Sower 3

Matt. 13:1-3, 7 “On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow…And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.”

Then the disciples privately asked for the interpretation. Jesus said:

Matt. 13: 22 “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.” (NKJV)

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We’ve seen that in this parable, Jesus presents a sower, seed, and soil…

And His primary focus in the parable is the four types of soil He mentions, all representing the heart…there is:

the hard ground which is a hard heart (clueless),

stony ground a shallow heart (rootless),

thorny ground a crowded heart (fruitless), and…

good ground a fertile heart (fruitful).

Today I want to look at the third type of soil Jesus mentions—the THORNY GROUND representing a crowded heart.

Now, notice that in the first two types of soil—the hard soil and rocky soil—the problem was in the soil itself….

the first soil was too hard to receive seed,

and the second soil was filled with rocks that prevented roots from going down.

But the third soil’s problem is not the soil itself, it is what is surrounding it—the seed is sown AMONG thorns…

This person’s problem is all the things that are crowding into their life that leave no room for the things of God, no place for a fruitful vine to grow.

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Jesus says that the word in their life and the spiritual fruit it is intended to produce is literally “choked” and they become unfruitful.

“Choked” means “to strangle or drown, to crowd in on so as to suffocate.”

This same word is used to describe how the crowds would press in on Jesus—“But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him…Master, the multitudes throng and press You…” (Lk 8:42, 45 NKJV)

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Now, Jesus identifies two culprits that are crowding in on this person’s spiritual growth—the worries of this world and the deceitfulness of riches.

These two thieves literally strangle and suffocate the Word in their life to where they cease producing spiritual fruit.

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Now, notice how far along this person gets before the Word is choked in their life.

They have received the word…

They have been convicted of their sin, and experienced repentance toward God, and faith in Jesus Christ.

They’ve been born again…

And unlike the seed on the hard and rocky soil, this person develops some roots and are strong enough that they don’t fall away when tribulation and persecution come, as the rootless person did.

But in the end, two subtle enemies win the day—the worries of this life and the false lure of riches spring up and choke the word, and they become unfruitful.

It makes me think of the verse, “The little foxes are ruining the vineyards. Catch them, for the grapes are all in blossom” (Song of Solomon 2:15 LB).

It’s the little foxes—the subtle thieves that fly under our spiritual radar—that succeed where the more obvious enemies have failed.

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So let’s look at these two enemies and find out how to defeat them.

The FIRST enemy is…

Worry

“The worries of this world choke the word…and he becomes unfruitful.”

WORRIES here is from a word meaning “to divide.”

The worrier’s ability to focus on seeking Jesus is distracted and divided…

Jesus knew all about this enemy called worry.

FOUR TIMES He directly talks about worry in His Sermon on the Mount.

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on” (Matt 6:25 NKJV).

Notice how He points out the things we worry about most—food, drink, clothing—the natural, every day stuff of life.

And in verse 34 He names something else we worry about all the time, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow…”

What you will eat, drink, wear, and the future—are the four main focuses of all worry.

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Jesus also talked about the uselessness of worry, “This is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life…27 Will all your worries add a single moment to your life?” (Matt. 6: 25,27 LB)

Worry is when you borrow sorrow from tomorrow before you know what tomorrow holds!

Jesus assured us, “God will take care of your tomorrow. Live one day at a time” (Matt 6:34 LB).

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There is only one way to defeat worry without having to drink something, pop a pill, or smoke something funny—and that secret is found in Phil. 4:6…

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers” (Phil 4:6).

BOTTOM LINE: You can worry or you can pray!

—Prayer protects from the ravages and damages of worry!

You see, when we take our troubles to God in prayer, we experience a trade off—We trade our troubles in exchange for His peace!

“Then (when you’ve prayed about it) you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (4:7 NLT).

The Message, “Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”

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Then the SECOND culprit is…

II. The deceitfulness of riches

He didn’t say “riches,” he said the “deceitfulness” of riches.

DECEITFULNESS means “a false impression designed to cheat a person.”

Jesus is targeting the false belief that riches will satisfy and fulfill your deepest needs…

And they can’t!

Some of the most miserable people in the world are people of material wealth.

Paul warned about giving in to this deception by chasing riches…

“For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows” (1 Tim. 6:10 NLT).

Notice again, he doesn’t say that money is the root of all kinds of evil, but the “LOVE” of money is…

Jesus taught that God has so wired us human beings that we can’t totally dedicate our lives to two different things…

“You cannot serve two masters: God and money. For you will hate one and love the other, or else the other way around” (Matt 6:24 LB).

So when a person chases money over everything else, this CHOKES the Word of God in their heart, and they end up trading material wealth for spiritual growth.

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The way to avoid this trap is to make it your life’s aim to chase God, not things!

“Seek first the kingdom of God…And “all these things” others give their lives to get “will be added to you” (Matt. 6:33).

And in your seeking, practice contentment, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb 13:5).

FACT: It is the riches of the kingdom—peace with God, joy, eternal rewards, spiritual growth—that truly satisfy!

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SO: to prevent the ground of your heart from becoming thorny ground that chokes the word…

1.) Cast all your worries onto Him, and 2.) be a God chaser first and foremost..