Some Seed.?!

Host: Oh, what a foundation he saints of the Lord is laid for your faith in his excellent word.
Host: Welcome to the Sunday sermon on Thru the Bible. I'm Steve Sweitzer, and we're in Matthew 13 with Dr. J. Vernon McGee, as he walks us through his message, Some Seed. It's Jesus' powerful parable about a farmer, four kinds of soil, and what happens when God's Word is sown in the world. But before we begin, let's hear a few notes from our Bible bus family from around the world. Living proof that God is still using his Word to awaken faith, connect the scriptures and change lives. First from Indonesia, we have Ning C, who writes, I'm writing to tell you how thankful I am for the Javanese through the Bible program. Each time I listen, my heart feels strengthened and my faith grows. The Word of God is shared in a way that is clear, simple, and easy to understand. The messages encourage me to remain faithful in walking with the Lord, even when life becomes difficult. There are times when I feel tired or worried, but when I listen, I often feel as if God is speaking directly to me. Many times the message fits exactly with what I'm going through. It brings me peace and renews my hope. Through this teaching, I truly sense the love of God. Thank you for everyone who makes it possible. My prayer is that the Lord will continue to use you to reach many more people and lead them to walk with Christ. And then we also heard from Busu, who listens in Myanmar. I am married and have two children. Some time ago, there was a serious conflict among believers in our area. A man began telling people that he was the Holy Spirit, and sadly, many people believed him. This caused a lot of confusion, and the community eventually divided into two groups, those who followed that man and those who remained faithful to God and his Word. At that time, I was still a new believer. I felt very confused and discouraged, and for a while, I wondered if I should even continue following God. But I decided to stay with the believers who remained faithful to the Lord. Being with them has helped strengthen my faith and has brought me great joy. Before I believed in God, my life was filled with fear, especially fear of spirits. I used to perform many rituals because I was afraid something bad might happen to my family if I didn't. But when my family heard the Gospel and came to trust in the Lord, everything began to change. Now, I feel a deep sense of freedom and peace. I no longer live in fear. I take you with me when I work in the fields so I can listen throughout the day. Thank you to everyone who helps bring these Bible teachings to us. And then a listener in Slovakia tells us, when I walk to work, I listen to the Bible interpretations. They inspire me. There are always something there that speaks to me, and most importantly, it reveals new connections in the Bible. Thank you, and I wish you many blessings in this ministry. And then Gia in Romania writes this. Listening to your programs made me realize how far my life is from the standards of Holy Scripture. I've decided to seek the Lord's mercy for a genuine change. Thank you for the clarity with which you present the need for an authentic spiritual life. It was exactly the catalyst I needed. Well, will you partner with us as we fling the seed of God's Word across the world in more than 250 languages, reaching listeners just like these? You know, every day the Bible bus rolls through villages and cities and farms and homes around the world, carrying the truth of scripture to people who are hungry to hear it. And you know, one of the most powerful ways that you can be a part of that work is through prayer. Our World Prayer Team, well, they're a family of listeners who pray as God's Word goes out on Thru the Bible and for those who hear it. And when thousands of us lift up these needs to the Lord together, it becomes a beautiful partnership in what God is doing, helping take the whole Word to the whole world. So if you want to join our World Prayer Team, and who would not want to do that, then just go ahead and sign up in our app or visit ttb.org. And if God's leading you to support Thru the Bible financially, you can call us at 1-800-65 Bible or give through our app at ttb.org. Let's pray. Father, thank you for the living power of your Word. As we listen, prepare our hearts to be like good soil. Help us not to just hear but to understand and then believe and respond so that our lives would bear fruit for your glory. In Jesus' Name, Amen. Now, here's the Sunday Sermon on Thru the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.
Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Some seed, period. Some seed, question mark. Some seed, exclamation point. I trust that somehow or other that we conveyed to your hearts this morning, the subject of the morning. The Gospel of Matthew, it's the open door to the Bible. If you are to understand the Bible, this is the entrance that leads to it, the Gospel of Matthew. It's not only a door, it's a swinging door. It swings back into the Old Testament and it gathers up more prophecies than any other of the Gospels, and then it swings on into the New Testament, father than any other Gospel, for it's Matthew and Matthew alone who mentioned the Church. If that's true, the 13th chapter of Matthew is the hinge on which the door swings. There's seven parables here and probably eight parables. I believe there are eight parables here, but that's not the important thing. These parables are the hinge on which the door swings. And then this parable of the sower, it is the first parable, and it is the parable, one of two that the Lord Jesus Christ interpreted. Therefore, may I say to you today that this parable is the key to the 13th chapter. And if it's the key to the 13th chapter and the 13th chapter is the hinge, and the door is the Gospel of Matthew, then may I say to you this morning, the parable of the sower is the key to the Bible. To the understanding of the Bible, and that's how important this parable really is. After our Lord gave it, he said to his disciples, it's given to you to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom. This morning we want to look at this parable, which deals as all of them deal with this subject of the Kingdom of Heaven. And just what is the definition of the Kingdom of Heaven? It's a very difficult term for the simple reason that there's all sorts of theological divisions at this particular point today. But honestly, I think it can be reduced to the simplest common denominator and be made very simple. What is the Kingdom of Heaven? Why the Kingdom of Heaven is the reign of the heavens over the earth. That's the Kingdom of Heaven. And when that takes place, then you have the Kingdom of Heaven down here upon this earth. And in the measure in which the Kingdom of Heaven reigns on this earth, you have it here. And if there is a heart today open to Jesus Christ, if there is today a life that's yielded to him, bowing to him, and doing his will, then may I say, there is the Kingdom of Heaven even today right here upon this earth. I want to go back this morning to where we began in the Book of Genesis, to pick up a verse of scripture, to see if this is consistent with scripture. In Genesis 1:26, when God created Adam, this is what he said. God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Now, my beloved, the key here is this little word dominion. God says, I'm creating man that he might have dominion. And not only did God create Adam a human being, but God created him a king and gave him a dominion. And that dominion was this earth. He was to rule over it. He was to have this kind of a rulership. He could would rule over the fish and the beast. May I say to you that Adam could speak as the Lord Jesus spoke. You remember he said to Peter, go down, catch your fish, you'll find that the fish has thy tax money there. And he went down and caught the fish, and the fish had in his mouth the tax money. Why? Because that fish was obeying Jesus Christ. Adam lost that at the fall. Adam could have said if you please, he could have said to the wind, blow or not blow and it would blow. Adam could say to the sea, to the tide, come in or not come in and it would. He had dominion over this earth. But he lost it. He lost it, my beloved, at the fall. Question's always been, who got it then? Well, I believe Satan got it. You remember he's the one that tempted Adam, and Satan is the ruler today. He came to the Lord Jesus yonder in the wilderness and said I have something to show you. He showed him the kingdoms of this world and he says I'll give him to you. You remember the Lord Jesus said to James and John, the place on my right hand, on my left hand is not mine to give, but he didn't say to Satan, the kingdoms are not yours to give. Apparently they were. He's the ruler today of the kingdoms of this world. He took that scepter and from that moment on, God began a program, whereby he's going to take over again this universe, and he's going to do it of course in his own way. And the Kingdom of Heaven becomes the great theme of Old Testament prophecy. Now, in this sense, the King has been rejected. What's happened to the Kingdom? What is the present condition of the Kingdom? May I say, that's the reason Matthew 13 with these seven or eight parables, happens to be so important for these parables reveal the present manifestation of the Kingdom. And let me just a moment be technical. The Church is not here. The Church is not in the 13th of Matthew at all. It happens to be Christendom. The field is not the Church. The field is the world today. And the Church happens to be in the world but not of the world. And so what you have here in these parables is a picture of the present hour in which we live and it reveals the present state of the Kingdom. Now the Lord Jesus in these parables reached out in life and he chose the simplest stories to illustrate the sublimest truths. It's actually tremendous when you begin to look at them. He took the common place to set forth the remarkable. He took the ordinary to reveal the extraordinary. He reached out into the natural in order to give truth concerning the supernatural. He went into the world to get an illustration in order to give out of the world truth. And he took the parable. Parables, all the simplest definition still holds good, an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. And this is the parable, we come to it. Behold, a sower went forth to sow. Behold, a sower went forth to sow. That was a familiar sight in Palestine. It's a familiar sight today in Palestine. And I saw some pictures the other night, and the pictures were showing them out in the field, sowing, not like they did in old times, they have new machinery, but they're still sowing. And this morning, that's a familiar sight in America today, all the way from Pocatello, Idaho to Pensacola, Florida, they're sowing this time of the year. All the way from Chicago, Illinois to Cucamonga, California, they're sowing this time of the year. All the way from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Mule Shoe, Texas, they're sowing. They're sowing, it's a familiar sight. They're drilling in corn, they're drilling in cotton today. They're sowing. Behold, a sower went forth to sow. You couldn't get anything more familiar than that, my beloved, to illustrate spiritual truth. Now the interpretation of this parable is very simple by the way. Only a theological professor could miss it. He's the only one that missed it. Simple ordinary folk like you and I, we just somehow or another don't see a lot of complication. It's very simple, and the reason it is, Christ gave us the interpretation here. And there is an identification of each part and phase of this parable. And let's do some identifying. I do not want to be tedious this morning, but will you notice some things here, the sower, let's identify him. Who is he? He happens to be central in the parable. Over in verse 37, where our Lord interpreted the parable also of the darnel and the good seed. And over in verse 37, he answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man. He himself, the one who spoke the parable, is the one who is the sower. And that, my beloved, defines the work of the Lord Jesus Christ in reference to this world today. What's he doing today? Oh, I know the saints like to say he's ascended to Heaven, he's sitting at God's right hand. If you interpret that to mean he's doing nothing, then you miss it. My Father worketh hitherto and I work, he said. He's busy today and what's he busy doing? He's the King and he's been rejected, and since he's rejected, he's taken his crown off. He's put it to the side, he's taken off his royal robes and he's put on the clothes of a farmer. And he's sowing seed in the world today. That's what he's doing. You want to know what Jesus is doing at this hour? He's sowing seed. That's his business. Sowing seed. Let's define that in spiritual terms. Let's translate it from agriculture to theology this morning. What's he sowing seed? What's the seed? Let's not guess. You don't have to guess in this parable. Verse 19, When anyone hear it the word of the Kingdom. What is the seed? The seed is the Word. Here is the seed. This is seed. Just as important today as any seed you put in the ground. This is seed. Word of God is seed. Let's go on. What is the field? Where is the seed being sown? Verse 38, I go to that. The field is the world. The field is the world. Now we have our, we've got our person identified. We've got the seed identified, we've got the field identified. This is the picture. This is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ the sower, taking the Word of God and pulling it in the world. That's his business. That's his business. Again, I want to remind you, this is not the Church, this is Christendom. The field is Christendom. It's the world today. Now let's look at the operation. He's sowing seed. I come to my first one. Some seed, period. Will you notice verse three, and he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man. The sower went forth to sow. And this sower is the Son of Man. I come back to it again, I must repeat this, it's so important. This defines the present day activity of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is his contemporary work, sowing seed, sowing the Word of God in the world. In this day, he's rejected as King, as Savior. But nonetheless, he's not defeated. The Kingdom is coming and while the Kingdom is in advance, he's sowing seed, he's dressed like a farmer today. I say to you this morning, his plans have not been interrupted. Many of us speak sometimes of the postponed Kingdom. Personally, I don't like that expression. I don't think he postponed anything. This thing's running according to his plan. What postponed from his viewpoint? It is from our viewpoint, but not his. Regardless of that, this is the day for sowing seed. Now, I don't want to quibble this morning and I don't want to split hairs. But I do want to make a distinction today, and I want you to follow me for a moment, you may reject it, that's perfectly all right, because you're familiar with other terms. We speak today of preaching the Word as being the harvest. May I say to you, the harvest is not the picture for today. The picture for today is sowing seed. Somebody says, but did not Christ say, Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he'll send forth laborers into his harvest? Sure he did. But do you know where it is? In Matthew. This is chapter 10. I want to turn to that this morning because it helps them to put scripture where it belongs. Will you listen to this? In Matthew 9:36, but when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, the harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he'll send forth laborers into his harvest. Where is he? Well, the very next chapter he sends them forth, and where does he send them, and what does he have them preach? He sends them to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He says, go not to the Gentiles. And he says, tell the nation Israel, the King is here. That's their message. What is the harvest referred to? Always to judgment and to the end of an age. That's the picture. An age begins by God sowing seed. It ends by the harvest of both good and bad. Why right here in this very chapter, we have another parable, in which he speaks along this very same line. I wonder if I might turn to it. I'll read two verses this morning. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the time of harvest, I will say to the reapers, gather ye together first the tares, bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn. That's the end of the age, you see. That's verse 30. Then will you notice verse 39. The enemy that sowed them is the devil. Now listen to him speak, not to me. The harvest is the end of the age. When you get to the end of the age, it's harvesting. That's one reason I do think it's valid to say today, we're harvesting. I think frankly we're gleaning today in corn, because we're at the end of an age. But let's understand one thing. You've got to sow before you can have a harvest. And that's the reason I'm insisting that our scriptural terms should be accurate, because harvesting refers to judgment, the end of an age. I'll give you another verse of scripture. Revelation 14:15, it's the picture of the Battle of Armageddon. It's one of the most frightful pictures in scripture. Listen to this. Another angel came out of the Temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud. Thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the time is come for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. That's judgment, my beloved. That is not evangelism at all. That's judgment that's coming upon this earth. May I say to you this morning, is this a valid picture in scripture? Well Paul the Apostle thought that it was. Over in the third chapter of First Corinthians, will you listen to him now? In the Corinthian Church there was a division been made on several subjects, but one of the things was some of them like to Apollos better and they like Paul, and some like Simon Peter better, and they liked either one or the other two. And they were dividing the Church, which was wrong. You don't divide churches on the basis of personalities. That's wrong, always wrong. Listen to this, verse five. Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man. Now listen to Paul. Did Paul understand he was out harvesting? I have planted, Apollos watered, but God giveth the increase. All we can do is plant. It's the Holy Spirit that will give the increase. So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one, and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. This is the picture of scripture. The picture is sowing seed. My business is sowing seed, my beloved. What's your business? And by the way, how's business? Are you sowing any seed in this world? That's our business today. Now, let's understand something else very clearly that if you sow seed, there's going to be a harvest. And the psalmist, in Psalm 126:6 says, he that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. You can't have sheaves for the Master until you've sown seed. And the seed is the Word of God. And the reason that I emphasize this is because I began my ministry in the Depression. And it was not only a depression financially, it was the depression spiritually. Those were difficult days of evangelism. There wasn't an evangelist anywhere in those days. I can remember several meetings that we had with evangelists, go through a week and not a person respond. I remember preaching in Middle Tennessee in a little church, we were there for six straight nights before the Spirit of God ever spoke to a soul. Those were difficult days. And you know why they were difficult? They were difficult because the Church had come through the era after World War I of the one of the worst drunks that any Church has ever been on, and it was the drunk of modernism that we were going to build a new world and they forgot all about the Word of God. And until the Word of God is sown, you can't have anything to reap. And one of the reasons today, many of us today are have seen in the past few years, many turned to Christ, that's because faithful men of the past sowed the seed. Dr. Ironside, Dr. Pettingill. Many men that have already gone to be with the Lord sowed seed. Other men have labored and we've entered into their labors. You have to sow seed before you can have a harvest, my beloved. That's one of the reasons here that we've emphasized going through the Bible. We're sowing seed. That's our business. Sowing seed. This is the seed. And some folks, several of the officers that we have that are spiritually wide awake, have come to me recently and said that, hey, that Thursday night is the best form of evangelism we have. Listen, more people have been reached here for Christ on Thursday night than on any Sunday. You know that. Why? Sowing seed. Sowing seed. I was in San Diego the other day and a fine young engineer for one of the aircraft industries came up to me and said, Dr. McGee, I've been wanting to meet you. I listen to you on the radio, and I remember the first time I listened was with a friend, and I asked him to turn it off. I didn't want to hear that. And he used them not a very nice word, that preacher from Los Angeles. But he said, I want you to know I started listening, and I accepted Christ as my Savior. I never saw the fellow till I met him. There was the little lady that attended here on Thursday night, and she's a little bitty trick. She was the secretary for one of the officials in Douglas Aircraft. I went down there Good Friday. I spoke to a great company of people. As a result of Bible classes, that fat little woman started. She told me, I was saved here on a Thursday night. We didn't know nothing about it until she told us. Sowing seed. That's my business. What's your business? And how's business? We're to sow seed today, my beloved. I can't understand today why more are not sowing seed today. That's our business. That's the reason we're starting a new broadcast. That's the reason we're trying to get it out every way we can. And if I had my way this morning, I'd take down every liquor sign on Wilshire Boulevard and put the Word of God in its place. I'd sow seed. I can't understand some of these Christian businessmen that have so much money that spend for other things, but are not spending it in sowing seed today. That's our business. Sow seed. He's sowing seed. Our blessed Lord this morning has on an overall. He's sowing seed. I was going to bring this morning an old fashion seed sower. And I was going to put some seed in it and I was going to fling it out at you this morning. But I got to thinking about it, I might hit somebody in the eye. You wouldn't like it. Because I found when I sow this seed, sometimes I hit somebody in the eye and they don't like it. But you can't sue me when I do that, but you might sue the Church if I threw out the real seed. I was going to throw it everywhere, you know, I was going to throw it all over your car. Sowing seed, I wanted you to see the picture. That's our business today to sow seed. I come to the second point. Same thing, some seed, but this time it's a question mark. Some seed. Let's see the types of ground that it falls on. Four types of ground. Listen to this. Three-fourths of the seed is not fallen on good ground. In fact, three-fourths of the seed died and nothing comes from it at all, three-fourths of it. There's nothing wrong with the seed. This is the living Word of God. You know where the difficulty is? The difficulty is with the soil. Out with the soil. I believe in election. I believe it with all my heart. I'm like Spurgeon. I wouldn't preach if I didn't believe in election. I never preach on it. Because it just happens to be true. But here is something else that's true and that's free will. The soil determines the kind of ground determines what's going to happen to the seed. You this morning can be any kind of ground you want to be. Yes, you can. It's up to you this morning. I have the utmost confidence this morning that I'm sowing this seed, the Word of God, and this morning, it's falling right here. And I'll go on the radio. It's falling on four kinds of ground, and three-fourths of it'll die. I know that. Sometimes someone who is sympathetic, he comes up to me and says, Dr. McGee, I just wanted to speak to you and encourage you. Maybe this morning you didn't get a response. Don't worry about that at all. I'm sowing seed. That's up to the Holy Spirit. That's me. That's soil it falls on. My business is sowing seed. What's your business? Sowing seed, it's falling this morning on four kinds of ground. Now will you notice it? And will you please now get ready your shovel if you brought your shovel to church today. Preacher said to me the other day that most of my members bring a shovel to church. He says, when I say something, they take it up, shovel it up, take it back to their homes, back there. And they take a shovel and brought back to them with Smith back there. Don't use your shovel now, will you? I wonder if you'd picture your own heart this morning as we briefly now mention these four. For remember this, I picked up this little jingle over in Atlanta, Georgia, the other day. When you get to Heaven, you'll likely see many folks whose presence there will be a shock to you. But keep it very quiet. Do not even stare. Doubtless, there'll be many folks surprised to see you there. So let's apply to ourselves this morning, shall we? Some seed. Some seed fell by the wayside. Will you notice this? When anyone hear it the word of the Kingdom and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the wayside. None of these are Christians, they're all professors, but they've heard the Word. The birds take the seed away. The birds by the way, is interpreted in another parable as being the devil. The devil takes it away. Now these are church members. They're professing Christians. They heard the Word, but it was not the hearing of faith. The Word was not mixed with faith at all. They have a formal faith, they nod, they yes. But to them Christianity is a sideline. It's a side show. They come once on Sunday, that ends it for the week, as far as they're concerned. I like to speak of these as deep freeze folk. The seed will be killed in the deep freeze. They're deep freeze. They're the wayside. These are the folks that uh, yes, they hear it and they nod, they listen to it for years, and finally go off into some cult and ism. All the number of people today that have left the Church. A man said to me the other day, that I listen to your program, don't you get the idea that the Church is the open door, turns out 100% members. I know one that's in a certain cult today. He knocked on my door. I bowed my head in shame. I'm afraid that's true. And I'm sorry, we sow seed and if it happens to be wayside hearers, they're sowing. They're the deep freeze kind. Then there is the second type, the rocky ground. Will you listen to this? Verse 20, But he that received the seed in the stony places, the same is he that hear it the word, and anon with joy receiveth it. Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while. For when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the Word, by and by he's offended. These are the the rocky ground hearers. These are the flesh. You see the devil got the first, the flesh gets these, and they're the opposite from the other. This is the emotional type. They were with with joy they receive it. My how excited they get. They shed tears. They're greatly moved. They have feeling about this thing. These are Alpha Delta type. They are not deep freeze, they're the fizzy type. They just fizz up when they hear the Word. But believe me, after it's all gone, they're dead. I said on the back end of a train years ago coming out of Fort Worth, Texas and somebody dropped a Fort Worth Star Telegram off. When the rear of that train went by, that paper fluttered up like that and just oh my, how it kicked up a butt. And then when we got down the track, you began to see it settling down like that. And then it went dead. And I looked at it and I said, I I know a lot of church members just like that. A meeting comes along, there's something special and my they just go to pieces. They get so excited. But when it comes down to the real study of the Word of God, they're dead. They're dead. They're rocky ground hearers. They're like a burnt out Roman candle. Dead. Then there's the third, the thorns. Will you listen to this? Verse 22. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that hear it the Word and the care of the world. The deceitful of riches choke the Word, and he becometh unfruitful. Cares of the world, poverty, and then at the other end the deceitful of riches. Those two ends of the economic ladder. Those that are in poverty and those that are rich, and those are the two hardest groups to reach today with the Gospel. We're in a recession right now. I believe God raised up this Thru the Bible program at this time for this very reason. To help people. Because only the seed today, my beloved, can help you. This is the only thing that has life today. And I like to speak of these that fall among thorns as being the Model T Ford hearers. Do you remember the old Model T Ford? Have you ever heard it at night trying to get up a muddy hill? Oh, how it struggled. And they're a lot of they're a lot of professing Christians like that today. They struggle and strive and they care come in and finally they give it up. Or they become wealthy. I remember when I first came to Southern California, a man in Pasadena, oh, how he got excited over our ministry. And he but he was always goading me to keep on being more and more evangelistic. In fact, the matter is, one summer he wanted to just put up a tent, he was willing to pay for it. He left the area. He got rich. Wife came back, called me and said, I'd like to talk with you. She told me his story. She'd left him, had to leave him. And he this morning is living with another woman that he's not married to. He was the thorny type. I said, what happened to him? He seemed so zealous. He said that making money made a fool out of him. The devil gets some, the flesh gets some, and the world gets some. The world, the flesh, and the devil is ready to take the seed that is sown. These are not different types of believers. They're not believers at all. It's those who heard the Word and profess to receive it. All three groups are listening this morning. I do not know who they are. Finally, briefly, some seed. Verse 23. Will you notice this when we close? But he that received seed into the good ground, is he that hear it the Word, understandeth it, which also bear it fruit, and bringeth forth, some 100-fold, some 60, some 30. Now these are the believers. And they're different types of believers, 100-fold, 60-fold, 30-fold. That's exactly, you remember what our Lord said, speaking to his own in the upper room. He said, I'm the vine, you're the branches, and I my whole point is that you might bring forth fruit. More fruit, much fruit. 30, 60, 100-fold. Those are the three classes of real believers today. What's the mark of them? The first mark is this. They receive the Word and they understand it. Understand it. God has given to every believer the Holy Spirit. That Holy Spirit will interpret this book and give you an understanding. That doesn't mean you understand everything in it. Doesn't mean you don't need to study the Word, but it does mean that, that you're given an aid that no one else has, and you can understand it. If you're sincere, he'll see that you understand. You remember the Ethiopian eunuch, riding across the desert, had been to Jerusalem, the capital city of religion in the world, God's capital city, if you please. He starts out across the desert. He's reading Isaiah 53. He has no notion what he's reading. The Spirit of God because he was sincere, said to Philip, give us this evangelist to campaign, you carry on, get on down to the desert and speak to this man. And he's a hitchhiker. He joins on to that chariot. Climbs up into the chariot and says to this man, do you understand what you're reading? And that Ethiopian eunuch is very honest, he said, no, sir, to tell the truth, I have no notion what I'm reading. What in the world is Isaiah talking about? Is he talking about himself or some other man? And then Philip began at that scripture and preached unto him Jesus. Couldn't have a greater text than the Isaiah 53. Isaiah got to preach Jesus from and he revealed that the one he was talking about was the Lord Jesus who just a few short years before the Ethiopian came up, had come to Jerusalem, died on a cross. That's the one that's depicted there, died a substitutionary death for the sins of the world, was buried right there, raised from the dead, and there were witnesses to it even in these days of the Ethiopian eunuch. And the Ethiopian eunuch says to him, I never saw that before and I've been coming here to Jerusalem every year. And he's born again and understood it. He received the seed in the good ground. There's the other mark, bring forth fruit. All of God's children. You see God doesn't have any shade trees. All of his trees are fruit bearing trees. All the seed that he sows is to bring forth fruit. Now some won't bring forth as much as others. Actually, only one-fourth of the seed ever falling good ground and only one-third of that brought forth 100-fold. That means I think according to my arithmetic, one-twelfth ever really brings forth a real harvest. But may I say that this group, these are the atomic seed. I saw an advertisement the other day in one of these journals that's a seed catalog and it said they had some atomic seed. Believe me, here's the atomic seed right here. And these are atomic seed believers. Those who hear it, and those that believe it. My business is sowing seed. I've been sowing seed this morning. It's been falling on four kinds of ground. What kind of ground are you? Thank God for the privilege in this day. It's the greatest day to live. It's the greatest day to witness. It's the greatest day to sow seed. I thank God for the privilege of sowing seed. My business is sowing seed.
Host: Well, we'd love to hear how you're sharing God's Word where you are. Are you passing along a verse, maybe to a friend, or listening with family members? What about inviting someone to hop aboard the Bible bus with you? Why don't you tell us your story? Send us a note with the feedback tool in the Thru the Bible app. That's super easy. And you can also email us, [email protected] is the address there, or you know, we love letters too. And you can write to us at Thru the Bible, Box 7100, Pasadena, California 91109. In Canada, Box 25325, London, Ontario, N6C 6B1. You can also call us, 1-800-65 Bible and just leave a message. And if you'd like a really simple, low friction way to share God's Word, ask for a pack of Bible bus passes. You know, many of our listeners keep a few on hand and pass them along when God opens the door for a conversation. I know I do. And if you enjoyed today's message, you can keep traveling with us through the daily program of Thru the Bible, as we continue moving chapter by chapter through God's Word. To get more out of it, just download Dr. McGee's notes and outlines and explore the Matthew Bible companion. They're both available right in the app or at ttb.org. I'm Steve Schwetz, and as we go, I'm praying that this blessing would be over you. Hebrews 13:20-21 says, "Now may the God of peace who brought our Lord Jesus back from the dead, the great shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything you need to do his will. Amen. Jesus came home. To him I own. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow."
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