Check Your Heart

CJ DICKENSON

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Check Your Heart

Mark 4:1–9 ESV

1 Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2 And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” 9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Mark 4:

Matthew 13:1–9 ESV

Matthew 13:1–8 ESV

Matthew

In my brief few years of sharing the gospel of jesus Christ I have seen many respond in different ways. Some have taken hold of it and it has radically changed their lives, always for the better. I have never, not one time ever seen anyone take up this book believe its message, bow their knee to Jesus Christ and later regret it. I have seen many yawn at it, make a joke about it, belittle and scoff at it, and many just act indifferent to it.... and it turned out very badly. I have also seen others enjoy Jesus for a little while but then they grow callous, they give back in to sin, they turn back to their old life and over time lost everything.

1. Why is it that different people respond differently to the gospel.

2. Why is it that some endure for a little while and then turn away?

3. While others go on and grow and change and receive a lot from the Lord?

Has the Gospel lost power? Has it somehow fallen short and isn’t quite what the Bible says it is....

Well today we will learn the answer to those question. Today I am praying that you have ears to hear and hearts that understand

Did y

Matthew 13:1–9 ESV

Did you catch that last part? He who has ears let him hear? Why did He say that?

He is speaking in a parable. This was Jesus preferred way of teaching. Parables are earthly stories with a heavenly meaning. And Hear Jesus tells a story of a farmer scatterring seed, and He ends it with, let him hwho has ears let him Hear. Why would he say that

Parables Reveal To Those Who Are Chosen....

To Conceal

Matthew 13:10–12 ESV

10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

Matthew 13:10-12

First He spoke in parables to reveal. There is a reason why there are those that recieve and those that reject. To one it is given to another it is taken away. He says in verse 11 To you8 it has been given.... And then in verse 12 he says for to the one that has more will be given.... and he will have an abundance. Let me tell you with God the rich just get richer and the poor get poorer.... Now Im not speaking about Money, I am talking about abundance, an abundance with God. Do you want to know God? Well I have good news, and there is no limit to how intimately you know Him. He will keep giving and keep pouring and keep providing. As you get to know Jesus More and more, things just keep getting sweeter and sweeter....... But that is no the Only Purpose of the Parables....

Parables are not just given to Reveal, they are also given to Conceal.

To those who receive, you have the ability to get more and more of God all that you want.

John 3:34....for he gives the Spirit without measure.

He says to whoever has, more will be given… and He will have an abundance....

But listen my friends, I have a very sober warning this morning. It’s not all pie in the sky theology… The same word that reveals also conceals… Jesus says but to him hwho does not have, even what he does have will be taken away from him.

Matthew 13:13–15 ESV

13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “ ‘ “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” 15 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’

Matthew 13:13

What is Jesus saying, He’s saying that people because of the impotence and the hardness of their hearts. Yes they hear, but they dont understand… they see but they never percieve. They understand the simple messae of the gospel, and how to have a relationship with the Almighty but they never understand the profoundess of that message. The message is profoundly simple, and simply profound. They hear but they will not understand..... and hear comes the sad part

Verse 15 Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and TTUUURRRRNNN, and I would heal them

God’s heart is to heal people, but God will not compromise his character, He will not bend his ways, he will not trivialize his truth. His Word to you: Turn and then He will heal

John 3:34 ESV

34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

for he gives the Spirit without measure.

stop and pick up some sunflower seeds

THE SEED

4 types of Soil-

By the way I want you to know that this parable that the Lord gave us is not as outlandish a concept as you might think.

WHAT IS THE SEED… WELL HE TELLS US HERE. The seed is the word of God. Yes it is it is the Word of God. and your heart is the garden. And in your garden there are 4 different types of soil.... And by the way its not as far fetched to think of yourself as soil

The Bible is not like any other book. You read other books, but the Bible reads you. Friend, the Bible is alive. It pulsates. It quivers with life. The writer of Hebrews said in Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12, “The word of God is [alive], and powerful.” () King James says “quick, and powerful.” Zoa—it is alive and powerful. Jesus, in John chapter 6, said, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” ()—life! The Apostle Peter says, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” ()

There is power in the seed.In fact all of life came from a seed. Those trees outside, came from a seed. your precious pets they all came from a seed. And there is another seed that is more powerful than them all, and that is the Word of God. The problem with churches today is we have preachers that tickle the soil but they never sow the seed.

By the way are you struggling with things today. Fighting depression, struggling with addiction or sensuality, do you know what can take the place of those things… The pwoerful seed of the word of God. It cleanses, it renews and it transforms dirty minds, cleanses defiled hearts, and empowers bold living.

THE SOIL- The soil is

“God formed man of the dust of the ground.” () You see that there in Genesis chapter 2 and verse 7. I say again, this idea is that God fashioned you very much as a potter would fashion a vessel.

Now for years people used to laugh at this, to think that the human body is made of dirt, that the human body is made of earth, of clay, of dust. They don’t laugh anymore. As a matter of fact, the Reader’s Digest reported, in the Ames Research Center, NASA’s Ames Research Center, they looked at the elements in the human body—are you ready for this?—every element—this is science now; this is not Adrian; this is science, NASA’s Ames Research Center—every element—every element—in your body is found in the ground; every element, exactly as God said back here on the front door of the Bible. You, friend, are formed of the dust of the earth. Now NASA has some engineers, but I’ll tell you one thing they’ll never do: They will never make a human body.

The Wayside Soil - No Reception

Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive I. The Seed that Is Sown

The Bible is not like any other book. You read other books, but the Bible reads you. Friend, the Bible is alive. It pulsates. It quivers with life. The writer of Hebrews said in Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12, “The word of God is [alive], and powerful.” (Hebrews 4:12) King James says “quick, and powerful.” Zoa—it is alive and powerful. Jesus, in John chapter 6, said, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63)—life! The Apostle Peter says, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” (1 Peter 1:23)

Matthew 13:18–19 ESV

18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.

Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive A. The Hard Heart of the Stubborn Hearer

The way side” was just the path through the garden

Matt 13:

Rogers, A. (2017). The Anatomy of Salvation. In Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (). Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust.

This represents the person that when they hear the things of the Kingdom of God they simply do not understand it. And the devil sends one of his dirty birds to come snatch that word away. These are the people that have Three different types of mind sets.

THE PASSIVE MIND- this is what I would call the simple person. The person that doesn’t really have any real thoughts or convictions in life they are simply floating down the river, maybe jsut caugth up in playing video games, or living vicariously through Holleywood. They go through life with no real serious thoughts about their life. Life is just one big party after another. They just live their life not really wanting to go aghainst the grain of culture. Whatever culture says is acceptable they just go along with it. Whenever they hear about problems they just put their air pods back in their ears and turn up the music. They drown out any problems through music, movies or social media.

The Polluted Mind.

By the way a person can be a mixture of all three. The polluted mind is someone that walks around in a daze through drug use. right now there is an epedemic of drug addiction that is turning peoples minds into mush. There is a lot of talk about legalization of marijuana, and many act like this is progress in our culture. I guess it depends on what you call progress. What a termite does to a home he would call progress, but the owners would call it destruction. Let me tell you something about marijuana is that if nothing else it will make you dull witted, and it will desensitize you from evil. And listen that is a dangerous game. Listen to me the Bible predicts that in the last days there will be a worldwide epidemic of drug use, the Bible does not call it drug use, it uses another word.... Sorcery.. the word in the Greek is Pharmackia and it means to enchant with Drugs. When a person has a polluted mind caused by drugs it is almost impossible to reason… And as the Bible says here the Devil comes and snatches the word

The Stony Soil- No Root

Matthew 13:

Did you know that

When its hardest to Believe:

Matthew 13:20–21 ESV

20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.

Stop- Reaching to fix it

This speaks of the person that has a shallow heart… I have seen this time after time after time… These are those that hear the word and immediately recieve it with joy. And as long as the good times are rolling they are good and somewhat steady. Oh they love it when the blessings of God overtake you. Oh but living for Jesus isn’t just pie in the sky… its not all honey and no bees… friends listen there are storms in this life. There are hard times to endure.

Psalm 46:10 ESV

10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

And when tribulation arises on account of you just being super religious?

When tribulation arises on accout of you being a judgmental legalististic negative Nancy?

When tribulation arises because of the Word!!

Listen this is the messaage of the Kingdom....

There are two different kingdoms at work

Listen when the word of God comes and he begins to change youyr heart you are going to look at things differently. You will begin to see life differently. You will have a new awarness of the filth that is spewed, why? Because you have been made clean. The world around you will not understand,

Stop thinking I shouldf do something else. Stop Stop looking for an angle, stop striving stop

When you become a new creation in Christ, You go from being in the grime of filth and sinful pleasure, to putting on new robes of righteousness. You become a new creation. But listen persecution will arise from the Word, because once born people do not undserstand twice born things. No pig has ever said woe is me I am dirty!

The Crowded Soil- No Room

Matthew 13:22 ESV

22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

Matthew 13 ESV

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.” 10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “ ‘ “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” 15 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. 18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” 24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ” 31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” 33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” 34 All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.” 36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. 44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. 47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” 53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

Matthew 13:22

Oh this perhaps is the most prevelent. If you have been sitting here thinking , Oh yes, I agree preacher. This generation preacher is certainly living on the wayside. They don’t get it. Yes drugs are bad, passivity will kill you, superficiality I hate it. Yes preacher I am up at the crack of dawn every morning. I am at the gym by 6 am killing it. I work hard. I have my protein shake and a healthy portfoloio....

Matthew 13

But wait there is another type of heart, and its a crowded heart. There is no room for the things of God. Can’t fit him into your busy schedule. These people think that they are good if they can make it to church at least once a month. God understands after all I am working 60- 80 hours a week I need my rest. And during the week I have a five minute devotion that I do on You version

Let Go and Let God

Matthew 13:22 ESV

22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

This perhaps is the most destructive form. Because a croweded heart is fulll of business. It is like looking at a garden from a distance and asll you can see is all of the greenery around the nice picket fence that you built around it. But upon closer inspection you realize there is no fruit, and ths crowded because its been unattended, theres nothing but weeds there, and because the weeds are there there is no fruit, nothing that can truly satisfy

The Cultivated Ground

Matthew 13:23 ESV

23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

Matthew 13:4 ESV

4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.

Matthew

I have been all of these at oe time or another. Listen as many of you know I used to be steeped in the drug culture and the vile spirits that use to hang around me, well it took an all out war to get free from them

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The Decision to be anxious is a decision to be

I CHOOSE TO TRUST

I Choose to

I DONT

I don’t like what I see in the mirror.

When I see God clearly i see myself clearly

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

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