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All right, we're there in Luke, chapter number 8, and of course we are going through a series called Journey with Jesus, and it's a verse-by-verse study through the Gospel of Luke. We are studying the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, and this morning we come to a very well-known passage of Scripture known as the parable of the sower. The parable of the sower is one of the most famous parables in the Bible, if not the most famous parable of the Bible. I think it may be the most well-known parable of all the parables that the Lord Jesus Christ taught, and of course he taught many parables. The parable of the sower is not only the most famous of the parables, it can also be the most controversial of the parables, and the reason for that is because sometimes people interpret the parable different ways. Now of course the Lord Jesus Christ does something for this parable that he does not do for other parables, and he does it for some parables but not all parables, in fact I would say not most parables, and he gives us the parable and then he also gives us his interpretation. But then of course people interpret his interpretation, and that's where things can go off the rails. This is a very well-known parable, it's found in three of the gospels, it's found here of course in Luke chapter 8, also found in Matthew 13, and in Mark chapter 4, we're going to be looking at some of those references this morning as we walk through this. Now what I'm going to do this morning is I'm going to teach you this parable, and I'm going to divide this sermon into three different parts, and hopefully you can track along with me, I'm hoping that I can get through the entire sermon in one sermon, if not we'll have to figure it out, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. But I'm going to start by teaching you about the parable, and that will be the first part of the sermon, and then in the second part of the sermon I'm going to deal with the controversy in the parable, and we'll talk about that for a little bit, and then the third part of the sermon we'll be preaching through the parable itself, which is what you would think the whole sermon should be about, but because there's so much delusion out there in regards to this parable specifically, we'll have to spend some time talking about these things. So let me begin this morning by teaching you about the parable, and if you're taking notes of course you can write some of these things down. The first thing of course is we see the parable itself, the story of the parable, if you look down at Luke chapter 8 and verse 4, the Bible says, And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake a parable. In verse 5 he says, A sower went out to sow his seed, and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. Now I want you to understand that Jesus goes through the parable, he teaches the lesson, and then the disciples come back to him and they ask him to explain it, so then there's another portion of scripture where he gives us his commentary on the parable, so we're going to just kind of flip back and forth real quickly just so you can see his teaching on it and then Jesus' explanation. In verse 5 he tells us, A sower went out to sow his seed, and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside. So the parable, or the story, is of a farmer really going out into his field, and he is throwing seed into his field. He is sowing seed into his field. In verse number 11, Luke chapter 8 and verse 11, Jesus begins to give us the interpretation of the parable. He says, Now the parable is this, the seed is the word of God. So in this story we have a farmer who is going through and he's sowing the seed into the field, and then Jesus tells us the seed is a picture or a representation of the word of God. So anyway, throughout the New Testament, the word of God is represented as a seed. You don't have to turn here. I'd like you to stay there in Luke chapter 8, but I'll just read this for you. In 1 Peter 1 23 the Bible says, Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. So the Bible teaches us that Jesus teaches us that this word, this seed, is represented as the word of God, and throughout this illustration is used. So you should just be aware of the fact that the word of God is pictured or represented as the seed throughout the Bible. Look there, Luke chapter 8 and verse number 5. You begin to get the different types of grounds or lands or soils in which this seed falls. Notice there in verse 5, again it says, A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, here's the first soil or land in which it falls. He says, Some fell by the wayside, and it was trodden down. The word trodden down means walked on, and the fowls of the air devoured it. So as this farmer is going through this field and he's just dispersing seed across the field, he says some of it falls by the wayside. The wayside is what we might refer to as a pathway or a sidewalk or some sort of a path in which people would walk by. He's throwing this out in the field, but some of it lands in the sidewalk or in the pathway where people are walking. And as a result, it gets trodden down, it gets walked on, and also the fowls of the air devoured. So we see that the first soil is that of the wayside. Then in verse 6 we're told, And some fell upon a rock. In the other gospels it's referred to as stony places. So it falls upon rocks or upon stones, and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. Verse 7 says, And some fell among thorns, and thorns sprang up with it and choked it. And then in verse 8 we're told, And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit, and hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. So it's a very well-known parable. I'm sure you're very familiar with it. It's a very basic parable. You have a sower going out to sow the land. He begins to disperse the seed, which is a picture of the Word of God. It lands on different types of grounds, and these grounds represent hearts of men or individuals. Each one of these soils represents a type of person that has the Word of God sown in their heart, and some are wayside. They are trodden down. Some are stony places or upon a rock, and they spring up, and it's withered away because it lacks moisture. Some falls among thorns, and it springs up, but it is choked. And other falls on good ground, and it springs up, and bare fruit, and hundredfold. Now just again, kind of by way of introduction as we're in this first part of the sermon, let me talk to you about the purpose of the parable, and not just the purpose of this parable, but the purpose of all parables. If you notice there in verse number 9, the Bible says, And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? So Jesus just gets done teaching this story about the seed, and the sower, and the different grounds, the wayside, the stony places, or the rock, the thorns, and the ground. And they ask the question, they say, What is this all about? What might this parable be? Notice there in verse 10, And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to others in parables, that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. Now when it comes to the parables of Christ, Jesus is known for a lot of things. Obviously he's known for his birth. He's known as the Savior. He's God in the flesh. But as far as his ministry is concerned, there are two kind of staples to his ministry. One is the miracles of Christ. He performed many miracles throughout his ministry. And the other is the parables of Christ. Jesus told many parables throughout his ministry, and his parables are beautiful. They're beautiful stories, and often Jesus is known for these, and people will preach series through the parables of Christ and all of that. And I want you to understand, a parable simply is defined as an earthly illustration to help us understand a spiritual truth. So Jesus would teach a very simple lesson that was kind of an earthly, you know, I mean it doesn't get more earthly than a farmer goes out and puts seed in the ground, and there's different types of ground, and as a result there's different types of plants that come up. He's teaching us this earthly illustration in order to teach or illustrate a spiritual truth. That's what these parables are about. And oftentimes when people think of the parables of Christ, they think of these beautiful stories, and they are beautiful stories, they think of these beautiful illustrations, and they are beautiful illustrations. But I want you to understand that here in Luke chapter 8, we're told that there is another reason why Jesus told these parables. There is an ulterior motive that Jesus had to the parables. Not just to teach a beautiful lesson, a memorable lesson, something that people would remember, but there was another reason, notice again there in verse number 10, and he said, because the disciples asked him in verse 9, what might this parable be? They asked the question, can you explain this parable to us? We don't understand. You're talking about a sower went out to sow his field, he sowed seed on ground, and it fell on the wayside, and upon the rock, and upon the thorns, and upon the good ground. What is this all about? Verse 10, and he said, unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God. He said some things are mysteries of the kingdom of God. He said there are things, the Bible says that the natural man receiveth not the things of the kingdom of God. The natural man does not understand spiritual things, and Jesus looks at his disciples, he says unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God. He says, but to others in parables, he said, I spoke in parables because to you, Jesus said to his disciples, I want you to understand it, and I'm about to explain it to you is what Jesus is saying to them. He says, but there are others that I'm speaking in parables, notice again there in verse 10, but to others in parables, that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. You say, what is that referring to? I mean, look, look at what Jesus is saying, he's saying, I'm speaking in parables because there are some people that though they can see me, I don't want them to perceive, and though they can hear me, I don't want them to understand. Jesus is referring to the fact that there were people in the crowd, and specifically he's talking here specifically about Pharisees, who were what we would call reprobates, people who had already crossed the line with God, they've already gone too far with God, and Jesus is saying, he says, that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. He says, there are some people I don't want them to understand. Now that goes against what most Christians teach about Jesus, because most Christians say, oh, Jesus never gives up on anyone, he wants everyone to hear the message, well, not the Jesus of the Bible, because this Jesus, which is the true Jesus, is telling us unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to others, he says, to others in parables, that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. So it's interesting to me that Jesus says, one of the reasons I speak in parables is because I'm going to teach you the parable, and it's a good illustration, and it's a memorable lesson, and you'll understand it, and it's good, but he said, some people, I don't want them to understand, that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. So we see the story of the parable, and we see the purpose of the parable. I want you to notice, thirdly, in this first part, the interpretation of the parable. Now the standard interpretation, and there's lots of different interpretations, but I would say the standard interpretation, if you just went to the average church, and they were preaching through the parable of the sower, the standard interpretation of the parable that most people think this parable is teaching is this. They see this parable, most people, most Bible teachers, most preachers, see this parable as representing the, I'm going to word it this way, the salvation status of all mankind. So they'll teach that this parable, Jesus is teaching that all human beings fall into one of these four grounds, and that this parable represents all of humanity, all of mankind falls into one of these four grounds. So the standard interpretation of the parable is that this parable represents all of humanity, all of mankind, the salvation status of all of humanity, and because of that, most people interpret this parable as everyone represented in this parable is unsaved except for the last ground. So the standard interpretation of the parable is that the people represented as the wayside are unsaved, the people represented as the stony places or the rock are unsaved, the people represented in the thorns are unsaved, and only the good ground is saved, and they'll say, well, this represents all of humanity, all of mankind, so it makes sense because most people are not saved. That's the standard interpretation of this parable. Now let me just give a quick disclaimer. That is not my interpretation, and I'm going to explain to you my interpretation and prove it to you here from the Bible. Let me just say this. If you disagree with me on this parable, that's okay. That doesn't make you my enemy, and we don't have to fight after the service unless you really want to. Parables are the last thing that people should ever divide over. One of the easiest things to get sidetracked, and I will say this, one of the places that you often find when people who want to prove heresy will often gravitate towards parables, and you want to be careful with that because you need to remember that a parable is just a story. It's a story that represents different things. Now Jesus tells us what this parable represents, but for most of the parables he does not say, this represents this, this represents this, this represents that. So whenever people want to prove something that is not proven in Scripture, they often go to a parable to try to twist it and make it say something it's not. Oftentimes people will come to me and they'll say, let me prove to you from the Bible that you can lose your salvation, and I'm like, really? Because the Bible makes a lot of clear statements that once you're saved you're always saved, and you can't lose it, and it'll last forever, and it's eternal life. They're like, well, I've got a verse that says you can lose it, and then they take you to some story, a parable. They're like, well, based off this, and it's like, look, you need to make sure that the clear statements of Scripture, those are the ones that we use in order to interpret the parables and the allegories in the Word of God. So parables is not something we want to argue about and fight about. It's definitely not something you want to use as your proof text to prove a position, but I think if you just hear out the sermon, maybe you're here this morning, you might be here and you're like, I've heard this before, I agree with you, Pastor. Well, praise the Lord. Say amen and help me out. Maybe you're here and you say, well, the standard interpretation is the only interpretation I'd ever heard or whatever. Well, just listen to the sermon. I think it'll make sense to you, but let me just go ahead and say this. My personal interpretation of this parable, not just my personal. I know many preachers that agree with my position on this. My interpretation is this, that this parable does not represent the salvation status of all humanity, because there's lots of people that are not represented in this parable. For example, reprobates are not represented in this parable. Where's the ground where they received the seed, they understood it, and then they rejected it? Where the ground just spat it back up. That ground's not represented. What about this? The person who's never heard. The ground that never got the seed. The ground where the sower failed to go sow the seed, and therefore the seed never got planted. What about that ground? Because there have been people alive all over this world and all throughout history who never had a soul winner bring them the word of God. This parable is not, in my opinion, a representation of the salvation status of all of humanity because there's lots of individuals and lots of circumstances that are not represented in this parable. In fact, I believe that this parable is more of an illustration of the salvation status of what might be referred to or what has been referred to as Christendom. What is Christendom? Christendom is a term that is used to refer to the worldwide community, or you might call it society, of Christianity. I think this parable is more about teaching us the salvation status of the average Christian community or you might even say the average church, and this parable has more to do with telling us, look, when you look at Christianity as a whole or when you look at Christians as a whole, most Christians, we're not talking about people that never heard the word of God preached, we're not talking about reprobates who rejected, but most people who call themselves Christians, who consider themselves Christians, who have had the word of God ministered unto them, a lot of them are going to fall within these four categories of this parable. So I don't necessarily believe that this parable is a salvation status of all humanity. I think it's more of the salvation status of the Christian community and people who refer to themselves as Christians. And for that reason, and that's not the only reason, I'm about to give you a lot of reasons, but that's one of the reasons why I believe that everyone in this parable is saved except for the first ground, the wayside. So the standard interpretation is no one is saved except for the last ground, the good ground. My interpretation is that, the right interpretation, is that everyone is saved except the first ground. Now you say, well, where do you get that and how do you prove that? Look down at Luke chapter 8. I told you I was going to divide this sermon into three parts. We talked about the teaching about the parable part. We got through that. Let's talk about the dealing with the controversy in the parable part. Now let me just say this. Everyone agrees that the first ground is not saved. I don't know anyone who does not agree with that. We all agree that the first ground is not saved. Everyone agrees that the fourth ground is saved. I don't know anyone that disagrees with that. Everyone agrees that the fourth ground is saved. So let's not talk about those two for a minute and let's just talk about the controversial two in the middle. The middle section. Are they saved or are they not saved? And again, I don't think this is something we need to make, this is definitely not something Christians need to be splitting over or whatever, but we're going through it, we're learning about it, so I might as well teach you what the Bible says about this. And it's important because a lot of wrong theology comes out of the wrong interpretation of this parable because people use this parable to prove their theology, which is already a wrong thing. So I want to make sure you understand it. Let's talk about the second soil, which is referred to as upon a rock or stony places. You say, Pastor Jimenez, why do you believe that these people were saved? Look at Luke chapter 8 and verse number 6. Luke chapter 8 and verse number 6. Let me flip over to my Bible real quickly to the passage I'll need. Luke chapter 8 and verse 6, notice what the Bible says, and some fell upon a rock, again and other gospels, this is referred to as stony places, so it's not fertile ground. It's ground that has rocks, a rock bed, it's hard, some fell upon rock, and as soon as it was sprung up. Now the first thing I want you to notice is that Jesus says that it was sprung up. In fact, Jesus said about all three grounds, not the first ground, that it was sprung up. What does that mean? That means that it received the seed and it began to grow. It was sprung up, now notice, and some fell upon a rock, and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. Now the problem with this second soil of the rocks is that it withered away as soon as it sprung up. But I want you to understand that Jesus did not say it did not spring up. He didn't say, and some fell upon a rock, and as a result it never sprung up. No, no, it sprung up, but the problem was it withered away because it lacked moisture. Look at verse 13, notice Jesus' interpretation. Luke 8 verse 13, they on the rock are they, which when they, I want you to notice these words. In fact, if you don't mind underlining or writing in your Bible, I encourage you to underline these words. Number one, when they, notice number one, hear, when they hear. Notice number two, receive, when they hear, receive the word with joy, and these have no root, which for a while, here's number three, believe, and in time of temptation fall away. I just want you to notice these three words, they hear, they receive, they believe. Now you say, what does it take for somebody to be saved? Keep your place there in Luke chapter 8, that's our text for this morning. Go with me to the book of Romans, Romans chapter 10. You have Luke, John, Acts, Romans, Romans chapter number 10. Romans chapter number 10. By the way, if you need to fight after the service, the safety team's on my side. Romans chapter 10, just saying. Luke, John, Acts, Romans. Romans chapter 10 verse 17. When Jesus describes the second soil upon a rock or stony places, he says, they on the rock are they, which when they hear, receive the word with joy, and these have no root, which for a while, believe, and in time of temptation fall away. Now what does it take for somebody to be saved? Romans 10 verse 17. The Bible says, so then faith, faith is what gets us saved. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. What's the word of God? The seed. What does it take to be saved? You have to have faith. How do you get faith? Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. According to Romans 10, 17, when you hear the word of God and you receive the word of God, you have faith and you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Go to Acts chapter 2. You're there in Romans. Just flip back to Acts chapter 2. Look at verse 41. What did these people do? They heard, they received, they believed. Acts 2, 41. Acts chapter 2, 41. Of course, in Acts chapter 2, we have the amazing day of Pentecost where 3,000 people were saved and baptized. But I want you to notice how the Bible tells us they got saved. Acts 2, 41. Then they that gladly, notice this word, received his word. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized. Why did they get baptized? Because they got saved. They received his word, and the same day that was added unto them, about 3,000 souls. The Bible says that we become the sons of God when we receive Christ. Jesus is the word. So here, the Bible tells us, look, how does somebody get saved? They hear the word. That's not enough to get saved, though. You have to receive the word. When you receive it, your faith, you believe it, that's salvation. These people in the second soil were told they hear, receive the word with joy, and these have no root, which for a while, believe, and in time of temptation, fall away. So I believe these people got saved, but they fell away. So what does that mean? It doesn't mean they lost their salvation. Don't try to prove you can lose your salvation from this. The Bible clearly teaches you can't lose your salvation. Now let me just deal with this little phrase just real quickly. Keep your place in Romans, if you would. I'm not sure if I told you to do that. Keep your place in Romans, and go back to Luke chapter 8. Luke chapter 8 and verse 13, notice what the Bible says. They on the rock are they which, when they hear, receive the word with joy, and these have no root. Let me just deal with this little phrase, because this is a phrase that people really like to get hung up on. Which for a while, believe, and in time of temptation, fall away. So here the Bible says which for a while, believe, so people say, well, it says they only believe for a while, so these people can't get saved. But please understand something, and I'm not trying to get too confusing with this. But here the Bible says which for a while, believe. Now if you're going to take the position that that phrase proves that these people were not saved, then you just need to understand the implications of that position is you're not teaching that these people never got saved. You're teaching that these people lost their salvation, but whoa, they only believed for a while. Okay, well, let me just make a few statements. I believe, I personally believe that someone who gets saved will never stop believing, period. But let's just make the argument that someone could stop believing. I don't believe that. I don't believe someone could stop believing. I'm just playing the devil's advocate right now. Let's make the argument that someone could stop believing. Here's the question. How long does somebody have to believe for in order to be saved? Because the Bible says, hey, he that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life. Is that something you're going to get? You get it the moment you believe. You have it. You have it. You possess it the moment you believe. Now I don't believe that anybody would stop believing in regards to salvation, but if someone could stop believing, you know, theoretically, if they ever believe, they're saved. So to say, well, which for a while believed means that these people aren't saved, just understand you're teaching someone can lose their salvation. Because if anybody believes at any time, they're saved. What if somebody believed and then they were in some tragic accident and had amnesia? They're still saved. You understand that? Now I'm just going to answer this question because people are going to ask me about it afterwards, you know, and we shouldn't get into all these hypotheticals, but I think if somebody got saved, somebody's saved, and then they had amnesia or they developed Alzheimer's or something like that and they don't, you know, I just think that, first of all, they're saved, period, end of story, but let's say you didn't know that and you went and gave them the gospel, they're just going to get saved again, quote, unquote, you know, because you're never going to stop believing the Holy Spirit's there. I hope that makes sense. I'm not trying to confuse you. Go to Matthew chapter 13, Matthew 13, you say, well, what is this talking about? Which for a while, belief. Well, let me help you understand something. Faith and belief is not only part of salvation. It's part of the entire Christian life. Maybe you've heard this phrase before, the just shall live by faith. You don't just get saved by faith, you live by faith. The Bible says that we go from faith to faith. The Bible says that we pass along our faith. The Bible says that the whole Christian life and without faith it is impossible to please him for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him. See, it's not just faith that we need for salvation. It's faith that we need to please God, to live for God, to walk with God, the just shall live by faith. And after salvation, our faith should be increasing. I should go to Matthew 13, and I apologize, keep your finger right there, we're going to go right to Matthew 13. Let me just show you the verse in Luke chapter 17. Luke chapter 17. And this morning might feel more like a Bible study, like a Wednesday night Bible study. Luke chapter 17. Luke chapter 17, which is fine because I'm not feeling 100%, so I don't really feel like yelling at you anyway. Luke 17 and verse 5. Luke 17 and verse 5, the Bible says, and the apostles said unto the Lord, notice what they said, increase our faith. So in the Christian life, you know, you get faith. You have faith for salvation. You need to have that faith. But as the Christian life progresses, you increase in your faith. Your faith, your faith is what allows you to take the necessary steps in your Christian life. Look, you don't start tithing if you don't have faith. You don't start soul winning if you don't have faith. You don't take a stand for God, you know, with your unsaved family members without faith. All these things are needed to live the Christian life. When the Bible says, which for a while believe, I don't believe Jesus referring to the fact that there are some people who get saved and then they only believe that for a while. I believe there are some people that get saved and they get all in. They believe everything the Bible says. They believe everything the Word of God says. But when temptation or persecution arises, all of a sudden, when they lose their job, all of a sudden, they don't really believe that God is going to take care of them for their tithing anymore. You understand that? When the protesters show up, now they don't really believe, you know, in all the things that they were believing when things were peaceful. This for which for a while believe, if you compare the same parable in Matthew 13, look at verse 20, Matthew 13 and verse 20. But he that receives seed into stony places, the same as he that heareth the word, and in all with joy receiveth it, yet hath he no root in himself. But notice these words, doereth for a while. So when it says which for a while believe, that phrase is used interchangeably in Matthew as doereth for a while. Look, if you've been part of a church for any length of time, you've known this type of Christian. They're with us for a while, and then they stop. Then they stop living the Christian life. Then they stop Sunday night church. Then they stop Wednesday night church. Then they stop soul winning. Then they stop tithing. Then they stop reading their Bible. They stop praying. They didn't lose their salvation. They just stopped believing. They just stopped believing there was any value in it. They just stopped believing that God could help them. They just stopped believing that there was anything because of temptation, because of persecution, because of tribulation, because of their own backslidden hearts. This is what's being referred to here. So look, these people, they hear, they receive, they believe, but they didn't last very long. In fact, we talk a lot about these people at our church. I've told you of the study that I read years ago, and I've seen it play out in our church. People get saved, get disciples, start growing. Generally, they only last about three years. After three years, you say, what happens? Which for a while believe. They just stop believing. Not that they stop believing in God or Jesus Christ, but they just stop believing in the value of the Word of God and in building their lives on the Bible. It's just many Christians, that's how they're described. Some people believe enough for salvation, and their faith grows to include other things, but eventually they stop believing. Not in Jesus, not for salvation, but just believing in the value of actually being a disciple of Jesus Christ and following the Word of God. Go back to Luke chapter 8. Let me give you the second soil around, the among the thorns. I'm just explaining to you why I think these people are actually saved. I don't think these people are right with God. I don't think they're good Christians, but I'm just going to defend their salvation. The third soil is that which fell among the thorn. Look at verse 7. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns, look at it again, sprang up with it. I don't want you to miss that. This third soil, the thorns sprang up with it. What is Jesus saying? It sprang up. The problem is when it sprang up, the thorns also sprang up with it and choked it. Look at the interpretation by Jesus, verse 14. And that which fell among thorns are they which, when they have heard, go forth and are choked with the cares and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to perfection. I want you to notice, because these people weren't saved. Jesus said that they sprang up. He said the thorn sprang up with it, but that means it sprang up. And then the Bible tells us, Jesus says, that they even had fruit. They just bore no fruit to perfection. The word perfection means to maturity or to completeness. They didn't make it to the end. They didn't actually bore, they didn't have any fruit that they brought to completion, but they began to bear fruit. So again, I don't believe the Bible is teaching that these people are not saved. Now let's just real quickly talk about the fourth ground. Because the fourth ground is the ground that everyone agrees they're saved. And the people who have the standard interpretation of this parable who say, well, the fourth ground is the only one that's saved, let me explain to you why I have a problem with people saying the fourth ground is the only one that's saved. The fourth soil is the good ground, look at verse 8, and other fell on good ground and sprang up. Now notice, the stony places, the thorns and the good ground, Jesus said about all three, they all sprang up. And the other fell on good ground and sprang up and bare fruit and hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. So please understand this. The difference between the last three grounds is not that one sprang up and the other didn't. No. All three sprang up. The difference is that one bore fruit, one got choked out, one withered away. The Bible tells us here that the fourth ground bare fruit and hundredfold. Now I want you to understand something, and I want you to see this in comparison to the other times this parable is mentioned in scripture. Go to Mark chapter 4 if you would, if you're there in Luke, just flip back to Mark. Mark chapter 4. Because here's how the standard interpretation goes. The fourth ground bare fruit, they were the only ones that are saved. So anyone who's actually saved is going to bear fruit. And what they mean by bare fruit is that you're going to live a good life, you're going to repent of your sins, you're going to stop doing bad things. That's what they mean by bare fruit. Now there's a misconception because people often, when people talk about Christians bearing fruit, what they are often actually referring to is the fruit of the Spirit. Now the Bible says, you don't have to turn there, I'll just read this for you, Galatians 5 22, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against such there is no law. Now people say, see if you're a fruitful Christian you're going to bear these. But please understand something. The Bible says, but the fruit of the Spirit, it does not say the fruit of the Christian. A Christian is not going to automatically bear this fruit. You say, well how can a Christian bear this fruit? Absolutely. How? When you walk in the Spirit. The Christian that walks in the Spirit is going to bear the fruit of the Spirit. So did you know the Bible says that a Christian can quench the Spirit? Did you know the Bible says that a Christian can grieve the Spirit? You know that you can have the Spirit and ignore the Spirit, quench the Spirit, grieve the Spirit, and not be walking in the Spirit? You can have the Spirit and be walking in the lust of the flesh. So just because you're a Christian does not mean you're going to bear these fruit, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against such there is no cause. In fact, the only time you're going to bear this fruit is when you're a Christian and you're walking with the Holy Spirit, you're right with God. What if I don't have these? Does that mean I'm not saved? It may mean you're not saved, but if you are saved, it just means you're not right with God. If you're not having the fruit of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, you may be saved, you're just walking in the flesh. So people will say, oh the fruit is the fruit of the Spirit. Okay, well here's the problem with that. The fruit of the fourth ground is quantified. So what do you mean? Look at Mark chapter 4 verse 20. And these are they which are sown on good ground, such as hear the word and receive it and bring forth fruit, notice, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred. He tells us, look, different good grounds are going to produce different amounts of fruit. Some are going to produce thirtyfold. The word fold means, it's referring to times. Now when you have one, let's say I'm the one seed, then what I would produce is thirty times myself if I'm the thirtyfold producer. If I'm the sixtyfold producer, I'm producing sixty times myself. If I'm the hundredfold producer, I'm producing a hundred times of myself. So let me ask you a question. How can you produce thirty love? How do you produce sixty joy? Look at that guy. That guy's a Christian. He's producing a hundred peace. I mean a hundredfold peace he produced. See that's the fruit of the Spirit. You say, why does the Spirit produce love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance? Here's why. Because the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. That's why the Holy Spirit produces those things. Okay, you say, what does a Christian produce? Well let me ask you this. What does an apple tree produce? Apples. What does a dog produce? Dogs. Unless you went to public school and you were taught something different. Monkeys produce monkeys. Humans produce humans. You know what Christians produce? Other Christians. So the fruitful Christian is one who produces other Christians. This is where I get kind of irritated and pissed off that people try to say, oh well, the only the fourth, the only the fourth ground to save. Well let me explain something to you. The average Christian is not a soul winner. The average Christian has never led thirty people to Christ in their lifetime, period, end of story. At Verity Baptist Church, this is a unique church where like half our church goes soul winning, and even in this church, half of you aren't soul winners. So don't sit there and tell me the fourth ground is the only one that's saved. That would be saying the only people that are saved are soul winners, and look, I'm all for soul winning. I believe in soul winning, but I know enough Christians that aren't soul winners. So this is not a picture of the status, the salvation status of all of mankind. It's a salvation status of most Christians, of most people who call themselves Christians, of most people who would consider themselves in Christendom, in the community of Christianity. So what can we learn from this? Look at Luke chapter 8 and verse 11. Jesus says, now the parable is this, and he begins to explain the parable. I'm going to preach through this parable to you now. I hope all of that makes sense. The standard interpretation is all are unsaved except the last. The biblical interpretation is all are saved except the first. The standard interpretation is it's a picture of all humanity. The biblical interpretation is it's a picture of the average Christian community. The average church, the Verity Baptist Church, you, people who call Christ, who call the name of Christ, are likely going to fall in one of these four categories. You say, well, what are they? Number one, the wayside. The wayside pictures the unsaved Christian. You say, isn't that an oxymoron? It is, but it's true. Luke chapter 8 verse 12, those by the wayside are they that hear, then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their heart, lest they should believe and be saved. So notice these people are not, they do not believe and they are not saved. They heard the word. The word was ministered unto them, but the devil taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. Go to Matthew chapter 13. Matthew 13. Look how it's explained in Matthew 13 verse 19. Well, look at verse 18. Matthew 13 verse 18. Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower, verse 19, when anyone heareth the word of the kingdom, notice these words, and understandeth it not. Then cometh the wicked one, and casteth away that which was sown in his heart, that this is he which received the word by the wayside. Look, if you don't believe me, come out solely with me, knocking on doors, and you know what you're going to find? You're going to find a whole lot of so-called Christians who do not understand the gospel at all. You're going to find a whole lot of so-called Christians, you knock on their door, you invite them to church. Oh yeah, I'm a Christian. I go to so-and-so church. Oh, okay, great. Well, listen, do you know for sure if you died today, are you on your way to heaven? I'm trying, working my way there, it's like, no, the Bible doesn't say that. Well, I'm just going to talk to him, nobody can, all these, you know, you say, why is the wayside added into the Christian community status? Here's why, because there's lots of so-called Christians that aren't saved. They don't understand. And a lot of it has to do with the fact that they go to churches where the word of God is being trodden down underfoot. The word of God is being thrown onto the wayside, thrown onto the sidewalk, people are walking on it, if they even have the word of God. So the wayside Christian is the so-called, quote-unquote, Christian that's not saved. They don't understand. And by the way, don't just assume that just because somebody comes to this church they're saved. Now look, I think the vast majority of people in this church are saved. I think we try to do a good job at clearly communicating the truths of the word of God. And I think because of that, most people in our church are saved. And if you're not, we're probably going to make you a reprobate, because we're going to give you so much truth, you're going to have to choose to reject it or accept it. But let me just tell you something, don't just assume that because people go to church they're saved. Because these people had the word of God ministered to them, but the devil caught it away. The devil caught it away, and they did not understand. Go to Matthew chapter 7, Matthew chapter 7. And don't do this either, don't just assume that because your kids grow up in a church like this they're saved. We need to make sure that they hear the gospel and they understand it. I mean, kids, look, it's in the human heart. The Bible says the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? It's in the human heart. I'm shocked sometimes. You talk to little kids that grew up in this church, I'm talking about they were born and raised in this church. They're seven years old, six years old, born and raised in this church. All they've ever heard is salvation by grace through faith, not of works, preaching against works. And then you ask them, how do you get to heaven? They're like, be good. And it's like, where did you get that from? No one in your life believes that, you know, but it's just that's what men, human beings naturally tend to believe. So we have to explain the gospel to them. We need to make sure that the word is not being removed by the devil that they would not understand. The wayside Christian is the so-called Christian that's not saved. Matthew 7, look at verse 22. Many will say to me in that day, this is the great white throne judgment. Many will say to me in that day, Jesus said, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works. And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me, ye workers of iniquity. The wayside Christian is the Christian that's going to wake up one day in hell, who's going to stand at the great white throne judgment and say, but I did many wonderful works. And Jesus is going to say, exactly, look, if I was standing before the Lord Jesus Christ on the day of judgment, and he asked me, why should I let you into heaven, you think I'm going to say, well, I did a lot of works. I'm going to say, because Jesus died on the cross for my sins, and you promised that you'd give me eternal life if I believed on you? The fact that these people are calling out and saying, but what about my works, what about my works, shows you that they did not understand salvation. They thought they were earning their way to heaven. They thought they were Christians. And he's going to say, depart from me, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity. So the first ground here, the first soil, is the soil of the wayside Christian. He's unsaved. Go back to Luke chapter 8, look at verse 6. Notice the second soil here, the second ground. Luke chapter 8 and verse 6, and some fell upon a rock, and as soon as it was sprung up, notice again, it sprung up, it withered away. Why did it wither away? Because it lacked moisture. Because it did not have water. Look at verse 13. They on the rock are they, which when they hear, receive the word with joy, but here's the problem, and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. The problem with these people is not that they did not hear, it's not that they did not receive, it's not that they did not believe, and it's not that they did not spring up, but they didn't last. They dureth for a while because they had no root, therefore they lacked moisture. Go to Matthew 13, look at verse 20, Matthew chapter 13 and verse 20. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same as he that heareth the word and not with joy receiveth it, look at verse 21, Matthew 13, 21, yet hath he no root in himself, but dureth for a while, for when tribulation and persecution ariseth, because of the word, by and by he is offended. What is this stony places Christian? What is this rock Christian? This is the shallow Christian. This is the Christian that never learned. Keep your place there in Luke if you would, go to Psalm, Psalm 1. You open up your Bible just right in the center, you'll more than likely fall in the book of Psalms. This is the Christian that never learned how to get himself rooted, how to get herself rooted into the word of God. Ephesians 3, 17, you go to Psalm 1, I'll just read it to you, Ephesians 3, 17 says that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye being rooted and grounded in love. Colossians 2, 7 says rooted and built up in him, established in the faith. Are you there in Psalm 1? Psalm 1, look at verse 1, Psalm 1, 1, blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, but his delight, don't miss this, his delight is in the law of the Lord. See, remember, the stony places Christian is the Christian that has no root, so they lack moisture. So when temptation or tribulation, when things get hot, when things get tiresome, they wither away because they don't have moisture. You say, well, how do you get rooted? How do I get rooted? You get rooted by learning and getting connected to the word of God. See, it's the shallow Christian that never got past their shallow Christianity, never got deep rooted into the word of God. You have to dig some root, you got to get your roots into the word of God and let the word of God refresh you. The Bible not only refers to the word of God as the seed, it refers to it as water, being washed by the water of the word. Psalm 1, excuse me, verse 2, but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law that he meditate day and night, don't miss it, verse 3, and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. Does this tree lack moisture? Does this tree not have the strength it needs? Look, the man, the woman, the Christian that delights in the law of the Lord, that meditates in the word of God day and night, he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. Keep your finger right there. Go to Jeremiah, Jeremiah 17. Jeremiah 17. You find the Old Testament books, the big books towards the end of the Old Testament, you have Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations of Ezekiel, Jeremiah 17. Jeremiah 17, look at verse 8. See, the stony place as Christian is a Christian that never got rooted. Let me just be super practical. You never learned to develop the discipline of reading your Bible every day. You never developed the discipline of getting fed from the word of God. So you never developed the discipline of having the word of God, of reading the word of God yourself. You barely developed the discipline of showing up to church and having a pastor feed you the word of God. So therefore, you're weak. You have no root. And then people wonder, what happened to brother so-and-so? He never went to church, barely went to church, never read his Bible, of course he didn't make it. Now, he's going to make it to heaven. He didn't lose his salvation, which you're not even going to make in the Christian life if you don't get rooted and grounded, my friend. Jeremiah 17, 8, For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and the spread without her roots by the river. And look, the seed in the stony places withered away. Another parable tells us when the sun comes up, because it lacks moisture, it withers away. Notice this Christian, for he shall be as a tree planted by the rivers of water, and spread out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaves shall be green, and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. This Christian, even in a drought, has found its source of refreshment in the word of God. It's like a tree planted by the rivers of water. This is the Christian that lives the Christian life. This is the Christian that serves God for not years, but decades. I shall not be, I shall not be moved, the song goes. I shall not be, I shall not be moved, just like a tree planted by the waters. I shall not be moved. You know why some of you are getting moved? Because you're not planted by anything. You're like a weed. Your roots can be taken up quickly. You're not going to make it in the Christian life. You're already on your way out unless you figure out that you need the word of God in your life. You need to get your roots into the word of God. You need the refreshment of the word of God. You need God. You need to be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. If you're able to, keep your finger right there in Psalm 1, keep your finger right there in Jeremiah 17. We're going to come back to those here in a minute. Let's go back to Luke. The upon a rock or stony place as Christian is the shallow Christian that lacked moisture. Luke 8, 6. And some fell upon a rock and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. Verse 13. They on the rock are they which when they hear receive the word with joy. They have no root which for a while believe and in time of temptation fall away. They fall away. They deareth for a while. They don't make it. Upon a rock or stony place as Christian is the shallow Christian. The wayside Christian is the unsaved Christian. What about the fell among thorns Christian? Look at Luke 8, verse 7. And some fell among thorns and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. What is the fell among thorns Christian? This is the worldly Christian. Look at verse 14. And that which fell among the thorns are they which when they have heard go forth. So they get started. They get saved and they get started down the Christian life. Go forth. But here's the problem and are choked because remember the thorns sprang up with it and are choked. What do the thorns represent? They're choked with the cares and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to perfection. This is the Christian that is distracted with the things of the world. They're more concerned with the cares of this world. They're more concerned with the riches of this world. They're more concerned with the pleasures and sin life of this world and as a result they're choked out by the world. It's not that they're not saved but they never bring fruit to perfection. They don't do anything for God. They don't accomplish anything for God. They're going to get to heaven one day and have no rewards. They're not going to have any crowds to cast at Jesus' feet. They're going to get there as of by fire because they were more interested in making money and in pursuing pleasure than in living for God. It's not that they're not saved. They're just the worldly Christians. And look, as you go through this, doesn't this make sense like, oh yeah, this is the average Christian. I mean the average Christian church you can fall under these categories. You got your people that aren't saved. You got your people that are just shallow and don't even have any strength in the word of God so when persecution comes they're just going to get offended and fall away. You have the worldly Christians who are just more interested in pleasure and riches and sin than in the word of God. Look, the fourth ground is a rare ground. It's not every Christian is a soul winning Christian. No, no, no. Most Christians are the worldly Christian. Unfortunately, most Christians are the shallow Christian. 2 Timothy 2.4, the Bible says this, no man that warth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. You know you can't go off to battle as a soldier. You can't be in a battle as a soldier concerned with the affairs of life back home. No man that warth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, the Bible says, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. And the problem with the among thorns Christian is that they get choked by the cares and riches and pleasures, they get distracted by the things of the world, they get distracted by the concerns, by the cares, by the anxieties, by the riches, by the pleasures of this life and they bring no fruit to perfection. They're the worldly Christian. And then lastly you have the fruitful Christian, the good ground. Look at verse 8, an other fell on good ground and sprang up and bare fruit and hundredfold and when he had said these things he cried, he that he hears to hear let him hear. We saw in other parables that in other passages we're told that they brought thirtyfold and sixtyfold and hundredfold. You say who are these people, look at verse 15, but that on the good ground are they which in an honest and good heart having heard the word keep it and bring forth, the word keep means that they do it, they live by it and bring forth fruit with patience. The fruitful Christian is the Christian that brings forth fruit. The fruitful Christian, go back to Psalm 1 if you would, is the one, and look Jesus gives us numbers here, he says thirtyfold, sixtyfold, a hundredfold and he says look a fruitful Christian is the one who reproduces himself thirty times, what does that mean? That means they got thirty people saved. They got sixty people saved. They got a hundred people saved, but if you remember the fact that a tree produces fruit every season, he's talking about, because he says they bring forth fruit with patience. This is talking about a fruitful Christian who goes soul winning every week of their lives, not for three months, not for three years, for decades. Like look Jesus is being very literal here, do you realize that there are people in this church who get thirty people saved every year and have been doing it for years. They're the fruitful Christian that Jesus is talking about. That's a rare Christian. There are people who get sixty people saved every year and have been doing it for years. That's a fruitful Christian. There are people who can get a hundred people saved in a year, a hundred people saved. If you go out every week, multiple times a week, year after year, you can get thirty people saved. You can get sixty people saved. You can get a hundred people saved. But I'm here to tell you something, the average Christian is never going to do that because they're too concerned with the riches and the pleasures of this world, and they can't even develop the discipline to show up to church and hear the word of God preached or open their Bible and read it. They spring up, but they wither away. They spring up, but they're choked out. Psalm 1 verse 2, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law that he meditate day and night, and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, don't miss it, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season, his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. It's funny to me that, here's what God says. You know what God wants from you? God wanted you, first of all, to get saved. Once you got saved, he wanted you to get other people saved. And God says, here's how it works, okay? I want you to get connected in the word of God because I want you to get the moisture and the strength you need to bring forth fruit. But what's going to happen is when you dig into the word of God, you develop a daily Bible reading. You are consistent to church. You go to church Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, you get the word of God fed to you. You hear the word of God. He says, I want you to produce fruit. That's what I'm trying to get you to produce. But as a result, that's also going to help your marriage. That's also going to help your child rearing. That's also going to help your health. It's going to help you in every area of life. So here's what he says. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. So people say to me, my marriage is falling apart, how do I make it better? Become a soul winner? How's that going to help? You just start doing what God wants you to do, and God will start helping you where you want help. Because it all produces, when we get in the word of God, it produces fruit, but it produces prosperity. Look, he says that bringeth forth his fruit in his season, but while he's producing fruit in his season, his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Go back to Jeremiah 17, look at verse 8. I'm just telling you, you can do whatever you want. I've been saved for over 20 years. I mean, good night over 20 years, over 30 years. I've been married for almost 20 years. Good night. My wife got me saved the day we got married. I'm just saying, I've been a Christian for over 30 years. I've been saved for a good night. I've been married for 20 years. I've been pastoring now for over 10 years. I'm not quitting anytime soon. I'm worried about you. I'm worried about your marriage falling apart. I'm worried about you being the Christian that has the thorns choking you out. You're not getting the moisture you need to survive, so you're withering away. It's going to ruin your life. Jeremiah 17, verse 8, for he shall be as a tree planted by the waters and that spreads out her roots by the river and shall not see when he cometh, but her leaves shall be green and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. You think that you can get the shall not see when he cometh, but her leaves shall be green and shall not be careful in the year of drought. You're like, I want to get those, but I don't want to do the whole bearing fruit, but they're all connected. If you want to bear fruit, if you're able to bear fruit, you'll also not see when he cometh. You won't be concerned. Her leaves shall be green and shall not be careful in the year of drought. You won't be worried. There's a drought. You won't be worried because I'm connected to the word of God. Neither shall cease from yielding fruit. Go back to Luke, chapter 8, Luke, chapter 8. We have this parable. It's a representation, in my opinion, of most of mankind, most of Christianity, not most of mankind. I want you to notice what Jesus says here in Luke, chapter 8. Look at verse 8. Another fell on good ground and sprang up and bare fruit a hundredfold. When he had said these things, he cried. I want you to notice how Jesus ended the parable when he gave it the first time. When he had said these things, he cried, he that hath ears to hear led him here. That's what I say to you this morning. If you can even understand this, I hope you'll understand it because you've got to ask yourself, which one are you? Are you the wayside Christian? You're not even saved? Are you the fell among the thorns Christian? Are you trying to offend me? Yeah, I'm trying to offend you. I'm hoping you'll have enough integrity to say, hey, Pastor, I'm not asking you to say that out loud. In your heart, can you say, yeah, I'm the fell among the thorns Christian. I'm pretty shallow. I don't read the Bible, and I barely show up to church. I have no connection to the word of God in my life, and I'm withering away. Could you at least have enough? See that? I have ears to hear. Let him hear. Could you say, I'm the thorns Christian. I'm choked by the cares and the riches and the pleasures. I'm distracted by the things of this world. Can you honestly say, I'm a fruitful Christian? Because that's the whole point of this parable. Jesus is trying to teach us, hey, be the fruitful Christian. So how do I get there? You get rooted, and you don't get choked out. Get rooted in the word of God, and you do not allow the world to choke you out, and you produce 30 fold, 60 fold, and 100 fold. Thank you, Lord, for your word, thank you for the Bible, thank you for these stories. It's such a simple parable, but because of so much confusion, we have to spend so much time explaining a lot of things, Lord, but I pray you'd help us to learn from it. I pray, Lord, that you would help us to determine to be fruitful Christians, and Lord, if there's somebody here today that identifies, I'm a wayside, or I'm not even saved, Lord, help them not to leave here without getting saved. If there's a shallow Christian amongst us, help them, Lord, to get their heart right, get rooted and grounded in the word of God so they won't lack moisture. If there are thorns, Christian, getting choked out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this world, help them, Lord, to realize that and get right, and Lord, I pray you'd help us to be fruitful Christians in the matchless name of Christ, we pray, amen.