Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications

Did You Lose Something?

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2013-02-10

Synopsis: In this sermon, John Weaver introduces a four-part series on the Parable of the Sower, focusing on the wayside hearer from Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8. He explains that Satan actively steals the Word of God from hearts that are hard and unprepared, emphasizing the need for hearers to value, understand, and retain the Word. The message warns against negligence and distraction, urging believers to prepare their hearts and be doers of the Word, not forgetful hearers.

[John Weaver] I want to begin a message today that is actually four parts. So you will understand as I read the scripture just momentarily. So the message is going to be four distinct messages based upon Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8. And the title of the message today is just simply, Did You Lose Something? So if you look in Mark chapter 4 and verse 15, In fact, let's read verse 14.

[John Weaver] Our Lord says the source of the word and these are they by the wayside where the word is sown. But when they have heard Satan cometh immediately and taken away the word that was sown in their hearts. Each one of us have lost something from time to time. In fact, we may lose articles and do not even realize it. Articles sometimes slip from our fingers and disappear in to oblivion. Years ago, Alice lost a watch that I'd given her, and she has no idea, no clue this day to where that watch went.

[John Weaver] She had it with her. It was in the automobile. Then it was gone, and it was never ever found. It just simply disappeared. Occasionally, it's something of value that we lose, and we really regret losing it. There are other times When we may value something very greatly, but it's not necessarily lost, it's just stolen from us. And have you ever stopped to think that when you do not use articles frequently, and they are stolen, it sometimes takes a great deal of time to figure out that it has really gone missing. And then, of course, when it does go missing, you wonder, did I lose it or was it really stolen? I'm sure that you remember the woman in Luke chapter 15 that lost a silver coin.

[John Weaver] Our Lord said it like this in verses 8 and 9. He said, either what woman having 10 pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, does not light a candle and sweep the house and sleep diligently till she find it. And when she has found it, She called her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the peace which I had lost. So obviously, here's a woman that had lost a piece of silver.

[John Weaver] It was something extremely valuable. And the fact she literally lit a candle and swept the house until she did, in reality, find it. It is one thing to lose something that is insignificant or even something of value that could be eventually replaced. However, to lose something or to have something stolen that can never, ever be replaced is exceedingly painful and at times very, very costly. So I want you to look in Mark 4 and verse 15 at this particular statement again.

[John Weaver] Our Lord says, And these are they by the wayside, watch carefully, where the word is sown. But when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately. and taken away the word that was sown in their hearts. Now, I want to call your attention, first of all, in verse 15, our Lord says, Satan cometh. The word Satan means adversary. He is the arch enemy. We're told in 1 Peter 5 and verse 8, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. So here he is called Satan. Notice, if you would, in Mark chapter 13, I'm sorry, Matthew 13 and verse 19. Matthew 13 and verse 19. Because here is another term that relates to the evil one, Matthew 13, verse 19, when anyone hears the word of the kingdom and understand that not. Then come at the wicked one and catch his way that which was sown in his heart. This is he who receives seed by the wayside. But notice if you would, Satan in this passage is just simply referred to as the wicked one, which literally means the evil one or the one who is evil consummately.

[John Weaver] So he is here called the evil one or the wicked one. If you would look in the book of Luke chapter 8 and verse 12. You'll find another name that is used here. Luke 8 and verse 12. Our Lord says this. Those by the wayside, or they that hear, then come of the devil, and take away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. So here the word is devil, and the word devil refers to the accuser or the slanderer.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to put these together for you. I want you to watch this. In Mark 4 and verse 15, scripture says Satan takes away the word. In Matthew 13 in verse 19. The wicked one catches away the word and in Luke 8 and verse 12, the devil take it away the word. Now I want to give you two thoughts. First of all, in Mark 4 in verse 15, the passage that we read and in Luke 8 and verse 12, when the Bible says he takes away the word. The Greek term for takes away literally means to lift up, to carry away, and to take away. So it's as if something is lifted up from you and it's taken from you, just like a pickpocket will come along and take your valuable out of your pocket. However, When you get to Matthew chapter 13 in verse 19, there's a totally different word that is used. It's the Greek word herpazo, which, listen, it means to seize, to snatch away, to carry off by force and to claim for oneself eagerly.

[John Weaver] So in this passage, it's more like a mugger. or a robber, someone who knocks you over the head, steals your possession, and then leaves. So it means literally to take away by force.

[John Weaver] Now, it doesn't matter if you look in Matthew 13, Mark 4, or Luke 8. Let me tell you something. When the Bible says either the Satan or the devil or the wicked one takes away or catches away It is a present active indicative.

[John Weaver] Now, let me explain that. All it means is that something is happening in the present time and it continues to happen. In other words, the present tense of the Greek verb denotes continuous action or action in progress. It is something that is happening now. And the mood or the mode just simply indicates the reality of the action. In other words, it is really, truly happening.

[John Weaver] Now the interesting thing in Matthew 13 and Mark 4 and Luke 8, in each instance, it's Satan who catches away or takes away the Word of God. I want you to turn in your Bibles, whole Mark 4, but turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 2, if you would, and look at verse 1. Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 1. In this passage, Hebrews 2 and verse 1, there's a warning. Look at this warning very carefully.

[John Weaver] Therefore, we ought to give them more earnest heed to the things which we have heard. Lest at any time we should let them slip. Now, what's that warning? Therefore, we ought to give them more earnest heed to the things which we have heard. And he's talking about the word of God. Lest at any time we should let them slip. Now the word slip literally means to flow by, to flow over, to fall or to flow away. It's much like being compared to a river as the water just simply flows by you and it flows away from you. It glides away. It escapes from you. It's much like as a thief does in stealth.

[John Weaver] Each one of us Has used the expression. It slipped from my mind. I forgot it. Have you ever wondered why things slip from our minds? The answer is this. Because we do not dwell upon them. We do not concentrate upon them. We not do not think about them regularly or continually or often enough. And they just simply glide away. And that's the warning that is given to us in verse one. Therefore, we ought to give them more earnest heed to the things which we've heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.

[John Weaver] Now, I have read from Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8 that Satan catches away or takes away the Word of God from us. So here's an important question and one that you should ask yourself. How does Satan take away or steal the Word of God from us? How does he steal it? Well, in order to answer that question, you have to know something about the parable of the sower. So I want you to look in your Bibles to Mark chapter four. Look, if you would please, at verse 13. I want you to see the importance of this parable of the sower. In Mark chapter four and verse 13, our Lord said this, and he's speaking to his disciples. And he said to them, no, you're not this parable. How then will you know all parables? In other words, the parable of the sore is foundational. You must understand this parable in order to understand the rest of the parables. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Luke, chapter eight, and I want to read from this passage this parable.

[John Weaver] and our Lord's interpretation. I will tell you why in just a moment that I'm reading from Luke chapter 8 instead of Matthew 13 in Mark 4. They all say essentially the same thing, but if you look at Luke chapter 8 beginning there with verse 11. Our Lord is giving his interpretation of this parable and he says this. Now the parable is this. The seed is the Word of God. Those by the wayside Are they that hear, then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their heart, lest they should believe and be saved? They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy, and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away?

[John Weaver] And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth and are choked with cares, and riches, and pleasures of this life, and bring forth no fruit to perfection? but that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience."

[John Weaver] Now, the interpretation that our Lord gives in Matthew and Mark is exactly the same as the interpretation that He gives in Luke chapter 8. However, I read this passage just so that you could look at verse 11 and see this for yourself.

[John Weaver] Now, the parable is this. The seed is the Word of God. So when the sower sows the seed, he is sowing the Word of God.

[John Weaver] Now, in Mark 4 and verse 24, if you want to look there, that's fine. Mark 4 and verse 24, our Lord says this. And He said unto them, Take heed what you hear. With what measure you meet it shall be measured to you, and to you that hear shall more be given. Now I'm going to comment on this verse and another verse just momentarily, but in Mark 4 and verse 24, it says, Take heed what you hear. In Luke 8 and verse 18, he says it just a little differently. Now he says, Take heed how you hear, for whosoever hath them shall be given. And whosoever hath not from him shall be taken, even that which he seemeth to have. So our Lord has told us that we need to take heed what we hear.

[John Weaver] We need to make sure that we're hearing the pure, unadulterated word of God. And then he admonishes us that we're also to take heed how we hear.

[John Weaver] Now, our Lord tells us that this parable is exceedingly important because you cannot understand the other parables unless you understand this parable. And in this parable there are four types of hearers. Four types of hearers. Each of these four types of hearers were present in our Lord's day and they are also present in our day. The truth of the matter is this. Everyone that hears the word of God responds to the word of God in one of these four ways. Let me say that again, everyone who hears the word of God. Responds to the word of God in one of these four ways. Now, obviously, I'm not going to be able to cover all four of these ways today. That's why there's going to be four parts to this message, OK?

[John Weaver] But let me just point them out. First of all, our Lord says there is the wayside hearer. Some seed fell by the wayside. So that is a distinct type of hearer. Then he says, secondly, some seed fell upon stony ground. And there's another type of hearer. And then thirdly, he said, some seed fell among the thorns. That is a third type of hearer. And then finally, he says, fourthly, some seed fell upon good ground.

[John Weaver] So each of these hearers responds to the word of God differently. Today, we're only going to cover the wayside hearer. Let me just tell you that there is another name for the wayside hearer. He could also be called a hard hearted hearer because of the soil of his heart.

[John Weaver] Now, although this parable is known as the parable of the sower, it could also be correctly known as the parable of the soils, because the Bible is not only teaching about the seed that is sown, it's also teaching about the different types of soils that the seeds fall in. So, let's today just cover the wayside here. First of all, let me tell you, our Lord said some seed fell by the wayside. The Greek word for the wayside is the word hodos, which literally means a road. It means something that is well traveled. When you look at a road that is well traveled, the very first thing that you look at and that you understand is that the ground is packed absolutely firmly. It is hard. It is press down. A good way to understand this is if you will observe the fields today. Every field, I do not care what size it is, every field has an access road. You have to get into the field to prepare the soil. So there's an access road.

[John Weaver] That road is for the tractors, it's for the combines, it's for the heavy machinery. And when the farmer goes to prepare that field, he always uses that access road. And when he plants, inevitably, invariably, some of that seed falls on that road. Now, the point I'm trying to make is when the seed falls on that road, it is impossible for it to penetrate the ground. That means the birds come and devour that seed.

[John Weaver] Or, it just simply lies there and rots. Now, I want you to see our Lord's statement of this truth. And our Lord's interpretation of this truth. So I want us to go to the book of Matthew 13. Then we're going to Mark, and then we're going to Luke. And I'm just going to show you that our Lord's statement and our Lord's interpretation of the wayside hearer. So look in Matthew 13.

[John Weaver] at verses 3 and 4 first. Matthew 13 verses 3 and 4. In verse 3, And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow. And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, or on the road, and the fowls came and devoured them up. Now skip down to verses 18 and 19. Here is his interpretation. Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower, when any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh a wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart, this is he who receiveth seed by the wayside."

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles now, if you would please, to the book of Mark, chapter 4. Mark, chapter 4, and we'll go to verses 3 and 4 first. Again, our Lord is telling us about the sower, about the seed and about the wayside hearer. Mark four, verse three, hearken, behold, there went out a sower to sow, and it came to pass as he sowed, some fell by the wayside and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. Skip down to verses 14 and 15. The sower soweth the word, and these are they by the wayside where the word is sown. But when they have heard Satan cometh immediately and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. Now go to Luke chapter 8 and look if you would please at verse 5 to begin with. Luke 8 verse 5. He says a sower went out to sow seed and as he sowed some fell by the wayside and it was trodden down and the fowls of the air devoured it. Skip down to verse 11.

[John Weaver] Now the parable is this, the seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are they that hear, then come of the devil and take of the way the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

[John Weaver] Now what I want to do, having read these three different passages, I want to try to just glean some principles from the word of God in order that you might understand the wayside hearer. First of all, It should be evident, according to our Lord, that when the Word of God is preached, there is a present activity of Satan to thwart and to hinder the Word of God. Let me point that out very clearly. It should be evident after reading these passages that whenever the Word of God is preached, there is a present activity of Satan to thwart and to hinder the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. Now, there are many people who deny the existence of Satan. There are some who try to say that Satan is nothing more than a mere force or a power. I have read some authors that said that Satan is none other than the state. Well, I understand, and I know that Satan uses many, and for all practical purposes, most politicians and civil servants are none other than Satan's servants.

[John Weaver] I understand that. Many civil rulers seem to be evil incarnate. However, when you look at Luke, since you're there, look in Luke chapter 10 and verse 18. Look at what our Lord said. He's talking to his disciples. In fact, let's read verse 17 so you can see it in the context. Luke 10, verse 17. And the 70 returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils or the demons are subjecting us through thy name. And he said, our Lord said, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Now, here's my question. Did the Lord behold a force? fall from heaven, or the state fall from heaven, or did he behold a being that fell from heaven?

[John Weaver] You remember that passage I quoted earlier in 1 Peter 5 and verse 8, where the scripture says, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walketh about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour." So he is our adversary and he seeks to devour.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you a question. I want you to think about this. If Satan is nothing more than a force, if Satan is nothing more than an abstract concept such as the state, how do you overcome a force? How do you overcome an abstract concept. I want you to look, turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 16. Romans chapter 16. And notice, if you would please, verse 20. Romans 16 and verse 20. You see, the problem is that an abstract force or an abstract concept. Cannot really be defeated or overcome. But when you look in Romans 16 and verse 20, The Apostle Paul writes to the Roman Christians and he says this, and the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.

[John Weaver] The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. Notice, if you would, the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. If he is a being, he may be defeated. He may be destroyed, but if it's an abstract concept. How in the world can you destroy an abstract concept? You remember that passage in Revelation 12, 11? The Bible just simply says this, and they overcame him. That is the devil. They overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their own testimony.

[John Weaver] And they loved not their lives unto death. They overcame him. Not yet. They overcame him, which is a being.

[John Weaver] Now, when you read in Matthew 13 and the other passages, when our Lord says that some seed fell by the wayside and the fowls came and devoured it up, that phrase is explained by our Lord in the other passages as Satan coming immediately and taking away the word that was sown in them. In other words, what our Lord is teaching is the direct, destructive power of the enemy which hinders the entrance of and the preaching of the Word of God. Now, so many people have vainly and wrongly thought that whenever the Word of God is preached or whenever the saints gather for a prayer, that Satan flees. I have heard all my life, and probably you as well, this little saying that Satan flees whenever he sees the weakest saint upon his knees. You ever heard that? I've heard it all my life.

[John Weaver] The only problem with it is this. It just ain't so. It's just not true. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Zechariah, next to the last book in the Old Testament, Book of Malachi. Zechariah Malachi. I want you to look at Zechariah chapter 3. I want you to see what happens here. Joshua is the high priest. Watch this. Zechariah chapter 3 verse 1. And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said to Satan, the Lord rebuked thee, O Satan. Even the Lord that has chosen Jerusalem rebuked thee.

[John Weaver] Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Here's Joshua the high priest standing before the Lord and Satan is standing in his right hand to do what? To resist him. To fight against him. So obviously, When the weakest saint is upon his knees, Satan does not flee. The truth of the matter is, Satan would be the busiest whenever the Word of God is preached and whenever true prayer and true worship is being given to our Lord. He is the adversary. He is the one that will do everything he can to distract the mind, devoid the worship, and destroy the Word of God.

[John Weaver] Do you remember what the Bible says in James 4 and verse 7? Now, listen carefully. Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

[John Weaver] Now, the word resist literally means to oppose. It means to withstand. It means to set oneself against or to fight against and resist. So God tells us that we must resist him. What you don't understand or what most people do not understand is this. We must fight for truth. Not only to maintain the truth, but to be able to receive the truth. Because here, Scripture is clearly teaching us that whenever there is a present preaching and teaching of the Word of God, there is also a present activity of Satan to hinder and destroy that, seeking to steal the Word of God. When you stop and think of all the wandering minds and vagabond thoughts and undisciplined minds that exist under the preaching of the Word of God, that is prime hunting ground for Satan.

[John Weaver] Have you ever noticed how easily we are distracted? I have seen hundreds of times A church building packed. And one little kid up front stands up, walks to the back to go to the bathroom and everybody follows him. Just like they'd never seen a kid go to the bathroom before. See people looking out the windows, watching the birds. There's no discipline. There's no concentration. There's no thinking upon what is being preached and said. And when you have these wandering minds and these vagabond thoughts and things that just pop into your mind and you have not the discipline to put them out of your mind and redirect your focus upon the Word of God, yes, it's very easy for him to lift up, to take away, to steal

[John Weaver] that which has been sown. So you better understand this whenever the Word of God is being preached, whenever there is true worship and true prayer, Satan is always present, or at least his adversaries, to hinder and to thwart and to destroy. The second principle is this. It should be evident from this that unless our hearts are prepared, it will do no good to have the Word of God sown in them.

[John Weaver] Now, I'm going to deal more in detail with this thought in the last message. But let me tell you something about this principle right now. The wayside hearer has another name. He can be the hard hearted hearer. Because that wayside is packed hard. The hard hearted hearer is someone like that wayside that has not had his heart tilled, prepared, or softened. There's not an individual in this room that would go out in a few weeks and take a handful of seed and just cast it on open, packed, hardened ground and turn around and go into the house and somehow be foolish enough to expect in 60 days a full harvest. It just will not happen. Neither will it happen for someone to receive the word of God unless their hearts are prepared.

[John Weaver] The Bible says in Proverbs 16 in verse 1, the preparation of the heart in man and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. So marker down, if our hearts are ever prepared, God must prepare them. If we ever prepared to pray, God has prepared us to pray. If we ever prepared to witness, God has prepared us to witness. If we ever prepared to receive God's word, God prepared our hearts that we may receive that word. The preparations of the hearted man are from the Lord.

[John Weaver] However, I do want you to turn back in your Bibles to the book of Hosea, because I want to show you a parallel truth as well. Look in Hosea, if you would, Chapter 10 and verse 12. Daniel, Hosea, Hosea 10, look in verse 12. Although we understand that the preparation of the heart and manner from the Lord, here's another truth that we must hold. Alongside that truth. Hosea 10 and verse 12, God says, so do yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy, break up your fallow ground for it's time to seek the Lord till he come and reign righteousness upon you.

[John Weaver] Now you say, wait a minute, Brother Weaver, wait just a minute. You just told me the preparation of the heart and manner from the Lord. And now you show me this verse where we are responsible to break up our fallow ground and to seek the Lord. Well, there is no conflict. Proverbs 16 verse 1 talks about ability. Hosea 10 and verse 12 talks about responsibility. It is our responsibility to seek the Lord to prepare our hearts. It's our responsibility to come to Him and acknowledge the fact that our hearts are hardened and that we do not necessarily love the Word of God or are inclined to hear it. that He must incline us and He must order our hearts. The truth of the matter is, unless our hearts are prepared to receive the Word of God, we will never, ever receive it. The fault is not in the Word of God. The fault is in us. The fault is in the soil. Many are careless, forgetful hearers, and consequently, They receive no good at all from the preaching of the Word of God.

[John Weaver] It goes in one ear and it goes out the other ear. No heart will ever benefit from the Word of God unless that heart is prepared to receive the Word of God. Now, listen. There is an application here for Christians. We must have our hearts prepared just like the unsaved must have their hearts prepared. Have you ever stopped to think that this could be one of the reasons why so many Christians are dull, dumb and deformed theologically? Their hearts have never been prepared for truth. Consequently, they can't receive it.

[John Weaver] You know what our Lord said to his disciples? I have many things to say to you, but you're not able to bear them now. And the Bible also says that he spake the word of God unto them as they were able to receive it. Your heart must be prepared to receive truth. The more prepared your heart is, the more truth you can receive. The truth that is being emphasized is this, that unbroken And unprepared hearts are not fit or not fit soil for saving truth. They're not. Unprepared hearts may hear truth. They may speak of the truth, but they will never understand it. They will never comprehend it. It does not penetrate the hardened soil of their heart.

[John Weaver] It does them absolutely no good. It makes no impression upon them. And the seed, therefore, which is the word of God, just lies loosely on the surface of the heart and it's easily picked up and snatched up and carried off by the evil one. An unprepared heart never receives any benefit from the preached word of God. Never. Here's the third truth. It should be evident that this wayside hearer is a negligent hearer. The reality and truth is that he cares absolutely nothing for the Word of God. Let me ask you. Where did the seed fall? And the answer is. On the road. A hard packed service. Do you realize that seed is very easily found on a hardback service?

[John Weaver] It doesn't get down in little crevices and it's difficult to find, you know. On a hardback service, it's just laying there on top. It was on the road. What does this hard-hearted or wayside here do? He tramples it down. He ignores it. He could have picked up the seed. He could have saved the seed. But he did not do it. The truth is, he did not really care whether the seed was there or not. He was not interested in saving the seed. He was not interested in transplanting or preserving the seed. He just simply walked over it and stomped it down just like so many others do. So, the heart of the wayside hearer is unreceptive and unresponsive to the Word of God.

[John Weaver] It finds no lodgment there. Let me show you why. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of James, chapter 1, and look at verse 21. Hebrews, James. James, chapter 1. And notice if you would please in verse 21. Look what the Bible says. James, chapter 1, verse 21. Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted Word which is able to save your souls." Now, in order to receive the engrafted Word which is able to save your souls, first of all, you must lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness. That is, you must get rid of the sin and the wickedness in your life. Secondly, in order to receive it savingly, you must receive it with meekness.

[John Weaver] Well, this hard-hearted hearer, this wayside hearer, had no meekness, was not willing to repent, and consequently, he just ignored it and went on his way. We are responsible to hear the Word of God and receive the Word of God correctly and in the manner that God has ordained it. Let me quote once more Hebrews 2 and verse 1. What did he say? Therefore, we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we've heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. So if you don't give earnest heed to it, it's going to slip away. It will flow away.

[John Weaver] You remember I quoted earlier. From Mark 4 and verse 24, where our Lord said, take heed what you hear. Then he also said in Luke 8 and verse 18, take heed how you hear. Do you realize you are responsible to hear the Word of God correctly? You are responsible to hear it and retain it and apply it and obey it? Turn in your Bibles. To the book of James, chapter one, what's this? James, chapter one, beginning there with verse. Twenty two, James, chapter one, verse twenty two. We'll read through verse twenty four, look in James one, verse twenty two.

[John Weaver] What does the scripture say? God says, but be you doers of the word. and not hearers only deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is likened to a man beholding his natural face in a glass or in a mirror. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was." So let me give you an illustration.

[John Weaver] You've got a very important meeting. Maybe for the single guys, it's your girlfriend. Maybe for those of us who are married, maybe it's a business deal. You get up in the morning, first thing you get up, you run in there and look in the mirror and your hair looks like mice nested in it all night. And your face is dirty. And you. See that you haven't trimmed your beard and you haven't shaved and. You think to yourself. Well, before this meeting, I need to correct this and you just go and get busy and you get dressed. And you go to the meeting and your hair is still a mess and your face is still dirty.

[John Weaver] What is our Lord saying? If you can do that in a mirror and forget what you look like. And never do anything about it to correct it. That's the way you are when you hear the word of God and God tells you what you look like and you never do anything to correct it. You are forgetful hearer. You have not taken heed how you hear. By the way. Our Lord said. This wayside here when he hears the word He understands it not. Did you realize that you're responsible to understand the Word of God? Stop and think. You are responsible to understand the Word of God. I've had so many people tell me in times past, well, I just don't understand the Bible. That's probably.

[John Weaver] Either number one, because you're unconverted or number two, if you are converted, you have not really studied. You have not really read. You have not really prayed. You have not really asked for help or instruction. But it's your responsibility to understand the word of God. It is true for an unsaved man, spiritual things or foolishness unto an unsaved man. It is also true that he does not have the ability to understand them. But it's also equally true, he has a responsibility. And as for Christians. We have to understand that really, truly understanding the word of Lord is to be obtained from God alone.

[John Weaver] You know what Job cried in Job 34 and verse 32. This should be our prayer. Job said that which I see not. Teach now me. Lord, that which I don't understand, teach me, show me, help me. Give me the ability to understand.

[John Weaver] Now, none of us are going to understand the Word of God perfectly. But one thing we can do is continue to increase in our knowledge of the Word of God and to continue to increase in our ability to understand the Word of God. You know what the Bible says in Psalm 25 and verse 9? Listen, here's his promise. The meek, the meek, Will he teach in his way? The meek will he teach in his way? When we're proud and arrogant and haughty and think we know it all, we're not going to be taught anything, but we humble ourselves. And come before God. He's promised to teach us.

[John Weaver] Wherever there is no humbling of the heart. There's not going to be any understanding. And where there is no understanding, as our Lord said, Satan cometh immediately and catches away that which was sown in their hearts. And the truth of the matter is. We have no one but ourselves to blame. We lost it. Have you lost something? Have you lost? The word of God in your life. Have you lost the understanding? We have heard the word of God so frequently and so often. Each one of us should be scholars and theologians. But I'm afraid.

[John Weaver] We've let a lot of things slip. because we have not maintained our concentration upon those imported items. Let me make a couple of applications today. The first one is this. The wayside hearer does not value the seed. It's on the road. He can see it. But he doesn't pick it up. Why does he not pick it up? It has no value to him. It's not precious to him.

[John Weaver] I want you to think. Let's pretend for a moment that there is only one grain of corn left in the entire world. And we let it rot. Nothing man could do. could ever reproduce that corn. It's gone. It's lost. Likewise, there is no substitute for the Word of God. When it is lost, it is lost. When it is gone, it is gone. I can't help but think of 1 Samuel 3 and verse 1. I want you to just listen. Don't turn there. 1 Samuel 3 and verse 1. It's very applicable to our lives. The Bible says, and the word of the Lord was precious in those days, there was no open vision. In other words, there was no open preaching, open teaching of the word of God. Why was the word of God considered so valuable in those days?

[John Weaver] And the answer is because of its scarcity. The reason gold is so valuable is because of its scarcity. I haven't found any where I live You haven't found anywhere you live. The Word of God. Is valuable and it becomes more and more valuable. When you realize its scarcity, Amos 8 verse 11, let me just quote it. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, or a thirst of water, but a famine of hearing the Word of God.

[John Weaver] Let me tell you something. During a famine, you learn to value food. During a drought, you learn to value water. When there is a famine of the preaching and teaching of the Word of God, you learn to value it. It's scarce. What you and I need to do is to learn to value the Word of God and to prize it and possess it before the famine. If you knew, and you should already know this, but if you knew that we're going to be going through a depression greater than the Great Depression, wouldn't you want to put up a little food? Wouldn't you want to put up a little implement or two? Of course you would. And if you know there's going to be a famine of the Word of God, would it not be wise to read and study and grasp and understand and apply all that you can while you can?

[John Weaver] Secondly, there is no emphasis in this parable laid upon the sower. The sower is insignificant. Undoubtedly, anyone can sow seed, even a child. In fact, all of our kids and even our grandkids. Used to help plant in the garden and sometimes they'd have their own little spot where they planted their tomato plant or they planted their seed. Anybody can plant a seed. You do not have to be a trained theologian. Nor do you have to be called into the ministry in order to plant a seed.

[John Weaver] I want to read to you something. I want to read to you. Charles Haddon Spurgeon's account of his conversion. When Charles Haddon Spurgeon, one of the greatest preachers that ever lived, when he was converted, the preacher was not there. He went to the church building for the service, but there was a tremendous snow. And the pastor could not even get there because he was snowed in. So an ignorant, which you and I would call him ignorant, an ignorant man, stood up and preached. Listen, Spurgeon says, I turned down a side street and came to a little primitive Methodist chapel. In that chapel, there may have been a dozen or 15 people. I had heard of the primitive Methodist, how they sang so loudly that they made people's heads ache.

[John Weaver] But that did not matter to me. I wanted to know how I might be saved. And if they could tell me that, I did not care how much they made my headache. The minister did not come that morning. He was snowed up, I suppose. At last, a very thin-looking man, a shoemaker or tailor or something of that sort, went into the pulpit to preach.

[John Weaver] Now, it is well that preachers should be instructed, but this man was really stupid. He was obliged to stick to his text for the simple reason that he had little else to say. The text was, Look unto me, and thee ye saved, all the ends of the earth." He did not even pronounce the words rightly, but that did not matter. There I was, I thought, a glimpse of hope for me in that text. The preacher began thus, My dear friends, this is a very simple text indeed. It says look.

[John Weaver] Now, looking don't take a great deal of pains. It ain't lifting your foot or your finger. It's just look. Well, a man needn't go to college to learn to look. You may be the biggest fool and yet you can look. A man needn't be worth a thousand a year to be able to look. Anyone can look, even a child can look. But then the text says, look unto me. I, said he in the broad Essex, many a year looking to yourselves, but it's no use looking there. You'll never find any comfort in yourselves. Some look to God the Father. No. Look to Him by and by. Jesus Christ says, look unto Me.

[John Weaver] Some of you say, we must wait for the Spirit's working. You have no business with that just now. Look to Christ. The text says, look to Me. Then the good man followed up his text this way. Look unto Me. I'm sweating great drops of blood. Look unto Me. I'm hanging on the cross. Look unto Me. I'm dead and buried. Look unto me, I rise again. Look unto me, I ascend into heaven. Look unto me, I'm sitting at the Father's right hand. Oh, poor sinner. Look unto me. Look unto me."

[John Weaver] When he had gone on about the length and managed to spin out about ten minutes or so, he was at the end of his tether. Then he looked at me under the gallery, and I dare say, with so few present, he knew me to be a stranger. just fixing his eyes on me as if he knew all my heart, he said, young man, you look miserable. Well, I did, but I had not been accustomed to have remarks made from the pulpit on my personal appearance before.

[John Weaver] However, it was a good blow struck right home. He continued and said, you will always be miserable, miserable in life and miserable in death if you don't obey my text. But if you obey now this moment, you will be saved. Then lifting up his hands, he shouted as only a primitive Methodist could do. Young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look, look, look. You have nothing to do but to look and live.

[John Weaver] I saw it once the way of salvation. I know not what else he said. I did not take much notice of it. I was so possessed with that one thought, like as when the brazen serpent was lifted up, the people only looked and were healed. So it was with me. I had been waiting to do 50 things. But when I heard that word, look, what a charming word it was to me. Oh, I looked until I could have almost looked my eyes away.

[John Weaver] There and then the cloud was gone. The darkness had rolled away. And that moment I saw the sun. And I could have risen that instant and sung with the most enthusiastic of them of the precious blood of Christ and the simple faith which looks alone to Him. Oh, that someone had told me this before. Trust Christ and you shall be saved. Yet it was no doubt all wisely ordered. And now I can say, e'er since by faith I saw the stream, Thy flowing wounds supply.

[John Weaver] Redeeming love has been my theme and shall be till I die." And so Charles Haddon Spurgeon, one of the greatest preachers that ever lived, was converted under the preaching of a man who had no more than ten minutes in him and could not even pronounce the words correctly. I have one scripture. I want you to understand this. Anyone can plant a seed. Let me just read 1 Corinthians 3, verses 6 and 7. This one passage explains it all.

[John Weaver] Paul said, I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planted anything, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase. God can take a crooked stick and draw a straight line. God can take the simplest, most ignorant, most foolish individual that ever lived and use him for his honor and his glory. Anyone can plant a seed. We need to be planting the word of God.

[John Weaver] Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We thank You for Your love and Your grace and Your mercy. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, what a blessing it is to know that we must look only to Jesus Christ. Give us grace, we pray, Lord, to serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray, Amen. This program was produced by Dominion Ministry. For more information about Pastor Weaver's sermons, you may contact Dominion Ministry by mail at 7400 Abercorn, that's A-B-E-R, C-O-R-N, Street, Suite 705, P-M-B, 175, Savannah, Georgia, 31406. Or give us a call at 912 You can also visit our website at www.dominionministry.com

Did You Lose Something?

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	59131438409
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications
Genre	Sermon
Date	2013-02-10
Dictation Name
Book	Book 141: Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications — Chapter 7
Source Timed Segments	78

Formatted Transcript

Introduction to the Four-Part Message

Weaver announces a four-part series based on Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8, introducing the title 'Did You Lose Something?' and reading Mark 4:14-15.

I want to begin a message today that is actually four parts. So you will understand as I read the scripture just momentarily. So the message is going to be four distinct messages based upon Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8. And the title of the message today is just simply, Did You Lose Something? So if you look in Mark chapter 4 and verse 15—in fact, let's read verse 14. Our Lord says,

Scripture Reading — Mark 4:14-15

"The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the wayside, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts."

Each one of us have lost something from time to time. In fact, we may lose articles and do not even realize it. Articles sometimes slip from our fingers and disappear into oblivion. Years ago, Alice lost a watch that I'd given her, and she has no idea, no clue this day to where that watch went.

The Reality of Losing and Having Stolen

Using personal anecdotes and the parable of the lost coin, Weaver illustrates how we lose things of value, sometimes without realizing it, and how Satan steals the Word.

She had it with her. It was in the automobile. Then it was gone, and it was never ever found. It just simply disappeared. Occasionally, it's something of value that we lose, and we really regret losing it. There are other times when we may value something very greatly, but it's not necessarily lost, it's just stolen from us. And have you ever stopped to think that when you do not use articles frequently, and they are stolen, it sometimes takes a great deal of time to figure out that it has really gone missing? And then, of course, when it does go missing, you wonder, did I lose it or was it really stolen? I'm sure that you remember the woman in Luke chapter 15 that lost a silver coin.

Our Lord said it like this in verses 8 and 9. He said, "Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost." So obviously, here's a woman that had lost a piece of silver. It was something extremely valuable. And the fact she literally lit a candle and swept the house until she did, in reality, find it. It is one thing to lose something that is insignificant or even something of value that could be eventually replaced. However, to lose something or to have something stolen that can never, ever be replaced is exceedingly painful and at times very, very costly. So I want you to look in Mark 4 and verse 15 at this particular statement again.

Satan's Names and His Activity

Weaver examines the terms Satan, wicked one, and devil from the three Gospel accounts, explaining the Greek words for 'takes away' and 'catches away' as continuous, forceful action.

Our Lord says, "And these are they by the wayside, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts." Now, I want to call your attention, first of all, in verse 15, our Lord says, "Satan cometh." The word Satan means adversary. He is the arch enemy. We're told in 1 Peter 5 and verse 8,

Scripture Reading — 1 Peter 5:8

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."

So here he is called Satan. Notice, if you would, in Matthew chapter 13—I'm sorry, Matthew 13 and verse 19. Matthew 13 and verse 19. Because here is another term that relates to the evil one. Matthew 13, verse 19: "When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the wayside." But notice if you would, Satan in this passage is just simply referred to as the wicked one, which literally means the evil one or the one who is evil consummately.

So he is here called the evil one or the wicked one. If you would look in the book of Luke chapter 8 and verse 12, you'll find another name that is used here. Luke 8 and verse 12. Our Lord says this: "Those by the wayside are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved." So here the word is devil, and the word devil refers to the accuser or the slanderer.

Now, I want to put these together for you. I want you to watch this. In Mark 4 and verse 15, scripture says Satan takes away the word. In Matthew 13 and verse 19, the wicked one catches away the word. And in Luke 8 and verse 12, the devil taketh away the word. Now I want to give you two thoughts. First of all, in Mark 4 and verse 15, the passage that we read, and in Luke 8 and verse 12, when the Bible says he takes away the word, the Greek term for takes away literally means to lift up, to carry away, and to take away. So it's as if something is lifted up from you and it's taken from you, just like a pickpocket will come along and take your valuable out of your pocket. However, when you get to Matthew chapter 13 in verse 19, there's a totally different word that is used. It's the Greek word harpazo, which, listen, it means to seize, to snatch away, to carry off by force and to claim for oneself eagerly.

So in this passage, it's more like a mugger or a robber, someone who knocks you over the head, steals your possession, and then leaves. So it means literally to take away by force. Now, it doesn't matter if you look in Matthew 13, Mark 4, or Luke 8. Let me tell you something. When the Bible says either the Satan or the devil or the wicked one takes away or catches away, it is a present active indicative.

Now, let me explain that. All it means is that something is happening in the present time and it continues to happen. In other words, the present tense of the Greek verb denotes continuous action or action in progress. It is something that is happening now. And the mood or the mode just simply indicates the reality of the action. In other words, it is really, truly happening.

Now the interesting thing in Matthew 13 and Mark 4 and Luke 8, in each instance, it's Satan who catches away or takes away the Word of God. I want you to turn in your Bibles, hold Mark 4, but turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 2, if you would, and look at verse 1. Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 1. In this passage, Hebrews 2 and verse 1, there's a warning. Look at this warning very carefully.

The Warning to Give Earnest Heed

Drawing from Hebrews 2:1, Weaver warns that the Word can slip away like flowing water if we do not concentrate and dwell upon it.

"Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip." Now, what's that warning? "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard." And he's talking about the word of God. "Lest at any time we should let them slip." Now the word slip literally means to flow by, to flow over, to fall or to flow away. It's much like being compared to a river as the water just simply flows by you and it flows away from you. It glides away. It escapes from you. It's much like as a thief does in stealth.

Each one of us has used the expression, "It slipped from my mind. I forgot it." Have you ever wondered why things slip from our minds? The answer is this: because we do not dwell upon them. We do not concentrate upon them. We do not think about them regularly or continually or often enough. And they just simply glide away. And that's the warning that is given to us in verse one: "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we've heard, lest at any time we should let them slip."

The Parable of the Sower as Foundational

Weaver reads the parable and its interpretation from Luke 8, emphasizing that understanding this parable is key to understanding all parables, and identifies four types of hearers.

Now, I have read from Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8 that Satan catches away or takes away the Word of God from us. So here's an important question and one that you should ask yourself. How does Satan take away or steal the Word of God from us? How does he steal it? Well, in order to answer that question, you have to know something about the parable of the sower. So I want you to look in your Bibles to Mark chapter four. Look, if you would please, at verse 13. I want you to see the importance of this parable of the sower. In Mark chapter four and verse 13, our Lord said this, and he's speaking to his disciples. And he said to them,

Scripture Reading — Mark 4:13

"Know ye not this parable? How then will you know all parables?"

In other words, the parable of the sower is foundational. You must understand this parable in order to understand the rest of the parables. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Luke, chapter eight, and I want to read from this passage this parable.

and our Lord's interpretation. I will tell you why in just a moment that I'm reading from Luke chapter 8 instead of Matthew 13 and Mark 4. They all say essentially the same thing, but if you look at Luke chapter 8 beginning there with verse 11, our Lord is giving his interpretation of this parable and he says this:

Scripture Reading — Luke 8:11-15

"Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God. Those by the wayside are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience."

Now, the interpretation that our Lord gives in Matthew and Mark is exactly the same as the interpretation that He gives in Luke chapter 8. However, I read this passage just so that you could look at verse 11 and see this for yourself. "Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God." So when the sower sows the seed, he is sowing the Word of God. Now, in Mark 4 and verse 24, if you want to look there, that's fine. Mark 4 and verse 24, our Lord says this:

Scripture Reading — Mark 4:24

"And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given."

Now I'm going to comment on this verse and another verse just momentarily, but in Mark 4 and verse 24, it says,

Scripture Reading — Mark 4:24

"Take heed what ye hear."

In Luke 8 and verse 18, he says it just a little differently. Now he says, "Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have." So our Lord has told us that we need to take heed what we hear.

We need to make sure that we're hearing the pure, unadulterated word of God. And then he admonishes us that we're also to take heed how we hear. Now, our Lord tells us that this parable is exceedingly important because you cannot understand the other parables unless you understand this parable. And in this parable there are four types of hearers. Four types of hearers. Each of these four types of hearers were present in our Lord's day and they are also present in our day. The truth of the matter is this: everyone that hears the word of God responds to the word of God in one of these four ways. Let me say that again: everyone who hears the word of God responds to the word of God in one of these four ways. Now, obviously, I'm not going to be able to cover all four of these ways today. That's why there's going to be four parts to this message, OK?

But let me just point them out. First of all, our Lord says there is the wayside hearer. Some seed fell by the wayside. So that is a distinct type of hearer. Then he says, secondly, some seed fell upon stony ground. And there's another type of hearer. And then thirdly, he said, some seed fell among the thorns. That is a third type of hearer. And then finally, he says, fourthly, some seed fell upon good ground.

So each of these hearers responds to the word of God differently. Today, we're only going to cover the wayside hearer. Let me just tell you that there is another name for the wayside hearer. He could also be called a hard-hearted hearer because of the soil of his heart.

The Wayside Hearer: Hard-Hearted and Unprepared

Focusing on the wayside hearer, Weaver explains the packed, hard soil represents an unprepared heart that cannot receive the seed, leading to Satan stealing the Word.

Now, although this parable is known as the parable of the sower, it could also be correctly known as the parable of the soils, because the Bible is not only teaching about the seed that is sown, it's also teaching about the different types of soils that the seeds fall in. So, let's today just cover the wayside hearer. First of all, let me tell you, our Lord said some seed fell by the wayside. The Greek word for the wayside is the word hodos, which literally means a road. It means something that is well traveled. When you look at a road that is well traveled, the very first thing that you look at and that you understand is that the ground is packed absolutely firmly. It is hard. It is pressed down. A good way to understand this is if you will observe the fields today. Every field, I do not care what size it is, every field has an access road. You have to get into the field to prepare the soil. So there's an access road.

That road is for the tractors, it's for the combines, it's for the heavy machinery. And when the farmer goes to prepare that field, he always uses that access road. And when he plants, inevitably, invariably, some of that seed falls on that road. Now, the point I'm trying to make is when the seed falls on that road, it is impossible for it to penetrate the ground. That means the birds come and devour that seed. Or, it just simply lies there and rots. Now, I want you to see our Lord's statement of this truth and our Lord's interpretation of this truth. So I want us to go to the book of Matthew 13. Then we're going to Mark, and then we're going to Luke. And I'm just going to show you that our Lord's statement and our Lord's interpretation of the wayside hearer. So look in Matthew 13.

at verses 3 and 4 first. Matthew 13 verses 3 and 4. In verse 3, "And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them up." Now skip down to verses 18 and 19. Here is his interpretation: "Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the wayside." Look in your Bibles now, if you would please, to the book of Mark, chapter 4. Mark, chapter 4, and we'll go to verses 3 and 4 first. Again, our Lord is telling us about the sower, about the seed and about the wayside hearer. Mark 4, verse 3:

Scripture Reading — Mark 4:3-4, 14-15

"Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: and it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up."

Skip down to verses 14 and 15: "The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the wayside, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts." Now go to Luke chapter 8 and look if you would please at verse 5 to begin with. Luke 8 verse 5:

Scripture Reading — Mark 4:3-4, 14-15

"A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it."

Skip down to verse 11.

"Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved." Now what I want to do, having read these three different passages, I want to try to just glean some principles from the word of God in order that you might understand the wayside hearer. First of all, it should be evident, according to our Lord, that when the Word of God is preached, there is a present activity of Satan to thwart and to hinder the Word of God. Let me point that out very clearly. It should be evident after reading these passages that whenever the Word of God is preached, there is a present activity of Satan to thwart and to hinder the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. Now, there are many people who deny the existence of Satan. There are some who try to say that Satan is nothing more than a mere force or a power. I have read some authors that said that Satan is none other than the state. Well, I understand, and I know that Satan uses many, and for all practical purposes, most politicians and civil servants are none other than Satan's servants.

Satan's Present Activity in Hindering the Word

Weaver argues that Satan is a personal being, not a force, who actively resists the preaching of the Word, and believers must resist him through discipline and focus.

I understand that. Many civil rulers seem to be evil incarnate. However, when you look at Luke, since you're there, look in Luke chapter 10 and verse 18. Look at what our Lord said. He's talking to his disciples. In fact, let's read verse 17 so you can see it in the context. Luke 10, verse 17: "And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name." And he said—our Lord said—"I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." Now, here's my question. Did the Lord behold a force fall from heaven, or the state fall from heaven, or did he behold a being that fell from heaven?

You remember that passage I quoted earlier in 1 Peter 5 and verse 8, where the scripture says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." So he is our adversary and he seeks to devour. Now let me ask you a question. I want you to think about this. If Satan is nothing more than a force, if Satan is nothing more than an abstract concept such as the state, how do you overcome a force? How do you overcome an abstract concept? I want you to look, turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 16. Romans chapter 16. And notice, if you would please, verse 20. Romans 16 and verse 20. You see, the problem is that an abstract force or an abstract concept cannot really be defeated or overcome. But when you look in Romans 16 and verse 20, the Apostle Paul writes to the Roman Christians and he says this: "And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen." Notice, if you would, "the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly." If he is a being, he may be defeated. He may be destroyed, but if it's an abstract concept, how in the world can you destroy an abstract concept? You remember that passage in Revelation 12:11? The Bible just simply says this: "And they overcame him"—that is the devil—"they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." They overcame him. Not it. They overcame him, which is a being.

Now, when you read in Matthew 13 and the other passages, when our Lord says that some seed fell by the wayside and the fowls came and devoured it up, that phrase is explained by our Lord in the other passages as Satan coming immediately and taking away the word that was sown in them. In other words, what our Lord is teaching is the direct, destructive power of the enemy which hinders the entrance of and the preaching of the Word of God. Now, so many people have vainly and wrongly thought that whenever the Word of God is preached or whenever the saints gather for prayer, that Satan flees. I have heard all my life, and probably you as well, this little saying that Satan flees whenever he sees the weakest saint upon his knees. You ever heard that? I've heard it all my life.

The only problem with it is this: it just ain't so. It's just not true. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Zechariah, next to the last book in the Old Testament, book of Malachi. Zechariah, Malachi. I want you to look at Zechariah chapter 3. I want you to see what happens here. Joshua is the high priest. Watch this. Zechariah chapter 3 verse 1: "And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee:

is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" Here's Joshua the high priest standing before the Lord and Satan is standing at his right hand to do what? To resist him. To fight against him. So obviously, when the weakest saint is upon his knees, Satan does not flee. The truth of the matter is, Satan would be the busiest whenever the Word of God is preached and whenever true prayer and true worship is being given to our Lord. He is the adversary. He is the one that will do everything he can to distract the mind, devoid the worship, and destroy the Word of God.

Do you remember what the Bible says in James 4 and verse 7? Now, listen carefully. "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

Now, the word resist literally means to oppose. It means to withstand. It means to set oneself against or to fight against and resist. So God tells us that we must resist him. What you don't understand or what most people do not understand is this: we must fight for truth. Not only to maintain the truth, but to be able to receive the truth. Because here, Scripture is clearly teaching us that whenever there is a present preaching and teaching of the Word of God, there is also a present activity of Satan to hinder and destroy that, seeking to steal the Word of God. When you stop and think of all the wandering minds and vagabond thoughts and undisciplined minds that exist under the preaching of the Word of God, that is prime hunting ground for Satan.

The Necessity of Heart Preparation

Using Proverbs 16:1 and Hosea 10:12, Weaver teaches that God prepares the heart, yet we have a responsibility to seek Him and break up our fallow ground to receive the Word.

Now, I'm going to deal more in detail with this thought in the last message. But let me tell you something about this principle right now. The wayside hearer has another name. He can be the hard-hearted hearer. Because that wayside is packed hard. The hard-hearted hearer is someone like that wayside that has not had his heart tilled, prepared, or softened. There's not an individual in this room that would go out in a few weeks and take a handful of seed and just cast it on open, packed, hardened ground and turn around and go into the house and somehow be foolish enough to expect in 60 days a full harvest. It just will not happen. Neither will it happen for someone to receive the word of God unless their hearts are prepared.

The Bible says in Proverbs 16 and verse 1,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 16:1

"The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD."

So mark it down: if our hearts are ever prepared, God must prepare them. If we ever prepared to pray, God has prepared us to pray. If we ever prepared to witness, God has prepared us to witness. If we ever prepared to receive God's word, God prepared our hearts that we may receive that word. The preparations of the heart in man are from the LORD. However, I do want you to turn back in your Bibles to the book of Hosea, because I want to show you a parallel truth as well. Look in Hosea, if you would, chapter 10 and verse 12. Daniel, Hosea. Hosea 10, look in verse 12. Although we understand that the preparation of the heart in man is from the Lord, here's another truth that we must hold alongside that truth. Hosea 10 and verse 12, God says, "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you."

Now you say,

Scripture Reading — Hosea 10:12

"Wait a minute, Brother Weaver, wait just a minute. You just told me the preparation of the heart in man is from the Lord. And now you show me this verse where we are responsible to break up our fallow ground and to seek the Lord."

Well, there is no conflict. Proverbs 16 verse 1 talks about ability. Hosea 10 and verse 12 talks about responsibility. It is our responsibility to seek the Lord to prepare our hearts. It's our responsibility to come to Him and acknowledge the fact that our hearts are hardened and that we do not necessarily love the Word of God or are inclined to hear it. That He must incline us and He must order our hearts. The truth of the matter is, unless our hearts are prepared to receive the Word of God, we will never, ever receive it. The fault is not in the Word of God. The fault is in us. The fault is in the soil. Many are careless, forgetful hearers, and consequently, they receive no good at all from the preaching of the Word of God.

It goes in one ear and it goes out the other ear. No heart will ever benefit from the Word of God unless that heart is prepared to receive the Word of God. Now, listen. There is an application here for Christians. We must have our hearts prepared just like the unsaved must have their hearts prepared. Have you ever stopped to think that this could be one of the reasons why so many Christians are dull, dumb and deformed theologically? Their hearts have never been prepared for truth. Consequently, they can't receive it.

You know what our Lord said to his disciples? "I have many things to say to you, but you're not able to bear them now." And the Bible also says that he spake the word of God unto them as they were able to receive it. Your heart must be prepared to receive truth. The more prepared your heart is, the more truth you can receive. The truth that is being emphasized is this, that unbroken and unprepared hearts are not fit or not fit soil for saving truth. They're not. Unprepared hearts may hear truth. They may speak of the truth, but they will never understand it. They will never comprehend it. It does not penetrate the hardened soil of their heart.

The Negligent Hearer and the Call to Be Doers

Weaver describes the wayside hearer as negligent, trampling the seed, and urges hearers to receive the Word with meekness, understand it, and be doers, not forgetful hearers.

It does them absolutely no good. It makes no impression upon them. And the seed, therefore, which is the word of God, just lies loosely on the surface of the heart and it's easily picked up and snatched up and carried off by the evil one. An unprepared heart never receives any benefit from the preached word of God. Never. Here's the third truth. It should be evident that this wayside hearer is a negligent hearer. The reality and truth is that he cares absolutely nothing for the Word of God. Let me ask you. Where did the seed fall? And the answer is: on the road. A hard packed surface. Do you realize that seed is very easily found on a hard packed surface?

It doesn't get down in little crevices and it's difficult to find, you know. On a hard packed surface, it's just laying there on top. It was on the road. What does this hard-hearted or wayside hearer do? He tramples it down. He ignores it. He could have picked up the seed. He could have saved the seed. But he did not do it. The truth is, he did not really care whether the seed was there or not. He was not interested in saving the seed. He was not interested in transplanting or preserving the seed. He just simply walked over it and stomped it down just like so many others do. So, the heart of the wayside hearer is unreceptive and unresponsive to the Word of God.

It finds no lodgment there. Let me show you why. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of James, chapter 1, and look at verse 21. Hebrews, James. James, chapter 1. And notice if you would please in verse 21. Look what the Bible says. James, chapter 1, verse 21: "Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls." Now, in order to receive the engrafted word which is able to save your souls, first of all, you must lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness. That is, you must get rid of the sin and the wickedness in your life. Secondly, in order to receive it savingly, you must receive it with meekness.

Well, this hard-hearted hearer, this wayside hearer, had no meekness, was not willing to repent, and consequently, he just ignored it and went on his way. We are responsible to hear the Word of God and receive the Word of God correctly and in the manner that God has ordained it. Let me quote once more Hebrews 2 and verse 1. What did he say? "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we've heard, lest at any time we should let them slip." So if you don't give earnest heed to it, it's going to slip away. It will flow away. You remember I quoted earlier from Mark 4 and verse 24, where our Lord said, "Take heed what ye hear." Then he also said in Luke 8 and verse 18, "Take heed therefore how ye hear." Do you realize you are responsible to hear the Word of God correctly? You are responsible to hear it and retain it and apply it and obey it? Turn in your Bibles to the book of James, chapter one. What's this? James, chapter one, beginning there with verse 22. James, chapter one, verse 22. We'll read through verse 24. Look in James 1, verse 22.

What does the scripture say? God says, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was." So let me give you an illustration. You've got a very important meeting. Maybe for the single guys, it's your girlfriend. Maybe for those of us who are married, maybe it's a business deal. You get up in the morning, first thing you get up, you run in there and look in the mirror and your hair looks like mice nested in it all night. And your face is dirty. And you see that you haven't trimmed your beard and you haven't shaved. And you think to yourself, "Well, before this meeting, I need to correct this." And you just go and get busy and you get dressed. And you go to the meeting and your hair is still a mess and your face is still dirty.

What is our Lord saying? If you can do that in a mirror and forget what you look like and never do anything about it to correct it, that's the way you are when you hear the word of God and God tells you what you look like and you never do anything to correct it. You are a forgetful hearer. You have not taken heed how you hear. By the way, our Lord said this wayside hearer when he hears the word, he understands it not. Did you realize that you're responsible to understand the Word of God? Stop and think. You are responsible to understand the Word of God. I've had so many people tell me in times past, "Well, I just don't understand the Bible." That's probably

either number one, because you're unconverted or number two, if you are converted, you have not really studied. You have not really read. You have not really prayed. You have not really asked for help or instruction. But it's your responsibility to understand the word of God. It is true for an unsaved man, spiritual things are foolishness unto an unsaved man. It is also true that he does not have the ability to understand them. But it's also equally true, he has a responsibility. And as for Christians, we have to understand that really, truly understanding the word of the Lord is to be obtained from God alone.

Applications: Value the Seed and Anyone Can Sow

Weaver applies the message by stressing the preciousness of the Word, warning of a coming famine, and encouraging all believers to sow the seed, illustrated by Spurgeon's conversion.

we've let a lot of things slip because we have not maintained our concentration upon those important items. Let me make a couple of applications today. The first one is this: the wayside hearer does not value the seed. It's on the road. He can see it. But he doesn't pick it up. Why does he not pick it up? It has no value to him. It's not precious to him.

I want you to think. Let's pretend for a moment that there is only one grain of corn left in the entire world. And we let it rot. Nothing man could do could ever reproduce that corn. It's gone. It's lost. Likewise, there is no substitute for the Word of God. When it is lost, it is lost. When it is gone, it is gone. I can't help but think of 1 Samuel 3 and verse 1. I want you to just listen. Don't turn there. 1 Samuel 3 and verse 1. It's very applicable to our lives. The Bible says, "And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision." In other words, there was no open preaching, open teaching of the word of God. Why was the word of God considered so valuable in those days?

And the answer is because of its scarcity. The reason gold is so valuable is because of its scarcity. I haven't found any where I live. You haven't found any where you live. The Word of God is valuable and it becomes more and more valuable when you realize its scarcity. Amos 8 verse 11, let me just quote it: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD." Let me tell you something. During a famine, you learn to value food. During a drought, you learn to value water. When there is a famine of the preaching and teaching of the Word of God, you learn to value it. It's scarce. What you and I need to do is to learn to value the Word of God and to prize it and possess it before the famine. If you knew, and you should already know this, but if you knew that we're going to be going through a depression greater than the Great Depression, wouldn't you want to put up a little food? Wouldn't you want to put up a little implement or two? Of course you would. And if you know there's going to be a famine of the Word of God, would it not be wise to read and study and grasp and understand and apply all that you can while you can?

Secondly, there is no emphasis in this parable laid upon the sower. The sower is insignificant. Undoubtedly, anyone can sow seed, even a child. In fact, all of our kids and even our grandkids used to help plant in the garden and sometimes they'd have their own little spot where they planted their tomato plant or they planted their seed. Anybody can plant a seed. You do not have to be a trained theologian. Nor do you have to be called into the ministry in order to plant a seed.

I want to read to you something. I want to read to you Charles Haddon Spurgeon's account of his conversion. When Charles Haddon Spurgeon, one of the greatest preachers that ever lived, when he was converted, the preacher was not there. He went to the church building for the service, but there was a tremendous snow. And the pastor could not even get there because he was snowed in. So an ignorant—which you and I would call him ignorant—an ignorant man, stood up and preached. Listen, Spurgeon says, "I turned down a side street and came to a little Primitive Methodist chapel. In that chapel, there may have been a dozen or 15 people. I had heard of the Primitive Methodists, how they sang so loudly that they made people's heads ache.

But that did not matter to me. I wanted to know how I might be saved. And if they could tell me that, I did not care how much they made my head ache. The minister did not come that morning. He was snowed up, I suppose. At last, a very thin-looking man, a shoemaker or tailor or something of that sort, went into the pulpit to preach.

Now, it is well that preachers should be instructed, but this man was really stupid. He was obliged to stick to his text for the simple reason that he had little else to say. The text was, 'Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.' He did not even pronounce the words rightly, but that did not matter. There I was, I thought, a glimpse of hope for me in that text. The preacher began thus: 'My dear friends, this is a very simple text indeed. It says look.

Now, looking don't take a great deal of pains. It ain't lifting your foot or your finger. It's just look. Well, a man needn't go to college to learn to look. You may be the biggest fool and yet you can look. A man needn't be worth a thousand a year to be able to look. Anyone can look, even a child can look. But then the text says, look unto me. I,' said he in the broad Essex, 'many a year looking to yourselves, but it's no use looking there. You'll never find any comfort in yourselves. Some look to God the Father. No. Look to Him by and by. Jesus Christ says, look unto Me.

Some of you say, we must wait for the Spirit's working. You have no business with that just now. Look to Christ. The text says, look to Me. Then the good man followed up his text this way: Look unto Me. I'm sweating great drops of blood. Look unto Me. I'm hanging on the cross. Look unto Me. I'm dead and buried. Look unto Me, I rise again. Look unto Me, I ascend into heaven. Look unto Me, I'm sitting at the Father's right hand. Oh, poor sinner. Look unto Me. Look unto Me.'

When he had gone on about the length and managed to spin out about ten minutes or so, he was at the end of his tether. Then he looked at me under the gallery, and I dare say, with so few present, he knew me to be a stranger. Just fixing his eyes on me as if he knew all my heart, he said, 'Young man, you look miserable.' Well, I did, but I had not been accustomed to have remarks made from the pulpit on my personal appearance before. However, it was a good blow struck right home. He continued and said, 'You will always be miserable, miserable in life and miserable in death if you don't obey my text. But if you obey now this moment, you will be saved.' Then lifting up his hands, he shouted as only a Primitive Methodist could do, 'Young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look, look, look. You have nothing to do but to look and live.'

I saw at once the way of salvation. I know not what else he said. I did not take much notice of it. I was so possessed with that one thought, like as when the brazen serpent was lifted up, the people only looked and were healed. So it was with me. I had been waiting to do 50 things. But when I heard that word, look, what a charming word it was to me. Oh, I looked until I could have almost looked my eyes away.

There and then the cloud was gone. The darkness had rolled away. And that moment I saw the sun. And I could have risen that instant and sung with the most enthusiastic of them of the precious blood of Christ and the simple faith which looks alone to Him. Oh, that someone had told me this before. Trust Christ and you shall be saved. Yet it was no doubt all wisely ordered. And now I can say, 'E'er since by faith I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply,

Redeeming love has been my theme and shall be till I die.'" And so Charles Haddon Spurgeon, one of the greatest preachers that ever lived, was converted under the preaching of a man who had no more than ten minutes in him and could not even pronounce the words correctly. I have one scripture. I want you to understand this. Anyone can plant a seed. Let me just read 1 Corinthians 3, verses 6 and 7. This one passage explains it all. Paul said, "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase." God can take a crooked stick and draw a straight line. God can take the simplest, most ignorant, most foolish individual that ever lived and use him for his honor and his glory. Anyone can plant a seed. We need to be planting the word of God.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Satan's Active Theft of the Word

Summary: Satan is a personal adversary who continuously and forcefully steals the Word of God from hearts that are not prepared to receive it.

Evidence: Weaver explains the Greek terms for 'takes away' and 'catches away' as present active indicative, indicating ongoing action, and cites Mark 4:15, Matthew 13:19, and Luke 8:12.

The Necessity of Heart Preparation

Summary: Unless the heart is prepared by God and through personal seeking, the Word cannot penetrate and will be lost.

Evidence: Weaver references Proverbs 16:1 and Hosea 10:12, stating 'The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD' and 'break up your fallow ground.'

The Danger of Negligent Hearing

Summary: Hearers who do not value, understand, or act on the Word are like the wayside soil, allowing the seed to be trampled or stolen.

Evidence: Weaver says the wayside hearer 'cares absolutely nothing for the Word of God' and 'tramples it down,' citing James 1:22-24 on being doers, not hearers only.

The Preciousness and Scarcity of God's Word

Summary: The Word of God is invaluable and should be treasured, especially before a prophesied famine of hearing it.

Evidence: Weaver quotes 1 Samuel 3:1 and Amos 8:11, warning of a famine of hearing the words of the LORD and urging believers to value the Word now.

The Insignificance of the Sower

Summary: God can use anyone to sow the seed; the power is in the Word and God's giving of increase, not in human ability.

Evidence: Weaver recounts Spurgeon's conversion under an uneducated lay preacher and cites 1 Corinthians 3:6-7.

Key Arguments

Satan is a personal being, not an abstract force

Summary: Weaver argues that Satan is a real adversary who can be defeated, as seen in Romans 16:20 and Revelation 12:11, contrasting with the idea of an abstract concept.

Evidence: He says, 'If he is a being, he may be defeated. He may be destroyed, but if it's an abstract concept, how in the world can you destroy an abstract concept?'

Satan does not flee from the weakest saint; he resists

Summary: Contrary to popular belief, Satan is most active during preaching and prayer, as seen in Zechariah 3:1 where he stands to resist Joshua the high priest.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Satan would be the busiest whenever the Word of God is preached and whenever true prayer and true worship is being given to our Lord.'

Understanding the Word is a human responsibility

Summary: Weaver insists that both unbelievers and believers are responsible to understand the Word, and lack of understanding often stems from lack of study or prayer.

Evidence: He says, 'You are responsible to understand the Word of God' and cites Job 34:32 and Psalm 25:9.

The wayside hearer's heart is unreceptive due to sin and pride

Summary: The hard heart cannot receive the Word because it lacks meekness and repentance, as required in James 1:21.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'in order to receive the engrafted word... you must lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness... receive it with meekness.'

Scripture References

Mark 4:14-15

Context: Introduction to the message; the sower sows the word, and Satan takes it away from wayside hearers.

Luke 15:8-9

Context: Illustration of losing something valuable, like the woman who lost a silver coin and sought diligently.

1 Peter 5:8

Context: Satan as adversary, a roaring lion seeking to devour.

Matthew 13:19

Context: The wicked one catches away the word sown in the heart.

Luke 8:12

Context: The devil takes away the word out of hearts, lest they believe and be saved.

Hebrews 2:1

Context: Warning to give earnest heed lest we let the word slip away.

Mark 4:13

Context: The parable of the sower is foundational; understanding it is key to all parables.

Luke 8:11-15

Context: Jesus' interpretation of the parable: seed is the Word, four soils represent different hearers.

Mark 4:24

Context: Take heed what you hear; with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Luke 8:18

Context: Take heed how you hear; whoever has will be given more, whoever does not have will lose even what he seems to have.

Matthew 13:3-4, 18-19

Context: The sower, seed by the wayside, and interpretation: the wicked one catches away the word.

Mark 4:3-4, 14-15

Context: The sower, seed by the wayside, and interpretation: Satan takes away the word.

Luke 8:5, 11-12

Context: The sower, seed by the wayside trodden down, and interpretation: the devil takes away the word.

Luke 10:17-18

Context: Jesus saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven, affirming Satan as a being.

Romans 16:20

Context: The God of peace will bruise Satan under your feet shortly.

Revelation 12:11

Context: They overcame him (the devil) by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.

Zechariah 3:1-2

Context: Satan standing at Joshua's right hand to resist him, showing Satan's opposition to God's servants.

James 4:7

Context: Submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Proverbs 16:1

Context: The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

Hosea 10:12

Context: Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD.

Historical References

Charles Haddon Spurgeon's conversion

Context: Weaver recounts Spurgeon's conversion under an uneducated lay preacher during a snowstorm, illustrating that anyone can sow the seed and God uses simple means.

Important Quotes

Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

Significance: This is the central verse of the message, highlighting Satan's immediate action to steal the Word from unprepared hearts.

The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

Significance: Emphasizes that heart preparation is ultimately a work of God, foundational to receiving the Word.

Break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

Significance: Highlights human responsibility to seek God and prepare the heart, balancing divine sovereignty.

Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Significance: Calls for active obedience, warning against self-deception through mere hearing.

Young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look, look, look. You have nothing to do but to look and live.

Significance: The climax of Spurgeon's conversion story, illustrating the simplicity of the gospel and the power of sowing the Word.

Discussion Questions

In what ways can Satan 'steal' the Word from our hearts today, and how can we recognize this happening?

Context: Weaver describes Satan's activity as continuous and forceful, using distraction and hard hearts.

What does it mean to 'prepare your heart' before hearing a sermon, and what practical steps can you take?

Context: Weaver emphasizes the need for heart preparation, citing Proverbs 16:1 and Hosea 10:12.

Why is it dangerous to be a 'hearer only' and not a doer of the Word? How does this relate to the wayside hearer?

Context: Weaver uses James 1:22-24 to illustrate the forgetful hearer who does not act on what he hears.

How does the scarcity of God's Word (as in Amos 8:11) affect our appreciation for it, and how should we prepare for such times?

Context: Weaver warns of a coming famine of hearing God's Word and urges valuing it now.

What does Spurgeon's conversion teach us about the role of the sower versus the power of the seed itself?

Context: Weaver shares Spurgeon's testimony to show that God can use anyone to sow the Word effectively.

Applications

Guard against distraction during preaching

Summary: Believers must discipline their minds to focus on the Word and resist wandering thoughts, which are prime opportunities for Satan to steal the seed.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Have you ever noticed how easily we are distracted?... There's no discipline. There's no concentration.'

Seek God to prepare your heart

Summary: We are responsible to ask God to break up the hard ground of our hearts so that we can receive and retain His Word.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'It is our responsibility to seek the Lord to prepare our hearts... acknowledge the fact that our hearts are hardened.'

Be a doer of the Word, not just a hearer

Summary: Apply what you hear from Scripture; otherwise, you are like a man who forgets his reflection and deceives himself.

Evidence: Weaver explains James 1:22-24, saying, 'If you can do that in a mirror and forget what you look like... that's the way you are when you hear the word of God.'

Value the Word as precious and scarce

Summary: Recognize the worth of God's Word and store it up in your heart before times of spiritual famine.

Evidence: Weaver warns, 'If you know there's going to be a famine of the Word of God, would it not be wise to read and study and grasp and understand and apply all that you can while you can?'

Sow the seed regardless of your ability

Summary: Every believer can and should share God's Word; God uses ordinary people to accomplish His purposes.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Anyone can plant a seed. You do not have to be a trained theologian... We need to be planting the word of God.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T18:14:41Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T10:33:55Z

Clean Transcript

Did You Lose Something?

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

I want to begin a message today that is actually four parts. So you will understand as I read the scripture just momentarily. So the message is going to be four distinct messages based upon Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8. And the title of the message today is just simply, Did You Lose Something? So if you look in Mark chapter 4 and verse 15—in fact, let's read verse 14.
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Our Lord says, "The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the wayside, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts." Each one of us have lost something from time to time. In fact, we may lose articles and do not even realize it. Articles sometimes slip from our fingers and disappear into oblivion. Years ago, Alice lost a watch that I'd given her, and she has no idea, no clue this day to where that watch went.
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She had it with her. It was in the automobile. Then it was gone, and it was never ever found. It just simply disappeared. Occasionally, it's something of value that we lose, and we really regret losing it. There are other times when we may value something very greatly, but it's not necessarily lost, it's just stolen from us. And have you ever stopped to think that when you do not use articles frequently, and they are stolen, it sometimes takes a great deal of time to figure out that it has really gone missing? And then, of course, when it does go missing, you wonder, did I lose it or was it really stolen? I'm sure that you remember the woman in Luke chapter 15 that lost a silver coin.
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Our Lord said it like this in verses 8 and 9. He said, "Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost." So obviously, here's a woman that had lost a piece of silver.
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It was something extremely valuable. And the fact she literally lit a candle and swept the house until she did, in reality, find it. It is one thing to lose something that is insignificant or even something of value that could be eventually replaced. However, to lose something or to have something stolen that can never, ever be replaced is exceedingly painful and at times very, very costly. So I want you to look in Mark 4 and verse 15 at this particular statement again.
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Our Lord says, "And these are they by the wayside, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts." Now, I want to call your attention, first of all, in verse 15, our Lord says, "Satan cometh." The word Satan means adversary. He is the arch enemy. We're told in 1 Peter 5 and verse 8, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." So here he is called Satan. Notice, if you would, in Matthew chapter 13—I'm sorry, Matthew 13 and verse 19. Matthew 13 and verse 19. Because here is another term that relates to the evil one. Matthew 13, verse 19: "When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the wayside." But notice if you would, Satan in this passage is just simply referred to as the wicked one, which literally means the evil one or the one who is evil consummately.
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So he is here called the evil one or the wicked one. If you would look in the book of Luke chapter 8 and verse 12, you'll find another name that is used here. Luke 8 and verse 12. Our Lord says this: "Those by the wayside are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved." So here the word is devil, and the word devil refers to the accuser or the slanderer.
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Now, I want to put these together for you. I want you to watch this. In Mark 4 and verse 15, scripture says Satan takes away the word. In Matthew 13 and verse 19, the wicked one catches away the word. And in Luke 8 and verse 12, the devil taketh away the word. Now I want to give you two thoughts. First of all, in Mark 4 and verse 15, the passage that we read, and in Luke 8 and verse 12, when the Bible says he takes away the word, the Greek term for takes away literally means to lift up, to carry away, and to take away. So it's as if something is lifted up from you and it's taken from you, just like a pickpocket will come along and take your valuable out of your pocket. However, when you get to Matthew chapter 13 in verse 19, there's a totally different word that is used. It's the Greek word harpazo, which, listen, it means to seize, to snatch away, to carry off by force and to claim for oneself eagerly.
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So in this passage, it's more like a mugger or a robber, someone who knocks you over the head, steals your possession, and then leaves. So it means literally to take away by force.
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Now, it doesn't matter if you look in Matthew 13, Mark 4, or Luke 8. Let me tell you something. When the Bible says either the Satan or the devil or the wicked one takes away or catches away, it is a present active indicative.
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Now, let me explain that. All it means is that something is happening in the present time and it continues to happen. In other words, the present tense of the Greek verb denotes continuous action or action in progress. It is something that is happening now. And the mood or the mode just simply indicates the reality of the action. In other words, it is really, truly happening.
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Now the interesting thing in Matthew 13 and Mark 4 and Luke 8, in each instance, it's Satan who catches away or takes away the Word of God. I want you to turn in your Bibles, hold Mark 4, but turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 2, if you would, and look at verse 1. Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 1. In this passage, Hebrews 2 and verse 1, there's a warning. Look at this warning very carefully.
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"Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip." Now, what's that warning? "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard." And he's talking about the word of God. "Lest at any time we should let them slip." Now the word slip literally means to flow by, to flow over, to fall or to flow away. It's much like being compared to a river as the water just simply flows by you and it flows away from you. It glides away. It escapes from you. It's much like as a thief does in stealth.
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Each one of us has used the expression, "It slipped from my mind. I forgot it." Have you ever wondered why things slip from our minds? The answer is this: because we do not dwell upon them. We do not concentrate upon them. We do not think about them regularly or continually or often enough. And they just simply glide away. And that's the warning that is given to us in verse one: "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we've heard, lest at any time we should let them slip."
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Now, I have read from Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8 that Satan catches away or takes away the Word of God from us. So here's an important question and one that you should ask yourself. How does Satan take away or steal the Word of God from us? How does he steal it? Well, in order to answer that question, you have to know something about the parable of the sower. So I want you to look in your Bibles to Mark chapter four. Look, if you would please, at verse 13. I want you to see the importance of this parable of the sower. In Mark chapter four and verse 13, our Lord said this, and he's speaking to his disciples. And he said to them, "Know ye not this parable? How then will you know all parables?" In other words, the parable of the sower is foundational. You must understand this parable in order to understand the rest of the parables. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Luke, chapter eight, and I want to read from this passage this parable.
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and our Lord's interpretation. I will tell you why in just a moment that I'm reading from Luke chapter 8 instead of Matthew 13 and Mark 4. They all say essentially the same thing, but if you look at Luke chapter 8 beginning there with verse 11, our Lord is giving his interpretation of this parable and he says this: "Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God. Those by the wayside are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
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And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience."
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Now, the interpretation that our Lord gives in Matthew and Mark is exactly the same as the interpretation that He gives in Luke chapter 8. However, I read this passage just so that you could look at verse 11 and see this for yourself.
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"Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God." So when the sower sows the seed, he is sowing the Word of God.
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Now, in Mark 4 and verse 24, if you want to look there, that's fine. Mark 4 and verse 24, our Lord says this: "And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given." Now I'm going to comment on this verse and another verse just momentarily, but in Mark 4 and verse 24, it says, "Take heed what ye hear." In Luke 8 and verse 18, he says it just a little differently. Now he says, "Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have." So our Lord has told us that we need to take heed what we hear.
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We need to make sure that we're hearing the pure, unadulterated word of God. And then he admonishes us that we're also to take heed how we hear.
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Now, our Lord tells us that this parable is exceedingly important because you cannot understand the other parables unless you understand this parable. And in this parable there are four types of hearers. Four types of hearers. Each of these four types of hearers were present in our Lord's day and they are also present in our day. The truth of the matter is this: everyone that hears the word of God responds to the word of God in one of these four ways. Let me say that again: everyone who hears the word of God responds to the word of God in one of these four ways. Now, obviously, I'm not going to be able to cover all four of these ways today. That's why there's going to be four parts to this message, OK?
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But let me just point them out. First of all, our Lord says there is the wayside hearer. Some seed fell by the wayside. So that is a distinct type of hearer. Then he says, secondly, some seed fell upon stony ground. And there's another type of hearer. And then thirdly, he said, some seed fell among the thorns. That is a third type of hearer. And then finally, he says, fourthly, some seed fell upon good ground.
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So each of these hearers responds to the word of God differently. Today, we're only going to cover the wayside hearer. Let me just tell you that there is another name for the wayside hearer. He could also be called a hard-hearted hearer because of the soil of his heart.
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Now, although this parable is known as the parable of the sower, it could also be correctly known as the parable of the soils, because the Bible is not only teaching about the seed that is sown, it's also teaching about the different types of soils that the seeds fall in. So, let's today just cover the wayside hearer. First of all, let me tell you, our Lord said some seed fell by the wayside. The Greek word for the wayside is the word hodos, which literally means a road. It means something that is well traveled. When you look at a road that is well traveled, the very first thing that you look at and that you understand is that the ground is packed absolutely firmly. It is hard. It is pressed down. A good way to understand this is if you will observe the fields today. Every field, I do not care what size it is, every field has an access road. You have to get into the field to prepare the soil. So there's an access road.
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That road is for the tractors, it's for the combines, it's for the heavy machinery. And when the farmer goes to prepare that field, he always uses that access road. And when he plants, inevitably, invariably, some of that seed falls on that road. Now, the point I'm trying to make is when the seed falls on that road, it is impossible for it to penetrate the ground. That means the birds come and devour that seed.
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Or, it just simply lies there and rots. Now, I want you to see our Lord's statement of this truth and our Lord's interpretation of this truth. So I want us to go to the book of Matthew 13. Then we're going to Mark, and then we're going to Luke. And I'm just going to show you that our Lord's statement and our Lord's interpretation of the wayside hearer. So look in Matthew 13.
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at verses 3 and 4 first. Matthew 13 verses 3 and 4. In verse 3, "And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them up." Now skip down to verses 18 and 19. Here is his interpretation: "Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the wayside."
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Look in your Bibles now, if you would please, to the book of Mark, chapter 4. Mark, chapter 4, and we'll go to verses 3 and 4 first. Again, our Lord is telling us about the sower, about the seed and about the wayside hearer. Mark 4, verse 3: "Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: and it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up." Skip down to verses 14 and 15: "The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the wayside, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts." Now go to Luke chapter 8 and look if you would please at verse 5 to begin with. Luke 8 verse 5: "A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it." Skip down to verse 11.
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"Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved."
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Now what I want to do, having read these three different passages, I want to try to just glean some principles from the word of God in order that you might understand the wayside hearer. First of all, it should be evident, according to our Lord, that when the Word of God is preached, there is a present activity of Satan to thwart and to hinder the Word of God. Let me point that out very clearly. It should be evident after reading these passages that whenever the Word of God is preached, there is a present activity of Satan to thwart and to hinder the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. Now, there are many people who deny the existence of Satan. There are some who try to say that Satan is nothing more than a mere force or a power. I have read some authors that said that Satan is none other than the state. Well, I understand, and I know that Satan uses many, and for all practical purposes, most politicians and civil servants are none other than Satan's servants.
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I understand that. Many civil rulers seem to be evil incarnate. However, when you look at Luke, since you're there, look in Luke chapter 10 and verse 18. Look at what our Lord said. He's talking to his disciples. In fact, let's read verse 17 so you can see it in the context. Luke 10, verse 17: "And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name." And he said—our Lord said—"I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." Now, here's my question. Did the Lord behold a force fall from heaven, or the state fall from heaven, or did he behold a being that fell from heaven?
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You remember that passage I quoted earlier in 1 Peter 5 and verse 8, where the scripture says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." So he is our adversary and he seeks to devour.
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Now let me ask you a question. I want you to think about this. If Satan is nothing more than a force, if Satan is nothing more than an abstract concept such as the state, how do you overcome a force? How do you overcome an abstract concept? I want you to look, turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 16. Romans chapter 16. And notice, if you would please, verse 20. Romans 16 and verse 20. You see, the problem is that an abstract force or an abstract concept cannot really be defeated or overcome. But when you look in Romans 16 and verse 20, the Apostle Paul writes to the Roman Christians and he says this: "And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.
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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen." Notice, if you would, "the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly." If he is a being, he may be defeated. He may be destroyed, but if it's an abstract concept, how in the world can you destroy an abstract concept? You remember that passage in Revelation 12:11? The Bible just simply says this: "And they overcame him"—that is the devil—"they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony;
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and they loved not their lives unto the death." They overcame him. Not it. They overcame him, which is a being.
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Now, when you read in Matthew 13 and the other passages, when our Lord says that some seed fell by the wayside and the fowls came and devoured it up, that phrase is explained by our Lord in the other passages as Satan coming immediately and taking away the word that was sown in them. In other words, what our Lord is teaching is the direct, destructive power of the enemy which hinders the entrance of and the preaching of the Word of God. Now, so many people have vainly and wrongly thought that whenever the Word of God is preached or whenever the saints gather for prayer, that Satan flees. I have heard all my life, and probably you as well, this little saying that Satan flees whenever he sees the weakest saint upon his knees. You ever heard that? I've heard it all my life.
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The only problem with it is this: it just ain't so. It's just not true. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Zechariah, next to the last book in the Old Testament, book of Malachi. Zechariah, Malachi. I want you to look at Zechariah chapter 3. I want you to see what happens here. Joshua is the high priest. Watch this. Zechariah chapter 3 verse 1: "And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee:
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is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" Here's Joshua the high priest standing before the Lord and Satan is standing at his right hand to do what? To resist him. To fight against him. So obviously, when the weakest saint is upon his knees, Satan does not flee. The truth of the matter is, Satan would be the busiest whenever the Word of God is preached and whenever true prayer and true worship is being given to our Lord. He is the adversary. He is the one that will do everything he can to distract the mind, devoid the worship, and destroy the Word of God.
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Do you remember what the Bible says in James 4 and verse 7? Now, listen carefully. "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
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Now, the word resist literally means to oppose. It means to withstand. It means to set oneself against or to fight against and resist. So God tells us that we must resist him. What you don't understand or what most people do not understand is this: we must fight for truth. Not only to maintain the truth, but to be able to receive the truth. Because here, Scripture is clearly teaching us that whenever there is a present preaching and teaching of the Word of God, there is also a present activity of Satan to hinder and destroy that, seeking to steal the Word of God. When you stop and think of all the wandering minds and vagabond thoughts and undisciplined minds that exist under the preaching of the Word of God, that is prime hunting ground for Satan.
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Have you ever noticed how easily we are distracted? I have seen hundreds of times a church building packed. And one little kid up front stands up, walks to the back to go to the bathroom and everybody follows him. Just like they'd never seen a kid go to the bathroom before. See people looking out the windows, watching the birds. There's no discipline. There's no concentration. There's no thinking upon what is being preached and said. And when you have these wandering minds and these vagabond thoughts and things that just pop into your mind and you have not the discipline to put them out of your mind and redirect your focus upon the Word of God, yes, it's very easy for him to lift up, to take away, to steal
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that which has been sown. So you better understand this: whenever the Word of God is being preached, whenever there is true worship and true prayer, Satan is always present, or at least his adversaries, to hinder and to thwart and to destroy. The second principle is this: it should be evident from this that unless our hearts are prepared, it will do no good to have the Word of God sown in them.
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Now, I'm going to deal more in detail with this thought in the last message. But let me tell you something about this principle right now. The wayside hearer has another name. He can be the hard-hearted hearer. Because that wayside is packed hard. The hard-hearted hearer is someone like that wayside that has not had his heart tilled, prepared, or softened. There's not an individual in this room that would go out in a few weeks and take a handful of seed and just cast it on open, packed, hardened ground and turn around and go into the house and somehow be foolish enough to expect in 60 days a full harvest. It just will not happen. Neither will it happen for someone to receive the word of God unless their hearts are prepared.
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The Bible says in Proverbs 16 and verse 1, "The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD." So mark it down: if our hearts are ever prepared, God must prepare them. If we ever prepared to pray, God has prepared us to pray. If we ever prepared to witness, God has prepared us to witness. If we ever prepared to receive God's word, God prepared our hearts that we may receive that word. The preparations of the heart in man are from the LORD.
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However, I do want you to turn back in your Bibles to the book of Hosea, because I want to show you a parallel truth as well. Look in Hosea, if you would, chapter 10 and verse 12. Daniel, Hosea. Hosea 10, look in verse 12. Although we understand that the preparation of the heart in man is from the Lord, here's another truth that we must hold alongside that truth. Hosea 10 and verse 12, God says, "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you."
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Now you say, "Wait a minute, Brother Weaver, wait just a minute. You just told me the preparation of the heart in man is from the Lord. And now you show me this verse where we are responsible to break up our fallow ground and to seek the Lord." Well, there is no conflict. Proverbs 16 verse 1 talks about ability. Hosea 10 and verse 12 talks about responsibility. It is our responsibility to seek the Lord to prepare our hearts. It's our responsibility to come to Him and acknowledge the fact that our hearts are hardened and that we do not necessarily love the Word of God or are inclined to hear it. That He must incline us and He must order our hearts. The truth of the matter is, unless our hearts are prepared to receive the Word of God, we will never, ever receive it. The fault is not in the Word of God. The fault is in us. The fault is in the soil. Many are careless, forgetful hearers, and consequently, they receive no good at all from the preaching of the Word of God.
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It goes in one ear and it goes out the other ear. No heart will ever benefit from the Word of God unless that heart is prepared to receive the Word of God. Now, listen. There is an application here for Christians. We must have our hearts prepared just like the unsaved must have their hearts prepared. Have you ever stopped to think that this could be one of the reasons why so many Christians are dull, dumb and deformed theologically? Their hearts have never been prepared for truth. Consequently, they can't receive it.
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You know what our Lord said to his disciples? "I have many things to say to you, but you're not able to bear them now." And the Bible also says that he spake the word of God unto them as they were able to receive it. Your heart must be prepared to receive truth. The more prepared your heart is, the more truth you can receive. The truth that is being emphasized is this, that unbroken and unprepared hearts are not fit or not fit soil for saving truth. They're not. Unprepared hearts may hear truth. They may speak of the truth, but they will never understand it. They will never comprehend it. It does not penetrate the hardened soil of their heart.
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It does them absolutely no good. It makes no impression upon them. And the seed, therefore, which is the word of God, just lies loosely on the surface of the heart and it's easily picked up and snatched up and carried off by the evil one. An unprepared heart never receives any benefit from the preached word of God. Never. Here's the third truth. It should be evident that this wayside hearer is a negligent hearer. The reality and truth is that he cares absolutely nothing for the Word of God. Let me ask you. Where did the seed fall? And the answer is: on the road. A hard packed surface. Do you realize that seed is very easily found on a hard packed surface?
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It doesn't get down in little crevices and it's difficult to find, you know. On a hard packed surface, it's just laying there on top. It was on the road. What does this hard-hearted or wayside hearer do? He tramples it down. He ignores it. He could have picked up the seed. He could have saved the seed. But he did not do it. The truth is, he did not really care whether the seed was there or not. He was not interested in saving the seed. He was not interested in transplanting or preserving the seed. He just simply walked over it and stomped it down just like so many others do. So, the heart of the wayside hearer is unreceptive and unresponsive to the Word of God.
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It finds no lodgment there. Let me show you why. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of James, chapter 1, and look at verse 21. Hebrews, James. James, chapter 1. And notice if you would please in verse 21. Look what the Bible says. James, chapter 1, verse 21: "Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls." Now, in order to receive the engrafted word which is able to save your souls, first of all, you must lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness. That is, you must get rid of the sin and the wickedness in your life. Secondly, in order to receive it savingly, you must receive it with meekness.
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Well, this hard-hearted hearer, this wayside hearer, had no meekness, was not willing to repent, and consequently, he just ignored it and went on his way. We are responsible to hear the Word of God and receive the Word of God correctly and in the manner that God has ordained it. Let me quote once more Hebrews 2 and verse 1. What did he say? "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we've heard, lest at any time we should let them slip." So if you don't give earnest heed to it, it's going to slip away. It will flow away.
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You remember I quoted earlier from Mark 4 and verse 24, where our Lord said, "Take heed what ye hear." Then he also said in Luke 8 and verse 18, "Take heed therefore how ye hear." Do you realize you are responsible to hear the Word of God correctly? You are responsible to hear it and retain it and apply it and obey it? Turn in your Bibles to the book of James, chapter one. What's this? James, chapter one, beginning there with verse 22. James, chapter one, verse 22. We'll read through verse 24. Look in James 1, verse 22.
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What does the scripture say? God says, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was." So let me give you an illustration.
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You've got a very important meeting. Maybe for the single guys, it's your girlfriend. Maybe for those of us who are married, maybe it's a business deal. You get up in the morning, first thing you get up, you run in there and look in the mirror and your hair looks like mice nested in it all night. And your face is dirty. And you see that you haven't trimmed your beard and you haven't shaved. And you think to yourself, "Well, before this meeting, I need to correct this." And you just go and get busy and you get dressed. And you go to the meeting and your hair is still a mess and your face is still dirty.
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What is our Lord saying? If you can do that in a mirror and forget what you look like and never do anything about it to correct it, that's the way you are when you hear the word of God and God tells you what you look like and you never do anything to correct it. You are a forgetful hearer. You have not taken heed how you hear. By the way, our Lord said this wayside hearer when he hears the word, he understands it not. Did you realize that you're responsible to understand the Word of God? Stop and think. You are responsible to understand the Word of God. I've had so many people tell me in times past, "Well, I just don't understand the Bible." That's probably
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either number one, because you're unconverted or number two, if you are converted, you have not really studied. You have not really read. You have not really prayed. You have not really asked for help or instruction. But it's your responsibility to understand the word of God. It is true for an unsaved man, spiritual things are foolishness unto an unsaved man. It is also true that he does not have the ability to understand them. But it's also equally true, he has a responsibility. And as for Christians, we have to understand that really, truly understanding the word of the Lord is to be obtained from God alone.
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You know what Job cried in Job 34 and verse 32? This should be our prayer. Job said, "That which I see not teach thou me." Lord, that which I don't understand, teach me, show me, help me. Give me the ability to understand.
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Now, none of us are going to understand the Word of God perfectly. But one thing we can do is continue to increase in our knowledge of the Word of God and to continue to increase in our ability to understand the Word of God. You know what the Bible says in Psalm 25 and verse 9? Listen, here's his promise. "The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way." The meek will he teach his way. When we're proud and arrogant and haughty and think we know it all, we're not going to be taught anything, but we humble ourselves and come before God. He's promised to teach us.
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Wherever there is no humbling of the heart, there's not going to be any understanding. And where there is no understanding, as our Lord said, Satan cometh immediately and catches away that which was sown in their hearts. And the truth of the matter is, we have no one but ourselves to blame. We lost it. Have you lost something? Have you lost the word of God in your life? Have you lost the understanding? We have heard the word of God so frequently and so often. Each one of us should be scholars and theologians. But I'm afraid
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we've let a lot of things slip because we have not maintained our concentration upon those important items. Let me make a couple of applications today. The first one is this: the wayside hearer does not value the seed. It's on the road. He can see it. But he doesn't pick it up. Why does he not pick it up? It has no value to him. It's not precious to him.
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I want you to think. Let's pretend for a moment that there is only one grain of corn left in the entire world. And we let it rot. Nothing man could do could ever reproduce that corn. It's gone. It's lost. Likewise, there is no substitute for the Word of God. When it is lost, it is lost. When it is gone, it is gone. I can't help but think of 1 Samuel 3 and verse 1. I want you to just listen. Don't turn there. 1 Samuel 3 and verse 1. It's very applicable to our lives. The Bible says, "And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision." In other words, there was no open preaching, open teaching of the word of God. Why was the word of God considered so valuable in those days?
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And the answer is because of its scarcity. The reason gold is so valuable is because of its scarcity. I haven't found any where I live. You haven't found any where you live. The Word of God is valuable and it becomes more and more valuable when you realize its scarcity. Amos 8 verse 11, let me just quote it: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD."
#64 | 46:22 to 47:13 | cleaned
Let me tell you something. During a famine, you learn to value food. During a drought, you learn to value water. When there is a famine of the preaching and teaching of the Word of God, you learn to value it. It's scarce. What you and I need to do is to learn to value the Word of God and to prize it and possess it before the famine. If you knew, and you should already know this, but if you knew that we're going to be going through a depression greater than the Great Depression, wouldn't you want to put up a little food? Wouldn't you want to put up a little implement or two? Of course you would. And if you know there's going to be a famine of the Word of God, would it not be wise to read and study and grasp and understand and apply all that you can while you can?
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Secondly, there is no emphasis in this parable laid upon the sower. The sower is insignificant. Undoubtedly, anyone can sow seed, even a child. In fact, all of our kids and even our grandkids used to help plant in the garden and sometimes they'd have their own little spot where they planted their tomato plant or they planted their seed. Anybody can plant a seed. You do not have to be a trained theologian. Nor do you have to be called into the ministry in order to plant a seed.
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I want to read to you something. I want to read to you Charles Haddon Spurgeon's account of his conversion. When Charles Haddon Spurgeon, one of the greatest preachers that ever lived, when he was converted, the preacher was not there. He went to the church building for the service, but there was a tremendous snow. And the pastor could not even get there because he was snowed in. So an ignorant—which you and I would call him ignorant—an ignorant man, stood up and preached. Listen, Spurgeon says, "I turned down a side street and came to a little Primitive Methodist chapel. In that chapel, there may have been a dozen or 15 people. I had heard of the Primitive Methodists, how they sang so loudly that they made people's heads ache.
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But that did not matter to me. I wanted to know how I might be saved. And if they could tell me that, I did not care how much they made my head ache. The minister did not come that morning. He was snowed up, I suppose. At last, a very thin-looking man, a shoemaker or tailor or something of that sort, went into the pulpit to preach.
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Now, it is well that preachers should be instructed, but this man was really stupid. He was obliged to stick to his text for the simple reason that he had little else to say. The text was, 'Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.' He did not even pronounce the words rightly, but that did not matter. There I was, I thought, a glimpse of hope for me in that text. The preacher began thus: 'My dear friends, this is a very simple text indeed. It says look.
#69 | 50:46 to 51:18 | cleaned
Now, looking don't take a great deal of pains. It ain't lifting your foot or your finger. It's just look. Well, a man needn't go to college to learn to look. You may be the biggest fool and yet you can look. A man needn't be worth a thousand a year to be able to look. Anyone can look, even a child can look. But then the text says, look unto me. I,' said he in the broad Essex, 'many a year looking to yourselves, but it's no use looking there. You'll never find any comfort in yourselves. Some look to God the Father. No. Look to Him by and by. Jesus Christ says, look unto Me.
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Some of you say, we must wait for the Spirit's working. You have no business with that just now. Look to Christ. The text says, look to Me. Then the good man followed up his text this way: Look unto Me. I'm sweating great drops of blood. Look unto Me. I'm hanging on the cross. Look unto Me. I'm dead and buried. Look unto Me, I rise again. Look unto Me, I ascend into heaven. Look unto Me, I'm sitting at the Father's right hand. Oh, poor sinner. Look unto Me. Look unto Me.'
#71 | 51:57 to 52:24 | cleaned
When he had gone on about the length and managed to spin out about ten minutes or so, he was at the end of his tether. Then he looked at me under the gallery, and I dare say, with so few present, he knew me to be a stranger. Just fixing his eyes on me as if he knew all my heart, he said, 'Young man, you look miserable.' Well, I did, but I had not been accustomed to have remarks made from the pulpit on my personal appearance before.
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However, it was a good blow struck right home. He continued and said, 'You will always be miserable, miserable in life and miserable in death if you don't obey my text. But if you obey now this moment, you will be saved.' Then lifting up his hands, he shouted as only a Primitive Methodist could do, 'Young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look, look, look. You have nothing to do but to look and live.'
#73 | 52:54 to 53:18 | cleaned
I saw at once the way of salvation. I know not what else he said. I did not take much notice of it. I was so possessed with that one thought, like as when the brazen serpent was lifted up, the people only looked and were healed. So it was with me. I had been waiting to do 50 things. But when I heard that word, look, what a charming word it was to me. Oh, I looked until I could have almost looked my eyes away.
#74 | 53:19 to 53:46 | cleaned
There and then the cloud was gone. The darkness had rolled away. And that moment I saw the sun. And I could have risen that instant and sung with the most enthusiastic of them of the precious blood of Christ and the simple faith which looks alone to Him. Oh, that someone had told me this before. Trust Christ and you shall be saved. Yet it was no doubt all wisely ordered. And now I can say, 'E'er since by faith I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply,
#75 | 53:46 to 54:16 | cleaned
Redeeming love has been my theme and shall be till I die.'" And so Charles Haddon Spurgeon, one of the greatest preachers that ever lived, was converted under the preaching of a man who had no more than ten minutes in him and could not even pronounce the words correctly. I have one scripture. I want you to understand this. Anyone can plant a seed. Let me just read 1 Corinthians 3, verses 6 and 7. This one passage explains it all.
#76 | 54:16 to 54:54 | cleaned
Paul said, "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase." God can take a crooked stick and draw a straight line. God can take the simplest, most ignorant, most foolish individual that ever lived and use him for his honor and his glory. Anyone can plant a seed. We need to be planting the word of God.
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Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We thank You for Your love and Your grace and Your mercy. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, what a blessing it is to know that we must look only to Jesus Christ. Give us grace, we pray, Lord, to serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray, Amen. This program was produced by Dominion Ministry. For more information about Pastor Weaver's sermons, you may contact Dominion Ministry by mail at 7400 Abercorn, that's A-B-E-R-C-O-R-N, Street, Suite 705, PMB 175, Savannah, Georgia, 31406. Or give us a call at 912... You can also visit our website at www.dominionministry.com.
#78 | 55:41 to 56:50 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T18:14:41Z

Did You Lose Something?

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this sermon, John Weaver introduces a four-part series on the Parable of the Sower, focusing on the wayside hearer from Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8. He explains that Satan actively steals the Word of God from hearts that are hard and unprepared, emphasizing the need for hearers to value, understand, and retain the Word. The message warns against negligence and distraction, urging believers to prepare their hearts and be doers of the Word, not forgetful hearers.

Introduction to the Four-Part Message

Weaver announces a four-part series based on Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8, introducing the title 'Did You Lose Something?' and reading Mark 4:14-15.

Scripture Reading — Mark 4:14-15

"The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the wayside, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts."

The Reality of Losing and Having Stolen

Using personal anecdotes and the parable of the lost coin, Weaver illustrates how we lose things of value, sometimes without realizing it, and how Satan steals the Word.

Satan's Names and His Activity

Weaver examines the terms Satan, wicked one, and devil from the three Gospel accounts, explaining the Greek words for 'takes away' and 'catches away' as continuous, forceful action.

Scripture Reading — 1 Peter 5:8

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."

The Warning to Give Earnest Heed

Drawing from Hebrews 2:1, Weaver warns that the Word can slip away like flowing water if we do not concentrate and dwell upon it.

The Parable of the Sower as Foundational

Weaver reads the parable and its interpretation from Luke 8, emphasizing that understanding this parable is key to understanding all parables, and identifies four types of hearers.

Scripture Reading — Mark 4:13

"Know ye not this parable? How then will you know all parables?"

Scripture Reading — Luke 8:11-15

"Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God. Those by the wayside are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience."

Scripture Reading — Mark 4:24

"And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given."

Now I'm going to comment on this verse and another verse just momentarily, but in Mark 4 and verse 24, it says,

Scripture Reading — Mark 4:24

"Take heed what ye hear."

The Wayside Hearer: Hard-Hearted and Unprepared

Focusing on the wayside hearer, Weaver explains the packed, hard soil represents an unprepared heart that cannot receive the seed, leading to Satan stealing the Word.

Scripture Reading — Mark 4:3-4, 14-15

"Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: and it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up."

Scripture Reading — Mark 4:3-4, 14-15

"A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it."

Skip down to verse 11.

Satan's Present Activity in Hindering the Word

Weaver argues that Satan is a personal being, not a force, who actively resists the preaching of the Word, and believers must resist him through discipline and focus.

Do you remember what the Bible says in James 4 and verse 7? Now, listen carefully. "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

The Necessity of Heart Preparation

Using Proverbs 16:1 and Hosea 10:12, Weaver teaches that God prepares the heart, yet we have a responsibility to seek Him and break up our fallow ground to receive the Word.

The Bible says in Proverbs 16 and verse 1,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 16:1

"The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD."

Now you say,

Scripture Reading — Hosea 10:12

"Wait a minute, Brother Weaver, wait just a minute. You just told me the preparation of the heart in man is from the Lord. And now you show me this verse where we are responsible to break up our fallow ground and to seek the Lord."

The Negligent Hearer and the Call to Be Doers

Weaver describes the wayside hearer as negligent, trampling the seed, and urges hearers to receive the Word with meekness, understand it, and be doers, not forgetful hearers.

Applications: Value the Seed and Anyone Can Sow

Weaver applies the message by stressing the preciousness of the Word, warning of a coming famine, and encouraging all believers to sow the seed, illustrated by Spurgeon's conversion.

Did You Lose Something?

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	59131438409
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications
Genre	Sermon
Date	2013-02-10
Dictation Name
Book	Book 141: Revelation Themes and Eschatological Applications — Chapter 7
Source Timed Segments	78

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction to the Four-Part Message: Weaver announces a four-part series based on Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8, introducing the title 'Did You Lose Something?' and reading Mark 4:14-15.
The Reality of Losing and Having Stolen: Using personal anecdotes and the parable of the lost coin, Weaver illustrates how we lose things of value, sometimes without realizing it, and how Satan steals the Word.
Satan's Names and His Activity: Weaver examines the terms Satan, wicked one, and devil from the three Gospel accounts, explaining the Greek words for 'takes away' and 'catches away' as continuous, forceful action.
The Warning to Give Earnest Heed: Drawing from Hebrews 2:1, Weaver warns that the Word can slip away like flowing water if we do not concentrate and dwell upon it.
The Parable of the Sower as Foundational: Weaver reads the parable and its interpretation from Luke 8, emphasizing that understanding this parable is key to understanding all parables, and identifies four types of hearers.
The Wayside Hearer: Hard-Hearted and Unprepared: Focusing on the wayside hearer, Weaver explains the packed, hard soil represents an unprepared heart that cannot receive the seed, leading to Satan stealing the Word.
Satan's Present Activity in Hindering the Word: Weaver argues that Satan is a personal being, not a force, who actively resists the preaching of the Word, and believers must resist him through discipline and focus.
The Necessity of Heart Preparation: Using Proverbs 16:1 and Hosea 10:12, Weaver teaches that God prepares the heart, yet we have a responsibility to seek Him and break up our fallow ground to receive the Word.
The Negligent Hearer and the Call to Be Doers: Weaver describes the wayside hearer as negligent, trampling the seed, and urges hearers to receive the Word with meekness, understand it, and be doers, not forgetful hearers.
Applications: Value the Seed and Anyone Can Sow: Weaver applies the message by stressing the preciousness of the Word, warning of a coming famine, and encouraging all believers to sow the seed, illustrated by Spurgeon's conversion.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Satan is a personal being, not an abstract force

Weaver argues that Satan is a real adversary who can be defeated, as seen in Romans 16:20 and Revelation 12:11, contrasting with the idea of an abstract concept.

He says, 'If he is a being, he may be defeated. He may be destroyed, but if it's an abstract concept, how in the world can you destroy an abstract concept?'

Satan does not flee from the weakest saint; he resists

Contrary to popular belief, Satan is most active during preaching and prayer, as seen in Zechariah 3:1 where he stands to resist Joshua the high priest.

Weaver states, 'Satan would be the busiest whenever the Word of God is preached and whenever true prayer and true worship is being given to our Lord.'

Understanding the Word is a human responsibility

Weaver insists that both unbelievers and believers are responsible to understand the Word, and lack of understanding often stems from lack of study or prayer.

He says, 'You are responsible to understand the Word of God' and cites Job 34:32 and Psalm 25:9.

The wayside hearer's heart is unreceptive due to sin and pride

The hard heart cannot receive the Word because it lacks meekness and repentance, as required in James 1:21.

Weaver explains, 'in order to receive the engrafted word... you must lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness... receive it with meekness.'

Scripture References

Mark 4:14-15: Introduction to the message; the sower sows the word, and Satan takes it away from wayside hearers.
Luke 15:8-9: Illustration of losing something valuable, like the woman who lost a silver coin and sought diligently.
1 Peter 5:8: Satan as adversary, a roaring lion seeking to devour.
Matthew 13:19: The wicked one catches away the word sown in the heart.
Luke 8:12: The devil takes away the word out of hearts, lest they believe and be saved.
Hebrews 2:1: Warning to give earnest heed lest we let the word slip away.
Mark 4:13: The parable of the sower is foundational; understanding it is key to all parables.
Luke 8:11-15: Jesus' interpretation of the parable: seed is the Word, four soils represent different hearers.
Mark 4:24: Take heed what you hear; with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Luke 8:18: Take heed how you hear; whoever has will be given more, whoever does not have will lose even what he seems to have.
Matthew 13:3-4, 18-19: The sower, seed by the wayside, and interpretation: the wicked one catches away the word.
Mark 4:3-4, 14-15: The sower, seed by the wayside, and interpretation: Satan takes away the word.
Luke 8:5, 11-12: The sower, seed by the wayside trodden down, and interpretation: the devil takes away the word.
Luke 10:17-18: Jesus saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven, affirming Satan as a being.
Romans 16:20: The God of peace will bruise Satan under your feet shortly.
Revelation 12:11: They overcame him (the devil) by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.
Zechariah 3:1-2: Satan standing at Joshua's right hand to resist him, showing Satan's opposition to God's servants.
James 4:7: Submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Proverbs 16:1: The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.
Hosea 10:12: Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD.

Historical References

Charles Haddon Spurgeon's conversion: Weaver recounts Spurgeon's conversion under an uneducated lay preacher during a snowstorm, illustrating that anyone can sow the seed and God uses simple means.

Important Quotes

Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

This is the central verse of the message, highlighting Satan's immediate action to steal the Word from unprepared hearts.

The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

Emphasizes that heart preparation is ultimately a work of God, foundational to receiving the Word.

Break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

Highlights human responsibility to seek God and prepare the heart, balancing divine sovereignty.

Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Calls for active obedience, warning against self-deception through mere hearing.

Young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look, look, look. You have nothing to do but to look and live.

The climax of Spurgeon's conversion story, illustrating the simplicity of the gospel and the power of sowing the Word.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

In what ways can Satan 'steal' the Word from our hearts today, and how can we recognize this happening?

[Context]

Weaver describes Satan's activity as continuous and forceful, using distraction and hard hearts.

[Question]

What does it mean to 'prepare your heart' before hearing a sermon, and what practical steps can you take?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes the need for heart preparation, citing Proverbs 16:1 and Hosea 10:12.

[Question]

Why is it dangerous to be a 'hearer only' and not a doer of the Word? How does this relate to the wayside hearer?

[Context]

Weaver uses James 1:22-24 to illustrate the forgetful hearer who does not act on what he hears.

[Question]

How does the scarcity of God's Word (as in Amos 8:11) affect our appreciation for it, and how should we prepare for such times?

[Context]

Weaver warns of a coming famine of hearing God's Word and urges valuing it now.

[Question]

What does Spurgeon's conversion teach us about the role of the sower versus the power of the seed itself?

[Context]

Weaver shares Spurgeon's testimony to show that God can use anyone to sow the Word effectively.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T10:33:55Z