0:04 Why don't we pray together as we open up God's word in a moment? Father, we thank you for this morning. Lord, we recognize this as the Lord's day. And so we give you this day, and we give you our attention. We give you our energy and our focus.
0:17 We pray that by the spirit, as we open up the scriptures, that you would guide us into truth. Lord, you know where every single person is in the relationship with you in this house. You know exactly where they are, and we just ask that after this morning, there would be a great confidence to know where they are in you. And we ask, Lord, that there would be no confusion after this message, but clarity, empower us, Lord, to receive and to obey your scriptures. We pray these things in Jesus' name.
0:46 Amen. Not too long ago, it was after a Friday night bible study, somebody had approached me with a thought provoking question. And this is a question that you probably have asked yourself at one point in your walk with the Lord, and the simple inquiry was this from this specific individual. I guess that particular night, there was a gospel presentation. And so the question was something along the lines of, brother, why is it that so many people under the same preaching respond in different ways to the gospel?
1:24 How is it that there are so many people in one room and each and every single person responds to the same message, the same gospel at the same time, yet in different ways? In other words, in a setting just like this, if the gospel were to be preached, the gospel meaning the good news of how a person had come into eternal life through Jesus Christ, when that news is preached, why is it that there are some people that are moved and not just moved are eventually changed, and in that very same setting, you have another person who is completely indifferent and is not moved at all and leaves the same way that they came in? How how does that happen? How does that work? What's the formula behind that?
2:16 Or maybe you haven't asked that question. Maybe you've asked this question more than the former one. Why is it that even with my own eyes, I've seen somebody who's heard Christ, understood the message, professed Christ even publicly, but even now they're nowhere to be found. How does that happen? Well, Jesus answers both of those questions.
2:52 Jesus gives us insight into how these things happen on a day to day basis, and he does so with such great clarity and importance that he does it in three out of the four gospel accounts. He shares a parable. The answer to that is found in Luke chapter eight beginning in verse four. And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, a sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.
3:33 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold. As he said these things, he called out, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. This is a well known parable.
4:01 This is a familiar story, especially if you grew up in the church. You probably heard this in Sunday school more than anything. And it's this story like way of teaching that Jesus presents the answer to our questions and something known as a parable. What is a parable? Many of the gospels are filled with parables.
4:19 And if there there's one simple definition to a parable, it's this. It is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. It uses earthly imagery. It uses familiar pictures to give out a truth or truths about another world. And Jesus presents this parable, and as engaging as parables are, right, they pull you in.
4:45 There's something about a story. Isn't it amazing that God did not give his instructions or his truths systematically necessarily? Meaning, we didn't get a we didn't get a booklet that tells us page one, who God is. God is a triune being. God is holy.
5:03 No. No. No. Most of the scriptures, one third is poetry. Under one third is prophecy.
5:11 How many stories and parables? How many narratives? It's because there's something about a story that pulls somebody in. A story opens up somebody's heart. It grabs their attention to receive something.
5:21 Parables are not like that though. Amen. Parables are not necessarily stories that are given to pull people in. As engaging as they are, as as likable as they are because they are truths in story form packages, that was not the reason why Jesus gave parables. Many people believe that we should share parables and give truths out in parable form because it's an easier way of teaching people.
5:57 And so these are a lot of understandings that we have, but Jesus did not have that motive when he shared a parable. Look at verse nine. When his disciples asked him what this parable meant now stop there. So they hear this, and they wanna know what it means. Now this parable of the sower is found in Luke chapter eight, in Matthew chapter 13, and in Mark chapter four.
6:25 In Matthew's account, they asked Jesus not what the parable means, but they asked Jesus, why are you speaking in parables? So there's something about Jesus and his ministry around this time where he begins to, more than anything, speak in parable form. And the disciples are wondering, why are you speaking like this? What's the reason? We're gonna find out why Jesus spoke in parables before we find out what the parable means and how it answers our original questions.
6:57 Look at verse 10 of Luke chapter eight. He said, to you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God. But for others, they are in parables so that seeing they may not see and hearing they may not understand. So Jesus says, you wanna know why I'm speaking in parables? In Matthew, he gives a more detailed reason why because they asked the question.
7:21 Matthew wanted to focus on the question of why. Here, they're asking the meaning, but he gives the answer to both in both accounts. He says, you wanna know why I speak in parables? Because I don't want people to understand what I'm saying. Wait a minute.
7:39 That is not good evangelism in the natural. You're speaking in a way in which people don't understand what you have to say? Didn't Jesus come not to condemn but to save? Didn't Jesus seek to save the lost? So why is he speaking in a way in which he veils truth?
7:59 We have to understand that here, Jesus has a twofold purpose for why he spoke in parables. There are two reasons that Jesus did this, and the two reasons serves a purpose for two different audiences. Parables almost serve as a a thin veil. Just imagine a thin veil that's hiding something, And it's not clear that object behind that veil is not necessarily distinct and obvious, but it's enough to see that there is something behind that veil. And if I'm eager enough and I have a desire enough, I will pull that veil back even if there's multiple layers and find that object.
8:45 That's what it serves as. And so really, there's a strategy that Jesus has here when he presents parables. The first one is to one audience. And what is that audience? The reason why Jesus presents a parable is for those who desire to really know the truth.
9:02 Those who want to discover the mysteries of the kingdom of God. Those who really want to search out what this life is all about, who God really is. And what a parable does is it presents truth that is veiled, but for those who really wanna know, it'll pull them in And they'll ask, what does this mean? And they'll inquire, and they'll meditate, and they'll study, and they'll keep pressing in until the truth behind that story is revealed in total clarity. Think of a parable as something in which a person must dig and dig and dig until they find the treasure of truth.
9:42 Notice verse nine again. The disciples asked, what does this parable mean? And Jesus was willing to answer. This is what it means for one audience that this parable and all parables are presented before an audience to test whether they really want to know what is being said. That is why Jesus, after the parable, says, he who has ears, let them hear.
10:09 Meaning, how badly do you want to know what I'm saying? So then there's a second audience. A parable is presented for those who want to know truth, and it pulls them in as an invitation, but there are other people that don't care about the truth. And so Jesus presents a parable also for the closed minded and the unwilling to know what is right. And what it does is it it veils the truth enough where they hear the story, but they don't discover the meaning, and it keeps them in darkness.
10:45 It keeps them in their state of ignorance. Not because that is God's desire, but that is already their desire, and so he feeds, and he keeps them in that place. You wanna ignore truth? You don't want to know the truth? You're not willing to change?
11:00 You're not willing to be humble? Then here's a parable. You're not gonna understand it. Parables to some degree were an act of judgment. We're an act of judgment to a specific audience.
11:14 But even in that act of judgment, think about it this way, that when Jesus presented a parable to a hungry audience and those who were pride filled with pride and arrogance, even towards the second type, he's still being merciful, saying how. In John twelve forty seven and forty eight, to summarize those verses, Jesus says, I did not come to the world to condemn the world but to save the world. And he says this. Listen. He who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge.
11:47 The words that I have spoken to him will judge him on the last day. So when Jesus came, he did not come initially to judge. He came to present truth. He came to present the way to salvation, and he says listen. I'm not here to judge you, but you do have a judge.
12:04 And the judge is the words that I've spoken to you, and these words will condemn you on the last day because you heard these truths, and you refuse to submit to them. You refuse to submit to them, and they will hold you accountable on that final day. And that's a scary truth. That is a terrifying truth because every single person will be held accountable to the amount of truth that they are exposed to. That's scary.
12:33 You know, a preacher will be held accountable. Every single preacher, whether they approach the pulpit in fear and trembling or not, because they've taken upon themselves to teach the word of God, they will be held accountable for every single message that they preach. Every single sermon that they've ever declared will be brought before the Lord and say, why did you preach that sermon? Why did you hold back the truth? Why did you not say this?
12:54 Why did you say this? They're gonna be held accountable. I fear for those who wanna just jump into the ministry because they think they have some kind of a platform. Listen. If you don't fear and tremble, don't come up here.
13:08 But not only will a preacher be held accountable for what he says or does not say, but the audience, the congregation will be held accountable for every single sermon that they've heard. And so we kinda say, oh, yes. James chapter three one, don't be quick to be teacher because you'll be judged more strictly. But what about those who hear? Jesus says in John twelve forty seven and forty eight that you will be held accountable for everything that you've heard, especially for those who've heard the gospel and refused it, the amount of times they've heard the gospel.
13:37 And so when Jesus presents a parable, not only is it an act of judgment, yes, it's also an act of mercy. How? Because he presents truth in a way that is not so explicit and obvious, and it does not accumulate and add to the guilt of those who are not gonna submit to the truth anyway. So he presents a parable and he says, you know, I'm not gonna make it so clear lest you be held accountable for more truth that you're just gonna reject anyway. The wisdom of God.
14:10 The compassion of God. So this is why Jesus presented parables. Sometimes we think that these are easier ways to understand truths, not to the ones who don't want truth. Sometimes we think they're memorable. No.
14:22 It was a way of God actually further hardening the hearts of the people that did not want truth in the first place. And in verse 11, he explains what this parable means. Now we come to our original questions. Now the parable is this. The seed is the word of God.
14:41 The seed is the word of God. So now there are three elements to understand this parable. Number one, the seed. Number two, the sower. Number three, the soil.
14:52 The seed, the sower, the sower, the the sower and the soil. The seed is the word of God. Simple as that. That seed represent the truths of the gospel. Number two, there's a sower.
15:03 The sower is not just Jesus Christ himself. It's any person who faithfully takes the word of God and desires and plants it into the hearts of the people. It could be a 12 year old. It can be a 40 year old. It can be man or woman.
15:17 That is who the sower is. Lastly, the soil. The soil, according to verse 12, speaks of the heart, the heart of man who receives that seed. And it's amazing. When Jesus explains this parable, he does not give much attention to the sower nor does he give detailed accounts about the seed.
15:36 He spends most of his energy describing the soil. And now he goes on to describe four different types of soil, which represent four different types of heart conditions that respond to that seed. Verse 12. The ones along the path are those who have heard. Then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts so that they may not believe and be saved.
16:04 Oh, don't you love it? That they ask what this parable meant, and Jesus gave them the answer? You know what we understand from that? That if you really want to know truth, he's ready to reveal it to you. That if you really are willing to pay the price to sit there and stare at it long enough, Jesus is willing to remove that veil for you to understand truth.
16:27 Parables are a bait, and you and I have the choice to bite, and they bit. And here's the explanation. The first type of seed the first type of seed fell along the pathway. And remember the questions that we asked originally. This seed was stolen from Satan.
16:47 Why do some people don't respond to the gospel like others? There's one reason amongst three others. Number one, Satan stole it. Satan stole the seed. This speaks about a heart condition that is careless and casual.
17:01 This is not speaking about a person that wants to know truth. This is not a person that's thinking beyond this life. This is a person that's just living for the now, that is not searching to know the meaning of life, who they are, who God is. They're just strolling along life. You know, many times when something is stolen from somebody, usually it's because of somebody's carelessness.
17:23 Not all the time, but usually it's because of somebody's carelessness, their lack of awareness, their lack of being vigilant. And this is speaking about the first type of person. They hear the gospel. They they hear the truth, but because of the state of their heart, Satan finds it so easy to be able to come in there and remove that seed from their heart. And this is Satan's activity on a day to day basis.
17:46 If you want to know what he's up to today, you think you came to church, believe this, that Satan and his demons are attending services, maybe even this one. What do they wanna do? Why why does he send out his minions and his agents? To look at your heart and to make sure that this seed, even now, this seed being proclaimed to you will not sit in your heart long enough for it to penetrate and to bear fruit. Mark's account tells us this.
18:16 Listen to this. You don't have to turn there. Mark tells us in verse 15 of chapter four that Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. Immediately. He wants to do it as quick as possible.
18:31 And so what does he do when he sees it declared and it lands in your heart? I mean you're sitting there and you're hearing it. He's right there, and he is so anxious to make sure that you don't leave here before it actually takes place in your life. And so desperate is Satan himself that he doesn't just even wait after the message. He wants to do it while you're sitting here, right here, right now.
18:55 He wants to do it while you're hearing it. This is his goal. Two Corinthians four:four. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers and it's so keeping them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. He wants to blind you.
19:11 He wants to distract you. He wants to pull you out. He wants to do anything he can. And I can tell you this, it happens week after week. How does Satan steal the seed from people's hearts?
19:27 How does he do it? Wouldn't you like to know? Let me give you two out of many. Number one, distraction. Distraction.
19:37 In Romans ten seventeen, it says that faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. Faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. Truth must be heard, must be understood, and must be responded to in order for it to be effective in someone's life. And what Satan would love to do more than anything is interfere that process. And so if he can get you to hear, he doesn't want you to understand.
20:07 If he can get you not to hear at all, that's great. But you got in the car, you came to service, and you're here. So what is he gonna do? I'm gonna make sure I'm gonna make sure that they don't understand what they're hearing, and so I'm gonna distract them. Whatever I can do, I'm gonna get your mind off of what the preacher is saying right now.
20:27 And I can tell you this, this is more real than you think. I can tell you the days when we did street evangelism in the streets of Toronto, when we would come back and debrief how people will share stories that are beyond coincidence. Now I'm not here saying that Satan is under every rock and there's a demon behind every bush, but there are just some moments that are beyond coincidence. There are some incidences that are just too obvious. So people would come back after sharing the gospel with people unchurched outside of the four walls.
20:56 And I could tell you stories of people who are one on one in the middle of Dundas Square, Toronto, talking with somebody one to one, face to face. And while they're preaching the gospel, in comes a homeless person standing right in between them and shouting at the top of his lungs. More than once has that happened. They don't want you to hear. They don't want you to hear the gospel.
21:21 They'll distract you. I can even tell you a personal testimony where I took a a brother for the first time in street evangelism, and we went out together and he came with me. And there was a gentleman smoking outside of one of the stores, and I came up before him and I start asking about what do you believe about God? What do you believe about truth? What and he began to answer, and it was a very engaging conversation.
21:38 And in the middle of what I was saying I'm not making this up. In the middle of what I was saying, one on one, and here's my friend right beside me. Two young ladies came out of nowhere, took my arms, and said, come with us and try to drag me away from this young man. And I here I am going like this, removing myself saying, didn't even look back. Remember Lot's wife.
22:04 Don't look back. And I came before the person just resume where I began. And I looked over to the right to just see what and they just kept walking. They didn't even look back or anything. They just kept walking.
22:16 You should have seen the face of my dear friend in that moment. His jaw was dropped. His brother, that was the most obvious attack I've ever seen in evangelism because this is real. This is not a game. Satan wants to distract.
22:35 Satan wants to pull people away from hearing the truth. And you think it's just outside the four walls? You think it's just when you go street evangelism?
22:49 are. How many people? You know, you you you wanna get ready to go out for a nice dinner, nothing happens. You wanna go out to do something with your friends, nothing happens. You make it on time.
22:58 When it comes to church, all hell breaks loose on Sunday morning. Everybody's, mhmm. Amen. Yeah. You probably had that experience, right, today?
23:06 And there's unusual frustrating experiences so that when you come here, all you're thinking about is what will happen, the argument you had been at home, and how things didn't work out with your car, all these different things, and there you are with your mind wandering while the truth is being preached. Or you have a unsaved couple walking in, and here's one of them hearing the gospel, hearing the truth, and the other one is so uncomfortable. And so what does she do? What does she do? Let's get out of here.
23:29 I wanna go. I'm feeling uncomfortable. The same way God uses people to plant the seed is the same way Satan uses people to pluck it out. Remember that. You think just Jesus has some evangelists, Satan has some evangelists.
23:44 And some people are unaware that they have got allowed Satan to have a foothold in their life to actually hinder people from receiving the gospel. You're saying prove it. Text. Sure. Acts chapter 17.
23:54 Excuse me. Acts chapter 13. Turn there real quickly. Acts chapter 13 verse seven. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the Word of God.
24:07 So this politician's asking for these two missionaries. I want to hear what you have to say. And look what it says right here. But Elymas, the magician, for that is the meaning of his name, opposed them seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Right there, while the truth is being declared, you have this man, this magician sitting there saying, don't listen to what these guys are saying.
24:31 Bunch of cranks. They have no idea what they're saying. Resurrection? Are you kidding me? Come on.
24:36 You're more intelligent than that. And as he's opposing him right in that moment, look what Paul says. But Saul, who was called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, you son of the devil. That's pretty clear. Whether Elymas was aware of it or not, he was doing the work of Satan by hindering this man from hearing the gospel, and it's happening all the time.
25:05 He uses people to discourage. He uses people to distract. He uses people to whisper lies. He uses people to do things for you, not to receive this truth and be changed by it. Distraction.
25:18 Not just distraction. Satan uses delay. Delay. Listen to this quote. Procrastination is the thief of time, the kidnapper of souls, and the recruiting sergeant of hell.
25:38 Procrastination to delay something is the thief of time, the kidnapper of souls, and the recruitment sergeant of hell. In second Corinthians six:two, it says, Behold, now is the favorable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Today. You know what the devil would love to convince you to do as you're sitting there and hearing the gospel?
26:00 Just wait till tomorrow. You have so much things to do in life before you make a commitment to the lordship of Christ. Come on. How embarrassing will it be for you to answer this call? And while you're being convicted, Satan is convincing you otherwise.
26:22 I heard a preacher once say during his appeal for the gospel, don't let the devil sit on your lap. Come to Christ. Just wait. Just wait. Clean your life up a little bit before you give your life to Christ.
26:37 That's the total opposite of what the gospel is about. You come to Christ to get clean. But no. And he whispers. He's right there whispering.
26:49 And he wants you to come to a place where you do not receive the truth because if you rejected that one time, you never know when you'll have it again. And he will make sure that you will never hear the gospel again. You don't have to turn there, but there's a obvious picture of this in the Old Testament when Pharaoh was being warned about the plagues that were to come. When it came to the second plague where the frogs came and infested every single room, every single place, it was disgusting. It was filthy.
27:20 It was it was a terrible plague. And he came up to Moses in Exodus eight verse eight. And he called Moses and Aaron and said, plead with the Lord to take away the frogs from me, from my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice the Lord. He's saying, I'm done. You got me.
27:36 I surrender. I'm I'm finished. You wanna take the people? Take them. Just get rid of the frogs.
27:43 Get rid of these nasty things in my life. Look how Moses answers. Moses said to Pharaoh, be pleased to command me when I am to plead for you and for your servants and for your people that the frogs may be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile. What is he saying there? You want it?
28:00 When do you want it to happen? It can happen. If you want it to happen, just tell me when and how, and we'll do it. You know what Pharaoh says? Tomorrow.
28:13 Just we'll do it tomorrow. But it can happen today. Yeah. But I wanna do it tomorrow. I think somebody got a little bit too comfortable with the frogs.
28:23 He go, that's ridiculous. That is insanity for somebody who can have the option of everything being changed in the right now in the moment to delay it till tomorrow. You know what's crazier? For you not to receive the gospel right now. Never mind frogs infesting every room in your house.
28:41 Your sin infesting your heart. Your lack of peace. Your lack of joy. Your lack of true knowledge of life. You know how many people are saying tomorrow?
28:53 I'm willing to live with the frogs another day. I'm willing to live with another plague in my life, another twenty four hours. You're just as crazy as this man, if not even crazier. But there's a voice. Just take your time.
29:11 No need to be so radical. Think about all the shifts and the changes that will happen in your life if you say yes to this wholeheartedly. Just wait. People say tomorrow. Guess what?
29:23 Tomorrow doesn't always come. This is the seed that is stolen by Satan. You wanna know why some people leave out of here unchanged and unmoved? It's because Satan convinced them otherwise. And you might be objecting to this and saying, well, then how is that person blamed if Satan stole it?
29:40 Listen. Satan distracts. He doesn't decide. The enemy doesn't override your will. He just persuades you to go into a different direction.
29:51 And so this person will be held accountable for unfortunately allowing themselves just like so many people in the physical allow other people to distract them. They're careless. So when the distraction comes, they're easily pulled into it. But when a person is looking for truth, when a person is hungry, a person realized I will never forget. Just recently was sitting in a living room with somebody who did not know Christ, who did not know Christ, who had some kind of religious background, was not born again.
30:17 And in the middle of our conversation, as we're discussing the gospel, this man who did not have that born again experience still realized in that moment, he says, listen. I I I just meant it for the first time. He goes, I'm just so distracted right now. I know the devil is keeping me from hearing what you have to say. How does a man who does not even know Christ realize that?
30:38 I thought to myself, this person has more discernment than many believers. And he says, I just gotta refocus. I'm looking at you. Satan steals the seed. There's a second type of seed, rather soil, that the seed falls on.
30:57 It's in verse 13. The seed that falls on the surface of the heart. This is where things get a little tricky. What do we read here in verse 13? And the ones on the rock, this is the second type, are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy, but these have no root.
31:15 They believe for a while and in time of testing fall away. So what happens here in Luke eight thirteen? This is the second type. This is a person who doesn't reject the gospel. This is a person who actually receives it.
31:30 It says here that clearly that they believed, that they took this, and they received it with great joy. There's so much excitement. There's so much thrill that that emotion alone seems to be some kind of evidence that this person really did give himself to Christ. And this is a person that unfortunately falls away later on. Now Jesus doesn't give an amount of time, but it happens eventually.
31:57 Why? Because that seed did not take root. It did not go deep down inside. This speaks of a person who hears the gospel but does not realize its full implications, that hears the gospel but somehow, someway dismiss the cost of what it means to actually follow Jesus. And so what happens?
32:22 This person perhaps didn't realize that there's actually something that has to change in them, and there are actually things around them that will change as a response. But they didn't think about that. They got they got caught up maybe in the in this in the sense of there is a heaven and there is a God who loves me, but I didn't realize that mother and father will hate you. They didn't realize that the world will persecute you. And because they didn't expect these type of circumstances to come out, as a result, their allegiance to Jesus is forsaken.
32:56 Mark says it this way in verse 17 of chapter four. Listen carefully. 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. You know, persecution can do that.
33:13 If you really want to sift out the real from the fake, let persecution come to town. Makes a big difference. When persecution came with this person, because it did not come deep inside, they were easily moved. They were easily pushed off. They were easily to run.
33:31 And this is what happens when a person gives their life to Christ and does not realize that your friends will make fun of you, that your family will go berserk on you, that even the world, the government might threaten you. And when they don't face that in their own heart before they come to Christ, they are going to be surprised, and they will follow it. Jesus says, But what about the emotion? Be very careful of determining somebody's quality of faith by how emotional they are. Oh, how many times have people come up in those altar cars weeping and crying, upset and and and even rejoicing, and two weeks later, they're out of the scene.
34:21 And I've seen even people calculated and calm. I'm not against emotion. I think God can use emotions. I believe God created emotions. But to determine somebody's quality of faith by their emotion is dangerous.
34:31 I remember people that are calm and calculated and just counted the cost. No tears. No nothing. Just says, I'm gonna follow Jesus, and they're still following Jesus today. The seed was on the surface of the heart.
34:45 They did not take it into consideration that there is a cost. How many people are like that? How many people are like that? America does not know this type very well because of the lack of persecution in our day. But when persecution comes notice that it says if it comes when persecution comes, I am very curious to see what church attendance will look like in our average churches.
35:17 There's a third type of seed in verse 14. And as for those what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way, they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. So now we have the seed that was stolen by Satan. We have the seed that fell on the surface of the heart. And thirdly, we have the seed that was planted with thorns.
35:46 This is a person also who hears the Word of God. They understand the urgency and the importance of living and following for Jesus, but perhaps they've even expressed a desire to live for Him. But at the same time, even they themselves know that there are other desires in their heart, and those desires have the potential power the potential power to actually extinguish the power of the Word of God in their hearts. They're called thorns. This is an individual who is not willing to pull out the thorns from their lives and thinks to themselves that they can have this seed and have these thorns in the same garden and things will be just okay.
36:31 If there's any type of soil that is so obvious in our generation and in our day, it's this type of soil. What does this person think like? What does this person think like? This person, unfortunately, because of cares, riches, and pleasures, suffocate the maturity that could be available to them because of this seed. It suffocates that seed.
36:59 So he gives three types of thorns. Number one, cares. Cares. This is a person who is overwhelmed by worries and anxieties in life, and it can be any type. It could be financial burdens, current or future.
37:12 It could be health issues. It could be familial and relational problems. It could be whatever circumstance that they are currently experiencing or a future situation that they are about to face that consumes their thought process and influences their decision making skills. All they think about is the things of life, the cares of life, and it could even be genuine daily necessities, but it's something that is just unfortunately cloaking them. They carry it everywhere they go.
37:41 It's all they're thinking about, and Jesus is saying that will choke out the seed. When you think that this life is dependent upon your wisdom and your energy and you allow those anxieties to overwhelm you, it can be so overwhelming, it could be so heavy that the seed will not be able to penetrate through it. Not just cares. Riches. God help us.
38:08 Riches. The second thorn that chokes out the word of God from people's hearts, This speaks about an almost unquenchable desire and pursuit for more wealth and more prosperity. This is a person whose top goal in life is to make more and have more. What they wake up in the morning with is they're hitting the floor with a desire to know how they can build their own little kingdom here on earth. It's about my desires.
38:41 It's about my plans. It's about my little empire that I wanna build in this life. I want the latest. I want the newest. I want more.
38:49 I'm not content. And so they're driven. Their ambition in life is promotion. Their ambition in life is greater quality of clothing and greater models of cars and bigger houses. This is what they think about.
39:04 This is what consumes them. They're not motivated by the glory of God. They're not motivated by using their skills and even their money to advance the kingdom of God. Their true joy is materialism. And you know what?
39:17 You don't really have to figure out what kind of soil. All you really have to do is just listen people and how they talk. You know what Jesus said? Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. If you really wanna know a lot about a person, just have some conversation with them.
39:31 You'll realize what's really the passion of their heart. And because of that desire for riches, how many warnings in the Bible tell us of how people wandered from the faith because of that? Wandered from the faith because of those pursuits and desires, and I find that fascinating because I know very wealthy people who are Christians, and you know what they don't talk about all the time? Money. And I know people who don't have money, and all they talk about is money.
40:04 It's not a matter of having riches. The question is, do riches have you? That's the difference. And And I know these men who have more money than all of us combined. And you know what they're consumed with?
40:15 The glory of God. Oh, God. Use my life. Perhaps they've reached the place where they realize that money doesn't really satisfy. And don't let your life be so wasted.
40:26 This is just a little rant. Okay? Don't let your life be so wasted in your pursuit after riches that when you get to the place where you had your goal in your twenties, you fail to realize that it actually satisfies. Don't go there. This, unfortunately, is a reason why so many people, because they are so wanting their kingdom and their plans to advance, they forsake God's kingdom and his plans so that fruit doesn't mature.
40:57 And this is where we come to the last part, pleasures of life. This describes a thorn that could be labeled as self gratification. So it's not even necessarily about riches. It's about satisfying me at any point, any cause. It's about my comfort.
41:14 It's about me being pleased, and this is not dismissing somebody who could enjoy life in a good and holy and healthy way. This is about a person who is obsessed with themselves. That all their decision and all their planning, God is not in it. It's about me, my desires to the point where it drives them to sinful habitual behavior. And unfortunately, this person hears the gospel and has a desire to walk in it, but they also wanna walk with this nagging longing to satisfy more of themselves.
41:49 And they think that this seed and these thorns can live together. Not so. Not at all. It's a deception. That's why in the other gospel, it says that they are choked out by the deceitfulness of riches.
42:01 They've been tricked into that mindset. So what does this person describe? It describes an individual who's willing to receive the seed of the word, but is not willing to pluck out the thorns. And there is no room in the garden of your heart for both. No room.
42:21 Jesus clearly said you can't serve two masters. And this is what happens here. A man named Demas shows us that. Turn your Bibles to Colossians. It's a little detail that you and I might miss, but it's very interesting to see.
42:37 Because the scripture says in Luke that because of these thorns, the fruit didn't mature. You know what that means? That there was some kind of fruit. That there was some baby fruit there, but the fruit could not persevere. Colossians chapter four.
43:00 Look how Paul describes his band of brothers that are fellow ministers with him. Look at the description that he gives them. In verse seven of Colossians four, Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I've sent him to you for this purpose that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts.
43:23 And with him, Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you, they will tell you of everything that has taken place here. Do you see the descriptions behind these men's names? Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you've received instructions. If he comes to you, welcome him. And Jesus, who is called Justice, these are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God.
43:48 Do you hear the descriptions? Fellow workers? Servants? Epiphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you always struggling on your behalf and in his prayers that you may stand mature and fully assured in the will of God. For I bear him witness that he worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis.
44:10 Luke, the beloved physician, greets you and as does Demas. So you have all these wonderful descriptions of these men, and then it comes to this guy named Demas. It's just like Demas Demas says hi. I don't wanna read too much into this, but I wonder if there's a connection here. Now turn your Bibles to second Timothy chapter four.
44:33 One of Paul's last letters, verse nine. He's he's giving his final instructions to Timothy, and look what he says. Do your best to come to me soon, for Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Demas fell in love with this world, and he walked out choked by the desires of this life. So maybe there was fruit in the beginning, but that fruit did not mature because he thought that he can grow thorns with the seed.
45:13 Scary what a promotion can do to a Christian. Scary what more money can do to a Christian or a person who has professed Christ and even shown some kind of allegiance. All it takes is some more cash. We come back to Luke chapter eight, and we talk about the final type of soil, the seed that is planted in the right heart, the seed that is planted in the right heart. We come here to verse 15.
45:47 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart and bear fruit with patience. Here we have the heart that Jesus longs for for those who hear. He says this is a heart that is good and honest. Not saying that people are inherently good. No.
46:08 It's speaking about a person who is wanting to know truth and wanting to walk in the truth at whatever cost. These individuals are willing to remove the rocks. These individuals are willing to pluck out the thorns. These individuals do not come distracted. They are aware.
46:23 They are aware, not maybe fully aware, but they are laser focused to wanting to know the truth. There are people like that. Think of Cornelius. And this heart is just prepped to receive the seed. And again, they come to a place where they do hear it, and when they hear it, it bears fruit with patience.
46:41 What does that mean? That there is persevering fruit, that there is long enduring evidence that this person has truly been changed. And this is a wonderful thing because they've counted the cost. This is not a shallow, unthoughtful, emotionally driven response to the gospel. This is calculated.
47:01 Perhaps it didn't involve emotion, but they knew the moment I say yes to this way, I'm not turning back. They're going full in and the evidence of their change is not just in their profession, but in their practice. It is there the world sees that this person has taken a new course in life. It does not mean here that this person initially becomes perfect, nor does it mean that they won't go through seasons of dryness or temptation. We have to look at the entire word of God to realize that that's possible for a Christian.
47:31 But this is a person who throughout time stands by the test, proves in their pursuits and zeal that they're not living for the things of this world, and that they truly did receive the seed. Why did Jesus share these parables, specifically this one? What what was his desire out of this? It's amazing that Jesus, when answering his disciples of what this parable meant concerning why different people respond differently to the gospel, you know what he didn't say? God chose some and God chose God chose others not to.
48:14 Nor did he say that it was based on the lack of the skill of the sower. He didn't use enough intellectual insights and he wasn't very illustrative in his delivery. No, he didn't talk about the sower. The reason why is because of the heart condition of those who hear. The hearers.
48:33 It's all about how you hear. Why would Jesus say in verse eight, he who has ears to hear, let him hear? So there's two reasons why this parable is important for us, because there's a lesson for the sower, and there's a lesson for those who have the heart of different types of soil. And for the sower, perhaps verse 16 of Luke chapter eight is connected to this somehow. Look what Jesus says.
48:59 No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand so that those who enter may see the light. In other words, light here, being the light is synonymous with sowing the seed. And what is he saying after this parable? He's saying, don't be discouraged. Sow.
49:18 Be faithful with the seed. The problem is not with the seed. The problem is not with the gospel. The problem is with the hearts that don't want the gospel, so don't be tempted to change the seed. Stay faithful to the seed that God has placed in your hand through the scriptures and plant it faithfully whether people reject it or not.
49:37 That's not up to you. One of the greatest things that will save you from unnecessary guilt and burden and comparing yourself to other people is this understanding that you save people. You don't save people. You sow into people, and he does the saving. And so you and I, no matter where you are in life, we must be faithful sowers cause you have no idea who might be good soil.
50:04 You have no clue. God knows the hearts of men. I don't know where any of your hearts are. God knows. You don't know who your coworkers are.
50:14 You don't know who the next person will be that will bear much fruit. Just be faithful in sowing the seed. Do your part. That's what Jesus is saying, and let the rest be dealt with. So there's a sense here in which Jesus is consulting and and reminding his disciples before the Great Commission.
50:29 Listen. You're gonna get different reactions, but don't blame yourself all the time. Yes. The preacher must be faithful. Yes.
50:35 The preacher must be prayerful. Yes. All of us must be mindful and disciplined in learning, but be faithful. Be consistent. Be hopeful.
50:46 Be hopeful. Don't keep this seed to yourself. But then there's something here for the soil. He didn't share details about the sower. He didn't share details about the seed.
51:02 He spent his time describing the different types of hearts. Why? Did Jesus just give these different four types of responses to show the unchangeable states of people's inward being? He this is just how it's gonna be. There's gonna be someone who's gonna reject, and they can't do anything about it.
51:18 I don't believe that at all. I believe the reason why j Jesus shared this and why we read this is for this reason, for people to analyze and reflect which type of soil am I? Which one am I? Am I the one that comes in week after week and I've not submitted my life to Christ fully and I leave out the same unchanged, unmoved? You don't realize how many seeds that Satan has stolen from you, do you?
51:45 Are you the person that you received and there's some type of joy, but you're not fully committing yourself to Christ because you're scared what your family is gonna say to you? You're worried about the division that it's gonna cause in your home? You know the truth. You know what the Bible says, but you're just fearful. And you know that if you really have to choose, if you're really honest with yourself, it's family over Jesus, and Jesus, you're not worthy to be my disciple.
52:13 Is it the friends? What is it? Is there stones in your heart? Or are you the person that understands the urgency and the importance of following Jesus Christ all the days of your life, and you're trying to mingle thorns with pure seed, and you're realizing more than anything even now in your life that there is no fruit. You're completely consumed with your own plans, your own desires.
52:41 There is no room in your ambitions for the glory of God and to live for him and serve him. Perhaps there are thorns that are choking the seed. The Holy Spirit will tell you. Are you the one that you know? You you've removed the rocks.
52:56 You've removed the thorns, and sometimes they try to grow back, and sometimes people try to throw rocks, but you continually break up that ground, and you allow it to be moist. How did you respond to the gospel? Can Can I tell you what I responded for the first twenty years of my life? I was that third type of soil. I thought I could have Jesus, but Jesus was my little butler that had to answer my prayers for my plans and my dreams.
53:22 He wasn't Lord of my life. He was my servant. I have heaven, and he better respect the fact that I believed in him, so he better do what I asked him to do. Saying that is harsh. That's how I live.
53:33 I maybe didn't confess it. Until I realized, man, there are thorns in my heart at the age of 20. I responded wrongly to this gospel. Lord, I see the seed and I take out these thorns. I'm willing to receive it and for you to consume the garden of my heart.
54:01 Do people have control over the heart condition if they are falling in one of the first three? Final verse of today in Hosea. Hosea chapter 10. Turn there, would you please? Because this is a verse that I pray that you and I would never forget.
54:16 The book of Hosea and the minor prophets. Hosea chapter 10. Look at verse 12 of Hosea chapter 10. We still hear the rustling of leaves, so we'll wait till they calm down. Hosea chapter 10 verse 12.
54:38 Sow for yourselves righteousness. Reap steadfast love. Break up your fallow ground. For it is time to seek the Lord that he may come and reign righteousness upon you. The people of Israel have come to a place where their hearts were likened to fallow ground.
54:57 Dry, caked, crusty, hardened. It was not moist. It was the perfect conditions for thorns and for rocks to populate on top of it. And what does he say? He says to the people, you break up the fallow ground.
55:14 You remove those articles. You make that soil moist again, and you seek the Lord, and let him rain righteousness upon you. And so I see according to this verse connecting it to the the parable that it is the people and hearing these things saying, you know what? I am that second type. You know what?
55:30 I am that third type. You know what? The devil has been distracting me for years, but now I break up this heart. And I say, Lord, I receive your seed, and I wanna be changed by it. Sowers, don't be discouraged.
55:47 Don't be discouraged. There's something so fascinating about a seed is that you don't see the results right away. You don't see it. Sometimes it takes time, more time than others. You have no idea how your efforts and your faithfulness to sowing can produce something in someone's life that you may not see down until down the road in life.
56:10 And for every person here how many people do we have in here? I can't estimate. But every person here has one of these soils in their hearts. Jesus gave four options. Which one?
56:23 Which one are you? No matter where you're at, he wants you to be in the fourth type, and it's possible to get there if you're willing to break it up, to humble yourself and say, Lord, I want to be that right heart to receive and for me to experience that truth. I receive it. So here's the gospel as we close. Here's the seed.
56:50 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever shall believe in Him will have eternal life, won't be condemned. What's the understanding here? This is the truth of the gospel, that every single one of us has fallen short of the glory of God. Meaning every single one of us has failed to meet the standard that would make us acceptable in the sight of God and grant us eternal life. No matter how much good you've done or think you will do, it will never satisfy God.
57:23 And in knowing so that every single one of us deserves hell in a heartbeat, no matter how religious you think you are, God in love, although he is holy and just, sends his son to do what? To live the life you could not live, to stand on your behalf, and to obey every single law that is found in this book. And not only that, because he is just and holy, there is a penalty to pay, And he paid that price where he gets on the cross and he gets nailed to it. And not only does he receive whips and scorn and and mockery. No.
57:59 He receives the wrath of almighty God poured out upon him as we sang earlier because he took upon the whole sin, not just of you, but the whole world upon him. Think of the weight. Think of the filth. Think of all the things where the perfect son of God for all eternity and perfect communion with the father and the holy spirit now comes to a place where he experiences where the father turns his face away. He experienced God the Father turning his face away so that God the Father's face would smile on yours.
58:30 He dies. He doesn't just die. He goes into a tomb. He raises from the grave declaring that that payment was satisfying to God and also showing that those who would by faith and faith alone realize that they only have hope by that penalty that was paid through his life and death, you also will be resurrected. And your confidence in your salvation, your confidence for eternal life is not based on how good you did today and how better you'll do tomorrow because yesterday was really bad.
59:08 Your confidence every single day for the rest of your life is what Christ did on Calvary alone. What Jesus did a real man who walked on this earth and died a real death and rose from a real grave and is now seated at the right hand of God. And you receive that truth and that grace, if you receive it right, claims ownership on your life. He becomes your Saviour but also your Lord, and you walk to know Him because you are saved by grace. You've heard it, but maybe you've heard it a 100 times before like I did when I was a youth and sat in different conferences and youth meetings.
59:56 And but all it did was just reach here, and I thought I could live with thorns with it. And for others, it just hit the surface, and Satan took it right out. It's like they weren't even in the meeting in the first place. But today, everything can change for you. If you allow your heart to say, no matter what, I receive this word.
1:00:22 Father, we come before you in light of this parable of the sower, and we ask, oh God, that if anybody's in the first three categories, that Lord you would bring every single one of us into that fourth slot, that all of our hearts would be able to testify that we've received this word without reservation, without compromise, without excuse, without delay, we say yes to it. And Lord, we just ask that it would be proven true. It would be proven true. And Lord, thank you that as alarming as these things might be, it's really another call for another chance. So if there's even one person in here, Lord, that realizes by the Holy Spirit and through the word that they are not those who have received the gospel in good soil, Lord, bring bring us to that fourth place.
1:01:22 It's never too late. It's never too late, and we pray, Lord, that if there's rocks or thorns, identify and let them be removed by your grace and your help. Lord, we rejoice in this gospel today. We thank you for this faith. We thank you for the wisdom that Jesus provides.
1:01:41 And, Lord, we pray in this house that as the gospel continues to go forth, whether from this pulpit or through the lives of these people, that we would not be discouraged by the reactions. We would trust that as we sow, you will save. We will trust in the power of the seed. And we ask, oh God, that you would in this day, in this age, soften the hearts of people to see how futile and vain it is to hold on to these things, try to convince ourselves of a pseudo gospel. Lord, we rejoice in you, for you are eternally worthy of our lives to worship you, and we pray that it would be coming from this place as a response to your wisdom and to your grace.
1:02:24 In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
