SERMON OUTLINE

The Preoccupied Heart

Matthew 13.7, 22

Unfruitful Believer or Unbeliever??

-Choked and becomes unfruitful/does not mature. Titus 3.14; 1 Peter 1.5-8; unproductive.

-NT examples 1 Corinthians 3.1-3 and Hebrews 5.11-6.1

-Immaturity is rebuked and maturity is expected

-John 15 says the branch with no fruit if cut off and fruit is the proof of being a disciple.

The Word is Choked

-Choked = to compress, to crush. Luke 8.42, 33

-What chokes the Word just comes in; They are choked as they go on their way

1) The anxiety of the age/The cares of this life. Anxiety over food, drink and clothes. Matthew 6. Today anxiety is over keeping up with false expectations

2) The deceit of riches. False security in money. False basis for happiness. 1 Timothy 6.6-10.

3) The desire for other things. Pursuit of pleasure as the main purpose in life and as a substitute for God.

Conclusion

The Word of God is heard but only responded to when convenient. Focus continues on this world. The Word of God is not allowed to examine or direct the life. The heart is not surrendered nor is the mind transformed. The Grace of God is required but must also be obeyed.

SERMON NOTES

Parables (4) The Preoccupied Heart (Matthew 13.7; 22)

Matthew 13.1-9, 18-23; Mark 4.1-9, 14-20; Luke 8.4-8, 11-15

-I have always had trouble deciding if the person described in this part of the parable is an unfruitful believer or a person who appears at first to be a believer but is not a believer. Both Matthew and Mark tell us that in this person the Word of God is choked and becomes unfruitful. Luke says that he is choked and does not mature (literally “does not bear to maturity”). I am still leaning toward seeing the people in this group as Christians who are so influenced by and connected to the world that they show little spiritual fruit or Christ-like character in response to the Word of God they have received.

-I looked up the Greek word translated as “unfruitful” in Matthew and Mark and the dictionary said, “Metaphorically, not yielding what it ought to yield”. This word is used four other times in the NT. In Titus 3.14 we read, “Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives”. Here the translators use the word “unproductive” instead of “unfruitful”. A Christian’s life is to be productive and fruitful. In order for our Christian lives to be fruitful we need to make choices and to put effort into living out those choices.

-The use of this word in 2 Peter 1.8 is closest to its usage in this parable. In 2 Peter 1.5-7, Peter gives a list of virtues we are to “make every effort to add to our faith”. Then Peter writes in verse 8, “For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Our knowledge of Jesus Christ must become life qualities or the knowledge we possess will become ineffective, unproductive, unfruitful, of no value to God or to us. There must be an application of the Word to life in order to produce the fruit intended by the Word of God. [Also used in Ephesians 5.11 and 1 Corinthians 14.14]

-The Greek word used in Luke means, “to bring to maturity or perfection”. It is used of fruit maturing and of pregnant women and animals bringing their young to full term. In other words what the parable is teaching us is that the intended purpose of the Word of God is not fulfilled because something interferes with the perfecting or maturing process.

-I think a case can be made that these people are Christians because some growth takes place (Luke 8.7) but because of the interference of other things there is no maturity in their faith and they are not fruitful in the Kingdom of God.

-We are given examples of this type of Christian in the NT. In 1 Corinthians 3.1-3 Paul writes, “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly – mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly?” These were brothers but they were so influenced by the world that Paul could only teach them the simplest of spiritual truths. They were still worldly.

-In Hebrews 5.11-6.1 we read, “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity”.

-Notice how in both of these cases immaturity is rebuked as a condition that should not exist. Spiritual maturity is the expected result of the work of the Word of God in our lives.

-As an argument that those mentioned in this part of the parable are not Christians we have John 15. Here Jesus says that the Father cuts off every branch that bears no fruit and only those branches that remain in him bear fruit. He also says that it is by the fruit that we bear that we show that we are disciples of Jesus. So fruitfulness is what the Word of God is expected to produce in the Christian and fruit is what we should expect to see in a Christian. The possibility exists that this group is no different than the second group where the growth is quick and evident but they quickly fall away, not producing any fruit. In this case they do not fall away but they are smothered by other things and do not produce any fruit.

-Now let’s examine the parable more closely. All three Gospels tell us that these people hear the Word of God but that the Word is choked and does not bear fruit or produce maturity. The word used for choke means to compress, to crush. In Luke 8.42 this same word is used to describe the crowds crushing Jesus as he makes his way to heal Jairus’ daughter. In Luke 8.33 this word is used to describe the demon-possessed pigs drowning (literally choked) in the lake. The picture Jesus is painting is that certain things compress and crush and suffocate the Word of God so it does not have a chance to grow and bear fruit or bring transformation to the hearer.

-Both Luke and Mark add something else to this picture for us. Mark tells us that these things which prevent the growth of the Word of God “come in and choke the Word”. Luke says, “as they go on their way they are choked”. The things that end up choking the Word of God in this person’s life are not deliberately chosen but are simply allowed to come in as the person goes on with their life. These influences are already in the life and are allowed to remain in the life. There is no examination of the life in the light of the Word of God. The Word of God is heard and responded to but not allowed authority to rule the choices of life. When the things that choke the Word of God come in as they go on their way, they prevent the seed of the Word of God from growing to maturity. There is a preoccupation with the everyday flow of life that presses out the Word of God and does not allow the Word of God to bring fruitfulness.

-What are these things that choke the Word of God? 1) The first thing mentioned by Matthew is “the worries of this life”. Literally this is “the anxiety of the age”. Mark says “the cares of the age”. Luke says “the cares of life”. Jesus described the anxieties of this age in Matthew 6 as worry over food and drink, and clothing, the everyday necessities of life. Jesus said that we should not be anxious over food and drink and clothing but should trust our heavenly Father to provide all these necessities. Trusting God for the necessities of life was not easy in the days of Jesus. Work was on a day to day basis and there was no Ontario works or Employment insurance to fall back on. Survival was a real worry. Jesus says trust me with providing for the essentials of your life and do not be anxious like the rest of the world is anxious.

-Today we have a different problem. We do not worry about daily survival. Our anxiety comes because we have allowed the society we live in to exaggerate our expectations. Society expects us to live up to a certain standard defined by advertising. We have designer labels, sexy cars, the size and shape of our body, the latest technologies and modern conveniences, and the décor of our homes. I heard someone say about a month ago that they looked at a house that was for sale and it was in great shape but very dated. I have been thinking about that statement every since. The house is “dated”. Does that mean it is unsafe to live in? Does that mean that the furnace does not work and the roof leaks? Does that mean that the cupboards are falling of the wall? No! It means that the décor is not up to the latest colors, styles and patterns determined by society and the experts on TV. The house decor is not appealing and pleasing to our senses. Heaven forbid that our neighbors would look down on us as living in a “dated” house. How embarrassing to have “dated” clothes and “dated” shoes and a “dated” car. Trying to keep up with the exaggerated expectations of society produces the anxiety of this age. It is hard for us to give up these societal expectations and follow Jesus first. Jesus called his followers not to be followers of the age but rather to seek first the kingdom of God and let God set their expectations and not the world around them. Being sucked in by the anxiety of this age crushes the work of the Word of God in us.

2) The next thing Matthew and Mark mention is “the deceit of riches”. Luke just says “riches”. Money provides security, but money is a false security that does not trust God. Thinking that money brings happiness is a deception and a lie. The pursuit of money crushes the work of the Word of God in our lives. The NT says that as Christians we are to be content with food and clothing, which also includes basic housing (1 Timothy 6.6-10). Our expectation for food and clothing and housing should not be dictated by the fashions and expectations of society but by what fulfills the need and is within our budget. The pursuit and the possession of riches can easily deceive us and turn us away from dependence on God and the pursuit of the Word of God.

3) Finally Mark mentions “the desire for other things”. Luke mentions, “the pleasures of life”. Some have the idea that the Christian life is to be drab and long-faced and without pleasure. Luke says that the pleasures of life choke the Word of God. The problem is not the pleasures of life but making the pleasures of life the main purpose of life. Mark says the desire is for other things. The desire in not for God and the Word of God and the kingdom of God and the Glory of God. Pleasure and other things become a substitute for God. The pleasures of this life are to be pleasures filled with gratitude as gifts from God. What crushes the Word of God and prevents it from bringing fruit and maturity is a heart that is committed to the pursuit of the things and pleasures of this world. The pursuit of other things and pleasures so consume the mind and the heart and the energies that the Word of God has nothing left to grow with.

-Let me summarize what is taking place in the heart of this person. The Word of God is heard and responded to when it is convenient, but the person hearing the Word of God continues to focus on the things of this world, of this age, and does not change his life in consideration of the age to come. This person does not let the Word of God control the choices and direction of their life, they do not let the Word of God examine their life, but continue on in their worldly perspective. The heart is not surrendered to God but to the world, and the mind is not transformed by the Word of God but continues to be conformed to this world.

-As I watch the Word of God work in people I see the four responses mentioned in this parable. 1) There are those who do not want anything to do with Jesus or the Word of God. They are too sophisticated for Jesus and have another kind of superior spirituality which satisfies them or they do not want anything to do with religion. 2) There are those who immediately respond to the Gospel and then just as quickly fall down and quit because they are responding in the flesh, emotionally, and do not understand the call of the Gospel and are offended by persecution. This is a conversion of the flesh and not of the Spirit. 3) Then there are those we have looked at today. They hear the Word of God and make Christianity a part of their life but never show a great passion for the things of God, and never seem to catch fire. Their life is filled with excuses on why they can’t attend or get involved or serve God with a full heart. They love the pleasures and pursuits of the world, money is an important pursuit, and what they seek is the blessings and gifts of God and not the Glory of God. They are always on the fringe and never seem to produce any spiritual fruit. If the worldliness described in these verses persists in a professing Christian his salvation should be called into question. Over time they should either drop their Christian profession or repent of their worldliness and pursue the things of God. The Word of God expects transformation.

4) Then finally are those whose lives are turned upside down when they encounter God through His Word. They understand what God is calling them to, they completely give their lives to God, their lives change and bear fruit, and God uses them for His Glory.

-In each person, God must give Grace to respond to His Word. That is why we pray for God to work. But each person must also choose to respond to the Word of God by turning from sin and from the world and from his own flesh in the power of the Grace of God. Let us seek God for His Grace and be obedient that we may be fruitful believers.