The Seed Never Changes: Jesus on the Soil of the Heart

If you brought your Bible today, I want you to get it up holding the air like you care. Uh even if you didn't bring your Bible, we're going to give you a lot of scriptures today. You could write these down so that God's word gets into your heart. I want everyone to shout word on the count of three. This is why we're getting into God's word. Uh shout word on the count of three. One, two, three. Word. We're getting into God's word so God's word gets into us. You know, there are only two kingdoms in this world. No more, no less. Two kingdoms. There's the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light. That is the kingdom of the devil and the kingdom of God. This begins to answer for us why evil and bad things happen in the world. Even if you can't see it, because I'm talking about his spiritual kingdom. I'm talking about things that you cannot see that are real. This is

why murder happens. This is why war happens. This is why rape happens. This is why every bad thing that's ever happened to you has ever happened. It's because of the kingdom of darkness. But there is another kingdom that's greater that is advancing and expanding and that is the kingdom of God. This is the kingdom of light. This is the kingdom that according to the scriptures is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. God wants you to have a right standing relationship with him. He wants you to have peace that surpasses understanding. And he doesn't want you to have a little joy. Jesus said he came that you would have joy to the full. He wants you to have joy to the full. So, how can you have this kingdom? How can we not just talk about this kingdom come, but how can you have

this kingdom? I tell you, Jesus has left you the instructions to receive the fullness of his kingdom. Not just for some people, but as we just sang today, he is no respector of persons. That's an old English that means that that there's no prejudice when it comes to God's grace. The only thing stopping you from God's goodness is you. The only thing stopping you from God's kingdom is you. And Jesus left us instructions. And I'm here to tell you, they're not like IKEA instructions that are impossible to read and understand. You're not going to have to find every little piece and try to rebuild this backwards because you did it wrong the first time. God's instructions are easy to understand if, and there's a condition here, if you're willing to receive it. And today we're going to start a journey looking at the parables

of Jesus where he teaches us about his kingdom. Now parables is an interesting word. It's two Greek words put together. It's uh para and balos. It means to compare to one another. Jesus uses these parables parabalos to compare the things of this world with the kingdom of God. These are fictional stories that he will share a truth. Meaning God made a simple way for you to understand absolutely profound mysteries. He's going to let you in on some secrets so that you understand his ways. Kingdom itself implies two words. There's a king and there's dominion. So when we talk about a kingdom of darkness, we say that there is a prince of this world that is the

devil who is over all evil things. And there is a king above all kings who has dominion over heaven and earth. And we want to be a part of that kingdom. We want to be a part of his ways. So today we kick off this understanding of kingdom come looking at the very first parable of Jesus. He taught more than 30 parables but this is the first of all parables. We find it in three of the four gospels Matthew, Mark and Luke. These three gospels are known as synoptic gospels. That means they're similar. John did his own thing. And we just spent over a year looking at the life of Jesus in the book of John. And now we'll spend a great deal of time looking at these synoptic gospels. Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In Matthew 13, we see the first parable of Jesus. In Mark 4, we see the first parable of

Jesus. And then in Luke chapter 8, we see the first parable of Jesus. It's the same parable. It's often referred to as the parable of the swer. And it's in this parable Mark tells us in chapter 4:13. He says, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all parables?" I like how the New International Version put the same verse. How then will you understand any parable? What Jesus is saying is if you get this parable, you'll get the others. If you don't get this parable, you will not understand any of the others. And there are many. The next parable we read is the parable of the treasure. We'll read a parable of the pearl, the parable of the nets. But if you don't get this parable, you won't understand any of the

other ones. It's that important that you get this one. The if if you leave here today the same way, then then God's word will forfeit the power and the potential of what could be simply because you don't understand this one. So why don't you just slap somebody say, "Get it. Get it. Get it. You gotta get this one. You gotta get this one. Don't miss it. Because if you understand this one, you understand the others. You see, in this parable, it explains to me as a preacher why I could preach my face off on a Sunday morning and someone will leave exactly the same way they came in. Someone will leave offended and someone will leave transformed forever. How could that be? The same church, the same

sermon, the same worship, different responses. This story today, this parable is going to tell you why. It's going to tell you why some of you will come in and hear the same sermon that someone else hears, and you're going to leave here offended. And the other person is going to hear that sermon, and they're going to understand that God is for them, and God loves them, God has a purpose, and God has a plan. And they will receive that, and their lives will be eternally changed. And then there are some people that will come in here and you will get drowsy. You will start thinking about a many million other things except for what I'm sharing with you. And what's not important is the person preaching. It's not the person on the platform. It's what's being shared. God's word.

God's word is likened today to that of a seed. It's his kingdom. And the condition is not based on the seed. It's based on the soil, how it's received. It's the condition of the hearer. Will you resist what God is saying or we receive what God is saying? To set up the context of why or what Jesus is saying here, you've got to understand at this point in Jesus life, he's already been doing ministry. We could put it this way. He's already practicing the kingdom. He's healed multitudes. He's cast out demons. crowds are attracted to Jesus and the religious are offended by Jesus. So all of this has happened before he teaches this parable. So now he's going to teach in this parable that what he's put into practice in the kingdom, you could put into practice in the kingdom. This is

not just meant for the Messiah to come and do these things. You can receive these things and put them into practice in your life. And some might ask, well, I haven't experienced those things. I've never healed the sick. I've never cast out a demon. and crowds aren't attracted to what I have to say. Oh, let me tell you, they can be, but you've got to first receive the kingdom. You've got to receive the word in your life. Are you ready to receive this today? Are you ready? Are you ready? You got to get it. Matthew chapter 13 is where we're going to go today. We're going to look at Matthew's text of the first parable. Chapter 13. Would you just stand for the first portion of God's reading? Go ahead and stand to your feet and I'll read you the text and then we'll come back and Jesus will tell us exactly what he means by this story. That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat

beside the sea. Can I just pause for just a moment? If you're new to church or new to reading the Bible, the Bible originally was not written with chapters and numbers of verses. Those were later added to help us that when I say Matthew 13, you know where to turn in the text. So to understand the pretext here, Jesus was teaching inside of a home and someone said his mother and his sisters and brothers were there. And Jesus said something profound. He said, "Who are my brother, mother, and brothers and sisters?" But it's those who do God's will. There's a shift that happens that you don't have to be born into the right bi biological family. You don't have to be born into the right church. Jesus says, "If you do my will, you could be a part of my family." What a wonderful invitation. And it was on that day that Jesus no longer stays in the home. He goes out of this place. And verse two

tells us, "And great crowds gathered about him." So that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. Jesus is going to teach us that his kingdom is not just for some people, but there's hope for everyone. And verse three tells us, "And he told them many things in parables, saying, a sewer went out to sew, and as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on the rocky ground where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, and since they had no depth of soil, when the sun arose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.

Other seeds fell on good soil. Everyone say good soil. Good soil, and produce grain. Some hundfold, some 60, and some 30. He who has ears, let him hear. This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. I want to start with the end in mind. First, we could say confidently that this particular parable is all about hearing. Jesus leaves no room for interpretation here. He says the same phrase that we read in the book of Revelation chapter 2 and three to the church. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. This is all about how you receive God's words. He who has ears, let him hear. Jesus teaches us you have a responsibility to what you hear.

It's your responsibility to fight for this, to be intentional, to open up the ears of your heart. The kingdom of God is not a matter of force because Jesus will not force any of you to follow him. He's given you an invitation and he's asking you to hear it. He's inviting you into his ways. He's not going to force you to follow him. See, the book of Romans 10:17 tells us, "So faith comes from hearing." You believing in the Lord is contingent on hearing the Lord, on opening up the word of God. What are you hearing in your life? You want your faith to grow, get into the word. You want to know God more, get into the word. You want to see God do more in your life, get into the

word. Faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. This is why at Journey we prioritize the Bible. If you can't hear the word, you won't have true faith. There are a lot of counterfeits out there today. Even Disneyland will use words like believe. But I'll tell you, Disney's form of believe is very different than what we read in the word of God. We walk not by sight. We walk by faith. And this is a faith that comes from hearing God's word. John himself said in chapter 1 verse one that in the beginning was the word. In the Greek that's logos. It's where we get our word logic. God has always been the word. He's always been the logic. He's always been the truth. His ways have always been right. They've never ever ever changed.

And your hearing has a direct relationship to your heart. The state of who you are today has to do with how you hear God's word. And the condition of your heart will determine what kind of kingdom you experience in your life. It's not that God isn't working. It's not that God won't work. It's how you receive what God has for you. So, let's break this down so we understand it. Jesus starts off in Matthew 13:3, and he says something almost obvious. A sewer went out to sew. It's like a preacher went out to preach. It sounds so obvious until you start to look into this story. This is no ordinary sewer. This is not a farmer that gets down on his knees and pokes

his finger in the ground and puts one seed inside that hole. This sewer is generous. This sewer is lavish and he's throwing seed absolutely everywhere. This sewer recognizes that he's not going to run out of seed. See, in the book of 2 Corinthians, chapter nine, Paul is talking about financial giving. And he uses the principle of sewing when it comes to giving financially to God. And he simply says, you're going to reap what you sow. And if you sow generously, God's going to be generous to you. And and what happens is with with with generosity that that God is is testing you to to trust him not because he needs your money because it's all his. And then then the Paul says something interesting. I I believe it's verse 10 of 2 Corinthians 9 where he simply says the sewer never runs out of seed. So if you give away you can't outgive God.

And in this particular case the seed is not finances in Matthew chapter 13. The seed is the word of God. So when you preach the word of God, it it will never run out. It will never run dry. You you'll you'll never not have enough seed. And so this sewer is willing to throw it out even into places where he knows it won't take root. He knows it won't bear fruit, but he's still going to sew this seed anywhere anyways. This sewer knows that some of it's going to fall in the path and the birds are going to snatch it. Some's going to fall on the rocky ground where it's just not going to be able to get deep roots. It's going to be shallow. This sewer knows that some will fall amongst the weeds and the thorns and get choked out. But but this so sewer also knows that some seed will fall on good soil.

You see, it could be pretty discouraging for a preacher to preach a message and know that not everyone's going to receive what you have to say. Most of you will forget by the afternoon what I've just shared with you this morning. Doesn't matter how long I toil and work on this particular word. Most of you will forget this. But I'll tell you, I come here not on Sundays to preach to those of you that will forget, but for those of you that will actually be good soil and receive what I have to say. Because if just one person gets it, that's enough. For me, I was 15 years old showing up to youth group only to get the girls, but instead I got some seed in this soil. God got a hold of my heart and he he let me know that there was there was something more to this life. There was something more inside of me that all I had to do was just receive that word. It didn't matter where I came from. So, someone tell your neighbor, be good soil. Be good soil today. Be good soil.

I'm not telling you to be a good person. I'm saying be good soil. Now, of all the ways that Jesus could teach us the principles of the kingdom of God, why in the world does he tell us a story about farming? Well, I tell you, Jesus knows exactly what he's doing. And in fact, the depth of what Jesus teaches here, you can spend a lifetime learning this and there's always more to learn. And if you're here today and you're saying, "Well, the kingdom of God, if if it's if there's a war between darkness and light, should shouldn't he have used a little bit more?" Well, if you're here wondering why did he preach this way, you're not alone. His own students, his disciples, the learners of Jesus, they asked him in verse 10, the disciples came and said to Jesus, why do you speak to them in parables? You [snorts] see, you've got to understand when they asked this question, why do you speak in parables, they gave their lives to follow Jesus?

Because they thought he was the Messiah. They thought he would be the Christ that would come and save the world. And if he was going to save the world, then he had to overcome the Roman Empire. And if he's got a great crowd in front of him, shouldn't he be recruiting for his army? Shouldn't he be talking a little more like pep talks? Like, come on, somebody, we're going to overcome the Roman Empire. These disciples follow Jesus thinking that he would be the savior of the world. And all of a sudden he's telling stories like there was a sewer sewing seeds. So now they come to Jesus and they ask an appropriate question. Why? Why tell these parables? And Jesus answered them and said to you it's been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.

And it's not just to those early disciples. If you take Jesus seriously, he's going to give you the secrets of the kingdom. He doesn't hold anything back. Paul says in Ephesians 1, every spiritual blessing is yours in Jesus. So you have the secrets of the kingdom, but to them it's not been given. For to the one who has, this is the principle of sewing. More will be given. And he will have an abundance. Oh my friends, if you understand rightly who God is, he's a God of abundance. Yes. Nothing is too hard for him. He's able to do absolutely anything at any time. But for the one who has not, from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. There are too many people

today that still live with the mindset of scarcity. Yes, God is God, but somehow he's not going to do it for me. Yes, God is God, but I've not seen it in my life, so I'm not going to ask for it. Jesus says in verse 13, "This is why I speak to them in parables." See, Jesus loves you right where you are. But he doesn't want to leave you the same. He wants you to hear the word of the kingdom today because seeing they do not see and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Now, Jesus is going to go a little deeper. He's going to start preaching the scriptures. Indeed, he says in verse 14, in their case, the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled. He's going back to the ancient scriptures that says, "You will indeed hear but never understand. You will indeed see but never perceive. For this people's

heart has grown dull and with their ears they can barely hear and their eyes they have closed. Lest here's what would happen today if you open your eyes and your ears." Come on, somebody. Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears. Here's God's promise today. And understand with their heart. Everyone shout heart their heart and turn and I would heal them. It's a matter of the heart. But blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear. For truly I say to you, many prophets and righteous people long to see what you see and did not see it and to hear what you hear and did not hear it. You know what a gift it is today to come here and open up God's word.

So many heroes of the faith would have longed to be in a place where we are today. And the keys to understanding the kingdom of God are found in this parable. You've got to understand this principle of sewing. You've got to understand what's been sown and how you've receive it. Some of you are hurting right now financially and that's because you haven't taken God at his word. How can he bless you when you don't receive his word? Some of you are stuck in the same place spiritually. You come to church week after week after week and you still are stuck in the same place. And I'll tell you, it's not the word's fault. It's not God's fault. Jesus is going to give you the keys of the kingdom today. He's going to teach you going to church doesn't change your life. It's this receptivity of your heart.

And if you come in resistant, you'll leave the same way. God's ways are not the ways of the world. Satan's way is a life of scarcity. He wants you to live in want. He wants you to live depleted. He wants you to live in darkness. But the kingdom of God is a kingdom of abundance. And the good news today is that God doesn't call you to live like an orphan in this world. When you believe in Jesus, he's given you the right to be called children of God. This is promises for you today. You're an adopted child of God. So, open up your ears and open up your heart. Let's talk about the dirt because Jesus doesn't give us our own interpretation of the text. He's going to tell us

exactly what the text means. I'm grateful that he doesn't leave us to our own to better understand this. He lets us know that the kingdom of God is the word of God. That's the seed. And your heart is the soil. So I say to you today, the kingdom doesn't fail because of the seed. It struggles because of the soil. Let me just say that again. The kingdom does not struggle because of the seed. It does not fail because of the seed. Because the seed does not change. The seed was the same in the prior generation before you were born. The [snorts] seed will be the same in the next generation. The failure is not the seed. The struggle is the soil. Every generation has the same opportunity to receive the seed. and we want to make much of what God has for us. So, let me just make it really

clear. There's nothing wrong with the seed. I'll just put it this way. There's nothing wrong with this book. Everything else in this world will change. God's word will not change. We could try to redefine everything in this world, whether it be gender uh gender or whether it be laws or morality in itself. And I'll tell you, the government can try to do their job, but God's already done his. So, we've got to try to receive from God what it is. So, why don't we all change? Why is the world not full of peace, joy, and righteousness? Well, this is what Jesus says. He interprets the text. Let's dive right in there. Number one is the hard path. The hard path equals the hardened heart. Oh, the hardened heart is really easy to get. You could be good soil and just one offense will cause you to have a hard heart. It's amazing how quickly a hard heart can happen. Come on. Anybody ever been there before? You go into church good and then you leave

hard. Uh you're thinking this is going to be a great day only to end the day and you're like this is the worst day it's ever been before. I mean a hard heart is easy to receive. And this is what Jesus says in verse 18. Hear then the parable of the sewer. He's going to start here. Hear this. Have ears to hear. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, God's given it to you. You hear the word of the kingdom and does not understand it. The evil one. Jesus lets us know there is a kingdom of evil, darkness. The evil one comes and snatches away what's been sown in his own heart. This is what was sewn along the path. Farmers in the ancient culture did not have the same tools and resources we have. So they had paths along their fields and they would walk on these

paths and they would sew the seeds into the good soil. So there would be good soil on either side of the path. And if someone was passing through your property, they wouldn't walk on the good soil. They would walk on the path no matter where they were going. So a path had so much traffic that ground would become hard. Today you have so much traffic in your life. Every one of us have different voices vying for your attention. Every one of us have opportunities to be so busy that we're going to miss what God has to say to us. Every one of us, whether you're in school or work or you're retired, every one of us, whether you're single, divorced, widowed, married, every one of us have opportunities for hard hearts.

And here Jesus likens a bird to that of the devil. Frequently in the Bible, both the Old Testament and the New Testament, those birds that are unclean of the air are likened to the evil one. that the enemy is moving. The enemy is looking to seize opportunities in your life to take advantage of where you are. He He's looking to steal what God is doing in your life. I need you to see here, a hard heart will never let the seed get penetrated. It stays right on the surface. And if you come here today and you hear the word of God and you even think about the word of God and it stays right here in your mind, it's on the surface. It's been said that the longest distance in the world is the distance from the head to the heart.

And as long as it doesn't go into your heart, and as long as you really don't believe it, and as long as you make no changes in your life, it stays right here in your head. And as long as it's in your head, it's only intellectual. And information does not change anyone. The transformation takes place when you allow the seed to get penetrated in your heart. And the enemy is real. And be not mistaken. And Jesus called him in John 10:10 a thief. God's given you the kingdom, but what does the devil want to steal? The kingdom. He's a thief that wants to steal, kill, and destroy. But Jesus has given you the greatest invitation of all. I came that you might have life and have it abundantly. Be not mistaken. That's the life God destined for you. He designed it in you. This is his plan that you

wouldn't live a life of darkness, but you would have the kingdom of God. Amen. So, what do you do today if your heart is hard? H how can you allow the word of God to go from your head to your heart? The Old Testament prophet Hosea said, "Break up your fow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord." You You've got to recognize I'm not going to stay the same. You see, ancient Israel, God's people, they had all the opportunities in the world for God to fight for them, for God to provide for them. And the only reason God would not do it was because of their own stubborn hearts. It had nothing to do with God's heart. It had to do with their own stubborn heart. It wasn't a lack from God. Are you hearing me today?

And the same promise of old is same true today. Those promises are available to you. But hardness can happen in in many ways. And you see this with the Israelites. When you start coveting what you don't have, you have spiritual amnesia and you forget how bad it actually was. And you you romanticize and fantasize your past. You ever seen that before? Someone breaks up with someone who's toxic and absolutely awful and then they start thinking they weren't that bad. Maybe I should go back to them. No, no, no, no, no, no. You have forgotten how bad it actually was. So if you start coveting what you don't have, you will actually mistakenly and mysteriously think that this world is actually going to satisfy you when it never will.

The number one hardness of the heart and this is what got Satan kicked out of heaven is pride. It's waking up and thinking you can actually live a whole day without God. Just forgetting the blessings that you you're able to breathe today. Forgetting his mercies are new. you're getting the goodness of God. Pain, the enemy will look for opportunities. Often, it will happen in your childhood where the devil will try to deceive you that somehow God caused that pain in your life when it wasn't God that harmed you. And he'll try to take that pain and use it against you. But I'm here to tell you today, God wants to heal you from anything that's ever happened to you. So, break up that fow ground today. cynicism, the repeated hearing about God's word and doing nothing about it. It's the religious spirit thinking you understand what the

preacher is saying when in reality you're not putting it into practice. It It's a hard heart. We We can call it many different things. Some call it the religious spirit. Some call it a hard heart. Jesus called it the path. Here's a revelation insight. the the birds, meaning the devil, doesn't create the hardness, but they exploit it. And the greatest way to avoid the enemy from taking the word from you is to recognize what Jesus is going to teach us about the good soil. Satan can't steal that which sinks. If it's on the surface, he can get it. If it's in your heart, he can't get it. So, break up the fow ground.

Let let God get into your heart. Jesus continues and tells us the rocky ground equals the shallow heart. The rocky ground equals the shallow heart. I see this one all the time at Journey over the last 16 years. And it's really sad. Here's what Jesus says. As for what was sewn on the rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. And when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. Jesus is teaching us that without roots, you don't grow fruit. And in Israel, there's limestone that's under the ground that you can't see. So the top will look like good soil, but underneath that good soil, just a few inches deep, is a limestone. So when you throw the

seed out and there's that limestone, you can't see it. So what happens is the seed goes in and quickly grows, but it has no depth because the roots can't go any further because of the rock. And Jesus says there are some people that will receive the word with joy. What that means is with emotion. I feel good. The worship was good. The sermon was good. I feel good. How many know the devil sees that and wants to steal it, kill it, and destroy it? So when tribulation comes, you say, "Oh God, where are you? God, why did you let this happen?" And you quit coming to church. You quit worshiping. You quit getting into the word of God because of any type of trial.

Now, the Bible tells us that peace is not the absence of storms. It's peace to get you through the storms. So, so if we have such shallow roots, we think that, "Oh, God's only with us when it's good." That's not the kingdom. The kingdom is God is with you all the time. He's good all the time. He He never stops being God. He never stops being good. So if you're going through something hard, God must have a breakthrough on the other side. You're going to get through it. You're going to make it. But he might be allowing you to press in a little deeper than you've ever been before. I just know from my experience, my greatest growth did not come in the good times. It was when I went through hell and I questioned why God let me go through it and then I look back and say, "Oh, he was doing something good." It's the Romans 5:3 where Paul says,

"Rejoice in sufferings." Because suffering is not in vanity. It's not worthless. God doesn't waste anything. He's producing endurance. He's producing character and he's showing you a living hope that this world is not the destination. He's got something greater for you. So, what do you do if you got a rocky heart? Well, you've got to recognize that this is not where you want to stay. Fast growth does not mean deep growth. Fast growth isn't deep growth. So, if you come and you receive a sermon here today, let me just tell you, it's not the end of your story. God's not done with you yet. The seed's gone in, but there's more to come. Psalm 1 warns us of two different types of people. One that finds himself in bad company, and one that finds himself in good company.

And when you choose to go after the things of this world, you'll have shallow ground. But when you go after God and you surround yourself with good company, he Psalm 13 says, is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season. I need you to hear that clearly because if you're not seeing the fruit right now, it's not because God's not doing it. Stay true to the Lord. Get rid of those rocks and allow the Holy Spirit, the living water in your life at the right time. You're going to produce a fruit that the enemy can never take. So we surrender our hearts to the Holy Spirit. Third is the thorny ground equals the crowded heart. The thorny ground equals the crowded heart. This is probably most of the people that come to Journey Church. Most of the people. What I mean by this is Jesus said in verse

22, "As for what was sown among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and it proves unfruitful." So I need you to notice here that the seed does grow. So there's not a rejection to the word. Can we identify this here? There's not a rejection to the word. The seed grows. But what begins to happen is the weeds grow with it. And there's something interesting about weeds is is they grow slowly as well. That if you don't take care of them, they'll take care of you. And thorns are a direct relationship to that in the garden. It's it's it's the curse of sin.

Listen, nobody intentionally plants anxiety in their lives. Nobody intentionally says, "I want to put a bunch of worry and fear in my life. I'm going to plant this." But if you are not intentional about taking care of your soil, before you know it, the weeds have taken over the garden of your life. We We've got a garden at our house. Well, sort of. Would you call it a garden? [laughter] We've got a fence with raised beds. Uh and uh my wife's the only one that has tended to this uh supposed to be garden. And there's been a couple of times that she's gone in there in that early spring spring where she spends all day just getting dirty uh pulling out the weeds, getting rid of all the weeds, putting in new good soil, then planting these little uh seeds or these starters, and I

she'll work her tail off. And then for the days, weeks, and even months to come, she'll go out there and check to see if there's fruit producing. And if there's any weeds that pop up, she she's quick to get rid of those because of all that hard work she put into it. But we haven't taken care I say we I've never even done anything but we we we haven't taken care of that garden in probably at least a year maybe two years. Has it been two years? Probably at least two years. And I'll tell you right now the only remnants you see in that garden are weeds. You would never know of the hard work, the toiling and the vegetables that used to be in that garden. There's a lot of Christians just like that. God did a good work. He begun a good work. But slowly over time, you just let one weed, two weeds, three weeds, four weeds, over time, your whole garden will be nothing but weeds.

And Jesus tells us exactly what this is. He he says it's going to choke you out. It doesn't happen immediately. It's a suffocation. This is of the devil. It's the kingdom of darkness. In Acts chapter 16, there's a little girl who's tormented by a demon and she's following Paul and she's saying the right things. and it sounds right, but something's off. So Paul casts out this demon. And in the Greek, it's the only time we see it in the scriptures. The demon that was cast out of this girl is called the python. It was suffocating the life out of this little girl. And once this demon was set free, she had the freedom to be who God created her to be. [snorts] So how can you avoid the thorns? similar to the hard ground and that with the rocks. Jeremiah the prophet says, "Break up your fow ground and sew not among thorns.

Watch what's in your life. Watch what you allow in your life." Just a little bit of compromise. Ah, this movie's not that bad. It's just one sex scene. Oh, just a a little bit of pot so I could relax and have a good night's sleep. Oh, if I just look at this person just a little bit, I'm not gonna actually sleep with them. Oh, if I just just a little bit, little bit, little bit, little bit, little bit, just a little bit, little bit, little bit. Next thing you know, your whole garden's nothing but thorns. Paul said this to Timothy. Here's his warning. Flee youthful passions. Pursue righteousness. Pursue faith. Pursue love. Pursue peace along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. What he's telling Timothy, it's time to mature. You let one weed in your life, you're just youthful.

I'll put it this way. You're dumb. You don't know what you're doing. You start to learn over time. You think, "Oh, just one weed. I don't want to pull it today. I don't want to get a thorn in my finger today." Let me just tell you, you let that go too long. That's what's going to that's what you're going to pursue. You mature in the faith. You pursue the king, the things of the kingdom, righteousness, love, joy, peace. You go after God's ways. Here's three thorns that Jesus names. One of them's found in Mark. It's not here in Matthew. Number one is the cares of this world. You're just worrying, worrying. You ever know people that worry? Just watch Fox News or CNN news and you're going to start worry. Just worry, worry, worry, worry. The deceitfulness of riches. Money is not evil. It's the love of money. You cannot serve both God and money. When you think money is actually what will will help you in your life, you've been deceived.

Mark adds this one, the desire for other things. It's coveting, jealousy, envy. You look at other spouses and you say, I wish I had that spouse. You look at other houses. I wish I had that house. Thorns. They will choke out the joy that God's doing in your life. You know, the Bible talks a lot about deceitfulness. The devil himself is described by Jesus as a liar. It's his native tongue. He's so good at lying. Most of us don't even know when we're being deceived. We can be deceived by false teaching. The Bible says, "Be not deceived." God cannot be mocked. The world mocks God. They use his name in vain. They they treat him like he's not sovereign and completely in control. Let me tell you, God cannot be mocked. Do not be deceived.

Do not be deceived by the riches of this world. Kingdom fruit requires intentionality. So, how can you make sure to get rid of the weeds? You got to exchange it for the ways of the kingdom. Philippians 4 6 and 7 says, "Do not be anxious about anything." Anxiety is a weed. So, how do you get rid of that weed? but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, here comes the fruit of the kingdom which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Hey, if you're grumpy and a grudging, the likelihood is your life and garden, your heart is full of weeds. You want to be a person full of fruit, be thankful. Get rid of that anxiety with prayer.

Lastly, here's the good soil. Here we are. Get it. Get it. Here it is. The good soil equals the receptive heart. It sounds so simple, but here we go. Verse 23. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields. In one case, a hundfold, and another 60, another 30. In the ancient farming, to get a tenfold in your harvest was like a strong harvest season. And Jesus says, "When you receive the good soil, you don't just have a strong season. You have a multiplying, miracle working God. He will do more in your life than you ever could have imagined." And good soil is not saying perfect soil. Aren't you glad that God didn't say go live a perfect life, then you'll be blessed with the kingdom.

No, he says you be good soil. And you know what makes really good soil? I hate to tell you, you could shout it out. Manure. I was thinking the crap of this life, but it's not there to make you worse. God's actually going to use it as the nutrients. He's going to use those things that have been hard to actually bless you in better things. Luke adds this, and this is the key to the kingdom here. He says, "Holding fast and honest and good heart and bear fruit with patience." Do you know if you plant a seed, you're not going to get a harvest the next day? It comes with patience. This is important that you see the difference because when a seed goes under the ground, it looks really similar to being buried. But

there's a big difference between being buried and being planted. When you have the kingdom of God, you recognize the difference. The devil's going to try to tell you that there's death in your life, but you're not buried. You're planted. God's going to do something good. that it might look dark right now, but like David said, I'm going to go through the valley of the shadow of death, but I'm not going to fear evil because God at the right time is going to take that seed that looks small, that which looks like it started one day, and it's going to break forth. And when it breaks forth, you know what that's called? A metamorphosis, a transformation. That what went in you is going to be way different than what comes out of you. Because there is a multiplying miracle work of God. When the word of God goes inside of you, you may have come in here bitter today. But if you receive the

word of God, you leave here set free from that bitterness. You forgive the person that's unforgivable. Because you hear Jesus on the cross say, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Oh, when you receive the word of God, something changes inside of you. You're no longer the same person. Not starting on the outside. It's from the inside out. Come on. The kingdom of God will grow if it has good soil. A seed may not look like much, but oh, the potential and the power of what happens when you let God's word go into your heart. But there is a principle that Jesus taught that to receive life, you must first die. If you just hold those seeds on the outside, if it's just on the surface, if it's in the

shallow places, it will never go to where God wants it to go. Jesus said this in John 12:4. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. This is the likening of your old life. It has to die to receive the new life in Christ. [snorts] Jesus himself is the kingdom. He is the one that died on the cross not because he deserved death, but he saw what was on the other side of death. He defeated not only death, he defeated the kingdom of darkness. He defeated the devil. And when he rose from the grave, he showed us the potential of eternal life. That what looked like was dead was actually just the beginning. He is the resurrection and the life. He is glorified. He shows us the potential of

what happens when you surrender your life to the Lord. He wants to bless you today. And what may feel like a loss when you give up your money or you you give up that bitterness or you give up your dreams for God's dreams is actually just the beginning of greater things. If you believe in Jesus, and let me just make sure this is really clear. If you believe in Jesus, not if you admire Jesus, not if you know about Jesus, not if you study Jesus, if you believe in Jesus, the kingdom is now inside of you and something so much greater is going to happen. Why do some people get a hundfold and some 60 and some 30? I don't know. But I do know this. 30, 60, and 100 is way better than none.

It tells me that when I preach today, I'm going to just throw a seed and you're going to leave here 30 times more powerful than when you came in. 100 times more powerful, 60 times more powerful. All you got to do is put it into practice. So the simple question is, and I've run out of time, and we've got a baptism tank here today, and I want to give you an invitation to receive the kingdom of God. If you've never believed in Jesus, this is your day of salvation. The Bible does not say go get your life right first. It does not say you need to be a better person to get into heaven. The Bible says you simply must believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. And today, if you want to make that decision, the Bible says, you cross over from death to life. You will no longer be wandering.

You will no longer be burdened by the troubles of this world. But you have the kingdom in your heart. Be not mistaken. It doesn't mean it will always be easy. Just means that God's going to get you through it by the power of God himself, the Holy Spirit. For once you've believed in Jesus, you've received God, the Holy Spirit. So today, if you want to receive that, just in the place where you are, if you just close your eyes, you want to receive Jesus as the Lord and Savior of your life, be forgiven of your sins, receive the gift of the kingdom, would you just raise your hand nice and high, I want to celebrate you today and give you next steps if you've made that decision right where you are. Just put your hand up in the air and say, "Yes, that's me." Because this is the greatest decision you could ever make. This is the decision that will cross you over from death to life.

Is there anybody right right where you are? Don't be ashamed of this. This is actually going to bear fruit in your life that's going to change you forever. You're never too young. You're never too old. Just raise your hand right where you are. Praise God. If your heart's stirring and you're thinking, "Well, I don't want to be embarrassed." I'm not going to call you out. I'm not going to call you by name. I had you close your eyes so you would actually think about the seriousness of this decision. If you've yet to raise your hand, would you just raise your hand right where you are? Just say, "Yes, that's me. I don't want to miss this. Today's my day." For those of you who want to be good soil and those of you who want to believe for the first time, I'm just going to ask you to pray out loud with me.

King David in the Bible made a grave mistake and God did not give up on him. But David prayed this prayer. created me a clean heart, oh God. He said, "I don't want rocks. I don't want thorns. I want to be good soil." If that's you today, would you just pray out loud with me? Just simple phrases. Prayer is talking to God. We're going to talk to him right now. Invite the Lord to come change your heart. Say, "Lord Jesus, you have my heart. Forgive me of my sin. I receive your word. Let it take root. Let it take root. That I may bear good fruit. for your glory. I receive the Holy Spirit. I receive the Holy Spirit. Help me fulfill your kingdom. Help me fulfill and your will to be done in my life as it is in heaven.

In Jesus name. Somebody shout amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Praise God.