Good Ground Hearers Hearers Part 1

Driving home: And so the main thought, the main principle of this entire parable is summarized in this little statement that the state of the soil determines the fate of the seed.

The hard, beaten path where seed never penetrates and birds pluck it up illustrates the thoughtless, careless hearer who dismisses the Word, allowing the enemy to steal it.

There is that kind of soil which is pictured by our Lord as the hard, beaten path which runs through the cornfield. So hard because it's been touched by the seed. It's been trampled underfoot of men so long and so often that the seed never even penetrates and as it lays there it isn't long before the birds of the air come and pluck up the seed. And that's a picture according to our Lord of the thoughtless, careless hearer who hears the Word of God and because he does not see any fitness of that message to his own heart and life he throws it off as a thing unworthy of serious and sober thought ...

2:51 - 3:35 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And so the main thought, the main principle of this entire parable is summarized in this little statement that the state of the soil determines the fate of the seed.

A thin layer of soil over rock, causing quick growth but no root, leading to wilting under the sun, illustrates the temporary believer who receives the Word with joy but lacks deep root and withers under persecution or temptation.

And then the second kind of soil is what our Lord called rocky soil. Not good soil with rocks in it but a thin layer of soil over the top of a large shale of rock so that when it is sown it looks like it's been sown into good soil. And it immediately springs up and seems to be a fair and flourishing little plant. And the farmer comes by and says my, I'm going to get a lot of corn off that.

3:36 - 4:01 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin reviews the Parable of the Sower, emphasizing it as the parable of the soil, and briefly summarizes the characteristics and outcomes of the hard path, rocky, and thorny…

Soil with thorn roots that choke out the seed illustrates those whose repentance is insincere or incomplete, allowing darling sins (like covetousness) to ultimately nullify any apparent spiritual life.

But ultimately he proves that he had no root in himself. And then the third class is what we studied two Lord's Day evenings ago. Those who are like the soil has some roots of thorn bushes in it and when the seed is sown the thorns grow up with the seed and they ultimately choke out that seed so it brings forth no fruit. And this is a picture of the man who responds to the gospel has some apparent evidences of life but his repentance has been incensed and incompletion and roots, stubbornness or covetousness as the case of Judas ultimately the sins they spare at their response to the gospel ult...

5:32 - 6:42 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin reviews the Parable of the Sower, emphasizing it as the parable of the soil, and briefly summarizes the characteristics and outcomes of the hard path, rocky, and thorny…

The crowds who enthusiastically followed Christ in John 6 until His teaching became demanding, then 'went back and walked with him no more,' exemplify stony-ground hearers.

Look at those great multitudes in John 6. Man, they just clapped. Ever after Christ until he began to talk about eating his flesh and drinking his blood and then it says this, and many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more. Oh, this was wonderful when the carpenter out of Nazareth came speaking the gospel of his grace and kingdom and they responded with great enthusiasm.

7:11 - 7:32 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin reviews the Parable of the Sower, emphasizing it as the parable of the soil, and briefly summarizes the characteristics and outcomes of the hard path, rocky, and thorny…

Judas, whose covetousness choked out spiritual life, and Demas, who forsook Paul 'having loved this present age,' serve as examples of thorny-ground hearers whose initial profession proved insincere.

Judas, his sin of covetousness ultimately rose up and utterly choked out any semblance of spiritual life and he became a betrayer of Christ. Demas, a fellow worker of Christ and yet Paul had to say he's forsaken me having loved this present age. And he's gone back to his old haunts of iniquity. And so I remind you, my hearers tonight, don't get all excited when you see the first sprigs of spiritual life.

7:53 - 8:22 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin reads the accounts of the good ground from Matthew, Mark, and Luke, then describes what 'good ground' would entail for a farmer: well-plowed, deep, and free of foreign…

Good ground is described as well-plowed, soft, pliable, deep earth with no foreign roots, illustrating a heart prepared to receive and retain the Word.

But now some falls upon what Jesus calls here good ground. Now what would good ground be to the farmer? Well, it would be ground that's well plowed. It's soft.

10:53 - 11:03 Read in full sermon

The point: Don't you rest the scriptures to your own destruction. When a true Christian isn't persevering and bearing fruit, he begins to lose his assurance, which drives him to his knees.

Dr. Tozer's encounter with a young preacher who was 'aglow' about the security of believers on every page of his Bible, only for Tozer to ask, 'What sin are you covering in your life?', illustrates how people can misuse doctrines like preservation to comfort themselves in disobedience.

of faith and of a holy life and so the first lesson that we learn from this passage this fourth kind of soil is that the only proof of a saving response to truth is continuance in bearing fruit now do you see how practical this is in its application to ourselves personally you watch what happens I've seen this people begin who seem to be true Christians God alone knows their heart I don't but they begin to have a controversy with God God begins to press a duty and they're balking they're like a Jonah the Lord's saying this way and they've got their back turned about to buy a ticket and go that...

33:25 - 34:51 Read in full sermon

The point: Don't you rest the scriptures to your own destruction. When a true Christian isn't persevering and bearing fruit, he begins to lose his assurance, which drives him to his knees.

Christian from Pilgrim's Progress losing his 'roll' (assurance) and seeking it for three days illustrates how a true believer, when not persevering, loses assurance and is driven to seek God's face.

what sin are you covering in your life you're not willing to deal with you know the fellow began to dodge and hedge but he hit the nail right smack on the head this guy had a controversy with God he wasn't persevering so he began to grab those verses that talk about God's preserving see oh don't you rest the scriptures to your own destruction the way God deals with a true Christian when he isn't persevering and he isn't bearing fruit he begins to lose his assurance because he sees that a Christian is one who bears fruit and if I'm not bearing fruit am I really his? and this is what drives the ...

34:51 - 36:20 Read in full sermon

The point: Only as we're bearing fruit 30, 60, 100 fold do we have reason to believe we've received the word into good soil.

The 'worst hell this side of hell is a brassy heavens for a Christian' metaphorically describes the spiritual desolation of a believer who has a controversy with God, losing the sense of God's presence and the Spirit's operations.

isn't it? to have the heavens brass not be able to sense the presence of God when you pray the application to ourselves is obvious beloved only as we're bearing fruit 30, 60, 100 fold do we have reason to believe we've received the word into good soil now you can say well I don't agree with this part of what the preacher said and I don't agree with that part well that's your privilege beloved but do you agree with the Lord that only those who are bearing fruit have received the word into good soil you believe that don't you? well if you're not bearing fruit you better cry to God to begin to ma...

36:20 - 37:48 Read in full sermon

The point: Don't cling to a 'little wispy shriveled up dried up stalk' of a past profession for loved ones if there's no current evidence of continued repentance, faith, holiness, and obedience.

A woman who became angry at the truth of fruit-bearing because she was clinging to the 'wispy shriveled up dried up stalk' of her relatives' past professions, despite 20 years of no fruit, illustrates the danger of false comfort and refusing to apply biblical truth to loved ones.

are you going to do like the woman that I heard of recently who when she began to see some of these aspects of truth she dug her heels in and she got downright angry because she's got three relatives who way back in the dim murky past made a decision and went to church for a few weeks and from that time until now there's been no evidence of a continued repentance of a continued faith of holiness obedience love to God and Christ and his people and you know what she's doing? she's clinging to that little wispy shriveled up dried up stalk that's been laying on the ground for twenty years the prod...

38:07 - 39:35 Read in full sermon

The point: Don't cling to a 'little wispy shriveled up dried up stalk' of a past profession for loved ones if there's no current evidence of continued repentance, faith, holiness, and obedience.

A young woman with a beautiful voice who responded powerfully during a revival, weeping for souls, but later withered under family persecution and showed no fruit for eleven years, illustrates the stony-ground response often seen in times of revival.

where God breaks in sovereignly and moves upon a given community there's always a greater tendency for people to be stony ground hearers in the excitement of a moving of God people will respond and quickly many times embrace the word without counting the cost and I can think of a young woman who had a beautiful voice I've never heard a girl her age who could sing so beautifully and I remember standing in the meeting one night and singing a song it was to be a Bible study and God so owned that message that one person broke down right there and fell on his or her knees and began to call on God f...

39:35 - 41:01 Read in full sermon