Mark 4:3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:
6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
Skip down to….
18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
Lets Pray
I had something very strange happen to me about 2 years ago.
I came in from work & was exhausted so I figured I would lay down for a while.
I laid down & fell asleep.
It was a hard sleep.
I lost track of what time it was, what day it was & what planet I was on.
All of the sudden I heard a knock on the door.
I startled me so I jumped up to put my shirt on & my right arm wasn’t working.
What had happened was I fell asleep awkwardly on my arm & stayed there for about an hour & a half.
By the time I heard the knock on the door the circulation had been completely cut off & my arm was useless.
I tried to put my shirt on…..it didn’t happen.
I held my shirt up to cover myself with my left arm while unlocking my door with my right but I couldn’t.
By the time I had the door open the people where gone.
Oh to be a fly on the wall in my living room that day.
How many of you know loss of circulation isn’t good.
Its something you don’t realize until you have to move or perform a function.
When the circulation is gone,the body part may still be alive but you can forget about using it.
Today, in a few moments you will have an opportunity to respond in prayer.
The Holy Spirit has a divine appointment for you this morning.
Theirs a stirring right now in the body here at Heritage.
Let me remind you….
God has required of us our worship!
God has required of us our testimony
God has set some people free!
Theirs a new freedom
Theirs enthusiasm.
Let me tell you this morning, God desires you!
You not just a nameless face in a crowd, your Gods child & desires for you to sit at his table!
Psalms 103:17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting
New things are on its way to you!
New things are on its way through you!
Jesus was a masterful teacher preacher.
As you know Jesus was mobbed by all of the people & was forced to board a boat & teach from it.
Jesus addressed the desire of the people to hear what he had to say.
2 weeks ago we talked about his first example the wayside hearer. (enemy snatched away before it sunk down.)
Last week we talked about the stone embedded hearer.(went down only so far)
With both of his first 2 examples there was a problem with the soil which I really believe represents the heart.
But this morning Jesus takes it a step further.
How many of you know Jesus wants to take you a step further?
He says…7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
In the book of Luke, it states that the thorns grew up with it.
The seed was thrown
It found home
It sprouted & it grew
But something was different about this plant….it didn’t bear nothing.
The reason it didn’t bear nothing was because there was something growing along side it.
God help us.
We live in a nation were there is an appetite for God.
I see it in our young people
In our young adults
& our older adults.
There is a spiritual appetite that has brewing & growing in our nation for quite some time.
But what has happened is that as this desire for God grows, so does other evil desires & mentalities right along side of him.
The Episcopalian church has just ordained the first openly Gay man as a bishop.
Thank God for ministers
But a man who attempts to minister while allowing a thorn to grow right along side his ministry will be ineffective, I don’t care what you say.
You see, all you need is Jesus!
This seems pretty simple but it’s the truth.
All you need is Jesus.
He’s the one to cling on to
He’s the one to ask
He’s the one to cry on
He’s the one to trust
He’s the one to follow
He’s the one
You don’t need Jesus &…..
Just Jesus!
What happens when something grows up next to him in you life?
Your attention will choked.
18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
3 things that Jesus points out.
If you notice it a progression
1. It starts out as a care
(cares of this world)
2. Then the care turns into a faulty idea
(the false idea that money will take care of it)
3. Then that faulty Idea turns into lust.
(now your attention is placed on pursuing that then pursing him!)
Jesus used money but it can also apply to other things.
Your care could be your marriage.
It has problems.
You might develop the false idea you can find love & attention from something else or someone else.
Then physical lust comes in.
Your rest
Your exhausted, tired & wore out.
You might develop the idea “I deserve my time, I earned it!”
Now the selfishness comes in.
This world is full of genuine concerns
Things that cant help to grow in your life.
These symbolic thorns that grow are natural & part of this degenerated world.
The question this morning is, “What do we do?”
We have diagnosed the problem now it’s time for Jesus to make a house call.
It had been a tiring, sleepless night
It was now early morning.
The son of God was arrested for proclaiming who he was.
Jesus was taken like a common criminal & put on a ridiculous, phony trial.
He was abandoned by his friends
Not one of the people he healed stepped up for him
He was berated
Hit
Spit on
Punched
Kicked
& now one of the most wounding acts of aggression was about to take place.
Jesus was taken by some Roman soldiers & they placed a purple robe on him
Mocking his divine royalty
But then they did something else….matt 27:29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said.
30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.
You see the word fell among thorns that day.
The word fell among thorns for you!
The cares of this world…Jesus was crowned with them!
Jesus willingly allowed himself to be crowned with the things that come against you.
Yes he died for our sin….but you would be very short-sighted to believe that was all that was accomplished that day!
The thorns have no power over you this morning!
The thorns have no power as long as you look to him!
He has to stand alone this morning!
Matt 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Its not Jesus &….
If he stands alone you wont be able to sop the fruit from being produced in your life!
