Most of you have had the opportunity to meet Russ and Amanda. We have not gotten to meet Hays yet, he's been a little bit under the weather. But as you know, Russ is the man that the search committee has unanimously recommended to the session or to the congregation to serve as our next senior pastor. It's easy at a moment like this to think that the most important thing is to evaluate Russ. That's not true. The most important thing is that we are sitting under the ministry of God's word. And so as he preaches, as he brings God's word to something that he does weekend, does very often. Please keep that in mind. Do not overlook what is being said, but faithfully sit and faithfully listen and apply God's word as he brings it to us. Russ, welcome. His parents thought it might be a good idea to get him some music lessons. After they found that their son had strung rubber bands across his dresser drawers and was replicating classical tunes by ear, moving the drawers in and out to vary the pitch. He was just four years old. And so began the musical career of Joshua Bell, one of the greatest violinists of our time. Today he finds himself earning $100 per seat per performance. He's traded the dresser for $3.5 million dollars straight of various. At the ripe old age of 39, Joshua Bell is a world-renowned virtuoso. One magazine says of his plane, it does nothing less than tell human beings why they even bother to live. Such over-the-top accolades have followed him his entire career, but the Washington Post wondered what his talents be recognized in the DC subway at rush hour. He was open to it, so they set it up. But first they asked the director of the national symphony. If an accomplished violinist were to play in the subway out of a thousand people, how many might stop? He said, who is it? Joshua Bell? Well, maybe $75 to $100, but probably only $35 or $40 would see the quality for what it really is. So, dressed in blue jeans and a t-shirt, Joshua Bell steps into the DC subway station, pulls out his $3.5 million fiddle and sits to saw on a way for 43 minutes. In that time, no less than 1,097 people would pass by. But how many would stop? Seven. Only seven stopped, and one of them simply because she recognized him from a concert she'd been to recently. She said, it was the most astonishing thing I've ever seen in Washington. Joshua Bell was standing there, played at rush hour, and people weren't stopping. They weren't even looking. Some of them were flipping quarters at him. I wouldn't do that to anybody. I was thinking, oh my gosh, how could this happen in a city that I live in?
Is it really all that surprising then that the greatest preacher in history got a similar treatment?
It was surprising to his disciples. How could this happen? Let's find out. Matthew 13's where we're going this morning. That's page 15-16 in your Pew Bible. Let's hear from the Lord. Beginning at verse 1, that same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables saying, a farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell among the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns which grew up and choked the plants. Still, other seed fell on good soil where it produced a crop, 160 or 30 times what was sown. He who has ears let him hear. And now skipping down to verse 18 when Jesus disciples come and ask him what this meant. Listen to what the parable of the sower means. When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed that was sown along a path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and it once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop yielding 160 or 30 times what was sown. This is God's word. Let's pray.
Lord, set your spade to work. Do it only you can do.
Change us by the power of your word we pray and your name. Amen.
I grew up with a field in woods behind my house, but it wasn't until we started building secret forts and clearing hidden patches in that field that I began to appreciate the phenomenon that is a trail. See, it took us hours of work with our daddy's tools just to clear a little patch in the middle of the field. And if we wanted to keep it clear, we had to keep going back and maintaining it. But here were all these trails running through the woods that no one was maintaining that just existed. We weeds and underbrush grew all around, but these trails were simply clear, dirt paths just from people and animals walking the same way through the woods over and over again. Feet upon feet upon feet, beating down the path so that nothing could grow there at all. And that might be the most ironic thing about what Jesus is saying here.
The sower walks back and forth casting seed wherever he goes, but could it be that the places he walks the most are the most in danger. See, no soil has more encounters with his sower than the path, but it's for that very reason that the seed won't penetrate the ground. It's hard, it's compacted, it's already set. You see what Jesus is saying here? He's not just waxing eloquent about some farming analogy. He's talking to people that are right in front of them. He's standing in a boat, talking to people who are sitting on the shore and what he's talking to them about isn't them and they don't even recognize themselves in his story. Now if I start to tell a story from the pulpit this morning and I mentioned you by name, you probably sit up and pay close attention, at least until you were confident that I'd moved on, but Jesus doesn't name names. He just describes their condition and all these people he's talking about are sitting there right in front of them and they don't even see that they are in the story. He's willing, he allows for them to miss it. Now catch this, this is a parable. A parable is literally laying two things beside each other for comparison, like an analogy, an earthly story about a heavenly truth.
Who is it that Jesus is talking about? It's clear he's not talking about soil. So what is he talking about? Let me ask you more pointedly, these people didn't see themselves in the story. Do you see yourself in this story? In verse 19 Jesus tells us that the first soil is the hardened path. That's people who just don't understand. They just don't get it. Now before you check that one off, kind of lean up Elbow and say, we know who that is, ask yourself, who is it that Jesus has in mind as he says this? The beaten path walked over and over and over again. These are people who have been down that way many times. They've heard this stuff so much, they think they already know it. As he's preaching Jesus is talking about the Pharisees and who are they? Remember they're the religious right. These are the people who memorize the scriptures from the times they were, the time they were little children. These are the most moral upstanding people in the community. Who would that be today? This is a hard mirror for us conservative evangelicals. Think with me, when we come to a passage, for that matter, when you came this morning and you saw this as the passage that we were going to be looking at, did you assume that you already knew what it meant? If so, this might be you. See, there's sections of upstate New York that are called the burnt over district. And the reason they're called the burnt over district is because from 1800 to 1850, a particular form of fire and brimstone preaching inundated the area. And even though it's been 200 years virtually since then, the people there's still really aren't interested in hearing anything about Jesus. It's been burnt over. Meaning, there really isn't any fuel left for the fires of Jesus. They've been scarred, burnt over. They think they already know this stuff. Well, if that's the burnt over district, sometimes I'll wonder and I grew up in the south. Make that clear. I grew up in the south, y'all, but I still wonder if the south isn't the walked over district because we all grew up hearing this. I can't tell you how many conversations I've had where people say, of course I know this. I mean, of course I do. It's insulting us that you would even begin to imply I might not get this. Everybody here's heard this and say, we're a little kid. Everyone. Well, let me ask you, how's that working for you? How's it going? I mean, as Tim Keller said, in the south, even the drug dealers have walked an aisle at some point in their life. Does it matter? So let's test it. I mean, give you a couple of reflection questions to think on about the soil. Have you ever been absolutely ambushed by the beauty of who Jesus is? I'm not talking intellectually. Have you experienced his personal power changing your life? Has your life been changed because of him? Now, if your answer is, I hear your preacher, I hear you, I'll try harder. I think we're missing Jesus' point. That's our answer. Because we think we've already heard, we can't hear. That's the walkover district, the hardened path about the rocks. See, the rocky soil is just too shallow. I mean, the sea can't get deep enough, but that's not what scares me about the soil. You know what it is? I don't know if you caught it. What's the sign that accompanies this soil? Joy, immediate joy. But isn't that the sign of truth faith? I mean, isn't that the sign of a real relationship with Jesus? Yeah, yes it is. So how do you know the difference? One night, Martin Lloyd Jones was preaching. He noticed a man in the congregation was particularly moved. And after the sermon was over at the back door, the man approached him, started to speak, but somebody ran up, interrupted them, and the man simply left. The next day as he was walking down the street, Lloyd Jones just happened to run into the man. The man said, preacher, you had me last night, but you missed your chance. He said, what do you mean? He said, well, you know, I was curious, I'd heard about you. I came, you know, you're pretty good. You really had me go in there for a while. I mean, if you had a given invitation to respond to Jesus, I would have. Even at the back door, if you had said, come, let's sit down and talk for a while, I probably would have prayed some kind of prayer or something, but you didn't. He said, well, I've got time now. This is a matter of the most importance. So, let's talk now. He said, I don't think you heard me. I said, that was yesterday. I woke up this morning. I realized, I was just really upset yesterday, and I don't know what came over me, but the fact is, if you would have said something yesterday, you would have had me, but you didn't. Let that be a lesson to you, preacher. Lloyd Jones leaned in. He said, my dear friend, I don't know what happened to you last night, but if it didn't last 24 hours, that is not the work of the spirit of the living God. Now, I've got some time right now. I'd be glad to talk if you want to, but I didn't miss anything last night, and for that matter, neither did you see Lloyd Jones understood that the Holy Spirit doesn't bring mere emotionalism, emotions come and go. Of course, if you have a relationship with Jesus, you're going to have emotions. We're not robots, but if we let our faith rely solely on emotions, it's the same reason some couples think, well, we've fallen out of love. If the emotions gone, the love's gone, right? Biblically, love's not simply an emotion, it's a commitment, and commitment transcends emotion. Let me ask it this way, how does your relationship with Christ do? How does your relationship with Christ do when having that relationship makes your life more difficult? See, there were several single ladies in our church in New Jersey who attended there, but there were not that many single Godly men in those parts, and it was interesting to watch these ladies struggle with trusting God. They would say things like, you know, I'm really excited about Jesus. But what if that means I have to remain single for the rest of my life? And so some of them wandered away. What happens to your soil in the scorching heat?
Is it become softer or harder? Are you like butter or you like mud? Because see, the same sun that melts butter, bakes mud into bricks. Does the testing of your faith make you softer or harder? Because that's going to decide whether or not it's going to last.
That's the rocks. So what about the thorns? On May 9th, 1980, Richard Hornbuckle is driving to work in the middle of a storm. He's got three friends carpooling with him into Tampa, but because he has them with him, and because he's a cautious driver, when the rain really gets nasty, he slowed down. A few cars of bus sped past him on this ill-fated sunshine sky-way bridge. See out in the middle of the channel, a freighter had gotten off course. There was low visibility in the captain's lost side of where he's supposed to be, and so the freighter struck one of the bridge supports. A section of the bridge, a quarter of a mile long, fell into the bay 150 feet below. 32 people would die that day, but Richard, who was driving slowly, saw that the bridge wasn't there in front of him anymore, and he slammed on the brakes. He skidded over and down the incline toward the ledge where the bridge had broken off, stopping 14 inches from the ledge. Immediately all four doors opened up, the men jumped out, they put their fingers through the holes in the grates and start crawling back up the incline to the top. About half way up, one of them turns and looks back because Richard is on his way back down to the car. I mean any moment, another vehicle could come corining over the top of the incline and game over. Richard gets down there by the car and says, what is he doing? Everybody's watching. He slides over to the trunk, pulls out his keys, opens it up and he grabs his golf clubs. Now, before some of the men start giving high fives and saying that's the man with this priority straight, think seriously about what he did. He risked his life for what? Is that really worth your life? See, this is the problem with the third soil. Priorities. There's no problem with this soil letting the seed in. The seed is welcomed right in but so are the thorns. The seed is welcomed in but only to the same depth as the thorns. Do you understand what Jesus is saying here? This soil welcomes the seed of life in but there are already other plants there competing for the same space competing for the same resources. See, the problem here is wanting to worship both Jesus and these other things. It's like when people say, you know, I don't want to be a fanatic. I just want to be a little bit religious. Just give me a little bit of Jesus. As George McDonald said, there is no heaven with a little bit of hell in it. There's no plan to retain this or that of Satan in our hearts or in our pockets. Out Satan must go every hair and feather.
Why? Well, Jesus tells us what the thorns are up to. He says, the thorns, the thorns use the troubles of this life and the deceit of wealth. What's the deceit of wealth? I mean, to be deceived means to be tricked. The Polynesian islanders have a well-known trick for catching monkeys. They make this long thin-necked jar. They tie it to a tree and then they get a morsel that they know the monkeys going to want to eat and they drop it down inside this jar and then they just leave. Along comes the monkey. He finds the jar, finds the morsel, reaches his little paw in and grabs it but his clinched fist is too big to get out of the jar. Well, there's nobody around. He could just let go and be on about his business. But the monkey won't let go. He'll keep clinging to that little morsel. Even when an islander comes back with a big stick in his hand, clinging will cost him his life.
See, because he can't let go of what's less important, it'll cost him what's most important. The thorns choking the life out of what really matters. What is that for you? What are you clinging to? What is it that competes with Jesus in your life? Is there room for the gospel in your life?
See, a clinging heart is a divided heart and Jesus said no one can serve two masters. You'll love one and hate the other. So do you love Jesus or does he get in the way? That's the thorny soil. I don't know about you, but when I think on these things, I feel like Jesus has beat me up for three soils. But what is he teaching us? We know from these soils he wants us to receive him quickly before the birds come and snatch the seed away. He wants us to receive him deeply so that we can survive the scorching heat. And he wants us to receive him exclusively. No other seeds allowed. God wants soft, pliable hearts that yield quickly and only to him. So how do you know if that's you? He tells us in verse 8, fruit, are you fruitful? And not just a little bit fruitful, abundantly fruitful, 30 times, 60 times, a hundred times. Do you realize this is a bigger return than modern mechanized farming gets? It's ridiculous. Jesus has been preposterous. But when I hear something like this, I don't know about you, but I think 100 times, 60 times, 30 times. How low can we go here? Jesus, 25, 15, 5? Can I get away with one? If we're asking that question, we're missing it. The question we really have is, how could I ever do this? I mean, those of you who have set out and tried, especially those who have been Christian for years, you know how in the world can I make myself softer? I mean, I've been trying for years to get rid of these rocks and thorns. I can't. I can't make myself more fruitful. If that's where you are this morning, I want you to hear this loud and clear. God says exactly. Now we're talking. That's the very point. You can't do this. You can't make yourself fruitful. That's my work. I'm the gardener. I'm the one that will make you fruitful. How? In John 12, Jesus said, unless a seed falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed. But if it dies, remember, Jesus is saying, remember, I walked your hardened path with wood strapped to my back. I take your thorns and I place them upon my brow. They buried me under one of your rocks. I died to make you fruitful. See, the message of this parable is not be fruitful enough so you can prove your good soil. That's the message of every other religion in the world. No, Jesus' whole point is the crops. I died to make you good soil. Do you see the difference? When Joshua Bell stood in that subway, he said, he said he was questioning himself, saying, what if they don't like me? I mean, what if they resent me? I could actually do well and they still might not accept me. He said it was very different than any of his other experiences. Because when you play for ticket holders, you're already validated. He said, I have no sense that I need to be accepted. I'm already accepted. So just set him free simply to play. There's no pressure to perform in order to get love. He's already loved. The ticket's already been bought. He doesn't have to prove himself to the audience because the price they paid just to be in his presence says how much they already loved him. So now he just gets to enjoy playing for people who loved him. See, until we get that, until we understand we're not performing for everybody else out there, we perform for an audience of one and not in order to get his approval. He's already paid the price. The ticket has already been bought and it was the most expensive ticket in history. Do you see what you're worth to him? Do you see how much he loves you? The ticket is bought.
The king's eyes are dancing with joy. And now we get to play for him. He who has ears,
let's pray. Lord, some of us think we already know this stuff. Plow our hearted hearts, Jesus.
Some of us just keep you on the surface. We hold you at bay and let everybody think we're all right. Remove our rock slur. Some of us have let other things become more important than you. Pull out our thorns. Jesus make us fruitful by the freedom you bought for us on the cross, that we could go out with joy and be fruitful as your people. We pray this in your Son's name. Amen.
Take out your heavenels. We sing our closing hymn. hymn number 175. We'll sing the first three stanzas of Hallelujah. What a Savior. Let's stand and sing together.
I know if you're a member, you need to stay, but everyone else is a visitor who's heading out. Amanda and I are going to go to the back. We would love to meet you, shake your hand and we're looking forward. Lord willing to get in to know you. So now receive the benediction. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. The love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Be with us all now and forevermore. Amen. I expected music. Sorry about that. We're sort of that quiet. Joe nice to meet you. I'm Russ. Sarah nice to meet you. Okay, all right, we get that after that. I'm still learning.