There
are seven parables in the 13th chapter of Matthew that
coincide with the seven letters to the seven Churches in
Asia. One of these will help to clear up the other and we
will get into the parables after a while. We have been
dealing with the four kinds of ground on which the Word of
God falls. I made a statement before, and I want to make
it again, that the four kinds of ground cover all
humanity. Wayside ground (hearers), stony ground
(hearers), thorny ground (hearers) and good ground
(hearers).
We are
one kind or the other, every one of us and God would have
us deal with His Word that we might get located. He wants
us to be good ground. And we are going to prove by God's
Word that all of God's children must bring forth one
hundred fold. God won't put up with anything less than
that anymore. The false hiding places are not only in
denominationalism, but there are a lot of false hiding
places around that which calls itself the Church of God.
This business of bearing some thirty, some sixty, and some
a hundred fold is nothing more than a false hiding place
that people get in and try to excuse themselves for only
bringing forth thirty, and sixty fold. There is no excuse.
The Word of God will shake up all the bushes they are
hiding behind and put them out In the open.
We dealt
with the wayside hearers in the preceding lecture and in
the stony places we found that neither one of these
Individuals had a solid experience with God. The one in
the stony place sprung up, but it had no root and you
cannot bear fruit If you have no roots. There is nothing
that bears fruit that does not first have roots. Just as
soon as the sun came up (and the Sun, we have proved by
the Bible, is the Word of God) the plant was scorched, and
withered away, and died. And many people get that kind of
an experience.
We want
to look at that which fell among thorns. In the 13th
chapter of Matthew and the 7th verse, we read that:
"Some fell among thorns and the thorns sprung up and
choked them." Now, turn to the 22nd verse where He
gives the explanation of it and we find that: "he
also that receiveth the seed among thorns is he that
heareth the Word and received the seed among the thorns
and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of
riches choked God's eternal Word. It is the work of Satan.
Jesus' teachings seemed simple, but the parables are as
deep as the Revelation and hid in the same shell. The seed
took root in this Individual. It had to bear fruit and we
will see it 'just ahead.' Some fell among thorns -- though
they had not sprung up yet. In other words, there was some
'thorn seed' lying under the earth that had not sprouted
yet. The seed of the Word of God, took root and sprung up,
then the thorns grew up too and choked the plant out.
Now, the
seed did not choke out the thorns, but the thorns choked
out the 'seed of the Word.' The Word of God says, that the
thorns sprung up and choked them and they became
unfruitful. That is an 'awful blow' to the popular eternal
security teaching.
It is
possible to become unfruitful after you have been fruitful
once. We are facing today a multitude of people who are
looking back to a day when their experience was a glorious
pledge for God, bearing beautiful fruit of an experience
of righteousness and true holiness, but today they are
unfruitful. The stones spoiled the roots. The root
experience of stony ground was, that the root could not
'take hold.'
In the
parable of the thorny ground the individual actually was
born again and justified before God. He had to be in order
to bear fruit. He said: "He that abideth in me and I
in Him the same bringeth forth much fruit. And every
branch that beareth fruit He purgeth it that it may bring
forth more fruit. The stony ground kept the root from
working and now we see the thorns working on the fruit. We
can also see the works of Satan. Some brethren are
preaching how the devil works through false religious
systems, but I say he works on individuals too. The thing
that keeps men from getting a 'root experience with God,
will keep them from getting saved in the first place. Even
after you get saved, he's not done. He has another tool he
uses on you to choke out your fruit after you begin to
bear. But I thank God there is an easy way to put him out
of business. By the Word of God, you can destroy the very
works of the devil. Jesus himself was made manifest that
He might destroy the works of the devil. In Eph. 4:8. We
read, that He led captivity captive.
There is
an experience you can get with God, where you can do as
Isaiah said: shout 'glory be to God,' right on a nest of
devils. And if he carries on too much God also has the
power to let you cast him out. I Peter 5:8 tells us that
the devil goes about as a roaring lion. He is not a lion;
he is an actor. There is only one lion in the Word of God,
and that is the lion of the tribe of Judah. And the devil
goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
There was a day, before Jesus came with this great
salvation, when it was easier for him. We are told in the
book of Job that he was walking up and down in the earth,
having a good time, and when the sons of God came to
present themselves, the devil came too. Everywhere the
'sons of God' present themselves he comes along too. He
cannot stop the Gospel, but he wants to hinder it. When he
begins to spread himself, God puts the truth on him. Jesus
said he was a liar. In fact, he was a liar from the
beginning.
The devil
took Jesus up there on the mountain and told Him that he
would give Him all the kingdoms of the world -- and Jesus
did not pay a bit of attention, because He knew the devil
did not have anything to give. Why? God said: That the
world and all in it was His. It did not belong to the
devil. I would not like to believe, that God did anything
for Job that He would not do for me. Remember, He
delivered him and rewarded him for resisting evil. Be
sure, that when you are tempted and tried, that God sees
it is good for you. You need to get shook around and
cultivated a little. If You don't get tempted and tried
once in a while, you won't know what you have. If we don't
go through some persecution, there will be no real
shouting or rejoicing. I don't like this 'light business'
- of shouting or rejoicing at the 'drop of your hat.' If
there is any real shouting or rejoicing in the camp of the
saints, there has been a battle won. No battle won - no
real 'shout.' Since Jesus Christ came, the devil is the
'prince of this old world,' the 'prince of the power of
the air,' as scripture calls him. Now, in any country that
still has a king instead of a democracy (as we have), the
prince is next in command when the king is not there, But
when the king comes riding on a mule, then, the prince has
to step down.
I Peter
5:8 says he goes around as a roaring lion. He is not
devouring whosoever he will, or whosoever he wants to, for
there are some he can't devour. "Seeking whom he may
devour". When he 'knocks at the door,' just send
Jesus. He'll remember how Jesus won the battle with him
and walk away. The devil has no kingdoms to give. Maybe
you are saying, How do you know? In the Scripture, there
was a man on an island with legions of devils and bound by
Satan and when Jesus was here he made a trip across that
lake, and the only work He did there was to free that man,
and then, got in the boat and went back.
The man
came running trembling. He had jumped on people and tore
their clothes off, but when he saw the Son of God, he
trembled. This devil in this man, who had offered Jesus
the kingdoms of the world, is begging Jesus that he might
go into the pigs down the mountain. The fact is, that he
did not even own a pig, and had to ask permission to get
one. He had lied to man, and done a work in them and held
them 'under sway,' but Jesus Christ came that we might
know the truth about him and the truth will make you free.
God said
to the devil, "Have you considered my servant
Job?" The devil said yes, but he has a wall or fence
about him. Don't you know the devil cannot even tempt you,
unless he gets 'a pass' from God? It would be sad to
believe that God did something for Job, that He wouldn't
do for us. Why, He led captivity captive. Yes, there is
grace and victory for those who will be fruitful and stay
fruitful for God.
Christ
specified It the 2nd verse what He calls thorns: "He
also that receiveth the seed among thorns is he that
heareth the Word and the cares of this world and the
deceitfulness of riches choked the Word and he became
unfruitful.' In I John 2:15, He said: "Love not the
world, neither the things that are In the world, if any
man love the world the love of the'Father Is not in him.''
In Mark 4:19, He said: The cares of this world and the
deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things
enterlng In, choked the Word and It became unfruitful.
Christ mentions the care or love of this world and John,
In the second chapter tells us what It Is, and the next
thing He mentioned was the deceitfulness of riches, We
want to get to the root of this thing.
Jesus
called them thorns. The cares of this world, the
deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things are
symbolized by Christ as thorns. Why? They are entangling,
aggravating, agitating, Irritating. What? The cares of
this world. To those still hanging on to cares of this
world and the deceitfulness of riches and the lust of
other things…they are truly thorns in our experience.
Luke, 8th chapter, and that which fell among thorns are
they, which hear and go forth and are choked with cares
and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit
to perfection. There is deceitfulness in riches.
I have
spoken to more than one individual, before 'this,' when
situations came up. There was a chance of working out a
business…everything on the level; one brother with oil
wells and another brother in another situation said: pray
that God will help them to prosper and God knows He will
get His share. I said, "Brother, you had better pray
to God and ask Him if it's His will for You to have this;
for with the money, comes a spirit. I am a firm believer
in the fact that if we are wholeheartedly 'sold out to
God' and consecrated to Him, He will let us handle all the
money we are able. If we get any more, it will 'handle
us.' There is deceitfulness in riches. Men get drunk on
alcohol. There is a spirit that goes with it, that will
capsize you and make you come to the place where you can
not make a proper estimate of things, as you once did.
Let me
explain. Here's a man, who is working and not making very
big wages, and when a need comes up, he will give one
hundred dollars of his hard earned wages quicker than the
rich man. Why? They are not looking out of the same pair
of eyes, and a ten dollar bill looks bigger to the rich
man than a hundred dollars does to the poor man,
consecrated to God. Someone says, "Bro. Wilson, money
talks." Yes, but it never tells the truth. Proverbs
23:5 "Riches certainly make themselves wings, they
fly away as an eagle toward Heaven."
I have
seen people that did not have a thing when God got hold of
them. They were in such a situation that the Church helped
them to get a little furniture and keep food on the table.
We finally got the truth across to them of God's plan of
financing and they began to square up their business with
God, and after a time, God, true to His Word, put them on
their feet. They finally got everything paid up, fixed up
and a little in reserve. What happened then? They got a
different spirit. With a little money they had, they made
themselves wings. They 'no longer needed the Church as bad
as they once did.' They became more and more independent
of the 'moving of God.'
This is
happening all over our land, because God has blessed our
land with prosperity, and men are resting on the
prosperity of the land, instead of the blessing of God.
They become more and more independent of God and feel that
they can 'get along by themselves.' Prosperity is
deceitful and can get into our systems like alcohol and
craves more and more riches. It can be a dangerous thing
to have great possessions.
Cannot
God use a man with money? You may say, that He needs the
man with money because he has wherewith to do things. No,
he does not. Why not? Because God can get all the money He
needs without him, and in the end it will all be God's
anyhow. Someone may say, Well, He is not going to get any
of mine. I will leave it to my children, and they to
theirs etc., etc. Well, in the end it is still in the
possession of God. Let us seek first, the kingdom of God
and He will add these things unto us. It can be dangerous,
I repeat, to have great possessions
