Bible, if you would please with me today to the book of Mark chapter 4. We'd like to welcome everyone who's joined us by way of radio and by way of live stream. People reporting that they are out of town and sick or what have you and they watch the service on live stream on TV and so forth and so on. So it's good to have you folks with us today. Just a little review of last week. Remember Last week our Lord had chosen his disciples, verse 20 of chapter number 3, the multitudes begin to surround themselves, begin to surround him and follow him everywhere they went. And then in verse number 21, And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him, and they said, He is beside himself, so his friends are calling him crazy. Verse 22, The scribes and the religious community have accused our Lord of casting out demons by the power of the Eljeba, attributing the works of God to the works of the devil. And his family has shown up trying to get him out, and they completely misunderstood. A rejection of his own kinfolk, a rejection of his own nationality, the Jews, and a rejection of the scribes, the rejection of his own friends. chapter 4, verse 1, he begins to do a little bit different. The first three chapters, it speaks of our Lord's works, casting out devils, healing all manner of sickness, so forth and so on. Today we take up with His words. Chapters 1 through 3, His words, His works. That didn't work. Now let's notice his words. And he began again to teach by the seaside. And there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea. And the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine parables, an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Parables. It's taught that they may either receive or reject, to open or to close, seeing they'll not see, hearing they will not hear, hearing they will not understand. A parable is a practical illustration with a spiritual application. You got that? So now Jesus has the multitude sitting on the hillside. He's out on the sea teaching the multitude. Now notice what he says. Behold, or verse 3, hearken. That means listen, dummy. Put the phones away. Tell the mom-in-law to be quiet a minute. Tell the kids to sit down, shut up. We used to pass out thumpers when they walk in the door. No, we didn't either. So Jesus said, Listen, I've got something important to say. Behold, there went out a sower to sow, and he came to pass. As he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. I would imagine as these thrones set along the hillside, Jesus teaching, Probably in the forefront or there on the horizon was probably a field that had been prepared for seeding. Perhaps even in another field, there was a crude plow with an ox or a team of mules hooked together, crudely plowing the earth. Those folks on the hillside could identify with what our Lord was saying. a sower went forth to sow. Not much emphasis is put upon the sower. Anybody can sow. The youngest, smallest of hen can drop a seed. Not much emphasis is put upon the seed. Notice, the Bible says, and it came to pass as the sower sowed, Some fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. I bet as they sat and listened to our Lord, probably a sower was sowing. Now he didn't do it like I do it with a 14-foot grain drill. He gathered his flowing robe and gathered it up this way, held one side with one hand, and put the seed that he sowed in his upheld skirt. By the way, if they all wore skirts, what did Moses mean that a woman was not to wear that which pertaineth to a man? If they all wore skirts. I just ask, and you can think about that later if you like. But as he held this and the seed was in his hand, as he went along and dropping the seed in the Pharaoh, there was no doubt there would be somebody, something, some varmint behind picking up the seed. It was a sure thing. If he was very stingy and very, very economical with the seed, if he didn't put plenty, there wouldn't be any left after the birds got through. That's what he means. He that soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully. He that soweth fervently won't reap anything because the fowls will get it. The other day I was plowing. You say, preacher, you plow? Oh yes, Jim pulls it and I hold it. And as I began to plow, it's about a 25 acre field, as I began to plow, I noticed one long hawk came and was sitting out in the field. After I plowed a while, it was two and three and four and five, and before I got through with the field, there were scores of hawks coming into the field, sowing and cultivating Somehow or another attracts birds, because they know you're going to put something in the ground. And if you're not putting something in the ground, they know you're turning something up. And as I turned the soil, the field mice began to run as I turned them up, and the birds of the air come for their prey. some the fowls of the air. I'm sure that multitudes must have witnessed that. The Bible said, And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth. And immediately it sprang up, and because it had no depth of earth, but when the sun was up, It was scorched because it had no root. It withered away. Some fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked it. You notice how you don't have to cultivate weeds? I try to keep my garden green, I mean my yard green, so I don't kill weeds. They asked me here at the church, do you want to put weed killer? No, it's green, leave it alone. Have you ever noticed human nature? The old idymmic nature? Don't have any trouble growing weeds? Things that choke out the word of God, things that choke out what God wants you to do. Well, Verse 8, And some fell among thorns, and it choked, and yielded no fruit. Other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit, that sprang up, and increased, and brought forth some thirty, some sixty, and some a hundred. You say, Preacher, I don't understand. That's what this next verse is for. And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. He said to his disciples, I'm speaking in parables, you ought to have a ear to hear it. You folks that are saved, he said, you ought to understand what I'm saying. And he said, but those who are not saved will not understand. Let's go on and read now. Don't get mad at me, I didn't write it. And he said unto them, and when he was long, they that were about him with the twelve asked him of the parable. He said unto them, Unto you is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God. In Matthew chapter 13, you can read that later, but it talks about the mysteries of God. The mysteries of God contains two mysteries, if you want me to give them to you right fast. The fullness of the Gentiles and the times of the Gentiles. The times of the Gentiles started when Nebuchadnezzar came in and completely destroyed Jerusalem and carried away God's people to Babylon. The beginning of the time of Gentiles began at Nebuchadnezzar. It will end at the second coming of Jesus Christ when he comes back on white horses and the battle of Armageddon is finished and we enter into the millennium. It has to do with Israel as a nation. Got that? The second part is the fullness of the Gentiles, and it started when Jesus came and started the church and will end at the rapture. Now notice something. In verses, in chapters 1, 2, and 3, he says the kingdom of heaven is at hand. In chapter number 4, it is no longer at hand. God is no longer dealing with Israel, but is dealing with another entity, the church. And the kingdom of God and heaven is put on hold and postponed for the times of the fullness of the Gentiles, when the Gentiles have a chance to get saved. He came unto his own, but his own received him not. the Jew, but to as many individually as receive him, to them gave he the power to become the sons of God. So now that the kingdom of God is on hold, God is no longer dealing with or through Israel, he is dealing with and through the church, the Gentiles. You got that? Now you don't have it, you won't get anything. You say, well, I don't understand that. Well, just hang on. I may say something you like in a minute. You may not understand it, you may like it. And so he says to them, and he says unto them, Unto you it is given to know, notice, the mystery of the kingdom of God. A mystery is something that is not revealed, but will be revealed at a later time. But unto them that are without the Israel nation, the nation of Israel, all things are done in parables. Why in parables? Thought you'd never ask. Look at verse 12. That seeing they may see and not perceive. sitting on the hill, the only thing Israel saw is a guy with his skirt up in his left hand, seed in his skirt, and throwing seed on the hill. That's all they see. But we who are saved see a, see a, an heavenly message tied to this earthly illustration. When Jesus said, I know my sheep, and they follow me. He was looking at a flock of sheep, but the deeper meaning was not sheep. He's talking about us. I've often wondered why God called us sheep. You're welcome. You've got kids, I suppose. Do you ever have to discourage them from doing wrong? Do they keep getting out of the pasture? Do they keep looking for a hole when everything they need is right there? I mean, safety, security, provision, everything. But the little brats keep trying to find a hole in the fence. I wonder why. God calls us sheep. It does not mean we got wool. It just means we act wooly. Now, you get the drift. And he said in this verse, he said, that seeing they may see and not perceive, hearing they may hear and not understand. Can I please use an illustration? It is an Ethiopian eunuch in Acts chapter 8 sitting in a chariot reading the book of Isaiah. And he's reading the book of Isaiah. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquity, Isaiah chapter 53. Philip walks up to him and says, say, do you understand what you read? You remember what the guy said? How can I except some man guide me? Seeing, but they did not see. Hearing, he did not hear. He asked Philip, hey, is he speaking about himself or who's he speaking about? Isaiah 53 to the Jew is speaking about the nation of Israel. Isaiah 53, to who we believe, is talking about Jesus. Isaiah 53, to the Jewish, is talking about Jacob and the nation of Israel. But to we who have been saved, we know that Jesus was bruised for our iniquity. The chastisement of our peace, and by His stripes, we realize that. But you try to get that over to a Jew. Just try to pour that on them. Now, individually, Personally, sometimes they do come and be saved, and we try to evangelize them. We send missionaries to Israel, and we're trying everything we can. But I'm telling you, God said, and they'll see, but not they'll see. They'll hear, but they will not hear. Notice the rest of the verse, if you would, please. And not understand, lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. And then the Bible says that he spoke and he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? If you don't understand this parable, how in the world will you understand the rest of the parables that I'm going to speak in? So they said, Dear Lord, explain to us the parable. Verse 14, He explains the parable. A sower went forth to sow. The sower soweth, what is it? Somebody tell me, what? Well, I should answer that about the seed. This morning, not only in Joshua, but all over the world, anywhere somebody wants to tune in. In the far reaches, in the darkest places in this world, not just this continent, but the whole world, we're sowing the seed. The sower, according to Matthew chapter 13, was the Lord Jesus Christ, also the disciples, also preachers, also soul winners, also anybody who'll take the message of God and sow the Word. Not much emphasis is put on the sower or the seed. All the emphasis is put on the soil. Isn't that amazing? I wonder why the emphasis is not more on the sower. After all, he's the one who's so wonderful, amen? I wonder why it's not on the seed, the infallible, inerrant, eternal Word of God. I wonder why more emphasis is not put upon this. Maybe because there is no problem with the sower, because Jesus is wonderful. There's no problem with the seed, the seed works every time. The only thing that determines the crop is the soil. from time to time, and it's not very often. Someone will say to me, Preacher, that was a great sermon today. Maybe once in 40 some years, somebody said that. And perhaps you've come to me and you said, Preacher, that was a great message today. I always, more than likely, tell you it's not because of the preaching, it's because of the soil. Now, you think about that. And that's something. I've been preaching to Billy for 26 years. I've helped him a bit. And his daughter-in-law from China. What a precious thing. And she comes, she listens, she listens. Do you know I can preach the same sermon and it won't speak the same way to each heart? The soil, according to verse 15, if you look down to the latter part of that, Verse 15, I think it is, don't it say something about hearts? Does that say something about hearts? The soil is the hearts of the listeners. No problem with the sower, the smallest teenager or the most brilliant teenager. could take the seed and drop it into the right soil and it'll produce fruit. No problem with the sower. No problem with the seed. The DNA is already built in. You know, you can't sow oats and get corn. The DNA is built in. You cannot sow hate and get love. DNA is built in. And so the DNA is built into the Word of God. What you sow is going to come up. And what's so good about it, the DNA of the Word of God, it's built in eternal life. Not just life, but eternal life. Do you like that? Now notice, the problem is not with the seed, with the sower. And then he says that the seed is the Word. Can I... Hey, by the way, Mathematically, how many of you are mathematic-minded? According to this, 25% of the people that ever hears the gospel responds. 25%. 25%. According to this. You say, well, how do I know? Well, let's just look. And the sower went forth to sow, verse 15, and please let me, if you would please, let me talk about this just a minute. And these are they by the wayside. Now the wayside is not in the field. The wayside would be inside if it was in the field. Wayside is outside the field where the traffic is. The wayside is where the plow cannot reach. The wayside is where the plow has not broken and turned the soil and prepared it for seed. The wayside, the Bible said, the wayside where the word is sown, but when they have heard, Satan cometh. What's the next word? Does Satan come to church? Now, Satan is not omni-, omniscient. Satan can only be at one place at one time. But he has his cohorts, his demons, his imps, that you and I cannot see, and we cannot hear, but oh how he is going to church on a regular basis, and immediately, let me ask you, last Sunday when you left church, what did you talk about? The sermon, or what you're going to have for dinner? The last time you heard a gospel message that talked about Jesus, talked about heaven, talked about forgiveness, talked about life and more abundant, and the minute you walked out of this auditorium, what was the conversation? Just asking. Don't you get mad at me. I'm just saying when we saw the Word, there were those folks who already got their mind made up. Their heart is unprepared. Their soil has not been turned. It's been walked on and tramped on, and we are busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy. We don't have time for God business. And no sooner do I preach, somebody says, well, I don't like him yelling at me. I'd rather him stand behind the pulpit and talk in a monotone tone so that we can all go nighty-night for an hour. We had one little girl out of a denomination that's not like ours, and she asked Mom and Daddy one time, are we going to go back down there and let God yell at us again? I do not want to offend you with my mannerism. But folks, I'm telling you, if preach can't get a hold of me, it ain't never gonna get a hold of you. And I just say to you, there's a difference in preaching and teaching, and I just don't know any other way. I put signs up here. Be still and talk in a monotone tone on Sunday morning, because you'll have a lot of visitors, and you don't want to run them off. Well, I lay my Bible on the note. May I say to you today that the devil is not dumb, unplowed, unprepared soil, hard, deceived by Satan. We don't need God and we ignore the need. Why does Satan come to church? I'll tell you why. So that when the Word is preached and the soil is not prepared, the devil can snatch it away. And when you leave here, that's the end of your spirituality until next Sunday morning at the same time. Notice it says immediately. Immediately, when this is preached, the devil wants you to start thinking about something else, maybe the job, maybe an appointment tomorrow, maybe a big business appointment, maybe the office, or maybe worldness, or maybe the cowboy gang. What time does it start, Jim? Me and you don't know, do we? If we did, we wouldn't tell nobody, right? Maybe something real important like next week's hunting season. All I know is Jesus is going to address every heart in this place. Every heart From the time that he was crucified till the time he comes back, he addresses in this parable. And what do you think about the wisdom of Jesus Christ applying such a spiritual lesson, a spiritual application, a heavenly meaning? And he said, oh, look over there on that hill, a sower went forth to sow. And as he sowed, some of the seed fell by the wayside, and immediately the birds began to pick the seed that was sown. Oh, by the way, that's the devil and his henchmen. That comes immediately when the seed is sown. Let's read on. And these are they likewise which sown on stony ground. who, when they had heard the word, immediately received it with gladness, and have no root in themselves, and so endure, but for a time. Afterwards, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. stony ground. You can't recognize stony ground because the rocks are just under the surface, not very much soil. But underneath the prepared soil, it's very deceptive because it looks like good soil. It's just not very deep. Deceptive. And boy, you preach, and the seat is on, and suddenly, somebody walks down the aisle and says a few words, and hook the line, amen! What'd you folk do before I got here? Just get out of my way, we're ready to charge hell with a water pistol. They're here Sunday, Sunday night, Sunday night, Sunday morning, Sunday night, Sunday night, Wednesday, Monday, Tuesday, woo-hoo! Get out of my way, preacher, I'm ready to charge. And boy, we look at that plant and we examine that plant and we say, whoo-hoo, ain't got good. It comes up, leaves all pretty and ready to produce fruit. And somebody walks by and says, is that your nose or are you eating a banana? At church, somebody at church hurt my feelings. at church of all places that's full of people that have husbands and wives and kids but they ain't supposed to have no problems at church it's heaven a little bit of heaven until somebody does something that you don't agree with or maybe I'll preach a sermon on tithing And then you say, well I didn't know tithing was mixed in with Christianity. Dear God, it's time for me to check out and find me a church where they don't talk about tithing. Or at least the preacher don't yell about it, at least he can talk soft. What happened was the roots tried to grow, but they hit the bedpan of rock. Because there was no root, because there was no depth, everything was shallow. Everything was superficial. And when somebody came by and said, well, you're not ought to act and dress like that in church, they got offended. Well, I know a church where I can do that. And off they go. Because there was no root. And the preacher scorched them one day. Didn't mean to. Yeah, preacher scorched them. You mean you remember that church down there where they believe in separation? You mean you remember that church down there where they mean, they teach going soul in it? And so some of that stuff just scorches those folks that has no root. I don't produce the roots. All I do is sow the seed. But that wasn't very important in the story. It was the hearts that was important. Same seed, same sower. What produced the fruit was not the seed or the sower. It was the soil. Could I ask you, have you asked yourself the question yet? I wonder what kind of soil am I? Do you walk around with your feelings on your shoulders? Who does he think he is? Actually, I think I'm nobody who's preaching about somebody. Well, where does he come off with that? Well, I was coming off like that before you got here. In fact, I've been coming off like this for 40-some years now. And there's some folks that just gets gooder and gooder and gooder. And some folks just get madder and madder and madder. Actually, it's not the sower or the seed. Jesus said it was the soil. See, now these folk, they made a superficial decision, but there was no intellectual or willful change in their life. They said a few words, they shed a few tears, they went back and sat down And everything they have spiritually is superficial. And every time somebody says something they don't like, they get offended. That point didn't go over too good, so I might ought to hurry with this next one. A deceived heart, the devil immediately. A deceptive heart, no devil. Thorny ground here is in verse number 18, and these are they which are sown among thorns, such as hear the word. Now notice, if there's thorns there, there's competition for nourishment. Thorns are growing, weeds are growing, seed is sown, you've got all of those fighting for space and nourishment. And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust for other things, entering in, choked the word, and it becometh unfruitful." You don't need a rocket scientist to understand that verse. Distracted hearts. First he dealt with deceived hearts, the devil. Then deceptive hearts, looked like it was good soil, but there's rock right underneath it. And then there's the thorny ground, that those already thorns were there, and we would call that a distracted hearts, or occupied hearts, overloaded hearts, no place for God, gospel, or grace. You notice that? Notice what the Bible said, that these three things choked the Word. Choked, suffocated the Word. So occupied that they didn't have time to give thought or attention to the seed. Did everybody die? Cares of the world, worry. Deceitfulness of riches, wealth. Lust for other things, want. You know what every advertising agency in the world is trying to muster you to do? Want something. Want more. Regardless of the price, no interest for 7,393 years. So that means your kids are going to have to pay it if they live that long. Notice, no fruit. no response. The Bible said that the thorny ground was occupied ground. Is that not so? Distracted. Have you ever noticed this? Jesus said the cares of the world deceitfulness of riches, lust for other things. Before I ever touched that verse, some of you got mad at me. What's cares of this world? Cares of this world, many of us don't have too many cares because we can pay our bills. Most of us has more than we need. Most of us have more than we can use. Most of us have rooms in our homes that are not even occupied. Most of us have two or three rooms not occupied. But there are folks in this world that has no room. And there are folks in this world that has not the financial freedom and liberty that some of us have. And we point our fingers at them and say, well, they should plan better or they should do better. Hey, look, the Bible says that the cares of this world, if I cannot pay my bills, if I cannot pay my rent, if I have nothing to feed my family, if my family has no clothes and my family is out, I must have a lot of worry. I don't have time to listen to God. I don't have time to go to church. All he talks about is money, and I'm so broke now, I need a cosigner to pay cash. My car won't run. I'm out of gas, and he talks about God. Are you listening? The cares of this world The care of eating, the care of sleeping, the care of paying up, the care of a job, the care that's going on in Washington, care of the election, cares, cares of this world will absolutely choke the gospel of Jesus Christ. The cares of this world? The deceitfulness of what? riches. Someone has said, when you dive to the bottom of this old world, you come up with more rocks than you do pearls. This world will promise you one thing and give you another. You work all your life for one company, waiting for that day you can retire. And one year before you retire, that company sells out and you're left hanging. Come on. Many of you know what a buyout is. Many of you know that there's no security in this world. And we are deceived time and time again by riches. Jesus said, Seek ye first the kingdom of God, then all of these things are added unto you. There are just some folks that cannot get past riches, cannot get past money, cannot get past the cares of this world, because when I preach, you act like you're listening. But in the back of your mind, what you've got on your heart is how you're going to eat or how you're going to keep what you've got. or how you're going to invest what you've ratholed. You say, I'm getting mad at you. It's because I'm in your front yard yelling at you. Why don't the Word of God take root in you? Jesus knows. You say, I'm saved. Do you act like it? I'm saved. Been in your Bible this week? I'm saved. Who knows it but you? I'm saved. Hope so. I've been preaching like I hope you are. And if you aren't, you can be. If the soil's not wrong. It's all about the heart, folks. It's not about your head. With a heart, man, believe us. Not with a head. With a heart. With a heart. What kind of soil? Stony? Thorny? Hard? After all, I'm not the one that did this. Jesus is the one that wrote this. And I'm just saying, as I close, he said, and then some fell on good ground. Verse 20, And these are they which are sown on good ground, such as hear the word, receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, some a hundred. All of those that are saved does not produce the same amount of fruit, but they're saved just the same. Some get saved, and they say, Yes, sir, I'm going to go to church, and I'm going to be a good Christian, I'm going to be faithful to God, and off they go, and they do it, come rain or shine, hell or high water. Then there's others who, well, I think I'll go Thursday night soul winning too. That's 60. Now I don't mean the 30's not saved, it just means they are saved. But let me tell you something. In that 25-acre field that I sowed the other day, I went out there yesterday, and in some parts of that field, that wheat's that high. In other parts of that field, it's that high. In other parts of that field, it's that high and kind of yellow. But it's still growing. Still going to produce. But that yellow stuff ain't going to produce like that green stuff that's this tall. Same field, huh? It's just the heart makes the difference. Now I'm just asking you, in closing, I wonder, what kind of soil did you bring to church this morning? Now if you're getting mad at me right now, I already know what kind of soil you brought. If you're tight-jawed right now, I know what kind of sight you brought. But this'll be a wrong time to try to whoop me. Wait till I'm at home someplace when ain't nobody around. Then I'll run. But you need to realize that God knows what's going on. Boy, I hope than have the right kind of soil. I want to produce fruit for my Lord. I don't want to go to heaven empty handed. I'd like to hear him say, well done. Well done, thy good and faithful servant. I don't want to stand there and be like those in Matthew. which says, and many in that day will say, Lord, Lord, have I not cast out devils in thy name and done many wonderful works? And then Jesus will say, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity, into a fire prepared for the devil and his angels. You know what's so terrible about that? A lot of church members is going to hear that very thing. But you don't have to. Why don't you, right now, examine what kind of soil deceived, deceptive, distracted, or maybe a discerning heart would be the kind you need. You see, I just believe we need to listen to the Word attentively, prayerfully, responsibly, and obediently. Same seed, same sower. The soil determines the fruit. Our Father today, we thank you for the Word of God. And Lord, we thank you for the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came into his own, and he was a Jew, but his own received him not. But he said to as many as received him, to them gave the power to become the sons of God. Thank you that in God's divine plan, he's now turned, not to the nation of Israel, but to the world. And now the seed is to be sown, not in a tiny nation, but into the whole world. And you said, for whosoever will may come. Lord, tender the heart of everyone here today. Break up the fallow ground of the heart, Lord. Prepare the heart for the sowing of the seed. We ask you to do it in Jesus' name. Our heads are bowed, eyes are closed. I want you to stand quietly, reverently, to your feet if you would please. Maybe just as a cautionary message today, I wonder if maybe your heart today is open to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Is your heart open to the seed of the Word of God? If it is, why don't you come and let us show you what you need to do to accept Jesus Christ, to become a child of God, to know your home is in heaven. As we sing, why don't you come? We'll wait just a minute, not very long, but we'll wait just a minute. I've wandered far away from God. The paths of sin too long I've trod. Lord, I'm coming home. Coming home. Nevermore to roam, nevermore to roam. Open wide thine arms of love, Lord, I'm coming home. I've wasted many precious years. Now I'm coming home. I now repent with bitter tears. Lord, I'm coming home.