 Chapter 4 verses 1-3-20 we're going to be looking at a beginning of parables that Christ begins to give, Jesus begins to give here in the fourth chapter of Mark and so what I'm going to do is I'm going to look with you at verses 1 and 2 and Leah Foundation remind you of a number of things that we've already seen this is especially for those who are watching us joining us online and and by the way we do welcome you who are watching there's quite a number of you who watch online and it's a blessing to have you join us it would be even a greater blessing if you took those bunny slippers off and showed up but any anyway it's good to have you with us and and as you know I normally will give an introduction delay a context so you know what's taking place that's what I try to do so that doesn't remain a mystery to us as we study through Scripture and so I'll read verses one and two and then I'm going to give that introduction to set the tone for this so you can see why Christ begins in this portion of Scripture to do what he does so beginning at verse 1 reading verses 1 and 2 we'll get into our study mark chapter 4 verses 1 and 2 mark writes and again he began to teach by the sea and a great multitude was gathered to him so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea then he taught them many things by parables and said to them in his teaching and so when we begin the the book of Mark of Mark as we began the book of Mark we began in this way in chapter 1 Mark began his gospel by first introducing us to a man by the name of John the Baptist and remember how Mark began by giving to us two Scriptures related to the life of John the Baptist he quoted the book of Malachi in the old testament as well as the book of Isaiah and what he did in in those opening verses as he introduced us to Jesus's forerunner the one who was going before him to prepare the way before him he introduced us to a man that we know by the name of John the Baptist we saw how that Malachi wrote of the messenger who would prepare the way for Messiah and we saw how that Isaiah called the people to prepare their own hearts to receive this one who is Messiah and so after after introducing John to us Mark went on to introduce to us the Messiah himself he went on to introduce to us Jesus and he began by speaking of his baptism and the anointing that Jesus had of the Holy Spirit you see when Jesus was baptized his father gave witness of who he is we saw that in Mark 1 verse 11 where it says a voice came from heaven you are my beloved son in whom I am well pleased and so with that introduction Jesus was revealed as Israel's long-awaited Messiah Jesus is what is called by the Hebrews he is the Messiah he is the Christ Messiah is Hebrew and Christ is actually from the Greek it speaks of the anointed one and so both Messiah and Kurios or the anointed one the Christos the anointed one speaks of Jesus Christ as Messiah and so Jesus is Jesus Yeshua Messiah that's the Hebrew for Jesus a Messiah and Jesus is Yeshua he is the he is the Christos he is the anointed one of Christ and so of the Lord rather he is the Christ of the anointed one and that's what it speaks of and so we were introduced to the Messiah Jesus the anointed one in Acts 10 38 Peter said that God had anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power and how he went about doing good in healing all who were under the power of the devil because God was with him so the Apostle Peter spoke of Jesus the anointed one so when we saw Jesus baptized it and all that is what is in reference to him being declared as Messiah the one who is anointed and so the demons were well aware of this one who was anointed because again in Mark in chapter 1 we saw how that Jesus was in a synagogue and there was a demon possessed man there and it says that this man spoke and said let us alone what have we to do with you Jesus of Nazareth did you come to destroy us and went on to say I know who you are the Holy One of God and so Jesus is the anointed one the Holy One of God and it's introduced to us from the beginning you have John the forerunner you have Jesus Christ being declared at his baptism the Son of God you have the demons who are speaking say we know who you are you are the Holy One and so this Holy One Jesus we've been watching him through the gospel of Mark this Holy One went about doing good and attracting multitudes as we've gone through Mark we've seen how he cleansed lepers how he performed miracles how he cast out demons we even saw him forgiving sins and his preaching the preaching of Jesus Christ was amazing it was so attractive that crowds would form wherever he taught we saw that there were times that he would be speaking on the seashore even as we see now but we saw it earlier in another chapter how that they had to get a boat and move them off the shoreline so the people who were crowding around him would not crush and we we saw that people would would crowd around the door of any place that he was ministering that the multitudes would form wherever Jesus would speak and and and this is his amazing eloquence and not only that but this showed his power and it showed his authority when we looked in chapter 1 verse 22 it said that they were astonished at his teaching for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes when Jesus Christ spoke people listened they respected him when he spoke and they listened to what he had to say and they they were amazed at his his ability these he doesn't speak like the scribes he's he's not quoting other traditional teachers he's he's speaking with the authorities if he can interpret this on his own and so this is a man that that that when he would speak that the multitudes would be drawn to him later on in the Gospel of John we see that the Pharisees have sent some officers to arrest Christ and they came back to the to the religious leaders without without bringing Jesus and so they said where is he we sent you out to to arrest him and in John chapter 7 verse 46 the answer is very simple they said no one ever spoke the way that this man does there's no way we're going to try and drama away we were spellbound with the rest as Jesus spoke multitudes would listen and all of this was amazing in and the disciples are seeing this the disciples would see how the people would crowd around Jesus they they tried to press him to the door of any place that he was at they would crowd around the seashore where he would be speaking in the disciples are watching this they see the amazement but not everyone thinks what he's doing is good the religious leaders as we've seen already have begun to see Jesus as a problem because his teachings and actions are undermining their interpretations and traditions you see Jesus was performing miracles on Shabbat on the Sabbath and they saw that as sinful he also went so far as to forgive sins and they call that blasphemy you see all of what Jesus was doing was amazing it was attractive and yet not to everyone people were still rejecting him everything pointed to him as Messiah and yet he was being rejected when you read the Gospel of John and this is what is called the amplified Bible in John chapter 1 verse 11 the amplified Bible says he came to that which was his own that which belonged to him his world his creation his possession he came to that which was his own and those who were his own people were his own his own people the Jewish nation did not receive and welcome him he came into his own and his own received him not he came to his own world and his own people rejected him not everybody accepted Christ not everybody followed after him as disciples now as they're watching this take place and they're seeing that now there is a rejection that's beginning to form the disciples and his apostles may have begun to wonder what's going on they have seen so many crowds and yet they may be wondering what is happening you see his powers undeniable his miracles are amazing his preaching filled with authority yet there are those who are refusing him the rejecting him the challenging him and so to answer this kind of question that may be forming in the mind of his apostles and disciples Jesus begins to answer that question here in chapter 4 so in verse 1 it says he began to teach by the sea and a great multitude was gathered to him so that he got into a boat sat in it on the sea the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea and he taught them many things noticed in verse 2 by parables and he said to them in his teaching behold listen behold the sower went out to so and so he begins to speak to them as they're assembled to hear him teach once again the crowd is so large that he has to get into a boat now in verse 2 it says the crowd assembles on the shore and Jesus begins to teach them many things with so many present you may begin to wonder why he didn't begin by performing miracles that's something that mark has been clearly reporting on Jesus is a miracle worker well part of the reason would be that believing in miracles doesn't save a person a miracle will draw attention to the miracle worker but the message draws people to the God who saves now mark has made it very clear that after John was imprisoned Jesus came but he came preaching and mark 115 it says the time is fulfilled the kingdom of God is at hand repent and believe in the gospel that's what Jesus began with preaching and calling people to repentance why did he do that why didn't he perform miracles because what people see they will believe normally right well it's been said that the way into a man's heart is really through his ears and so Jesus began to preach you see preaching teaching the gospel is God's way of bringing people to salvation Paul in Romans 1 16 said it like this he said I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes for the Jew first and also for the Greek it's a power of salvation to everyone who believes I was reading recently that in 2009 77 percent of Americans claimed to be Christians in 2009 to in 2009 that's not that long ago 77 percent of Americans claimed when surveyed claimed to be Christians but by 2019 only 65 percent claimed to be Christian within a few short years 10 years we saw a drop-off of those calling themselves Christians by 12% during the pandemic you might find this interesting one in three practicing Christians have stopped attending church today for many the idea of preaching and teaching is just regarded as ineffective you can look back and you can see that there have been centuries of preaching and teaching the gospel Christians have spoken and written millions of words yet there seems to be little results and what has happened is that has discouraged pastors from teaching the Word of God it has also impressed church attenders that church services really aren't necessary many have ceased claiming to be Christians others have left church forever and so because of this should this cause believers and Bible teachers to cease teaching the Word of God because the question that could be asked is has God's Word lost its power and has preaching become useless you see not everyone sees the value of the message and the God who gave it there are many who believe that preaching salvation is is really a joke in 1st Corinthians 1 18 it says the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to us who are being saved it's a power of God you see today the thing that is troubling is that many professing Christians don't value God's Word they reject the Bible's authority they refuse to do what scripture teaches and what we're seeing is actually one of the primary signs that we live in the last days in 2nd Timothy 4 3 and 4 Paul said it like this he said the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but according to their own desires because they have itching ears they will heap up for themselves teachers they will turn away their ears from the truth and be turned aside to fables in the last days they will no longer endure healthy teaching they will go places that will that will tickle their ears that's what he's saying and that's what we see today we're living in those days even the church has decided that there are better ways to reach people well Charles Spurgeon a great preacher of another time said this Charles Spurgeon said I do believe we slander Christ when we think we are to draw people by something other than the preaching of Christ crucified that's absolutely true you see for centuries the gospel has been preached but not all hearing it have responded to come to faith in Christ and so this parable that we'll be looking at today gives us insight into the missing ingredient when it comes to God's word now notice again in verse 2 how how it says he taught them many things by parables said to them in his teaching it's interesting to note that Jesus often communicated by the use of stories approximately one-third of his recorded teachings come through parables throughout the New Testament he often gave instruction by the use of parables scholars different different the amounts but he gave no less than 37 and perhaps up to 39 now the word parable is a word that we all know it's a word that has been used in our society forever the word parable is something that all Christians are familiar with but not everybody knows what the word actually means just what is the definition of the word parable well the word parable speaks of placing one thing by the side of another in order to make a comparison it's been defined as an earthly story containing a heavenly meaning and it's through the use of parables that God uses what is the familiar to communicate to us what is unfamiliar and Jesus use parables in his teaching to share insights into the kingdom of God why while they reveal kingdom truth they provide doctrine they develop spiritual understanding and so parables are used by Christ quite often it's been said that they are mirrors and they are windows we see ourselves in them and they help us to see life through them and so Jesus would use parables and we're about to see these as we go through this chapter and when he would use parables he did so in order to conceal to reveal and to fulfill to conceal he would use a parable to conceal something from those who are not interested in or hungry for something they would be what we refer to today perhaps as lazy listeners lazy listeners who are filled with unbelief and they don't care about the deeper application of that story they're just not listening that closely the uninterested would hear a parable but they wouldn't think about it it's a lot we see that all the time they're not interested so they would conceal they also reveal they would reveal to those who are hungry for God's kingdom and are pursuing him when when a parable would be used and you would be listening we're gonna look at this in a moment you would hear what's being said and you'd be wondering what is he talking about and how does that apply to me as someone with a spiritual hunger who believed that what Jesus had to say was important that person would listen and they'd want to know what is the meaning of this and how deep does this really go whereas a lazy listener hears and they said you know what it's not easy to understand I don't care to and what it does is it separates it conceals from the person who doesn't really care but it reveals to the person who is very interested Proverbs 25 verse 2 says it like this it's the glory of God to conceal a matter but the glory of Kings is to search out a matter Jesus in the book of Matthew in chapter 5 verse 6 said it like this he said blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness they shall be filled hunger and thirst seek out a matter so these are the kinds of things that we even the church today could begin to evaluate within ourselves when you hear something that said are you interested in going deeper do you want to go further do you want to know more what does that mean how do I apply that or I'm not that interested you know make it easier for me that's a lazy listener has no spiritual desire to know more but the hungry person they'll say I have to know more about this I want to know more about this and so it is not only concealed but it's also revealed and then it a parable will fulfill and you're going to see this by the way in this chapter in in verse 12 when Jesus is speaking concerning this is fulfilling what is prophesied by Isaiah in chapter 6 verses 9 and 10 of his book we'll see that in just a moment and so Jesus used parables to communicate things concerning the kingdom of God they're interesting they're easy to remember and they're easy to apply in an atmosphere of hostility it separates the true follower from from the opponent and finally Jesus gave these parables in order to prepare as disciples for the mission believers are to be busy preaching the gospel until he returns and so that's what's taking place here there's your introduction we ought to get into the study right okay we will again verse 1 he began to teach by the sea and a great multitude was gathered to him so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea he taught them many things by parables and said to them in his teaching listen behold a sore went out to so listen a sore went out to so and it happened as he sowed that some seed fell by the wayside and the birds of the air came and devoured it some fell on stony ground where it did not have much earth immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth but when the sun was up it was scorched and because it had no root it withered away some seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it yielded no crop but other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up increased and produced some 30 fold some 60 and some a hundred he said to them he who has ears to hear let him hear so notice in verse 3 how Jesus began notice he began by telling his listeners listen that word listen is obvious it means pay attention he's making it clear that what was to follow wasn't going to be easy to understand listen learning spiritual truth is not something that comes naturally and it doesn't come easily it requires a spiritual hunger it requires a diligent heart Proverbs 2 3 through 5 says it like this it says if you call out for an insight and and cry aloud for understanding if you look for it as for silver search for it as for hidden treasure then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God search for it cry out for it I remember when I very first time I taught Proverbs 2 3 through 5 I just remembered how I had shared with the church this it was a Wednesday night and I shared to the church something very simple I said to them I said listen okay say you can trust me let's pretend you do so you trust me I said if I came here on and like tonight and if I said you listen I got some insight information I can't share it with everybody I'm going to share it with you listen carefully I know we're one of the largest untapped silver mines in the world is I know where it is but I can't dig it all out myself so I need some help if you want to go with me tomorrow at 5 30 a.m. I will take you to the mine and together we will dig out all that silver and I guarantee you we're going to be rich the next day backsliders would be there people who haven't been the church in 10 years would be there they'd be all there with their picks and little hats with the lamps the whole nine yards be wearing their work clothes right and I was sharing that with the church I said you know what is that talking about it's talking about trusting and seeking I said in here we have in front of us God's word and we wouldn't even think about plumbing its depth to receive the value that God has given to us in this word we are materialists and just don't even realize it and so when Jesus is speaking it requires people with a heart who are hungry for truth because when they have that and they're thirsting after it they will be satisfied and so he begins to share with them saying this is something that you need to understand listen carefully why because it requires a hunger and a diligence of heart it requires a longing to know and it doesn't come easily so listen verse 3 behold a sore went out to so so it's a picture of a man walking with a bag of seeds slung over his shoulder and he's he's moving through a field and he's scattering seed throughout the field with the intent of reaping a great harvest as a farmer he's scattering the seed with purpose and personal concern he isn't just throwing the seed anywhere he's carefully scattering it so that it covers the ground in verse 4 it happened as he sowed some seed fell by the wayside and the birds of the air came and took it so as he's scattering the seed there it is falling on the hardened path that that borders the field it it's it's the soil that has been hardened by foot traffic anybody here and all of us is more than likely have gone past fields and you'll see that there are there are there's bits of soil that have been hardened by people walking back and forth that's what it's talking about it's the wayside it's been hardened by by foot traffic and so some of the seed falls on on the wayside in verses 5 and 6 he says some fell on stony ground it doesn't have much earth and so it'll spring up quickly and so there is a there is part of the field has a what you call it underlying beds of rock and and what happens is this rock is covered by a shallow amount of of dirt and the seeds fall upon it and because it's shallow they germinate quickly but the roots can't penetrate the rock and they end up springing above ground faster than normal now and you look at it and the plants look healthy but they don't have a mature root system and so they're going to wither quickly in verse 7 he says some seed fell among thorns the thorns grew up in and choked it it yielded no crop the thorns he's speaking about our thistles there there's thistle bearing weeds that that grow and choke out the good seed you see the weed takes the space the moisture the nourishment and the sunlight from the healthy plant and and the result is that the ground yields no crop but in verse 8 he says but other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up increased and produced some 30 fold some 60 some 100 and he said he who has ears to hear let him hear this ground is fertile it's receptive it produces a spectacular harvest but then he says in verse 9 if you have ears to hear well listen this is a call to listen closely to what he's saying you see those who desire to know him are going to be those who seek him and he is revealed to us through his word in Jeremiah 29 13 you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart so pursue him is what he's speaking about listen closely to what I'm saying he's saying because if you don't desire to understand you never will your heart is soil it can produce a beautiful garden or it can become a field of weeds so he who has ears to hear let him hear decide that you will listen and listen with a heart of faith that's because God's word produces fruit that results in eternal life in 1st Thessalonians 2 13 Paul said we continually thank God because when you receive the word of God that you heard from us you accepted it not as the word of men but as the true word of God the word which is now at work in you who believe you didn't receive it as a philosophy you didn't receive it as somebody's opinion you didn't receive it as if we created it ourselves stories that we fashioned you received it for what it actually is for God's word that's how you received it you saw it for what it is because it's the word of God that reveals salvation I've said this before it comes to mind as I say it now story time we were on a plane we're flying home from Israel my son David was about nine years old at the time maybe 10 many years ago now and they had seated him and some of the others in the passengers in other areas than us I was flying the plane now we were we were separated and Davey was several rows behind me and I feel a tap on my shoulder for my son we had gone from Israel and stopped over in Rome and had been in Rome with our church for a few days and now from Rome we're flying back to the United States and my son Dave walks up and taps me on the shoulder and he has a friend of his by the name of Aaron again they're about nine years old ten years old or so at the time and David says dad we're witnessing to an Italian man and we need your help will you come and talk to me and I oh boy what are these kids up to what oh what are you doing my son so I said of course I will and I still remember going to the seat where they were and there's this very handsome businessman very handsome Italian guy and my son David looks at him looks at me and my son David says to this man dad you said this man here this is I'm just quoting my son so don't get offended I'll say something in a minute then you can't know I but this is the actual story dad I told him that we went to Israel and it's where Jesus was and dad he told me that he's a Catholic and and I told him you're going to hell because you worship Mary and then he says that's true isn't it dad and the man's looking at me with those eyes and I smiled at him I said let's get some spaghetti what do you say no I I I'm gonna make you an offer no I said to him I looked at my son what do you say to your son what do you say so I said to my son if this man does not receive the Lord Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior he's gonna go to hell I said in that you're you're right my son and the guys looking at me and I said but let me ask you a question if I may I said where are you from he says from Rome I said you're from Rome he goes yeah I said have you read God's letter to you yet and he goes what do you mean I said God has written a letter to the Romans have you ever read the letter that God wrote to the Romans no I have never I said it's in the Bible oh I said let me tell you what God told your ancestors and I shared with him what is called the Romans road all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God there's none righteous no not one this is appointed I went through it he was 927 and I went through up to he was 927 and I shared to him out of Romans you know the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life the Jesus Christ did you know that God demonstrated his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us did you know that so I gave him what is called the Romans road I said this comes from the book this comes from the letter in this book called the Bible that God gave to that church in Rome it's a letter that you ought to read too and so that's how I recovered that moment you know with him because it's the word of God please know this always it is a word of God that brings salvation when received it isn't man's tradition it isn't man's philosophy this is basic Christianity guys this is Christianity 101 and that's why Jesus taught and preached because it's the hearing of the gospel it's a hearing by faith that man and woman come to a relationship with God and so Jesus is speaking here and he's giving them this information and all the people are already rejecting Christ and and so he's wanting to give them an explanation as to what is taking place in and so as he's doing so there's he's speaking to as we saw a great multitude and that includes disciples as well as deniers and and the religious leaders have already started rejecting him but others are too now these people were not given the interpretation of the parable only those who had ears to hear were willing to listen and to understand and these are the ones that he gave the explanation to verse 10 when he was alone those around him with the 12 asked him about the parable he said to them to you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God but to those who are outside all things come in parable so that seeing they may see and not perceive hearing they may hear and not understand lest they should turn and their sins be forgiven them he said to them do you not understand this parable how then will you understand all the parables and so notice in verse 10 he's alone with those around him and the 12 so those who are remaining to hear an explanation with his 12 will receive it so why are you giving stories but not explanations they don't understand so he said to them verse 11 to you it has been given that word given means to be granted it has been granted given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom you have ears to hear and to you the mystery of the kingdom is revealed when he speaks of mystery that word mystery is is not the way that we use it today where we say oh it's a mystery to me I don't understand that the word mystery speaks of something that has been previously concealed that is now being revealed it's spiritual truth that is now being revealed so to you salvation has been revealed and you can receive it you see if God were not to reveal himself to you you could never know him so God reveals to us how to have a relationship with him he's the one who draws us to himself in Matthew 11 27 Jesus said all things have been committed to me by my father no one knows the son except the father no one knows a father except the son and those to whom the son chooses to reveal him and you verse 11 have been given the privilege of knowing the mystery of salvation in your embracing me by faith he's saying you've opened yourself to the understanding of the work of God but verse 11 the second portion to those who are outside all things come in parables they don't they don't have an interest they don't have saving faith they're blinded by unbelief they're not interested in this and so in verse 12 so the scene you may see and not perceive hearing you may hear and not understand that's Isaiah 6 9 and 10 in the time of Isaiah the Jews were rejecting the God of Israel no matter how he called them to repent they refused him ultimately they were judged they had hardened their heart to God they ignored his word they were locked in their sin and so he says in verse 13 do you do you not understand this parable how then will you understand all the parables understanding this parable is the key to understanding the others and so now he gives the interpretation verse 14 the sower sows the word and those are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown when they hear Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their heart well according to Matthew 13 37 the sower is Jesus obviously the word is God's word it's the gospel as we've seen Jesus has been going throughout the nation he's teaching he's preaching multitudes from Galilee Jerusalem it a male beyond the Jordan up north and Tyre inside and they're following him as they come to hear him he preaches he teaches as the sower sower he's doing this with the intent of covering the ground and he's doing so with the seed of the word if you take notes Psalm 126 verses five and six those who sow in tears shall reap in joy he who continually goes forth weeping bearing seed for sowing shall doubtless come again with rejoicing bringing his sheaves with him if you ever want to become effective in ministry learn what it means to weep for the lost learn what it means to have a broken heart for the lost there are quite a number of people who don't as a matter of fact they're angry at the lost they're not weeping for them but if you want to see fruit in your ministry you want to see fruit in your activities learn to weep for those who are lost those who so in tears shall reap in joy you men and many of you listening have heard what I have taught Jesus is saying you've become followers of mine but not all have done so they have rejected me he says in verse 15 these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown and they reject why do they reject he says because Satan runs interference and takes away the word how's he do that stereotypes distractions pride bitterness the love of this world the love of sin it all hardens them they hear the gospel they rejected having they have no desire to listen and they have no desire to be saved this could especially be pointing out the Pharisees by the way the other religious leaders who are trapped in their religious tradition they're refusing the grace and love of God and Satan has used this and has blinded them spiritually encouraging them to unbelief and you know it and I know it too before I was saved I had people share with me and because I'd been raised in a certain religious belief system I rejected what they were saying based on my religious traditions not on what they were saying but what I held fast to and believed and that's what the religious Pharisees did at the same time they were holding on to the religious tradition and and as a result of that they rejected what Christ had to say in verse 16 these likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who when they hear the word immediately receive it with gladness and they have no root in themselves so endure only for a time afterward when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake immediately they stumble stony ground stony ground is similar to the way side but it's actually hidden it's more it's it's deeper there's a thin layer of dirt that is covering the hardness of the soil and these people are the ones who hear and they emotionally seem to embrace the message externally they appear wonderfully saved but but their hearts remain hardened in sin under the surface is unbelief is a lack of repentance they've become victims of what I call easy believism they hear a shallow message it eliminates cost eliminates sacrifice eliminates any trouble they can show up at church they can go to Bible studies they go to retreats they even can serve on the outside they they appear to be genuine but when tribulation or persecution arises they they're made to stumble they haven't repented when trouble arises they abandoned anything they called faith they never had a love for Christ the hunger for righteousness and so they fall away they had no true conversion though it may take years for that to show they get disappointed in God when they're hurt and they turn away from him immediately aw tozer is a person I like on a devotional level and he wrote in a a devotion if you will call a book called the incredible Christian he said this he said if God sets out to make you an unusual Christian he is not likely to be as gentle as he's usually pictured by the popular teachers a sculptor does not use a manicure set to reduce the rude unshapely marble to a thing of beauty the saw the hammer the chisel our cruel tools but without them the rough stone must remain forever formless and unbeautiful to do his supreme work of grace within you you will take from your heart everything you love most everything you trust in will go from you piles of ashes will lie where your most precious treasures used to be there's truth to that there's truth to that only a genuine believer remains under such conditions when the things that you trusted in the things that you loved one by one seemed to slip away from you all you're going to be left with is what you really are and what you're left with is either going to be a love for christ or a rejection of him and i can speak after many years of experience last month i celebrated my 48th anniversary of my first bible study i've been teaching for 48 years i've taught well over 8 000 bible studies i've studied the word of god well over 20 000 hours i've taught on different continents in europe south america asia been to israel 27 times and i can tell you this as an elder in the body of christ as a father of the faith i can tell you this that the lord slowly will strip away from you the things that you rely on until it's just you and him and where you are at that time is going to show you what you are and so when jesus's word goes forth that's what we hold fast to but not not every person does that he says in verses 18 and 19 these are the ones sown among thorns they are the ones who hear the word and the cares of this world the deceitfulness of riches the desires for other things entering in choked the the word it becomes unfruitful again the soil appears good but within it are seeds and seeds of weeds and thorns and when the seed is watered and cared for the seeds of the thorns also begin to sprout these are the double minded hearers of the word they're the ones who include jesus in their way of talk but not in their way of walk their their first love remains the world pride position possession they all reign supreme they're overwhelmed with the deceitfulness of riches their desire for other things the love of the world dominates any love they might have for god's word in matthew 624 no one can serve two masters either he will hate the one and love the other or he'll be devoted to the one and despise the other you cannot serve both god and money their love for this world chokes off any longing for heaven they abandon christ in every case the seed was good it's the person whose heart is callous the seed produces to those who are receptive and that's why in verse 20 but these are the ones sown on good ground those who hear the word accept it bear fruit some 30 fold some 60 and some a hundred fold this is the soil not filled with unbelief this is the soil that is productive and each one produces according to its own capacity not not not all are equally productive because not not all are equally sold out to the lord some just want to get to heaven others want to come in victoriously and fruitfully and not everyone was listening to christ not everybody heard not everybody bore fruit and i'll close with this i did this on purpose in my introduction so i could come to this conclusion i want to have bookends at the beginning we see multitude multitude multitude houses that are being crowded shorelines that are filled with people multitude after multitude crowd after crowd so many people that they're not even being counted and yet jesus at the end did this and let me close with this he had said meet me in the mountain that i'll appoint to you after my resurrection meet me there paul tells us in first chrithians 15 verse 6 that there were a little more than 500 who were waiting even as he commanded a little more than 500 what happened to the multitudes what happened what happened when jesus just a little while before had come down from the Mount of Olives entered into Jerusalem with people who poured out of the city of Jerusalem people who were following him as he came down in his victorious palm sunday procession and multitudes were there they had they had palm branches and and they're crying out hosanna hosanna save now crying at the top of the lungs multitudes of people who followed him multitudes who would hear him as he spoke five thousand men at one time five thousand not including women and children that he fed and then he did it with four thousand we're talking about thousands and thousands of people who listened to what he said over those three years of ministry and yet at the end there was little over 500 who remained faithful the seed goes out it's the soil that's bad and what we need to know is what kind of soil we have what kind of soil is my heart when the seed is sown how do i respond to it i want to be the one who produces not just a small amount but i want to produce a great amount 30 fold 60 fold 100 fold so as believers i don't want to leave you bummed out don't want to leave you in sin i want to leave you encouraged let us seek first the kingdom of god let us love his word let us say to god lord i want to be 100 fold i want to be now i might be 60 maybe 30 but lord i want to be 100 fold use me for your glory if there's anything this world needs right now wouldn't you think it's on fire christians i think it's on fire christians and what we can be today is we can say yes lord i will be on fire for you father i ask that you would