Heart Condition
Sunday 2026 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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4 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:
5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.
8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?
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.
11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
13 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.
14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
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 fruit with patience.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people in America die because of problems with the heart.
According to the CDC, heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States. In 2025, provisional estimates showed approximately 694,700 deaths from heart disease—nearly 700,000 people in one year. (CDC)
That means every day, people are discovering that something was wrong with their heart.
Sometimes there were warning signs.
Chest pain.
Shortness of breath.
Fatigue.
An irregular heartbeat.
But sometimes there were no obvious symptoms at all.
A person could look healthy on the outside while something dangerous was happening on the inside.
And that is true physically—but Jesus teaches us that it can also be true spiritually.
You can look fine on the outside.
You can come to church.
Carry a Bible.
Sing the songs.
Shake hands.
Smile at everybody.
And yet God sees something that nobody else can see:
the condition of your heart.
The Bible places tremendous emphasis upon the heart because, spiritually speaking, the heart represents the innermost part of who we are.
Proverbs 4:23 says,
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
And when Jesus tells the parable in Luke 8, He is not primarily giving us a lesson about farming.
He is giving us a lesson about hearts.
The seed is the same.
The sower is the same.
The Word is the same.
But the results are completely different.
Why?
Because the soil is different.
And Jesus tells us plainly what that soil represents.
Luke 8:15 says:
“…that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”
So when Jesus describes four kinds of soil, He is really describing four conditions of the human heart.
One heart rejects the Word.
One heart receives it but has no root.
One heart allows other things to become rivals to the Word.
And one heart truly receives the Word and produces fruit.
So before we examine anybody else’s heart this morning, there is one question every one of us ought to ask:
WHAT IS THE CONDITION OF MY HEART?
Because you can have a healthy-looking life…
and still have a serious heart condition.
I. THE REJECTING HEART
I. THE REJECTING HEART
A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
Jesus explains it in verse 12:
Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts….
The wayside was the pathway running alongside or through the fields.
People had walked over it.
Animals had walked over it.
Carts had traveled across it.
Over time, the ground became packed down.
Hard.
The seed could fall on it, but the seed could not penetrate it.
That describes some hearts.
They hear the Word.
They sit through the service.
They know what the preacher said.
But nothing gets inside.
The heart has become resistant.
Maybe it has been hardened by hurt.
Maybe hardened by disappointment.
Maybe hardened by bitterness.
Maybe hardened by years of hearing sermons and doing nothing with them.
One of the dangers of going to church for many years is that
we can become familiar with holy things
without being affected by holy things.
We hear: “Jesus saves.”
And we say, “I've heard that.”
We hear: “Christ is coming again.”
“I've heard that.”
We hear: “You need to forgive.”
“I know that.”
We hear: “You need to pray.”
“I know that.”
We hear: “You need to surrender.”
“I've heard sermons about that.”
And eventually the Word of God can fall upon our hearts like seed falling on concrete.
The Bible warns us:
To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts…
Notice that.
The problem is not that God isn't speaking.
The danger is that our hearts become too hard to receive what He is saying.
— the largest seed in the world, from a rare palm. individual palm seeds selling for roughly. r £500–£2,000 each 55 pounds
High-end hybrid tomato seeds $150,000 per pound
💡 A farmer can have the finest seed available, but he would never intentionally sow it on an asphalt parking lot and expect a harvest.
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground: For it is time to seek the Lord, Till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
Fallow ground is farmland that has been left uncultivated and unplowed for a period of time. Because it has sat untouched, it can become hard, crusted over, compacted, and overgrown with weeds and thorns.
Spiritually, God is using farming language to describe the heart. A fallow heart is not necessarily worthless ground—it is ground that has become hard, neglected, resistant, or unproductive.
Before planting comes breaking.
Sometimes God has to break the ground of our heart.
Break our pride.
Break our stubbornness.
Break our self-sufficiency.
Break that attitude that says:
“I already know.”
“I don't need that.”
“That sermon is for somebody else.”
When you come into church, don't come saying:
“I wonder what the preacher has for everybody else.”
Come saying:
“Lord, speak to me.”
David prayed:
Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
That's preparing the soil.
II. THE ROOTLESS HEART
II. THE ROOTLESS HEART
And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.
Jesus explains:
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.
This soil wasn't necessarily covered with visible rocks.
Much of Palestine had shallow soil lying over a shelf of limestone.
From the surface, the soil looked good.
Seed went in.
The sun came up.
The plant sprouts and appeared quickly.
Everything looked promising.
But underneath the surface there was no depth.
There was nowhere for the roots to go.
Jesus says these people receive the Word with joy.
They get excited.
They respond emotionally.
They may say:
“That was a great sermon.”
“God really spoke to me.”
“I'm going to change.”
“I'm going to start praying.”
“I'm going to start reading my Bible.”
But then Monday comes.
Pressure comes.
Temptation comes.
Trouble comes.
And what looked strong on Sunday disappears by Wednesday.
Why?
No root.
There is a difference between being moved by the Word
and being changed by the Word.
You can cry during a sermon and remain unchanged.
You can say “Amen” and remain unchanged.
You can walk an aisle and remain unchanged.
You can feel conviction and still refuse obedience.
The question is not simply: “Did the Word move me?”
The question is: “Did the Word get rooted in me?”
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, That I might not sin against thee.
A prepared heart doesn't just hear the Word Sunday morning.
It takes the Word home.
It thinks about it.
It prays over it.
It obeys it.
It allows the roots to grow deeper.
💡 We often want the fruit everybody can see without developing the roots nobody can see.
But every strong Christian life has roots.
Prayer ….when nobody is watching.
Personal Bible study ….. when nobody is watching.
Faithfulness …. when nobody applauds.
Obedience …. when nobody knows.
Your strength in the storm…
is determined by the depth of your roots before the storm comes.
So when you hear God's Word, don't merely say:
“That was good.”
Ask: “What am I going to do about it?”
III. THE RIVALED HEART
III. THE RIVALED HEART
And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.
Jesus explains in Luke 8:14
And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life…
Notice something important.
The seed actually grows.
The problem is that something else is growing too.
There are rivals competing with the Word.
Jesus names three.
Cares.
Riches.
Pleasures.
The cares of life … are the things we worry about.
The riches of life … are the things we pursue.
The pleasures of life are the things we enjoy.
And notice that not everything Jesus names is necessarily sinful.
Work isn't sinful.
Money isn't sinful.
Family isn't sinful.
Recreation isn't sinful.
Responsibilities aren't sinful.
But even good things can become weeds that choke out the things of God.
… Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
Some people don't reject God's Word.
They're simply too crowded to respond to it.
Some people are wasting precious years chasing their tail… for what??
when they could be doing a work with eternal and everlasting rewards.
when did this world become so important that you stopped doing what God what God called you to do
the thorns are choking out your fruit
Their minds are crowded.
Their schedules are crowded.
Their lives are crowded.
Their hearts are crowded.
Think about what can happen on Sunday morning.
You walk into church.
But you're thinking about lunch.
You're thinking about work tomorrow.
You're checking your phone.
You're thinking about a problem at home.
You're thinking about what happened yesterday.
You're planning your afternoon.
Every week as i study and write my sermons, God is giving me nuggets, then The Spirit shows me where is goes in the message.
each thing God gives me is a seed God wants to plant in someones heart
the seed you need, God gave me, i sow the seed you need…. but where will it land
The preacher is preaching, God is working … but mentally you're somewhere else.
Your body is in the pew.
Your mind is 50 miles away.
Jesus repeatedly said:
“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
There is a difference between
sound entering your ears
and truth entering your heart.
That's why we need to prepare ourselves before church.
Maybe … pull into the parking lot, pray:
“Lord, clear my mind.”
“Lord, quiet my heart.”
“Lord, remove the distractions.”
“Lord, don't let anything choke out what You want to say to me today.”
Martha had this problem.
Jesus was sitting in her house.
The Son of God was speaking.
Mary was sitting at Jesus' feet listening.
But Martha was distracted.
And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
Imagine that.
Jesus is in the house...
but Martha is too busy to listen to Him.
And it is possible for Jesus to be moving in the church while we're too distracted to hear Him.
There are times when we need to pull some weeds.
Maybe it's worry.
Maybe it's entertainment.
Maybe it's social media.
Maybe it's bitterness.
Maybe it's money.
Maybe it's just busyness.
Anything that consistently crowds God's voice out of your life has become a spiritual weed.
i dont want people looking down at me when i die and say… well he worked a lot, he made a lot of money, he owned a lot of junk, he knew how to have fun
i want people to say… He loved the Lord, He poured into lives, Look at the lives he touched
IV. THE RECEIVING HEART
IV. THE RECEIVING HEART
Then Jesus comes to the final soil.
And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold….
Then verse Luke 8:15
But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
Here is the heart God desires.
Not a perfect heart.
A prepared heart.
Notice what the good soil does.
It hears the Word.
It keeps the Word.
And it produces fruit from the Word.
The idea behind “keep it” is to hold firmly to it.
The Word isn't merely heard and forgotten.
It is received.
Held.
Obeyed.
Lived.
James says:
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only…
That's good ground.
Good ground says:
“God said it; therefore I need to respond.”
“God convicted me; therefore something needs to change.”
“God showed me something; therefore I need to obey.”
“God spoke to me; therefore I am going to hold onto it.”
And then Jesus says it brings forth fruit.
That's the goal.
God isn't merely trying to give you information.
He's producing transformation.
The purpose of preaching isn't simply for us to know more Bible.
The purpose is for the Bible to make us more like Jesus.
Love begins growing.
Patience begins growing.
Forgiveness begins growing.
Holiness begins growing.
Faith begins growing.
Compassion begins growing.
Generosity begins growing.
Christ begins becoming visible in our lives.
And here is something beautiful about good soil.
Good soil doesn't happen accidentally.
A farmer prepares it.
He plows it.
He breaks it.
He removes the stones.
He pulls the weeds.
He cultivates it.
Before he asks the ground for a harvest, he prepares the ground for the seed.
Church, perhaps we ought to do the same thing before Sunday.
Don't wait until the preacher starts preaching to prepare your heart.
Prepare Saturday night.
Prepare Sunday morning.
Pray before you leave home.
Pray on the drive to church.
Pray when you sit down in your pew.
Say: “Lord, I don't know what the preacher is going to say today, but I believe You know what I need.”
“Lord, if there is something wrong in me, expose it.”
“If there is something missing in me, show me.”
“If there is something I need to change, convict me.”
“If there is something You want me to do, tell me.”
“Lord, make my heart good ground.”
Imagine what could happen in a church if everybody arrived like that.
Not: “I hope the Lord blesses me.”
But: “God, speak to me.”
Not: “I hope the choir sings my favorite song.”
But: “God, prepare my heart.”
Not: “I wonder who needs this sermon.”
But: “Lord, what are You saying to me?”
What might happen if 100 people walked into church with 100 prepared hearts?
God could change families.
God could restore marriages.
God could save sinners.
God could call workers.
God could heal relationships.
God could revive a church.
The seed is powerful.
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: It shall not return unto me void, But it shall accomplish that which I please, And it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
There is nothing wrong with the seed.
The question is: What kind of soil are you?
