Soldiers For Christ Series

It’s not optional for a believer! IT WILL HAPPEN! And the way you can know if your roots go deep is when those trials and persecution comes; does it destroy your faith or strengthen it? Do the trials you face drive you further from Jesus or closer to Him?

The 3rd type of soil is the thorny ground. This is a person who is made unfruitful by the demands of the weeds of worldliness. Jesus says that the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word out and make the person unfruitful.

And notice what Jesus is saying here. Persecution separates the true follower from the false follower, but the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke out the word and make it unfruitful in the person’s life. And then you compare that with the good ground and it yields 100, 60, and 30. And so this “thorny ground” hearer isn’t an “unfruitful Christian”.

In Jesus’ mind Christians are always fruitful, it’s just that some are more fruitful. This thorny ground hearer is a person who hears the Word of God… who hears the Good News of Jesus Christ, and says, “You know what? This being a Christian stuff and following Jesus isn’t for me. I like my lifestyle, and I like materialism, and I like comfort and ease and Christ demands too much. I think I’ll just keep on doing what I’m doing.”

I want to read a quote to you from D.L. Moody that kind of sums this up.

He says, “Many churches are full of barely committed people who have never won a soul to Christ, rarely speak a word on His behalf, and accept Christianity as a nice addition to their lives – which are devoted to the same basic goals as their neighbors.” In other words, they believe that as long as I make an appearance at church, don’t cuss (too much), keep up a friendly demeanor and don’t break any laws – I’m good to go. And they don’t stop to think that Christ is supposed to be seated on the throne of hear hearts. That He’s supposed to have the pre-eminent place in our thoughts and desires. That our activities are supposed to be geared to bringing Him glory and honor. Instead they somehow fool themselves into believing that it’s ok if they chase hard after the things of this world (material things and wealth), and it’s ok that Jesus has 2nd or 3rd or 4th place in their lives. And please, PLEASE hear me church. Jesus wasn’t saying that each and every one of us has to take all that we have and sell it to the poor. He’s not saying that you can’t go and enjoy a movie, or a sporting event, or a couple of days fishing. The Bible says, “Whatever you do, do it to the glory of God.” Jesus wasn’t saying that it’s a sin to have money. What He was saying is that it’s a sin when money has you. He’s saying that where we get into trouble is when that movie, or sporting event, or fishing trip becomes more a religious and worship experience than gathering with the Church. He’s saying that if you find yourself talking about praising KD more than JC then there’s a problem!