We haven't sung that hymn in
a long time. Appreciate Brother Bill leading
the singing, always. If you will, let's turn to Matthew
chapter 13. Matthew chapter 13, and I'll
read the first nine verses. The same day when Jesus out of
the house and sat by the seaside. Before we read on, have you ever
noticed that? He went out and sat by the seaside. We pay so much attention to what
follows, it's easy just to skip over that. But the Lord in his
creation, he had created all things that are created And he
went out early in the morning, I would imagine, or in the morning,
sat there by the seaside, looking out at the water, looking out
at the sea that he had created, his creation. How it must have
blessed his heart to look at his creation, even though it
has been marred by sin, been cursed because of man's sin,
but still his beautiful creation. but he couldn't be alone for
long. Let's read on. And great multitudes were gathered
together unto him, so that he went into a ship and set, and
the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many
things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went
forth to sow. And when he sowed, Some seeds
fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them
up. And some fell upon stony places
where they had not much earth, and forthwith they sprung up
because they had no deepness of earth. When the sun was up,
they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered
away. And some fell among thorns, and
the thorns sprung up and choked them. But others fell into good
ground and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold,
some thirtyfold, who have ears to hear, let him hear. Most likely all of us tonight
have seen paintings or drawings of this beautiful scene, the
Lord Jesus Christ sitting in a ship close to the banks, close
to the shore, and multitudes there gathered to hear him speak. It makes us think of so many
things. Think of his voice, the power,
the volume of his voice, being able to speak so that the multitude
could hear. I know the scripture says of
him that grace was poured into his lips. He spoke, the men that
were sent to arrest him, the temple police later on, they
came back and they said, never a man spoke like this man. Came
back without him. Never anyone we've ever heard
spoke like this man. We've all seen those beautiful
paintings, I'm sure. And he tells them a parable.
He tells several parables, but this was the first one. And I
cannot help but think, because we read here that there was a
great multitude. How many people does it take
to make a multitude? How many people does it take
to make a great multitude? We couldn't actually say, could
we? But we are told here there was
a great multitude, a great number of people were listening to him
as he told this first parable. And in this multitude, no doubt,
there were four types of hearers, just like in his parable. There
were those who he said the seed fell by the wayside and it didn't
accomplish anything. And I'm sure that many of those
people in that multitude, they heard the message, they heard
the same preaching, the same message. And he said that the
fowls came and took the seed away before they went home, before
the crowd was dispersed and people went their different ways. Some
of those people, the seed was already gone. It had already
been taken out of their heart, the word of God. By the time
they got through talking about the weather and about their crops
and about other things, the word was gone. Didn't profit them
in any way. And then there was others in
that multitude who heard the message and no doubt rejoiced. Oh, I've never heard anything
like that. And how their heart rejoiced
at the message. But there was no depth. the sun came up and they're rejoicing,
their joy, their profession of faith, it just faded away. And then there was those others
there who heard and the word, the seed came into their heart
and they went away thinking, I'm gonna treasure that, I'm
gonna think about that, I'm gonna give myself to that, attention
to that, but you know, they got out in the world and the cares
of this world, it choked out. It choked out the word, the seed. They were too busy thinking about
their life in this world so that the message concerning eternal
things was just, it was just wasted on them. But thank God,
there was some in that crowd who are referred to as good ground
hearers. They heard the word, the seed
was planted into their hearts, it sprung up, it brought forth
fruit, some 30-fold, some 60-fold, some 100-fold. I want to ask this question first.
What makes a good ground hearer? They weren't at all good ground
here. What makes a good ground here? A few years ago, some of
you will remember this, it seems to me like, at least, the scientists,
they were learning about genes, how our bodies are made up of
various genes and It was very interesting, DNA and all of that
was coming around. And then someone came along and
said, well, you know, some people have a religious gene. They're just born with a gene
that causes them to be religious. Do you think that's the way a
person became a good ground here? Well, of course not. And then
others, for years, have said, well, some people are just predisposed. You know, they're just nice people.
They're just kind people. They're tenderhearted people.
They're born that way. And that's the way they become
good ground hearers. Do you believe that? No. There is no question that some
people are born with a disposition. They're very tenderhearted. But
that doesn't make them a good ground hearer. And certainly
the genes that make up our bodies, ourselves, that doesn't make
us a good ground here. How in the world does anyone
become a good ground here? And there are many other theories,
many other words that people have said, but the apostle Paul
wrote this, and he doesn't exclude anyone when he writes this, the
natural man, The natural man, that is a man
who has not been saved by the grace of God, who the Spirit
of God has not quickened and given life. The natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God. He just doesn't receive
the things. And if you look in that chapter,
that's 1 Corinthians chapter 2. One of the things that Paul
said in the beginning of that chapter, I determine not to know
anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And
then there's several other things, points that he makes in that
chapter, the natural man receiveth not the things of God, of the
Spirit of God. For they're foolishness unto
him, the natural man. How many people laugh at the
gospel? How many people think, well,
you know, that just doesn't, that just can't be true. That
doesn't make any sense, how that, that God punished another person
for the sins of someone else. It's just foolishness. And especially
to the philosophers, as the Apostle Paul spoke of them, The Greeks
seek after wisdom, the Jews require sign, but we preach Christ and
Him crucified. And it's foolishness, foolishness. But then he made the same sentence,
same sentence I'm reading here, 1 Corinthians 2, 14. The natural
man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they
are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them. because they
are spiritually discerned. How then does anyone become a
good ground here? Are you a good ground here? Am I a good ground here? That's a weighty question, isn't
it? Important question. Well, we
have the answer in the word of God. And that's where we look
for an answer, isn't it? Anything to do with God and our
relationship to God, this is where we look. We look in the
word of God. All right, let's turn to 1 John
chapter 2. How does a person become a good
ground here? 1 John chapter 2, read a few
verses here, beginning with verse 18. Little children, 1 John 2, verse
18. Little children, it is the last
time. And as you have heard that antichrists
shall come even now, are there many antichrists whereby we know
that it is the last time? They went out from us, but they
were not of us. For if they had been of us, they
would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that
they might be made manifest that they were not all of us, but
you have an unction. How does a person become a good
ground here? By the grace of God. By the grace
of God, by the work of God the Holy Spirit. But you have an
unction from the Holy One and you know all things. He's not
saying that a person who is saved knows all things about chemistry
and history and mathematics. You know that's not what he's
saying. But he that has an unction from
the Holy One, he is given that spirit, that life that enables
him when he hears the gospel, to know that he's hearing more
than the voice of a man. He's hearing the truth from God
Almighty. God's speaking to him. And look
further down in that chapter, that unction, you have an unction. And that's the only way anyone
becomes a good ground hearer is for God to give that person
an unction. God the Holy Spirit to quicken
that person. Give that person an interest.
And look down to verse 27 in that same chapter. But the anointing,
that is, adunction, the anointing which you have received of him
abideth in you. Now, he had said that some was
part of their group, but they went out from us, he said. But
they went out because they never were of us. But when a person
is made a good ground here, has a unction from the Holy One,
the anointing which that person receives abides in you. He which hath begun a good work
in you will perform it. until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1 and verse 6. When
God begins a good work in a person's heart, there's not going to be
a miscarriage. It's just not going to happen.
No. This anointing remains, abides
with you. And you need not that any man
teach you But as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and
is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, you
shall abide in him. How does a person become a good
ground here? By the grace of God. heard or read the words of this
song by Isaac Watts many years ago, and they've always been
a blessing to me. Why was I made to hear thy voice
and enter while there's room, when thousands make a wretched
choice and rather starve than come? T'was the same love that
spread the feast that gently forced us in, else we had still
refused to taste and perished in our sin. Salvation is of the
Lord in its planning, in its procurement, and in its application. It's a work of God. A man can't
make himself a good ground here. But God can, and God does. He does. Now, my second part
of the message, growth. Growth is part of fruit bearing. Our Lord tells us that the seed
that was planted in good ground, it all brought forth fruit. Some
more, but it all brought forth fruit. When you sow seed in the
ground, some of you, no doubt, have done that. Maybe you've
sowed some tomato seeds in the ground. Well, you know the tomato
doesn't come up out of that ground, does it? Does it? No. The plant comes up, and then
there's a bud, and then there's the fruit. Scripture speaks of
it like this in Mark's gospel, verse the blade. How many times
have I planted seed and you're probably not like me, but I get
anxious. I go out there the next day and
see if anything's come up yet. It never has, but I still do
it. But after a few days, you see that blade. And the other
night here on the the porch of the front of the building here,
there was a plant coming through the grout line. You know, that
vegetable, the life in it has power, really, when you think
about it. I mean, it comes out, it breaks that dirt as hard as
a rock sometimes, and that seed shoots up, that blade. But first
you have the blade, and then you have the ear. or the bloom,
the blossom, and then you have the fruit. The point I'm making
is the plant grows and it bears fruit. Believers, God's children,
there should be no question in our minds that we are responsible
to grow. The word of God teaches us that. We, you, if you are a child of
God tonight, you are responsible to grow, to grow. You know, someone said, where
does the sovereignty of God end and the responsibility of man
begin? Well, the sovereignty of God
never ends. It never ends. And men are responsible,
and believers, we are responsible to grow spiritually. And we see
that. We've got this analogy. I'd ask
these five questions tonight. Is there an analogy given to
us in the New Testament about believers growing? And yes, there
is. We read, first of all, of newborn
babes. Of newborn babes. But then we
read of little children. Now, a newborn babe, they grow,
don't they? and become a little child. But
then we read of young men and become stronger. And then we
read of old men. And all of these words here,
these examples, show us that, yes, believers grow. And sometimes,
you know, when a person is first saved, or someone in the church
has been in the church, been a believer for 50 years, And
they expect that newborn babe to know everything about superlapsarianism
and sublapsarianism and everything else. No. No. People have to grow. We all do. We have to grow. And there's
something wrong. There's something wrong if a
baby doesn't grow. Someone said, oh, wouldn't it
be wonderful if they could just stay that cute little angel that
they are? No, it wouldn't. It wouldn't. Not really. No. Are we as believers given exhortations
to grow? We are. One that I think of,
first of all, is that one in 2 Peter 3 in verse 18 where the
apostle said, but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. You'll never grow in knowledge
of Jesus Christ and not at the same time grow in grace. But
grow in grace, we're exhorted to do that, to grow. We have
a responsibility as God's children to grow. We think of that verse,
but let me point us to some others tonight. You can turn with me
if you will. For instance, in Ephesians, Ephesians
chapter four, and verse 15. And Paul, of course, is writing
here to believers, to God's children. Ephesians four and verse 15.
But speaking the truth in love may grow up, may grow up into
him in all things which is ahead, even Christ. There's an exhortation
to grow, to grow up into him. Also, I want you to look at 1
Thessalonians. There's several verses here in
this first letter of Thessalonians. in chapter 3 and verse 12, and
the Lord make you to increase. Don't just stay in the same place. Grow. The Lord, yes, we're not
going to grow without His power and His grace. the Lord make
you to increase and abound in love. That's just one of the
graces we can grow in. We read in the scripture of little
faith, great faith, all of these graces, the fruit of the Spirit,
you read there in Galatians chapter five, that God the Holy Spirit
produces in the life of believers. The first one mentioned, of course,
is love, but joy. All of these graces, we may grow
in these graces, become more joyful, more joyful, more gracious,
have more faith, grow in faith. The Lord make you to increase
and abound in love one toward another and toward all, even
as we do toward you. Paul confessed to be a growing
believer. Look in chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians
1. Furthermore, then, we beseech
you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus that as you
have received of us how you ought to walk and to please God so
you would abound more and more. That speaks of growth, doesn't
it? Abound more and more. And then look in that same chapter
to verse 10, 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 10. And indeed, you
do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia, but
we beseech you, brethren, that you increase. We beseech you
that you increase more and more. And who can forget 1 Peter 2
and verse 2 when he said, desire the sincere milk of the word. Why? That you may grow thereby. That you may grow thereby. What are some of the things that
we know about spiritual growth? Well, first of all, We know that
spiritual growth is a good sign, or a sign of good health, I should
say. A sign of good health. If a child
doesn't grow, there's something wrong. And if we don't grow in
our spiritual life, there's something wrong. If we are true children
of God, we are able to grow and we should grow. But we have a
responsibility. to grow, to increase more and
more. That's one thing about spiritual
growth, it's a sign of good health. And another thing, it contributes
to our happiness. A person who grows spiritually
will grow in happiness, in serving the Lord. And not only that,
but in usefulness as we grow. It's a sign of good health. It's
a sign, or it contributes rather to happiness
and it's useful, useful to us. And I think about a child. You
know, there's a certain age, they all wanna help you. They
just wanna help you. And really, sometimes they make
you work harder because they're helping you. But then, they get
up a little bit older, and you're working on something, you can
say, son, get me that half-inch wrench. And he'll go over there
and get it out of the toolbox and give it to you. Bring me
that 916. And he learns the different wrenches doing that, too. But
then they grow up and move off. and you're out there working
and you can't say, son, go get this and son, go get that. You've
got to go get it yourself. Why? Because they did grow and
they became useful, yes. But in the spiritual things,
the same is true. We become more useful as we grow. In the service of God, in the
kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, and not only that, but it's a
sign of pleasing God. Do believers please God? Absolutely. Absolutely. Let me show you that. Look over
here in Hebrews chapter 13. You know, it says about David,
you remember this, don't you? The thing which David did displeased
the Lord. His adultery is having that Man
killed. God wasn't pleased with that.
No, the thing that David did displeased the Lord. And here
in Hebrews 13 and verse 16, we read, let me find it myself here,
13 and verse 16. But to do good and to communicate,
forget not, for with such sacrifices, God
is well pleased. You say sacrifices? Absolutely. You know, we've been made priest
and priest, one of the functions of a priest is to offer sacrifices. And I think I mentioned this
last time, but I'll say it again. We're not talking about blood
sacrifices. You know that. Christ offered
one sacrifice for sins forever and sat down on the right hand
of God. But the sacrifices that we offer
unto him as priest, he's made us kings and priests unto God,
washed us, loved us and washed us in his own blood and made
us kings and priests unto God. That's what Revelation 1 verse
5 and 6 says. And the sacrifices we offer.
Praises, giving, that's what he's talking about there, isn't
it? Communicating, helping other people that need help. Is there a sure mark? That's
my fourth question. Is there a sure mark of spiritual
growth? Well, I believe there are many
marks, but there's one If I had to choose one of the many, this
is what it would be. The sure mark of spiritual growth
is humility. Humility. And I believe we can
see that as we read what the Apostle Paul wrote concerning
himself. First he said, not as though
I had already attained, either were already perfect. And then he wrote, I am the least
of the apostles that am not meet to be called an apostle. And
then he wrote, who am the least of all saints. And the last thing that he wrote
about himself that we know is in First Timothy, I am. The chief of sinners. The chief of sinners. Never been
one greater, Paul said, than me. And I'm so thankful he wrote
that, aren't you? No matter how far a person may
have fallen into sin, God's already saved the chief. He can save
you. He can save me. I read this years ago, let me
tell you this, and I'm almost finished. Someone asked an older
lady one time, an old farm lady, do you believe that Christians
grow? And she said, I sure do. And she said, this is the way
I believe they grow. They grow like the tail of a
calf. The tail of a calf, yeah. The
longer it grows, the closer to the ground it gets. Humility,
that's a sure mark of growth. The last question, what are some
of the essentials of growing? Well, first of all, of course,
time along with God in prayer and in his word. You're not gonna
grow if you neglect prayer and neglect the word of God. Public
worship. God has ordained that we come
together. We need each other. We need the
fellowship of each other. We need to hear the message that
God gives to us through the man that he's called. And I would
say this also. To grow, we must watch against
what we call little sins, little things, like our temper, you
know. temper and our words, unkind
words. I have to watch against that. Husbands speak unkindly to their
wives and wives are sharp with their husbands. You say, oh,
do believers do that sometimes? Yeah. Yeah. That's not the way
to grow. Yeah. And the last thing. Be careful of the company that
you keep. Evil communications or companions
corrupt good manners, the Apostle Paul wrote. And I know we live
in the world, and you people work in the world, you're rubbing
shoulders with men and women every day, and sometimes you
have to hear filthy words that come out of people's mouth, all
kinds of things you'd rather not hear. You can't help that. You're in
the world. You live in the world. But be
careful about your friends that you choose to spend time with. Yes, we want to be a witness
to those But we don't want to spend so much time with them
that their worldliness affects us. And it will. It will. Well, I pray the Lord will bless
this message.