by Evangelist John McEldrin that's gonna be with us. He and his wife Mary Lynn wrote that, and that shows the heart of John. John's got a burden for revival. Are you thankful for revival? By the way, revival is not what we think. Oftentimes we think supernatural, and it is, but many people getting saved. Revival, practically speaking, is us having the vital life of Christ in us. It's abiding in the vine. It's us being what we ought to be for God. And when we fall below that, We need to be brought back up to that, revived, just like a person that is revived. They don't come back with superhuman strength, they just come back to normalcy. And God wants us to be living. A life that is vital, and a life for him. And that's gonna be the blessing of the evangelistic meetings with Evangelist John McElderin. That's his burden, his burden in his revival. His ministry is a revival-focused ministry. Just truths from the word of God about the spirit-filled life and walking with God. So that'll be a blessing. All right, we've got an agricultural theme this morning. At our house, many of you know we bought a house in November, and there's been projects, many projects that we've done. And I had a, kind of in my mind, a have-to-do list. It really, all winter long, on my have-to-do list was something that was really nagging at me, and that was staining all the exterior windows and doors. Our house is two stories, some of the second story has porches or roofs that go out at different places and several windows like that and thinking, how am I going to get up there? How's that going to work out? And I am relieved to be beyond that, all right? That was a have to do. And in my garden, there was some have to do. I had to take a chainsaw and cut the hedge, which, by the way, Alec, you saw it this past week. Alec was over for his birthday. Alec's 78, by the way. And it accomplished that milestone this week. You know, that hedge is finally filling in, where it was chainsawed off and starting to look nice. But that was have to do. Thatching the garden, have to do. And try to get some grass seed planted. But on my want-to-do list is a desire to take some dirt, just some soil without rocks in it, and shake it over my grass. Because if you come to my garden, it looks OK, but there is some very low-growing stuff and you look at it and think, why isn't that grass grown? But the reality is, it's not good soil. Underneath that layer of whatever's growing is not all grass. There is sand. I found that out as I've taken up some sections of sod. I've transplanted some sod out to that section of the garden trying to get some grass grown in there. I mean, you peel up the sod, it's just pure sand. That's my want to do. Want to do because I'm not growing a crop in my front garden. I'm not profiting at all. As much as I like it to look nice and I want it to look nice and by God's grace it will look nice in the future, it's not a have to do because it doesn't affect me in reality as far as anything important. But if I was a farmer, and that was my soil, and that was my livelihood, then I'd have to stop, look at that, and say, you know what? I really need to do something about that soil to get it to be productive. Otherwise, my farm is going to be unfruitful. As we come to the story today, it's agricultural. And the Lord is speaking specifically about what seed does. when that seed gets into the soil. The seed is the gospel. It's the message of the kingdom of God. It is repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. It is the king of the kingdom is here. It is in the future from when Christ told this story, it is Jesus Christ crucified and risen again so that man can be born with life again for the first time, that new life can come into them. And without good soil, it's impossible. And so Jesus tells a story about the gospel. And I want to preach a message this morning about growing the gospel in good soil. I want to ask you today, can or is the gospel flourishing in your heart? Disappointing when you get saved and you're excited about somebody else getting saved and you think it's gonna be so easy. Obviously, they're gonna wanna get saved. There's an anticipation that if you just knock on their door and speak to them in a comprehensive way about God, that surely they'll get saved. But in reality, as we seek to do that, it's not as easy as that. And so again, the Lord tells a story. Let's read it again so it's fresh in our minds. In Matthew 13, in beginning at verse three. 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. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up and choked them. But others fell into good ground and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." It's an interesting statement that so often came at the conclusion of a parable as the Lord would give a parable or would give instruction. He would say those words, who that hath ears to hear, let him hear. He's looking at an audience that I imagine everybody had ears. And most people that would be standing there, they're there to listen. So they're there to take in audibly what he's saying. But what he's saying when he says he'd have ears to hear is that there are some people that can get it and some people that can't get it. And he doesn't want them to miss the truth. And God doesn't want us to miss the truth And he further explains to his disciples in the passage why it is that there could be people that are there in that audience that appear to all purposes to be listening, but they're not getting it. And he explains what it is, and he says it in verse 15. He says, for this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. It's not that audibly they couldn't perceive, but spiritually, there was something that was stopping their spiritual ears from hearing. It was keeping them from getting the gospel. In reality, it was they didn't want it. They had sin that was in their life that they allowed to keep them from hearing the gospel. I think of Judas Iscariot. Judas, as a disciple of our Lord, sat for three years under the teacher of all teachers. And if I asked you today this question, did Judas understand mentally the gospel? The answer would be, surely, yes. But did he understand in his heart the gospel, understand by experience? And the answer is, No, he had never tasted and seen that the Lord is good. Why was it that Judas was there and he didn't receive? Well, he was an unrepentant thief. Judas harbored sin in his heart. We know that from The story of Mary's anointing of the Lord Jesus is Mary took that precious box of ointment that was a year's wages and broke that and rubbed that on the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ in devotion. And Judas spoke up against what Mary had done. And he said, why was not this ointment sold for 300 pence and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor. but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. Then said Jesus, let her alone. Against the day of my bearing has she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you, but me ye have not always. The Lord stood up for what Mary had done that was right, but Judas revealed his heart. He cared not because he wanted that to be given to the poor, but because he was a thief. Judas, why can't you hear? The Lord Jesus Christ is teaching. Judas, don't you understand? If you die today, you'll spend eternity in the lake of fire. If you die today without Christ, it's over. Judas, why don't you get it? Because in his heart, Judas had sin that Judas was unwilling to let go of and let God deal with it. John 3, 19. says, and this is the kind of nation that light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. Light has come. I mean, glorious light that we talked about. There is power, power, power, power. This gospel is illuminating. Wonderful light. but we have a world that is shrinking from it. Why? Because they are loving their darkness rather than the light, because their deeds are evil. Verse 20 goes on to say, for everyone that doeth evil, hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. There's an unwillingness in the heart of that person to open his heart, like David said, search me, oh God, know me, try me, see if there be any wicked way in me, expose it by your light, show me where I err. Instead of that, there's a closeness and a hiddenness and a secrecy to keep that sin and thereby rejecting the Savior. As you look at it, you look at the soil, theologically, is this correct that, yeah, I think it is, that that soil is the responsibility of the individual, if that makes sense. That there is a responsibility in the heart of that person to be good soil, right? So that they can receive the gospel seed that God desires to give. And so I want to look at it in that light this morning. And so the point would be grow the gospel in good soil. As you look at your heart, grow the gospel in good soil. As you seek to minister the gospel, think about this, there was a great message I heard preached at, it was preached at a Baptist World meeting that I was not a part of, I wasn't even with Baptist World back then, but my dad was on Baptist World, and it was about rock picking. It might be for us as believers, we think about this message today. What we need is good soil. What do we have to deal with? The things that are in the soil that gotta come out so that that person can receive Christ. And so I think it'll help us both ways today. If we're the wrong soil, be the good soil. As soul winners. that we are seeking to develop good soil so that we can see the power of the gospel at work in that person's life. So may the Spirit of God bless into our hearts this morning, and as Jesus said, Matthew 13, 18, hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. May God give us ears to hear, even as verse nine says, who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Let's pray. Father, I praise you for the word of God. Father, I thank you for the opportunity that we have to look at this parable this morning. And Father, I pray, give us a greater burden for souls. Father, I thank you for the extra ministries that we have through the Summer of Evangelism, Holiday Bible Clubs, Football Tournament, Parade, Gallaudet. And Father, our normal ministries. But Father, as we talked about this morning, as we sung this song, I'd love to tell this story. that is something that we have to verbalize, something that we need to do. And I'm burdened about it. I pray, Father, give us a greater casting of the seed. Give us grace to get the gospel further out. And I just ask, especially this morning, Lord, if somebody's not good soil, I pray that they would understand what is hindering them in their heart and their life. And Father, as believers, I pray, Spirit of God, give us wisdom how to sow the soil. I pray for your help as I preach. I can't speak without your enablement. I pray the Spirit of God would please guide my thinking, guide my words. Father, give us grace to hear from you today. And Father, I pray spiritually that you give us ears to hear. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. All right, so get the gospel, first of all, into the soil. We need to grow the gospel in good soil, but the first thing is get the gospel into the soil. Verse 19 says, when anyone heareth 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 receives seed by the wayside. Understand if it not is the key to they're not receiving it. That phrase means that they will not receive wisdom. So they're resisting. They're resisting wisdom. They don't get it. They don't comprehend it. They don't understand it. They're on the wayside. The wayside would be the hard-packed road that runs alongside of that field. It might be a public road that went by, and you've got the farm field that's beside it. And as a farmer, we cast the seed, just like you and I, as we thatch our our grass in our garden, and as we take the seed, whether by hand or with a little machine of some sort, and we spread the seed. It's just like that. It's that casting of seed. And as you cast the seed, inevitably some gust of wind will come, and it'll take that seed away from where you intended to plant it in the field, and it'll distribute it elsewhere. where it will be unprofitable. It's outside of the field that was being sowed. It says in verse four, when he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside, and there it says the fowls came and devoured them up. And that seed just sitting on the surface of that hard-packed earth, very easily the birds come. And the birds take that seed. And the Bible says in the explanation to the disciples, it's the wicked one that cometh along. He catches away that which was sown. So there's nothing that's going to take place of gospel life to anybody that is soil, that is outside the field, that is in the wayside. Sad, isn't it? I mean, the gospel is going out. The gospel is being proclaimed. It's discouraging to see Jehovah's Witnesses on the street corner down here. It's discouraging to see them on the street corner down in Edinburgh. It's disheartening to have them knocking on doors. I thought yesterday, I have to commit it to God. When I carry my Bible or a satchel and I'm doing flyers or I'm knocking on a door, I just think, dear God, please don't let anybody think I'm a Jehovah's Witness. I don't know if you have that thought. as well, but Satan wants to use that to keep me from being faithful to what God's called me to do. He wants to do the same with you, right? But praise God, on the other hand, listen, the gospel's going out. The gospel in Britain is readily available. It is there. Now, we need to do more, but I praise God, as you see the Jehovah's Witnesses, There are also guys out doing evangelism. God has his witness. I met a lady as I was doing evangelism in Attleboro a few years ago and kind of feeling bad for myself, so I looked around and thought, you know, there's a sea of people. How in the world can this make any difference? Who else is giving the gospel? Two things happened, actually, two different days in the same area, okay, right down by the monuments of Sir Walter Scott. One was this. I just sat down and thought, Lord, what's the point? And a group from CMF in Ireland, or CEF, Child Evangelism Fellowship, I mean a group of like 30, came down and they started singing hymns and witnessing. Another time, right there in that garden as well, as I was walking through, I went to hand a flyer to a lady that was in early 80s. And she was handing a tract to me at the same time. And I said, that's great. She comes up from England. to give the gospel. She comes up by train to give the gospel in Edinburgh. That's a rebuke, isn't it? God is the gospel going out. It's what Proverbs says in Proverbs 8, verse 1, doth not wisdom cry, and understanding put forth her voice? She standeth in the top of the high places, by the way in the places of the paths. She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. Unto you, O man, I call, and my voice is to the sons of man. O ye simple, understand wisdom, and ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. Remember that phrase, understanding heart. Look at our text, it says they understand not. Understanding heart's gonna come into play again in our message this morning. But they resist that. They want to get that down into their heart. Praise God. I mean, I can stand at somebody's door and I can say, listen, this is the truth. Unbelief is as simple as saying, God, you're right, I'm wrong. I mean, that's the solution, isn't it? It's saying, God, this is, in the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. Praise God. And it's abundantly available. For my mouth shall speak truth, and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are in righteousness. There is nothing for it or perverse in them. They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge. That just means it's simple. It's a simple reality. I mean, we've all seen young children as young as four years old accept Jesus Christ as their savior. Because the gospel and the word of God is that simple that even a child can get it, a child can understand it. to them that understand it, write to them that find knowledge, receive my instruction, and not silver, in knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared unto it. It's priceless. Praise God that what is going forth, the gospel of the kingdom, is priceless, but yet as it falls there on the wayside, it's worthless. You know, as I think about that, I think, and I don't know what percentage of our field is gonna fall into any one of the categories that we look at this morning, but I know as I knocked on doors yesterday with Benson, was my partner yesterday, and as we talked to people, I know we met people that are on the wayside. And I think it's like this, the wayside is where the gospel's not being sown, so where is that? That person's not in church. Right? That person is outside of the realm of the word of God and what the word of God is saying and being taught or being expressed out of any church. Because I would say this, even in a bad church, there's a chance that by the grace of God, something's gonna make sense and something is gonna click with somebody and somebody, by God's grace, could be saved. But the gospel, as we scatter the seed, at times we're at the door of somebody, we're speaking to them, and they're churchless. And they'll say things like this. I used to surprise me. I used to think that can't be. And they say something like, I never think about it. And you ask them a question about heaven and hell. You speak to them about God, and they can honestly say, I never think about it. Why? Because they're on the wayside. They're outside of where the seed is being sown. They never crack a Bible. They never purposely, because by the way, as I look at this, if you're going to open a Bible, you're stepping in the field, as far as soil is concerned. Why? Because you're in a place where the seed is being sown. You've put yourself in a profitable place, but this person, they don't crack a Bible. They won't get in the Word of God to see what it says. They stay away from Christian environments or invitations to Christian things. And so obviously, as I preached this morning, it's unlikely that that person is here this morning. It could happen. It might be a one-off where that person happened, or they might listen to the sermon audio or something just happened to you, not because they intended to, but because of the mercy of God and the grace of God. Some of that seed was outside of the soil area. And so they got a glimpse of it. Does that make sense? But listen, how easy it is for somebody in that position, they're not in the field, they're not in the word of God, how easy it is for Satan to come and to snatch away that which was sown. And that's what the word of God says. So if that person was by accident coming across this truth this morning, what would I do? I would encourage them, and listen, as you evangelize and you're talking to people at their doors, don't give up so easily when somebody says, I don't go to church, or they say, I don't think about it, or something like that, sow the seed. Maybe that seed will give them a taste. And if the soil has any life in it, an ability to motivate itself, the seed will snatch away. But maybe in that place, they'll stop and think, you know, I need to get where the seed is. Because nothing's growing in my life. Could be. But they're outside of the place where the seed is being sown. So encourage that person. One of our tracks, the little one, and I'm going to make another track. But in our literature that we put out often as a church, there's been encouragement saying, open your Bible. Open your Bible, get in a place where there's a chance that by God's grace, you could be saved. And so let me say this to you. If you're not a normal church person and you've just started coming to church, don't stop coming to church. Don't get out of a place where God's word can be sown into your life, where it can flourish. You start reading your Bible, and maybe you're not again a church person, but you've got a Bible and you start to read it. Don't stop. Why? Because that is where God is working. He's sowing there. If you got it outside of there, it's by accident. I know providence in God, right? But it's by accident. Satan will snatch you away. Be in a place where God can work. So get the gospel first into the soil. Maybe the soil needs to get where the gospel is going to be. But get the gospel, secondly, into soil that is not stony soil. Into soil that isn't rocky. Our house on Clerk Street, where we live just here by Dino's Chip Shop, has a huge back garden. And Alec, you remember walking through that before he moved in? I think you went back there with us. And if you went back there when we first moved in, then you went back there when we left, you'd look and you'd say, wow, you landscaped. But in reality, we didn't. We just had archaeological digs all over the property. Because right in the back, there was a circle of stone that was covered with grass. You couldn't see it. In the center of that, there was another circle of stone. You couldn't see it. There was grass and moss over it. There was a patio that was overgrown. There were bricks that lined the side of the garden that were overgrown. And it could grow. It could work. Unless there's drought. If there's a drought, all of a sudden, what would happen? And I'll explain why I know this. But if there was a drought, what would happen is the grass that has soil underneath it has more moisture. That grass would stay green. And all of a sudden, you'd have brown, dead, dry grass over the top of that rocky soil. It would reveal it if there's a drought. How do I know that? Because we're in a drought. And I saw a BBC article. And the BBC article is pictures from drones. And in a field, there's a, I think, Neolithic or something like that circle. And they go, oh, that's really old, this circle that's there. There's airfields, old World War II airfields that have shown up. And you can see them in the grass. Why? Because they're underneath the grass. The grass has grown over them. It's very shallow. There's rock underneath there in the form of the runway. And you can see it. There's gardens, ornate gardens that had rock that was just grown over. And all of a sudden you can see that beautiful pattern revealed by the drought. And so what it is that we see here is that stony soil is deceptive. It's deceptive. Verse 20 says, but he that received the seed into stony places, the same as he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it. And it's like that person, and I could share stories this morning, and it grieves my heart, and it's one of the disappointments of evangelism and church planting and seeking to reach people. One of the disappointments is all of a sudden there is life, and it springs up, and you look at it and say, it's wonderful, praise God, the harvest is coming, it's growing. And as long as everything is going well, it's there. But as soon as adversity comes, or hardship comes, and the spiritual environment isn't as good, then all of a sudden it begins to deteriorate. And so, verse 20 again, he that received the seed in a stony place is the same as he that heareth the word, and in none with joy receiveth it. So excited. I used to say to my wife, I said, I think Satan just encourages you to discourage you. It's hard. It's hard when we as a church, we see somebody saved, and then things go backwards. Things decline. It's disheartening. Because you're rejoicing what God's done, and then all of a sudden, adversity reveals that it wasn't what we thought that had taken place. We have a plant in our living room that we've had for six years. My wife likes it. And it doesn't look that nice. It doesn't. Because we've almost killed it several times. And it really is a miracle that it's still alive. But sometimes I'll look at that plant, and I'll say to my wife, I'll say, you know what? We really need to just change the soil. We need to add some nutrients. I mean, the thing is just struggling. I think it's a lily, but it hasn't had a bloom in ages. And it's coming, though. It's coming. But as long as we prop it up, it's alive. It's kind of like a Christmas tree. We used to have a live Christmas tree at our house every Christmas, and a live Christmas tree, you've got that sugary water that you're putting in every day, and as long as you do that, you can maintain the idea that it's alive, but in reality, it's dead. In reality, it has nothing underneath it, no roots. Let me ask you this morning, do you need extra care to get you to church to look alive? See, it's hard sometimes, it wears us out. We're burdened about somebody, gotta get to church and try to, hey, just wanna encourage you, be faithful. Just wanna encourage you to come and be a part of the ministry. And there's that propping up, that propping up, do you need that this morning? Are you a propped up Christian? Where you got to have somebody behind you just kind of, you know, trying to get a little bit of life into you, a little bit of life into you. Are you somebody that by God's grace is standing for God? This rocky Christian that looks like a Christian is somebody that's propped up. Paul said, In Hebrews 5 verse 12, he says, for when the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God, and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat. And it may be that those were just, obviously in the context, those are believers. Those are people that Paul looks at and says, you got a testimony of faith in God? But there's no spiritual maturity, there's no growth, there's no getting to the point of doing anything for God. Somebody in that position, I stop and think, am I truly born again? Am I somebody that has really been saved, or am I just propped up? Is it just, you know, something that sprung up, seemed like it, but it's not real. It's not genuine. Because stony soil reveals itself when adversity comes, verse 21. Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while, for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. Okay, there's a process of time, by and by. It's not immediate, at first it's like, hey, this is great, I'm so excited, I'm so thankful to be a part of this, but when persecution comes because of the word. Maybe somebody in the family's saying, why are you going to church all the time? Why are you carrying your Bible? Why are you getting baptized? And they begin to have adversity as they're seeking to serve God. And that adversity reveals that, you know what, there's not really life there because they're going to turn aside. It says they have no root in themselves. 1 John 2.19. It might be the parable that Jesus would later tell. I think in the same chapter he speaks about the parable of the tares and the wheat. It's two things that as the tough time comes, there's a revelation that there's no genuine conversion that actually took place in that person's life. I mean, John says it very clearly, and there's always in my heart, as I preach something like this or teach something like this, I want to give exception. I want to give the second, what is it called, the second doubt? Is that the right phrase? I want to say, well, you know, what is it? Benefit of the doubt. Yeah, maybe that's it. I probably combined two, right? I want to say, well, you know, I hope they're saved. I hope there's something genuine. And I don't know their heart, but God does. But I mean, John says so clearly, they went out from us because they were not of us. If they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. He states it so clearly that there is a continuation in the faith. In fact, for a believer, when persecution comes, what's the Bible speak about? He purges us to grow us. It talks about trial of your faith worketh Patience. There's an aspect of adversity for a believer, it just makes those roots go deeper. It just makes it dig down more, get more ingrained in God. Those that suffer and are saved, count it joy, just like the apostles, Acts 5, verse 40. It says, when they had called the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple and in every house they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. They had the enablement of the Holy Spirit, they had the encouragement of God, but there was a reality of a steadfastness in their life that stood when adversity came. Paul challenged Timothy to this. 2 Timothy 2 verse 1, as he said, Thou therefore my son, be strong in the grace, says in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. God has an expectation for believers that a believer's gonna stand, a believer's gonna be faithful. It's what Job said when he said, though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. You know, today, as you think on the message and what Jesus is saying, we don't know the hearts. It may take time. There may be a process of time where somebody's away, adversity has knocked them down, but it grieves them, and they want to get back, and they want to be faithful to God. But when somebody just turns away and walks away, at times, it's just revealing the fact that they were just stony soil. And so today, are you willing to stand up for the Lord Jesus Christ? And if it's somebody that still needs to be saved, is there in your heart a decision to say, I'm not gonna count the cost. I'm gonna accept Christ regardless of what my family says. I'm gonna accept Christ regardless of anything because I want Christ. And so don't let the stony, Don't let stoniness, if that's you, into your heart to keep you from coming to Christ. Get the gospel into soil that's not stony. Then get the gospel into soil without thorns. Verse 22 says, he that receives seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word and the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and he becometh unfruitful. So much of the Word of God speaks about the love of the world. The Bible says, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. For all that is in the world, lest the flesh, lest the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. It's in contrast to Christ. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter six, lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. And this isn't a person that after they profess faith in Christ, tribulation drives them away. It's a person that can't let go of the world. It's a person that has an affection still for those things that might be thinking about getting saved, but they like gambling. They might be thinking about getting saved, but they love their adulterous partner. They might be thinking about getting saved, but they love their sin. They love their thievery or something like that. And because of their love for that, they don't have a genuine love for Jesus Christ. I'm reminded of the rich young ruler. As Jesus dealt with him, Luke 18 and verse 22, it says, now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, yet lackest thou one thing, sell all that thou hast and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful for he is very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God, for it's easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Let me ask you, was Jesus dealing with discipleship or salvation? Salvation. So he does say, if anyone will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. There is an aspect about discipleship that we say everything else is gone. It's all for Christ, right? It's what we talked about this morning. Not my will, but thine. There is an aspect of that. But as the Lord is dealing with his man about salvation, God knows the hearts. And he looked at a rich man and said, you know what's keeping you from following after me? Salvation is your money. It's your love for things. That's a sad trade, isn't it? It's a sad trade. He went away sorrowful, because he had great riches. Then they say, how hardly, the Lord said, how hardly shall they that have great riches get saved. And we ought to stop and say, you know what, no wonder it's so hard to give the gospel today. See, our world is rich and increased with goods. They've got everything hearts desire. Except Christ. And so we're knocking on doors, and people don't want it. It's the same thing. Men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. It's what are you going to live for? They're not ready to say, I count all gain but loss. They're not ready to sell the field, or what is it, sell everything they have so they can purchase a field with a pearl of great price. because they have a love for things. We're in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah on Thursday nights. And the Bible says about Lot, that righteous man vexed his righteous soul. He's saved, but he's living in Sodom. And it grieved him, but it doesn't tell us that his wife was grieved. It doesn't anywhere indicate that Mrs. Lot was born again, modern context. She didn't have imputed righteousness by faith in God. And I don't believe. Because as she came out of that city, the Bible says, his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. What's that idea of looking back? They said don't look back. But why is she looking back? Obviously, she had family there. I don't think that's it. I think she's looking back with longing. Everything that she loved was destroyed. And see, that's going to be the case Someday for everybody. Alec, we've been talking about, on Thursday at our house, the vanity of life. You mow your grass, it grows back. You cut your hedge, it grows back. You stain your trim, it corrupts. Everything in this world is corruptible. Someday people are going to understand what they lived their life for was nothing. It's empty. And so today, it might be friends, worldly friends. And you don't want to give up your worldly friends. It might be worldly music, rock music. It might be worldly appetites, other things, central things that, in reality, isn't a fair trade. Satan has kept people from Christ that could have grown because they had a love for other things rather than a love for God. That's the soil that we see here. Are you good soil? or is your life consumed with things? By the way, believers, that is a reminder to us. God desires us to have affection for him and him alone. He takes care of all that. It's peripheral. And so even as believers, we're not to be like that, but certainly we can't get saved today if we're holding onto things. We gotta be willing to let go and come to God. And so get the gospel into soil in which it can flourish. And so it says in verse 23, but he that receives seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word and understandeth it, which also beareth fruit and bringeth forth, some in hundredfold, some 60, some 30. There might be a difference today. If harvest time came, the Lord of the harvest stood here, and we presented him with our fruit, what our labors had tallied, the fire shall reveal it, what sort it is, and whether it's real or not. But as we stood there before God, some would have more, some would have less, but all would have what? Something. There be some evidence, surely there be something, some fruit that, not just speaking about salvation, but the fruit of a believing life that is there, that is evident, it ought to be there. We ought to expect this morning, if you're saved and you're good soil, that there is growth that's taking place, that there is fruit that is evident in your life. And so how does that fruit take place? Go back to verse 15 in the text. Jesus said it negatively, but think about it positively. For this people's heart is waxed gross, their ears are dull of hearing, their eyes they have closed. Lest at any time, take that out, okay, and think about what does happen when somebody gets saved. They see with their eyes, they hear with their ears, and understand where? In their heart. Remember Proverbs 8? Wisdom's crying. Where is it heard? It's in the heart. Understand what their heart should be converted changed by God and I should heal them It's what Romans 10 9 10 says and if this is you today think about it this way Have you invited Jesus Christ? Have you received the gospel seed not into your head not intellectually But into your heart relationally Have you tasted personally and seen that the Lord is good? Have you taken Christ in? And the Bible speaks about it in different ways. Drinking, right? Taking in the water of life is Jesus Christ in your heart by faith. By faith. Why? Because then you're going to bear fruit and bring forth fruit. Is there fruit in your life? John 15.8 says, Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be my disciples. It is God's desire today. And again, fruitfulness is not just a huge church and a ton of people getting saved. We tend to think about fruit as just being evangelistic fruit. That might be part of it. But there ought to be a demonstration that we have the life of Christ in us. What does your life demonstrate? What kind of fruit is there in your life since you trusted Jesus Christ in your heart? Proverbs 20, verse 11. says, even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure and whether it be right. Even our children that come to church, we know this as a church. I mean, I can think of some children, I think, whoa. There's some specific children over the last eight years come to mind when I think of a child that is not known for doing what's right. But you know, there are some other children that come to my mind as children that have a really great spirit and are obedient. You know, the Bible tells, about two kings and they both became king when they were eight years old. And it speaks specifically about how God viewed them and what he saw as fruit in their life. Josiah's one of them, 2 Chronicles 34. He was eight years old when he began to reign. Verse two says he did that which was right, and decided the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand nor to the left. Okay, young people, you are children, but you know God observes you, and God evaluates the fruit in your life, whether it's good. He looked at Josiah and said, a man has a desire to do what is right in my eyes. In contrast, Jehoiakim, 2 Chronicles 36, 9, this is where it really stood out to me. Jehoiakim was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and 10 days in Jerusalem. Okay, he reigned three months, 10 days. When he ended his reign, how old was he? He was eight. He was a king at eight, and he ended his kingship at eight. And the Bible says, and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. That's an interesting statement. Why? Because even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be right, right? What evidence today is there in your life that you've truly been born again? What fruit is there that God says is real, is genuine? Because it ought to be there if you're saved. Matthew chapter seven, one last passage for us this morning. In verse 13, it says, Enter ye in at the straight gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction. And many there be which go in there at, because straight is the gate, narrow is the way which leadeth unto life. Few there be that find it. Okay, speaking about gospel is saying the way is a narrow way. The right way is very specific. But then he says, beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. And then it says, you shall know them by their fruits. It's saying there's gonna be evidence that they're false, evidence that it's not real. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles, even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit. Okay, now, generally speaking, speaking about fruit, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit. A corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. And I believe, in the context, it would be speaking about it's not genuine, not saved, it's to be burned. There's nothing there. It's like the branches that aren't connected to the vine. I'm the vine, you're the branches. If you're not connected, you're cast forth as a branch to be burned. And verse 20, wherefore, by their fruits ye shall know them. Again. Verse 21, not everyone that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, in thy name have cast out devils, in thy name done many wonderful works, and then will I profess unto them what? I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. What was the fruit of their life? Disobedience to God. How did they view it? In thy name I cast out demons. In thy name I did all these wonderful works. But they never were the good soil that God intended. I spoke with a lady yesterday. I shared that passage with her. She must have been in her 80s. But she's going to heaven, she said, because she's a good person. She can't express the gospel. And I explained the gospel to her and I ended with saying to her, You know, without Jesus Christ, nobody is going to go to heaven. Those without Christ will perish and go to hell. You know, that's the reality today. It's not what we profess, is that it's genuine, that there's life, that I am a plant, that I may fail and disobey, but God's a merciful God, a gracious God, a restorative God, but the reality is the uptick of my life is Christ and following Christ. If I look at my life and say, I'm more concerned about what people think, I won't get baptized, I won't take a stand for God, because if I do that, I'm gonna be persecuted, what's the problem? I'm probably rocky soil. If I say, well, I want to serve God, but it's about this and materialism is such a consuming part of my life, God says you can't serve two masters. And that can keep me, it could keep me entirely from Christ. Praise God, what I can rejoice in today, because the soil can be discouraging, can't it? But I can rejoice today that I'm not ashamed of the gospel because it's the power of God into salvation to everyone that believe it. I can rejoice today. This is as powerful today to save somebody, to develop real fruit in somebody's life. It's as able today as it was back in the day of Paul. I don't have to, as minister, say, you know what? Today is just not a day where we can grow fruit. And so let's be content as a church to have people that have a profession of faith in Christ, but have the worldliness, have the shallowness, don't take a stand for God, and it's okay. We can say, by God's grace, let's pray God make it good soil and real fruit that'll bring forth. We have people praying for our church, asking God that it would bring forth fruit that will remain. Why? Because that's what this is. It's genuine. Don't be discouraged. We might see somebody profess faith in Christ, and they come, and it seems so exciting, and they turn away. Don't let that discourage you. Expect it. Sadly expect it. Why? Because that's what the word of God says. Expect people to turn away to jobs, they get so busy working, they have no time for God, and it might just reveal the fact that they've never been born again, they've never been saved, because they let that take them away. But by God's grace, let's be those that are good soil, fruit, and remain for God's glory. May God bless His word to our hearts this morning. Let's pray. Father, I thank you for the opportunity that we've had to study the Word of God this morning, the parable of the sower. Father, it's a difficult concept. We don't know the hearts of men. All we can do as a church is prayerfully baptize people who profess faith in Christ. That's what we're to do, Lord, your Word commands us to. But Father, we pray for genuine believers. We pray for those that would bear fruit. And Father, I pray this morning if somebody really examines their heart and they say, you know what? I won't stand up for God. If somebody says something critical, it's easy for me to turn away. I want nothing really to do with identifying with Jesus. There ought to be concern in the heart of that person. Lord, if their conversion's genuine, they ought to stand up and count it joy to be tested and tried for the Lord Jesus Christ. It ought to make them stronger as a believer. And Father, certainly if somebody is living their life for things, It's sad today where somebody understands the gospel intellectually in their head, but they love their things, and so they're not willing to let the gospel get into their heart and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. Father, I pray, speak to their heart about obeying and getting saved. And Father, give us patience as sowers. Give us grace to understand the soil. Help us, Lord, to do our best to help people. Get the rocks out. Get the thorns away. get into the field, so Father, the gospel can bear fruit in their life. Bless your word to our hearts this morning. It's in Christ's name I pray. Amen.