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Parable of the Sower #2 Mt 13:20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. We have studied the receiving of the Gospel by the wayside, which is when Satan comes and catches it away. Many have heard the Gospel this way, and the Devil has had a great victory over the lives of many who hear and receive the word temporarily, and then Satan snatches it away through the wantonness of the world and the lusts of life. Here we have the Gospel being sown or preached, and the recipient endures the Gospel for a while, but when tribulation and persecution comes, he is offended and goes away from the Gospel. This is the Gospel sown on stony places. I. THEY HEAR THE WORD Perhaps this is a person who has gone to church all of his life and has heard the Gospel many time. He takes it to himself as a customary manner of life, perhaps because his mother and father or his friends have taken it. He is not offended at the message, because the hearing of the word of God is customary in his life, and all of his friends go to church and hear the Gospel all the time. Everyone, of course, must hear the word of God, the Gospel, before he can be saved; and it is good that children grow up in church hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. No child should be kept away from the preaching of the Gospel, yet many parents keep their children away from the Gospel on a regular basis, parents who have heard the Gospel since they were children perhaps, but now they are grown and feel that the Gospel is no longer necessary for them. Perhaps these have heard the Gospel by the wayside. II. AND ANON WITH JOY RECEIVETH IT The word ANON means "quickly or immediately." They are not shy about receiving the word of God, and they respond to it, many times because their friends at a certain age feel the pressure from family, friends, or even the pastor to "walk the isle." Sometimes they wait for revival time, and then they walk the isle together in great numbers. They are not afraid but respond quickly, because they are pressured to do so. They receive the Gospel in their minds and logically, which is partly wonderful; but without the new birth, they have not accomplished anything concerning their eternal salvation. I know many people who joyfully received the word of God when they were young, and now they are out of church. The only thing they can remember about their Christian experience is the day they were saved, who was there, what the preacher preached on, and how wonderful things were them. They have no current experiences to talk about, because they have long disappeared from the church and from God’s service. Do you know anyone like that? III. HE DURETH FOR A WHILE These people never last. They are out and in like toast in the toaster. They go in, get really hot in God’s service, then they pop out and cool off very quickly. Salvation that "dureth for a while" is not worth the butter on your bread. John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, [then] are ye my disciples indeed; 2 Tim. 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; If you have been saved as a child, it does not matter if your mother and father both stop going to church or serving the Lord, you should endure unto the end. You will have no assurance of your salvation unless you continue to serve the Lord through your entire life. The temptation will come for you to get into the world and to enjoy the things of the world. You will have friends who will try to lead you into worldly things, but you need to just continue to serve the Lord. You may have hobbies and enjoy some games and the like, but you must, along with that, continue to be faithful to serving the Lord and believing and trusting him for every part of your life. IV. TRIBULATION & PERSECUTION ARISE Tribulation Persecution When tribulation and persecution arise, a true Christian and a faithful Christian will remain strong. Believers may be scattered, but they will continue to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. V. THEY ARE OFFENDED The Greek word for "offended" is SKANDALIZO , which is where we get our word scandal.The word in the Greek literally means "to entice to sin, to cause to fall away, to put a stumbling block in the way." These who received the word of God joyfully and quickly soon fall away or at least eventually fall away. They turn away from the word, and they consider the word of God a stumbling block just as many of our educators and scientists do today. They apostatize, or turn away from the truth and believe a lie. If you can do this, then you were not genuinely saved; you did not really receive the word of God spiritually; you were never really born again. John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; That Comforter will continually live with you and bring you into remembrance of the things you experienced when you are saved. He will continually give you comfort and joy of your salvation, even in times of tribulation and persecution. Are you genuinely saved today? Will your salvation last forever? Will you continue in the service of the Lord? If you can fall away, if you can turn your back on the word of God, if you can repel the wonderful blessings of serving the living God, then you have never been born again. You do not have everlasting life abiding in you. Remember John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, [then] are ye my disciples indeed; Is it easy to just walk away form the Lord. The disciples all walked away, but they all came back. If you are truly saved, and you have fallen back into the world, come back, just as the disciples did. They could not leave him for good; they had to be a part of the ministry of Jesus. How about you today?
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