WESTSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH
PASTOR: TERRY VAUGHAN
SERMON TITLE: THE SEED IS THE WORD OF GOD
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:16-18
TEXT VERSE: Luke 8:4-8 “And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: (5) A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. (6) And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. (7) And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. (8) And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
Now I want you to look with me in verse 9-11 “And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? (10) And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. (11) Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.”
I remember when the Lord was talking with Abraham back in the old testament. He said I will bless thy seed. He didn’t say he would bless his seeds but his seed. Thank God there is only one seed tonight and that is the word of God. We find out in verse 11 that the seed is the word of God. I want you to remember that tonight, as we share scriptures about four different types of people that God has laid on our heart.
In verse 12 it says “Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.”
That’s group number one: and that represents a lost person. Someone that has heard the word of God and not accepted it. If you hear the word of God and don’t accept it, you will go away in the same condition as what you were when you came. There’s a lot of people like that today. They’ll come to church one time and they feel like they’ve heard enough to last them and for years you don’t see them anymore. I’m glad that Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost and he does it through his word. The Bible said the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword. Piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and morrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart. Just because you come and hear the word of God it does not mean that you are saved by his grace. Just because you attend the house of God and sit on the church pew it does not mean that you are saved. One preacher said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Just because you work a little bit and you’ve done something good for your neighbor it does not mean that you will end up in heaven. I like John 3:6 “Ye must be born again.”
I want to tell you how the devil can come and take the word out of your heart. If all you’re going to do is hear it and not believe it, you’re in bad shape. Abraham heard God’s word and he believed God’s word and that’s what it takes in the world we’re living in tonight. It takes the seed. The word of God. Once you get the word and accept the word, the devil can’t get it out of your soul. God has engraved your salvation in the palm of his hand and no man can pluck it out. When you get saved, you’re saved forever. When my time comes to go home and be with the Lord, I’m not going to be a stranger. I believe they will be expecting me on the other side. Thank God when I heard the word I didn’t give the devil a chance to get it out of my heart. Not only did I hear it but I believed it. I went home that night and called everybody I knew and told them the good news. The Lord saved me.
Now listen to verse 13 “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.”
Group number two: Their backslid. They believe for awhile. You see the old tempter came and usually he comes to those right after they are saved. He does not want a Christian to grow spiritually in the Lord. He doesn’t want you telling somebody else about the Lord. These people here got saved but then they fell away. They’ve lost their joy in serving the Lord. In Psalms 51 David said this: Lord restore unto me the joys of thy salvation. So he had lost that joy. Have you ever lost that joy in serving the Lord? A lot of Christians think it’s just a necessity that they have to come to the house of God or a necessity to do something for the Lord. I enjoy working for the Lord. I’d rather do nothing else. But there’s a lot of these people which are in group number two that are seated on the rock and in time of temptations fall away. You’ve seen this happen before....you’ve invited somebody to church and they came and the Lord spoke to them and they received his word and they got saved and they got up and praised the Lord and confessed it and they left and never returned. You see it in the prisons a lot. Preachers go to preach at the prison and these prisoners come to hear the word and they say they got saved and they never come back to church again. I hope and pray they did get saved. But when time of temptation comes they fall away and their gone. When their out there they can’t be a blessing to anybody, even God. You don’t put God first, you’ll end up last.
Now look at verse 14 “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.” Notice those three words: of this life. I want you to notice them because there is another life.
This is group three. These people want to make sure they look good and that they dress good. They want to make sure that their family has everything they need. We all want that but when you let that come between you and God, you’re putting the worst for the better. Anytime you start taking your earthly cares and you start letting them separate you from God, you’re backslid. You might be going to church every Sunday and you might have heard the word and have been saved but once you get it you’re supposed to grow. You’re not supposed to stay the same. You’re supposed to grow spiritually. That’s what happened to these people in verse 14, they didn’t grow spiritually. They began to be choked with the cares of this world. I don’t have much spare time to do anything. Often times I’m saddened because I don’t have much time with my family. I went on vacation recently and we got to spend about three days together and that’s probably the best three we’ll have until next April. Even though it saddens me, I’m glad I’m sticking by the Lord. I’d rather see my family in church and on their way to heaven than anything else. This world is going to come to an end one day. What are you going to do with your earthly cares then?
None of these earthly things will ever make it into heaven. Your job works you 40--50 and 60 hours a week. How many hours a week do you give to God? Two? Three? Then you say you don’t have time to read your Bible because you have to get the kids off to school and wash clothes and cook dinner. That’s why it takes team work. One person can’t do it all. If you’re married you both have to do your part. But you better find a part in there for God. People are letting the normal everyday cares of this life keep them away from God. Then there’s riches. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be successful. As a matter a fact the closer you are to God, the more successful you’ll be. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a nice home, nice cars, nice clothes. God wants us to have the best but you know why we can’t? Because we’re always letting the best end up in the devils lap. We start getting out of the way. The more we have, the more we fall away. If you’re number one want is not the Lord, you won’t get very far. He told the rich man that life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. In other words it’s not the quantity of what we have but the quality of what we have. You can have all of everything but if you don’t have any of him you’re heading down the wrong road. You can’t get anything for free except Salvation. But it takes money to have everything and all of a sudden; the more we want...the more we have to work to get the money. It ends up keeping us away from God. Then there is the pleasures of this life. We have to do something for fun. Some like to golf and some like to fish. As long as it’s clean it’s okay. God wants us to be happy. The problem comes in when you put your pleasures before God. The Bible says in Timothy that men shall become lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God. Their time is already tied up and with what’s left over they have to use it for fun. The pleasures of sin will only last a season. So they’ve heard the word and they believe the word but their choked and they don’t produce any fruit.
Now in verse 15 it says “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.” That’s group four. You can talk to some people and they can’t even remember when they got saved. They can’t remember what their church name is because they haven’t been in so long and they can’t even remember their Pastors name. I’m glad I still know the day I got saved. I’m glad I know the change that Jesus made in my life.
A lot of Christians don’t like to talk about the word Patience. But if you want to be a good Christian, you better have some patience. I believe when the Lord calls us home he’s going to give it all to us at one time but till then we’ll be fed with it every once in a while. Paul supported it in Corinthians when he said this: Lest I should be exalted above measure, there was given me a thorn in my flesh; a messenger of Satan to buffet me. If we didn’t have that we would be exalted above measure. Paul said he prayed thrice that the Lord would remove it from him and the Lord said his grace was sufficient for him. No matter if you’re up on the mountain top or down in the valley, God’s grace is still sufficient.
But group four hears the word and keeps the word and they bring forth fruit. What is the fruit? You’re allowing God to use you and work through you to help and reach other people. God commands us to be fruitful all through out the Bible.
How effective is the seed (the word of God) in your life? What group are you in?
LET US PRAY: Father, Thank you for the word tonight. I have heard it and received it. I am one of those Christians Lord that has often times heard the word but not received it. I have not been fruitful and because of it, many people have not been able to hear about you from me. I pray that you would help me find the time that is due you and to set it aside each day so that I may read and study your word. I want to be a fruitful Christian and to be effective in my witnessing. I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.
