Jesus Warned About This Kind of Christian

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Whenever we read the scriptures, especially with parables, sometimes we take a parable or a passage of verses or a chunk of verses out, and then we wrestle with it, Jesus actually explains this parable after he shares the parable. But I want to give some context around what's being said, and then we're going to get there, and we're going to talk about it because I love this passage, I think it's so practical, but we need to understand something. Jesus has been doing a bunch of miracles. He's been doing a ton of ministry, all right? He's been healing the sick, healing the guy with the withered hand, talking to the Pharisees about Jesus being the Lord of the Sabbath. And so literally in the chapter before 13, you have the scribes and the Pharisees. They're begging for a sign from Jesus. Now, keep in mind, Jesus has been doing signs, miracles, and wonders all this whole time. And you know, actually earlier, a couple chapters earlier, Jesus actually gave woes to some cities. Look, listen, you guys aren't appreciative for the signs and wonders I'm doing because if you were, right, if you were, then I would have done these signs and miracles in Sodom and Gomorrah and all these other wicked cities. Like you guys aren't appreciative, but if I did these signs and miracles in Sodom and Gomorrah, Sodom and Gomorrah would have been spared. You know, so they're begging for signs, okay, and he's, he's about sick of it. So now we get to chapter 13, verse one. And it says, that same day, Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea and great crowds gathered about him. So we got into a boat and sat down and the whole crowd stood on the beach. The crowd got still big. Jesus had to go into a boat to preach to them so that he could get back and see the whole crowd and focus on the crowd and break down the secrets of the kingdom to these guys. Now, I think it's very important, Paul's and we can reflect on this. Let me ask you this question. Are you a part of the crowd or you a disciple? And we'll explain that here in just a moment. Verse three and he told them many things in parables saying, a soar went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path and the birds came and devoured them. 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. But when the sun, when the sun rose, they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears let him hear. Then the disciples came and said to him, why do you speak to them in parables? Let's pause right here. This is why I asked a question, are you a part of the crowd or are you a disciple? Because if you read this account in the Gospel of Mark, what happens is Jesus says this. So all these people were coming to see Jesus because they were bringing the sick, someone had broken legs. You never know. They had heard all these things about Jesus. So they had come. This instance right here is one of Jesus's like big presidential campaign speeches, right? He's in front of a large crowd. People are coming. They want the sick healed. They want their elements fixed. They want healing for their daughters or sons or cousins or moms or aunts or uncles. So they're coming to get something physical from Jesus. And they've heard all these miraculous wonderful things about his teachings and his miracles. So they're coming, expecting something physical from Jesus. They're expecting the grandest speech they've ever heard. So imagine hearing all these things about Jesus, he's got great teachings, he's a healer. And they come in and it's your first time hearing him and he goes, yeah, there was a farmer you threw some seed in here here and here. Most of it didn't do anything. But then some of the seed fell in it. You're a, if you heard me, if you have ears, let him hear. And if you read the mark account, a lot of those people walked away because they just wanted the benefits of the kingdom rather than the king himself. And so that's why the disciples said to him, why do you speak in parables? And Mark would say, what did you mean when you said blank? So let me ask you this question. Are you the kind of person that just wants the benefits of Jesus rather than Jesus himself or are you the kind of person that just wants Jesus? And you get to reap the blessings and the benefits of not just being in proximity of Jesus but actually being in relationship with them. Do you want him? Because the goal, like the whole purpose of being a Christian is that Jesus is the prize. He is the prize. Like we don't have to wait for heaven to experience life if we have Jesus because life begins when we get Jesus. That's when life begins. So are you the kind of person that's just like, you know, your mooch and off of Jesus, you're the friend that's only transactional? Or are you in this thing for some transformation? The disciples, they want the transformation. That's why they're asking Jesus, what do you mean when you said this thing or what, wait, why did you do this or what, you said this phrase and I'm not really understanding it fully? Can you explain that further? But I don't know about you. I want to be a disciple. I don't want to just be a mouth-breathing Christian that claims Jesus with my mouth. I go and I sit in the pew on Sunday and I expect because I'm on the second row of church and I'm going to experience more of Jesus because of my proximity to the pulpit. Like I don't want to just be some mouth-breathing Christian. I want to be a lay down lover. My life is a sacrifice and I live for Jesus because he gave his life for me. That's the kind of believer I want to be. Are you that believer? Are you really that believer? Or are you the believer that your friend's question if you're actually Christian because they see the fruit of your life? They see the way that you talk. They see the way that you treat your girlfriend or boyfriend. They see the way that you treat homeless people. They see the way that you live your life. Like do you really want to be someone that claims with their mouth but walk away when you don't get what you think you need from Jesus when Jesus is like, no, no, that's what you want. You just want something that you'd leave me, no, I am what you need. Jesus says, I am your everything. I want to be one of those disciples. I want to be that kind of lover for Jesus. And so in verse 10, the disciples, not the crowds, the disciples, they said, why do you speak to them in parables? What do you mean? So Jesus says this to you, it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 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. This is why I speak to them in parables, Jesus says, because seeing they do not see and hearing they do not hear nor do they understand. So he's like, look, we need to, we need to not take for granted the fact that we have Jesus. I'm from Georgia, around from the Bible belt, all right, there's a church on every corner. And it was easy to take Jesus for granted. Like I went to private Christian school. He was on all my, I had to take a mandatory Bible class every year, which I am so grateful for now in the long run now that I actually follow Jesus. But like I had heard about Jesus, I'm in the Bible belt. We take advantage of the fact when Matthew chapter 16, three chapters later, it's going to say Peter recognizes that Jesus is the Messiah. He is the Christ. And you know what Jesus says? He's going to be a, yeah, you couldn't understand me being the Messiah of your own willpower. It is a gift from God. He says in Matthew chapter 16, it's not my flesh and blood that we, me and you listening, it's not my flesh and blood by your own willpower, by how many books you read, that you were able to understand the mysteries of the kingdom that Christ is your Lord. But it's by the gift of God, it's a grace of God. So we can't take it for granted. And this way it says in verse 14, "Indeed in their case, the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says this." So he's like, look, even like he's like, even to just, you know, double down, right? He's like, it's not just like, oh, they're not here. I mean, Isaiah literally said this. He's like, guys, the main, like that one of the most prominent prophets of the Old Testament, he prophesied this 700 years before I was born. I mean, you should know this. You will indeed hear, but never understand. And you will indeed see, but never perceive, verse 15, I love verse 15, "For this people's heart has grown dull and with their ears, they can barely hear in 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. When I read that, the thing I immediately think of is where you're at in life right now. There's someone that claims to be a Christian, but you're struggling with a certain sin struggle or you're struggling with multiple sin struggles. There might be a stronghold in your life. Let me caution you and encourage you. Let your heart grow calloused because you will fully sin and claim to be Christian and say, "Well, God's going to forgive me anyways." So it's okay that I sleep with my boyfriend or girlfriend or God's going to forgive me anyways. So it's okay that I go get high and drunk when I'm feeling low on life. The grace of God is not an excuse to slap him in the face and say, well, I know you're going to forgive me. If I punched you in the face and apologized and said, hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to punch you in the face. You may forgive me the first time. Then if I punch you again and I say, I'm sorry, you may forgive me. And then I punch you again two seconds later and then I keep punching you and I apologize me. But about the fifth time being punched, maybe even the second time you'd be, this man isn't even sorry for what he's doing. And let me tell you something, if you're someone that expects the forgiveness of God because you're willfully sinning, what's actually happening is Satan has convinced you you can get away with it, but your heart is slowly growing callous to the voice and the movement of the spirit of God in your life. And you're going to think God has walked away from your life when really you've just grown cold to Jesus because of your own actions. Do not grow cold of Jesus because you want a little bit of sex. Let your heart grow callous towards Jesus just because you want one more bottle to drown out the pain and the noise of life. Do not fall for it. It is total deception. And verse 16 really hit me this morning as I was reflecting. But blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear, hey, quick pause. I have to tell you about something I've been looking forward to all year. It's called open heaven and it's the biggest live event we've ever done. It's happening November 8th at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, Texas. Picture a live podcast experience, real conversations about faith and purpose and the stuff we actually talk about on this show, but in a room full of people altogether. And it's not just talk. We've got a live worship band that's coming alongside being led by Aaron Tedesky and upper room worship. If you know, you know, it's going to be a night full of faith and power and we really believe that Jesus is going to be in the room. I think it's our on sale right now at Bryce Crawford dot org slash tour links in the description. Just do me a favor, only buy through the official site because there's a ton of resellers and scammers out there. So make sure you get your tickets at Bryce Crawford dot org slash tour. All right. Back to the episode. I read this first this morning as if Jesus was speaking directly to me. Marie, again, imagine Jesus speaking this verse to you. If you're a Christian and you follow Jesus, imagine Jesus speaking this to you right now. But blessed are your eyes for they see and your ears for they hear for truly. I say to you, many prophets and righteous people long to see what you see and did not see it and to hear what you hear and did not hear it. Do you understand how powerful those words of Jesus are? This 66 book leather bound Bible transcendent piece of literature that we take for granted. There were generations and generations hundreds of years, thousands, if I may, that passed before Jesus Christ was born. I mean, generations of people waiting for the Messiah to come, ones that have been rumored, things that they have heard from the prophets beforehand. And now they're here and we take these words for granted. We have the words of the Messiah that generations have been waiting to hear in a book to read daily, the new spoils. We are blessed, blessed are our eyes that we get to read this word. Blessed are your ears that we get to hear this because so many people before us have been waiting to hear the words of the Messiah and we have it in red ink in our, in our, you know, what color leather and what size the font and how many ribbons we have in our Bible. But there are people that have been waiting to just see the Messiah face to face here, what he had been able to say. And he had given the, so we went out the so and so there's some seed here here and here. And these people grow cool. They grew cold immediately because they didn't get what they wanted. Jesus was giving up what they needed. He was telling them the future. He was telling them, hey, there's going to be people that don't receive the gospel. There's going to be times when Satan rips that seed out of their heart. And he's, he's telling them what they want to hear in generations and generations. I mean, their grandparents and their, their, their children that, I mean, there have been people waiting to hear these words and Jesus gives the speech and they walk away. How easy do you and I walk away when we don't get what we want just like the people in Matthew chapter 13? Blessed are your eyes, blessed are my eyes, blessed are your ears, blessed are my ears for we get to hear and read the words of Christ at generations before he was born, waited to hear. And we take it for granted. And then verse 18, Jesus begins to explain the parable. Here's in the parable of the sower when anyone doesn't matter who you are, where you grew up, Georgia, Los Angeles, China, Africa, Antarctica, okay, where you are, anyone. Here's the word of the kingdom and does not understand it. The evil one comes and snatches away what it's been sewn in his heart. That goes back to him saying, so we got some seed got thrown and birds came up and snatched it. When the birds came up and snatched it, that is imagery that Satan came and snatched the seed, spiritual warfare. That's why it's so important. James 516 through 17 says that the fervent prayer of a righteous person conquers much. A lot of evangelism we think like we think evangelism is just appreciative people in person, but do you have the faith as someone who has been impacted by Jesus yourself, not only share your faiths with people, but when those people oppress you and they don't receive the message of the gospel, they don't receive the kingdom that you have enough faith to go home and get on your knees and pray for those people that rejected Christ to your face because there is a spiritual war going on for these people's lives. Then it says verse 20, as for what was sewn on a rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, so fired up 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. Let me stop right there. Verse 20 through 21. I believe is a very cautious warning right now to America and to the globe as we're experiencing a hype and a trend of Christianity. Revival. We're seeing people getting hungry for Jesus. Let me just tell you something right now. It's easy to receive Jesus when joy when a lot of people are following it. Jesus is not a feeling. He's not a dopamine rush. He's not a high. He's not an emotion. Jesus is a real active person who wants a relationship with us. He is more than a feeling. It is amazing when we get to feel Jesus. It is amazing. I love getting the experience of joy of the Lord, but some of the most beautiful moments I've had with Jesus when I wasn't feeling His joy, but when I was in the suffering of my own pain and reminiscing with Jesus in the pain. Let me just warn America right now with this thing. Just as Matthew 13, 23, 21 tells us that people received it with joy, the seed that was known on rocky ground. I mean, people received the gospel of joy, but when trial and tribulation and persecution came, they immediately walked away. I think right now we're in this mundane period where Christianity is not necessarily on this insane peak trend, but it's not on the low. It's in the mundane. And what are we going to do? Uh-oh. We're not feeling Jesus. Are we going to thug it out? Are we going to thug out Jesus because He's more than a feeling because He's active in real and He's everything we've searched for everywhere else, but in Him, what are we going to do? Do not stray away from Jesus just because you can't feel Him. He's there. He's a real person. He's alive and active. Verse 22, "As what was shown among the 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 unfruful. That's for the person that says, "I want to follow Jesus, but money matters more to them, alcohol matters more to them, sex matters more to them, temporary satisfactions of the world matter more to them, then the gospel." And when they're wrestling with the balance, they choose that over Jesus. But you may be reading these right now before we get to the last first and you may be saying, "I'm actually one of these people that's being read about or on the contrary." You may be like, "Wow, I didn't know this is what happens when we share a faith." Yeah, Jesus is like plain and simple. Some people, spiritual warfare is going to come up. They're going to reject it. You've got to go pray for them. Spiritual warfare over their soul. Some people are going to receive it immediately, but they can't stick it out with Jesus in the suffering. It's so funny how people are so easy to blame God for their suffering, but they can't stick it out with Jesus in their suffering when he's the one who's suffered for us. That crazy. Such a double standard we have. Like our standard for God is so much bigger than the standard that we have for ourselves. It's like we expect God to love to blame shift our suffering on God, but we're not willing to stick it out with him in the suffering or face persecution for him when he's suffered first and suffered for us and suffering with us. We have such a double standard and then there's going to be people that you preach the word of them and they're intrigued, they're curious, but they wrestle. I want Jesus, but I'm familiar with the porn and the money, I mean, the sex just feels so good. I can give it up and they choose the world and it chokes about. And it says in verse 23, "As for what was sown on the good soil," this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields it in one case a hundredfold and another sixty-year and another thirty. What that means is the good soil lands on a seed. The gospel seeds sprouts. and that person. is so impacted by Jesus that they preach and share the good news because when you've been impacted by Jesus, you can't keep it to yourself. And that's why it's important to understand the parable of the sower because the one sowing the seed is one that has had a seed sprout in their own life. And so if you're someone who has received the good news of Jesus, someone has sown that seed in your life that seed has sprouted and now Jesus is preparing you to be the very sower and be exactly like the person or the thing or whatever sowed that seed in your life. So I want to pray for you. As you get sent out into the world to be an evangelist, share the gospel and be boldly that you don't get swayed by persecution or responses or the desires of the world that you remain faithful in the great commission. Lord Jesus, we thank you that you have done a work in our own lives, as believers. And Lord, we just ask for the strength and the perseverance to share this word that we may not get rocked and swayed by persecution or shiny idols or sin struggles or intimidated by responses or oppression, but God that we remain faithful. That's what you've called us to. Lord, give us boldness of the strength of your spirit. Jesus, we love you. We thank Thank you, it's in your name we pray, amen.