He heard it too. Verse 22, he
that receives seed among the thorns is he who heard the word.
Every one of them heard the word. The actual living seed fell upon
them, not into them, but upon them. They all heard the word. They heard it. They heard it. And the good ground, verse 23,
the he that receives seed and the good ground is he that Heareth
the word, so in each case the word's heard. And verse 19 says, listen to it, verse 19, when
one, anyone, heareth the word of the kingdom, understandeth
it not, then cometh the wicked one, catcheth away that which
was thought in his heart. What does that mean? Effectual
grace? No, sir. By the heart here is meant the
faculties of reason, the person's personality and soul. He's not unconscious. He hears
it. His mind hears it. His heart
hears it. His emotions hear it. For instance,
he gets mad or glad or sad or whatever because he hears it.
He hears it. He hears the inside. The word
is preached and he hears it. Every one of them heard this
word, didn't they? What it said. The master said
that. They heard it in their hearts.
But the effects were different because the conditions were different. But they all heard. Now that
understanding, in each case, same sower, same seed, same time. In each case, the Word itself
was heard for the moment. The Word is the power of God
unto salvation. The Word is the power of God
to creation. The Word is the power of God
to life-giving quickening. They heard it. All right, let's
look at verse 19 and listen to our Lord. He says, When any one heareth the word
of the kingdom and understands it not, then cometh the wicked
one, catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is
he which received the seed by the wayside. He said that in
verse 4. And when he sowed some seed fell
by the wayside, and the fowls of birds came and devoured it.
Now, some hearers to whom we preach the gospel, The word preached
is like seed that falls on a footpath where people walk back and forth. It's hard. It's unplowed. It's unprepared. And it doesn't
bear any fruit. They do not understand it. They
don't try to understand it. When the word is preached to
them and they hear it, they don't meditate upon it. They don't
consider it. They don't retain it. They do
not feel a need for what they're hearing. They do not feel a desire
to understand and enter into what they're hearing. They're
not like the people that Peter preached to in Cornelius' house.
Turn over there to Acts chapter 10. Acts the 10th chapter. These people said to Peter, Cornelius
said to Peter in verse 30, Four days ago, I was fasting. He had
a need. Until this hour, at the ninth
hour, I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me
in bright clothing. He said, Cornelius, our prayers
heard. Thine arms are had in remembrance
in the sight of God. Send, therefore, to Joppa and
call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter. He's lodged in the
house of one Simon of Tanner by the way at Seaside. He'll speak unto thee. He'll
preach to you. So immediately, therefore, I
sent to thee. He's talking to Peter here now.
And he said, you've well done that thou art come. Now, therefore,
are we all here present before God to hear all those things
that are commanded of thee. Now, this wayside is not like
that. They hear it, but there's no need. There's no hunger. There's no thirst. They don't
receive it, retain it. Consider it. Meditate upon it. Like the Bereans. It says the
Bereans, when they heard Paul in Acts 17, it says that they
went home and searched the scriptures to see if these things be so.
Searched the scriptures. Let's look at that in Acts 17.
These people, the seed was sown and preached to them. And this
was how they responded, Acts 17, verse 10. And the brethren immediately
sent away Paul and Silas by night to Berea, who coming thither
went into the synagogue of the Jews, and these were more noble
than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word.
They received the word how? With all readiness of mind, and
searched the scriptures daily whether those things were so.
Therefore, many of them believed. Many of them believe. That's
not like the indifferent, fallow ground, wayside hearer who hears
the word and doesn't retain it. There's another force at work
there, though, in verse 19. Then cometh the wicked one. Who
is that? That's Satan. Then cometh the wicked one. They've
heard the word now. They've heard it. Christ, who He is, Son of God,
Redeemer, Messiah, Fulfillment of all Old Testament scriptures.
Come to save His people from their sins. Obeyed the law perfectly,
died on the cross, married, rose again, intercedes, a great priesthood.
They heard all that. But they don't go home and search
the scriptures to see if these things be so. They don't receive
it, meditate upon it. Like falling on hard ground.
And then Satan comes. And here's one of the writers
said this. Satan. Carnal men are in his
world. They're citizens of this world.
We had our conversation in this world motivated by Satan. Well, he says as soon as he observes,
want someone hearing the word. especially a new hearer, hearing
this glorious gospel, he comes and catches it away. How does
he do that? He catches it away by diverting
the person's attention elsewhere. Suggestions, temptations, other
objects which appeal to the mind, to the flesh, to the lust of
the eyes, are put before this person, the foolishness of the
world, the flesh, the possessions of this world. The word of God
is preached and immediately the enemy comes and catches it away
by diverting his attention to other things. The Bereans heard
the word and stayed in it and searched the scriptures, compared
scriptures, asked God for more light, more understanding to
see if these things But these who hear, and Satan comes and
diverts their attention to something else immediately, and he says
it's done at once, and the person's unaware of it. And when his attention is turned
away from that word which he's heard, it's turned away from
the effect of it. And the effect of the word is
lost. And he does not so much as remember what he heard. Isn't that what the Lord is saying?
When anyone hears the word of the God and does not understand
it, nor try to understand it, nor seek to understand it, nor
meditate upon it, nor search the scriptures, then Satan comes
and snatches it away. And he does that by diverting
the attention of something else, someone else, something to do
with the world. And that person loses. the effect
of that word, and he can't even remember what
it was that was said. And that's repeated over and
over again. And then in verse 5 up there, look at verse, some
fell on stony ground. It didn't have much earth. It
had some earth, but not much. And the seed forthwith sprung
up. Because it had no dampness of
earth, it sprung up quickly. It wasn't planted very deep,
it sprung up quickly. And when the sun came out, having
no root, the plants were scorched, withered away. Now look down
at verse 20. Now, he that receives the seed, he who hears the word,
receives the word, seed in stony places, is the same that heareth
the word, and the word is immediately, with joy, he receives it. Immediately
with joy he receives the word, and yet he has two problems. One's an internal problem, one's
an external problem. Now this is not the wayfarer
hearer. This is not an accidental hearer.
This is not a new hearer. This is probably a regular hearer,
a person who regularly hears the word. a person who hears
the word and is impressed by what he hears. Our Lord said
that anon, or immediately with joy, say, he receives it. He hears it, with joy he receives
it, and evidently he professed it because it started growing.
On the wayside, there was no growth, there was no effect. It's dead. dead, taken away with
the wind and the birds. But here something started. So
evidently he heard it, like Herod heard John, and Scripture said
he did many things. I don't know how many times he
heard John, but he heard him and admired him, the Scripture
said. Heard him over and over. Simon Magnus, he heard the Apostle
Peter, he heard him so many times he was ready to be baptized,
wasn't he? Demas. How many times did he hear Paul? How many times did Paul call
his name? Demas is with me. Luke, Demas,
and Timothy are with me. A regular hearing. So he hears
the word and with joy he receives the truth of it, the accuracy of
it, the glory of it in a sense. and professes it. But, our Lord
says, yet has two things, two problems. One internal. He has no root
in himself. He has no root. What is this
root? Well, turn over to Job. Job chapter
19. Job identifies this root of the
matter in Job 19 better than any place in the scriptures. Job was a man under great trial,
troubles, tribulations, stripped of all that he had, health, family,
goods, friends. But he says in verse 22, why do you persecute me as God?
Are you not satisfied with my physical sufferings? Oh, that
my words were not written. Oh, that they were printed in
a book. That they were graven with an iron pen and laid in
the rock forever. Here are my words. I know my
Redeemer liveth. I know Him. He knows me. I love
Him. He loves me. He lives. He ever lives. He is a living
Redeemer. And He shall stand at the latter
day on this earth. And though after my skin worms
destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I seek God. Whom
I shall see for myself, mine eyes shall behold not another,
though my reins be consumed within me." Now then, you ought to be
saying, why are we persecuting him? Seeing the root of the matter
is found in him. The love of Christ, the faith
of Christ, the hope of Christ, the life of Christ. He hasn't
got many leaves. And he hasn't got much fruit
right here. He just put it down. But the root's there. The root's
alive. Christ, the living Redeemer,
lives in him. Now that is what this fellow
here didn't have. He didn't have the root. Christ
in you, the hope of glory. God, the Apostle Paul said he
pleased God to reveal his son, not to me. This man heard the
word. With joy received it. Made a
profession. But there wasn't anything in
here. God revealed his son in me. Christ in you. That's the hope of glory. And
the second problem was external. External. Verse 21 says he didn't
have the root in himself and he endured for a while, but when
tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, because
of this gospel, this word of the kingdom, By and by he's offended. So people found out that he's
listening to a preacher who said that God is sovereign, man is
a dead sinner. Christ elected a people and came
to this earth to redeem them. By his blood he put away their
sins and the Holy Spirit effectually calls them, invincibly, calls
them, quickens them, saves them, and God keeps them, they persevere
from now on in salvation, not the act of the human will, but
the divine will, and salvation, not the work of the flesh and
the deeds of man, it's by the grace of God through the blood
of Christ. Somebody found out he believed that down at where
he worked, and they got to making fun of him. They got to laughing
about it. Where do you go to church? 13th
Street. Oh, you surely don't believe
what they believe. His mother and dad found out
what he was hearing. They got to working him over
real good. His dad said, now you're not going to live here
and believe that. You'll have to move out. I know a young man, his
dad said that to him. Well, start paying rent because
you're not going to live in my house and believe that heresy,
persecution, a little embarrassment. Some of
the people he's running around with, they found out what he believed
and they started tightening the screws a little bit. Troubles
arise. And it will. All that live godly
in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. And that son comes out because
of the word. That's right. He finds out he
can't keep this profession in Christ without danger to his
family, or danger to his friends, losing his friend, or his lifestyle,
or his popularity, or his possessions, or his standing in the community.
Mr. Spurgeon said you can't run with
a fox and hunt with a hound. You just can't do it. It can't
be done. They got different objectives.
So rather than offending them, he becomes offended. Offended
with whom? Christ tells you in Matthew chapter
11. He tells you what happens here. He says he's blessing the man
in Matthew 11, verse 6. Blessed is he who shall not,
whosoever shall not be offended. Oh, in me. I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. It's the power of God and salvation.
Whosoever believeth shall not be ashamed. If you're ashamed
of me before this adulterous and sinful generation, I'll be
ashamed of you. Well, he's ashamed. He's offended. And he departs. Turn to Matthew
10. Now, a true believer doesn't
look for dissension. He doesn't enjoy it. He doesn't
enjoy conflict over the word. He doesn't enjoy division, strife
over the gospel. He'll seek to live in peace with
all men, but he will not, he dare not, he cannot compromise
whom he believes. His confidence in Christ can't
do it. And if it means saying goodbye
to the dearest person on this earth, it's goodbye where Christ
is concerned, where the gospel is concerned. And our Lord said
that in Matthew chapter 10. He said, verse 32, whosoever
therefore shall confess me, and it's just one Christ, before
me, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
But whosoever shall deny me before me, cause of embarrassment, popularity,
persecution. It doesn't matter. Him will I
deny before my Father in Heaven. Don't think that I've come to
send peace on this earth. I came not to send peace, but
a sword. I've come to set a man at variance against his father,
a daughter against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her
mother-in-law. My enemies shall be those of his own household.
He that loveth father and mother more than me, he's not worthy
of me. He that loveth son or daughter more than me, he is
not worthy of me. He that taketh not his cross and followeth after
me is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life will
lose it. He that loseth his life for my sake will find it. That's what the stony ground,
persecution, trouble. Matthew 13, let's go over there
again and see if we can finish. Verse 21, he has two problems. He has no root. He endures for
a while. When tribulation and persecution
arises, because of what? Because of what? The Word. The
Word of the King. The Gospel. The Word. That's
what the conflict's over. If it's over what color the drapes
are, who cares? If it's over whether or not we
meet at 10 or 11 o'clock, who cares? Who cares? There's so many things. Whether
you wear a coat to church or a robe, I don't care. But I care
about the Word. And that's what the conflicts
are, the Word. All right, look at verse 7. And some fell among thorns. Thorns
sprung up and choked him. Let's see his interpretation
of that. Verse 22. He also that received
the seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word. And
the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke
the word and he becomes unfruitful. Now this person, listen to me,
this person is akin to the stony ground here. He's not a contentious
person. She's not a contentious person.
She's not a troublesome person. This is not a profane person.
This is not a person that's a problem to the church. They hear the
word. And like the stony ground here, they receive it. They have
an interest in it, even to agreeing with it. And they seem to bear
some fruit. Look at Luke, see what Luke says
in Luke 8 about this person. In Luke 8, verse 14, let's compare
this. And Luke, our Lord said, Luke
quoted him this way, he said in verse 14, And that which fell
among the thorns of they, which when they have heard, go forth,
and they are choked with the cares and riches and pleasure
of this life, and bring forth no fruit to perfection. To maturity. They don't bring forth lasting,
but bring forth some. But not to maturity. Not to lasting. They don't persevere. Now see
what Mark says in that, Mark chapter 4, this same one, Mark
4, 19. Mark 4, 19. And you know, fruit, oftentimes
it appears Like our Lord said he couldn't tell the difference
in the tares and the wheat, you remember that? You can't tell
the difference sometimes. In Mark 4, verse 19, and verse
18 says, And these are they which are sown among thorns. They hear
the word, but the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness
of riches, and the lust of other things entering in choke the
word, and it becomes unfruitful. So this person hears the word. The apostles declare the word
of God. The preacher preaches the truth of God. And it springs up. But also these
other things, he names them. He says the care of the world,
deceitfulness of riches, the lust of other things, and the
pleasures of this world. What do they do? They crowd and
they choke that word. They keep choking it. They overwhelm
it. They shatter the blade from the
sun of righteousness. You know, when you sow your seed
out there among weeds and thorns and briers, they just, they just,
they grow faster than the seed. They just grow real fast and
they just cover. The sun can't reach it. And these
weeds draw away the fatness from the ground, the moisture and
the fatness and the nourishment from the ground. The corn is
planted here, the tomato, and it doesn't get enough to eat
because this siphons it off. These weeds, this care of the
world, the seedfulness of riches, the lust of other things, the
pleasures of life, take the life out of it. And they crowd the
plant. The plant doesn't have any room.
to express itself, to experience anything. It has no room. It's
crowded. These other things cramp it and
crowd it and choke it. It doesn't have any time for
the Word of God. Too busy. And finally, the weeds
become the dominant plant. After a while, you can't even
find that plant you planted. I've had that experience. that
the whole field was done with weeds. Did I plant something
good? Yeah. But the weeds took over. And our Lord said, he that receives
the word among all these things is he that heareth the word,
and then he named four things. Let's see, four things in Matthew,
Mark, and Luke. The care of the world. What would
that be? I don't believe it's drunkenness
and revelry and rapturous living. I don't know. The word is singular,
the care of the world. I think it's lawful, legitimate
things. For example, like our Lord said
in Matthew 6. Let's turn over there. Matthew
6. Lawful, legitimate things. Things
that people need. You can't go careless through
life, indifferent to your children's education and clothing and what
they have to eat. Transportation to school, roof
over your head. One of our men, sick Sunday, Monday
morning, he had to go to work. He knew he had to go to work.
I admire his diligence. Even when he's feeling bad, he
knew he's got to take care of his family. He's got to keep
his job. That's care, but it's a legitimate,
lawful care. Our Lord said here in Matthew
6, verse 31, Verse 28, Matthew 6, 28. Why
take ye anxious thought, weary? For raiment, consider the lilies
of the field, how they grow. They toil not, neither do they
spend. And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon and all his
grove was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so
clothed the grass of the field, which today he is, tomorrow he
is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe ye, O
ye of little faith? Therefore take no anxiety, anxious
thought, overly anxious, saying, what am I going to drink? What
am I going to drink? How are we going to be clothed?
After these things do the Gentiles seek. Your father knows you have
need of these things. Now here's the key. First. First. In other words, seek ye
first. Set your affections on things of false. Seek ye first
the kingdom of God and his righteousness and these things will fall in
place. Therefore take no thought for
tomorrow, anxious thought. Say what? Tomorrow's going to
take care of thought for the things of itself. Sufficient
of the day is the evil thereof. Sufficient for each day is its
own trouble. Don't add to today's trial by
anticipating tomorrow's trouble, anxiety. So one of these thorns,
bushes, is the care of this world. care of this world, and I know
something about this and you do too. Yet these things become first,
uppermost, our driving, but we don't have time for this. We don't have time to be with
God, meditate, fellowship with his people. We're too busy. these things to be thorns. Then he mentions the deceitfulness
of riches. Now this is not riches themselves.
He says, the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches.
The deceitfulness. What's he talking about? Well,
it's not riches themselves because all of us here are rich and wealthy. We have the riches of grace.
We have the riches of peace. We have the riches of Christ.
We have the riches of comfort. We have the riches of mercies
and blessings God bestowed upon us abundantly. And most intelligent
people, as they grow older, are going to improve their lives
through years of hard work. Last night I was in the mall
the other day. We passed a boy and a girl about
18 years old. And they had on overalls. I mean
old, plain old carpenter overhauls, overhauls we called them, overhauls.
With the, you know, baggy overhauls and the carpenter's place over
here put his hammer and his ruler. And I told us, I said, I would
have been caught dead in a pair of overhauls like that when I
was 18 years old. Because we had to wear them. I always pretended to be what
I was, didn't you? But these young people were a
little overhauled. And most of us came from a poor
start, very poor. And my, we have so much now through
hard work and diligence and intelligence and applying yourself. You have
prosperity, you have promotion, you have success. But here's
the danger. Psalm 62. Here's the danger. I'm talking about the care of
this world and the deceitfulness of riches, not the riches. Riches
can be good. We just put out our monthly report
here, I mean, and our yearly report. You know how much money
this church received last year through gifts
and offering television and everything, and sent out the missions and
everything? A half a million dollars, counting the special mission
funds. which is about $30,000, and the other half a million
dollars. That's riches. I mean, that is
riches. That is riches. There is a day
in Psalm 62. Listen, we're wealthy people.
Psalm 62, verse 10. Trust not in oppression. Become
not vain in robbery. If riches increase, set not your
heart on them. There's the danger. Don't become
occupied with these things. Don't let riches and prosperity
and luxuries and all these things control us. Don't let them take
over. Don't let them become the end. Let them be means. That's all
they are, just means. Just things to use. They're just
things God gives us to use. They're not the end. He's the
end. Seek ye first the kingdom of God. And don't let these things
change you. This is one tremendous problem
about these thorns. Don't let these riches, they're
called deceitful because they do not give what they promise. Riches can't bring happiness
or comfort or peace or joy or hope, that's Christ. the riches
of Christ. But as God prospers you young
people, as God prospers you, stay like you are. Stay like
you are when God called you. Stay like you are when you are
humble and little in your own sight. Don't let riches change
your attitude toward others. Don't become high-minded and
proud and arrogant and look down on people. Be as comfortable
with the poor as with the rich. Be as comfortable with the uneducated
as the educated. Don't get up here on a plane
where you think you're something. That's when they choke the word. That's when these deceitfulness
of riches, when they control people and change them. Change
them. Their conduct, their attitude,
and heart, and they become obsessed with the fact that they've got
something. They either know something or have something or are a little
better than somebody else. Actually, we ought to be going
down instead of getting up. Instead of getting arrogant and
exalted and that sort of thing, we ought to be, the riches of
His grace ought to overcome all these other things. It ought
to make us see how foolish they are. The lust of other things
and the pleasures of this world. There are a lot of pleasures
in this world. legitimate pleasures if they're
kept in their place. And no need to catalog these
things. We're all familiar with distractions, aren't we? We're
all familiar with those things that hinder our spiritual growth.
We're all real familiar with those things that hinder our
fellowship with God. We're all familiar with those
things that draw away our interest and our fervent love. for the word, for the fellowship,
for the worship, for the things of God. If you ever detect that
to care of this world, care of your family, legitimate, lawful
things are creeping in and crowding out that fellowship with Him. You ever feel like that your
prosperity, maybe you're putting in a little better bracket than
somebody else, or better, you know, you're somebody. That's
a danger signal because I tell you what it'll do. It'll win
out. It'll win out. If the word is
not, if that effectual word that can conquer all those things
doesn't conquer them, then it wasn't there. Let's get to the
last one. I've gone too long. Verse 23
is verse 8 back here. Some fell on good ground. brought
forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold."
Now, verse 23, our Lord said, "...he that receives the seed
into the good ground is he that..." Now, the good ground, was it
good by nature? By nature, just as hard as that
wayside. But somebody came with a plow. Somebody came with a plow and
plowed up that fallow ground. The Holy Spirit came and broke
that heart, broke up that fallow ground, tore out the roots and the stumps
and all these things and plowed that ground, prepared it for
the Word. It was prepared ground, prepared by the Spirit of God.
And you know, over here in Luke, if you don't want to turn over
there, I'll turn to Luke 8. Luke called that heart. Verse
15, Luke 8, 15. But that on the good ground are
they which in an honest and good heart. I don't by nature, you
know, even have an honest good heart, but God gives a good heart,
an honest heart. Honest means straightforward, true, sincere,
no hypocrisy. Really interested in the Word,
really waiting to hear it, really like Cornelius and those He's
a good heart, a single heart, set on knowing Christ. Now let's
take these three accounts together and then I'll close. This is
what happened. Verse 23, he that received the
seed, the word of God, into the good grounds, he that hears the
word, he hears it. Faith comes by hearing, hearing
by the word of God. Secondly, verse 23 says he understands
it. The Spirit of God, the Son of
God has come and given us an understanding. We understand. What do we understand? We understand
what happened in the garden, our fall. We understand what
happened on the cross, our redemption. We understand what is happening
now to us. God is saving us. God is opening
our heart to receive his word. God is calling us to his word. We understand it. We understand
it. And then Mark says in Mark 4,
verse 20, he receives it. No argument. No excuses. He receives the way. As a little
child, as a humble child, he just receives it. He doesn't
come up after the preacher preaching and say, I don't agree with this,
I don't agree with that. He just receives it. There it is. I'll take it just like it is.
If it strips me, if it breaks me, if it humbles me, I don't
care what. It's true. Let God be true to every man
alive. He receives it. And then Luke says, he keeps
it. Matthew said he hears it, he
understands it. Mark said he receives it. No
argument, no alibi, no debate. And Luke said he keeps it. He
holds it fast. He won't let it go. He will not
part with it or depart from it. He wants to hear it again. He
takes it home with him and opens to the place where they've been
studying. He reads it again. That's what it says. That's what
it says. God teach me the Word. He keeps
it. And then all of them say, in
closing, and he beareth fruit. He brings forth fruit. What kind
of fruit? Fruit of spirit, love, joy, peace,
faith, meekness, humility, gentleness, kindness, temperance. He brings
forth fruit. Oh, not perfectly. Some a hundredfold. Some 60-fold wanting to grow,
some 30-fold wanting to grow more and more. And then Luke adds this. I want you to turn to Luke 8.
Luke adds this to all of that in Luke 8 verse 15. Luke 8 verse 15. I'll close with
this. But that on the good ground. Are they which in an honest good
heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit,
with what? Patience. Waiting on God. Persevering. Continuing. They
will not depart. They will not leave. They will not. Patience. Like Job. Though he
slayed me, I trust him. All right, I hope that's a blessing
to you.