VISITATION #6: JESUS IS THE GOOD TEACHER
REVIEW THE GOSPEL OF LUKE:
• In Chapter 1, we learned that Jesus is the Dayspring who brings us Hope.
• In Chapter 2, we learned that Jesus is the Savior who brings Salvation and Peace.
• In Chapter 3, we learned that Jesus is the Open Heavens who brings Transformation.
• In Chapter 4, we learned that Jesus is the Anointed One who heals broken hearts.
• In Chapter 5, we learned that Jesus is the Friend of Sinners who forgives our sins.
OPENING TEXT:
“But why do you call Me ’Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.” (Luke 6:46-49).
• Jesus is using a word picture here. He is saying our life is like a house.
• Solomon said, “Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it.” (Psalm 127:1). Who’s building your house?
THE BIG IDEA: Jesus is Good Teacher. When we put His Word into practice, we are building a rock solid foundation in our lives that will not be easily shaken.
KEY TEXT – THE PARABLE:
“And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable.” (Luke 8:4).
• Jesus was a masterful story-teller. One of his key methods of teaching was parables.
“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold." When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Luke 8:5-8).
• Do you have ears to hear today? “Can you hear me now?” Are you listening?
THE PARABLE EXPLAINED:
“Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?" And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ’Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’ "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.” (Luke 8:9-11).
• Jesus is the Good Teacher who wants to plant His Word in our hearts!
1. THE HARD HEART:
“Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.” (v.12).
• There is no soil – it is a hard path. These people don’t care about hearing the Word.
• These are people whose hearts are hardened and the Word bounces off of them.
o One of the things that hardens a heart is unconfessed sin. If you sin, confess it!
o Another thing that hardens a heart is unforgiveness, bitterness and offenses.
• Because it is so important to hear and do God’s Word, the devil will do whatever he can to steal the word from your heart. Don’t give him that opportunity!
2. THE SHALLOW HEART:
“But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.” (v.13).
• There is only a little soil on the surface, but the roots can’t go deep.
• These people will listen to the word and get excited about it… for a season.
• Because their hearts are shallow, they will fall away when persecuted or afflicted.
3. THE CROWDED HEART:
“Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.” (v.14).
• There is good soil, but there are also many weeds in this soil.
• They will put the Word in their heart, but also worries, riches and pleasures:
o Worry: “Don’t worry about anything, instead, pray about everything.” (Phil. 4:6).
o Riches: “the deceitfulness of riches” – Mark 4:19: seeking money instead of God.
o Pleasures: “the desires for other things” – Mark 4:19: movies, video games, etc.
4. THE GOOD HEART:
“But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.” (Luke 8:15).
• How can we prepare our heart to be a good heart?
i. PLOW UP THE HARD GROUND OF OUR HEARTS:
“Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of my love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.” (Hosea 10:12, NLT).
- We prepare our hearts by praying to the Lord and confessing our sin.
- “Sin will keep you from the Bible, or the Bible will keep you from sin.”
ii. PLANT THE SEEDS OF THE WORD IN OUR HEARTS:
“Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!” (Psalm 119:11).
- We plant the Word in our hearts by memorizing Bible verses.
- This is one of the reasons why it’s good to take notes in church – to help you remember what you are learning! Don’t let the devil steal the Word…
iii. PRACTICE WHAT WE LEARN:
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8).
- It’s not good enough to just be a hearing of the Word; we need to be a doer!
CLOSING CHALLENGE:
“Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ’Do not commit adultery,’ ’Do not murder,’ ’Do not steal,’ ’Do not bear false witness,’ ’Do not defraud,’ ’Honor your father and your mother.’ " And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth." Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me." But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” (Mark 10:17-22).
• It’s not good enough to just believe that Jesus is the Good Teacher.
• We need to read the Bible – yes – but we also need to put it into practice in our lives!
• Don’t be like the rich young ruler, who didn’t obey Jesus. He went away sorrowful!
• “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11). When you obey the Word, you receive fullness of joy!
ILLUSTRATION:
An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to poor workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career. When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you." What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built so poorly.
RESOURCES:
“Search the Scriptures” and “The 5 Minute Challenge Bible Reading Schedule”
Available for download from our church’s website.
Beausejour Community Church Website: www.beausejourchurch.ca
Pastor Chris Jordan’s Blog: http://thelandofpromise.blogspot.com/
