Question Re 30, 60, 100 Fold — G.W. North

The Question of Thirtyfold, Sixtyfold, and Hundredfold Fruit

And straight away, I want to take up one of the questions that has been written in. Whether we'll get through them all, I don't know. I propose to take one or two of the questions in this afternoon's session, because they're related to family matters.

And I believe you all know that for this afternoon, we have a sort of, I don't quite know what to call it, alfresco or intradig or whatever it is, coming together of married people. I happen to be married, so I'm alive.

And people, husbands and wives, or wives or husbands, that's the sort of explanation of Paul's conundrum that he puts out every time. If you have children, then you're allowed, indeed, welcome and invited to come.

All sorts of meetings are arranged for me before I get here. And I sort of fit in. I'm just a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. But we hope that it works out all right. But for this morning, then, I want to take up something which I'm quite sure that in the past, in this same room, we have dwelt upon.

And some of you may be surprised that the question should be asked, but the persons asked it need not at all feel that they're at the bottom of the class because they've asked it. But again and again, these sorts of questions come up.

This one is, why the difference 30-fold, 60-fold and 100-fold in the parable of the sower? Now, you will know that if you turn to Matthew's Gospel, chapter 13, you have this great truth set before us.

I hope you know, too, that the same is told in the Gospel according to Mark and the same is told in the Gospel according to Luke. Mark and Matthew pretty well run parallel. In fact, the story runs the same in Luke's Gospel, too.

But Luke brings in a point that is the great thing for us to look at, I think, at one period as we're answering the question. But in Matthew 13, I said, Luke 8, if you popped your finger into there, if you were following my remarks at that period, and put your finger into Luke chapter 8 for further reference.

The Four Soils and Their Responses to the Word

In Matthew chapter 13, the parable is told right at the beginning. You see that it says that Jesus goes out of the house and he sits by the seaside. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship and sat.

And the whole multitude stood on the shore. Rather different teaching in those days. The teacher all was set and the crowd stood. Sometimes I snatch a seat whilst you're standing up singing, because I do the standing.

I suppose I'm doing you an honor. You did the teacher honor in the past days, you see, but I'm doing you the honor, if that's what it's all about. Or perhaps it's because you're all very tired, or your corns hurt you or something.

All right. And in verse 3, he spoke many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow. When he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and delivered, devoured them up.

Some fell upon stony places where they had not much earth. And forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth. When the sun was up, they were scorched. And because they had no root, they withered away.

Some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But other fell into good ground, brought forth fruit. Some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

And you know that the disciples, they wanted to know why the Lord spoke to the people in parables. It's in the next verse. He gives his lengthy explanation. As I was saying, I sometimes find great encouragement from Jesus, because he didn't say, The answer to your question is so and so.

He went round and laid the scriptural ground before he gave his answer. And I do that, or seek to generally, so that you can know how the conclusion is arrived at. And that's very important, you know.

So Jesus does that. He shows you the background from which he approaches his parable. He tells his story as upon the background of scripture. And, alright, in verse 18. Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower, against this whole background of Old Testament prophecy I'm speaking.

When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one and catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the wayside. And I suppose practically every one of us have been in that position at some time or other in our lives.

We didn't understand what was said. And so the devil just snatched away what could have become rooted in your life. Because Jesus is aiming at your understanding. You didn't understand what was being said.

And so the word didn't profit you one little bit. And the devil snatched it away before it began to sink in and take root. Anybody in the room been like that in their lives? Oh, I can see some heads nodding, yeah.

Don't all like to admit it. We like to think we start in the top class instead of at the bottom. But Jesus never thinks so. He that received seed into stony places, the same is he which heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it.

Yet he hath no root in himself, but dureth for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, by and by he is offended. That person was never a born again person. There are lots of people like that.

They hear the word, they receive it with joy. But they're too shallow to let God get right down into their lives. They're just shallow people. They'd do anything, you know. They see somebody standing on their head in the street.

They think that was marvelous, you see. Or anything like that. This sort of shallow kind of person. They're naturally shallow. What a disadvantage that is when you come to hear the gospel. Never really serious minded.

Never really want to get to grips with anything. Think that it's all playing tambourines and plucking banjo strings and this sort of thing. Wants to live on waffles and fish and chips. That sort of thing, you know.

Never really got anywhere with God. They're never serious enough. They never do anything in life. Leave alone with things of the spirit. Never. And that's tragic. No root in yourself. Amen. That's the next one.

He also that receiveth seed among thorns is he that heareth the word and the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and he becometh unfruitful. But he that receiveth seed into good ground is he that heareth the word and understandeth it.

Understanding, Faith, and the Transformation of the Heart

There's your difference between the last two. You see? People that receive seed among thorns. They are they that hear the word. Generally these kinds of people are introverts. Like the other person is an extrovert.

He's sort of shallow and on the surface this one's pretty deep. He's a very careful person. He's an introvert. He's usually a perfectionist. And so on and so on. Jesus has included all the psychological types here in this parable.

And in it goes mulling around inside cares, worries, and I don't know what and they get all shut up and sometimes they finish in the hand of a psychiatrist. Everything gets them all tied up inside. And the Lord says just get choked.

Anything you say to them is choked by these other things. Their own deep cares, worries, doubts, all sorts of things like that. Alright. But he that receiveth seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word understandeth it and brings forth fruit.

I suppose that everybody that's truly born again of God this morning has understood what the word's all about. The introvert or the extrovert understands that the word of God comes to you to do all the things to do all your trouble inside.

To do it for you. That's what God's telling you. So you see, in the end it's a matter of whether or not you will come to faith in the word that's preached to you. The person, for instance, from whom the word is snatched away by the devil is because they never exercise any kind of faith at all.

It just lies upon the surface. You heard it and that's all there was in it. But you've got to receive the word with faith and understand the word that when God talks about salvation that's what he's proposing to do happily.

He's going to save you as we were thinking last night. He saves his people from their sins. That's the great meaning of the name Jesus. But Jesus doesn't only save us from our sins. He saves us from the causes of those sins.

He saves us from the rootage of pebbits in the life. He roots out the thorns and the thistles. He's come to do it. He's come to take away the hard stones underneath that makes you a shallow bubbling brook and everybody thinks everything's lovely with you and underneath you're as hard and as you're as adamant and as you're as stubborn and as self-willed and shallow as you like and to hear your laughter when you think you're enjoying yourself is just the giveaway.

People only have to hear your voice. That's all they ever need to hear if they know what they're listening for. And God moves in this way. You're to understand the word when you receive it. Jesus is proposing to take away my deep-seated lusts for this.

These things that choke every time. These things that stop me being a Christian if you like or stop me being what I want to be. Jesus is saying he's going to take those away. Then comes the tussle. Will I let him?

Despite all my great show that I stand up in meetings and wave my arms about and say hallelujah and so on. But am I willing when I'm not in a meeting you see and there's nobody to see whether I'm saying hallelujah in the right place or not.

Am I willing to let him root out those secret things that rage in me when I'm alone? You see. That's the thing. That's what it's all about. You do understand that, don't you? Have you understood that?

The Lord said to them in this set of parables he said, have you understood what I said? That's what he said. When you nod your head and say you understand you've reached the age of responsibility. You may be 95 before you reach it but that doesn't matter.

Amen. Glory. Now we're going to come to the thing the question really that was asked and I would like you to see that in the talking in the expounding of this every time whether you look in verse 8 of this parable or whether you look in verse 23 you will find the order is not 30, 60, 100 it's 100, 60, 30.

There's a significance in it. Oh God always puts the highest and the best first. Hallelujah. That's what I'm aiming at. And that's why when you turn to Luke chapter 8 you find this. Verse 15 They, that on the good ground are they which in an honest Oh.

When you come to understanding, beloved you've got to be honest. When you say you understand that's when you've got to honestly face up that's where your responsibility comes. Will I now be honest with this thing that I understand?

And if you'll be honest ask yourself the next question. Will I be good? Will I be good, wholesome ground? Will I hand over my life for Jesus to do this and that? Will I? Honesty always makes for openness.

You will remember that in resurrection this is what Jesus did to his apostles. Then opened he their understanding that they might understand the scriptures. That then came their moral responsibility. So you can put your fingers in your inward ears this morning though you may listen to me for speak to me speaking for two hours and say I'm not I'm going to refuse to understand this.

But don't think you've refused that you've dodged the responsibility of having had the opportunity to understand. Anybody can plug up their spirits inside making out some excuse or another about it but not when you stand in the presence of Jesus.

He opened their understandings that they might understand the scripture. Then they got to be honest from then on. They got a face right bang up to the truth. And what an awful moment that can be unless you've got a spirit in you which beyond words says I'm going through Lord.

But don't at that moment fall back into your own psyche about it. Your own powers I'm going to plug through drop back into great sentimental inward vows and all that and up come the tears and the sobs and one thing cause you're struggling wonderfully in your soul come out of that and believe God.

It isn't done by you putting on the pressure. It's by you then inviting God in to do it all deeply and staying with him till he's done it. It isn't those who immediately they hear the word say oh wonderful wonderful wonderful you see and if you're one of these people who look at your life and say well I don't know I seem to have been a long time coming to this that's fine that's fine.

If you started off by not understanding and nothing seemed to get in for about six months and you were tempted to give up because it was all it was sort of a wearisome round and you look round and see how does they seem to be jumping up in the air and you wonder whenever they're going to pull them down to earth again and so on and so on don't worry about that even if you've been a good many months if you like coming in I'm not saying prolong the process.

What I'm saying is it is no criterion that somebody comes in and jumps for joy leaps all over the room first hearing and that's it. It's the heart that understands that it's got to understand and moves in and wants God to to deal with it on every level and is honest about it and doesn't cover up and let pride stop the Lord working or anything like that or doesn't try and keep up a face before someone else at all because they hold position or something like that or people they think that people think that they're alright or something like this.

You don't want to worry about that. It's when you whether you face up to God you realise that this vain show in which people are living is all going to be destroyed. You understand that don't you. It's coming into all that God wants us to be alright then in an honest and good heart Luke 8 .15 having heard the word keep it and bring forth fruit with patience alright.

Are you ready to see what God wants you to have in verse 8 that which fell on good ground in Luke's record bears a hundredfold. There's no talk of 60 or 30 here. Hundredfold is what God is expecting from his seed.

His seed brings forth a hundredfold. You say well why does it say 60 and 30 in Matthew's account. Well it's because that even in people that are rarely included in the good ground you get these these sort of people that won't let God have them entirely to bring forth his fruit a hundredfold.

They won't let him do it. There are very few people who bring forth a hundredfold. I hope every one of them in Liverpool is in this room this morning. A hundredfold. Do you remember that famous statement by Jesus.

He's laid the foundation for his stories in his own life. Did you know that Matthew chapter 4 the first temptation that came to Jesus he's led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

When he'd fasted 40 days and 40 nights he was afterward and hungered. And when the tempter came to him he said if thou be the son of God command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said this is the background from which the story came.

It is written. Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. That's it now that was written. I told you earlier that he told these parables out of the background of prophetic statement that was written in scripture.

And here he's done it again. He comes to the devil. It doesn't matter if he's talking to the devil or talking to man or talking to God he never moves off this tremendous position. The person that is going to bring forth fruit a hundredfold and only this kind of person will succeed is the person that doesn't try and live on about a half a dozen words from the mouth of God but lives on every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God.

You must not think of one seed falling into one ground into a square yard of earth. When a sower is sowing seed there may fall hundreds of seeds. And into an acreage say of a hundred acres of a field there must be thousands upon thousands upon thousands.

Nobody wants one seed to bring forth a hundredfold. And that's it what farmer sows his field. For that let's have some common sense. Jesus speaks on a common sense background. Your life, if you like, is a field into which God will sow words.

Sow his word almost 24 hours a day. If you like we do sleep sometimes. Hope you don't sleep too often or too much. It's good to stay conscious. You can talk with God and he can talk with you. It's a bad thing to call hours and hours.

Days, half days, half weeks of sleep. Bad. You're being lulled by the devil. It's unnatural. You've got to get delivered from it. Discipline yourself. How can you walk in communion with God when you're asleep.

He'll keep you when you're asleep. If you're his own that's another matter. But God doesn't want to be charged with keeping you all the time. The next question or one of the other temptations comes up on that he'll give his angels charge to keep thee.

But your charge is to hear the word and keep it what he says to you so that it will bring forth fruit. On the first day you heard say on the 26th of April 1245. Was it brother? When was it? 1966. Sorry.

You see brother got born again. Have you kept that? Yes he says he's kept that. I'll tell you about that. You see he's kept it. I'll tell you about it. He's rather anxious to forget the 1810 occasion.

He would have been two years old when the famous Tchaikovsky hallelujah. I thought when he was speaking if he was born of God in 1960. How many years old are you? I'm catching you. I'm catching you. You can't keep a spiritual birthday.

Doesn't go year by year. My love doesn't go year by year. You can't say I'm one year old. You've got eternal life. You've just come into that which took place in eternity. You were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.

You've just come to God's presentation of the truth to you and his presentation of you to himself in truth. When you're born again you cannot keep a spiritual birthday. You know you can't have an annual present upon it.

I would have had a lot more than you. But here then beloved is the tremendous thing you hear. You keep it. But that's not the only thing you hear every word of God. This is the hundred fold person. Whatever God speaks to them he's producing all the time.

This is it. You say something else. You say something else. That's it. That's your hundred fold life. That's why there aren't many that get it though. That's what God is after. And then there are these peculiar people.

They like to get alone in a sort of a dark room to try and induce the voice of God to talk to them about something or somebody. They're really going in for transcendental meditation. They concentrate upon this person's circumstance.

Or this person's this that. And they think they get a word from God from them. And they're away in fantasy. And they're trying to live their lives on that. Then they wonder why they get depressed distressed.

Nobody understands them. Elders aren't. Well they're not elders. Really. They're only boys. You're far away ahead of them. And all this nonsense. Beloved. You only live on what God speaks to you. The rest is fantasy.

You are to bring forth fruit. One hundred fold. Hmm. Now you know what one hundred fold is. Don't you ten thousand percent. He didn't say one percent. Ten thousand percent interest. God wants on everything he's spoken to you.

Ooh you're rather like that man that said I knew that thou wert an austere man reaping where thou didst not sow. And the Lord said you wicked servant talking like that. God's expecting ten thousand percent return for everything he speaks to you.

I hope that I'm speaking as a hundred fold man to you and not a mere sixty folder or a dreadful thirty folder. I hope so this is this life of abundance that Jesus speaks about out of an honest and a good heart brings forth fruit with patience.

Hallelujah. Do you know why I told you that little story. Not really. I mean I didn't think of all this background of it last night about this the loss of that sort of wallet with that money and how just sort of mentioned it to the Lord.

And that was that. Do you know why? That was true. That was part of the truth when it all came back. God told me years ago that if I sought first the kingdom of God and his righteousness everything else would be added.

So we don't ask him for money. We don't. As my wife you can check up on her. I have to bring her with me sometimes. I've got evidence. You see she tags along really to see that you people don't kill me.

That's right. She comes to look after me to see that these terrible Evans's and that suck the lifeblood out of me. Now you know what you said to me Paul. Everybody in here gets afraid sending to me because it comes out when I'm preaching he said I'll whisper to you.

No you won't he said if you get some time so and so and so and so if you'd like to flirt with me. Yeah that's right. Time is the shortest commodity. You haven't got time. You've only got opportunity. You understand that don't you.

Time belongs to God. Time is not yours. If you think time's on your side the devil's already deceived you. The glorious thing about it beloved is that God told us this years ago there are scriptures that come to me that God gave me oh 30, 40 years ago still producing fruit.

I believe that's true. I believe I can honestly say that in my life. And I'm not always digging them up to examine the roots. They're there. And you can whatever there is in a person's life beloved has come because it has taken root in that person's life whatever it is.

You only need to look at one another not critically. If you've got one of these eyes you think you've got discernment. Most people that I know think they've got discernment have got a clairvoyant spirit in them.

Most people that I know that's right. Or shall I say when I first met them they had it. It's blessed beloved to let God put something in your heart that's going to take root there. It grows up so innocently so sweetly so naive so marvellously lovely.

Nothing hard. There's nothing of this world superficiality about it nothing of that. It's lovely. It's fresh. It's marvellous. It's never cynical. It's never condemnatory. It's never bitter. Never turns against anyone never defends itself never justifies or vindicates itself.

Never turns into a dragon. Never becomes like a fox or a serpent. Never not what God puts in your life. In the end it never does anything except let itself be slain. Of course it has learned the secret that it all comes up out of death.

Didn't the first seed fall into the ground. That's what Jesus is talking about. Everything comes up out of death. All this glorious life you've got to bring forth 100 fold. Amen. And in every stage of your life.

Spiritual Growth Through Trials and Discipline

Now this parable permits of so many precious interpretation. If I'm not careful I'm going to preach on it instead of answer the question what's the time? 20 to 12. Alright I might preach for half an hour at the end or something like that permits of so many many different approaches that the Lord Jesus Christ was an absolute genius in the way he faced things.

Now you will find this in your spiritual experience. You will find in your spiritual experience that you'll go through phases when a thing didn't bring forth quite so much fruit in your life as it say does now.

Aren't you finding this? Hmm. Aren't you finding this? That's right. Don't look all so surprised. You will recognize this that as you go on with God your heart becomes better and better. Isn't that true?

The good crown becomes. You can't say it's gooder and gooder or goodlier and goodlier. That's a good old English word. Amen. And we can go on with the Lord. And he'll keep bringing forth his abundance out of it.

All he needs is to get rooted in your life. Let it all come in when he speaks to you don't get offended at the word. That's what it says. People get offended. They get offended. And often when you're engaged in counseling that's where people just walk out of the room they get offended.

That's right. Do you know I thought about this a little earlier. You'd be surprised at things that go through my mind. Wouldn't you? Not really. I hope you're not. But when dear Peter came down here and gave that prophet to his that present that present to his dad you'd be surprised what went through my mind wouldn't you?

And I tell you this. I thought now if Peter was to stand up and give a testimony about his father I'm going to give it for him. It's alright. It's nothing to do with washing your feet. Not this time. I if he stood up and gave his testimony he would testify that his dad has loved him and loved him.

I know that because he loves me you see. And I'm more awkward than Peter. Well I am you know because he could deal with Peter as a little boy. He's got to deal with me as an elder. But I'm not bless him.

He can't spank me and put me in the corner as you must have done. And that's what I want to come to Peter Poffett would tell him tell you that his father is a man of love. But his father's had to be severe with him at times and he felt like stamping out of the room.

I don't know, I've never talked with Peter. But I'm absolutely certain. And some of you think that because elders are severe with you at times they don't love you. Well they don't love me. I remember a time when I thought the only thing in the world that loved me and I'm being absolutely serious now was a little sandy cat that I had.

And if I got put right by my parents at times I'd go and get a little my old sandy cat. And I'd go and sit up in a corner and it never scratched me and it never hurt me. And it yielded to me. And as I knew it purred it loved me as little as its little animal mind and heart could.

And some of you are wanting little animal stuff. You don't want a father. You don't want anybody to be severe with you. You think you know but dad does know. And I mean a true elder dad not referring to one man but you won't take it.

Then you wonder why you don't bring forth fruit. You get offended. You're like these people that says when persecution or something comes from the world's sake you get offended you don't bring forth fruit.

Then you think so you let off steam. You even go and pray. You rant at God and call it prayer. Nobody's told me to say these things this morning except the spirit. I listen to him. The tremendous thing is that you're to bring forth fruit one hundred fold.

You know that if you're going to bring forth fruit first you've had to be ploughed like anything. You've had to have the share bite deep down into you. And then after that you had to be disked and ground to powder.

Then they came and drilled you. Then the seed went in and then to crown it all they run a great big roller over your face. Or else you don't know anything about bringing forth fruit from seed. And then if you're if you're showing too much greenery if a farmer knows what he's doing.

You know during the war I worked on the land at some time. I know what I'm talking about. They turn the sheep in to eat off the place. So you've got feet stamping into your face too after that. And sheep phew nibbling it all off.

Then they'll roll you again and all that. Then some of you come and I won't tell you. They'll shut the gate on you and they'll just leave you. You say well thanks God they left me alone at last. That's the way that the hundred folds brought forth.

The first shoot got nibbled off because in the end if God can he'll have two stalks from one seed. And God is wanting you to see see. But you won't see. You've got to bring forth a hundred fold. I keep on telling this a hundred fold.

And that's what God's expecting from you. Nothing wrong with the seed. The seed's genuine same seed. Why does it only bring forth thirty fold in some people's lives because their people won't let God do what he wants.

That's right. Oh they'll make every excuse every excuse under the sun. All you've got to do beloved is let God have his own way in your life. What you want is your own way in God's life. You can't have it.

Isn't that a marvellous thing that God says. No you can't have it. I think that's marvellous. As I said Pete would have got up in the corner sometimes and thought I won't say any more than that. But your father loves you.

He's going to have the fruit there. Listen. If it costs him his life he's going to have it there. You can kill him if you like. But he's going to have the fruit there. I'll send my son kill him if you like.

You're going to have the fruit always this way with God so beloved. Isn't that a marvellous thing then. And that I trust is something of an answer to the question. Not thirty, sixty, a hundred but a hundred.

I'm sorry. If it has to be sixty broken hearted. If it has to be thirty shattered. If it's nothing. If you've let the devil snatch it away. You didn't understand. You didn't want to understand. Is that right.

Well give yourself up to the understanding of what God says. I think perhaps we'd better read back into Deuteronomy about this one where the Lord took the quotation from. You all know the chapter without me telling you.

Don't you oh dear thought you'd all be shouting this one out. It's Deuteronomy chapter eight. All the commandments which I command thee this day shall you observe to do that. You may live and multiply and go in and possess the land which the Lord swear unto your fathers.

And thou shalt remember all the way in which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness to humble thee and to prove thee and to know what was in thine heart whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or no.

And he humbled thee. He's very keen on this humbling. Isn't he to humble thee. And he humbled thee. That's what he's going to do. And I'll tell you this. He'll bring you down to the dust of death. That's what he'll do.

He'll humble you. Haven't you ever heard of this one who humbled himself and became obedient under death wherefore God also hath highly exalted him given him the name. Who? The one who humbled himself being found in the form of a slave humbled himself and became obedient.

Living by Every Word That Proceeds From God

And God's very keen on humbling you. He'll have you humbled so you're so humble you can never be humiliated. You can only humiliate proud people nobody else. If you voluntarily humble yourself you'll never be humiliated and never be ashamed.

He humbled thee and suffered thee to hunger and fed thee with manner which thou knewest not. Neither did thy fathers know that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live of course all this time.

Thy raiment wax not old upon thee. I'm very good to you. He's saying neither did thy feet swell. These forty years the children of Israel never had corns in the wilderness. God saw to that they had too far to walk.

He's good. He was ever so good to them. He's been ever so good to you. You know he's humbled you and humbled you. Why does he take delight in humiliating people. I said humbling you not humiliating you teaching you the way to be humble.

Nobody knows how to be humble until God gets hold of them. Nobody nobody ever lets God get hold of them till they humble themselves to let him do it get down there on their hands and knees before God.

Not just admitting things letting God do something there. He suffered thee to hunger. You know why. He suffered them to hunger that they may appreciate manna. They were hungry enough to eat it. They never liked it.

You say really? No. You read in the Old Testament. You'll find that they wanted the leeks and the garlic. They wanted all these things they'd left behind in Egypt. You read it. Our soul loatheth this food.

They said they loathed it. God make them eat what they loathed this way. He's going to do with you. He's not going to give you epsom salts and nasty pills. He's going to make you eat what you loathe. When you start coming to God.