We come to a whole new section now of Luke's Gospel. And I'm going to be reading the passage as we move through. So I'm not going to read it right this second as we begin. I do want to, however, recall what Luke has shown us. Because we don't want to ever lose sight of what we particularly saw in the first three chapters. Remember what Luke has told us about the incarnate Son of God. the announcement by an angel. By an angel of His conception, not by a man, but by the Holy Spirit in a virgin girl. His birth in a feed trough and the announcement of that birth to some shepherds in a field. And think about this announcement. It's in Luke 2.11. Today in the city of David has been born for you, not just a little boy, but a Savior who is Christ, who is the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Lord. His baptism in the Jordan River and a voice from heaven. What did he say? This is my beloved Son. A voice from heaven. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. So Jesus is now, as we come to chapter 8, well into His earthly ministry. He's healing the sick and the lame. He's giving sight to the blind. He's casting out demons. And He's preaching the coming of the kingdom of God among men. He's preaching the forgiveness of sins through faith in Him. And by now, Jesus was well known throughout all the land. He now had a large following. Whenever He came somewhere, huge throngs would show up. Both of people who would believe, but also many who didn't believe, but were simply drawn to the spectacle. In chapter 8, Luke says, soon afterwards, putting this, he's indefinite as to time and place, but it's after the events of chapter 7. Soon afterwards, he began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. Twelve were with him, and some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses. Mary, who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Chuzah, Herod's steward, and a woman named Susanna, and many others who were contributing to the support of Jesus and the disciples, the twelve, out of their own private funds. And as is often the case, again Luke's indefinite as to time and place, but he names three women in this group. But it's interesting to note something in the New Testament. The women, girls who are mentioned in the New Testament, were almost always receptive to Jesus. Unlike the men. I mean, remember, Peter denied Him. Judas betrayed Him. Herod mocked Him. The women were pretty receptive to Jesus. And they honored Him. They helped Him. They supported Him financially. So we've got these three women. Susanna, we don't know anything about. But Joanna is the wife of a steward of Herod. Now think about this. And she's out there with the traveling party with Jesus and the 12 disciples. And Luke mentions Joanna one other time. It's in chapter 24, verse 10. Joanna is among those who went to the tomb of Jesus. She must have had some money, some wealth, because she was among those contributing to Jesus' support during His travels. So we don't know anything about Susanna, but much is written about Mary Magdalene. Especially in the hour that Jesus was crucified and on the Sunday morning when He rose back to life. She, apart from Christ, is the central character. She was from a town, Magdala, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, south of Capernaum, where Jesus' headquarters was. And she is mentioned very prominently in all four accounts of the crucifixion and resurrection. There were those who taught that she was a harlot. There's no basis for that in Scripture or outside Scripture. Luke tells us Jesus had cast seven demons from her, rescuing her from a obviously troubled existence. But Luke also tells us that Jesus had cured all three of these women, Susanna, Joanna, and Mary, of either evil spirits or diseases. But it's Mary Magdalene who stands out in the Gospels. Remember when Jesus was arrested and condemned, eleven of them scattered. One of the twelve betrayed Him, the other eleven scattered. One of those twelve denied even knowing Him. But you know who stayed with Him the whole time? Look at Mark 15, 40. Jesus goes to the cross. And there were some women looking on from a distance. And who were they? Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the less, one of the apostles, and Salome. When he was in Galilee, Mark tells us, they used to follow him and minister to him. And there were many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem. So many women had traveled from Galilee 70 miles to Jerusalem with Jesus. John 19.25, Jesus is on the cross. And standing by the cross were his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. Mark 15, 46, Jesus has died on the cross. Joseph of Arimatheus brings a linen cloth and takes Jesus down from the cross and wraps Him in this cloth. And he lays Him in a tomb. He rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. And who is staying there, watching? There's Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Joseph, looking on to see where he was laid. Why were they doing that? Matthew 28, 1, after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn on the first day of the week. Who comes to the grave? Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. Mark 16, 1. Sabbath was over. Mary Magdalene married the mother of James and Salome. They bought spices so they might come and anoint Him. Now that's part of the story. But John gives a much more complete version. And I'm going to read from John 20, verse 1 and following. Because it's very much worthwhile for us to know this woman. John 20, verse 1, Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, saw the stone already taken from the tomb. So she ran and came to Simon Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, They've taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they've laid him. So Peter and the other disciple went forth. They're going to the tomb. They're running together. The other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter. He got to the tomb first. He looks in. He sees the linen wrappings. But John, the other disciple, didn't go in. Peter also came. Peter goes into the tomb. He sees the linen wrappings lying there. And the face cloth, which had been on his head, rolled up in a place by itself. So the other disciple then also entered, and he saw and believed. For as yet they didn't understand the Scripture that He must rise again from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes. Who stays by the tomb? Mary is standing outside the tomb weeping. This is Mary Magdalene. And so as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb, and she saw two angels in white sitting. Mary Magdalene is the one they appear to and speak to. And they said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? She said, Because they've taken away my Lord. I don't know where they've laid Him. When she had said this, she turned around, and who was standing there? Jesus. She didn't know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? She thought he was the gardener. And she said to him, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away. And Jesus said to her, Mary. And she turned and said to him in Hebrew, Rabboni. Jesus said to her, Stop clinging to me, for I've not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brethren and say to them, I ascend to my Father and your Father, and my God and your God. And here she's identified. Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, I have seen the Lord. And that He had said these things to her. She was the first one to whom He appeared. And so it wasn't just Mary who goes to see the apostles. Luke 24, 10, they were Mary Magdalene and who else? Joanna. Mary the mother of James. Also the other women. With them were telling these things to the apostles. And I have no doubt it's because of what we see at the end that Luke makes sure to include Mary Magdalene and Joanna here. So in the crowd that day were these three women and others who were contributing to the support of Jesus and the Twelve. And this throng, a multitude from many cities, which had gathered to Jesus. And in chapter 8, two parables preached by Jesus. The first of which is our passage here this morning. So in verse 4, when a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable. The sower went out to sow his seed, and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, choked it out. Other seed fell into the good soil and grew up and produced a crop a hundred times as great. As he said these things, he would call out, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Now we sometimes think of this as the parable of the soils because we have four different soils. But in Matthew 13, 18, Jesus referred to this as the parable of the sower. So we will refer to it as the parable of the sower. Matthew and Mark both record an account of this parable, both from a boat near the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Brothers and sisters, I'm confident Jesus likely preached this parable many times. And this parable is well known to all who read the Bible regularly. In it, Jesus presents a picture of four different responses to the gospel. Three who fall away from Jesus and reject eternal life. And one in which the person receives the seed of the Word and is saved unto eternal life. We see that some, when they hear the Word of God, immediately reject it. And we know these people. You know, every one of us has probably had the experience of going to somebody and trying to share the gospel. Maybe invite them to church. And having that person just put the hand up and say, look, I'm glad it works for you. I don't want to hear it. They're in this first group. They don't want to hear. Immediately reject it. Others though, perhaps at an emotional gathering, might respond to an altar call. respond but then quickly fall away. Others believe for a time. They start attending a church. But they fail to persevere in faith for reasons we'll see shortly. And ultimately they too fall away. Now the meaning of this parable by now should be clear to all of us who accept Jesus' teachings. But remember, at that time, Jesus' disciples did not have all the information that we have. All the events that saved us hadn't yet occurred yet. So they didn't understand Jesus' meaning. And they began questioning Him, verse 9 tells us, as to what this parable meant. And in Matthew, His disciples wanted to know why He spoke in parables at all. Why are you talking like this? Why don't you just speak plainly? Well a parable is often defined as an earthly story that teaches a heavenly or spiritual meaning. Heavenly or spiritual truths. And this is one parable, interestingly, where the Lord explains the meaning of the parable. He explains exactly what He is teaching here. He doesn't always do that, but He does that here. And He does it in verses 11 through 15. And here's what He says. The parable is this. The seed is the Word of God. Those beside the road are those who have heard, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart so that they will not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no firm root. They believe for a while, and in time of temptation they fall away. Now the seed that fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard. And as they go on their way, they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life. Now many fall into this group, and so they bring no fruit to maturity. But the seed and the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart and hold it fast, and these bear fruit with perseverance. The seed is the word of God. It's the word that comes from God. That's what this is. The word that comes from God. It's the message of the kingdom of God that's come down from heaven to man. And Jesus speaks of four soils here in which the sower sows this Word. This parable makes the point that the very same message produces different results in different hearers. The first three, as we've seen, groups represent those who either immediately or after a short time or because of their worldly desires and preoccupation with things of this world, reject the Word and reject Christ. The fourth soil, the good soil, represents those who receive the Word and are saved. And I want you to look at verses 12 and 15. Here we see that the soils represent four different kinds of hearts. In verse 12, He takes away the Word from what? From their hearts. Verse 15, the Word is heard in a good and honest heart. So this tells us it's something in the hearer that determines the effect of the Word upon him. Jesus isn't changing the message from person to person. The people that are represented first in the seed that's sown beside the road. We see them in verse 5 and verse 12. These are the kind who allow the devil, the great deceiver, to snatch away the Word that has been sown. They've heard it. Don't want to hear it. Jesus doesn't excuse these people as if only the devil and not they themselves were responsible for their failure to respond to the divine message. It's not just the devil's fault. Each one who refuses the gospel has hardened his heart against God. They've treated the Word of God so lightly that they cooperate with the devil who's trying to take the truth away from them. And His purpose is what? It's to prevent them from believing and being saved. Their hearts, though, have become hard, like the road on which the seed was scattered. Second group. Now this is a group that responds immediately and enthusiastically. Jesus says they receive the Word with joy, but that they just as quickly fall away. Now they used to do this at the school. They'd take the kids off to these weekend conferences. And some speaker would get up there and try to get all the kids all fired up. And a bunch of them would go forward and proclaim their faith. And you'd see them that weekend and maybe into the next week. And within a couple of weeks they'd all gone back to the way they were. And maybe someday they come to faith and maybe someday they don't. But that's what's being described here. Perhaps these people have heard a sermon. They rush to the preacher. They tell him how the sermon has moved them. Sometimes they're moved to tears. We've all seen this. And then very soon, because there's no root of faith in them, because they haven't recognized their sin, because they haven't recognized their need for somebody to atone for the sin they can't atone for, they go back to their old ways. So, it's a fair question. When this happens, when somebody responds to an altar call or to an emotional call, how do we know which is true saving faith and which isn't? Well, we don't know that day. It takes time, a time of testing. In time of temptation, though, the ones who are not with a root of faith within them will fall away. Why? Why do people reject Christ? Because deep in their hearts, they love their sin. They love their sin. So they never really were of Christ's flock. That's what 1 John 2,19 speaks of. He calls them antichrists. They went out from us, but were not really of us. For if they had been of us, they would have remained with us. So we have two groups. Some immediately reject. And some have an emotional response but quickly fall away. Ray Comfort and others have done many studies of these emotional responses. People rushing to the front to an altar call. And it doesn't mean every altar calls a bad thing. But if it's emotionally driven, if it's manipulative, It can be very misleading. Ray Comfort cites studies in the churches showing 80 to 90 percent of those making these kind of decisions for Christ fall away. So the third group. This may be the thing that we deal with and see the most. And we're all subject to this. Jesus uses the metaphor of thorns as a picture of the things of this life that keep one from eternal life. Thorns, He uses. And isn't it interesting what happened in the Garden of Eden when they sinned? What came up? Thorns and thistles. So He uses that same picture here. And these thorns, they choke out the desire for God and the things of God. Jesus warns about three of them. The cares of this life, the worries of this life, the riches of this life, and the pleasures of this life. All of these can choke out Christ. Look at the first group, the worries of this life. People And this is understandable to some sense. People can become so preoccupied with just surviving, with just getting by, with just taking care of and providing for themselves and their families, that that becomes the most important thing in their lives. Now you might be saying, wait a minute preacher, what are you saying? Of course that should be the most important thing in their lives. More important than their own eternal destiny and the eternal destiny of their families? I don't think so. And so they make no time for the Son of God because they've got these other things to deal with. Make no time for the One who died for the sins of all who would believe in Him and follow Him and persevere. And so in this group, worldly matters take first priority. And they're of necessity in their own minds. And they completely lose sight of the true thing they've got to worry about, which is their eternity, which is the sin that is staining their souls. Now, you may not want to take my word for it, so let's turn to Luke chapter 12. Let's begin in verse 16. Luke 12, verse 16, Jesus told them a parable. The land of a rich man was very productive, and he began reasoning to himself, saying, What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops? He's doing that well. Then he said, This is what I'll do. I'll tear down my barns and build larger ones. And there I will store all my grain and my goods. ... Well this guy's got to take care of things. He's got to provide here. ...And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come. Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to him, You fool! This very night your soul is required of you. And now who will own what you have prepared? So is the man who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. And He said this to His disciples, For this reason I say to you, don't worry about your life as to what you will eat, nor for your body as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens. They never sow nor reap, They have no storeroom, no barn, and yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than the birds? And which of you, by worrying, can add a single hour to his life's span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? Consider the lilies, how they grow. They neither toil nor spend, but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, you men of," and look what he calls them, little faith. You're not trusting God to provide. Now this doesn't mean don't be diligent in providing. It means don't put that ahead of Christ. Do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink. Do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek. But your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Don't be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. So yes, we want to provide. We want to be diligent. We want to be prudent. We want to be good stewards. But not at the expense of a relationship with the Son of God. Not at the expense of worship of Him. Worldly matters should never take first priority over Him. And they will, if you allow them, choke out our Lord. So next is the riches of this life. Well this is the main pursuit of many in this world. It's the main pursuit of some in the church. The accumulation of earthly riches. Now of what benefit are earthly riches going to be on the day that God removes the breath of life from you? No benefit. They're only good for the next 65 years at most. How many times has William Devane told us, acquire as much gold as you can? How many times has he told us this very night our souls might be required of us? As grateful as we all are, brethren, for the freedom we have, for the right of private property, we have to be careful because the pursuit of riches has led millions away from Christ and eternal life. And alongside the pursuit of riches is the pursuit of pleasures. And they fall into two categories, sinful pleasures and other kinds of pleasures. Many love their sin so much they will not let go of it. And though they may have come into the church, they've not made a clean break with their sin. And Jesus is saying they will fall away. It's got to be the life of sin or repenting of that life of sin and turning to Christ. That's faith in Him that saves us. But it's the repentance that demonstrates the faith. And then there are those who give the Lord 10, 15 hours a year. An hour each week, 10, 15 weeks. But they won't let go of golf course, fishing boat, baseball game. weekend trip, family outing. And none of these are sin in themselves. But for them, and this is this third group, these hold greater importance than the Son of God and the worship of Him. These have been fooled into thinking they can be part-time disciples. And the Lord says they too are headed for eternal misery. This is what the Lord says to us. You know why? Because He wants us to take Him seriously. He wants to be the central focal point of our lives. That's why. He wasn't out there in these crowds trying to make people feel good about themselves. He was trying to help them to recognize their dreadful and desperate state. And He gave us this so that we would understand the absolute necessity that we persevere in the faith. We cannot take Him for granted. Or we, too, are headed for disaster. And the people in this third group, they fill their lives with so many earthly pleasures, there's no room for Him. Or they squeeze Him in when they can, when it doesn't interrupt with their other things. William Hendrickson, the great commentator, said this, Like a proliferating cancer gradually killing the body, or a destructive parasite, little by little destroying its host, so also these thorns slowly but surely choke the souls of those people who extend a welcome to them. Such individuals, he says, never mature. They never produce fruit for everlasting life. Now Calvin presents for us a medicine for this. A remedy. Each of us, he says, must consciously and purposefully seek to tear the thorns out of our own hearts. You think you don't have any thorns? There's not one of us, he says, whose heart is not filled with a thick forest of thorns. And we know that many fail to reach full maturity in Christ. You know, we allow ourselves to get fooled into thinking, if I'm a good person and I profess Christ and I show up a few times a year, that I'll be okay. I can't find that gospel in the Word of God. I find a gospel of surrender to Him. Of placing Him above all other things. The thorns, Calvin says, which seek to choke us should stir us to seek to shake off our sloth and to be vigilant against it. Well, there's also good soil. That is, hearts that are not hardened by sin and unbelief. That are not lacking in depth. That are not infested with weeds. But are suitable and prepared for healthy growth. And the bearing of fruit. That's the fourth group. And in this soil, the seed yields an abundant crop. Now in Matthew and Mark's account of this parable, they both mention a 30-fold and a 60-fold and a 100-fold yield. Drop one seed, you get 100 grains. Luke refers only to the maximum yield, the one grain of seed producing 100 grains. I think we get the point in both. And these people receive the message planted It's the message the psalmist longed for. Psalm 119, verse 18, which we read earlier. Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from Your law. And not only do they long for it, they cling to it and they keep clinging to it. The message of the cross and Christ Himself become the preeminent thing in their lives. fruit that is born, faith, and all that flows from it into a godly life, a bountiful crop marked by the fruits of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control. Hear the words of the psalmist in Psalm 1. How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night. This is the blessed man. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season. and its leaf does not wither, and whatever he does, he prospers. And if one is to bear fruit, he must abide in whom? Christ, John 5, 14, abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, and apart from Me you can do nothing. These trust in His Word and Him above all things. They love the Son of God above all others. He who loves father and mother, son and daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. These in this fourth group love the Son of God above all others, and they have assurance deep within them of their ultimate destiny in glory with God. Even in the face of all the trials and tribulations of this life, they have His peace and they have His joy. Because we know where we're going. That's right. So this Word in the fourth, in the good soil, awakens men to faith. And it is the means of their salvation. Now I've moved past a couple of verses here. Now we're going to look to them. Why do some have hearts that are prepared and able to receive the Word and others do not? Well folks, apart from the grace of God, every one of us was lost in sin. All of us were enemies of God and unable to do anything about it. We were hardened against Him and we were unable to hear Him. There was a time in your life you could not hear Him. But Jesus said, now look at these words. To you it has been granted, given, a gift, to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God. You don't go figure them out. It is granted to His people. To the rest, it's in parables so that seeing they may not see and hearing they may not understand. He spoke in parables so the unbelieving would not understand. Now there are those who would say, take these words, it has been granted to you. And that means because of something you did. These would say you believed first and therefore God gave you ears to hear. Folks, that's plainly contrary to Scripture. If something is received because of something we did, we call that something we earned. It's not a gift. But when something is granted, it is a gift. In this verse here is the grace of God again. This gospel is about the grace of God for sinners. Our Lord has bestowed many gifts on His people. I put three or four passages in your Scripture sheet. Want to see some of the gifts you've received? Not earned. Ephesians 2.8, By grace you have been saved through faith, not of yourselves. It's the gift of God. Faith is the gift of God. Romans 3.23, All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace. To be justified, declared not guilty before God, is a gift of His grace through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus. Romans 6.23, The wages of sin is death. That's what you've earned. The free gift, free gift of God is eternal life. Eternal life is a gift. It's in Christ Jesus our Lord. And ears to hear are a gift of God. And here our Lord says, look what He says, "...to you it's been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God." Tell the truth. Any of you actually figure out the mysteries of the kingdom of God without His Spirit teaching them to you and revealing them to you? A mystery. See, a mystery in Scripture usually is something that would have remained unknown if it hadn't been revealed. It doesn't stay a mystery. It stays a mystery to those who don't believe. Those who don't have ears to hear. But those who have received ears to hear, the mystery is revealed. Christ died on the cross for your sins. The sinless one, for the sinners. And this idea that you would believe first, how could one believe the mysteries of the kingdom before he even knows the mysteries of the kingdom? How could one believe the mysteries of the kingdom before they are revealed to him? Can't believe what you don't know. Can't believe what hasn't been revealed to you. These mysteries cannot be known by mere human reason. Leon Morris, nobody could know these truths unless they were revealed to them. Psalm 40, verse 6, My ears you have opened. My ears you have opened. God does reveal the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven to those upon whom He bestows His undeserved kindness, His grace. He gives them eyes to see and ears to hear the message of the cross. Look at Ephesians 1.8. In all wisdom and insight, He made known to us the mystery of His will. For what purpose? According to His kind intention, which He purposed in Christ. He revealed it to us. Couldn't have figured it out. And Jesus is very clear here in the second part of this verse. This mystery is not revealed to everybody. The Lord affirms here that He conceals this mystery, these mysteries, from the reprobate. The rest of verse 10. But to the rest it is in parables. So that, and he cites from Isaiah chapter 6, verses 9 and 10, seeing they may not see. Now seeing is used in two different senses here. The first time seeing is just for simple sensory perception. And then he says in hearing they may not understand. They can hear some words, can see something, but they don't know what they're looking at, and they don't understand what's being spoken. The unbelieving see and hear only with earthly eyes, without understanding the significance of what they have seen and heard. Now Luke abbreviates the words of Isaiah 6, 9, and 10 here. Matthew gives a more complete rendering. Chapter 13, verse 14. He says, in their case, speaking of the rest, The prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, you will keep on hearing but will not understand. You will keep on seeing but will not perceive. Well Luke stopped there. But Matthew goes on to quote the words from Isaiah that explain why they won't hear. Why they won't understand? Because the heart of this people has become dull. With their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they would see with their eyes. They would hear with their ears. If they would open their eyes and understand with their heart and return. And what would happen? I would heal them of their sins. So Isaiah showing us here, every man is responsible for his rejection of Christ. Look at the words again. Their hearts have grown dull. They have closed their eyes. Otherwise they would see, they would hear, they would understand, and I would heal them. The refusal to hear and believe the gospel is willful. And as was the case with Pharaoh in the time of Moses. When people persistently harden themselves against God, ultimately He will harden them and give them over to Satan and to their sin. At the same time, folks, let us also be mindful, Christ has never turned away anyone who truly desired to come to Him. His ways are not our ways. I can't explain all that goes on in the mind of God. But He has never turned away anyone who truly desired to come to Him. For all who turn to the Lord in true repentance, there is forgiveness and there is healing. But their hearts have grown dull. They've closed their eyes. They've decided to refuse to see and hear the good news. And God allows them to have their way. This is exactly what we see in the mass rejection of Christ in our world today. Romans 128, all who have been given over to a depraved mind. They have voluntarily, and with a hatred of God, blinded and hardened themselves. Their blindness to God is what they have chosen. Romans 128, And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind. The blindness to God is what they've chosen. This depravity that's all around us. Men thinking they're women. Women thinking they're men. The rejection of God's institution of marriage. All of it is a blindness to God, and it's what they've chosen. And so God's judgment of them is just. But to those whose hearts receive the seed, look what Jesus says, Luke 10, 23. Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see. Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see, for I say to you that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them. And so, to the true followers of Jesus Christ, the parables He spoke won't be confusing, they'll be helpful. These illustrations help us to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God. Psalm 119, 130, the unfolding of your words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple. Well, the parable here provides a sober reminder Even the most enthusiastic outward response to the gospel offers no guarantee that one is a true disciple. It's an exhortation to perseverance. Another exhortation to perseverance. Only the test of time and perseverance under difficult circumstances, turning away from the idolatries of wealth and pleasure and anxiety over earthly concerns. That's the test. Does he stay first? And above all, of course, the presence of fruit manifested in consistent obedience to God's will. These things will prove a profession of faith to be genuine. Jesus said it in verse 8, He who has ears to hear, let him Well, let us pray. Lord, we are so blessed to have this Word. We're so blessed that You have opened our eyes and our minds and our hearts to hear You, to understand You, to believe in You. Lord, we pray that You would bestow this gift on multitudes all around us. We pray You would bestow this gift on our leaders in this nation, in this state, in these communities. That You would open ears and eyes. That You would soften hearts. That we would be a people who receive You and honor You in all that we think, do, and say in Christ's name.