How The Devil Steals The Word | Mark 4:1-20 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Series)

We're in a new chapter today in Mark. So meet me in the gospel of Mark in chapter four. Mark chapter four. Both this past Friday and Sunday has been, filled with exuberant singing. So I'm so blessed to be under your voices this afternoon.

I hope you feel that same blessing. Mark chapter four, please. And we're starting together in verse one. I'm gonna read these verses and then together we're just going to bow our heads again, our hearts before God, and ask him to help us understand these verses. Mark four one.

Again, he began to teach beside the sea and a very large crowd gathered about him so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables. And in his teaching, he said to them, listen. Behold, a sower went out to sow.

And as he sowed, some seed fell among the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, And since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding 30 fold and 60 fold and a 100 fold.

And he said, he who has ears to hear, let him hear. Father, give us ears to hear. Help us listen. We just ask, oh, God, that these next few messages in the next few weeks would be life altering. It would be the pivotal point of many who would desire to be good soil for your seed to have its fullest effect in our lives.

Lord, have your way in the service. Oh, lord, move in great power. Oh, lord, be magnified as this word is delivered and more importantly received with eagerness and obedience. This is our desire. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen. The parable of the sowers. Some would say the parable of the soils is one of the most notable and remembered parables, not just in the ministry of Jesus Christ, but all of scripture. It is recorded in three of the four gospel accounts, and it is one of the few parabolic lessons that Jesus interprets himself. Many of the parables, Jesus does not go out of his way to expose it like we see here.

And for those who are unfamiliar with this parable, all you have to do is read on in the rest of the chapter to see Jesus' undeniably clear explanation of what he is trying to convey with these words. But the summary is very easy. It's as follows. There is a sower who scatters seed. That seed is the word of God.

And there are four different types of soils, which speaks of the different conditions of the heart of men who respond to the word of God differently. And then there is the sower himself, who is anybody who is a faithful witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ and seeks to scatter that truth into the hearts of men. That seems like a very straightforward message, but the purpose behind the message is much more profound. Why is it that the Lord Jesus at this particular moment, while he sits on a boat by the shore facing a sea of people, why is it that now he is intentionally using this teaching style with this specific parable? You and I will expound on that in the coming weeks.

There are many reasons why Jesus is using what we know as parables. He has more than one objective in mind, and you and I will understand that in the coming days. But at this particular moment, Jesus Christ is teaching about this this lesson in order to prepare his disciples in advance about how the majority of the Jewish people will reject him. Already, the religious and the spiritual, and the political rather establishments have have made their public rejection of Jesus known. They were on a campaign to discredit his name.

And that was just the beginning of the growing number of Jewish brethren who will join in their outright denial of the son of God. And so in part, the Lord presents this truth, strategically right after the the Pharisees are saying he's possessed with a devil. So that he can help his very likely struggling disciples who who can't seem to grasp the mixed reviews from the nation of Israel. With the arrival of the Messiah who came with undeniable authority, undeniable power, undeniable miracles. And it will not just help the disciples understand, it will help the modern sower of the seed of the gospel also.

Have you ever wondered how is it that anyone can reject something as good, as free, as wonderful as our gospel? Have you ever thought or have you ever struggled with seeing somebody who with great enthusiasm embrace the gospel only for a few weeks to go by or months or even years to shrink back and return to their old ways as though they have never met Christ. This parable is for you. These teachings are for any serious disciple of Jesus who longs to make more disciples of Jesus Christ. But when you look at this, you have to understand that this parable is also meant to target an undecisive crowd.

One who is standing in the gap, not just followers of Jesus Christ. Because look at Jesus' words in verse three. The first one, listen. Listen. This is how he begins his parable.

Pay attention. It's almost as though while he's sitting on that boat, there's a crowd of people and and some are maybe distracted, some are maybe looking at their sandals, some are wondering what they're gonna do after the service. So Jesus observing his audience says, hey, pay attention. And then he ends his teaching by saying the very famous phrase, he who has ears to hear, let him hear. Why?

Because it would be a mistake to believe that the parable of the sower is some kind of commentary that is an unchangeable decree of the state of men. It's not like Jesus is using this parable to say, you know, you you got some men who are like this, some men who are like that, some men who are like this, and that's just the way it is. So just you're gonna have to deal with it. I'm just kinda giving you an insight how people respond to to the preaching of God's word. Now what Jesus is doing is using this parable to provoke personal reflection.

He wants his listeners, he wants his audience to understand that this description of the the hearts of men is to stir them to to make an individual assessment of which soil they are. And if they're not in the one that's supposed to bear fruit, that they themselves would make that change as an act of faith. So again, this is not this is not just some decree that this is how men are and, if you're if you're there, you're there. We're sorry. No.

He wants the listeners to lean in so that they can they can examine themselves and say, well, which one am I? Which one I? And therefore, in the same way, Jesus challenged his immediate audience, I challenge you. And this afternoon, I look to you and I say, listen. Pay attention.

Because in the next four weeks, we are going to explore each of these soils on their separate days. We're not gonna have a general overview of this message. Every single week, we are going to hear about these different class of people. And you are, if you are serious about the condition of your soul, we'll examine yourself and say, well, which one am I? Which one do I identify with the most?

And that you would make the appropriate changes by the grace of God to make sure that you are in the will of God. You and I will not rush over this. Do you know why? As much as we might be familiar with this parable, I'm sure most of us in here can rehearse it by heart and even explain it in great detail. But I don't want us to run through this, and I'll tell you why.

Go to verse 13 of Mark chapter four and look at the words of Jesus. And he said to them, do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? It's obvious here that the Lord is saying it in order to have access to further revelation, namely parables, you have to comprehend this one. This is foundational.

This is not this is not optional here. This is not just a random this is absolutely fundamental to receiving subsequent revelation of who Jesus is and what his kingdom is all about. If you and I can't master this one, there is no hope for us to understand what Jesus has to say after it. Because everything else that he will teach will be built upon these truths. And why is that the case?

Because this parable deals with the essential truths of the gospel and of salvation, and it can't get any more basic than that. And so why run the risk of having a shallow understanding of this parable when this is the key to knowing more parables? You know what else is more interesting? You find this teaching in Matthew and in Luke, not in John. John is very unique in comparison to the other gospel writers.

But you find it in Matthew, you find it in Luke, but what you won't find is the same statement that we just read in the other accounts. This declaration of the importance of this parable. And I thought to myself, why is that the case? And I think here's one reason why. Because Mark's goal, as you know, is depicting Jesus as the great servant of God, the perfect servant of God.

But not only that, not only to to portrait us for us, Jesus being the fulfillment of the law, him obeying all that God had set for him to do, but he is also our model for service. We look to him as our example of how we ought to serve the Lord. And so it's fitting for this statement of how important this parable is for us who are servants of God. Because these truths about the the seed and how people respond to it will aid us to not grow weary. They will encourage us and motivate us to remain faithful regardless of how men respond to the gospel.

They will also shield us from unnecessary self criticism, and they will even keep us from being tempted, from tampering with the seed in order for us to create more observable results. This is important for us practically. In fact, that is one of the main points of this parable. The reason people reject the gospel not is not because there is something wrong with the seed that the master has placed in our hands, but because of the quality of the soil of men's hearts. So let us begin by looking at the first type of soil that Jesus speaks of and draw as much as we can from.

So let me say it again. Listen. Listen. Pay attention. This one might be about you.

It could be about you. Wouldn't you wanna know if Jesus is speaking about you this afternoon? Verse three and four, let's revisit it. Listen. Behold, a sower went out to sow.

And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Thankfully, you and I don't have to spend too much time time trying to decode what Jesus meant by this first description about this first class of hearers because he will illuminate it in the coming verses. But just from a first reading, we already can can have an idea of what Jesus is alluding to with this illustration. He says here that the sower sowed along the path. Some of the seed fell along the path.

You can you can identify this group of people as the wayside soil. Now it doesn't help when we think of it in modern ideas because back in Jesus's day, fields were wide open to public access. There would be paths and roads very very near and sometimes even through these fields, which would invite foot traffic and would invite travelers to come by. Remember when Jesus and his disciples, they walked through the fields and they were picking the grain. That was normal in this time.

There wasn't fences and there weren't electric wires to protect the fields. No. It was it was much more accessible in this day. And so what would happen? Well, these paths, these dirt roads would be would be stepped on and then compounded over time until they became like pavement.

And Jesus has this in mind when he speaks about this particular soil. He's saying there are people who will respond to the seed in the same way that the paths that you know of that become almost like cement over time. And you and I can just imagine what happens to the seed when it does come into contact with with such soil. It bounces right off and it lies on the surface, and it just rests there. It's unable to penetrate.

It it does not make its way into. It doesn't enter. It just visits. And in like manner, there are many who have hearts who react to the gospel with similar hardness. Listen.

Yeah. There you are. Such people have no room for reception, no room for meditation, no room for consideration for divine truth. No matter who or no matter how the gospel is delivered to them, they are quick to shut the truth out and refuse to give a moment further of inquiry. Such people can come in and out of meetings like this one and be totally unmoved, totally unstirred when they hear these glories about who Jesus is and what he's done.

And regardless of the passion of the preacher, regardless of the power of the spirit that can be felt, such people remain the same. And just like the birds of the air, they are ready to move on as though nothing had happened even to begin with. They can hear the truth and walk away as though nothing was said to them. And here's where it gets more interesting. Here's where it gets really, really interesting.

When Jesus goes on to expound on this soil, he includes a detail that is not emphasized in any other type of soil. And so come down to verse 15. And these are the ones So now Jesus in the latter portion is interpreting what these soils mean. And now he's on the first one. And he says here, and these are the ones along the path where the word is sown.

When they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. That is paramount. That is massive in our understanding of this. Jesus reveals how Satan is so directly involved with the transaction of truth and receiving truth. As much as God is at work in these moments even now, so is the devil.

And the fact that Mark uses the word immediate means that he is near. He is not far. He's very close. His work is quick because he is, in a sense, in our midst. Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.

Jesus reveals something that we know as spiritual warfare. And Paul says it in his own way, obviously by the spirit. In second Corinthians four four, in their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers. The God, little g, there is no God like Jehovah, not capital g. He's not an equal to God.

But there is a ruler in this world, and he is invisible, and he is powerful. In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers that they may not see the light of the glory of the gospel of Christ, who is the image of God. Satan has one ambition in this life. One ambition, and that is to strategically derail souls from even getting a glimpse of the glory of Jesus Christ, namely in his saving work on the cross. And he will do everything that he can to make sure that you would not even have an opportunity to be exposed to such wonderful light.

And so he has many ways of doing this. That is not to say that sinners are mere victims of Satan's strategies. What it means though is that the wicked one constantly aims to drive sinners into deeper darkness. Our hearts are already dark, but the enemy wants to make sure to bury you, to bury you in such a depth of clouded vision and distraction so that as much as he can, if even it would happen that the light would come by your way, it would have little effect on your calloused soul. And so he seeks to blind, and he does this by either trying to prematurely invite you into sin and maybe you'll kill yourself in the process.

And if he can't do that, then then he is satisfied with just distracting you long enough with seemingly innocent toys and ambitions so that you would not even give a thought to life after death. And this is why I partly believe why all men are capable of responding to the gospel. Why would Satan make any effort? Why would the scripture record any type of effort on Satan's part to try to keep men from being influenced by the gospel? This is why the enemy absolutely hates the proclamation of the truth.

Because it is through the proclamation of the truth that those who've been caked in their vision from seeing such wonders of grace is through what Jesus told Paul in acts twenty six eighteen. He commissions him to preach. And you know what he says? Paul, I'm raising you up. I've chosen you.

I have selected you. In Acts twenty six eighteen, to open their eyes. To open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. What is the means by which somebody who is blinded comes to receive miraculous vision? Ambassadors of Jesus Christ faithfully proclaiming that gospel.

That is how it's done. It's very simple. We don't have to complicate this whole thing. That they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. So you have satan roaming, strategizing, planning, creating, inventing ways to do one thing and that's to keep men from seeing the glory of Jesus Christ.

The very same eyes that have been blinded by him can be opened by the truth declared through us. Now if that is the case, then how do we reconcile Jesus teaching how Satan is able to take that seed and this truth that when people are in the presence of the gospel, their eyes can be open? Is it because is it because Satan is very powerful? Is it because he is he is able to obstruct? Is he is able to hijack?

Well, yes and no. Remember, one of the goals of this parable is not just to explain why it is certain people reject the truth. Jesus gives this parable to also expose. To expose and to unveil why some people won't believe and they are responsible for it. They are responsible for it.

Because Satan will not overcome your will. He can just influence it. And in giving this parable, he's letting his audience know, hey, there is there is a vicious foe who would love to drag you to hell with him. Do you realize that? That's what Jesus is saying in part.

There is a there is a Satan who really wants to make sure you don't even get to hear what I have to say to you. And hopefully, if people really listen, they would seek to escape from that dreadful place. Listen. You know, I looked at this and I thought to myself, okay. Well, it's clear.

There are men's who whose hearts are hard. You know why your heart is hard? Because you've allowed the world to to beat you down with its lies and its hurts and its pains and its ugly ways, and you come into a place like this, and I'm preaching to you. You know what's happening? That's what's happening.

And you're the easiest target for the devil. The easiest. He just comes by and goes, look at this. And he puts it away to ensure that you would never think about the truth that you just heard that Sunday afternoon. But how does he do it?

How does Satan how does he pluck that seed from people's hearts? Well, I'll tell you how he doesn't do it in this way. Some would say he does it by making men fearful through the threat of persecution. That is true. But remember, Jesus uses that for the second type of soil.

It's the rocky soil that receive the truth excitingly at first, but they wither away because persecution comes. Well, maybe it's through the the lies of possessions and and pleasure and priorities. Maybe that's how he snatches the seed away. And I would say, yeah. But I don't think that's what Jesus has in mind because that's how he uses that's what he uses to describe the third type of soil, the thorny soil that that chokes.

Chokes. Some of you are choking even though you're breathing. We'll get to that in a few weeks. You're breathing physically, but your spirit is dying. So so it can't mean that it's through the threat of persecution because he mentions that in the next type of soil, it can't mean through pleasure, priority, or or anything else in terms of the material world because he mentions that in the third type of soil.

So then what does the Lord have in mind when he says that Satan has a way of snatching that seed from your heart? I believe it's to reveal a different kind of strategy that you and I don't think of often. And the only way you and I are actually gonna get the answers is when we compare this version of the parable of the sower with the two other ones. So meet me in Luke chapter eight if you wanna know how Satan does this. In Luke chapter eight, Let's read in verse four.

Luke eight four, and when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, listen. That's not there. I'm just telling you to listen. Listen. Yeah?

Listen. Verse five. A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled under foot, and the birds of the air devoured it. The Holy Spirit in Luke's version adds how men, before the the birds, the demonic agents come to take away the seed, men will trample underfoot, the seed that was scattered along their path.

What does it mean for men to trample underfoot the seed that was scattered along their path? Well, it's very simple, right? If I put something of value here in this space and men walk on it, what does that reveal about the man? They're inattentive at best. They're careless, disrespectful, and indifferent.

I believe this is what Jesus has in mind, that in essence, Satan is most effective with those who have an reverence for the word of God, who treat it as worthless, who don't see its value, and who can just walk over it as though it was nothing. And when Satan sees a man or a woman with such an attitude, this is this is a piece of cake. He takes that truth and steals it from that person. If you doubt that this is what Jesus has in mind, sometimes it helps to go into the word to see what it means. The phrase trampled underfoot is one work in one word in the Greek.

It's one word in the Greek, and it's You don't need to memorize that. Just memorize what I'm about to say. Is only mentioned five times in the New Testament. Once in the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus says that if men lose their saltiness, the only thing that's left is for them to be trampled upon by other men. And what Jesus meant there is that if a Christian loses his testimony because of sin, because of hypocrisy, all that a watching world will do is just walk all over them.

That's why when you hear a scandal of a big time preacher, we see our news and our tabloids eat it up and they're doing exactly what Jesus said would do. You lose your saltiness, you're trampled upon by men. Two other times in the sermon in this parable of the sower, One other time in Luke chapter 12 when men were physically trampling on one another when they were attending one of Jesus' meetings, and there was a final one. We already mentioned four, there is a last one where this word, trample upon, is mentioned. Turn there.

Hebrews ten twenty nine. How does Satan snatch the seed of the word from people so that it doesn't even enter into their hearts? You know how? Number one, he inspires and in reverence for the word of God. In Hebrews ten twenty nine, how much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the son of God and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the spirit of grace.

That's the same word. Trampled under foot. What is he trying to say? The Hebrew author is writing to Hebrew Christians who have left Judaism for the true gospel, but because of persecution, now they wanna shrink back and go back to the Levitical law, a salvation by works. And the spirit of God through this man is saying, listen.

If you turn on Christ, if you go back to animal sacrifices, if you go back to works based salvation, you are essentially stepping all over the son of God himself. And you see this picture throughout the bible. You remember on the first Passover, do you not? That when the Lord told the nation of Israel who were enslaved in Egypt, I'm gonna get you out, but I'm gonna send a destroyer to do it. He's gonna kill all the firstborns.

So take the blood of the lamb and smear on the lintel and on the doorposts, and hide underneath that blood. Interestingly, he never gave instruction to put it on the ground. Cover everything above you, but don't you dare put it on the ground. As a prophetic picture that you should have this utmost reverence for the blood of Christ as it has authority over you, never under you. And so in some sense, the author here is using that same imagery.

You are essentially you're you're you're just stepping all over Jesus when you say, I don't want this gospel. After the great lengths of mercy that he has implemented to save your soul. And so when Jesus says in Luke eight that some seed fell along a path and it was trampled underfoot, this is in essence what he is communicating. It means that they were disrespectful to the word of God, inattentive, underestimating the life giving power that it has, and such people are like sitting ducks to the devil. Is that you?

Is that you today? What's this preaching doing to you right now? What are these words doing to you? It could be you and you're unaware because your attention is diverted even as I speak. Let me briefly share how Satan inspires irreverence for the word of God, preparing people to give up the seed of truth that can save them.

Apart from our culture, creating this normalization and more than that, a blasphemous approach and attitude towards Jesus by using his name as a cuss word and creating movies and plays that degrade Christ and making the Lord's day increasingly more and more just like any other day. I've seen that over the years. I remember I don't remember. I was maybe I do. But there was a day when no stores were open on Sunday.

You remember that day? No stores were open on Sunday. And then stores open till five. And I remember in college when they announced, cause they used to work at the mall, that now store hours are gonna go till nine, till closing like any other weekday. Why do you think that is?

Do we need more money? Or is the Lord's day increasingly becoming ordinary? One of besides that, one of the favorite weapons of Satan distracting people so that they cannot receive the truth is by distracting them. And he's very clever because it's much more difficult to walk and pay attention to what's ahead of you when your senses are not on alert. Remember the demonized man in Mark chapter one, while Jesus was preaching and the people were stirred ready to praise, manifestation of a devil from a man.

Why do you think that was? You know why. Because there's there's power in distraction. Or we think of Elymas in acts 13, when Paul and Barnabas are preaching to the proconsul, and here's this man in the presence of these missionaries trying to persuade the proconsul not to believe what is being said. Satan, as we heard in Mark, can immediately snatch the seed, which which tells me that he's at work here.

And every time that we gather. And I've seen it from the pulpit. I've seen it. I've seen people being intentionally distracting or distracted. I've seen people lean into other people and whispering in their ears, not saying don't believe what that preacher is saying is true, although that can happen.

But, you know, vain conversations, jokes, texting each other, and sending memes to each other while the word is being preached. Because distraction is much more prevalent than it was in Jesus' day with these things that we call devices. Right? Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat, these colorful, engaging things have been the means to steal a lot of seed over the years. I can tell you that.

I don't know how it's possible, but it's possible. You have people who can scroll through social media while the holy, unadulterated, life saving, soul preserving truth is being heralded. Innocent. Right? Just like little birds are cute and innocent too.

Stealing the seed. Stealing the seed. And if he can't do it during the service, he is more than willing to do it the night before. Right? The night before.

I know there are some here who work all night Saturday and sometimes into the morning, and they arrive here and they fight all that they can to make sure that they are engaging. And to you, I say, may the Lord bless you. May the Lord bless you. I'm not here to hammer anybody who does that. I'm speaking about those who have a choice of what they do on Saturday night before they come to the house of God on Sunday morning.

He'll convince you ahead of time that what is happening here is not worth you being rested or prepared. He loves sloppy churchgoers on Sunday afternoon or Sunday morning. He loves it. Remember I told you there was a day when stores weren't open on Sundays? You know, there was a day when families would get their outfits ready on Saturday night for Sunday morning.

Maybe some of you grew up that way. There was a day where you would eat breakfast and have something to fill your stomach before coming to the house of God so that while a spiritual feast is being provided, you're not thinking about which restaurant you wanna go to after the service, during the whole time. There was a day. And so the enemy knows how to create a sense of irreverence by making us inattentive, careless, sloppy. And I know what you may be thinking.

I thought this was about souls being saved. Brother, I'm saved. I'm already among the redeemed. Now, that is true, but do you really think that the enemy will allow you to grow in the word of God and mature in the word of God? You think you think the birds are just reserved for those who have never been saved?

You don't think that there is a plan even after that to make sure that the word doesn't get in you in a deeper way? I've seen this in evangelism. I've seen this in evangelism. When we used to do street evangelism week after week, I've seen it in so many ways. I'll never forget a time when a group of us went to go in the streets of Downtown Toronto, there was a street preacher there.

And as he was preaching the corner, a crowd was gathering. People were I was shocked to see the amount of people. It was like, wow. And in the middle of the proclamation, all you heard is a scuffle and two men. I don't know where I don't know where they came from, and I didn't know where they went after that.

They start hitting each other in the face, and they start fighting, and the entire crowd turned away from the preacher and went to go watch the fight. And those two men just ran off. It was so strange. I've seen people witnessing to others on the street one on one, and in the middle of that transaction of truth, a homeless man will step in the middle and scream at the top of his lungs. I've seen it.

I've seen it out there, and unfortunately, at times, I see it even in here. The enemy knows how to create an irreverence, which I which I take to mean that as a church, we have a responsibility to cultivate an atmosphere of reverence for God. Do you know what I'm saying? There should be a reverence in this place, and that's that's that's in great part of the leadership's role to ensure that the people of God are stepping into a place where this is sacred, this is holy, and that's increasingly not the case where there is a growing trend of irreverence, of casual approach in the Lord's Supper, in the preaching of God's word, in worship. I've seen strange things during worship.

I've seen couples kissing during worship. I've seen people distracted in so many ways during worship, but I could not believe what I was seeing in some places. And so there was a great responsibility for us to to to protect this place as much as as it depends on us to ensure that there is nothing that Satan can use to strengthen his efforts to rob that seed. I remember I was invited to speak somewhere. I was a young preacher, still I am, I guess.

Early twenties, never been to this church. And I was downstairs and they called me up to come up before a certain time. And so, I grabbed my stuff, I was in my room by myself, and I was heading upstairs, and somebody was praying. I was coming in from outside. There was a door, but there was a deacon, I guess, at the door.

And while the person was praying, I heard the person praying, and I thought, well, you know, I walk in and I'll just so I was making my way into the service and the deacon stopped me and he says, we're praying. Swipe. Instant conviction. Here's the preacher preaching, hoping to convict people, and I'm convicted by the deacon at the door. So, yeah, you're right.

We are praying, I guess. And there was a sense of reverence that visited me in that moment. We're speaking to almighty God. We're turning our attention to him. One of the ways by which Satan steals the word according to Luke chapter eight verse five is he finds men who can easily trample on the seed.

But there's a second way, and it's found in the gospel of Matthew chapter 13. Let's turn there together. Matthew thirteen eighteen. Matthew thirteen eighteen reads in the same parable. Hear then the parable of the sower.

When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. Luke touches on how the enemy is able to to rob people of the truth by inspiring an irreverence and inattentiveness that is caused by various means. Matthew has something very similar to say, but it is slightly different. He he adds a danger and he suggests that those who hear it and don't understand it are equally in trouble.

But what does that mean to not understand it? I don't think it means that somebody is hearing it, but because of a deficiency in the message, they can't make the connection in their minds, therefore, they walk away. And the enemy is able to play with their minds. I don't believe that's what's happening here. To not understand means to hear it, to yes, not understand it, but further to have a disinterest in grasping the implications of that truth, leaving somebody vulnerable to satanic influence.

It's more about this, laziness or this this failure to realize the urgency of what is being said that puts that person in jeopardy. It's not again that the gospel is not understood logically or rationally. It's that though it may seem to be a mystery, that person's response is a failure to act upon that truth, to inquire of that truth, placing them at, Satan's disposal. So I I believe that what Matthew is touching on is not so much distraction as much as procrastination. There's a delay here.

There's a stagnation. There there is this refusal to to move quickly because of a because of a hard posture that doesn't see how serious this message is or this seed is. When providence passes our way and throws a seed along our path, the devil is right there hoping that we will not move and take a hold of what was made known to us so that he can get his slimy hands on it so that we would never examine that truth for ourselves. So if you brush off the necessity, you brush off the urgency of knowing the interpretation and the implication of what is being said, you're in trouble. All hearers are responsible for what they hear, and God will hold us all responsible for what truth has been made to know to us.

It's a dangerous game to play. And so there are those who don't understand it because they don't care to understand it. They don't care to listen. They don't care to have ears to hear. And they maybe delay it.

Why would the enemy try to come in immediately unless he believes that if that thing sits on the surface of their hearts long enough, maybe maybe they will actually look at it and start examining it and doing something with it. So even in this moment, there has to be an understanding of how serious this is. And to be in that place is is a really safe place. To not be in that place is extremely dangerous according to the words of Jesus. Now here's how I wanna end.

I wanna show you an example of somebody who does the opposite of what this soil represents. It's only found in the gospel of Mark, and Jesus' statement to this man is only found in the gospel of Mark, and it's an encouraging word as much as it is a word of warning. Here's our final text, Mark chapter 12. Let's go there together. Mark 12.

This man who is a scribe verse 28 of Mark 12. And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him. So now you you have a man approaching Jesus and he asked a question. Which commandment is the most important of all? Jesus answered.

You know this answer. Right? The most important is, hear oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

There is no other commitment greater than these. And the scribe set them Now notice the response of the scribe. You are right. Teacher, you you have truly said that he is one, that there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength and to love one's neighbor as oneself is much more than than all burnt offerings, whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Do you see this man? I want you to pay attention to what's happening. He's in the presence of a sower, the sower, capital s. A truth was made known. Yes.

He inquired, and you're almost in question. Right? Is he doing this out of just spite? Is he doing this to trap Jesus? So he asked a question.

Jesus responds with accuracy as he always does, and then the man's response to the truth that was planted reveals the sincerity of his soul. And he goes, yeah. You're right. That is that is the greatest commitment. And the second one is close to it.

And you can tell that he's he's locked in. That is not how somebody who has the first type of soil responds to truth. They they get right up and they walk right out as though divine revelation was not just exposed. And then it can go on exactly how they came in without any contemplation of where they stand before God. This man is showing the opposite attitude.

And notice how Jesus answers. That's the proof. Verse 34. And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, you are not far from the kingdom of God. I love that answer.

Jesus looks at this man. He hears the the deep interest, the engagement, the longing to know truth, the softness of the heart, and Jesus confidently said to him, you're very close. You're very close. You're not there yet. You're at the doorstep though.

And I bring that truth of the parable of the sower and I and I shine light on this with it to say that this man if Satan is right there immediately take it, this man gave little room for Satan to work with him. Because as truth was revealed, he's inquiring, he's seeking, he's he's he's meditating, he's engaging. He's dialoguing with truth. He want he wants to know the truth. And Satan's going, I can't do I can't do much here.

And Jesus says, you're very close. You're very close. I wonder if this man will be in heaven. We don't know. But as much as this is a compliment, it's also a word of warning because close is not close enough.

Need to be in. You need to be secure and you need to be sealed. You need you need to have your name signed up, so to speak. And so I wonder if you're in this place today and you can identify with the first type of soil, is that you? A lot of seed has been sown this afternoon.

What's happening to it? Only you know. Only you know, which I am somewhat relieved because the sower went out to sow. It's not my job necessarily to to know what kind of heart you have. Just like the sower, I scatter the seed.

Just like you, faithful disciple of Jesus, you you scatter the seed. That's your job, And men have the responsibility to do what they would want with that seed, and God will hold them accountable for it. You know, Jesus shared this shares this truth again not because there are some who have this sealed fate of a heart that cannot be changed or moved by the truth. It's to have you listen and hear and say, is that me? Is that me?

God, I don't want it to be me. Oh, God, till this soil. Plow through this heart. Whatever you need to do for it to be fluffy, whatever you need it to do for it to be soft so that that seed can, can germinate and bring forth the life that you've ordained for me. Oh, God, do it.

If that is you, if that's how you're responding to what I'm saying today because you don't know Jesus Christ, I can echo the words of Jesus and say, you're not too far from the kingdom of God. But I wonder how much of the seed this afternoon will be walked on. May not be so. Lord, we thank you for this word. You know who in this place knows you.

You know who in this place doesn't know you. And we just ask, oh, God, that the gospel will fall on good soil today. And we just pray, oh, Lord, that our hearts would be encouraged at the same time to know that if we want that heart to embrace the seed, we can have it. And we just pray, oh, God, that this would be the cry of this congregation today, of those who are in attendance today. Lord, bear fruit in me.

Thirtyfold, sixtyfold, a hundredfold. Whatever you can do in me, do it. Lord, may that be the prayer of every person in this house. Lord, we worship you because of the depth of your word, the inside of your word. May the sowers of this house be built up to know that the problem is not with the seed, but with the soil.

The issue is not in the power of the truth, but in those who refuse to embrace that power. Lord, we we give you glory in this place. Even with a message as heavy and as serious as we give you maximum praise, for you are worthy of it. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen and amen.

Let's stand and worship the Lord together.

It's great you came to church this afternoon, but have you come to Christ? Have you come to Christ? It's great to know that he is still available. He's still welcoming. He still wants you to come to him.

Even today, he's ready to forgive. He's ready to wash your sins. He's ready to make you a child of God. Maybe the message today resonated to you, and you thought of yourself, yes I am that ground, and that ground that rejects the word, and the ground that trembled underfoot the word of God, but you know Christ even today can tell this ground, can make it soft, can make it ready to receive him. Are you ready?

Are you ready? Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your message. We thank you for your word that still changes people. Lord, we pray that none among us this afternoon will be that ground that rejects the word, that it will be a land, a ground that is ready, fertile, that bear much fruit.

God, we pray that people even this afternoon will come to you in repentance and in faith, in faith in you alone, the one who can save, the one who can change, the one who can give them eternal life and eternal joy. We pray that today will be a day of salvation for many. In Jesus' name, amen. Some of you probably have known already, if not all of you, that, pastor Daniel did something last week. He got engaged to beautiful Jewel.

So so immediately after the service, right away, we'll be going downstairs to celebrate their engagement and to congratulate them. So please meet us downstairs as we congratulate them and celebrate and pray for them. Amen. God bless you. We'll see you downstairs.