Last week we noted that Jesus emphasized the importance of faith in Luke 7. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Saving faith is believing the Word of God and taking action with that belief. In the beginning of Luke 8, we noted some results of saving faith. Open your Bibles and read along with me again Luke 8:1-3….
True saving faith results in:
- Following Jesus Christ
- Doing the work of Jesus Christ, which is proclaiming the Gospel
- Financially supporting the work of Christ
After talking about faith and expressing the immediate results of faith we will note in Luke Chapters 8 to 9, the following:
Jesus gave 2 parables to note what happens with faith given by God. We will talk about the first one today.
In Luke 8:19-21, Jesus makes a note of His relationship with those who have true saving faith.
In Luke 8:22-25, Jesus tested His disciples’ faith.
In Luke 8:26-56, we will note the simplicity of faith and the stubbornness of men in spite of witnessing the power of God.
In the beginning of Luke 9, we will note that Jesus Christ empowered His disciples and charged them to do the work of Christ by faith.
Before reading our passage this morning, let us note what a parable is: A parable is usually a short fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or a religious principle. 2000 years ago, teachers taught by having their students picture in their minds a story, then relate a lesson to that story. Parables are word pictures with a lesson.
Today, we call parables “Power Point Presentations”, like this picture…. Now, doesn’t that parable of Bill Gates make our lives simpler to understand????
Let’s stick to the Word of God, shall we. Read along with me now Luke 8:4-15
Jesus tells a story of a farmer sowing, distributing, seeds. (show picture of sower) And let us note, what is the purpose of the farmer sowing seeds??
The purpose of sowing seeds is for growth of something to harvest! What do you think God wants to see in our lives?
And after Jesus told the story of the farmer, look again at what Jesus said at the end of v8……
Who has ears??
Jesus calls every person to listen and learn from His lesson of the seeds; and this includes you and me! Are you really listening? Are you ready to learn?
We can easily miss this great truth that Jesus is teaching here! As I was preparing for this message, I considered, like many sermons on this passage, skipping v9 and just focus on the meaning of the parable. Look at v9 again with me…..
Didn’t Jesus just say in v8 that His lesson is for every person? But here in v9, Jesus is saying that not everyone will be given understanding of God’s teachings! What does this mean? Jesus wants to teach everyone, but will only give understanding to those who truly want to learn. You see, Jesus can tell absolute truths over and over again, but if the person who is hearing the truths really don’t care what Jesus is saying, Jesus words will be meaningless to them!
Has God given us absolute truths? Where can we find absolute truths??
We have absolute truths in our hands, if we’re holding the Bible! The question to really ask is this: Do I really care what God says in the Bible?
Let us pray together our commitment to God’s Words………..
And so in v11-15, Jesus explains to us the parable.
What are we to learn? Let us note a few things today and follow up with the rest next week.
V11 tells us “The seed is the word of God!”
Truth #1: God is sharing His Word!
There is no stopping to this truth! God is not selfish! God shares Himself! God is love! Always remember that you exist because God wants to share Himself to you!
And to whom does God share His truth? What do the places where the seed land represent?
Jesus explains:
v12, those along the path are the ones who hear….
v13, on rocky ground are those who receive….
V14, among thorns stands for those who hear…
V15, good soil stands for those with noble hearts….
Truth #2: God is sharing His truths to every person and their hearts!
Now look at this even deeper with me. Would you agree with me that God speaks to every person in the world. Yes, God speaks directly to people through the Bible; but how else does God speak to people?
God speaks through His Creation!
We can note from the Old Testament that God even spoke through a donkey!
God speaks through His Holy Spirit!
God speaks through His angels!
God speaks through Jesus Christ!
God speaks through His Church!
God is speaking loud and clear to all people!
And again, did you note that every person hears God speaking. Every person has an ear! The problem again of course is that people don’t care and they refuse to understand what God is saying!
No person can ever say that God never spoke to them!
There is no excuse for anyone who finds themselves in eternal judgment.
You see, 4 things can happen with what God has shared:
Look again at v12 for one of the things which can happen with God’s Word….
Truth #3: Some people will allow the devil to take away what God has given them.
3 things to note:
1. There is a devil in our world!
2. The devil wants to steal truths away from us!
3. People can allow the devil take truths away from their hearts.
Note that all of these go together. The devil exists and wants to steal truths from people but that can only happen if people allow it! You know, no one can really say “the devil made me do it!” What they are really saying is “I allowed the devil to do it!”
How does the devil steal truths? The result stated in v12 gives us a clue: The result of the devil stealing truths from people’s hearts is unbelief and eternal lostness.
How does the devil steal truths from people’s hearts? – by replacing them with lies! What are some examples of the devil’s lies today?? - Evolution,aliens, other gods, no God, twisting truths…
I think there’s plenty enough for us from this passage to think about for this morning, don’t you? Let us stop here for now and continue with God’s lessons next week.
Two main points we need to commit to right now and for the rest of our lives:
a. God shares with us for our growth and for future harvest!
And so, the more we care about God’s word and understand it, the more we will spiritually mature and impact others for God.
Are you growing spiritually? Are you impacting others for God? If not, it is not God’s fault; we need to take responsibility of our hearing what God is sharing.
b. Watch out for the devil’s lies creeping into our hearts!
As you pray and ponder about these things, ask God what lies you need to watch out for in your personal life (write them down) and make a commitment to know God better and say no to the devil!
