Introduction: Wayside Hearers

Driving home: One of the great amazements to men when they begin to study the Bible seriously is to see how far people can go in exposure to divine truth and in obvious response to divine truth and even apparent fruit from that respon…

Martin references John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress to illustrate that modern concepts of salvation often misunderstand the biblical truth that apparent fruit does not always equate to saving work.

One or two occasions I have tried to get such a series off the ground, but somehow it felt restrained in my spirit. And I believe that perhaps in the providence of God, He has held us off from studying it so that we might enter into the study of Matthew 13 with what we are learning. Or I trust we are learning in Matthew 7 as a background and as a parallel portion of the Word of God. One of the great amazements to men when they begin to study the Bible seriously is to see how far people can go in exposure to divine truth and in obvious response to divine truth and even apparent fruit from that ...

1:43 - 2:47 Read in full sermon

The point: Seek the face of God before coming to hear the sermon, preparing your heart.

A story of a little boy scattering seed, which yields fruit on good soil regardless of the sower's skill, illustrates that the condition of the soil (heart) is more crucial than the preacher's skill.

In the fresh early hours of a Sunday morning, you're alone with Him and you call upon Him that this day He'd lift up the light of His countenance upon you. You've asked Him by the Spirit to reveal anything that would grieve and quench His ministry of revelation, making Christ real, opening the Scriptures. You come to a service having met Him and your heart full of expectation He's going to speak. I tell you, I can preach a pretty punk sermon but you'll go away blessed to the hilt.

19:28 - 19:58 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The sermon narrows its focus to the 'wayside hearer,' presenting the facts from Matthew 13:3-4 and Luke 8:5, where seed falls on a footpath and is devoured by birds. Christ's…

Martin describes seeing Amish farmers plowing in Lancaster County, followed by flocks of birds picking up grubs and worms, to illustrate how birds follow the sower, ready to devour exposed seed.

Apparently there were paths that were cut through the cornfields. And the Lord and His disciples were walking along one of these paths. So here's the picture of the sower who's gone out and as he casts his seed some of it falls by one of these footpaths that goes right through the cornfield. Now the birds would always follow the sower as he went.

22:40 - 23:01 Read in full sermon

The point: Break up your fallow ground and lay aside all superfluity of naughtiness to receive the engrafted word.

A story of a little girl who couldn't understand a simple lesson because she had 'so many things to learn I don't have time to understand' illustrates how a preoccupied mind can hinder spiritual understanding.

well it brings you right back to that basic doctrine of the words because sin has defiled all our faculties isn't this what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2.14 the natural man with the equipment that God or that my father and mother gave me that came down through Adam I can't perceive divine truth the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God there is foolishness unto him neither can he know them can is a word of ability you ask me may I take to him book that's a word of permission if you say can I look at you and say well I think you're strong enough that's a word of ability neithe...

37:38 - 39:06 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Bishop Ryle said and I thought it was a quaint statement perhaps he said there's no more active place for the devil than a congregation of gospel hearers he said that's probably the place where the devil is more active t…

Martin describes listening to a recording of his own sermon and hearing the chatter and giggling that erupts after the service, likening it to a 'flock of birds of trivial talk' snatching away the seed of the Word.

but could it be that maybe the fault's yours sometime and you just let those birds come and pick the seed up we didn't recognize that that mental dullness had Satan as its author he just thought of something physical now the Lord said Satan come he believed in a personal devil who was presently active whenever the word was preached he hadn't gotten so smug and smart that he relegated all satanic activity to psychological and physiological reasons as so many are willing to do in our day may I mention another bird and I believe he's floating around this place right now I see him here every Sunda...

46:26 - 47:51 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Bishop Ryle said and I thought it was a quaint statement perhaps he said there's no more active place for the devil than a congregation of gospel hearers he said that's probably the place where the devil is more active t…

Martin explains the proverb about a fool pouring out foolishness to his son, Joel, illustrating undisciplined talk that can be a 'bird from the enemy' to pluck away the Word.

and she pushes that right pedal down the loud music and that's the signal it's time to get up and then the chatter the chatter the giggling gets louder builds up the shingle in my mind's eye I can just see those birds a whole flock of them called birds of trivial talk and they've taken the seed and they've snatched him trivial talk I don't know anybody that's telling dirty jokes in the church no it's not that I don't know that you're passing gossip but just true talk God says let every man be swift to hear slow to speak but the Proverbs said in the multitude of words there wanteth not sin we w...

47:51 - 49:21 Read in full sermon