Why are you here this morning? You may say, well, that's a strange question to ask. No, it's not. Why are you here this morning? Is it because this is the place where God is speaking? Or are you here for another reason? Are you here by habit, guilt, routine? Are you coming because someone else wants you to? Are you simply checking a religious box? A true child of God is here this morning for one reason. I've already told you what it is. It's because God is speaking. Well, I've been attending here for a while. I haven't heard God speak with an audible voice and you won't. A true child of God hears the voice of God in and by and through this book, this word called the word of God, which is Christ. He's the written word of God and he's the living word of God. So if you hear God speaking, it's gonna be through him. And he is the only means to eternal life. glorifying the true God of heaven and His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, desiring to know His will and be pleasing to Him is why we must hear from God. I want us to begin this morning by looking at one verse of scripture, 11 words, found in Psalm 119, verse 162. Turn there with me. We'll move on to another passage. in a short while, I'm not going to keep you long this morning. Psalm 119, verse 162. We just went through this psalm, verse by verse, took us several weeks. Longest psalm, longest chapter in the Bible. And it's about God's Word, the whole psalm is. Psalm 119, verse 162. Now here, the unnamed psalmist, we're not told who it was. Many think it was David. Doesn't really matter. But this psalmist wrote, I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil. In our day, there are many trivial things that people get excited about. People get excited about a lot of different things. A sale on a particular item at a department store. A ball game on television. A package arriving, especially when it comes early. Oh, it's coming to her. What about this one, a parking spot? You ever get excited about a parking spot? I have. Pull in a parking lot and it's just full. It happens at the hospital a lot. And you go, well, looky here, there's one right up front. And you get excited. But excitement also and often comes with significant and important things. Things that we should be excited about. Excitement is found when there's anticipation, when something connects deeply with one's desire, when there's a sense of reward or gain involved. We get excited. So, what really excites you? What really excites me? People get all worked up over the smallest and most forgettable things, but when it comes to the word of God, the preaching of the gospel of Christ, the one thing that carries the weight of eternity, few seem to have much interest. Sad but true, sad but true. Few have much expectation or joy when it comes to God speaking. The psalmist in our text said, I rejoice at thy word, God's word. He's not rejoicing at his own words, or in his own words. What he's saying is, I celebrate God's word. That's not an over exaggeration. I celebrate it. And he adds, is one that findeth great spoil. We're in a spiritual war. This is battlefield language. Spoils are goods, valuables, or benefits taken after a victory. In the ancient world, when an army won a battle, the victors collected the spoil. Victory meant survival. Spoil often meant provision. Spoil was proof that the enemy was defeated, and it brought great joy. The gain of spoils stirred excitement. Spoils may have been food, may have been weapons, gold, livestock, clothing, valuables of diverse worth. These spoils were often sudden and abundant, bringing great wealth that was gained all of it once, all at once, somewhat unexpected. Well, look what we found here. It belonged to the enemy, now it's ours. It gave the soldiers some security and some stability, and it brought joy, as I said, knowing the enemy was defeated. In a broader sense, spoils can mean any advantage or profit that comes from an enemy being defeated. And the psalmist rejoiced in God's word is one that found great spoil. Do we? Do we? Friends, God has spoken. God has acted. God's promises are certain, and soldiers, believers, are excited and thrilled about it. Did you know that as a believer that you're a soldier? Soldiers endure hardness. We saw that in the first hour. As a good soldier of Jesus Christ, the apostle wrote, we endure much hardness. And soldiers are enlisted, and they didn't enlist themselves. Now, in our military, you can enlist yourself, but in God's army, He enlisted you. God drafted you into His service. Soldiers endure hardship, as I said. They desire to please the one that enlisted them. Their life is no longer their own. Endure hardness is a good soldier, Jesus Christ. Soldiers obey commands. They don't negotiate orders, do they, Steve? They follow them. Soldiers stay alert. You know, a drowsy soldier dies. Believers are told to be sober and vigilant. Spiritual slumber leaves you exposed if you're in battle. Soldiers wear armor. They carry shields. They wear helmets. They fight a real enemy. And their enemy, they can't see. We don't put on armor to play church. We put it on because we're in a war. And the sword that we as soldiers carry is the word of God. That's right. It's the greatest possession that the spiritual soldier has. It's priceless. I told you before, I've seen the Old and New Testament, the whole Bible for sale at a dollar store for less than $2. May have been the dollar tree. I think everything a dollar and a quarter now, but that's still a bargain on a Bible. It's the most priceless thing that you can possess. It's the only thing that gives eternal life and it can't be bought. It's got to be given by the king. It never loses its value. You're talking about an investment. It never depreciates, but it always increases in value. gold, silver, and everything else that people chase after eventually loses its shine and loses its value, but not the Word of God. And a soldier of Christ expects victory, but only by following their commander-in-chief. The hearing of their commander speaking is something to be excited about. There's great joy in hearing God, our commander speak. The Bible is the only book where the author is always present when you read it. And when it's preached. two or three are gathered in my name, the Lord said, I'll be in their midst. And according to Hebrews 4, verse 12, it's living and it's active. Our Lord said in John 6, 63, the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they're life. The words of God are powerful, they're eternal, they're supernatural, they're sharper than any two-edged sword. We read that, we read that often in Scripture. A two-edged sword is a blade sharpened on both sides. It cuts cleanly and clearly in every direction. It requires skill to handle because it can be dangerous. If you're not careful, you can cut yourself, hurt yourself. It has penetrating power. It cuts through whatever it strikes. It has total effectiveness. It cuts both going in and coming out. It exposes judgment and truth. The apostle said it divides even between the bone and the marrow. It lays bare, it exposes what is really there. We can fool one another, but we can't fool God. God knows what's in our hearts. In Luke chapter five, verse one, a great number of people pressed upon the Lord. The scripture says to hear the word of God. There was a multitude there and they pressed upon Him. The Lord was back against the water there and had to get into a ship in order to preach, to keep from being wrong. It just so happened to be Peter's ship. So we see that the heart of a true disciple begins with a hunger. These people were hungry for the word of God. And that's what we need to be hungry for, God's word. Because it's God speaking. Those folks there in Luke 5 pushed through the crowd because they were hungry to hear. They were drawn by divine truth. Is that why you're here? And how does this revealed truth come to them? How does it come to us? It comes through the mouth of Christ, God the Son. God is speaking. God's still speaking today. People go to buildings called churches for all sorts of reasons. Some go by habit or routine. Some go out of social pressure. Their spouses or parents shame them into coming. You're not going to church this morning. Some go for entertainment. That's a big thing in our day, entertainment. Some go to networking business. Well, I've made, I heard a man say not long ago, I've made most of my business contacts at church. And that's why they go. Some go to appear spiritual. Some go to gain status. Some go looking for physical blessings. Some go to find solutions to problems. Some even go out of curiosity. I had a man tell me one time, he came here and said, I've passed by this church several times, going and coming home, and I was just curious, wanted to stop by and see what y'all were all about. He didn't come back. His curiosity was filled. But I tell you why a true believer comes. They come because God is speaking. They come because they need to hear a Word from God. Do you? Do I? How does God speak? Through His Word. How are sinners saved? Through the preaching of His Word. That's how God speaks. Are you here this morning to hear a Word from God? Do you need to hear a Word from God? By what the world calls foolishness, that being preaching, God is pleased to save those who believe. And true preaching of the Word of God is the means by which God saves. Faith comes by how? Hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, Romans 10, 17. Of His own will beget He us, how? With the Word of truth. God's speaking. That word beget means to produce offspring. That simply means that through God's word, by his speaking, he becomes our father. Well, and somebody will say, well, isn't God everyone's father? No. He's everyone's God. He's everyone's ruler, he's everyone's creator, he's everyone's judge, but he's only father to some. Who are they? Those who believe and trust in Christ. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. See, he died for everybody, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. He's only father to some. Do you find great joy when you hear God speak? You think about that, do you? I search my heart. I'll be the first to say, not as I should. I don't find the joy I should find. God help me. Do you anticipate hearing His Word? I've got to, I can only answer for myself, not as I should. When we hear the word preach, we ought to be sitting on the edge of our pew waiting for the next word. Kind of like that little boy that sat there like this one day. And the preacher asked him afterwards, he said, why did you sit there like that? He said, well, mama told me that God don't talk through preaching. So I didn't want to miss it. I didn't want to miss God speaking. God's Word is not just information, friends, it's revelation. It's got to be revealed to you. And it's revealed one way, God speaking through this book, through the preaching of this gospel. It's the mind and heart of God opened. Men get so excited over worldly, temporary, passing things. Things that corrupt. Things that rust. Things that are stolen. And yet, when the God of Heaven speaks, men treat His words as though it's some kind of background noise. Often times, kind of like that elevator music. I forget what they call it. Muzak or something. It'll put you to sleep. Ought not be. The Lord said, lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal. And that's God speaking. That's what God said. We need to listen. He speaks from heaven through this book. And we need to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through and steal. You see, what that's saying is, this is the only thing of true eternal value when it all comes down to it. Listen, our nice homes are gonna corrupt. They're gonna fall down one day. Our shiny cars are going to rust. The most prized positions can be stolen. We lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven. What are they? God speaking. You listening? These things can't be taken from us. What are these things? They're all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. And where are they found? He tells us, in Christ. I was thinking in the Bible study, I said it several times, but if I had a dollar for every time that I said from this pulpit, in Christ, by Christ, through Christ, we could all go out to eat lunch today on me. But nobody's giving me the money, so I'm sorry. And you know, one of the first signs of sickness with physical and spiritual sickness is a loss of appetite. A loss of appetite and a desire for God's word is a sure sign of sin and disease within us. Excitement for the Word of God shows the condition of the heart. The Word creates faith. It breaks chains, brings life. The Word of God spiritually heals. It transforms the mind, renews the mind. No wonder the psalmist rejoiced at God's Word. Do you? Do I? Do you love to hear God speaking? If you don't, I'd like to take just a few minutes. I want to show you why you aren't. And I'm going to show you from the Word of God. And as I show you from the Word of God, I want you to remember what I've already told you. This is God speaking. Not me. Listen, if you, your soul won't prosper one iota by hearing just me. Not in the least. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 13. I want to begin in verse three. Matthew 13, verse three. This is the parable of the sower and the seed. Verse 3, got it? And he, speaking of Christ, spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow. And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them up. And some, being the seed, fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth, and forwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth, and 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 sprung up and choked them. But other, other seed fell on onto good ground, into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Now, this parable is telling us something about the sower, who is God. God is the sower. And it's telling us something about the seed, which is the word of God. And I know I keep holding this up. Not this book, God's Word. This book is just where those words are contained. And God has kept them for us over these hundreds and thousands of years. God has preserved this Word. Why? Because it's God speaking. This is how God's Word is received in the hearts of sinners. The issue with the reception of the seed is never the seed. It's always the soil. The soil represents the hearts of sinners that receive it. It's the soil that's the problem, not the sower, not the seed. There are four different types of soil mentioned in this parable. And this represents four different responses to the need, to the seed, the need of the seed. And the results vary, not because the seed is inconsistent, but because the human heart is. The seed's perfect. It's the ground, our hearts that are in question. Now the first type of soil that the seed fell on was soil by the wayside. This was hard soil. It pictures the hardened, unreceptive heart, shown in verse four. The soil was so hard that the seed didn't penetrate, and it just lay on top of the ground. And the birds came and devoured them up. This represents the heart that has become so packed down, so uninterested, so cold, resistant, that God's word never gets below the surface. And the birds, who represent Satan, just comes and snatches them up. This is speaking of an ignorant heart. It's speaking of a hard heart, a closed heart, an unreceptive heart. Hearing the word of God is not the same as receiving it. The second type of soil that the seed fell on was stony and rocky soil. This soil pictures the shallow heart, verses five and six. These rocky places had a thin layer of soil. The seed sprang up fast. but died as fast when the sun came up. The seed burned up, no root. The seed withered away. What a picture this is of the emotional here. They love the idea of God's blessings. I've seen people come and hear the gospel, and particularly hear election and predestination, and oh, they go, oh, I've never heard this before, and they seem so excited. But as time goes on, they lose interest. They love the idea of gospel, and they're moved by their feelings, but the weight of discipleship is too much for them. Their immediate response is instant and dramatic, but feelings come and feelings go, and feelings are deceiving. They're full of passion for a while, but it's short-lived. As long as faith doesn't cost anything, they're in it. I'm in. Count me in. But the instant heated trials come, the sun, Heated trials, that's what that picture is. They dry up, fall away. Tribulation and persecution come. Why? It says, because of the word. That's what it says. They're easily offended. The Lord says, no root, no endurance. No endurance, no life. Verses 20 and 21. Then the third type of soil is that soil that the seed fell upon. It was thorny soil. This represents the divided and distracted heart, verse seven. Some seed grows, but it never becomes fruitful. Why? Because the thorns choke it out. The thorns are, the Lord tells us later in the parable, they're the cares of this world. the deceitfulness of riches, and the desire for other things. The hearer, this hearer is not hostile toward God. He acts like a servant. But this hearer is preoccupied with other things. The gospel cannot and will not compete for their affection. The speaking of God is never given first place to them. And this describes a divided and distracted heart. And a divided heart is a dead heart. And God is speaking. And the divided heart is exposed. God's not going to compete with idols. God not going to take second chair. God's not going to. except second place. And then the fourth type of soil, oh, this is the soil I want my heart to be, is the seed that fell on good ground. This represents that receptive and transformed heart as seen in verse eight. This pictures the true believer, the heart that hears God speaking. They bow to the Word. They hold to the Word. They depend on the Word. They bring forth fruit. Not all fruit bearing is equal. The Lord said some produce 30 fold, some 60, and some 100. But the seed that fell on this ground, this good soil, all produce something. They sure do. God gives different measures of grace and gifts. Same seed. Different yield. To those of you that put out a garden, you can plant in the same soil, use the same seed, but sometimes the fruit comes up better and more fruitful in areas. And it's God that made that difference. Spiritual fruit is the evidence of real salvation. Now please understand what I'm saying here. This is not talking about moral improvement. This is not talking about man's willpower. This is not reformation. This is spiritual transformation. This is being transformed to the image of Christ. This is bringing forth the fruit of love and peace and joy and patience and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness, self-control. These aren't feelings, they're behaviors, they're attitudes. They are the results of a transformed heart. A transformed heart desires all these things. They'll always come short. None of us have arrived, none of us will. This transformed heart desires to be obedient. They're going to fail, they're going to fall short, but they want to be obedient. This transformed heart is repentant. Not as sorry as it should be, but it's sorry. This transformed heart desires to give all honor to Christ, not take any for self. This transformed heart strives to persevere, knowing that only God preserves. It hears the word, it asks God to give their heart understanding. It knows that God enables it to endure despite opposition and temptation. It's not easily distracted. It proves itself in the end to be genuine. That's the heart that I want. The Lord Jesus said just about as plainly as you can say it. He said, good trees bear fruit, bad trees not. Our heart's prayer is the Lord calls me to bear fruit. So, What is the gospel point of this parable? Well, it's not about gardening. It's about salvation. There are four hears, but only one is saved. God is speaking. He's revealing the condition of men and women's heart. The ground by the wayside was hard. It rejected the word of God. It's a picture of man's heart by nature. The rocky ground abandons God's Word, a picture of man's stony heart. The thorny ground chokes out God's Word. Man's hearts are deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. But the good ground, the heart that God made it good, brings forth what? Fruit. So what's the hope found in this parable? It's the same hope we find in the gospel. God delights in taking hardened ground and breaking it up. God delights to pull out rocks and stones. He finds pleasure in tearing out thorns, digging them out. He delights to turn dead soil into living soil. Now, which soil was I before you did? All of them. All the first three. God is speaking. Do you hear it? Men don't have to be stuck with the ground, the hearts that they currently have. Now, I'm not telling you that you can do something yourself to change this soil, to change this heart. But you don't have to be stuck with the ground, the heart that you have. Through repentance, surrender to Christ, in and by and through the work of the Holy Spirit, God prepares the heart to bow, to be fertile and the seed to grow, bearing the fruit of Christ. The Lord ends this parable with nine words. Now God is speaking, listen closely. He says, he who has ears to hear, let him hear. Who has ears to hear? Huh? Those who God gives hearing. What do they hear? They hear God speaking. They hear His Word. God is speaking and He's saying, salvation is of the Lord. That's what God says. And I love what God says. Salvation's of the Lord. It takes away all the doubt of being saved because it's not dependent upon me, but it's dependent upon the one who loved me and gave himself for me. Salvation's of the Lord. Period. End of discussion. No discussion needed. No debating required. Salvations of the Lord, period. God is speaking. I only pray that he enable us to hear.