The Parable of The Sower

Well, if you'd open up your Bibles to Matthew chapter 13, as you're turning there, I think

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

it's very important for you to know that last Sunday in our sermon, I launched a new men's

cologne.

I'm not sure if you remember that.

It's called Weekend Warrior.

It's a cologne made by men and for men.

It's one-third chainsaw exhaust extract, one-third wood chip extract, and one-third male sweat.

Call it musk.

Well, after the service last week, I went downstairs to the fellowship hall and I was sitting next

to two sisters in Christ and they had their own fragrance they wanted to launch.

And it was not a perfume.

It's a disinfectant called Be Gone Weekend Warrior.

A disinfectant made by women for men.

Last week, I sought to prime the pump of your heart to receive the parables of the kingdom

of heaven from Matthew chapter 13.

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

There are eight parables in Matthew 13 and they're all structured in a very special way.

It's like an arrow.

And so the first four parables, it's like the 45 degree angle down in the front of an arrow

and the last four parables are a 45 degree angle up in an arrow and they're all pointing

to the same thing in 34 through 43 and that's Jesus.

All the parables are about Jesus and specifically how we are to respond to Him.

And so this morning, we're going to be looking at the first parable, the parable of the sower or the parable of the soils.

And what we're going to do is we're going to look at the three sections that Matthew lays out for us.

There's the parable of the soils itself in verses 3 through 9.

And then there's the explanation for why Jesus speaks in parables in verses 10 through 17.

And then in verses 18 through 23, Jesus comes all the way back and explains for us what the parable of the sower means.

And just to let you know, that's a bit unusual.

When you have Jesus explaining one of His own parables, it's like gold.

It's awesome.

And He has something to say to all of us today.

I just want to remind you of a couple of other things.

A parable is a teaching tool in which Jesus will paint a very vivid picture of an everyday experience.

And this morning, it's going to be farming, sowing.

And He's painting that picture in order to make a spiritual point.

To reveal the truth of the kingdom of heaven.

And it calls for a response.

And so, the response begins now.

Here's what I'd like you to start thinking about.

As we make our way through the parable of the soils,

would you start asking yourself this question?

Which soil best characterizes my heart?

That's where I want you to start in right now.

Be asking that question as we walk through this passage.

And so, let's look now at the parable of the soils.

In verses 3 through 9, Jesus actually speaks the parable.

Read with me.

Let's start in verse 1.

That same day, Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.

And great crowds gathered about Him so that He got into a boat and sat down.

And the whole crowd stood on the beach.

And He told them many things in parable, saying,

A sower went out to sow.

And as He sowed, some seeds fell along the path.

And the birds came and devoured them.

Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil.

And immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil.

But when the sun rose, they were scorched.

And since they had no root, they withered away.

Other seeds fell among thorns.

And the thorns grew up and choked them.

Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain.

Some a hundred fold.

Some sixty.

Some thirty.

He who has ears, let him hear.

So here's the background.

Jesus shows up on this beach on the Sea of Galilee.

And He takes a seat, which was the normal way rabbis would teach in that day.

But what happens is a huge throng of people come.

And He's out of space.

So He takes a step back.

He gets into this thirty-foot Galilean kind of fishing boat.

And the crowds kind of throng in.

And they're all standing on the beach.

So what you have here is a natural amphitheater.

And so Jesus starts to speak to them in parables.

And in verses three and four, He starts with this sower.

Now, if you don't know what a sower is, a sower is basically a farmer.

And everybody on the beach on that moment would know what Jesus is talking about.

Because either they were a sower themselves, they were a farmer.

Or they sowed kind of part-time, they were a farmer part-time.

Or they knew someone who was a farmer.

And so here's Jesus the carpenter in a fishing boat talking about kind of farming.

And everybody got it.

He is pointing, painting a picture of an everyday experience to make a spiritual point.

To bring some things out about the kingdom of heaven.

And so, what is this sower doing?

In verse four, we see that this sower is sowing his seed.

And back in the day, what would happen is a farmer, a sower, would have a basket with all the same seed in the basket.

And he would walk out on his plot.

And he would take the seed.

And he would scatter it in a very controlled manner.

And so he would scatter the seed all along his plot.

And you can imagine that seed, though falling on good soil, would fall on all other kinds of soils as well.

And that's where Jesus wants to draw our focus.

He wants us to show us four different kinds of soils.

And so let's look at verse number four.

We read, and as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path.

Now, the path would be a compacted soil.

Paths would be all around these farmer plots, even through them.

And so this is where people walked.

You had to get to the quick and save of the day.

You took a path.

You walked.

And so it would be the equivalent of if you're driving out 50 and you're driving by one of those big cornfields.

You know those side paths that the farmers drive their heavy equipment on?

You can't grow anything on those because it's compacted.

It's hard soil.

It's the soil of the path.

And what Jesus brings out is not only is it hard, it doesn't produce anything.

The seed falls on it, and you see what happens?

Birds of the air come and devour it.

It doesn't yield anything.

It doesn't produce anything.

That's the first soil condition.

It's the compacted soil.

Now look at verse 5.

This is the second soil.

Other seeds fell on rocky ground.

Now, when you hear rocky ground, I'm not in your brain, so I can't see what your brain is thinking right now.

But I'm guessing you're thinking, okay, there's a lot of big rocks on the ground.

Or there's this soil mixed with these little kind of small rocks.

That's not what Jesus is talking about.

That's not what Jesus is talking about.

In Galilee right now, there is this limestone bedrock that oftentimes lies within about an inch or a half inch underneath the soil.

So there's this very thin veneer of soil over this limestone bedrock.

So it's a concealed bedrock soil, if that makes any sense.

And so what you can imagine as a result of that is it's very shallow soil.

And so if you read for the rest on verse 5, other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil.

And immediately they sprang up since they had no depth of soil.

But when the sun rose, they were scorched.

And since they had no root, they withered away.

And so here the seed is received in very thin soil.

And the result is a quick growth only to be withered and scorched by the rising sun.

So let me ask you, what's the yield?

There's no yield.

It doesn't produce anything.

Let's go on to the next soil.

Soil condition number 3.

We see that in verse 7.

Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.

So this is the soil of competing growths.

And so apparently, the sower sows the seed.

It falls into some good soil.

It's received.

It even starts to grow.

But alongside of it is growing some thorns.

Now, I don't know about you, but we had a house where we had a raspberry patch.

You know those crazy thorns?

There's no way you can plant anything.

You need napalm to get rid of raspberry bushes.

There's no growing anything.

And so what Jesus is pointing to here is this, oh yeah, the seed fell on pretty good soil, but as it started growing up, it got choked out by other things growing in the same soil.

What's the yield?

There's no yield.

It doesn't produce anything.

It has a little growth, but it gets choked out.

Now look at verse 8.

The fourth soil.

The quote unquote good soil.

The choice soil.

Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain.

Some 100 fold, some 60, some 30.

So this choice soil is the soil that the seed grows in.

And it grows and produces a yield.

So this soil must not have been compacted.

Somehow it was loosened up.

Somehow this soil wasn't a shallow soil.

That there wasn't any bedrock underneath.

There was depth to the soil.

There was room for rooting.

And this soil must have been cleared.

Because there's no thorns to be found.

This is prepared soil.

This is soil that had been readied.

This is soil that was waiting for the seed.

This is the soil that produces.

Produces a yield.

The first three soils, the compacted soil, right?

The just under the surface soil,

that bedrock soil,

and then that weedy soil,

they didn't produce anything.

But the good soil,

it produces a yield.

100 fold, which was an amazing yield.

60 fold, which is a pretty good yield.

30 years, it was like,

yeah, that's okay.

But the point is,

it all yields.

So, we have four different soils,

but we have two different yields.

One produces grain in much abundance.

The other three don't produce anything.

Look at verse 9.

After speaking this parable to the crowds,

Jesus says something very interesting.

He says,

He who has ears,

let him hear.

Is he doing a mic check?

Hey, can you guys hear me out there?

He's not doing a mic check.

He's saying something much different.

He's saying,

if you can understand

what I'm saying

about the kingdom right now,

take it to heart.

Receive it.

And so what Jesus is doing here,

He's calling for a response.

And He seems to be very subtly

making a distinction.

Apparently, in Jesus' minds,

there are people who have ears

but can't hear.

And there are people

who have a different set of ears

that can hear.

And we're left asking the question,

well, what accounts for the difference?

Why can some people hear

but not hear

and produce nothing

where there's other people

who hear, receive,

and they produce a yield?

What accounts for the difference?

Well, that's where Jesus goes next.

So we've looked at the parables

themselves, 3 through 9.

Now we're going to look

at the next passage,

part of this passage,

10 through 17.

Read it with me.

Then the disciples came

and said to Him,

Why do you speak to them

in parables?

And He answered them,

To you it has been given

to know the secrets

of the kingdom of heaven,

but to them it has not been given.

For to the one who has,

more will be given,

and he will have an abundance,

but from the one who has not,

even what he has

will be taken away from him.

This is why I speak to them

in parables,

because seeing they do not see,

and hearing they do not hear,

nor do they understand.

Indeed, in their case,

the prophecy of Isaiah

is fulfilled that says,

You will indeed hear,

but never understand,

and you will indeed see,

but never perceive.

For this people's heart

has grown dull,

and with their ears

they can barely hear,

and their eyes they have closed,

lest they should see

with their eyes,

and hear with their ears,

and understand with their heart,

in turn,

and I would heal them.

But blessed are your eyes,

disciples,

for they see,

and your ears,

for they hear.

For truly, I say to you,

many prophets and righteous people

long to see what you see,

and did not see it,

and to hear what you hear,

and did not hear it.

There is a lot of seeing

and hearing going on here.

Here's what Jesus is doing.

Jesus just shares this parable.

His disciples quickly realized,

hey man,

He's changing His M.O. here.

He's preaching in parables now.

What's up with that?

And so you've got to imagine,

here's the crowd on the beach,

here's this 30-foot

kind of Galilean fishing boat,

and apparently,

the disciples are on the boat with Him,

and they take kind of an aside.

They're like,

Jesus,

why are You speaking to them

in parables?

And in this kind of little huddle

on the boat,

Jesus explains why.

And He explains why,

and He's explaining to us too.

He's helping us to understand

why some respond one way

and others respond another way.

So, in verse 10,

the disciples say,

why do you speak to them

to the crowds in parables?

And look where Jesus begins

in verse 11.

Jesus starts by saying,

because there's a difference

between you two.

You guys have something

that they don't.

Look at verse 11.

To you it has been given

to know the secrets

of the kingdom of heaven,

but to them it has not been given.

To you it's been given,

but to them it's not been given.

Jesus starts by saying,

there's a difference

between the two of you.

I'm speaking to them in parables

because there's a difference

between the two of you.

Do you notice

what makes the difference?

In verse 11,

I just want you to kind of focus in

on those two words,

to know.

To you it has been given

to know the secrets

of the kingdom of heaven.

You've been given an understanding.

You've been given an insight.

You've been given something

that you couldn't figure out yourself,

nor could they on their own.

You've been given something.

Jesus is saying that

they've been given a secret.

What have they been given?

The secrets of the kingdom of heaven.

Now when you see the word secret

being used by Jesus here,

and later Paul will talk about secrets.

What it is,

is not some kind of unknown mystery.

Rather,

it is truth that is hidden

from sinful minds

that is revealed by God's grace

to those who He prepares.

And so Jesus is saying,

to you it has been given

a God-given knowledge

of the secrets

of the kingdom of heaven.

I love planning surprises

for my wife.

I just love it.

I love doing things

in secret.

Whether it's buying a gift

or planning a little trip

for the two of us,

I just love doing it.

But here's the deal.

about two weeks in,

I can't keep the secret.

I get so excited.

I get so,

I want her to share

in this knowledge

that I am keeping

hidden from her.

And so I usually

spill the beans like this.

I know something

you don't know.

And after 21 and a half years

of marriage,

Jenny knows that means

in about three days

he's going to spill the beans.

And at that time,

I make known to her,

I reveal the truth

of this hidden secret

to her.

Jesus is talking about

when God gives

to know the secrets,

it's revelation.

God is giving eyes

to see.

God is giving ears

to hear.

He's giving understanding.

Not of unknowable mysteries,

but of the truth

of the kingdom

of heaven.

Like what?

What kind of secrets

are we talking about?

Well, the kingdom of heaven

is not for the rich,

but for the poor.

The poor in spirit.

The kingdom of heaven

is not for the healthy,

but for those who know

that they are sin-sick.

The kingdom of heaven

is not about your resume

of good deeds

that you can lay out

before God

and say,

look how wonderful I am.

The kingdom of heaven

is about your heart

for God.

It's about worship.

The kingdom of heaven

is not just limited

to Jews.

The kingdom of heaven

is open to Jews

and Gentiles.

That's a secret

that's being made known.

The kingdom of heaven

is not some

political kingdom

that uses political

muscle and military

might

to force an agenda.

The kingdom of heaven

conquers sinful,

rebellious hearts

through grace

of a suffering servant.

The king who inaugurated

the kingdom

is not a Caesar

on a white war horse

who enters in

leading legions

of ripped,

ready-to-battle warriors.

sinners.

No, Jesus.

It's Palm Sunday today.

Jesus came into Jerusalem

on a donkey.

And He came in

knowing that He was

not to be served,

but to serve

and to give His life

as a ransom for many.

The king of the kingdom

of heaven, Jesus,

was born in a backwater town.

He came in weakness,

not in human strength.

The secret of the kingdom

is that it's upside down

to the kingdom

of the world.

And God gives eyes

to see it.

In fact,

Jesus is saying

it's only by God's grace

that you can see

the upside-down kingdom

of Jesus.

That's why Jesus emphasizes

that word given

in verses 11 and 12.

To you it has been given

to know the secrets

of the kingdom.

It's not from themselves.

It was given

from someone else

to them.

And for these

unbelieving crowds,

to them it had not

been given.

When you hear

the word given,

you need to be thinking

grace.

Undeserved.

Unearned.

Even.

Unable.

God's grace

does something

that we can't do.

We see it in Ephesians 2.

We are dead in our sins,

but God in His mercy,

He made us alive

together with Christ.

By grace,

you have been saved.

Made alive.

And here,

we see God's grace

is enabling grace,

giving a knowledge

of the secrets

of the kingdom of heaven.

So what Jesus is saying here

is the only way

a sinner can know

the secrets of the kingdom

of heaven is if God

by His grace

gives them this knowledge.

He's preparing the soil.

He's getting it ready

to receive the word.

So what a parable does

is a parable simultaneously

hides the kingdom

from the heart of hearts

and reveals it

to those whose hearts

by God's grace

have been prepared

to receive it.

It's the good soil.

So what we're saying here

is that the kingdom

is revealed

by God's grace

and that helps you understand

and know what Jesus

is talking about

in verse 12

because in verse 12

you're like,

what are you saying?

For the one who has,

more of what will be given?

And he will have an abundance,

but from the one who has not,

even what he has

will be taken.

What is he talking about?

He who has been given

to know the secrets

of the kingdom of heaven

will be given more.

And those who have not been given

the knowledge of the secret

of the kingdom of heaven

by God's grace,

what they have

will be taken away.

It's a kind of judgment.

So Jesus begins his explanation

by pointing out

the difference

between the disciples

and the unresponsive crowds.

The difference,

Jesus says,

hey,

God has opened your eyes up

by his grace

so that you can receive

what I'm talking about

in parables,

but to them

it's not been given.

And the parables

are the vertical blinds

that are getting it done.

In verse 13,

we see that he says,

this is why I speak

in parables to them

because seeing they do not see,

hearing they do not hear,

nor do they understand.

It hasn't been given to them.

He speaks in parables

to hide the kingdom

from those with hardened hearts.

But in verses 14-15,

we see more.

He quotes Isaiah 6, 9-10.

The unresponsiveness

of the Jewish crowds

at that time

fulfilled Isaiah 6, 9, and 10.

You will indeed hear

but never understand

and you will indeed see

but never perceive.

For this people's heart

has grown dull

and with their ears

they can barely hear

and their eyes

they have closed

lest they should see

with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their hearts

and turn

and I would heal them.

This is Jesus

speaking to his disciples

on that boat

with the crowds

mingling around.

He's saying

they haven't been given

eyes to see.

And it's a fulfillment

of Isaiah 6, 9, and 10.

And I just want you

to remind you

someone greater

than Isaiah is here.

If Isaiah is preaching

hardened Israel's hearts

the preaching of the parables

by the Prince of Peace

would not just hide the kingdom

but it would further hand

hardened hearts over.

It's a kind of judgment.

The parables hide the kingdom

and hand over the hardened hearts.

But not all Jews in Jesus' day

were spiritually blind and deaf.

Look at verse 16.

He turns from the crowds

and he turns to his disciples

and he says

but blessed are your eyes

for they see

and your eyes

for they hear.

He comes back

hey

God's grace

has lit you up.

You've been given

a knowledge

not your own

from outside of you.

It's God's kindness to you.

You're blessed

by that.

And so

for the hardened hearts

a parable serves

to hide the truth

and to further

harden their hearts.

But for those

who have hearts

that God's grace

has prepared

a parable reveals

the truth of the kingdom

to them.

And they're blessed by it.

And you know what further?

They bear fruit.

Just one more

couple of things.

Verse 17

For truly I say to you

many prophets

and righteous people

long to see what you see

and do not see it

and to hear what you hear

and did not hear it.

You know what Jesus

is saying there?

He's saying

you know what

there's prophets

back in the Old Testament

and righteous people too

that were just waiting

for this time.

They were waiting

to hear what I'm telling

you all these people.

They longed for it.

But they never heard it.

You got to hear it.

Blessed are you.

I just want you

to see one more thing.

We see in verse 11

it's God who initiates

by His grace.

He gives insight

into the kingdom of heaven.

And then in verse 12

I believe

no excuse me

13

no excuse me

14

He says

these people on the beach

they fulfill Isaiah 6

9 and 10.

And then in verse 17

He says

hey many prophets

and righteous people

long to see what you see.

Are you getting the sense

of what Jesus is saying here?

God is sovereign

and in control

of all things.

He's reigning over everything.

He even gives people

insight

into the secrets

of the kingdom of heaven.

It's by His grace.

He's sovereign over all.

So why is Jesus speaking

in parables?

Parables?

Well parables

are the vertical blinds

that hide

and harden

the unbelieving

and reveal

and bless

those whose hearts

God has prepared.

And those

whose God

has prepared

their hearts

they bear fruit.

So here's what

this means for us.

Let's say

we're out

on the street

in your neighborhood

and you're sharing

the gospel with people.

You've got people

you love.

You're seeking

to see them

become Christians.

You're sharing

the kingdom with them.

You're telling

about King Jesus

and they don't

give a rip.

Well we rest

in knowing

that God

is in control.

We don't need

to jump

and start asking

the question

is there something

wrong with the message?

We're just going

to rest and know

okay God

now's not the time.

We're going to

trust you.

But what happens

if as we're out there

preaching the gospel

people start

to respond?

They say yes

I want to become

a follower of Jesus.

Well we rejoice.

We rejoice

in that God

by His grace

would open up

their eyes.

So this morning

in this baptism

we rejoice

that Kelly

and Dan

and Megan

and me

and if you're

a believer

you that God

would open your eyes

up by His grace.

He didn't wait

for you to invite Him.

He initiated

that in you

by His grace.

Here's what this

means for us.

In our evangelism

this produces

resolve.

The effect is

okay

we're going to

move forward

we're going to

share the gospel

with people

people are going

to respond

in different ways

we're trusting God

to light people up

to give them

insight into the

kingdom of heaven.

we'll trust Him

for that

but it gives us

confidence

moving forward.

We can trust

our God.

This section

in 10-17

gives us

a little key

to understanding

what Jesus

means when He

says

if you have

hears

hear.

Because now

look at the

first word

in verse 18

He says

to His disciples

hear then

the parables

of the sower.

He's saying

to His disciples

okay guys

understand the

parable.

God has given

you

to know

the secrets.

Let me explain

it to you.

And so

He starts off

with that word

hear

in verse 18

He's saying

understand this.

And then in

verse 19

He says

when anyone

hears the word

of the kingdom

and does not

understand it

see what He's

doing?

Back in the

parable

Jesus talked

about a sower

sowing seed.

And what Jesus

is doing here

is He's making

the connection

between a sower

sowing seed

and Him

sowing the seed

of the kingdom

of heaven.

the word

of the kingdom.

It's like seed

that we scatter.

When Jesus

spoke in

parables of

the kingdom

He was

sowing

seed

of the kingdom.

He was

evangelizing.

And what we

see here

in the remaining

of this

explanation

is we see

how the word

of the kingdom

is received

and then

responded to.

So let's

look at these

four heart

conditions.

And notice

it's all about

the heart.

Look at the

end of verse

19.

Middle of it.

The evil one

comes and snatches

away what has

been sown

in his heart.

And then if you

look at 14

or actually 15

for this people's

heart has

grown dull.

And if you look

further down and

understand where

their heart

turned, then I

would heal them.

Jesus is very

concerned about

the heart.

He wants your

heart.

Your heart,

according to

the Jewish

mind, would

be the seat

of your thinking,

of your feeling,

and of your

will.

What controls

your heart

controls your

life.

It's from your

heart that you

worship.

It's from your

heart that you

live for things.

And so Jesus

is making the

connection for us

that when he

talks about the

soils,

he's talking

about the

condition of

people's hearts.

So let's look

at these

conditions.

Condition

number one,

verse 19,

we read this,

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.

What Jesus

is saying

is that

this first

heart condition

is the

calloused

heart.

I'm guessing

if you talk

to a person

about this

about Jesus

that you're

speaking the

gospel to

them and

it just

kind of

bounces off,

they're like,

well,

I don't

know what

you're

talking about.

They haven't

been given

eyes to see

it yet,

hearts to

receive it.

there's no

yield in

this person's

life.

And furthermore,

we read what

happens.

The devil

comes and

snatches it

away.

We're in a

battle.

But God is

reigning over

it all.

When we

encounter

someone with

a heart

that's

callous to

the gospel,

you don't

need to take

it personally.

What you

need to

understand is

that, okay,

God hasn't

moved in

this person's

heart yet.

And here's

where you go

with that.

You pray.

You say,

oh, Lord,

would you,

by your

grace as

you did

with me,

would you

open this

person's

heart to

the gospel?

Would you

give them

eyes?

Would you

give them

ears?

Would you

give them

understanding

so that they

can see

and hear

and respond

and you

would heal

them?

We go to

our God.

heart

condition

number two,

we see in

verses 20

and 21,

as for what

was sown

on rocky

ground,

this is the

one who

hears the

word and

immediately

receives it

with joy,

yet he

does not

root in

it,

he has

no root

in himself,

but endures

for a while,

and when

tribulation

or persecution

arises on

account of

the word,

immediately

he falls

away.

So,

remember the

soil of the

shallow bedrock

right underneath

the limestone

bedrock,

Jesus is

saying that

pointed to

a particular

kind of

person.

That when

you preach

the gospel

to them,

they receive

it and

they're like,

oh yeah,

I'm going

to respond,

woohoo,

I'm going

to be a

follower of

Jesus.

And they

start following

Jesus,

and then they

start catching

heat for being

a follower of

Jesus.

The very

word that they

think that they

believed,

they start

catching

heat for.

Remember the

sun that

rose,

scorched?

It's the

heat of

persecution

and tribulation

for the

word.

You see

what happens

in the

text?

They fall

away.

It's the

word that we

get,

we get the

word scandal

from that

word.

It can be

very confusing.

Look what

happens.

I want you

to see the

word immediately

in verse

20.

As for what

was sown

on rocky

ground,

this is the

one who

hears the

word and

immediately

receives it

with joy,

yet has no

root in

himself,

but endures

for a while,

and when the

tribulation or

persecution arises

on account of

the word,

immediately he

falls away.

Immediately he

receives it,

he catches

some heat,

and immediately

he falls away.

Do you know

what that means?

God hadn't

opened up their

eyes.

They didn't

have true

knowledge.

They weren't

really saved.

They had an

experience, but

that's about it.

And when they

experienced the

heat of

persecution, that

clarified things

real quick.

If someone

professes to be a

Christian with joy,

and at the first

time they suffer

on account of the

kingdom, they pack

it up and say,

I'm done with

Jesus, it shows

that they were

never truly a

believer.

That they never

were truly

converted.

It was a false

profession.

There's a bunch

of guys who are

studying the book

of Hebrews on

Saturday mornings

here, and guys,

if you're listening,

I just wanted to

let you know

something.

You're coming up

on Hebrews 6.

It's either this

coming Saturday

or the next

Saturday.

And the

parables of the

soils will help

you to understand

it.

When someone

claims to have

become a

Christian, do

you know what?

Time in

suffering will

prove whether

their faith is

genuine.

Let's look at the

third condition,

heart condition.

Oh, by the way,

was there any

yield?

No fruit.

It shot up,

it withered away,

no fruit.

Heart condition

number three.

We read in

verse 22.

As for what was

sown among the

thorns, this is the

one who hears the

word, but the cares

of the world and the

deceitfulness of

riches choke the

word, and it

proves unfruitful.

So, in the

parable, those

thorns that grew

out of the

soil alongside

of the word,

you know what it's

pointing to, Jesus

is saying?

There are some

people who are

going to receive

the word, and

there's going to

be what appears

to be some

growth, but out

of the same

heart is

growing

competing

loves.

And those

competing loves

for things that

are not Christ or

His kingdom, they

will choke out

the word.

And what are the

competing loves?

Jesus tells us.

He says, but the

cares of the

world.

What are the

cares of the

world?

The cares of the

world are the

things that the

world cares about.

What the world

values above all

things.

And there are a

lot of warnings in

our Bibles about

this.

1 John 2, 15.

Don't love the

world.

It talks about

the desires of

the flesh, the

desires of the

eyes, the pride

of life.

It's not from the

Father, it's from

the world.

If there's someone

who professes to be

a Christian, and

they're loving things

of the world more

than Jesus, it is

going to choke the

word in them to no

yield.

And he goes on to

talk about the

deceitfulness of

riches as another

weed that will

choke out the good

seed.

There's a lot your

Bible has to say

about the deceitfulness

of riches.

Jesus in Luke 12

tells us to take

care, be on guard.

Why?

Because a man's

life does not

consist in the

abundance of his

possessions.

Christians.

It's a lie.

1 Timothy 6, 9

through 10.

Strong, strong

warnings about love

for money.

It's a trap.

Matthew 19, 22.

There's this guy that

came to Jesus and

said, what must I do

to inherit eternal

life?

And he was a

wealthy guy.

And Jesus says, go

sell everything you

have, give to the

poor, and come

follow me, you'll

treasure in heaven.

And this guy walked

away sad because he

loved the treasure of

earth more.

And of course,

there's Matthew 26.

Judas betrayed

Jesus for four months

of pain.

The deceitfulness of

riches.

Jesus.

What Jesus says here

is that these competing

loves choke out the

word and it proves

unfruitful.

There's no yield.

No yield.

When people profess to

be Christians, but

their loves for the

world and for riches

go unchanged.

It chokes out the

word and it shows

that they're

unfruitful and that

the penny never

dropped.

This too is a kind

of a false

profession.

Their true loves

choke out love for

Christ in the

kingdom.

They may have heard

the word and even

been sympathetic to

it.

They may even have a

great worshipful

experience.

But their cares for

this world and the

riches, it proves to

be what they really

love.

It's not Jesus.

Jesus is saying that

it's a false

profession.

And for those of us

living in the West,

it's a stern warning,

isn't it?

It's not.

We live in abundance.

The last soil,

heart condition number

four, is the choice

soil.

It points to a heart

that's been given

understanding from

verse 11.

We read this.

23.

As for what was

sown on good soil,

this is the one who

hears the word and

understands it.

He's been given

understanding.

And it indeed bears

fruit and yields.

In one case,

a hundredfold.

In another,

sixty.

In another,

thirty.

The one who hears

the word and

understands it

produces a yield.

Their life has been

changed.

The other three

heart conditions,

no change.

the one God gives

this insight by His

grace into the

kingdom.

They see the

gospel for what it

is.

They produce a yield.

They produce fruit.

And the question that

you may be asking

right now is,

well, what kind of

fruit?

What does this yield

look like?

Well, we don't have

to go any further

than the passage.

This heart,

this choice heart,

is a contrite heart.

It's turned over.

Deep soil.

Cleared of other

loves.

Receives the word.

A contrite heart

will receive the word

and it will

persevere

when the heat

rises.

Someone who has

received the word

and believes in it,

they will endure

tribulation

and persecution.

And they will

endure it

while blessing

the name of Jesus.

A contrite heart

will not only

persevere in

hardship,

a contrite heart,

a God-given

heart,

will not

get choked

out by

other loves.

But their

love for Christ

and their love

for His kingdom,

it will crowd

out and

choke

out

all

other

claims.

We'll be

less and less

controlled by

the cares of

this world.

We'll be

less and less

deceived

by riches.

One's life

does not

consist of

the abundance

of his

possessions.

Here's what

happens when

someone gets

radically changed

by the gospel

of Jesus.

When God's

grace shows up

and changes

them.

The things

they once

saw and

valued,

they become

opportunities to

make much of

their king.

So,

what was once

the things I was

running after

cares for this

world.

If I've got

any possessions,

I'm going to use

it for the glory

of Jesus.

Money,

we use it,

it's entrusted

to us,

we're now stewards

of it for the glory

of Christ,

the advancement

of his kingdom.

All that he has

given us,

we become stewards

of in order to

advance his kingdom

for the glory

of his name.

We're not

controlled by

other loves.

our love for

Christ puts

these other

loves in their

place.

A contrite heart

will obey

Jesus in all

that he commands.

We live for

Jesus now.

We live for

his kingdom.

When Jesus

is raised from

the dead,

we're going to

see this next

week on Easter

Sunday.

When Jesus

is raised from

the dead,

he then goes

and commands

all of his

disciples everywhere

to go make

disciples of the

nations.

Now, you may be

a Christian in

this sanctuary

and you say,

yes, I agree

with that.

Great.

But what Jesus

is saying is,

I want more

than your

agreement.

I want you to

bear the fruit

of prioritizing

your life and

actually making

disciples of the

nations.

That's what he's

called us to.

We live for him

now.

When our grace

awakened hearts

compel us,

it compels us

to obey him

in all things.

It moves from

more than

agreement to

now I

prioritize.

My life

changes because

he's changed

me.

When we

proclaim Jesus

and his

kingdom,

we're going to

get a variety

of responses.

But we need

not be surprised.

Jesus has

prepared us.

But we also

know this.

God in

his sovereign

grace continues

to pour out

his kindness

on sinners

to open

their eyes,

to give them

ears to hear,

to give them

understanding so

that they can

receive the good

news of the

kingdom and

produce a

bumper crop

of holiness,

fruit in keeping

with repentance.

At the

beginning,

I asked you

to be asking

yourself a

question.

What soil

best characterizes

your heart?

The compacted

soil?

The callous

heart?

Is it the

concealed layer

of bedrock?

That

cursory heart

that moves

real quick,

receives an

excitement,

and just falls

away just as

fast?

The competing

weeds soil?

The compromised

heart?

Is that where

your heart

is?

Or the

choice soil?

The

contrite

heart?

The heart

that's been

changed by

God's grace?

Which one

best characterizes

you?

And no matter

where you are,

do you know

what you can

do?

You can cry

out to the

God who

gives all

grace and

you can cry

out to him

and say,

oh God,

give me a

contrite heart,

a heart that

bears more

and more

fruit for

the glory

of your

name.

Let me

pray.

God in

heaven,

we ask that

you would do

a work in

our midst in

which you

would pour

out your

grace.

Give us

eyes to see

more and

more what

you value

above all

and that we

would value

it too.

God,

we pray for

those in

the room

who may

now realize

that they

are not

good soil,

that they

need you

and that

you're calling

them to

you.

God,

would you

today draw

them to

yourself?

Thank you

for giving us

eyes to see

and it's in

the name of

Jesus we

pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.