I listened to the following sermon a few times over the past week because Spurgeon described the thorny soil of the heart so well. For some reason, I have never read commentaries on this section of scripture even though I have believed it to describe my own heart.
In hearing Spurgeon’s specific description of that type of soil from Christ’s parable, I experienced conviction of sin; but as I discovered while listening to his sermon, conviction is necessary because it plows up the soil of the heart such that it can receive the seed of the word and produce fruit.
Hopefully, you will benefit from hearing his exposition this topic.
I was going to excerpt a section of the sermon, a 12-minute section running to the 12 to the 24 minute mark , but I decided to upload the entire 48-minute sermon.
SERMON HIGHLIGHT POINTS cover the initial 24 minutes of the sermon; these highlights leave out many connecting statements and illustrations that would be of benefit to hear; highlights are meant to give the reader a taste of the sermon so that he/she might determine if they want to invest the necessary time to listen and consider the entire sermon [emboldening and bracketed statements are mine]:
- Matthew 13:7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
- Matthew 13:22 As for what was sown among 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 unfruitful.
- When that which comes of sowing is unfruitful, then the sower’s work is wasted
- Preaching is an idle occupation if the word is not adapted such as to enter into the heart and produce fruit
- We do not know the type of soil in our heart until we see what the gospel seed yields
- Good heart soil produces holiness, love for God and man…
- Other heart soils do not produce such fruits
- Today, you may be judging my words as you listen, but in truth, the Word is judging you – your own condition will be revealed via the manner in which you receive or reject the Word
- The heart soil that has been prepared by the Lord is ready to receive the seed of His word; that which remains in its state of native barrenness, is not [the part of this sermon which is highlighted, clearly explains the difference between those two states]
- Some of you have been hearers of sermons from your childhood, are you any better for it?
- If you are not saved…, holy yet, then will you ever be?
- Today, only one soil of the heart will be addressed: not the wayside hearers; not the rocky-ground hearers…
- But those of you who hear the word attentively and in a sense receive it into your hearts and understand it such that the seed of the word begins to grow but never comes to perfection
- You are religious persons, influenced by godliness; you have plenty of leaves but no corn in the ear – your Christianity lacks substance [5 minute mark of sermon, 5MM]
- This sermon will focus firstly on describing the seed, then the thorns , then the result
- The same seed that was lost on you produced in some 30, 60, or 100 fold
- Why so?
- [Neglect of one’s spiritual life was illustrated for a few moments]
- [Those whom Jesus addressed were hearers that displayed new growth for a time]
- Thorny hearers believe the truth of the gospel but live like it is a lie
- For example, not confessing sin even though the gospel atoned for the sins of believers [10MM]
- If you believe the truth, then what do you more than the Devil? He is ahead of you, he believes and trembles
- The doctrine of grace produces pure results when it possesses the mind and governs the heart
- Mere head knowledge, without commitment to Christ’s Spirit, is like having corn in the crib and dying of hunger
- The seed sown among thorns continued to grow: some have understood basics that have helped them to forsake gross sin, for example; that is, they have the appearance of a Christian, they have leaves and the beginning formation of an ear of corn, but it never forms
- They may also be able to see that their neighbors are living fruitless, nominal Christian lives; but they cannot see that in themselves [13MM]
- They do not practice self-examination and remain oblivious to their own spiritual condition
- What if I should be a preacher to others and be myself a cast away?
- Ought not every preacher, elder, deacon, congregant exercise self-examination, looking for fruit in his/her life?
- The probing of my conscience is required work, “Lord, let me know the worst of myself…”
- So much for the seed: it was good; it was sown and received by the soil of my heart; it began to grow with promise; yet, in the end, was unfruitful
- Undoubtedly, multitudes of people regularly attend church, are honest in their moral character… but Christ is not all in all to them
- He is secondary in their AFFECTIONS; their heart is overshadowed by a thicket of thorns; the seed is so choked that it comes to nothing
- Their religion is buried beneath their worldliness; sad will their end be
- The Thorns: Matthew calls them, “the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches;” Luke added, “pleasures of this life;” and Mark added, “lusts of other things”
- The sower may not have seen any thorns when he sowed the seed, as when the soil was prepared the thorns were cut down level with the surface of the ground
- Thorns are natural to the soil
- Since the fall, hindrances to the gospel are natural, indigenous
- Sin is very much at home in the human heart, like an ill weed it grows
- If you want to go to heaven, then I want to show you the way, via your diligence [16:30MM]
- If you want to go to hell, then it is very easy, only a matter of neglect – “how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?”
- Evil things are easy things because they are natural to our fallen nature
- Right things are rare flowers that need cultivation: if any of you have been injured by the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches, I’m not surprised, that is natural
- Therefore, be on guard against these mischiefs; say to yourself, “there is something of import to be understood and applied herein”
- I may be tolerating those thorns in my heart that will kill the good seed, for I am like other men
- Look to yourselves, be not deceived: the thorns were already inhabitants of the soil; they were rooted and fixed in it
- In other words, our sins in us claim the free hold of our faculties, they will not give that up if they can help it
- Without a desperate struggle, our sins will not give way to the Holy Spirit, the new life within us, or the influence of divine grace
- The roots of sin run through and through our nature [18MM]
- They grasp our nature with wonderful force and tenacity, keeping their hold on us
- Even if you are the president of the US or the queen of England, you are a fallen creature, born in iniquity
- Natural man has the Devil for his master
- When sin has had control of you for 20, 40, 60 years…, don’t foolishly expect that the new man will quickly gain mastery in your heart
- Our evil nature will crush out every attempt at a revolution by which the grace of God would reign in righteousness
- Therefore, watch and pray lest temptation choke that which is good in you
- Watch earnestly, because grace is a tender plant in a foreign soil; sin is in its own element and is strongly rooted in the soil of our hearts
- Why are so many Christians like the thorny ground?
- Because processes have been omitted that would have altered the condition of their hearts
- It was the husbandman’s business to uproot the thorns or burn them on the spot
- Years ago, when people were converted, they experienced conviction of sin, the great sub-soil plow of soul anguish, tearing deep into the soil of their heart; preparing it to receive the seed of the word [ridding it of thorns that growth might occur]
- Fire also burned in the mind, such that men felt the heat of it regarding sin and its consequences
- [Spurgeon preached against modernism and easy-believism which is a bigger problem in the church of our day. He preached his ‘downgrade’ sermons and was scoffed at – YouTube has some of those sermons]
- Now, we hear much of “instantaneous” conversions – I believe that can occur, but am certain that a deeper work of grace plows up the soil of the heart such that the word grows [without as many hindrances] [21MM]
- If you are presently experiencing a thorough conviction of sin, or are in trouble and anguish, then thank God for it, do not view it as a calamity, but a blessing
- Thorns are bound to grow; there is an awful vitality in evil: the thorns send up a few tiny shoots; these shoots branch out more, and more shoots came to keep them company until the corn stood as a lonely thing in a thicket of briers
- The thorns aspired to the mastery of the soil and they soon obtained it; that done, they set to work to destroy the corn [or wheat]
- They blocked it up, crowded it out, wrapped around the neck of it until it was choked
- They sucked away all the nutrients from the wheat, it was starved
- There is only a certain amount of thought and energy in a man, AND IF THE WORLD GETS IT, THEN CHRIST CANNOT HAVE IT
- If our thoughts are spent on care and pleasure, then they cannot be spent on true religion
- The thorns starved the wheat by taking its food; choked it by blocking the sun till the poor wheat became shriveled and weak and unable to produce fruit which the sower desired
- [23MM] So it is with many professing Christians, they are at first worldly, but not very worldly, they are still religious, but not too zealous
- They seek the pleasures of the world, but not as much as others they know
- But soon, the thorns have grown such that it becomes doubtful about which will win
- Sin or grace; the world or Christ
- Two masters there cannot be; sin has sprung from a royal but evil stalk; it will struggle for the throne if it is permitted to grow
- “The tares, being tolerated, choked the good seek”
- Thorns, as portrayed via Matthew, Mark and Luke
- There are 4 sorts of thorns…. [24MM]
The above sermon is from the YouTube site, CHRISTIAN SERMONS AND AUDIO BOOKS. I highly recommend subscribing to this site, as it is full of biblical sermons and audio books from great preachers of the past; he also posts biblical sermons and teachings from our day. If you study the Bible, then you will be edified and encouraged by the biblical content of this site.
The following narrative accompanied the above video at YouTube:
Matthew 13:7-9 New King James Version / NKJV: 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Sown Among Thorns! – Charles Spurgeon Sermon
Charles Haddon (C.H.) Spurgeon (June 19, 1834 January 31, 1892) was a British Reformed Baptist preacher who remains highly influential among Christians of different denominations, among whom he is still known as the “Prince of Preachers.” In his lifetime, Spurgeon preached to around 10,000,000 people, often up to 10 times a week at different places. His sermons have been translated into many languages. Spurgeon was the pastor of the New Park Street Chapel in London for 38 years. In 1857, he started a charity organization called Spurgeon’s which now works globally. He also founded Spurgeon’s College, which was named after him after his death.
Spurgeon was a prolific author of many types of works including sermons, an autobiography, a commentary, books on prayer, a devotional, a magazine, and more. Many sermons were transcribed as he spoke and were translated into many languages during his lifetime. Arguably, no other author, Christian or otherwise, has more material in print than C.H. Spurgeon.
Link to Christian Sermons and Audiobooks video page:
https://www.youtube.com/c/stack45ny/videos
THE FOLLOWING LINK IS TO A 28-MINUTE, JOHN MACARTHUR SERMON THAT WAS POSTED BY HIS CHURCH THIS MORNING, IT JUST HAPPENS TO EXPLAIN WHAT ‘FRUIT’ IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE LOOKS LIKE. THAT IS A QUESTION THAT MIGHT ARISE IN SOME AFTER LISTENING TO THE ABOVE SERMON BY SPURGEON. MACARTHUR PREACHED ON JOHN 15: