Luke 8:4 (NKJV) And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable.

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1 Introduction I recently visited the place where I went to elementary school; Joshua Circle School. I loved school, but I hated tests. I think most people are not fond of tests. One of the major themes of Luke 8 is how to get faith and use it. Warren Wiersbe wrote; Everybody lives by faith in something or someone. The difference between the Christian believer and the unsaved person is not that one has faith and the other does not. They both have faith. The difference is in the object of their faith, for faith is only as good as the object. The Christian believer has put his faith in Jesus Christ, and he bases that faith on the Word of God (TBEC Vol.1; p.199). In chapter 8 Jesus puts his hearers through a series of tests, examinations to see how much the disciples have really learned. Most of us love Bible study, but we hate the examinations that often follow the lessons. Jesus gives the multitude a parable. The disciples ask the question; What might this parable be? (v.10). Jesus then gives his disciples the answer (vv.10-15). Some people hear, others don t. The human heart is likened to soils of the earth; hard, shallow, crowded, fruitful. This parable in a sense is a key to unlocking all the parables in the New Testament. Jesus gives us important information on how to go about interpreting parabolic language. You have heard the expression, the way to a man s stomach is to feed him. The way to a human heart is through his or her ears! The Word of God is the way to God. The Purpose of Parables (v.1; 9-10) Luke 8:4 (NKJV) And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable. Jesus is now a very popular preacher. The nation is in a state of what we can only call a major revival. John s preaching and Jesus preaching has placed people in a fever pitch of expectation. Great multitudes, large crowds began to assemble. He spoke by a parable. A parable is a short story, not just an allegory. The point of a parable is to draw attention to some earthly fact which illustrates a heavenly truth. The word parable means to place one thing beside another thing and draw comparisons. The parables of Jesus usually have a central point. We do not have to find meaning in every detail of the story. When we read parables we must be sensitive, careful, to try to understand language, culture, context. We should also remember that a parable was meant to be heard, not a manuscript to be studied. A parable is like a joke or a story where the punch line is critical. When we add meaning to every little point we sometimes cloud the main point. When Jesus told a story he was calling people into concrete situations rather than abstract ideas. Jesus knew his stories would call real people to make real decisions about God and for God. Luke 8:9-10 (NKJV); Then His disciples asked Him, saying, What does this parable mean? 10 And He said, To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to 1

2 the rest it is given in parables, that Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand. Stories can separate people. Some people catch the meaning and some people miss it. Jesus chose parables as way to separate those who were honest and sincere about understanding and those who were only curious or were critical of his ministry (Augsberger p.167). Mark 4:10-12 (NKJV) But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. 11 And He said to them, To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, 12 so that Seeing they may see and not perceive, And hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, And their sins be forgiven them. In verse 10 Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah (6:9-10). The parables are sometimes called the hard sayings of Jesus. There are many purposes parables serve but let me give you at least four: (1) The condition of one s heart determines it receptivity to truth. (2) Those who receive truth act upon it and receive more. (3) Those who reject truth will lose what little they have. (4) We must respond to the truth. Remember, large crowds were flocking to the meetings Jesus held. They were being challenged to repent of their sins, and follow God. They were being challenged to believe in the message of Jesus. He claimed to be God s Messiah, and he backed up those claims with supernatural miracles; blind people saw, sick people were healed, lepers cleansed, demon possessed people liberated, dead people restored to life. We are talking about a raw and remarkable display of God s power. Still people rejected Jesus. They refused his message and rejected his claims. John 2:25 (NKJV) and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. Jesus knew many people in the crowd still did not believe in his message or believe in him. Jesus knew many people were insincere. Jesus knew many people had never truly repented, never truly trusted God, and never were born from on high. There was no evidence of repentance, no evidence of a changed life, no honest commitment to Christ, no genuine faith, no willingness to sacrifice, no consistent obedience to Christ and the things of God. Jesus knew that many people were following Him, not because of a deep and sincere desire to know God, but because they could see miracles, they could hang out with family and friends, they liked the fellowship, the social interaction, the social identification, the good feelings, and perhaps even get a free meal every once and a while. If you think Jesus does not see the circumstances of your heart, you are wrong. If you think Jesus does not know your motives, and weigh your heart, you are wrong. If you think it does not matter that Jesus is not grieved by the gigantic fraud hidden in some of your lives, you are incorrect. Still Jesus wants to warn us and reach us before it is too 2

3 late. This is what the parable of the Sower is really about. Jesus wants to make it abundantly clear that hearing the Word of God only is not enough. Yes, it is great to go to church, yes it is great to go to Bible study, yes it is great to listen to the radio and hear tapes. There are many ways to hear the Word of God, but there is only one way to hear the Word of God and have it bear fruit in your life. There is only one way to hear, that is to receive the Word of God, and allow the Word of God to take hold, and take root and bear fruit. If we receive the Word of God any other way, it becomes dead, scorched, fruitless and does no good. It is stolen, burned, or choked out. This parable speaks to every person. It is a warning to the unbeliever and the makebeliever. It is a source of great assurance to those who will hear: they will bear fruit. Jesus reveals the meaning of the parable in verses There are three important elements; (1) the seed; (2) the sower; (3) the soil. The parable is usually called the parable of the sower, but the focus is really on the soil. The soils are conditions, heart conditions. The purpose of this parable is to draw out the serious seeker of truth. But the parable also reveals the condition of the heart, your heart, my heart. The words of Jesus will always do that. It will reveal the condition of our hearts. Have you had a check-up lately? What kind of condition is your heart in? Jesus parable provides us with a kind of spiritual echocardiogram. The Hard Heart (vv.5;11,12) Luke 8:11 (NKJV) Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Jesus gives us the first key; the seed is the word of God. Then Jesus says; Luke 8:12 (NKJV) 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. Do you remember verse 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. Who is the sower? It is the person who proclaims the word of God. The seed is the Word of God, and the soil is the human heart. The Bible teaches that God formed Adam out of the dust or the soil of the earth. How appropriate that Jesus would liken our hearts to dirt or soil. A seed has the germ of life. The Bible describes a person who knows God having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever. Seeds are small but powerful. A seed can push through rock and concrete. But seed can also produce fruit. In this case, fruit is Christian living and Christian character. The first heart Jesus describes is the hard heart. In ancient times, you did not plant seed on foot paths, because they were hard and impenetrable. Some people have very hard hearts because they have had a very hard life. Hard from failed relationships. Hard because of hard times, bitter disappointments, hard because of pride, hard because of sin. 3

4 and the birds came and devoured them. The first enemy of the Word of God in the hard heart is Satan. Birds are representative of evil in the Bible. Sorry Bird lovers. How does Satan snatch the Word of God from the soil? By doubting and denying God s Word, by declaring it false. Satan seduces us by telling us God s Word is simply not true. Like the beaten path, the hard heart is well traveled. The hard heart is busy all the time. The hard heart is so busy, it seldom has time for spiritual matters. The hard heart is too busy making a living. Please note the problem is not the sower (Jesus) or the seed (the word of God) but the soil (the heart). Do you know someone who has a hard heart? Do you have a hard heart? Is there a cure for the hard heart? Yes! We must break up the fallow ground. God told Jeremiah to break up the fallow ground and not sow amongst the thorns. Break up the fallow ground means prepare the soil of your heart! I believe God s plow is the Law. The Law exposes our sin. It reveals the sinful condition of our heart. The invention of the iron plow allowed vast tracts of land to be plowed. The Shallow Heart (vv. 6;13) Luke 8:6 (NKJV) Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. Luke 8:13 (NKJV) 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. The soil in Israel lies on a thick layer of limestone which is very hard. Where the soil is thin, or shallow the roots of a germinating seed cannot go very far. Where there is no root system, the plant cannot receive enough moisture, and no water means no life. The sun comes up, the plant is scourched and the plant dies. The person with the shallow heart often has an emotional encounter with God, Jesus and the Bible. Hearts pound, tears well up, feelings are intense but temporary. Under normal circumstances, the sun is very good for plants. One of the first things a young person learns in school is photosynthesis. Plants use sunlight to convert energy into plant sugars so they can grow. I believe the sun, in the parable speaks of persecution and affliction. They believe for a while and in time of temptation or testing fall away. The true believer must have roots. The shallow make-believer, the shallow heart lacks will and mind. The problem with the hard heart was a lack of understanding, and the problem with the shallow heart is lack of depth. Haven t you ever wondered with all the churches, all the Bible studies, all the Christian radio and TV programs, why there aren t more Christians? According to one survey, there are 70 million people in America who claim to be born again Christians! Are all people who call themselves Christians really Christians? The shallow heart looks for what it can get. The shallow heart is the mercenary Christian. Remember the mercenary soldier is in a war because they are trained to fight, but there reward is money, power or fame. Some so called Christians serve God because they fear hell, want to get close to someone in church, gain status, power or influence. 4

5 Some go to church to increase their sales leads or check out potential mates after all they don t want to find a gal or a guy at the bar! But when trouble comes, when hardship comes, when trials come, they fizzle out like some cheap fourth of July firecracker. These are the people who try Jesus for a season, who say, I tried religion, I tried that Jesus stuff, but it didn t work for me. The shallow heart has little understanding of sin and repentance. They thought Jesus was just another opportunity to feel good about themselves. I have known many people who started off in what looked like real faith, real relationship, but it was only an emotional event. Many people will experience real conviction and cry real tears, but commitment involves the mind and the will. Affliction like the sun brings growth to roots, but burns and withers the plant that grows only on the surface. One famous theologian wrote; There is nothing more cheering than transformed Christian people and there is nothing more disintegrating than people who have been merely brushed by Christianity, people who have sown with thousands of seeds in whose lives there is no depth, no rootage (Helmut Thielicke quoted from Hughes in his commentary on Mark-p.107). Great faith may accompany great emotion, but there must also be an act of conviction with the mind and the will. The Crowded Heart (vv.7, 14) Luke 8:7 (NKJV) And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. Luke 8:14 (NKJV) 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. The thorns here are weeds. Jesus gives the explanation in verse 14. Some people hear but they go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. Three weeds (1) the worry weed; (2) the deceitfulness of riches, we might say the materialism weed, and (3) and the desire for other things weed. We might even call this the covetious weed. The crowded heart is filled with all kinds of weeds, choking, fighting, competing for God s love, loyalty and commitment. The worry weed are the worries of this world. What am I going to eat? What am I going to drink? What will I have to wear? How will I live? Just for fun I looked up worry in my synonym finder. Under worry I found, fret, agonize, loose sleep, stew, writhe, stay awake nights. Also included were sweat blood, feel uneasy, be afraid, lose heart, despair, brood over, borrow trouble, bother, shake, and fluster. How appropriate worry winds up being a description of what we are when we don t trust God. The next weed is the deceitfulness of riches. Another way of translating this is the false glamour of wealth. Many people think that if they have the wealth of their neighbors, their car, their house, their life, then all would be well. The Bible says the desire to be rich can be a snare and a hindrance. The Bible does not condemn wealth, the Bible simply reminds us that wealth can never deliver what it promises to deliver! Happiness. The other weed Jesus mentions is the desire for other things. You know the old saying, the more you have, the more you want. A wealthy millionaire was asked by Jay Leno, how much more money do you need? His reply was just a little more. I once heard 5

6 keeping up with the Jones as buying what you don t need, to impress people you don t like, with money you don t have. A girl and a boy were dating. The boy said; I love you with my whole heart. I love you more than anything in the world. I want to marry you. I m not rich like Don Smith. I m not educated or handsome like Don Smith, I don t have a fancy yacht or Rolls Royce like Don Smith, but I will love you forever. The girl thought for a moment and said, I love you too with my whole heart. But could you tell me a little more about Don Smith? You see a crowded heart is not a believing heart. The Bible says no one can serve two masters, either you will love the one and hate the other, or you will cling to the one and despise the other. No one can serve two masters and no one can serve three monsters worry, the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things. The Fruitful Heart (vv.8, 15) Luke 8:8 (NKJV) 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 8:15 (NKJV) 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. The seed of the Word of God will not simply bounce off the surface of the fruitful heart. The Word of God will penetrate, grow and produce change! It does not grow for a season only to die when the heat s too hot! It is not divided by competition and strangled. It produces a harvest of character! Jesus wants to make sure we are really listening (he who has ears to hear, let him hear!). The fruitful heart hears and receives the Word of God and brings forth faith fruit. This is the only heart that does! Unlike the hard heart the faithful heart is soft. In contrast to the shallow heart the fruitful heart is deep. In contrast to the crowded heart the fruitful heart is open and available. The fruitful heart is soft, deep, clean. Fruit in the Bible speaks of the character of the Christian. Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV) 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. The fruitful heart knows about sin, repentance and commitment. The fruitful heart shares the gospel and provides 30, 60 and a hundredfold return. Conclusion Three hearts had three enemies. The enemy of the crowded heart is the world. The enemy of the shallow heart is the flesh. The enemy of the hard heart is the devil. The world, the flesh, the devil have as their enemies The Father, the Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus Christ. Your ability to hear and receive the Word of God depends on the condition of your heart! Has the gospel penetrated your heart? Have you received and accepted the good news of salvation that can only come from Jesus Christ? 6

7 Is your heart hard, impenetrable? Then you need the soil broken up. Is your heart shallow? Do you only respond to an emotional plea? Is your heart crowded? Are you strangled with the love for the things of this world? Take some time and ask yourself some serious questions. (1) What is my attitude towards the Word of God? (2) What is the condition of the soil of my heart; hard, shallow, crowded, fruitful? (3) What fruit has come from my life recently? (4) Am I helping other bear fruit? Pay attention to what you hear, and that you hear with a soft heart, a deep heart, a clean heart. 7