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Guide us so, thou gracious Savior.
And land.
Umbrella.
My birthday tomorrow.
Night.
Oh no.
Nsnoise.
The same day when Jesus out of the house and sat by the seaside, and great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship and sat, and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow, and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them up. Some fell upon Stony places where they had not much earth, and forthwith they sprung up.
Because they had no deepness of earth, and when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up and choked them. But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit some hundredfold, some 60 fold, and some 30 fold. Who hath ears to hear? Let him hear. And the disciples came and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven, but but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance. But whosoever hath not from him shall be taken away, even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables, because they seem see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
And then them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith By hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see and shall not perceive.
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For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull appearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear. For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them, and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When anyone heareth the word of the Kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart.
This is he which received seed by the wayside, but he that received the seed in the Stony places, the same as he that heareth the Word, and Anon with joy receiveth it. Yet hath he not root in himself, but doreth for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word, by and by he is offended.
He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word, and the care of this world, and his deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But he that receives seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it, which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth summon hundredfold. And some 60. And some 30. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The Kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field.
But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tears also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou so good seed in thy field? From whence then hath its heirs? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servant said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
But he said, Nay, lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. And in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles, and burn them to burn them. But gather the wheat into my barn. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The Kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field.
Which indeed is the least of all seeds, but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh the trees, so that the birds of the air come and lodge, and the branches thereof. Another parable spake he unto them. The Kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven which a woman took.
And hid in three measures of meal till the whole was leavened.
All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables, and without a parable spake he not unto them.
That it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Prophet saying I will open my mouth in parables.
I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house, and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man, The field is the world, the good seed of the children of the Kingdom, but the tares of the children of the wicked one, the enemy that sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world.
And the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world.
The Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his Kingdom all things that offend.
And them to do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire, where there shall be wailing a gnash of teeth.
Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father, who hath ears to hear.
Let him hear.
Again, the Kingdom of the Kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field. The witch, when a man hath found, he hide us, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man seeking goodly pearls, who, when he had found one Pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like unto a net which was cast into the sea and gathered.
Of every kind which when it was full, they drew ashore and sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
So shall it be at the end of the world. The angels shall come forth and sever the wicked.
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From among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire, there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Jesus saith unto them, Have you understood all these things? They say unto him, Yeah, Lord then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed in the Kingdom of heaven is like unto a man, that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.
Perhaps it might be useful to set the scene here.
The Lord Jesus, of course.
Truly, Son of God, truly man was on the earth.
And John had announced him. And if we go back to the third chapter.
For free. But what John the Baptist said was Repent ye, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.
That was John the Baptist Gospel.
And the gospel was to the nation of Israel, your king.
Is among you. If they had recognized him for who he was, acknowledged him, they could have gone into a time of unparalleled blessing.
For their nation. Now we know, of course, it was in the purposes of God that the Lord Jesus Christ will go to the cross. But in the first chapters of Matthew, we find that the Lord Jesus Christ is presenting himself as that one who was their Messiah.
Now what was the effect on the heart of the Jews? And, and, and, and, and? Of course we want to separate ourselves in this way from them, because it was in the heart, common heart of man.
Was even though they recognized him for who he was, they rejected him.
And we find that in the 12Th chapter of this gospel, we find that rejection is sealed when they attribute His works, the works of the Holy Spirit as He describes them, to Satan. I think we perhaps should look at that purse.
3124 but this. But when the Pharisees heard, they said, This fellow does not cast out devils by by everybody else above the Prince of devils, and then of course the Lord.
Addressing that as an issue, and in the 31St verse he says, Wherefore I found you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be given unto men.
And so we see the Lord as rejected in the 12Th chapter. Now this makes this a pivotal time, shall I say, in the, in the history of, of man and, and, and, and of the, and even of the word of God.
Because the Lord is now rejected by the nation. We know, of course, that rejection wasn't complete until He was nailed on that cross of Calvary.
But what the Lord now does is He starts instructing his disciples on that which will characterize the time in which we now live.
This day of grace. And so we find that the Lord is no longer addressing necessarily the total of the multitude. It's he that appears to hear, let him hear. And umm, so he would take up in these parables that which characterizes the day in which we live. As we've been told quite often, there's a gap in the prophetic history. There's a gap between the 69th and the 70th chapter of Gen. of, of.
Daniel And that's the time in which we live. It's the day of grace, it's the time of the church. And then the Lord instructs the disciples here in that which characterizes this day, and he goes on later on to talk about the church.
In and such in this 13th chapter we have, I believe, the first instruction from the Lord Himself. The key verse is umm 1St 11.
And the answers and said unto them, because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven. Now, the mystery in Scripture is not something that can never be understood. It's something that's only understood by the initiative.
And Paul says in Second Corinthians.
Uh, anyway, perhaps I would rather than tell you to say where it is, Paul said. I have not seen, nor ear heard, nor either I've entered into the heart of men the things that God hath prepared for them that love him. That's a straight quotation from Isaiah, and Isaiah had to stop there.
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But then pause it. But but God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit. The deep things of God are revealed to us by the Spirit of God. And here the Lord starts to reveal these things which He calls mistress.
This is Christianity 101.
And the teacher is the Lord.
Brilliant. Why we have ears to hear.
It's very helpful to see what the Lord is doing in this chapter because as our brother has been pointing out in Matthew 12, the Lord was rejected. There was a perfect testimony and the power of the Spirit, and that was rejected, and that was blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. Nobody, none of us can claim that we've rendered a perfect testimony in the power of the Spirit, but the Lord did. They attributed that to the devil, and so he went into a far country to receive for himself a Kingdom, and so he lived.
In a period called the Kingdom of Heavens, now our king has gone to heaven.
Now he's going to come and rule in power, and he's going to reign on this earth. But that is a future time when the Kingdom is going to come in power. But now he's in heaven. And so we get an outline of that period of time. Whenever God does something, he gives us a little outline. I believe at the outset we see that in the first chapter of the Bible He furnished this earth for man's habitation. And so in those seven days of creation, he gives a little outline.
Of creation from the first to the last in seven days, when he separated Israel out and chose him, He gave an outline of Israel's history in the book of Leviticus, in the seven feasts of Jehovah. And if you follow that, you get an outline of Israel's history. And now here he has gone to heaven to receive for himself a Kingdom. And he gives us a little outline of that period prophetically.
That is revealed to faith, as our brother was telling us. It's an enigma to man, a puzzle to man. But the faith?
It's a revealed thing as to what is happening because there's many things that are very puzzling.
Looking at them from the outside, but to the initiated, as our brothers said, the Lord reveals these things by faith. And so you get the beginning.
A sower went forth to sow That was the Lord himself, and all the seed that he sowed was good seed.
The problem was not with the seed, it was the ground in which the seed fell. And so finally you get a development of things through this age until, uh, the end of the age, this period of time outlined in the, in the seven parables that we have in this chapter, There's a verse in a couple of verses in the first chapter of Proverbs that, uh, we might anticipate why the Lord spoke in parables. He's explaining that.
But in Proverbs chapter one.
And verse 2 Solomon writes to know.
Wisdom and instruction. To perceive the words of understanding. To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice and judgment and equity. To give subtlety to the simple to the young man. Knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear and will increase in learning. A man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels. And this is what I was particularly thinking of. To understand a proverb and the interpretation.
And the words of the wise and their dark sayings. And you'll find that generally men who are not of faith may complete confusion of the parables, but they're plain to faith. And they give us a nice outline of this history. I might say that there's a fourth set of sevens in the Bible, and that's quite obvious in Revelation 2 and three. And what you get there is an outline of the church's history as a responsible testimony here on the earth, not in the character of Paul's ministry.
But in the character of a responsible testimony. And so you drive by a building and it says church and it's got the name on it, or there's a verse on the front and you realize that Christians meet there and these are responsible testimonies, whether it's holy angels or whether it's Bible church or whatever it is, these are responsible testimonies. And there's a history of the responsible testimony here on the earth from Ephesus right to the very end.
At the time when the Lord comes, when the testimony is rejected and laid at sea, and it's spewing out of his mouth.
And the Lord gives his appraisal of the responsible testimony. I say that's not.
In the character of Paul's ministry, because in Paul's ministry, the church is regarded as viewed entirely composed of believers. And if one whether they are or not, if they don't act like a believer, they're put outside of the church. That's not the way John takes it up, but is one that professes to be the testimony. What we have here in Matthew 13 is this thing that we call Christendom, and rightly so, where this circle of profession called Christianity into which men are.
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And how it came to be and the development of it.
It's very clear in reading this that all that are in this sphere of privilege and responsibility have life. Something that's not generally understood, that a man may be in a place of privilege and responsibility and yet not have life, but he's going to be judged according to the profession that he takes. If a man bears the name of Christ in this world, it is a privilege. It's a privilege to bear the name of Christ in this world, but if he's not real?
God's going to take him up and judge him. And it helps us to understand many Scriptures where it says take that wicked servant and slay him before me. It's not talking about a real believer and it's not talking about a Muslim. It's talking about one who was in the Kingdom of heaven, who was in a place of privilege and responsibility and yet did not have life. And this is what we're dealing with here in this chapter is a development of that here on earth.
I just mentioned also in connection with the first verse that he went out and sat by the sea. And you'll notice in Scripture that there are certain symbols. The sea really speaks of the Gentiles.
And the nations and the land speaks of the prophetically speaks has to do with Israel. And so when you see the Gentile power, it's the beast rising up out of the sea.
When you see that one coming up out of Israel, he's rising up. The ram with two horns is rising up out of the land. And so it's a fairly consistent thing in Scripture and so now.
He's been rejected by his own, and so he's turned to the sea, so to speak, and you find that he's now, uh, addressing that situation. This is consistent also with the 1St chapter. Have you ever noticed that the sun and the moon and the stars were set in their place on the 4th day?
Well, why is that? Naturally speaking, you would think that that would happen on the first day, but the Lord, after 4000 years, He came into the world.
And the source of light in this world, the Son of God, appeared and was set in his place. And it was after that that the seas became fruitful.
Oh, it's the the the. These outlines in scripture are consistent if we look into them.
He disowns Israel after the flesh.
The end of that 12Th chapter, doesn't he?
He says whosoever shall do the will of my father, which is in heaven, the same as my brother, sister and mother. Uh, his brethren after the flesh was standing without these arms to talk with him. So now the Lord goes out of the house in verse 13 chapter 13 verse one, I believe the house there would speak of Israel after the flesh afterwards in this chapter he goes back into the house. You see that the further on when the disciples come to.
Ask them about it. Verse 36.
But here the Lord goes out of the house.
And commences with the sower, the sowing seed. The Lord is no longer looking for fruit from this vine. Israel Isaiah chapter 5. It had proven to be unfruitful A and now he's sowing out to the Gentiles.
My brother Neil was telling us it would bring before us God is seeking a new crop from amongst the Gentiles.
That brings to mind another symbol that's consistent in Scripture and that's the house, because the house is a place of profession and it's a, it's a dwelling place. And so there's, there was a house that there was a place where God's name was owned. There was a people that owned the name of God. And as you pointed out, he went out of that house. Israel was rejected. Now there's another house and we get that in Second Timothy because what did the Spirit of God do?
At Pentecost he came down, and He filled the whole house. The dwelling place of the Spirit of God now is in the profession of Christianity. The name where?
The place of God where the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is honored, that's the dwelling place of the Spirit of God now. But we read sadly in Second Timothy that the House of God has taken on the character of a great house. And because of the unfaithfulness of man, there are vessels to honor and vessels to dishonor in that house. But the house presently has christened them. And so the Spirit of God, that's the place that the Spirit of God occupies now. And in the assembly, of course, we trust that the Spirit of God is been given liberty as our brother prayed at the beginning of the meeting to guide and direct.
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But there is a certain responsibility in connection with being in a house, the father says. You know, as long as you're in my home, this is the way you're going to conduct yourself.
And there is a responsibility in connection with being in the House of God, Israel, of course.
Was rejected and now we have this new house, so to speak.
The sowing of the seed is going on today, isn't it? Just thinking of a verse in Ecclesiastes.
It tells us that.
Chapter 11 Verse six In the morning so thy seed, and in the evening this whole not thine hand. For thou knowest not whether shall prosper either this or that, whether they both shall be alike good. And the Lord is using his servants to sow the seed beside all waters today, isn't he? Uh, he doesn't use an Angel. It was an Angel who told Philip to join himself to that chariot there and to preach the gospel to this Ethiopian eunuch. The Angel himself did not.
Preach the Gospel. But he used Philip, later known as an evangelist, to give the gospel.
The Lord uses redeemed sinners today to spread the good news of salvation, to sow the seed beside all waters.
Lovely too, to see that this this seed was sown by the Lord Jesus himself and it's good to see. But as we read those verses down through there, we see the way it's received. It's not always received as it is from the hand of God. And notice too, the great multitude in verse 2. Great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he.
Went into a ship and sat, and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
And he spake many things unto them in parables. Later we find the disciples want to know.
What he meant, and he explains that to them, doesn't he? So that these parables, each one of them, the whole four of them have a character. And we find the Lord Jesus as so good seed, the seed that the, umm, the truth of God is in what he has said.
And it's still as, as Reuben said, the truth of God is still going out, isn't it? The word of God is still being proclaimed. And men, uh, they either receive it in strange ways or they don't receive it at all.
I think of this, uh, the first uh, mention here is the some esot and some fell by the wayside. Well, I think the wayside brings before us the devil's work.
So he, they, it, it didn't reach the heart. It fell by the wayside. Did God intended to fall by the way? No, he didn't. He sought to reach the heart. And Satan comes along, as it says.
Fell by the wayside and the falls came and devoured them up.
And uh, if you connect that over with verse Aviva's verse 19.
When anyone heareth the word of the Kingdom and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one. See, the Lord Jesus gives us the key to these verses, doesn't He?
Each one of them, as I've often said, reading through the Word of God, certain places, things you don't understand. But read far enough and you'll find a key to that.
To that understanding of that verse so.
Uh, verse 19 fits in with our verse 4, doesn't it? The fowls of the air devoured them up. And then it says when anyone heareth in verse 19 word of the Kingdom, he understandeth it not then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart, that he that is, that is, this is he which receives seed by the wayside. So very clearly the Lord goes ahead and explains to us.
What he means by these parables and the others from following also.
It's interesting that.
The Lord in, in, in. Using these parables brings before us certain characteristics of this age.
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And you'll find some common themes run through these parables.
Here it mentions a sower. It mentions a merchant, It mentions a man in several of these.
Parables. Well, who is it talking about?
Is talking about the Lord Himself.
We will find that when the man that the Lord Himself is presented to us in these parables, we find every excellence of love, of wisdom and patience is revealed in that man, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So we find here that the sower goes forth to soul.
When you look at the results, there might have been lots that would be discouraging.
But does the seller quit? No, the seller does not quit. And the gospel of the grace of God will continue to go out right until the end of this dispensation, when the last one accepts the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour.
And so the gospel will continue to go forward. So the the results might be very mixed, very discouraging, and perhaps that brings the next characteristic of this time.
Before us, and I think our brother Little has touched on it.
This is not a time like it will be in the Millennium when Satan is bound.
And so we find that if there's a work of the Holy Spirit to the honour and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Satan will try and mark that work and so that's a common characteristic that the that's characteristic of this time and it will carry on right until the time when the Lord Jesus Christ comes to take us to be with himself.
Notice in our chapter 2 also that down in the chapter he speaks, he gives that verse, Uh, uh, who hath ears to hear? Let him hear.
And now his disciples come to him. The disciples came and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto us to them in parables? I think Neil has already inferred to that, that without the Spirit of God, without listening, without hearing what God has to say, you'll never understand these parables. The natural man can never understand it. He's got them all mixed up. But I noticed here that when he comes to the explanation of these things.
Notice what he says in verse. Umm.
Verse 11 He answered and said they asked him a question, Why speak a style unto them in parables?
Then he says, He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you.
To whom? To those who believe, those that are accessible to this, the Word of God comes to them, unto you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven, but unto them it is not given. Man must first be fear. The fear of God is a beginning of wisdom, and without it you'll never understand anything of the Word of God. It will all be confusion. Have you ever noticed that when you're speaking to somebody?
And you quote the word of God, they say to you, and they disagree with you. They say, well, you see it that way, I see it differently. But that's not what you pointed out to us. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing the word of God. Does it? Does anybody ever said to you, Charles, I don't hear it that way? No, the word of God is playing to an exercise conscience. They say, I don't see it that way. Like it was a difference of opinion. Will your assembly believe this? And you believe that we believe differently. But what does the word of God say? It's plain to faith.
And so there are some things that the Lord puts in enigma. And so Paul said that in Corinthians, he said let him that be ignorant, be ignorant. And so there is a government of God in connection with one who will not hear the word of God. And so that's why it talks about Stony places. I understand that the best soil comes from the breaking down of rock, the crushing of rock and man that like that little hymn and that the children sing, God's word is like a hammer that breaketh the rock and twain we need to be broken down.
To produce good soil, to receive the seed. Man doesn't really believe that he's a Sinner. He's not really broken down.
And so he doesn't really see his deep need of a savior. And it really requires a breaking down of that Stony ground, the crushing of it. Uh.
I understand under the burden of ice we sometimes think people need to be warmed up, but it was a great glaciers that ground on the rock that produced the best soil. And so that's a work of God to prepare the because as has been pointed out, it was good seed, but the the ground was bad.
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This fifth verse it says some fell upon Stony places.
Where they had not much earth, and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth, and when they sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root.
They withered away. Now go over to verse 20.
But He did receive a seed unto Stony places, the same as He adhereth the Word, and none with joy receiveth it. Yet hath He not root in Himself, but during for a while, or when tribulation come, or persecution ariseth because of the Word, by and by He is offended. Isn't it lovely? Now the Lord is explaining we. He gives the parable to the crowd, to the multitude. Then when the disciples asked Him, He begins to explain those parables.
And it's very touching to see that this Stony ground.
Is, is, uh, just the fact that they hear something, they hear the word, but uh, and it's with joy, you know, we're not told that I know some of us when we receive the word of God where it was joy for a while, but then there were trials. Come God test that, he'll test your faith. You may have trials after that.
And so receiving it with joy was just in the mental thought in the in the head. It wasn't in the heart. So he says in verse 21. Yet he hath not root in himself, but dirth for a while when tribulation or persecution.
Uh, uh.
Ariseth because of the word by and by he is offended too bad gone doesn't believe in anymore because the trials have come. God is testing that faith. God will test your faith no matter who you are, no matter how young you are, no matter how old you are, that faith of yours is going to be tested. How what is the reception? How do we receive that? Do we receive the test? Do we accept the test or do we turn away from it? And I think that's.
The thought in connection with the Stony places where he had not much earth. In other words, the thought is in a Stony place. Things don't grow very well, do they? My poor father had a farm in Pennsylvania, all full of stones. Us kids has to go out and pick up stones in a stone bowl, but he couldn't grow anything there. Too many stones.
The carrots would grow with a cricket coming up to the ground, so we see the example that God gives us here, he says.
It it where when they had no, not much earth, they sprung up, didn't have much earth, they didn't have anything on the ground, nothing to hold them, so he says.
Yeah, the verse 5 where it had not come on earth and forthwith they sprung up because they had no depth of earth, there was nothing to hold them there.
Wind comes along and grows them over. So we see that here it answered the Lord answered that prayer that that, uh, parable in verse 20 Stony places.
And to complete the picture, some fell among thorns. That's right. And that is interpreted by the Lord, verse 22 as.
Being the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, which choked the word, so that you have all three.
You have the, uh, the wicked one coming, taking away the word. That's where the devil prevails. And you have the person who doesn't have much root. Persecution comes and he's offended. That's where the flesh prevails. Then you have the world coming in and there's cares of this world and of course that's where the world prevails so that the seed is unfruitful.
How does going I'm sorry I'm often parcel just now I.
Read this parable and.
Even look at the Lord's explanation of it and say, well, which of these categories of four people would you call saved? Umm, And I wonder if that's even the right way to look at this parable. Maybe I should. I would appreciate some comments on that.
00:40:15
Well, he's really taking up profession in Matthew 3013, I believe, and the reality of profession. And so we get that also in Hebrews. We don't get that in Paul's epistles because Paul assumes everybody who is in the assembly is real.
But in Matthew and in Hebrews, in Matthew 13, here and in Hebrews, you get profession. Also in Peter and in James and in the epistle and Jude, you get profession. But again, as I say, in the assembly, Paul, look at the addresses to the assembly. He, he owns it. Everybody is real. And if they don't act like they're real, they're put out not as a beloved brother, but they're put out as a wicked person. But here you have profession. And so this can be true of me too, of my heart too, that.
The seed can fall on Stony ground and so that's why the exhortations in Hebrews come that were to hold faster profession. It's not because a person can be saved and lost, but a person may be professing something and not real God. Maybe there's somebody here who's passing as a Christian. God doesn't want you to abandon your profession, He wants you to make it real.
He doesn't want to chase you out. Perhaps somebody's professing something. He wants it to be real. And so I believe that that's why the side of things that we have here. And so that's why it says it's impossible to renew them to repentance, That if one abandons a profession of Christianity and goes off. And that's why it's such a serious thing when somebody who professed the name of Christianity is happening in this land, many turning to Islam or to, uh, to Eastern religions and so on.
They've even abandoned the very profession of Christianity is a very, very serious thing.
But that's really what he's bringing out out here is what response does the word have in my heart?
So a Christian might find himself in the position of being a as as one who was.
A seed among the thorns that the players of the world and and and choke the word of God and there isn't fruit in his life. That person may be a a Christian rather than just a professional. I understand. Is that what your point is rather?
How did thorns come in anyway? Where do we Why do we have thorns? Because of sin?
And sorrow.
They came in after the fall, didn't they? There was no thorns before that. But I was just thinking of this. Verse 8. But others fell, No, but verse seven And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up and choked them.
And someone has already mentioned in verse 23 says he that has received the seed among the thorns as he that heareth the word, the cares of this world deceitful and riches, I think Luke says, and the cares of other things. We can even have over care in our families, in our homes. And it can rob us of that truth of the truth of God. We can be so occupied with it. So it's it's not only it says.
Doesn't say there was sin there. It just says and he, he that received seed into the good ground, he no, I'm sorry. Verse 20/30/22 He that received the seed among the word, the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, deceitfulness of riches. He's going after something else. And then it says choke the word. It's choked. He can't develop.
He's not enjoying the Lord. So it's a it's a solemn question isn't to think of that and it says umm, and he become a unfruitful God is looking for fruit in our lives, isn't he? He's looking for us to produce fruit. And if we're full of cares as dear Martha was, the Lord says you you're caring about many things, but one thing was needful and Mary had chosen that good part.
So I just thought of this here, where in in, uh, far among corner. It doesn't. Verse seven is the only verse that mentions the thorns here at that point, and some fell among thorns. The thorns sprung up and choked.
So that's all it says about it, but those thorns can be very, very fatal. Sometimes we can hear the word of God. And I remember going one place and met this young man and he was, he, uh.
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He was accepted, he had accepted Christ and he was going on happily for the Lord.
Sometime later I went back. He's no more with a He's no more enjoying the Lord at all. Something had come in and robbed him in his soul. Well, there was a thorn there somewhere. Something had happened.
Some care, perhaps some some riches, I don't know. But he was no longer in the joy of the Lord. And isn't that true? Isn't it so that God's desire for you and for me is that we might be the in the enjoyment of that glorious heritage that we have, which is Christ. So God's desire is for us is that we might be in the enjoyment of that, that we might in injustice into our hearts.
We might ingest it. We might enjoy a person of Christ. What a glorious inheritance we have.
A couple verses, might want to turn to Psalms. Regards Brother Little just brought out. It was very helpful. Psalm chapter one.
Verses came before my heart and I enjoyed it much with myself.
Some one and two.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And we see the result of that in the next verse. And he shall be like a tree.
Planted by the rivers of water, to bring us forth His fruit and his seasons. And his leave also shall not wither, And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. I believe the key here is that the meditation of the Lord's word day and night.
And there will be fruits that will be the result of that, and we will prosper in that fruit.
I believe this question that Brother Dave Rd. has raised is very important for us to realize. And this is important in a side that's neglected. Dear Martin Luther labored under a system where they believed that they could be received remission of sin by burning candles and giving money to the church and so on. And he was just so glad to find out that just shall live by faith. But when he came to the book of James and it said faith without work is dead.
He called the Epistle to James the Epistle of Straw, and troubled him.
And I think sometimes we so far swing over that we want to know.
The saved side of things that we don't understand the truth here that there's fruit. If a man is truly saved, there's fruit for glory. And this is what our brother's been bringing out. The first Psalm really is speaks of the Lord. He's the only man who fully fulfilled that. But it's true what that which is true and him is true in US. And so the proof that a man has divine life is that there's fruit. And so, uh, that's why this chapter is so helpful because it's taking up profession.
And people want to say, well, who are you to judge me? I know I'm saved and I gave my life to the Lord Jesus, and I received the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior.
But that's not the line of things that is being taken up here. What has been the response of the seed in the soil? What kind of soil has the seed been received into? What is the fruit? People say, well, judge not that ye be not judged. And so they, they, we are, every one of our hearts tends to that. But what is being taken up here and in the book of Hebrews is there's a profession, but is the reality to that profession? And again I say in Paul's line of things, it's different. There's now therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. And so here was a man who was acting.
In a way, in First Corinthians 5 that completely denied he was a child of God and so he was put out of the assembly, not as a beloved brother.
But as a wicked person.
And they questioned the man in second Timothy two there were vessels taught in the.
House Again, we have that in our chapter in the great House there were vessels to honor and vessels to dishonor. The point was not whether they were real or not. That is irrelevant. The fact was that those vessels were to dishonor.
And so a man had to purge himself from these. And so we get this line of things we need to move on in our chapter. But I believe that it's essential for us to realize that because there's a great deal of people objecting very violently. Well, I know the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior, and you shouldn't judge my behavior and I won't judge yours and so on. But what we have here is what has been the response of the good seed and what kind of soil is it found its lodging place in?
To be correct to say that the first three bring before us profession.
And only the 4th, the seed that fell on good ground, would bring before us reality. I was thinking of some verses over in the in Jeremiah chapter 17 connected with rather Brother Brown has mentioned also.
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Jeremiah 17 beginning at verse seven. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is, for he shall be.
As a tree planted by the waters, refreshing, developing, growing, isn't that beautiful? And that spreadeth out his roots by the river and shall not see when heat cometh. Find here in this parable that when the when the when the trials came, they, they, they melted, they failed. But here it says when, when he cometh.
He shall not see when he cometh.
Well, why is this? Because he has his eye upon the Lord Jesus Christ, so he says, and then?
Uh.
But her leave shall be green, and shall.
Not be careful in the year of drops, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. How precious this is. God's desire is that we bear fruit, and if we can't there, no fruit is born if we're not.
Near to the Lord Jesus, to the refreshing stream of God's mercy and goodness.
How precious this is, and it isn't how much we know. I often think of that. It's not a question of what where we know all the details of chapter 13. It's just whom we know. Are we enjoying what God has given us?
That's a very interesting thing. We had that in our meeting at Vessel the other night, whom we know, whom we know, a person of Christ.
Just a notice, a burst in Mark's gospel chapter 4, where the Lord is speaking about, uh, we have before us here too, the uh, thought of the parables and verse 13, Mark chapter 4, verse 13. And he said unto them.
Know ye not this parable?
And how then will ye know all parables?
So the understanding of this parable gives us understanding in all the parables. What is it that's key about this parable that, uh, helps us to understand all of the parables?
I believe it brings before us two things, God's sovereignty. He sowed good seed. The seed was all good and man's responsibility.
Every work is initiated by God.
The sower here while our brother alluded to those that go and sow the seed, and that's true, that the sower here was the Lord Jesus Christ himself, and every work begins with God himself.
I'm glad you turned to Mark four because just in commenting, there's a very false notion that Christianity is growing and going to take over the world and and Christianize the world and so on. But you'll notice.
In Mark, if you've opened it there, it said Mark four and eight and some other fell on good ground and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased and brought forth some 30 and some 60 and some 100. You get a different order in Matthew's Gospel. In Matthew's Gospel, some 100, some 60 and some 30. And I had this thought in connection with it as the profession is declining.
The outward character of Christianity is in decline, but in Mark's Gospel he takes up the servant's work. The servant ought not to be discouraged, because there's nothing going to be lost at some 30, some 60, some 100.
Perhaps another has another thought in connection with this, but we need to be preserved from the thought that is rampant and Christendom that Christianity is going to reform the world and conquer the world and so on. What we see in this parable is a declining state of things.
I would just like to mention that.
Lord has given us.
She does supply through His word. I just wanna give a word of encouragement.
And that's the question is, have we solved today?
Is there anything that we have sold for the Lord?
As I say, this is passing because there are many golden opportunities, so the seed which the Lord gives us.
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This morning.
Did you leave a track or a Sunday school paper or thank you card for the maid that made the road?
What about the coffee shop? We made it this morning for your breakfast.
Give something to the waitress that served you. What about the cashier that made your deal?
Friends are our many opportunities that we as the Lord's people.
And sold that precious seed in practical ways.
I just want to say this more encouragement.
This is moving down to the 15th and 16th, 1St, I believe it brings up this question that was raised earlier that I raised earlier about hearing and not really hearing.
And blessed are your eyes and see that we see things because we believe.
But it is possible for a believer to be blind.
You see that in Laodicea that they were going on. And again, I say that shows that it's not really taking up the assembly as it is in Matthew 18 or as in Paul, because the Lord is standing at the door. He's not in the midst. And there's no promise to come in and commune with them collectively of any man, not if any man, if any man hear my voice. But how does he describe them? They're blind. And then Peter said, giving all diligence to add to your faith.
And he says if a man doesn't add these things to his faith, then he's blind seeing, not afar off. And so we can be as blind men, even though we're real believers. And so that's really what man wants, to see things. But if we really lay hold of the truth by faith, if we hear the word of God, then he's going to cause us to see things.
A woman who covers her head in true obedience to the Word of God, not just because that's what they do.
One sister who is in fellowship with us, once somebody asked her why she covered her head. She said, well, that's what they do at the church where I go.
Well, if somebody does that in well, but if somebody does that in real faith, then they're going to see the truth in connection with that. We walk in the truth. We'll see these things, but we'll never see them if we don't really receive it by faith in our hearts.
See that the Spirit of God gives the understanding too, doesn't it?
Get that in verse 23.
It's not only says hear it, but understand it. So it reminds us of Luke 24 when the Lord opened their understanding.
So it's nice to see how the Spirit of God does work in the good ground, prepares the ground for the seed, and there's fruit and the heart and lies of those that believe and understand.
How can a man be held responsible, though you may question, when he can understand it?
Like in verse 19, he hears the word of God and he understandeth it not well. How is he responsible therefore?
Remember, brethren, that the Lord makes the word of God so plain that the wayfaring man to a fool.
Need not are therein. That's Isaiah 35 and people do not understand the word of God because.
They won't have it. They don't want to receive it. Uh, the truth of God does not enter through the intellect, it enters through the conscience.
And these folks here, they receive it quickly with joy. Uh, the conscience has not been reached. The.
They were sinners and so they endured for a while and then they fade away. I think there's a mistranslation in the, in the book of Acts there when they received the word of God there, this is Acts chapter 2 and verse 41. It says then they that received the word were baptized. Omit that word gladly. Uh, you may have a lot of this gladness and so forth at revival, revival meetings and so forth in, in the world, but.
Generally you get very superficial results. They receive the word with joy and uh, they are soon offended and they turn aside. But the the truth of God has to enter through the conscience, giving us to realize that we're sinners in his sight.
And then God can work by his Spirit.
Because we're tested, every child of God, every everyone in this room, everyone, whoever accepted Christ as his savior, God is going to put him to the test.
And sometimes those tests can be pretty severe because God is trying to bring out the reality of that soul.
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Since you mentioned that about baptism, that's really how we enter the profession of Christianity. We just make that note is that people come into the profession of Christianity by baptism. I was at a friend's house in Halifax. He was a Catholic and he got saved and his, umm, he was telling me he's praying for his grandmother that she gets saved. And he said his grandmother was a professing, well, she was a Catholic and she said I'm praying that grandma will become a Christian. And his grandmother said to what are you talking about?
And I said, you need to tell her she needs to get saved. She's in the profession of Christianity. She bears the name of Christ by baptism. Maybe how it was done and who did it was not right, But she bears the name of Christ by baptism. And he said, well, I'm a Christian and I'm not baptized. I said, well, that's a strange thing. His uncle was base commander of Halifax. He said, what would you think of your uncle Jim went to the Army base and you never wore a uniform. He said, well, that would be a strange thing. I said, well, that's the way you are. You're in the profession of Christianity and never put on the uniform. He said to me, the next time you see me, I'll be wearing the uniform.
And I we need to be simple about these things, but I'm glad you raised that point.
I also want to point out something in Hebrews.
Umm, in connection with this having received the joy the this umm Hebrews 6 and verse 4.
Because this sometimes verse is used to unsettle ones as to being saved and lost, the possibility that one who is saved and lost. But I think it's because the church has generally has confused this idea that one can be in a place of privilege and responsibility and not have life.
Her brothers spoke about responsible, for it is impossible for those who are once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted of the good word of God and the powers of the world to come, if they should fall away. To renew them again to repentance, seeing they crucified to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to open shame for the earth, which drinketh in the rain, and cometh off upon it, and bringeth forth herbs, meat for them by whom it is dressed.
Receiveth blessing from God. It's possible that there is a young person or an older person who has been right in the meetings and they've enjoyed. They've been made partakers of the Holy Ghost, not embroiled by the Holy Ghost, but they've enjoyed the fellowship of God's people. They've been raiding them. I don't think we realize what a blessed thing we have. They've gone to conferences on the West Coast and the East Coast. They have friends everywhere. They've been in the very enjoyment and bosom of Christianity. And they say, I don't want any more of that.
And they leave that profession. And here in Hebrews, the danger was that they would go back to Judaism. But some have left the very profession of Christianity and gone to Islam or to, or to, uh, even Buddhist religions and so on. Well, the word of God gives a very serious and sober warning. But it's possible for a person to have been in the very enjoyment of the same blessings of one who's gone to heaven and not be real. Not the one who is saved should be lost against, but one who has enjoyed the blessings of Christianity and not be real.
With the joy of life.
Do you lose weight at this time later?
On.
Where you are my father?
In the hands of all.
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