Matthew 13, please, for a few moments. Our Lord gives a number of parables in this chapter, and we want to look at half or one of them tonight. The parable of the sower, and I believe we'll find it very instructive. In Matthew 13, at verse 3, the Bible says, And He 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. Some fell upon stony places where they had not much earth and forthwith 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. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up and choked them. But other fell in the good ground and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." Then our Lord explains this parable, and we'll just look at that as we go along. So let's pray again, then we'll look at two of these different kinds of soul that our Lord mentions in this passage. Our Lord tells us about four kinds of listeners in this parable and we want to look at two of them tonight and the next two next week. And then a couple more parables before we leave this chapter. Our Lord is telling us what to expect during this dispensation. Matthew is the gateway to New Testament truth. Our Lord has come the first time to die and he tells us he's come back a second time to take over. And he tells us what's happening in between. His first coming and second coming. He's telling us what to expect. Whether should we expect a worldwide revival? Should we expect everybody to get saved? Should we expect nobody to get saved? What's the devil up to? during this dispensation, this age, church age. Some people call it the age of grace. That's not really so. Every age is the age of grace, but this is the church age uniquely and the age of the Holy Spirit as well. So what should we expect? So our Lord gives us parable that we all know very well, the parable of the sower. The seed is the word of God. Jesus is the sower and we're the sowers as well. And if you read the parallel account in Luke, it says very plainly, the seed is the word of God. So the seed is sown, but our Lord says that there are varied responses. Some get saved, most don't. Nothing wrong with the seed. Folks, do you realize that even when Jesus Christ preached, not everybody got saved? So that means when you witness, not everybody's gonna get saved. That means whoever is the greatest preacher in the world, when he preaches, he should not expect everybody to get saved. Why, that'd be doing better than Jesus. That's impossible. Some will get saved, but not all. So first of all, our Lord tells us about listeners who just don't care. The wayside listener, he said, some seed falls by the wayside where they walk, where the ground is hard. and there's no result, no fruit, no salvation. There are just some people that are not listening. In fact, as soon as they get out of church, if not sooner, they want to forget what they just heard. They definitely are not going to dwell on it, pursue it, study the Bible and make sure it's so. No. The listener our Lord here talks about is the wayside listener. Let me go back and say about the seed again. There's nothing wrong with the seed. The Word of God has the inherent power to produce life just like seed does. The Bible says we're born again of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God, 1 Peter 1.23. Nobody can get saved without the Bible, sooner or later. Somewhere along the line, there's got to be the presentation of gospel truth, the understanding. You can't get saved unless you know you're lost and unless you know Jesus died and rose again. I've heard people give their testimony, quote, unquote, and they say they didn't even know they was lost. Well, that means they're still not saved then. You gotta know you're lost. You've got to admit your need. So there's nothing wrong with the seed. But why is everybody not getting saved then? If the seed's perfect, then why is everybody not getting saved? It's men's hearts. That's the problem. Men's hearts. So the seed can do no good when the ground is hard. The seed can't penetrate. And so the birds come, Jesus said, and birds in the Bible represent something evil, satanic, the devil, his hordes. And the birds come and devour it up. And it's just like it never was sown in the first place. So that's the first kind of here. Those who don't understand and don't want to understand. You'd think, wouldn't you, that people would be trying to get in the churches. You'd think people would want a Bible. You'd think they would be, I mean, they make sure about every other health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, car insurance, but their soul insurance, they don't even think about that. All the missionaries tell about how unconcerned the heathen were. It shocked them. William Carey in India and China and almost all the missionaries said, we thought people would get saved by the hundreds and the thousands, but no, it took seven years for the first one to get saved or 10 years. Man by nature is dull spiritually, dead, indifferent and unconcerned. So that's what the Lord told them. Not everybody's gonna wanna hear it. Man's heart is that way. And then the devil, of course, is trying to steal the seed. Less people should believe. Our Lord said in another place, the way to destruction is broad and many there be which go in there at. But he said, it's a narrow way that leads to life and few there be that find it. That's always been the case. That's the case tonight. But I want to major on this second listener, this stony ground listener. The Lord said of the one, here's the one I just talked about. When anyone hearth the word of the kingdom and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the wayside. Now here's the next one. But he, that received the seed into stony places, the same as he that heareth the word, and anon, which means at once, with joy receiveth it, yet hath he not rooted himself, but dureth for a while, for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he's offended. And then there's two more types of listeners for another time. So let's think about this one. This has been called the largest class of the four. This is those who say, I'm a Christian, but they're really not. Sooner or later, for one reason or another, they're falling away. And we're going to see how far they fall away. And we're not just talking about people that drop out of church, though some would fall in that category. We're talking about people who say they believed and now say they don't believe. We're talking about people who used to say, I'm a Christian, now they say I'm an atheist. What in the world happened? I'm thinking of a church right now. If you went there tonight in Texas, they'd have a couple hundred people there. But here's the thing about it. They say they've led one million people to the Lord. Where's them one million people at? Two hundred left? Two hundred out of a million? It didn't take with somebody. Something went wrong. Somebody was duped. Somebody made a false profession. Somebody is a professor and not a possessor. It's very common. It's very common, unfortunately. So, the stony ground. Notice that they respond quickly, but the Bible says they don't last. So, this would include those who make an emotional decision. They don't count the cost. There's no conviction, no repentance. I'm thinking of a fellow right now. His grandmother died and he was very sad and so he was all teared up and he prayed a little prayer and there was nothing to it. He hadn't been to church in 15 years. Never lived for Jesus one day of his life. That's emotionalism. That's dangerous. If a man's will is unaffected, then he didn't get saved. Even if he believes in God, prayed a prayer, went to an altar, shook the preacher's hand, and cried a tear, he still didn't get saved. And that's happening. A lot of appeals, if you turn on the religious TV, a lot of the appeals are emotional appeals. Come to Jesus, you'll be happy. And there's a lot of music, fleshly music playing in the background. And people see somebody walk an aisle, they follow their friend down the aisle, they pray a prayer, their life never changes. They made an emotional decision, sooner or later, they're going to fall away. Because there's no root. There's no Jesus on the inside. Stonagram. Not just stones beside, stones underneath. And our Lord says very plainly, Yet hath he not rooted himself, but deareth for a while. For a while. I'm going to turn and read it in Luke. Luke 8, same parable and interpretation. Our Lord says, they on the rock, for they which when they hear receive the word with joy and these have no root, which for a while believe and in time of temptation fall away. And it says as well, they eventually they get scorched and they get withered and they get offended. Did you know one way you know you really got saved is the Bible does not offend you? Amen. The psalmist said, Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them. If a man is teaching or preaching the Bible, and you're saving right with God, you'll say, Amen. Pour it on. Have it like it is. I need it. But if you're lost pretending to be saved, you'll get offended when the preacher preaches on tithing. And you'll say, he just preached on that 12 years ago. He done brought it up again. How dare he preach on hell? We don't believe in hell no more. On and on. So, Something's going on here. Jesus said, don't you be surprised that a lot of people that you thought were Christians, you thought they were. But we don't know people's hearts. Did you know Roman Catholics believe in the deity of Christ, the Trinity, the resurrection? They just got one major point where they missed the boat. They don't believe in salvation. In fact, if you say, I am saved, you go to hell for that. That's the sin of presumption. So you can be very orthodox, you can believe in God, believe in the Trinity, believe Jesus died, believe He rose again, but if you're trusting in the church or Mary or the saints or the mass to save you, you'll die and go to hell. Did you know the church of Christ folks are depending on their baptism? They're all going to hell. Hell am I said so. And I've witnessed to them. I said, sir, Jesus can save you. He don't need any help. You do not have to be baptized to go to heaven. Oh, they say, yes, you do. That completes it. You can't be, you can't, they asked Augustine if he thought, they said, what about the dying thief? He wasn't baptized. He said, well, he might've been baptized before he got on the cross. So God made it simple, but religion makes it impossible. Joe author tells about a whole family that joined his church. He said it was so promising, a whole family joined the church and smiling and it was so wonderful. But he said, you know what? Almost 10 years have passed. He said, not a one of them has ever been back. That ain't salvation. Somebody made an emotional decision Two of the meanest men I know, one of every word he says is a lie. And if it's not a lie, he's cussing. He says he's a Christian, one time said he was a Baptist preacher. You know what happened to him? He never really got saved. And a lot of times it's the preacher's fault because they're not preaching the gospel. They're preaching something that sounds good or appeals to people, self-esteem, a Robert Shuler version. Folks, you got to repent and believe the gospel to be saved. If you come to God just because you want to feel better about yourself and have a better self-image, you didn't get saved. Sure, a lot of people are in the stony ground group. I'm thinking of a lot of these big high-tech preachers. I mean, they're playing music in the background and getting people all riled up. It'd be very, very easy to make a false profession. Again, it's often called the largest group of the four. The Bible says they fall away. And they don't, the Bible says, and it's not that they just drop out, it's that many times they absolutely deny what they used to believe. I want to give you some examples. It's very common today. I guess it always has been. Now I'm going to tell you the names of people, every one of these said he was a Christian at one time. Now he's falling away, far away. Most of them now are atheists. Some of these I don't know. I really don't know any of these because it's not my crowd, but they all say they're Christians. George Perticus of Newsboys, quote, said he'd renounced Christianity once and for all and declared himself an atheist. He said, the newsboys aren't as holy as they say. Marty Sampson, Christian worship leader, said he no longer believes in God. Joshua Harris, I'll say more about him in a moment, wrote Christian books. He doesn't believe in Christ anymore, renounced that, fell away. John Steingard of Hawk Nelson said, I'm an atheist and I'm stunned by the number of people within Christian circles that feel the same way I do. Are you understanding what I'm saying tonight? These people all said they were Christians at one time. Now they're atheists. Kevin Max, another Christian, Rocker, said, I'm tearing down my Christian faith. I'm pro LGBTQIA. Brady Goodwin, another one, said, I am denouncing the Christian faith. Rhett McLaughlin, another one, Christian, so-called, singer, comedian, said he doesn't believe the Bible anymore. He says he's an atheist. I could give you 500 more examples. Every one of these, renouncing Christ, denying the Bible, denying that there even is a God and saying, now it's wonderful that I've finally come to the truth. Derek Webb, well-known. He goes around with makeup, wigs, wearing dresses. Something is wrong. That ain't salvation, folks. No. What happened? They made an emotional decision. What happened? They joined the church. No life-changing, sky-blue, blood-bought, everlasting salvation. A lot of Calvinists are becoming atheists. No wonder. Who wants a God that is that petty and cruel as their God? that made people just so he could send them to hell. No wonder they're becoming atheists. So our Lord said, don't you be surprised if you got some people every once in a while like Judas that one day says I'm a Christian and the next day is the opposite. Bill Templeton said he was a Christian. Then he wrote a book, Goodbye to God, and said, I'm an evolutionist now. I'm an atheist now. What happened? I'll tell you what happened. Why is it there's so many people, they're just not coming to church. There ain't no way. Okay? No way. They're just not. They're not even going to entertain the possibility of living for Jesus. That would get in the way. I'll tell you why. Because you can't be a Christian till you become one. You can't be what you ain't. And there's a lot of... I used to write editorials for the paper against alcohol. And you know who it would be that would write the editorials for alcohol? Christians. So-called. So-called! Let me say, if you take up for alcohol, you're either lost or backslid and totally ignorant of the Bible. Hello? Anybody still with me? I'm telling you what Jesus said. Jesus Christ said, there's going to be a crowd. It looks like they really got saved. But it's proven by their reaction to tribulation and temptation and persecution when they fall away that they had no root. See, persecutions always burn out the hypocrites. Amen. If somebody came in here and said, all right, we're going to shoot every one of you Christians and the rest of you, if you renounce Christ, you can go. Who do you think would be the first ones to go? The Christians would stay. The hypocrites would leave, showing that they're hypocrites. Sometimes it takes that, doesn't it? Well, I'm trying to hurry." So this happened to our Lord, didn't it? Do you know how small our Lord's crowd got? Four or five at the cross. Everybody else was gone. John 6, Jesus preached, you've got to be saved to be my disciple. And the Bible said the whole crowd left Him. Jesus looked at His 12 disciples and said, are you leaving too? Will you also go away? Peter said, Lord, where shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Where can I go but to the Lord? They're going back to the world sooner or later. People show up where they belong. Amen. I think of a fellow, he lived across the road from one of the greatest Baptist churches in this country, but he wouldn't go. Said he was a Christian, leader in the church. I know a fellow that he personally led to the Lord. But I don't know what happened. Because for the 40 years I knew him, he never went to church one time. And you can imagine the devastation that wrought to his own family, his own son. I don't know people's hearts, but we can inspect fruit. Amen. So Jesus said, this is what to expect. There's going to be a lot of imposters. And when you see people fall away, that tells you there's no root. I could take you to a fellow's house tonight. I'm almost done. And if you said to him, are you a Christian? He'd say, well, used to be. I'd say, hey, you got a son that's going to hell because you're a bad example. Are you a Christian or are you not? He'd say, I'd say, you used to say you was. You used to stand and testify. I remember when you drove the van for the church. But you hadn't been to church in 25 years. He fell away. Folks, if you're saved and God don't... If you're saved, God will whoop you if you do wrong. Okay? Hebrews 12. That's God's business and you don't even have to worry about it. Amen. Amen. God don't whoop the devil's youngins either. Amen. You don't wolf other people's youngins. Hope you don't. I like what one lady said. She said, you know what? Ever since I got saved, God won't let me get away with nothing. That's right, ain't it? He doesn't have two sets of standards. And this was true last generation, 100 years ago, 500 years ago. You've heard of David Livingston, the missionary to Africa? They asked him how many people got saved. He said, well, I think one got saved, but he backslid. So it's always been that men's hearts are often dishonest and the seed is either stolen away or cannot take root. When I was a boy, every spring, daddy said, go out in the garden, get them rocks out. We had a rock pile. Then my mama's hearing this on the radio, mama, we all put them back around your flowers in the yard. Took them out for 20 years. In the next 20 years, we put them back. But daddy said, we got to get them rocks out of the garden. You just, rocks are in the way. Especially if you're climbing on a rock. How's them roots gonna penetrate like they need to if there's a rock in the way? So if there's no Holy Ghost conversion, there's no salvation. How do you make an apostate? Some of you know the name Joshua Harris. He used to write Christian books. Now he says he's an atheist. How does that happen? How in the world does that happen? I'll tell you how that happened. He never was saved. He made a little decision. They maybe decided, you know, I want to straighten up my life a little bit, quit drinking, quit cussing. A lot of people reform. A lot of churches provide a lot of entertainment. What was his, I forget his name, the gurus, I can't even remember his name. But they tell you, you know, they tell you how to have a big church now. Give people what they want. Entertain them! Jesus said, they'll last a little while, then they'll get offended, then they'll be gone. We have lived to see the day, brother, when if you quote John 3.16 in the average church, half the crowd is offended. They call me a heretic because I quote John 3.16. Not the world. Christian. Offended. Because that don't fit in with their man-made philosophy. Well, I'll tell you, I'll repeat. If you say, brother, You're not going to try to change His book. You'll let it change you. Amen. You won't walk out of church and say, He stepped on my toes. You'll say, I think He was aiming for my heart. He loved me enough to tell me the truth. Amen. Sometimes we need Holy Ghost surgery too, don't we? And if the shoe fits, buy it in all colors. I mean, wear it, amen. Well, Jesus said this is what to expect. A lot of emotionalism, a lot of people that just don't finish like you'd think they'd finish. A lot of people just need to get saved. They really do. Percy Ray was a preacher, a lost preacher, a lost preacher. He said, one day the Holy Ghost said to me, Percy Ray, you're not saved, you couldn't be, you hate everybody. God mercifully gave him another chance and Percy Ray got saved. Bud Robertson said he was preaching in Boston one time and a hobo on the street said, would you give me some money so I can buy me some food? And he said, I'll tell you what, I'll take you to the restaurant. If I give you the money, you'll waste it. He took this young man to a restaurant, bought him a meal and said, I'm preaching over here at such and such church Sunday, come and hear me preach, will you? The young man did, got saved. Twelve years later, the same preacher was a thousand miles away in North Dakota. A young man came up to him and said, you remember me? Fine-dressed. You remember me? The preacher said, I don't believe I do. He said, I was the hobo in Boston. You bought my meal. I came to hear you preach. I got saved. Hey, that's not all. God called me to preach. Come back here and meet my wife and little boy. That is a real conversion. Brother, if it don't change you, if it don't make you love the Bible and love Christians, it's no good. It's false. It won't last! And there's another crowd here. They're real Christians. But they're so caught up in the world they can't get nothing done. But thank God there's a fourth kind. The kind we're supposed to be by God's help. I think we need to tell people more than ever before, hey, make sure that you know that you know. Amen. There will be some fruit. Yeah. And I would not tell you what, I just wouldn't want to die with a lot of people's profession. Would you? And I was told this man one time, I'm done with this, I'll be done in one minute. I was talking to this man. He said, I think we need to put the churches out of business. Tax them to death. I said, man, what are you talking about? Take the churches out of this country and this thing is going to fall apart. And then said he was a Christian too. That ain't no Christian. That ain't no Christian. Well, Jesus said that's what to expect.