Sown Among Thorns

Introduction: I want you to think back and try to recall the first sermon you ever heard. Now try to recall how many sermons you have heard since. How many good preachers, that are now in heaven, have you listened to and had tears flow from your eyes because of their wonderful sermons? If you are not saved by now, will you ever be saved? If you are not holy by now, will you ever be holy? Why does God spend so much on someone who never gives back? What is the reason for this waste? I can’t answer that. But I can say that you will have much to answer for on that great day when the servants of God will give their accounts, and there shall be no joy when they come to mention you. The unforgivable sin is the soil denying the seed to grow within it. Any heart that refuses God’s word, can not be saved.

Scripture: “And some fell among thorns: and the thorns sprung up, and choked them.” - Matthew 13:7 “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.” - Matthew 13:22.

Transition: There were other soils that were spoken of in Matthew but this morning I am only going to preach to the one class of you. I wish to address three aspects of the seed sown in the Thorns. First the seed, then the thorns, and then the result.

I. The Seed

The Seed is the gospel, it is the word of God, it is the conviction of the Holy Spirit trying to grow inside of your heart. Remember that in the parable of the soils, it wasn’t the seed that was different but the soil, so the seed was the same in every case. The Gospel never changes, and we should never change it! Why is it that 10 people can hear the same gospel and maybe one will actually do anything with it? That one will take the word and keep it and consider it precious. Spurgeon quipped “How covered with briars and thorns must your minds be that the Gospel which converted your sister or friend never touched you!” It is puzzling, that one person, after hearing about Christ, speaks of Christ, rejoices in Christ, Is inspired by Christ, and acts like Christ, and another who has never changed at all because he has been covered by the Thorns of this life. They are only hearers of the gospel, the seed has grown a little but it never reached it’s full potential, making you gracious or holy.

Transition: So let’s look at the Thorns, why do they cause so much trouble for those plants who try to grow amongst them?

II. The Thorns

Matthew describes the thorns as “the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of wealth”, Luke says, “and pleasures of this life,” and Mark goes further and mentions “the lusts of other things.” I suppose that the sower did not see any thorns when he threw the handful of seed on the ground. The thorns were probably cut down level with the grass. He probably hoped that it was good ground, and didn’t suspect the thorns were even there.

1) Thorns are natural to the soil. If you travel out in the woods a lot sometimes you might think it would be perfect if it weren’t for the bugs, poison ivy, and thorns everywhere. But that is nature. Since the fall of man, sin has been a part of the nature of human beings, keeping us from being perfect in the eyes of God. Sin is at home in the human heart, it is like a dandelion in the lawn, it grows naturally and it grows quickly. Spurgeon once said “evil things are easy things, for they are natural to our sinful nature.”

Right things are rare things, flowers only grow when we cultivate them. I wouldn’t be surprised if you would admit that you are injured by the ‘cares of this world’, and the ‘deceitfulness of wealth’. It is natural to be that way. But you should take action by being on guard against these thorns in life.

2) The Thorns were already established in the soil. We have to realize the veracity of thorns, they are a natural part of the ground, just like grass is, and like the grass they are firmly rooted in the ground. Our sins are not just going to give up their soil and yield to the Holy Spirit, or to a new life. Sin runs through our nature with incredible force and will keep it’s hold on us with a great tenacity.

* The reason so many professing Christians are thorny seed converts is because they have never plowed up the thorns so the seed can grow. There used to be a real repentance because there was a real conviction of sin. It was because of a deep regret of sin that a person would cry out for God’s forgiveness. By doing this, the sinner plowed deep into the ground to remove those thorns. The fear of hell was burned into the minds of sinners so hard that they could feel the heat of sin’s consequence, and therefore the love of it was burned out of them.

But today we’re surrounded by boastful testimonies about rapid salvations. Don’t get me wrong I believe in instantaneous conversions, and I am always glad to see them, but I would rather see a thorough work of grace. You can never get rid of thorns when you just scratch the surface. If you never really intended to give God your whole life, then you only scratched the surface. You receive the best crop when you have the best plowed field. Converts are most likely to thrive, when the seed is planted in a place where the thorns have been plowed up.

3) The thorns were bound to grow. The word makes it clear that the plant never had a chance to grow because of the desire the thorns had to live. There comes one shoot, and then ten more off of that one, and then ten more off of that one, until the plant is barely holding on to life in the midst of the thorns. The thorns worked to block it from growing, then crowded it out robbing it’s light, and twisted around it until it was choked.

4) The thorns sucked away all the nutriment from the plant until it was starved, there is only a certain amount of nourishment in the soil, and if the thorns have it, the plant must go without it. There is only a certain amount of thought and energy in a person and the world gets it, Christ cannot have it. If our thoughts run on cares and pleasures, they can’t grow in Christ. Remember the thorns first starved the plant by taking all its food and then choked it out by taking all of it’s air and sunlight. It is the same with Christians, since they can not serve two masters they must choose one, God or mammon. The poor man says “What will I eat?” “What will I drink?” The rich man says, “How can I get more?” “How can I store it away?” These are the types of cares of the world that causes stress and tension. It is the care of this world and not the care for God, and if you let those worries, anxieties, doubts, fears, concerns, and cares grow in your soul, it will choke out your faith in Christ!

Jesus mentions “the deceitfulness of wealth” not wealth itself but it’s deceitfulness, when Christians rely on money instead of God to take care of them they have been deceived in misplacing their faith.

Mark adds “the lust of other things” the ‘other things would take too long this morning to explain in detail but If anything is hindering your relationship with God, those are ‘other things’. If you are taking those things that should be secondary and making them primary, then you are creating thorns that will choke you out.

Transition: And by allowing this, the final result of the seed sown in the thorns is that it is unfruitful.

III. The Result

These briers and thorns could not pull the seed up, or throw it away. It remained where it was, but they choked it. So it may be that your job, your cares, your hobbies, your pleasures have not torn up your faith by the roots but it is still there. And these things suffocate your better feelings.

Look at Christians, who have been drained of their sustenance. I call them Christians, because that is what they call themselves. They may call themselves Christians but they are not Christians, it is just the name they go by. Why are they not Christians?, because they are not bearing fruit. Remember Jesus cursed the fig tree that didn’t produce fruit.

This week down at the convenient store, I sat down with the Free Will Baptist pastor and bro. James. The Pastor mentioned that out of the desires of your heart, the mouth Speaks, if you love Christ, you speak about him (Jimmy), But if you love other things that is what you talk about and glorify, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Conclusion: How can we use the thorns to our benefit? We should approach thorns like a little child does, when he is pricked with one they take a look at it, notice how it smarts, cries and takes the situation to their father. We should feel the pain of the thorn, recognize it for what it is, and cry out to Jesus, our Heavenly Father to relieve the pain. You can also make a hedge around yourself with them. By keeping those worldly things at a safe distance you can keep the goats of worldly pleasure from eating your fruit. Remember thorns were used by mockers to crown Jesus as King, but Jesus used the thorns they meant for shame as a test of suffering that would provide him the crown to rule over all man for all of eternity.

Altar Call: Please don’t let those thorns keep you from receiving the seed of God’s word this morning. The truth is Christ died so that you could live. If you will repent from your sin and keep those thorns of this world out of you mind and your heart, you can be saved from hell.