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Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to Matthew chapter 13. Matthew chapter 13. I'll just begin reading in verse 
1. On the same day, Jesus went out 
of the house and sat by the sea, and great multitudes were gathered 
together to him, so that he got into a boat and sat, and the 
whole multitude stood on the shore. Then he spoke many things 
to them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went out to sow, 
and as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside, and the birds 
came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places where 
they did not have much earth, and they immediately sprang up 
because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up, 
they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered 
away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and 
choked them. But others fell on good ground 
and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who 
has ears to hear, let him hear. And the disciples came and said 
to him, Why do you speak to them in parables? He answered and 
said to them, Because it has been given to you to know the 
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more 
will be given, and he will have abundance. But whoever does not 
have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore 
I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, 
and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in 
them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled which says, hearing 
you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not 
perceive. For the hearts of this people 
have grown dull, their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes 
they have closed. Lest they should see with their 
eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with 
their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them. But blessed 
are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 
For assuredly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men 
desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear 
what you hear, and did not hear it. Therefore, hear the parable 
of the sower. When anyone hears the word of 
the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes 
and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who 
receives seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed 
on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately 
receives it with joy. Yet he has no root in himself, 
but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution 
arises because of the Word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received 
seed among the thorns is he who hears the Word. And the cares 
of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word, and 
he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the 
good ground is he who hears the Word and understands it, who 
indeed bears fruit and produces, some a hundredfold, some sixty, 
and some thirty. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, we thank you for your Word, and we pray for the ministry 
of your Holy Spirit now. We confess our sin to you. We 
pray for forgiveness. We ask that you would wash us 
and purify us in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, 
God, we pray for Audrey Penner. We just commit her to you and 
to the word of your grace. We pray that all would go well 
for her on Thursday. She undergoes surgery. We just 
pray that you would bless this little one and bless Amanda and 
Rick as well. We also pray for Abigail Hall. 
We just commit this precious one into your gracious care. 
We ask that you would watch over her and grant her health and 
strength and growth. We pray that you would just be 
with Claudia, that you would uphold her. and encourage her 
heart and cause her to rejoice in the goodness and in the kindness 
and in the constant provision of our gracious God. And we pray 
these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, we find 
ourselves in the third discourse in the Gospel according to Matthew, 
and specifically here what Jesus is doing is teaching parables 
concerning the Kingdom of Heaven. Last week we looked at this parable 
of the sower stated in verses 1 to 9, and then we noticed the 
purpose of parables given in verses 10 to 17. And now we come 
this morning to the parable of the sower explained, wherein 
the Lord Jesus Christ tells His disciples specifically what He 
means by all of the particulars that He has set before them in 
this parable of the sower. So that's the context, that's 
the situation. The primary emphasis is to explain 
the rejection of our Lord Jesus Christ in the context he ministered 
unto. When we come to this parable 
there is an exhortation. We ought to take heed to how 
we hear to be sure, but we also ought to see how it explains 
the situation facing our Lord Jesus. He inaugurated the kingdom 
of heaven He went about doing good, He went about preaching 
and healing and all those things, but we see Him opposed, we see 
Him despised, we see Him rejected, we see Him written off as it 
were. And so these parables of the 
Kingdom are given so that we understand what man's response 
is with reference to the Kingdom. Not everybody receives the truth. 
Not everybody bows to the Lord Christ. Not everybody believes 
the Gospel. Not everybody bears fruit, some 
a hundredfold and some sixty and some thirty. But there are 
those types of hearers that come into contact with the Word of 
God and then reject it and despise it and forsake it. So the parables 
describe what happens with reference to the Kingdom of God as it has 
come. So I want to look at the parable 
of the sower explained under three considerations. First, 
the audience. Secondly, the command to hear. 
And thirdly, the parable explained. Notice first the audience, verse 
18. Therefore, hear the parable of 
the sower. He is speaking to his disciples. This is an illustration of what 
he has taught in verses 10 to 17. He states the parable of 
the sower, then his disciples come to him and they say, why 
do you speak to the multitudes in parables? It is there that 
Jesus highlights the predestination of God. It's there that Jesus 
highlights the sovereignty of God and the electing purposes 
of God. He says to the disciples, it 
has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom. But to those 
outside, it has not been given. It is by sovereign grace alone 
that any of us here today understand anything concerning the kingdom 
of God itself. It is by grace, it's not by our 
deeds, it's not by our intellectual attainments, it's not because 
we're wiser or smarter or somehow better than the rank and file. 
But Jesus says very specifically in verse 11, "...because it has 
been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven." 
And here is an illustration in verses 18 to 23, He explains 
the parable of the sower to them, to the disciples. He is highlighting 
these secret things on behalf of his people. France says, the 
emphatic you therefore, with which the explanation opens, 
links it closely with verses 11 and 16 and 17, where it is 
you, the disciples of verse 10, who have been given the privilege 
of knowing the secrets in explicit distinction from them, the crowds. And you, who have the privilege 
of seeing and hearing what even God's special people in the past 
have not been able to perceive. So you've got to see, that's 
why we have this separation between the statement of the parable 
and the explanation of the parable. It serves to illustrate the purpose 
for parables. to educate and to further instruct 
the disciples concerning the mysteries of the kingdom and 
to hide these truths from the wise and prudent. Allah chapter 
11 verses 25 to 30. Now notice, secondly, since Christ 
has said to them that they are a privileged people, verse 11, 
because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of 
the kingdom of heaven. He says they are a blessed people. 
Notice in verses 16 and 17. But blessed are your eyes, for 
they see, and your ears, for they hear. Now because we are 
privileged, because we've been blessed, because we've received 
these things, now Christ tells them, pay attention. Listen to 
the parable of the sower. Understand the intricacies, understand 
the details, understand the truth of Scripture. In other words, 
the Lord Jesus Christ is saying something along these lines. 
God has saved you by His grace. God has taught you concerning 
the mysteries of the kingdom. God now wants you to use your 
mind in the acquisition of knowledge so that you are fully educated 
with reference to the kingdom of God. Specifically, in the 
context, these disciples need encouragement. They need strengthening, 
they need to be comforted, they need to be helped so that when 
Jesus goes back into heaven and they preach and teach the truth 
of the gospel, they will not be discouraged and despair when 
they meet with rejection. When they meet with hearers by 
the wayside, or stony place hearers, or thorny hearers. they won't 
get discouraged and give up. He wants the disciples of Christ 
who have been privileged, who have received these things by 
grace, to now understand and live in light of them. And certainly 
there is an application here for all of us if we, by God's 
grace, have come to know Christ. It behooves us, it is imperative, 
that we pay attention to God's Word. You know, that's the central 
aspect in this parable of the sower. When you boil everything 
down, when you get to the bottom line, when you strip away all 
of the particulars with reference to Christianity, the believer 
is defined by believing the truth of God. Right? The unbeliever 
is defined by not believing the truth of God. There is responsibility 
as believers that we respond, that we pay attention, that we 
give ear to the Word, and that we bear fruit a hundredfold, 
sixty and thirty. We actually take seriously the 
Word of God. We don't just pay it lip service, 
we don't just pick it up on Sunday when we come to church, we don't 
just look at it occasionally during the week, but we say with 
the psalmist, Thy Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might 
not sin against thee." We understand with Jesus that this is eternal 
life, that they may know Thee, the only true God in Jesus Christ 
whom Thou hast sent. This parable of the sower, what 
is central, is man's response to the Word. It is the Word of 
the Living God that is absolutely crucial for your life and mine, 
with reference to discipleship. To the degree that we value this 
Word, to the degree that we prize this Word, to the degree that 
we put this Word into practice, I submit that is the degree to 
which we know comfort, We know peace, we know stability, we 
know steadiness, and we know the ability to press through 
the trials and the tribulations and the difficulties. For those 
of you using McShane's calendar, you read this morning in Job 
1, or you'll read tonight in Job 1. What is Job's response 
when everything is taken away from him? Would it be your response? If you found out your children 
were dead, your crops were ruined, your livestock is gone, that 
your business is now belly up, would you be able to say with 
that godly man, naked I came into this world and naked I will 
return to this world? The Lord gives, the Lord takes 
away, blessed be the name of the Lord. How could Job do that 
without knowing the truth of Scripture in his heart? Believer, 
you will face trials. There are difficulties. There 
are problems in the Christian life. Jesus speaks to those eventualities 
in this selfsame parable. How do you get through that? 
It's not going to be Joel Osteen's boost in the arm. It's going 
to be the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. It's not 
going to be the latest chicken soup for the soul. It's not going 
to be veggie tales. It's not going to be sermonettes 
for Christianettes. It's going to be sound, biblical, 
manly theology. You want to say with Job, naked 
I came, naked I return, blessed be the name of God. Then you 
need to study with Job. This is what this brother is 
saying. This is what Job is saying, and this is what Jesus enjoins 
upon his disciples. Therefore, hear the parable of 
the sower. God's opened your eyes. God's 
opened your heart. Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, 
for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who 
is in heaven. The Lord Christ were to say that 
to you, blessed are you, whoever you happen to be, for flesh and 
blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven. 
What is your response to that? Well, I'm going to go lay back 
on the couch. I'm going to get the Cheetos down and watch the 
game. I'm going to go out and live 
like the devil or live like a practical atheist. No, if God has blessed 
you, if He has given you an eye to the mysteries of the Kingdom 
of God Most High, the responsibility is upon you to hear the Word. Pay attention. Take heed. Give ear. There are four types 
of hearers set forth in this particular parable, and only 
one of them means business with the Word of God. That should 
scare all of us. This is one of those passages 
this morning that we all find ourselves in. I could preach 
a sermon against abortion, and you may be a woman who's never 
had abortion. You may be a man who's never 
paid for an abortion. You may be a doctor that's never 
committed abortion. So in some sense, that sermon, 
while it is important that you understand so that you can be 
prayerful about what's going on out there, isn't really for 
you. Everybody's in Matthew 13. Every 
person in this room today is one of these types of hearers. 
It's just the case. It is reality. It is what God 
wants us to gather. There is a command to hear. Now 
notice the parable explained. First, the sower. This is Jesus. This is the Lord Christ. This 
is the one who inaugurates the kingdom of heaven, who at his 
public ministry, the beginning of his public ministry, makes 
this announcement. He says, repent for the kingdom 
of heaven is at hand. The Lord Christ comes to inaugurate 
the kingdom, the Lord Christ comes to establish the kingdom, 
the Lord Christ is the sower that sows the seed of the kingdom. 
He is the primary player in this particular parable in terms of 
the sower. Now secondarily, any man who 
preaches the gospel faithfully, any man who tells the truth as 
it is in Jesus, there is a secondary application. to that particular 
individual as well. When any man stands behind the 
pulpit, he throws out the seed of the kingdom, and he rightly 
expounds it, and he rightly applies it by the power of the Holy Spirit, 
certainly that affects, or certainly that comes under this particular 
parable. But the primary actor The primary 
player is Jesus. Therefore, hear the parable of 
the sower. We know that the seed is the 
Word of the Kingdom. It's specified in verse 19. It's 
called the Word in verses 22 and 23. As Ryle said, though, the emphasis 
in the passage, not just Ryle, but most commentators, have identified 
correctly is that the emphasis lies on how those four types 
of hearers respond to the truth. Ryle says, preaching is an ordinance 
of which the value can never be overrated in the Church of 
Christ. People need to pay attention 
to that. We have churches today that are going to celebrate Super 
Bowl Sunday. Guess what you're not going to 
get at 3.30 here, is a large screen TV with those guys hitting 
each other. Churches today don't just do 
those sorts of things on Super Bowl Sunday. It's not Super Bowl 
Sunday, it's the Lord's Day Sabbath. They've moved the pulpit to the 
side. Drama and dance and interpretative 
whatever has become the norm. Listen to Ryle. Listen to the 
Reformers. Look at the Confessions of Faith. 
Hear the Apostle Paul. I charge you. I charge you, Timothy, 
preach the word. Be ready in season and out of 
season. Royal says, preaching is an ordinance 
of which the value can never be overrated in the church of 
Christ. He says, but it should never 
be forgotten that there must not only be good preaching, but 
good hearing. You see, it's not the case that 
when we come to the sermon, now you can just sort of tune out. 
Now you can just sort of turn off your mind. Now you can kill 
an hour, or kill 50 minutes, or kill 45 minutes, or 62 minutes 
if he actually goes long. That's not what this is about. 
It's not just preaching that is needful in the church today, 
but especially in light of verse 18. Good hearing, paying attention, 
understanding that this word is everything in your life and 
mine. What does Jesus do to rebuff 
the devil in Matthew chapter 4? He says, man shall not live 
by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth 
of God. Something Israel was taught in Deuteronomy chapter 
6 to 8, but something that Israel did not do. Jesus as the true 
Israel, Jesus as the fulfillment of Israel, is able to take that 
seriously. And he says to the devil, I don't 
live on bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth 
of God. Good hearing is crucial. Now let's look at these soils. 
First, the seed by the wayside, or the hardened soil. Verse 19, 
when anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand 
it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown 
in his heart. This is he who received seed 
by the wayside. Now this isn't the raw atheist 
This isn't the God-hater that will never darken the door of 
a church. This is somebody who comes into 
contact with the truth. You have to appreciate that. 
You have to understand that. Notice, when anyone hears the 
word of the kingdom and does not understand it, that means 
he doesn't believe the gospel. He doesn't close with Christ. 
He doesn't believe on Him, who alone can save him from their 
sins. You see, that's the teaching throughout scripture. God is 
a holy God, man is a sinful rebel, and the only way that we can 
be saved is by looking unto Jesus Christ in faith. Believing the 
gospel, understanding the truth, and casting by the grace of God 
our heart, soul, mind, and strength upon Him to save us from our 
sins. This wayside hearer comes into 
contact with the Word, he does not understand it. He does not 
believe it. Calvin says this does not describe 
despisers who openly repulse God's Word. They could be here 
right now. They could be in other churches 
right now. They've come into contact with 
sowers and with seed. But as Jesus describes, They 
are hardened. They have no desire to be changed. They have no desire to submit 
to the kingdom. They have no desire to follow 
the sower himself. They really don't care one bit 
about the Word. And notice that there's a peculiar 
enemy involved in this particular transaction. I've often thought 
the devil is more likely present in a church on the Sabbath day 
than he is in other places. The devil is more likely present 
in the church than he is in other places on the Sabbath day. Look at what Christ says. Then 
the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is identified as Satan in 
Mark 4.15. He is called the devil in Luke 
8.12. And it's interesting. And those 
who have been with us for some time, I know you've heard this 
illustration. Before we moved to Woodbine, 
we lived out in the country, and I used to live across the 
street from a particular dairy farmer. This is where I learned 
about agrarianism, because I grew up in Lakewood, California. I 
didn't live across from a dairy farm there. But it always occurred 
to me, when the farmer would go out and sow his seed, I'd 
see the birds come to eat the seed. I mean, it didn't occur 
to me, it's pretty obvious. Any fool can figure out what's 
going on. But I always remember, in musing 
upon that particular situation, the language of Luke. In the 
parallel passage in Luke, specifically in Luke 8.12, it says that the 
devil comes and snatches away what was sown in the heart, or 
in his heart, lest they believe and be saved. There's a particular 
task that the devil has. That separates him from the birds. Remember, these are parables. 
They're alongside of stories. They are analogies, but to some 
degree or other, they do break down. The birds that were eating 
my neighbor's seed did not have a vested interest in that man 
going bankrupt. The birds that were eating my 
neighbor's seed did not want to see this man lose his house, 
and lose his farm, and lose everything that he had worked very hard 
to build. The birds simply went to fill their bird bellies with 
the bird seed that they found in the farmer's field. You need 
to understand that when you come in and you actually hear preaching, 
the devil doesn't want you to hear and believe and be saved. The devil doesn't want you to 
close with Christ. Children, you may think, well, 
you know, it's not really that powerful or that real of a situation. Never kid yourself. There are 
spiritual forces at work in the unseen places. Young people and 
teenagers. Isn't it interesting that when 
somebody starts to come under the sway of the gospel, I heard 
of an account this past week, somebody's actually interested 
in the Bible, they're interested in the truth, and somebody then 
comes to challenge the truth of Scripture. Is that accidental? Does that just happen? No, there's 
spiritual forces at work. It's not just that the devil 
wants to eat the seed of the Word. He wants to snatch it from 
your heart lest you hear it, lest you believe it, and lest 
you be saved by it. There is a diabolical end in 
the Father of lies and the murderer from the beginning. Never underestimate 
that. Birds only eat the seed. They 
are not trying to destroy the farmers. The analogy does break 
down there. But understand what our Lord 
says, that this seed that falls by the wayside, it is in this 
hardened soil, it hasn't even penetrated, the devil is there 
to snatch that seed up. Now in the original context, 
this would probably describe the religious leaders in Jesus' 
day. You say, wait a minute, they were religious leaders. 
Yeah, and they plotted against Jesus, they were filled with 
rage against Jesus, and they wanted to destroy Jesus. They 
were those who he had to upbraid or indict for committing the 
unpardonable sin, according to Matthew chapter 12. They were 
those that typified or characterized this wicked and adulterous generation, 
this evil generation. You see, the kingdom parables 
are given to these disciples to explain to them the varying 
responses that are given to the preaching of the kingdom. Why 
is it that these Pharisees, why is it that these religious leaders 
are plotting against the devil, are plotting against the Lord 
Jesus and want to destroy Him? Because they're wayside hearers, 
their hearts are hard. They're rebellious to the truth 
of God, and the devil comes and snatches up those seeds. And 
if they are not repentant, they will perish in their sin. Certainly, 
there is a modern application of this as well. People that 
come under the preaching of the Word, but don't really want to 
listen. They don't really want to pay 
attention. Just imagine for a moment, if 
somebody asked you, where would you rather be right now? You 
could give 15 different places. I'm not saying you're necessarily 
a wayside here. It could be because I've got 
issues. It could be because you've got physical issues. Do you want 
to be here? Sometimes with children and young 
people, it's like, I have to go to church. We have to go to 
church? No, you get the privilege of 
hearing the kingdom of God preached. You get the privilege of coming 
under the word, a privilege that many people in this world do 
not have. I remember back in the 80s, back 
in the 80s, Saudi Arabia forbid any U.S. servicemen to take a 
Bible into that country when they went on a temporary duty 
assignment. You know, I doubt that they've softened that. I 
doubt that they've become more liberal-minded than that. I doubt 
that they've become more allowable in terms of what they will receive 
into their country. The stuff that we are bored with, 
the stuff that we refuse, the stuff that we reject, there are 
people in other parts of the world that crave it, that long 
for it. Remember when Brother Garrett 
showed us that video up in that fellowship hall. Those people 
got their Bibles. We've become Bible-hardened. We've got Bibles coming out of 
our houses. We've got sermon audio piped 
in all the time. We've just become hardened to 
these things. Some of these people or some 
people in the church today are wayside hearers. Those who are 
characterized by a spiritual blindness and ignorance and a 
rejection of all things that come from our Lord Jesus Christ. This is a scary place. This is 
a terrible place to be. Repent. Hear the word of God. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. 
Lay down your weapons of resistance and flee. That's the point. Notice the second type of hearer. 
This is the seed that falls on stony places or shallow soil. The person hears the word and 
immediately receives it with joy. Not like that wayside hearer 
where the seed falls there and then the birds come and they 
snatch it up. But with this particular soil, with this shallow soil, 
this one that is on rocky ground or stony places, the person hears 
it and immediately receives it with joy. Again, I think this 
probably describes Psalm within the church. By all intents and 
appearances, they're converted. They've responded favorably to 
the truth. They've believed. They're happy. 
They've got a glow. They've got joy. We'll learn 
from the parable. It's not how we start. It's how 
we continue and end that's most important. This person has no 
root in himself, but only endures for a little while. This kind of person may be the 
ones that God warned the prophet Ezekiel about. In Ezekiel chapter 
33, verses 30 to 32. You can just listen or you may 
turn there. In the prophet Ezekiel's day, 
the Lord God says to Ezekiel, as for you son of man, verse 
30, the children of your people are talking about you beside 
the walls and in the doors of the houses and they speak to 
one another, everyone saying to his brother, please come and 
hear what the word is that comes from the Lord. So they come to 
you as people do. They sit before you as my people 
and they hear your words But they do not do them. I'm always a bit wary when somebody 
says, good sermon. I mean, there's an element of 
pride and wretchedness and arrogance that says, I know. It's evil, 
wicked, diabolical. As the one brother said, a lady 
came up to him after a message and said, Pastor so-and-so, that 
was a very good sermon. He says, yeah, the devil already 
told me. Another dear saint said, sister you're throwing kerosene 
on a fire. There's always a wariness. Could there be a class of people 
that like to hear sermons and receive it with joy? Could there 
be a class of people like Ezekiel faced? Notice what the text goes 
on to say. So they come to you as people 
do, verse 31, they sit before you as my people and they hear 
your words but they do not do them. For with their mouth they 
show much love but their hearts pursue their own gain. Indeed 
you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant 
voice and can play well on an instrument. For they hear your 
words but they do not do them. You know what the best proof 
of good preaching is? Faithful living. The best proof 
of good preaching is to go and obey the Lord God Most High. It's not, wow, have you heard 
Ezekiel? He sounds like a man playing 
a Stradivarius. He's got the best oratory. He's 
got the best gift. He has the best argument. He 
knows covenant theology. He knows justification by faith 
alone. He knows the deity of Christ 
and the doctrine of God and triunity. And he's able to bring that. 
Let's go hear him. No, the proof is in the pudding. 
You need to do what Ezekiel says. Matthew Henry puts it this way, 
there are many that are very glad to hear a good sermon that 
yet do not profit by it. They may be pleased with the 
word and yet not changed and ruled by it. The heart may melt 
under the word and yet not be melted down by the word. It's terrifying, isn't it? Go back to Matthew 13. Look at 
what Jesus says. But he who received the seed 
on stony places, this is he who receives the word and immediately 
receives it with joy. Here's the word, and immediately 
receives it with joy. Verse 21. Yet he has no root 
in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation 
or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. You see the point. He hears a 
good sermon, he responds favorably, he receives it with an appearance 
of joy, and then he enters into his work week and he finds that 
he's still surrounded by difficulty, by trial, by tribulation, and 
by hard to deal with people. What happens? He said it didn't 
work. You see, that's happened, that's 
indicative, that's characteristic of our age. We don't care necessarily 
what is true, but we want what works. We are more like those 
bailists seeking their fertility religion, where they just want 
God, a bail, to provide crops and families and stability for 
them. But as soon as we have any trial, 
as soon as we have any persecution, as soon as we have any difficulty, 
we say, well, we've tried Jesus and he doesn't work. We've tried 
Christ and it just didn't get us anywhere. I've tried prayer, 
but I don't feel any different. I've tried to read my Bible, 
but I don't get it. I've tried to be with people 
of God, but you know, they don't make me happy. As if the standard 
of our religious approach to the living and true God is measured 
by the way that we feel. That's so, so North American. Look at what Jesus assumes. Tribulation 
and persecution. Doesn't he? He doesn't say, well, 
you know, I just have to correct you on something. He's already 
stated this in the 8th Beatitude in Matthew chapter 5. Blessed 
are you, when what? When you were persecuted for 
my sake. What does he do in Matthew chapter 10? He sends the 12 out 
to preach. And in verses 16 to 33, he highlights 
the tribulation, and the persecution, and the difficulty, and the trials 
that they will face. What does he say in Matthew 11 
at verse 12, if our interpretation of that passage is legit? The 
first aspect is positive, the second is negative. 11-12, and 
from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven 
suffers violence or advances forcefully. That's a positive 
thing. Through the preaching of the 
gospel, the kingdom of heaven advances. But notice the latter 
part. And the violent take it by force. They seize it. They try to stop 
kingdom progress. They try to derail the church 
of Jesus Christ. Christ assumes trial. Christ 
assumes tribulation. Christ teaches that you will 
be persecuted. Do you understand that? And so he says these stony ground 
hearers are those who come in on the Lord's day, they might 
hear 15 principles on how to be a better you, or have a better 
life, and they raise their hand, or they bow their head, or they 
sign their card, and they go zipping into the new week saying, 
I've decided to follow Jesus. And by Wednesday, something bad 
happens. And they say, Jesus doesn't work. Tell that to Job. I guarantee 
you that whatever trials this coming week holds for you, it's 
probably not going to be on the scale as it was for Job. We get a hangnail and it sidetracks 
us. We get a sniffle and we're wiped 
out. We have the least amount of resistance 
from people who should just fawn all over us, because we're us. 
Imagine hearing that your children died, and that your business 
is belly up. Continue on in Job, and what 
happens? He's covered with boils. You know, in this cold weather, 
some of us get dry skin, and we're kind of itchy there. It's 
kind of an irritant. That's a sub day in the park 
compared to boils on one's body. You see the diabolical nature 
of the health, wealth, prosperity gospel? You say, Pastor Butler, 
you've been hitting that note for a little while now. Well, 
you need to understand the health, wealth, prosperity gospel can 
come in more subtle forms. We think of, you know, the big 
hair woman with the big eyelashes and the makeup and the big car 
and the big house with her big husband telling big lies to make 
big money in the name of Jesus. There's subtler forms when the 
Bible is mined for good advice rather than good news. When the 
Bible is looked to as a way to have happier home lives. rather 
than to hear about propitiatory curse-bearing on behalf of the 
Lord Jesus, or by the Lord Jesus. You see, the health, wealth, 
and prosperity gospel isn't just a big hair guy. It is about any attempt to take 
the Bible and to make our lives better. Seven principles on being a better 
husband. Seven principles on being a better 
wife. Now, do not leave and say, Pastor 
Butler doesn't think that the Bible promotes better husbands 
and better wives. It most certainly does. But the 
central focus, the primary theme in all of Scripture is God's 
glory through the salvation of sinners by His Son. We've missed 
it. We get our doctrine of everything 
from the scripture except salvation by grace through faith in Jesus. There are people in the world 
today, there may be people in this church today who had an 
experience, who smiled a smile at a sermon, who made a good 
confession or professed a faith in Christ, that when trials or 
difficulties or tribulations come, they fall away. The word 
is scandalized. It's the language the Apostle 
uses in 1 Corinthians 1. We preach Christ crucified. To 
the Jews, a scandal. These persons are scandalized 
when they come to Jesus and all their troubles don't go away. 
These people are scandalized when they come to Jesus and they 
find that they still have a difficult wife, or they still have a difficult 
husband, or they still have cancer, or they still have no money, 
or they still have no success. They are scandalized because 
they're trying to use God not for bringing glory, honor, and 
praise to Him, but use Him so that they can have a better life. 
It's terrible, isn't it? It's easy to see it with those 
big-haired preachers, too. It's not always easy to see it 
in our lives. We tried to pray. We tried to faithfully attend 
church. We tried to read our Bibles. 
But you know, it just wasn't working. I alluded to a situation last 
week. Somebody afterwards said, what? 
Or they wondered where that came from. I read of a church recently 
that is promising a money-back tithe guarantee. Give to our church for however 
many days, and we know your life will be blessed. It is going 
to be so blessed in those however many days because you've given. 
that if at the end of the period your life isn't blessed, we'll 
give you your money back. If you are giving to manipulate 
God, you don't follow Yahweh. You follow Baal. If you are giving 
just to get, you are not following the God and Father of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. He's not a slot machine that 
you drop a quarter in and pull the handle down. He is the living and the true 
God. You give to Him because He says 
so. You give to Him because the earth 
is His and the fullness thereof. And so every act of giving acknowledges 
that reality that I am a steward of the good gift that Almighty 
God has entrusted to me for a time. Not so that your life will grow 
exponentially better. You'll seal more deals. You'll 
put more zeros on your bank account? What a mercenary spirit! And what a tragedy that a church, 
a so-called church, is catering to such a spirit! The third type of here. The seed 
among the thorns, verse 22. Now, he who received seed among 
the thorns is he who hears the word and the cares of this world 
and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and he becomes 
unfruitful. Again, we're dealing with a person 
who receives the seed. The emphasis in each of these 
four hearers is the seed. The New King James gives a sort 
of an idiomatic translation reading and describes the one as the 
one who's receiving the seed. It's literally talking about 
the seeds and where they fall relative to these four soils. 
But notice, this particular person comes into contact with the seed, 
which is the word of the kingdom. Now, he who received seed among 
the thorns is he who hears the word. And the cares of this world 
and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and he becomes 
unfruitful. So he's in the church, he hears 
the word, but he's got these issues. He's got these problems. The stony place here doesn't 
like trial and he doesn't like persecution, so he stops following 
Jesus as he says he does. This particular person has carnal 
anxiety, the cares of this world. Now, I know that some well-meaning 
saint and one sensitive soul will say, you know, I actually 
think, what am I going to have to do tomorrow? He's not talking 
about that. He's talking about people that 
are paralyzed by carnal anxiety. The cares of this world that 
choke out the very Word of God. You see, carnal anxiety does 
not dwell side by side with biblical faith. There's one or there's 
the other. We believe God or we don't. But 
it's not just this carnal anxiety that chokes out the word, but 
it's also prosperity. It's advancement in one's personal 
life. It is more money. It is more 
prestige. It is more adoration from men. Whatever the case may be, Jesus 
teaches there's a type of error out there that not only because 
of trial and persecution stops, at least with their profession, 
but there are those who are choked out by carnal anxiety or by prosperity. Now the Bible says, do you see 
a man who excels in his work, he shall stand before kings. 
The very structure of God's Sabbath rest argues that men should be 
hard workers. Right? Six days you shall labor 
and do all your work. You will find no substance or 
no substantiation in the Bible for a lazy, sluggardly lifestyle. And as is the case when you work 
hard in a world where people can barely show up for work, 
you will probably get promoted. If you take a Christian work 
ethic into most places today, you're probably going to look 
like Daniel, or look like Joseph in Potiphar's house. If you're 
not a whiner, a grumbler, and a complainer, you don't come 
in 10 minutes late, or 20 minutes late, or 45 minutes late. or 
you don't pack your day with coffee breaks rather than serving 
your master. If you actually do what you're 
supposed to do, more than likely you'll get promoted, more than 
likely you'll make more money. Does Jesus say, stop doing that, 
get rid of your money, join a monastery? No. No. Work hard. Young men, young women, work 
hard. Be diligent, be faithful, be men and women of your word. 
Yes, yes, no, no. Don't whine, don't rumble, don't 
complain. If your job is that bad, you can find another one, 
right? But there are those choked out 
by carnal anxiety and by prosperity. The cares of this world. Jesus 
has already spoken to this in Matthew 6, 25 to 32. And the necessary corrective 
is found in 6.33. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness 
and all these things will be added to you. The Apostle Paul 
deals with this in 1 Timothy as well. The deceitfulness of 
riches Christ has dealt with also. You cannot serve God and 
mammon. Again, the same corrective stands 
up. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and 
all other things will be added to you. It's a matter of allegiance. 
It's a matter of devotion. It's a matter of attention. If 
your carnal anxiety is paralyzing you, if your prosperity is paralyzing 
you, if it's keeping your eyes off of Jesus, if it's keeping 
you off of doing what God says, it's a problem. Matthew Henry 
says, prosperity destroys the word in the heart as much as 
persecution does and more dangerously because more silently. The stones 
spoiled the root, the thorns spoil the fruit. You've heard 
that quote by C.S. Lewis from his screw tape letters. 
He says, prosperity knits a man to the world. He feels that he 
is finding his place in it while really it is finding its place 
in him. There's a balance here. There's 
a tightrope here. You've got to navigate it properly. If you've got a problem with 
carnal anxiety, repent and ask God to calm you down. Tell or 
pray to God to increase your faith so you don't freak out. 
And if prosperity is starting to vie for your throat, you like 
the stuff, you like the adoration of men, you like the advancement, 
you like that job security, you like that financial security, 
you need to pray to God, help me to keep it in a proper perspective. Because what is very intriguing 
about this third type of error, remember the second type of error 
is scandalized, he apostatizes, he falls away. This third type 
of hearer is not fruitful. The implication seems to be this. He still comes to church, he 
still comes into contact with the Word, he still listens to 
preaching, he still is in the right place at the right time, 
but if we could look into his heart, if we could look into 
his mind, we would see carnal anxiety, or we would see prosperity 
with its hands around this man's neck. He's not fruitful, he doesn't 
produce, he doesn't bear, he doesn't obey, he doesn't serve, 
he doesn't honor, he doesn't glorify God. He makes all of 
the profession, he makes all of the respectable input, he 
does everything he's supposed to do, at least externally, but 
he's got hands around the throat of his soul. That's a reality. Certainly, in the crowd to whom 
Jesus spoke, there would be that second and third type of hearer. 
Certainly, wherever the gospel of the kingdom is preached today, 
there are those second and third type of hearers, and even the 
wayside hearers. And then the fourth is the seed 
in the good soil. The person hears the word and 
understands it. He believes the gospel. believes 
the truth as it is in Jesus. Bruner makes this very pertinent 
comment. He says, there are no complex 
devotional minutia in the story. There is no developed technology 
of the spiritual life. You know, there's whole big books 
and manuals on how to grow as a Christian. I'm not saying all 
those are necessarily bad. But we have one verse that does 
it. Brunner says the Word and attention to it are central. The Word in Matthew's context 
is the story of Jesus, His coming, chapters 1-4, His ministry, chapters 
5-12, His church, chapters 13-25, and His death, resurrection, 
and mission, chapters 26-28. You do not need to go out and 
buy a big book on how to do devotions today. Just read your Bible. Just open it. Brush off all the 
dust. Give it one of these. Give your eyes a good scrub. 
And read. I like that point that Bruner 
makes. He doesn't describe the Christian in verse 23 as a person 
who attends conferences, who has the latest books, who buys 
the latest gadgets to promote spiritual growth and well-being, 
he comes in contact with the Word and he does what God says. 
Isn't that when you all boil it down, that's what the Christian 
is? He who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the 
Word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, 
some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Again, I don't know 
why he reverses Mark's, or Mark reverses his. Mark starts low 
and aims high, Matthew says high and Ames goes low. I don't think 
the idea there is anything other than within the Christian Church, 
within the body of Christ, there will be those who have particular 
gifts commensurate with bearing 100. There will be others who 
have gifts commensurate with bearing 60 and others with 30. 
It doesn't matter the particular output, it matters that you're 
doing it. They hear the Word, they understand 
the Word, and they do what the Word says. This is the path to 
Christian fruitfulness. Obedience to our Lord God Most 
High, to the One who has specified His will in His Word, and calls 
us by His Spirit to follow Him. In summary, we learned, first 
of all, the parable as explanation. Do not miss this. It is an explanation 
of the context in Matthew's Gospel. You will see as we progress in 
Matthew's Gospel increasing tension between Jesus and the religious 
leaders. We've already seen it in chapter 
12. He calls them an evil and adulterous generation. He calls 
them a wicked generation. Later on he's going to tell parables 
that indict this generation and then he's going to speak a prophetic 
discourse in all of it that speaks concerning judgment upon this 
generation. You can't miss that. The parable 
is given as an explanation to the disciples at this particular 
time so that they may see and understand the varying responses 
to the kingdom so that they will not be immobilized, but rather 
they will be empowered and enabled to face whatever advances against 
them. They will continue to herald 
faithfully the kingdom message. Now, secondly, the parable as 
exhortation. You're here. You're either a 
hardened unbeliever, or you're an apostate, or you're a hypocrite, 
or you're a believer. Those are the four categories 
specified. The hardened, unbeliever. Those 
by the wayside. The devil comes and eats the 
seed, lest you believe and be saved. Or you're an apostate. So we get this idea that apostate, 
somebody that falls away, somebody that's scandalized, is now going 
to march against the church. There is that type of apostate. But in this one, it's internal. 
He receives it with joy. There's a conversion experience. 
But as soon as trial or persecution comes, I'm done. I just can't 
handle that. I'm too dainty. I'm too sensitive. 
I don't like any trouble in my life. I don't like any difficulty 
in my life. I've tried Jesus. He doesn't 
work. Or you're a hypocrite. I think that describes this third 
type of hearer. He receives the seed among the 
thorns, he hears the word, the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness 
of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. That's 
his issue. He's still there, he's choked 
out, he's receiving, he's in constant contact with the word, 
or he's at least in contact with the word, but he's not fruitful. 
There's no going forward. There's no growth in the grace 
and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no good 
deeds. There's no kindness. There's 
no family religion. There's no encouragement to his 
children. There's no love for his wife in a biblical sense. 
There's no biblical submission from a wife to her husband. The 
externals are all in place. Everything appears from the outside 
that it looks decent. But we can't see those hens of 
carnal anxiety and prosperity choking out the very seed itself 
in this person's heart. Or, you're a believer. That's 
what the text specifies, that verse 23 is the one who hears, 
the one who understands, and the one who bears fruit. You're there. May I just ask 
you today to go home and ask yourself, where am I? I know 
preachers sometimes do this and hearers don't always do it. Or do it right now, in your chair, 
in your seat, in your bench, whatever you're thinking. Can 
you ask yourself, where am I in this list? Because I'm there. 
I'm one of these people. I'm not out there. I'm not the 
heathen. I'm not the pagan. I'm not, you know, marching against 
Jesus and his church. I'm coming into contact with 
the Word. I have heard the seed of the 
kingdom. What do I do with it? See, that's 
more important than anything else. Kids, children, young people, 
adults, there's nothing more important than this. I think 
I've shared before, you meet somebody that sells fire extinguishers, 
and nothing's more important in the world than that you buy 
this fire extinguisher. I grant, it's important, you 
should have a fire extinguisher. But if my body burns, I can still 
go to heaven. If somebody sells you house alarms, 
because there's burglars in your neighborhood. How could you put 
your head on your pillow at night without an effective alarm guarding 
you and your family? Wow, you're right. I need a house 
alarm. Whatever the case may be, we 
treat it as the most prized and the most important commodity. 
All that stuff, as important as it is temporally, there's 
nothing more important than the seed of God's Holy Word. There 
is nothing more determinative of your future than what you 
do with this word today. We've lost the sense of urgency. 
I know some of you young people, especially young guys, they start 
lifting weights, and they get strong, and they get some guns, 
and they feel like they're eight foot tall and bulletproof. I 
got another 30, 40, 50, 60 years, and then I'll think about religion. 
Young guys with big guns die. Today is the day. That's what the biblical writers 
say. Now is the accepted time. Don't 
continue on into this day, into next week, into whatever, without 
coming to the Lord Jesus. This is most important. This 
is everything. Where am I relative to the God 
who is holy, holy, holy? To the God who must punish sin 
and has demonstrated that from the foundation of the world via 
Noah's flood, via the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, via the 
expulsion of Canaanites from their land, via the expulsion 
of Israel from her land. via the death of our Lord Jesus 
when the sword of justice crushed Him. That is an evidence that 
God must punish sin. That is everybody's portion. 
Everybody will stand before this God of heaven and earth that 
is absolutely holy and pure. Don't stand there unclothed. 
It's another thing. We buy clothes for everything. 
You need shoes to hike. You need shoes to play tennis. 
You need shoes to play racquetball. You need shoes to go to church. 
We prepare every fiber of our being for any weather contingency 
or any sporting event or any social thing, but we give no 
concern whatsoever that we will attend a feast one day and we 
must be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Remember that parable 
that Jesus tells in Matthew 22, there's that man and he doesn't 
have on the appropriate garment. That's much more important than 
your pumice. Thirdly, note the terrifying 
truth of the parable. Note the terrifying truth of 
the parable. There is a predisposition in 
your own heart against the Word. We talked about this yesterday. 
There was a man by the name of Plato. Plato was a philosopher. Plato lived about 300 years before 
the Lord Jesus Christ. Plato wrote a lot. The only manuscript 
that remains from what Plato wrote is dated to the 9th century 
AD. Nobody doubts that that's really 
Plato's writing. I mean, there might be some textual 
critics out there that would dispute some things, but for 
the most part, if you go to your college bookstore and you buy 
the works of Plato and you read that philosopher, you don't have 
a predisposition against believing what he says. The New Testament 
has about 5,000 manuscripts dating from the second century. And yet everybody knows there's 
contradictions in the New Testament. Everybody knows the Bible's full 
of errors. Everybody knows this that have 
never even read it. You see what I'm saying? There's 
already a prejudice in our hearts against the truth. Add to that the devil. What does 
he do when the seed is sown? If it falls by the wayside, he 
snatches it up like the birds. You ought to pray, God, break 
down the prejudice of my own heart and help me to receive 
the Word. Protect me from the devil. Protect 
me from those birds that will seek to rip that seed right up 
out of my heart. But not only that, trials and 
difficulties that are promised to us by the Master have an effect 
upon us as well. I mean, at bottom, we're fair 
weather fans. At bottom, we like to root for 
the winner. At bottom, we like everything to go just so. So you add some trial, you add 
some persecution, you add some difficulty into the mix, and 
that's another threat to the way that we receive the Word. 
If that wasn't enough, then there's anxiety. We've got so many concerns 
and so many issues and so many challenges facing us in this 
modern age. But wait! There's more! Prosperity! God's gifted you. He's given 
you an ability. You work well with your hands 
or you work well with your mind. Men recognize that and they pay 
you for it. You see, all of these things 
converge upon you so that you do not receive the Word, so that 
you do not bear fruit. The text, the parable itself, 
sets forth some very terrifying things. It ought to cast us at 
the mercy and the feet of our Lord Jesus. We ought to cry out 
to God, send your spirit upon preacher and here on the Sabbath 
day and help us to receive the word and help us to traffic in 
it and to prosper from it and to profit with it. Do not allow 
these things to choke out. And it is very intriguing that 
the things that face the unbeliever is not a lack of evidence, not 
a lack of manuscript testimony, not a lack of sufficient data 
to inform my mind. There's a diabolical enemy in 
the devil. There's anxiety, there's tribulation, 
there's prosperity. That's why men don't come to 
the Lord Jesus Christ. And then finally, We cannot miss 
the evidence of understanding the Word in verse 23. I suspect 
that most of us would profess Christianity. We profess to be 
believers. He who received seed on the good 
ground is he who hears the Word and understands it. There must 
be that doctrinal assent. There must be an understanding 
of the Scripture. There must be an understanding 
of the Gospel, the life, the death, the resurrection of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. We believe the truth by the grace 
of God. We've come to the Savior by the 
grace of God. We have been justified freely 
by His grace. But note what inevitably follows 
from that. We've received the Word and we 
bear fruit. We produce. We do what God says. We obey. Faith works itself out 
in our lives through love, Galatians 5. Faith is evident in the way 
that we conduct ourselves to our wives, to our children, to 
our husbands, to our neighbors. It is manifest, it is evident 
in the way that we conduct ourselves to our employers or to the world 
out there. It is fruitfulness that comes 
from having understood the Word. If you or I say we've heard and 
we've understood, we need to bear fruit. We need to produce. Some will be 100, some will be 
60, some will be 30. Bear fruit. Don't get discouraged 
if you're a 30-fold producer and say, wow, I wish I could 
do 100. God's made you to produce 30. Praise God. It's 30 more 
than you ever had before, and it's 30 more that the kingdom 
of God is using for the glory of the Father. Bear fruit. Produce. Do. Not in order to 
be saved, but because God has saved you. Because God has given 
it to you to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. God 
has opened your heart. He has shown you the Christ. 
He has given you faith. He has given you repentance. 
You have closed by grace. Now go, live, glorify, honor, 
praise, and serve the Master. And if you hear this, do not 
conclude, oh I just need to go out and be better and I'll be 
saved. No, you need to come to the cross, you need to come to 
the Lord Jesus, you need to believe the gospel. That is the priority. Faith in Christ and then produce. It is not the world's religion. 
They say produce in order to be saved. Christ saves in order 
for us to produce. So believe on Him, turn from 
sin, and you will have everlasting life. Well, let us pray. Our 
Holy Father and our glorious God, we thank you for the scriptures, 
we thank you for their clarity, we thank you for the fact that 
you don't lie to us. You tell us specifically there 
will be trials, there will be persecutions, there will be the 
threat of carnal anxiety, and a bad approach to prosperity. God, help us to be mindful of 
these things, and to be mindful of the powers of darkness that 
work behind the scenes, snatching up seed. God, I pray that you 
would protect this church, that you would watch over us, that 
as we come into this place, it would be with the expressed purpose 
to hear from the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. We 
ask that you would go with us now, bless your people, and cause 
us to produce fruit, and God, for those who are outside of 
Christ, we pray that you'd reach down in mercy and grace, and 
open their hearts to receive the truth of the Gospel. And 
we ask these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. We'll 
close with a brief time of meditation.