Three Deadly Thorns
Introduction: The parable of the soils is found in three of the four gospels, but for the purposes of our sermon this morning, lets look at the fourth chapter of Mark. In the parable of the four soils, Jesus paints a visual picture of a farmer scattering seed around and it landing in four very different types of soil, representing the different types of hearts that the gospel lands in. I like this parable because God puts us in his box, so often we hear of man trying to put God in a box of their own. They may try to frame who God is by their own desires “My God would never judge anyone!” “My God would never let anyone go to hell.” “My God is a tolerant God.” You are right your God is. The problem is, your God doesn't exist. The only God, is the one revealed to us through the Word of God. And in this parable God says that we are one of the four soils mentioned. The seed represents the word of God that is sown in your heart and the farmer is any minister or anyone delivering the gospel to you. When you share the gospel you become the farmer and they are the soil. Every pastor that approaches his pulpit on Sunday begins to scatter seed on the soil of his congregation, and it will land in different places because we are different soils. Some of you will not receive this word at all, others will receive it poorly, and some will receive it well. Your prayer should be, to be good soil and receive the word well.
Jesus first demonstrates the seed that fell along a path where the ground was hard and the birds came and ate it up. This represents those whose hard hearts resist the gospel and the devil seeing an opportunity, swoops down and steals the seed before it can do any good. Jesus then mentions the rocky soil in which the seed grows quickly and then suddenly dies from the heat of the sun because it didn't get deep into the ground. This represents those who superficially receive the gospel, but grow quickly, but when persecution or trouble come, they quickly fade away because the seed of the word didn't get deep enough into the soil of their hearts. He concludes the parable by speaking about those who are good soil, where the seed grows and grows and produces multiples of fruit. But before he reveals the good soil, Jesus warns us about the thorny soil. In Mark 4:7 Jesus said “Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.” then he explains this in verse 18,19 which is where our message begins this morning:
“Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.”
Mark 4:18,19
Jesus shows us three deadly thorns that choke this wheat plant causing it to be unfruitful. I call these deadly thorns because although the plant lives, it may as well be dead if its not producing fruit. In Matthew 21, Jesus found a fig tree that had leaves, it was a shame that is all it had. Jesus said “May you never bear fruit again!” and the fig tree withered and died. Some people are christian in name only. They are alive and they have all the appearances of being a Christian, and they might escape the scrutiny of most observers, but they bear no fruit. And we know from Matthew 7:16 “By their fruit you will know them.”
Ill. There once was a little boy in London selling mince pies on the street corner and he was crying out “Hot Mince Pies for sale!!” “Hot Mince pies!” A gentleman bought one and began to eat it right away and found that it wasn't hot at all, it was cold. He turned to the boy who sold it to him and said “This isn't hot, this pie is cold.” The boy just shrugged and said “that's just the name they go by, sir.” And with some people, the name “Christian” is just the name they go by. It is nothing more than a name. Jesus sees the leaves of profession but he doesn't see any fruit. There must be fruit, because that is the purpose of the plant in the first place. God invested his talents in you and he expects a good return on his investment.
Transition: Let's observe this morning the three deadly thorns that Jesus warns will choke not only the fruit but the life out of us. The first deadly thorn is,
I. The Delusion of Worry
“but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” -Mark 4:19
Some other versions read “the cares of this world” the concerns of this world or more accurately the anxieties of life. If we get entangled in the thorns of worrying what this world can give us or what we can get from it or if all of our spiritual energy is robbed by constantly worrying about things that don't matter, then we will never be fruitful, and we go from spiritual neglect, to spiritual decay and eventually it will lead to spiritual death.
Last Sunday, I alluded to Matthew 6:25 where Jesus said “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” He then goes on to describe how sparrows don't sow or reap and he takes care of them. If he cares about something that the average person wouldn't care or notice, then how much more does he care about you! I don't know of any farmer who would feed his chickens and starve his own children. God is a good God, who will take care of us, and once we take the advice of Peter “cast all your anxieties upon him because he cares about you.” I Peter 5:7 But If all of our cares are upon fashion or food or fitness and fun then we don't understand God and truly lose the meaning of life.
I feel that its important to say that not worrying doesn't mean that we should be flippant and lackadaisical about life. Treating life as if nothing you say or do matters. Having foresight is not the same as foreboding. We should plan for things ahead of time and make adjustments, but getting an umbrella ready for tomorrow is different than pulling tomorrows clouds over today's sunshine. That's what worry does, it is interest paid on borrowed trouble. When a person gets diagnosed with cancer there are two different types of people: those who pray and fight and those who give in and surrender. You can not worry yourself to a longer life. No matter how much you do it. Did you know, that worry can actually bring about what it is you are worrying. And worrying can be contagious. Do you know a worry wort? They can be insufferable sometimes. Adrian Rogers once said “We ought to lock this people up together and let 'em worry one another and leave the rest of us alone.” It seems like they have a file system in their minds of all the endless things to worry about.
Ill. Speaking of Rev. Rogers, he told a story of a handsome young man and his new bride and adorable newborn baby coming to see him and he recalled they had furrowed brows and long faces and the pastor said “whats the problem? Tell me.” And the young man spoke up and said “Economically, I'm worried.” Then the pastor said “how is your health?” he answered “fine, as far as I know” He said “do you know how many millionares would give their fortune to have the health that you have.” and then he said “What about your wife? Would you give her up for anything?” He said “No Way! She is great I love my wife!” He then said “Do you have any idea how many people are so lonely that they would give anything to have someone to go through life with?” The pastor then asked “What about your baby? Would you ever consider giving her away?” The young man said “I wouldn't give her up for the world.” Rev. Rogers said “Do you know how many people would give the world if they could to be able to have a baby?” The pastor said “Are you an American?” “Well of course!” the young man said proudly. “Do you realize how many people are risking their very life trying to get here to be an American?” The young man was beginning to understand his point. Then the pastor said “Quit worrying about what you don't have and start appreciating what you do have!”
The thorn of Worry smothers the fruit of blessings. The thorn of worry chokes out the hope that we have in God. David said “When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.” -Ps. 94:19
Transition: The cares of what to wear, where to live, what to drive, keeping up appearances, keeping up with our peers, being seen as respectable is a deadly thorn but the second deadly thorn is,
II. The Deception of Wealth
“but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” -Mark 4:19
Ill. There was an American man who was walking with another pastor who was living in horrible poverty in Ethiopia, and he made the mistake of showing his presumption, by making what he thought was a nice gesture. He said to the Ethiopian pastor, “We pray for you in your poverty.” The humble Ethiopian pastor said “No you do not understand. We pray for you in your prosperity.”
That took the American back, but the Ethiopian pastor explained, “we pray for you Americans because it is much harder for you to rely on God in your prosperity than it is for us to rely on him in our poverty.” (Sermon Central ill.)
Its been rightly noted that wealth itself is not deceitful. If it weren't for men lusting after it, there would be no sin in it at all. The only way riches are deceitful is if we put our confidence in them. Riches are deceitful because they promise much but they don't give the satisfaction they promise. I'm sure that there are many hearts that once burned for Christ that now burn for wealth. They promise themselves that money will take care of them. Agur prayed for neither poverty nor riches, only for what he needed for the day, “otherwise” he said, “I may have too much and disown you.” He knew the danger of having too much money. He knew that riches might cause him to depend on it, rather than God.
Putting your faith in money will choke your faith in God. No man can serve two masters, he must leave one to love the other, but he can not serve both God and money. Your heart can't be split between the two, when the two are going in opposite directions. You can not work full time for two employers, when they both want your devotion, your faithfulness, your loyalty. You have to choose. The Lord doesn't want to share any part of you with anything or anyone else. You can't work at the local bank, or hardware store when you have enlisted in the Army. Because the Armed forces requires your full service. God's service requires your whole devotion. God wants all your love and devotion and he won't share any part of it with money.
Sir Fred Catherwood said “Greed is the logical result of the belief that there is no life after death. We grab what we can, while we can, however we can, and then hold on to it hard.”
Personal Ill. When our old dog, Oscar was alive, I used to take a laser pointer and flash the red dot upon the ground and just like a cat, he would chase it all around the house. He never got tired of that game. He would bark to get me to get out after putting it away. He would jump upon the dot and bite and bite and bark and it didn't seem to register in his little brain that he could never get that little red dot. That is the deceitfulness of wealth, riches will have us running and chasing after it, instead of Christ, and chasing after wealth is just as futile, as Oscar chasing the laser pointer. Even when you have it, you don't have it. Money has us running around chasing after a false promise of a satisfaction that can never be obtained. Paul warned Timothy that “... the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, some people eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.” I Tm 6:10 The deception of wealth has proven to be a thorn that has pierced many Christians, even ministers, with many sorrows.
Kin Hubbard said “I'll say this for adversity – people seem to be able to stand it, and that's more than I can say for prosperity.”
Paul knew poverty and he knew prosperity and no matter what state he was in, he learned to be content. He wasn't worried when he didn't have much and he wasn't inordinately pleased when he did have much. Paul said compared to Christ, everything else is garbage, refuse, dung. When compared to Jesus nothing in this world can compare to him.
That is why the thorn of wealth is so deceitful, it promises so much but when compared to the promises of Christ, it can not only not deliver what it promises but when it does, it delivers only pain. You may say “that's not true I love money, I love making money and I love all of the things I can buy with it.” That may be true for now. Sin is pleasurable for a season, but someday you will be the one that has to pay, and it will be a price so steep that you will regret the love you had for it.
Transition: Am I saying that we shouldn't buy the things we want in life? No. I'm saying that if the desire for things is greater than our desire for Jesus, there is a problem. And if I interpret this parable correctly, it could be a deadly one. Which bring us to the third deadly thorn is,
III. The Desire for Other things
“but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” -Mark 4:19
Sin is a natural plant in the soil of our heart. If you leave a garden untended it won't take long before it is overgrown with weeds. It isn't difficult to grow a weed garden. If You were looking for a job and someone said they had the perfect job and said “your job is to grow a weed garden.” You shouldn't have asked for an easier job than that. Why? Because weeds are natural to every soil– like sin is natural to every heart. It isn't difficult to sin, we just let our heart go and it will naturally grow sin. It is difficult however, to grow grace. Grace is not an indigenous plant, it is an exotic plant, not familiar with the climate and soil of our hearts. It must be cultivated with conviction, watered with faith, and nourished with love to get it to grow at all.
How often do those “other things” choke out the light from that plant of God's word. When the Holy Spirit wants to shine the truth to our minds, but other things are casting a long shadow over the sprig of his word. It has no space to grow up because it has no space to grow down – There is no space for fruit because there is no space for the root.
In a parable found in I Kings. We learn about a soldier who had been put in charge of a prisoner of war. He was commanded to guard him with his life. If the man escaped his custody, he would pay for it with his own life or pay a heavy fine.
As the story goes, the prisoner managed to get away in spite of the strong warnings and heavy penalty. The only excuse he offered the commanding officer for his escape was:
“As thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” I Kg 20:40
The man was simply busy with “other things” but he wasn't doing his duty – our duty is to produce fruit which can not happen when other things are in the way. He was busy with this and busy with that, he was busy here and there. . . but he wasn't busy with the task given to him. What a devastation it would be for our God to pull us up to heaven after many years upon the earth and our only excuse is: “As I was busy doing this and doing that for myself, your purpose was neglected.”
Think of how often you have invited someone to church and they had “other things” or when you asked them to attend a song service and they had “other things” or to midweek service or to a prayer service or to a Bible study and again “other things” had the priority and kept them from going.
There is only a certain amount of nutrients in the soil and if the thorns get it, the wheat must go without it. If the world gets our affection, Jesus must go without it. When the thorns begin to grow - which will win the soil of your heart the flower of Grace or the thorns of Sin? The plant of the Spirit or the weeds of the world? Your Faith or your Flesh?
Conclusion: Spurgeon said “If our thoughts run upon care and pleasure they can not be eager about true religion.” The thorns starved the wheat. You will notice that these three thorns are all on the same vine of The World, where worries and wealth and other things pull our hearts and minds away from God.
If you feel any conviction at all this morning, praise God for it. Without conviction, the thorns can never be removed because you will never see them. But once we plow deep down and pull them out by the roots, then we begin to make good soil then the great grace of God can grow in our hearts and if we cherish it and practice it with earnestness, it will produce a crop of thirty, sixty, or a hundred time what was sown! Good soil is fruitful soil – and what wonderful fruit it is – it isn't just a blessing to you but to everyone around you! When will we realize all of the world’s pleasures can not compare to the joy that comes from Christ? The cares of the world rob of us of a greater happiness that we have in God. Love, hope, peace, and JOY – who wouldn't want that? But until the worlds thorns are removed, Gods fruit will not grow in you. Pull out the thorns and plow the ground and that will make you good soil again. Amen.
