The Only Heart that Receives the Gospel

Well, if you would, take your Bible, turn to Matthew chapter 13. Just have it turned there. We'll get to those verses in a moment. And I did say that we'll turn to John chapter one later on. We'll look at verse 12 and verse 13. Now, this morning is a special day in service for many reasons, I'll name two. First of all, we are celebrating baptism. Later on in the fellowship hall, we will celebrate and we will worship as one follows the Lord in believers baptism as seen in the scriptures.

And second of all, not only do we have someone being baptized but this one that is being baptized has been a longstanding church member in the life of our church. Most of you know who that is, that's Chris Travis. Chris shared his testimony a couple of weeks ago and he will share it again before someone is baptized in the life of our church. They always share their testimony of conversion. But in our message this morning, I wanna take us through the parable of the sower here in Matthew 13. And I will reference Luke's account. That's found in Luke chapter eight. And I will reference Mark's account. That's found in Mark chapter four.

And I'm going this direction in the message for several reasons. When someone who has been a long time church member and a leader in the church comes forward to say that they've been converted to Christ and they are in need of scriptural baptism, that always stirs up some questions. And that's good. That's good. And that is what we have here in Chris. He's been a faithful member of our church really since before I was pastor and I came to be pastor some 15 years ago. He has been a faithful member. He's been a strong servant and he's been a leader. Most of you know that during Deacon nominations, you as a church nominated him to be a Deacon.

And what I'm getting at is this. When someone like Chris comes forward to say that they were not a Christian all along and they've been converted to Christ again, that stirs up questions. Questions like, what does it mean to be a Christian? What does it mean to become a Christian? Can someone be a church member and even serve God for years and really not be a Christian? So as your pastor in light of these events, I strongly believe we need to look into the parable of the sower. The parable of the sower. I guess this would be within that series that I pick up sometimes called messages from the pastor's heart.

And in this parable, we will look at four different hearts of men. There are only four hearts. And we will see how those four different hearts react when they hear the call of the gospel to be saved. So there are four hearts, four reactions to the gospel, and there are two outcomes. There are only two outcomes. And this will help us see what it means to be a Bible Christian as opposed to a Christian in name only. And that is what Chris struggled with for years. And that is what so many struggle with in our day and time because of what we would call cultural Christianity.

Now before us in Matthew 13, we have what is commonly called the parable of the sower. Sometimes it is called the parable of the soils, the parable of the soils. But before we get into the verses, we have to answer a few short questions by way of context or background. Some of you know this information, but this will help you. This will help the ones who do not know. What is a parable is a question we need to answer. Why did Jesus teach in parables? That's a question we need to answer. And then what is the point of this parable? A parable is an earthly story which can happen in real life that is told as an illustration.

The story is meant to illustrate and explain spiritual truth. In Jesus' parables, those listening would have been familiar with the illustrations that he used. These were common everyday stories and illustrations that they would have related to. And the purpose of the parables may surprise you. I've touched on one. Jesus taught in parables to conceal truth from the rejecting Jews and the religious leaders of the day and to reveal truth to the believing disciples.

As Warren Wiersby says that and I'm quoting, these parables would give light to those with trusting searching hearts, but they would bring darkness to the unconcerned and unrepentant. And notice why it is important to see how the parables worked out in Jesus' day. First of all, we need to be like the disciples. Let me restate that. We need to make sure that we are like the disciples. We need the Holy Spirit of God to draw us in to teach us truth, his word, and the gospel. And in this case, this is truth pertaining to biblical salvation. And look, church, what we see here helps us better understand what is taking place in Christ's life.

And all of us should find ourselves in the parable. Let me restate that. All of us should find ourselves in the parable. And if you find that you were lost and in need of salvation, I call you to come to Christ and be saved. Second, we must accept that there are some here today that will reject this teaching. Some will hear this teaching and reject it. That's because they are lost and they want to stay lost. Instead of accepting the gospel and savingly believing in Christ, they hold on to their man-made religion. They love their sin more than Jesus. They love their sin more than the gospel. They love their sin more than biblical truth.

And look, sir, look, ma'am, if you are lost and this teaching shines the light of truth on your condition, if you were exposed in your heart and mind as a non-Christian, please do not. Please do not reject Christ in the gospel. I beg you not to do that. And the point of the parable. The parables in Matthew 13 are called kingdom parables and there are quite a few in the chapter. And the kingdom explained in Matthew 13 is the kingdom of the church age here on earth. So these parables reveal certain mysteries or secrets concerning the church and the church age.

They are called mysteries, they are called secrets because they were hidden to those Old Testament saints who were before Jesus. But the mysteries were revealed by Jesus through the disciples, they're revealed to us today. And in the case of this specific parable, the parable of the sower, it is all about the beginning of the kingdom. The parable of the sower explains how one becomes a part of the kingdom of God on earth, the church. And look, folks, there is no such thing as a true Christian that is not a part of the kingdom of God on earth, the church.

And some of you here, you are holding on to a kind of Christianity that says you never have to go to church and you never need to be an active member in a church. The idea that someone can say they are a true Christian and never be a part of the church is completely foreign to the scriptures. That form of Christianity is man made. It's really a lie. And when a person comes in and around a healthy church with a pastor that preaches the word of God in the gospel strongly and clearly in consistency, they come face to face with questions. Are you truly born again? Are you a Bible Christian? Or are you just a cultural Christian?

Because to be a part of a healthy church is to be a part of the kingdom of God on earth. And according to the scriptures, that is what a Christian is. Any other form of Christianity is false Christianity. So let's get started in the message. Number one, I want us to see the parable that was given. Number one, I want us to see the parable that was given. We see it in verses one to nine. Let's read the verses. That same day, Jesus went out of the house and he sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered around him so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables sang.

A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path. Some translations say road. And the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil. And immediately they sprang up since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns. And the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain. Some 100 fold, some 60, some 30.

And verse nine, "He who has an ear, let him hear." Now at the time that Jesus taught this parable, he was in a transition in his earthly ministry. Jesus had great crowds following him at this time. And the Jewish religious leaders were getting more and more hostile towards him. And here Jesus went out of the house, the text says. He sat by the seashore in a boat and he taught the great crowd. The text says many things in parables. Now in this parable, Jesus painted a picture that all in the crowd could have understood. We have farming, we have plowing the ground. We have a farmer with seeds, sewing those seeds in a field.

The scene that Jesus painted here in words was very common in their day. This was a real life story. No doubt those who were listening could imagine those things. But before we get into the parable, I want us to see where we should focus our attention as we try to understand what Jesus is teaching. We should zero in on the soil and the types of soils first, then the seed itself, then the sower of the seed, and then those birds of the air. Those birds of the air. Now let's examine the picture that Jesus paints here with words. First notice the seed and the hard-packed soil. The English Standard uses the word path.

The New American uses the word road. Now in their day, their land was covered with little fields and open areas for farming. And in between those fields and connecting the fields were roads or paths that the farmers would walk. And not only did the farmers walk these roads, travelers would also walk these paths as they traveled from place to place. And these paths were hard-packed from foot traffic, animal traffic, and obviously things like carts. And these paths were never tilled, they were never farmed, they were roads.

And in the story, Jesus said that some seed that the farmer sowed fell on the hard path and the birds of the air came and ate the seed. In Luke's account, he says the seeds were trampled underfoot and then the birds devoured the seeds. Second, notice the seed that fell in the rocky soil. The rocky soil. The New American, the Legacy Standard Bible says rocky places. The English Standard Bible says rocky ground. But this does not refer to soil that has a lot of rocks in the soil. Any loose rocks or debris would have been removed from these fields generations before. But this refers to a type of soil that was common in the region.

There were places that had a layer of very good soil, but just beneath the surface was a layer of rock. And this rock was below the reach of the plow. And in the parable, Jesus said that some seed fell on this rocky, shallow soil. And notice what happened, the seeds sprang up quickly. But since there was no depth to the soil, the sun scorched the plant and it died. The plant had no roots, so it couldn't take the heat of the sun, it died. Third, notice the seed and the thorny soil. Jesus says that this soil contains thorns. Now in their land, they had a type of rugged and very tough thorn bush.

And a farmer could plow and prepare the ground for planting, and it could seem to be very good ground. But if there were these thorn seeds in the ground when it was planted, the thorns would grow up and choke out the seeds the farmer had planted. The thorn bushes would take the moisture and the nutrients from the soil, therefore robbing the seed that was planted by the farmer. The thorn bushes would grow up very fast and crowd out the seed that was planted by taking all of the space, all of the sunlight that was needed for the grain to grow.

And in the parable, Jesus said that some seed fell in this thorny soil and the thorns grew up and choked out the seeds that were planted by the farmer. Fourth, notice the seed in the good soil. Here Jesus calls this good soil, the New American, the Legacy Bible. Legacy Standard Bible says the same thing. Now this soil would not have contained thorns or any other unwanted plant in the field. And this soil would have had adequate depth for the seeds to take root and grow. This soil would have been plowed, it would have been furrowed, it would have been prepared in every way for planting.

And in the story, Jesus said the seed was sown and it took root and produced a crop. It was fruitful because the soil was good. It was favorable so that the seed could germinate, it could grow and grow to maturity and become fruitful. And notice the result. It produced a crop, some 100, some 60, and some 30-fold. One interesting note here. I think I ran across this in my study from some John MacArthur material. But in their land and in their time, an average ratio of harvested grain seeds to those that were planted was said to have been less than eight to one. A 10-fold crop would have been well above average. Well above average.

And the point here is this. The fruitfulness that Jesus was speaking of in the parable was wonderful. He is speaking of a phenomenal fruitfulness. So we have a farmer or a sower of seeds who is sowing seeds and those seeds fell on four types of soil. I do believe it's easy for us to understand what we have here, even if we have no knowledge of farming of any kind. But before we move on, we need to see how Jesus finishes this section in his teaching. I read it earlier, the last verse, verse nine. He says, "He who has ears, let him hear." Notice that? He says, "He who has ears, let him hear." Basically, this is what Jesus was saying.

If you can understand this parable, then understand it all the way. Make sure you grasp it. Gain the understanding of this teaching if you can and truly grasp its implications and how it applies to you in your day. He was saying, if you understand it, then fully understand it and apply it to your life and to the lives of those around you in your day. And look, folks, if you can understand what Jesus is teaching here, I beg you to receive it no matter the implications, no matter the consequences. If through this teaching this morning, you see that you are not a Bible Christian, please, please do not walk away.

Please come to Christ and be saved. Become a Bible Christian. Let go of the form of Christianity that you are clinging to. And if you see that someone in your family or someone is close to you and they are on the wrong side of this teaching, go to them and urge them to come to Christ and be saved. Point out to them that they are not a Bible Christian. I'm so very thankful that so many years ago, when someone saw that I was lost and I needed Christ and I had this weak form of cultural Christianity, they called me to be saved. They knew that I needed the gospel. I was a hard-hearted hearer of the gospel.

I was a hard-hearted hearer of the gospel. In the first two times I heard the gospel, I rejected, I rejected vehemently, angrily, but in time, God made my heart a good heart that could receive the gospel and be saved. Next. Number two, the parable and its purpose. Number two, the parable and its purpose. Let's read verses 10 to 16. "Then the disciples came and said to him," that's Jesus, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" "And he answered to them, "To you it has been given "to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, "but to them it has not been given. "For to the one who has, more will be given, "and he will have an abundance.

"But from the one who has not, "even what he has will be taken away. "This is why I speak to them in parables, "because seeing, they do not see, "and hearing, they do not hear, "nor do they understand. "Indeed, in their case, "the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says, "You will indeed hear, but never understand. "You will indeed see, but never perceive. "For this people's heart has grown dull, "and with their ears they can barely hear, "and their eyes they have closed.

"Lest they should see with their eyes "and hear with their ears, "and understand with their heart, "and turn, and I would heal them." Verse 16, "But blessed are your eyes, "for they see, and your ears, for they hear." Now verse 11 tells us that Jesus was revealing the secrets of the kingdom of heaven to his disciples now, but in verses 12 to 15, Jesus tells us he was concealing the secrets of the kingdom of heaven from the Jewish leaders, really the entire nation of Israel. But let me pause here, because there are a few things we must understand.

We must see that Jesus was revealing to his disciples the once hidden secrets about the church and the church age. These are things the Old Testament saints never knew, and here in this parable, Jesus was revealing how the church age begins. So the purpose of this specific parable was to reveal the beginning of the kingdom to these disciples, his believers, his followers, and this describes how one gets into the kingdom, how one gets into the church, how one becomes a Christian. A few questions here I want you to think about honestly. Do we want to know how one truly gets into the church?

Truly, as opposed to what man says, or what culture says, or what family says? Let's think about that now. Do we really want to know how one truly gets into the church as opposed to what a man may say, or culture says, or maybe what your own family says? And if you discovered you are wrong in your understanding of what it means to truly become a Christian, therefore getting into the church, would you change? Chris Travis did. Chris Travis did. My wife did. Even after I was in ministry, my wife came to faith in Christ. She was raised in the church, had made many decisions for Christ.

But some 27 or 28 years ago, she stood up and said, I'm not converted. I'm wrong, I need to be saved. And look, you may have been wrong your entire life, your entire life, trusting in something you have believed that you thought would make you a Christian, and this morning you may see that you are horribly mistaken, horribly mistaken. Next, number three, I want us to see the parable was explained. The parable was explained. Verses 18 to 23. Let's read the verses. Jesus says, "Hear then the parable of the sower.

When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. That is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on the rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. Yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. And for what was sown among the 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.

As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit in yields, in one case 100 fold, in another 60, and in another 30. Now we finally get to what this parable means. And this is critical, and I'm thankful our Lord explains these things. In private, Jesus explained to his 12 disciples and those other followers what this meant. And notice something that we see here, two observations. This is big picture now. First, Jesus was drawing his disciples and other believers to himself to teach them these once hidden secrets about the kingdom of God, the church.

And second, we see the spiritual curiosity of these true believers that is at work, but this did not come from within. Because of a work of the Holy Spirit of God drawing them, they were seeking to understand the meaning of these things. This work never could have happened from within them. The Spirit of God did this work. But before we get into Jesus' explanation, we need to know what the sower, the seed, the soil, even the birds represent. Remember now, all of these things are meant to illustrate and teach. So first, the sower. Now, Jesus does not say who the sower is in this parable.

Later in the parable of the wheat and the weeds or the wheat and the tares, he says the one who sows the good seed is the son of man. But we will see that the sower represents any person who sows the seed. Second, the seed. Now, Matthew does not tell us, but in Luke's account, he tells us that the seed is identified as the word of God. But we will see that this seed is actually something more specific. This seed is the message of the gospel that has the power to save the sinner and bring them into the church, spiritually speaking. Third, the soil.

The different soils represent the different hearts of those who have the seed sown in their heart. The soils represent the different hearts that hear the gospel message that has the power to save. And you know, folks, I thought about it last night. I have been doing this for years. I've been a sower of gospel seeds for years in this church and all the churches I've served. Since God saved me and since God called me into the ministry, I've been sowing the seeds of God's word, sowing the seeds of the gospel for years. That's my job or part of it. Now, with that in mind, let's look at Jesus explanation of the parable.

This is all gonna come together now. First, we have the unresponsive hearer or the hard-hearted hearer. He explains that in verse 19. This is the person who hears the gospel and they do not understand it. But the reason they do not understand it is not a problem with the gospel seed, nor is it a problem with God. The problem is with their heart. Their heart is hardened and completely indifferent to spiritual things, even the gospel. Their sin nature, their sinfulness, their pride, their rebellion against God and the things of God, evil in their evil ways. All these things have made their heart hard and impervious to the gospel.

Now, notice what happens now, two things. First, the gospel seed does not penetrate the heart. Second, the seed is taken away by the birds of the air. The text is clear. But what are these birds? Who is the evil one that snatches this seed? The birds are any people. This is any idea. This is any excuse. This is any reason for rejecting the truth and the gospel. You need to see that. The birds here are any people, any person, any teaching, any idea, any excuse, any reason for rejecting the truth and the gospel. Listen close to a few questions. This will help you. Can a person pervert the message of the gospel?

Yes, false teachers do it all the time. Can a false teacher or false teaching pervert the message of the gospel? Yes, they do it all the time. Can a person give excuses and reasons for rejecting the gospel and hold on to sin and sinfulness, even false manmade religion? Sure, people do it every day. Can someone interfere with someone when they hear the gospel message? Therefore, the gospel seed is perverted. It's even stolen away. Yes. Listen folks, there are two enemies of the gospel here. First, the birds of the air or the evil one. Second, the hard, evil heart of the one hearing the gospel.

So we have the hard hearted, the unresponsive hearer. Because of their lostness, their sin, and their utter sinfulness, the gospel seed takes no root. So it is taken away by the evil one, and that can happen in a whole host of ways, even using all kinds of people. And look, in my experience, some of the biggest birds that snatch away gospel seeds are family. I've seen moms and dads. When young people come and say, I believe God's dealing with me, I believe I need to be saved, I believe I'm lost, I've seen moms and dads steal those gospel seeds, steal those gospel seeds. Say, no, I remember when you prayed that prayer.

I remember when you cried big crocodile tears. Second, we have the superficial hearer or the shallow heart, verse 20 to 21. This is the person who hears the gospel. They respond immediately with joy. And as we will see, they receive it in their emotions. But this person gives a very quick response to the gospel, and they do so with great, great emotion, which is the complete opposite of the hard hearted here before. But notice what happens. They fall away. They immediately fall away because of one thing, the affliction or persecution, not from the world, but from the word of God. Let me restate that.

They fall away because of affliction or persecution, not from the world, but from the word of God. Now, what in the world does this mean? Can the word of God persecute? Can the word of God persecute? This is what takes place. As it is seen in the scriptures, the cost of true discipleship and following Christ Jesus in salvation is too high. The on ramp onto the road of true Christianity is just too high of a price to pay. God's standards for the true Christian life is just too hard. So the word and God's standards about what salvation and Christianity truly is persecutes them and they fall away, they just walk away.

And this phrase here, walk away is a key phrase. It means to fall, it means to stumble and it can be understood as causing an offense. The picture here is of a shallow hearted professing Christian who was offended by the word of God and by the gospel. The true cost of true Christianity is an offense to them. They stumble over it, they refuse it and they fall away. Now a question, is this person a true Christian? No. Although this person seems to embrace Christ in Christianity, oh, they have great emotions, they have no root, they are shallow, they are superficial, they are false.

And when the standard of true Christianity is presented to them through the proper teaching and preaching of the word, they are offended, they are angered, they stumble, they fall away. And look, church, our culture today is full of these types of people because so many people have preached an emotional gospel and call people to make some cheap decision for Christ only in their emotions. There's no cost. Horrible emotional revival meetings, all these horrible emotional alter calls events like heaven's gates and hell's flames. Oh, especially these children's events. Now a child can be saved, yes.

But I could take a room full of children and ask them if they wanna go to heaven and every one of them will raise their hand and I can get them to pray a prayer right after me. Sometimes crying, shedding tears. Our culture is full of people just like this. Third, the worldly here of the strangled heart, verse 22. This is the person who hears the gospel and they respond to the gospel invitation too. This person hears in response to what seems in what seems to be a positive way, but theirs is a different result than the one before. They do not seem to fall away quickly. They simply become unfruitful.

The Bible scholar Richard Trench says, and I'm quoting him, in this case, the profession of the spiritual life is retained, but the power of religion, that would be true Christianity, is by degrees eaten out. Now notice what happens here. There are two obstacles to the gospel truly taking root in the life and becoming fruitful, thus producing a true Bible Christian. First, the cares and the worries of the world. Second, the deceitfulness of riches or wealth. This is speaking of and describing a heart that loves the world and the riches of the world, so much so they will not repent.

There is no genuine repentance and turning away from the world and what the world can offer. Well, a question, is this person a Christian? No. Although they do seem to trust Christ and they do not seem to fall away quickly, the gospel seed is choked out by sin. Their love of the world, their love of worldly living and the desires for what the world has to offer, including sin, choke it out, thus producing a strangled heart. In the end, this reveals a worldly heart, not a biblical fruit-bearing Christian heart. Think about these questions.

How many in our families and all around us now have made some kind of a decision for Christ and maybe they were active in church for a little while, but that all got choked out by sin and living in the world and now they don't even look like they ever went to church. And our culture is full of these types of people, full, because so many have preached a costless Christianity. And look, some of you have been victims of this kind of a devilish gospel, a costless gospel. Fourth, the receptive here are the open heart. We see this in verse 23.

Now, this is the person, they hear the gospel, they come to understand the gospel and all of the implications of the gospel and they receive the gospel truly and fully. So the gospel bears fruit in the life and there is a tremendous fruitfulness in the life. Question, what is the difference in all of these hearts? Because the soils illustrate now four types of human heart. There is a difference and the difference comes from a work and a preparation which lead to the condition. This good heart has been prepared.

We can say it's been worked by the Spirit of God and the work of the Word of God and a work of the gospel in the heart and life, you see? And there's one more detail that we must see here. This is life and death if we're going to understand the good heart. How can this heart be made good? If you know your Bible, you know we have a seeming contradiction here. How can this heart now be made good? Because the scriptures tell us man is not good. Romans chapter three and many of the scriptures tell us that man's heart is utterly sinful. Some use the language of totally depraved. I prefer utterly sinful. We could say hopelessly sinful.

Simply man is utterly sinful which means he or she is completely incapable of coming to God on his own. Romans three tells us that man cannot even understand God. God's ways, nor can a man seek God. So we must ask how can a person that is utterly sinful have a good heart? Ultimately this takes place by the power of the gospel, Romans 17, and the regenerating, life-giving work of the Holy Spirit, John chapter three. God, through the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit and the power of the gospel to save, changes the heart and makes it good. So here I'm not asking if this person is saved, I'm asking which of the four is truly saved.

It's only the last one. It's only the last one. Now this is where I want you to turn over to John one. And I want you to see that John is really saying the same thing, verse 12 and 13. John one, 12 to 13, I give you some time 'cause I want you to put your eyes on the verses. John says, but to all, who is all, all, any and all. But to all who did receive him, that savingly receiving Christ, and all who believed in his name, that savingly believing in the name of Jesus, he, that's God, gave the right to become children of God. Paul's right there. That's a Bible Christian now. That's a Bible Christian, you see that?

Go back to the verse, put your eyes on it. But to all, anybody all, who did receive him savingly, who believed in his name savingly, he, that's God, gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood. You can't inherit Christianity. You can't inherit the new birth. Who were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh. You can't do this in your flesh on your own. Who were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man. A man can't do this for you. Now go back to the top.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. And the point that needs to be seen here is this. Only the good hearted here is the true Bible Christian. They have a receptive heart to the gospel. They have an open heart to the gospel. And that is because they have been given a good heart by and through a work of the spirit, using the word of God and the gospel to bring about the new birth. This comes from God. So the parable is explained.

Jesus explains that there are four types of human hearts that hear the gospel. There are four responses, but only two outcomes. Three are lost. They are not Christian. Only one is a true Bible Christian. That is the seed that falls on the good soil that produces fruit. Look folks, listen close. There is no such thing as a Bible Christian that is fruitless. That's manmade, comes right out of hell. There's no such thing as a Bible Christian that is fruitless. Now as I close, I want to close where I started. Chris Travis is here this morning sharing his conversion testimony and following the Lord and believer's baptism.

You see folks, baptism comes after conversion, not before. And he will tell you that he was the thorny hearted here of the gospel. He attempted to receive the gospel, but he held on to sin, sinfulness in the world, and that seed was choked out in time. But notice how good God is now. God, by his good grace and providence, kept him in the life of the church and through years of being under the preaching of God's word in the gospel, and by the powerful working of the Holy Spirit, he was given a good heart so that he could receive the gospel and be saved. And the parable of the sower illustrates Chris's life and testimony. It illustrates mine.

Now notice one more thing before I close. There's only two sides here, folks. There's only two sides. Which side of the parable are you on? I rejoice. I was a hard hearted here. God saved me. God gave me the new heart and I was saved. But some of you have never had a good heart. You might be a hard hearted here. You might be that emotional here. You might be that thorny hearted here. There's only one of two sides that you're on. And if you're on the wrong side, please come to faith. Please come to faith. Oh, but those of us who have been born again, by God's grace, we've just been rejoicing and praising God all along, all along.

Now the title of the message, this is all about the beginning of the kingdom, the only heart that receives the gospel. I'll shorten the title by saying it like this. This is all about the only heart that receives the gospel. The only heart that receives the gospel.