The Gift of Having Ears to Hear

Let's get right to it. Let's open our Bibles. I invite you to open your Bibles. And let's turn to Luke chapter 8. Luke chapter 8. And we're going to begin reading verses 1 through 15. Luke 8 verses 1 through 15. The title of our sermon study today, the gift of having ears to hear. The gift of having ears to hear.

Here, as we continue in our study in the Gospel of Luke, we have the beginning of a succession of parables here. And we come to one of the most, we could say, familiar parables. The parable of the sower. One of the most familiar. One of the most profound. And yet, perhaps also one of the most misunderstood. Let's set the foundation of our study today. Let's read these first 15 verses as Luke records this parable given to us by Jesus Christ.

Luke 8 beginning in verse 1. Now, Luke records, it came to pass afterward that he, that's Jesus Christ, went through every city and village preaching and bringing glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, Joanna, the wife of Chooza, Herod's Stewart, Susanna, and many others who provided for him from their substance. Verse 4. And when a great multitude had gathered and they had come to him from every city, he spoke by a parable.

Here it is, verse 5. A sower went out to sow his seed, and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock, and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked it. But others fell on good ground, sprang up and yielded a crop a hundredfold.

And when he had said these things, he cried, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Then his disciples asked him, saying, What does this parable mean? And he said, To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God. But to the rest it has been given in parables, that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

Now the parable is this. The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear. Then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those when they hear, receive the word with joy, and these have no roots, who believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

Let's stop there. Again, we return to our study series here in the Gospel of Luke. Let me just set the scene here. Leading up to this point, Luke has recorded for us that Jesus is traveling about from city to city. So it's not hardly surprising then that as he did this, there was now building an expectation amongst those that were in these communities. Either the expectation that he was on his way, or that he had now entered into the precinct of their town or village. And many would have already heard of the miraculous encounters in the previous cities in which he had visited.

They could have anticipated a sermon. That was his pattern at that time, as he made his way to the different communities. But he was not only talking, he was actually doing remarkable things. The word would have no doubt spread that the dead were being raised back to life. The blind were now seen. The deaf were now hearing. The lame were now walking. All on the account of this Jesus from Nazareth. And if you're looking at the text here, we notice here at the beginning of verse 1, he wasn't traveling alone.

He had traveling with him the 12. That's this group within the group, the 12 disciples. Also, verse 2, he was traveling in a company or group of women. We're given the names of three of them there. This was a group there, as Luke records, their life had been changed by Jesus Christ. And they were, among other things, in the end of verse 3, they provided for him out of their substance. This would have been physical support, financial support for Jesus Christ, this great teacher and son of God and the disciples.

And I won't delay, but this just, we recognize that this indicates the significance and the valuable place of women in the ministry of Jesus Christ. Perhaps we would do a future study on that. All throughout Scripture, we see the value of that. But for now, we notice we have these crowds that are gathered here. Who were in these crowds?

Well, again, there would have been those in this group who were greatly anticipating Jesus Christ. They would have been going out ahead trying to predict where he came in so as to get into a good position in order to hear his voice most clearly. There would have been those who would do everything in their power, drag themselves if they needed to, to get there so as to hold out the hope for healing. There would have been those even carrying their loved ones, you can imagine, hoping for the same healing, the oppressed, the poor, hoping for deliverance.

Also, some there just out of curiosity, no doubt. Some perhaps there out of boredom, you know. Here's this group gathering. Let's go see what it's all about without maybe even having a clue of who was actually coming. So all that to point out the fact that there was a variety of people in this group and coming from a variety of directions and even had a variety of expectations as well. That group context is actually going to go into play an important role in our understanding of this parable in just a moment. Now, in this context with this large group gathered, it would have been easy, I believe, for Jesus Christ to ignite the crowd, to light the fires of the zealots, if you will, perform just some miraculous deeds, sweep them into a frenzy, if you will, of excitement. But he doesn't do that. In fact, as verse 4 indicates, he simply comes and tells them a story, a parable. That's verse 4. Now, a parable, there's many ways you could define it. Some have defined it. I think it's a pretty good definition of a parable being an earthly story if you will, but an earthly story that has a higher spiritual context or understanding or meaning, heavenly meaning, if you will. But it could be said about a parable that the essence of a parable in and of itself is a way of communicating to make the story not clear. It's a way of communicating in which perhaps the actual meaning of the story that's being told is cloaked. And in deciding it was, in deciding to begin to speak in parables to this gathered crowd, Jesus deciding to speak in a parable, it actually reveals for us one of the most incredible truths in all the Bible. So let's ask, what was revealed by the fact that Jesus Christ chose to begin to speak in parables to this gathered crowd?

Well, I believe today somebody would be shocked to understand, to consider and understand what was being spoken or said by Jesus Christ choosing to speak in parables to this gathered crowd. And I'll just say it right up front so as to be as clear as I can be. And I'll just give it to you. What is the truth behind Jesus Christ speaking in parables? Speaking in parables was to reveal that it was not his intention to present the gospel of the coming kingdom of God. It was not his intention to offer the opportunity of salvation to every person at that time.

I'll repeat that. Speaking in parables reveals that it was not Jesus Christ nor the Father's intent to present the gospel of the coming kingdom of God or even present the opportunity of salvation to every person at that time. And likewise, it's not their intent to present the gospel or the opportunity of salvation to every person at this time today. Rather, rather, his message of glad tidings, his good news of the coming kingdom of God, was only meant to be understood by some at that time. Not all. And if you want to, in a statement, it is this. God is not calling all of mankind at this time. That is a big truth. That is a big truth. If you grasp that, you will see that the Bible has opened up to you in a just a remarkable way. And this truth is punctuated by the disciples there in verse 9. The disciples asked Jesus in verse 9. They asked him, what does this parable mean? And then his answer to that question, verse 10, remarkable. He said, to the disciples from this question, to you, to you, it has been given to know the mysteries of the coming kingdom of God. But to the rest, it is given in parables. Why? That seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not hear. So again, the point is God is not calling everyone to understand the gospel of the kingdom of God at that time. And he's not calling everyone today to understand this message.

God's plan is to bring the knowledge of salvation to all of mankind. That is being done, and will be done, but it's being done in stages. And it's being done according to a well-defined purpose and plan. It's the only way you can understand what Jesus Christ is saying here. He hid the full message in parables, these these illustrative stories, these lessons, knowing that only a few would hear and understand and heed the calling.

Again, that's what he said to the disciples here. The disciples asked in verse nine again, what does this parable mean? And here it is, verse 10. It's undeniable. To you, it's been given to know the mysteries, the mysteries of the kingdom of God, to know them. To the rest, it's been given in parables. That seeing they may not see, hearing they may not understand. So today, this truth is that truth and this truth that Jesus Christ is putting forth here that Luke is recording. It is not understood. You look at the religions around the world today. You see well-meaning and sincere efforts to preach the gospel of the coming kingdom. You yet to look around and all the religions are divided, confused. Why? Why? Could it be that what Jesus Christ said about only some hearing and some understanding, could that be true? Could that be true? And if you think about what he's saying here and what he's putting forth here, it goes in its absolute contrast to what is the pattern of Christianity that we see around the world. It's in absolute contrast to what the world's pulpits are putting forth. And it's obvious they don't understand this truth, because you'll notice Jesus Christ addresses the crowd in such a way to reduce the numbers. Isn't that interesting? To reduce the numbers. And again, that's contrary to what we see today. So many today in the religions around the world, they're preoccupied with expanding numbers. They're preoccupied to do everything necessary not to lose attendance. That's why they put forth this journey in a way so as to not be too demanding, to not trouble the man or the woman sitting in the pulpit, so that to avoid them maybe deciding not to continue to attend. But again, Jesus Christ is doing the exact opposite here. And he points out it's the very purpose of the parables was manifestly to do this very thing. Again, there at the end of verse 10, the purpose seeing that they may not see hearing, but they may not understand.

So what can we conclude from this then? Can we conclude that God puts forth this approach and sent his Son with this approach so as to exclude most of mankind from his promises? Can we assume that they are putting forth this approach so as to exclude most of mankind from receiving the promises of God? No. Can't conclude that. Why can't we conclude that? Well, take a look at Scripture. It is absolutely God's objective to create many sons and many daughters, to bring many sons and many daughters to glory. That's his objective. That's, for your notes, Hebrews 2.10. To bring many sons to glory. And we could say many sons and daughters to glory. Hebrews 2.10.

And we know that God's will, he's not willing that even one should be lost.

That's 2 Peter 3.9 for your notes. 2 Peter 3.9. He's not willing that one should be lost. We're very familiar with that understanding. So how can this be reconciled? How can we reconcile this? How can cloaking the gospel message in parables still result in bringing many sons and many daughters to glory? That's the question. Well, the answer is that he has ordered a step-by-step plan to bring salvation to all of mankind, but in an extraordinary way. His plan is to give each person who's ever lived the opportunity to best fulfill his purpose of them becoming a son or daughter of God. How will God bring about these many sons and daughters to glory? It is through the process and plan of the coming resurrections. We know that.

A first resurrection will occur at the return of Jesus Christ. A second resurrection will occur at the return of Jesus Christ. Those in the first resurrection will be those to whom God is calling now, who accept his calling.

Then, and then all others, he will raise them up in a second resurrection, a thousand years later after Christ's return. When in that second resurrection, all those who did not have the opportunity to be raised in the opportunity of being in a relationship with God. This is the truth. This is the truth of all truths. And it is, we could say, perhaps the truth that is most misunderstood by the world. Unless you get this, you're going to go off in all different kinds of directions. And we look at scripture and we see this laid out very quickly, very clearly. Keep your marker here in Luke 8. I just want to show you a few places where this truth is outlined. First, we could turn to best in 1 Corinthians 15, the resurrection chapter, as it's known. First Corinthians 15 verse 22. Let's turn there if you'll leave your marker here in Luke 8. I just want to read a few words by Paul that reveals God's plan as his purposes and how he will bring about many sons and daughters to glory with him. Look at 1 Corinthians 15 and we're going to begin in verse 22 and 23. Here it is. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 22. For as in Adam, all die.

Even so in Christ, all shall be made alive, but each one in his own order. Christ the firstfruits, afterwards those who are Christ at his coming. Let's just stop there for a moment. How will God accomplish many sons and many daughters to glory? Well, here it is. Again, Paul emphatically states, yes, all die, right? But all will be made alive in Christ. And then he says these words which just ring loudly here. Absolute clarity. The question of the ages. Yes, all will be made alive. Verse 23. But each one in his own order. That's incredible.

So after this physical life, yes, all will be made alive. But each one in his or her own order. And it's absolutely mind-boggling here to think about the mystery being unlocked here by Paul.

Let's... this is what I read at funerals, by the way. Let's just read... let's go back up a few verses here. Just let these words really sink in here. I always wonder when I'm reading this at a funeral what those who don't have this understanding are thinking. 1 Corinthians 15. Let's read verses 23-23. It says verse 20, Paul says, But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Okay, so Christ's resurrection makes all other resurrections possible. Okay, if that didn't happen, we don't have a hope. We don't have hope. But because Christ has risen, he's become... he's opened the door. He's become the first of the firstfruits who have fallen asleep, who've died. For since by man came death, by man, capital M, also came the resurrection of the dead. So he made it possible. And again, verse 22, For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, afterwards those who are Christ, at his coming. So here's speaking of the resurrection to come, an order of things. In this first resurrection, there will be those who are raised at his coming. And the Scripture speaks about those being the saints of God, called at this time, accepted at this time, those whom he's calling now. And of course, this is a harvest scene. Firstfruits, he's explaining in a way that they would really understand it that in that agriculture culture at that time. He's preparing a first spring harvest of mankind. That's what he's doing at this time. And so when we think back to Luke 8, as we saw his explanation of speaking in parables, we understand God's not opening all the minds at this time of everyone at this time to understand, just some now.

But the opportunity for all will come, and it will be open to salvation. The opportunity for salvation will be open to all of mankind. That's the beauty of this perfect plan. Let's just turn to one other place to see the fullness of this picture before we get back to Luke. Revelation 20 verses 4 through 5. Let's look at the full picture. Of course, here in Revelation, we have the full picture of the first resurrection and also the picture detailed for us of the second resurrection, which comes a thousand years later after the first resurrection. And it will be all those who weren't called to understand at this time. This is remarkable. Look at this. Again, God is faithful that none should perish. None should perish. So we're reading about this harvest of mankind. It's the first harvest and then a latter harvest. Of course, it's pictured in our holy days, the spring holy days, and the fall holy days. Look at this. Revelation 20 verses 4 and 5. This first speaks of the first fruits that will be raised at Christ's return. Revelation 20 verse 4. Then I saw thrones and they that sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God. So these are the first fruits, the saints, who had not worshiped the beast or his image. They had not received the mark on their foreheads or on their hands, and they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Verse 5. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. We're gonna read about that second resurrection in just a moment. But what he's speaking about here is the first resurrection. This is the first resurrection, and he says verse 6, blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power. So we're going to be raised to spirit beings. The second death will have no power at this time, the first resurrection. But they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years. So this is what's going to happen. This is the first fruit harvest of mankind, raised to enter into a thousand-year reign with Jesus Christ. The second death has no power, so it's going to be a spiritual existence, raised to spirit beings. But what about these described in verse 5? The rest of the dead. It says, did not live again until the thousand years were finished. What will become of them? This constitutes those who would not hear and who would not see. And this is the parable that Jesus Christ was speaking. They're back in Luke. They're going to have their opportunity, but their opportunity comes a thousand years later after Christ's return. If you allow your eyes to go down to verse 12, here it is. This is the great and awesome second resurrection, completing God's plan here. Verse 12, and I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God. The books were opened, and another book was opened, which was the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books. So let's stop there. So this represents the second resurrection, and it says, the books, that's the Bible. The books of the Bible were opened, and we could say at this time, they're opened in all their clarity for the first time. You know, individuals will be given at that time God's Spirit to truly understand at that time, understand the books of the Bible at that time. And this book of life will be opened, so they'll have their opportunity. They'll be raised back to physical life, and upon learning and faith in Jesus Christ and God the Father, they'll have their opportunity to be raised and join his spiritual family as well. This is a judgment period here. This is a judgment process.

You know, many here standing here at this time in verse 12, many would have never even heard the name Jesus Christ before. Many would have been born and raised and died and didn't have a chance in this physical life. Well, their chance is coming.

You know, when I think of the false doctrine of a heaven and hell, which they say salvation today is the day of salvation for everyone, and they're going to be consigned to heaven or hell, who would want to worship a God under that false doctrine? I don't want to worship that God. It's a false doctrine. It's not the God that we worship. That's why today there's so many young people in particular that are becoming unchurched because they look at that false doctrine and they look at that God that is falsely painted, and it's not a God they'd want to worship. Who would want to worship that God? And so the well-meaning churches around the world are going around desperate to have individuals just say that they believe and accept Jesus Christ, and that's it. They're desperate, and many will die with a foreboding heart saying, I couldn't reach everyone.

It doesn't reconcile with what the Bible says. None of that. And I think it's Satan's way. It's a deception to turn people away from the true God. Now, God's actual plan is perfect.

For those coming up in the second resurrection, this will... it's really not a second chance. It's really their first chance to truly know God. Billions of people, we could say, will have their first real opportunity to have these books opened up to them. God's will is that none should perish. And so he's going to reach out to those individuals and give them his spirit and give them the opportunity to truly know him and enter into a relationship with him.

This is the hope, the true hope, that then they would join his family. So this is a... it's a powerful demonstration of an absolutely merciful God, gracious God. And so in turning back to Luke 8, if we want to turn back there now, and we have this explanation here as to why Jesus Christ speaks in parables, the answer again is simple. There in chapter 8, God is not calling everyone now. And he's also not condemning everyone now. That's an important side note. He's not calling, or he's not condemning everyone now. Through the first and second resurrection, everyone will have their fair and generous opportunity to know the Creator. So here in Luke 8 and beginning in verses 5 through 8, we have this illustration of a sower, and he is spreading his seed here. And you'll notice something interesting here. If you're looking at Luke 8 here, after giving this parable, Jesus makes this very interesting statement at the end of verse 8. Look at this at the end of verse 8. When he finishes the parable, this story, he says most intriguingly, he says at the end of verse 8, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Now you can imagine those listening to this, they'd have been like saying, well, what does this mean? You know, because you'll notice he doesn't say, he does not say, he who has ears, let him hear. No, look, he says, he who has ears to hear, let him hear. How do we understand this? It's exactly what we just took a journey on to discover.

Not everyone at that time has their ears opened to understand, to truly hear. God was not calling everyone then through his son, Jesus Christ. God is not calling everyone today through his son, Jesus Christ. So he's speaking this parable, this parable of the sower then, specifically to who? Who is this parable being spoken to? Well, it's being spoken to those who have ears to hear. That's you and I sitting here today, God willing through his grace. Let he or she who has ears to hear, let him hear. So this parable is not for the mass crowd. We talked about who would be gathered in this crowd. This parable is not for them. This parable is for this parable is for the ones who have the blessing to hear, to truly hear and understand. So this parable is being directed to you, to you. And so with that, Christ continues here with this parable and going down to verse 11, it should be quite striking to us with that understanding. Because verse 11, we see the seed is the Word of God. Okay. We know the sower is Jesus Christ.

God allows us today to participate in the sowing, but it's always Jesus Christ is the true sower.

So the seed is the Word of God. The sower is Christ. The soul, S-O-I-O, is the heart of the called man or woman. All right. So the dirt, the ground, the soul is the heart of the called man or woman. Because you'll notice the activity of the devil there in verse 12, he's described as the one who comes and takes the Word away from where? From their hearts. Okay. So when we think of in terms of the soul, we need to think in terms of our hearts. So once we make that bridge, we can see that this is a very straightforward parable here. He's speaking directly to those who have the opportunity now to hear and to understand. And so this is very challenging today. So he says, when I sow my seed to those who have ears to hear, he says, I recognize that that seed will not produce fully successful results.

And the growth success does not have to do with the sower. The sower is perfect. It does not have to do with the seed. The seed is perfect. God's Word is perfect. Well, the growth success has to do with what? Well, with the kind of soil it lands on, the earth it lands on.

I'll repeat that. For those who have ears to hear, the growth success does not have to do with the sower or the seed. It has to do with the soil, the heart in which it lands upon. And so we're confronted with the question, where is my heart in this picture? Because you'll notice there's a lot of poor dirt around, a lot of poor ground. And so if we are to fulfill our duties, and Jesus Christ, when He returned to the Father, gives us a responsibility to spread His Word, we need to understand that there's one sower and four different soils, not four sowers and one soil.

If you listen to the world's Christian proclamations, they put forth as if there's four sowers in one soil. And it's because they don't understand this truth. That's why you'll see that they're preoccupied in methodology. They're preoccupied in strategy. And it's almost as if the world's Christian pulpits that don't have this true understanding, they almost tell this parable as if there's four sowers. One goes out and is unsuccessful. A second one goes out with their methodology and they're unsuccessful. A third one goes out with their strategy and it's unsuccessful. The fourth one comes with the proper strategy and it yields crop in the soul. It's all about strategy, methodology. Now they got it upside down. The Word of God is perfect. And if God empowers the individual through his spirit to hear, then at its essence, the methodology or the strategy loses significance, if you will. That's why year in and year out, I hear and I even have this sometimes raised in my heart, what are we doing new? What are we practicing new? How are we re-strategizing the preaching of the gospel? And it's not that we negate our responsibility to be persuasive with God's Word. We have to be persuasive with it and be creative and get the seed out there. But in its essence, what we do year in and year out is the same old thing. It's the same old thing. The seed is perfect. We put forth God's Word. That's the same old thing in its essence. The soul is the issue here.

And so when we look at this and we ask that, where's my heart in here? In this picture, here it is. Which of these could describe our hearts? Soul number one, there in verse 12, we're going to go through these very quickly.

I'll leave it up to you for further study. But verse 12, the first type of heart that God's Word can land on, verse 12, it is that which we could describe as the indifferent heart. It's a heart that's indifferent. They do nothing with it, and the devil comes and snatches it away very quickly. They've got ears to hear, but they fail to consider it carefully. They fail to truly listen. And if you go down to verse 18, Jesus Christ has already moved on to the next parable about the lamp. But he says this here in verse 18, he says, therefore, consider carefully how you listen. Consider carefully how you listen, how you hear, he says. Because you can sit here, I can sit here and listen to God's Word and it just and be indifferent about it. You go on from today and it's as if nothing happened. You hear as the same person next to you, but your response is superficial and your easy prey for the devil. This is the well-worn path, you know, the wayside. It's all trampled down, indifference. The sower comes and, you know, I'm not sure why we respond with indifference. Perhaps we don't like to be told that we're in need. Perhaps we don't like to be told that we're sinners, you know, and we have an issue with the instrument, the sower who's preaching God's Word. Perhaps we have an issue with the Word itself. And this soul where the seed falls, it's taken away.

And in that, it's a tragedy. That man or woman had an opportunity to raise up, to be part of that first harvest, and they lost it through an indifferent heart. The devil takes it away so that they cannot believe, it says, and so they cannot be saved.

Secondly, verse 13, the soul that the seed falls upon, we could describe this heart as an impulsive heart. So if the first one was indifferent, this is an impulsive heart, perhaps. Verse 13, it's the ones on the rock. When they hear, they receive the Word with joy. And these have no root, who believe for a while, and in time of temptation, fall away. So they receive it with joy. This is terrific. And we see these individuals. Something happens. Something happens. They're changed, and they're excited. We can't say that nothing happens, because something does happen. They receive the Word. They do so with joy immediately. Count me in. But there's no roots you see there. For your notes, along all these different types of soul, these first three, for your notes, Matthew 22.14, it says, Many are called, but few are chosen. Many are called, few chosen. And that makes sense there in Matthew 22.14 again. Because if we're looking at this, and I do so carefully, if we look at this even in percentages, this seed has a 25% success rate. You can look at it that way. So of those who have ears to hear, they've received that blessing. There's a 25% success rate. That's convicting. Are we part of this group? Where we receive it with joy, and in times of temptation or testing, we fall away. We believe for a while, but we fall away. This could be the explanation of some of our hearts or some of those hearts of loved ones. It's received on an emotional basis. You know, they are excited, but they don't truly get the true gospel, which is a difficult life in this lifetime. They might say, I didn't think I had to give up my job. I didn't think I had to deal with this health trial. I didn't think I had to deal with this family trial. The fact is, they had an emotional response. It's not what they thought they would get from following Jesus Christ. That's why it's very important we not present God's Word to us. We do not present God's Word merely on an emotional basis. We teach the essential elements of His instruction so we can get a genuine response. There's an individual, and I think I've mentioned that, in one of our sister congregations who had this last Christmas, they decided God's Word showed them that they were not supposed to celebrate Christmas, of course, and it's the first time they did not participate in that with their family. And it is so hard. They're in the process of losing some of their family and those relationships. And I want to tell to her this genuine response, and I want to say, hang in there. Hang in there. Jesus Christ said this is what would happen, but be strong. Be strong.

Persevere. Allow those roots to dig in. It's okay.

When testing or temptation comes, it says they fall away. And we just want to say this is part of the testing. This is part of the process. You can do it. We're here to help, you know, and support you along the ways. Thirdly, the third type of soil, which the seed landed upon, perhaps we could say this is the preoccupied heart. Maybe that's a good way of describing it here in verse 14. The preoccupied heart. Verse 14, now the ones that fell among thorns are those when they heard they went out. Maybe they went out for years. They went out. They're on their way. But at some point, they're choked with cares, riches, pleasures of life.

And they bring no fruit to maturity. So there's fruit growing. There's fruit growing. It's there. It's starting to grow. But what happens is it's choked out before it brings fruit to maturity. What is our ultimate maturity? The ultimate maturity is when Jesus Christ returns and we are part of that first harvest and we're called to meet Him and join His family. That's the ultimate maturity here. But, oh, this is prior to reaching that full maturity, these thorns grab them and it squeezes that life, that life to come out of them. It drives away the possibility of spiritual maturity with the passing of time. It's just choked out of them.

Do you understand this? I understand this. Number three really should put us on edge here. Number three, this this heart of the third seed, the preoccupied heart, somewhere along the way, this preoccupied heart is choked out and by the cares of this world. And if you look at the context of that word cares, you can even evoke the the context of worrying. The cares of this world choke them so they're not able to bring that fruit to maturity at Christ's return. Worry. So think about what potential thorns are in your life that are threatening to choke the life out of you, the life to come. Worry. Cares.

You just can't do it anymore. Are you making decisions for material gains or physical gains, physical comfort? You know, I don't think I can miss out on this opportunity and this is this is just too demanding for me. I just can't do it anymore.

So you you allow those thorns to to choke it out because you just can't handle the stress anymore.

So that's a big one. You know, and and we all have those thorns in our life, but it's the first first action is to recognize them, bring them to God. See, I don't want this to choke the true life out of me. Help me with this. I want to be this final soul. I want my heart to be this final fourth soul that's found there in verse 15. This is the productive heart, we could say, the productive heart, the persevering heart, the patient heart. Verse 15, here's the good soul. Verse 15, but the ones that fell on good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. And that's a big word there with patience. You know, Father, I don't want to be one of those peripheral people in that crowd. I don't want to be just one of those. I want to be one that I know you've blessed my ears to hear, and I want to be the one that chooses to truly follow Jesus Christ through it all. And I know to receive this gift of grace, to receive forgiveness, to receive freedom from condemnation. I've got to take your yoke upon me. I'm willing to do that. No matter what difficulty comes, I'm willing to be patient. The word there is also persevere, to keep going. You see this word patience and persevere all throughout the scripture. Sometimes the evidence, the evidence that you're that fourth soul and you're going to bring fruit to maturity is just the fact that you keep going and you don't give up. And you fall down and you get up the next morning and say, your mercies are new to me every morning. Father, I'm sorry. I'm keeping going. Sometimes that's the evidence, and that is the means by which you will bring fruit to maturity. The person who comes and digs in and draws the nourishment from God's word here. Is that you? You know, and one thing to help you with your perseverance, one thing to help you with your patience is just to know you're one of this group that has had their ears healed. That is such a great and awesome thing. You're one of the ones who have been given ears to hear. Thank you, God. Allow that to that gratitude to motivate you to digging deep.

Well, here it is. That's it. Those are the four soils in which the seed is scattered. And as we conclude, we just can look at this and and pray, you know, I don't want to be indifferent. I don't want to be just impulsive. I don't want to be preoccupied. I want to respond to this. And we can pray, God, give me the good soil of my heart. Shake me from any of these things. Allow your seed to be the mirror to which I can make progress to garner good fruit for your glory. The sower has sowed. He sowed His word in your heart today. May it fall on good ground. May that when you heard the word, you received it with a noble heart and good heart. And may you keep it and bear fruit with patience until His return. And I'll just finish with Jesus Christ's words here. May He or she, may you who have ears to hear, let them hear.