Luke 8:4-8
June 22, 2014
What if I told you I had a gift for you? It’s really a good gift too. It’s better than dark chocolate candy with a cup of hot coffee. And let me tell you, it’s hard to get much better than that. Well, maybe it would be having some stuffed pizza first, then the candy and coffee. Then a nap. Now you’re talking!
Oh, back to the gift. What if I told you I had a gift that could change your life forever? It would, if you were willing take away so much pain and longing in your life. It would not cost you a penny. You know where I’m heading, don’t you? The gift is Jesus!
Would you accept that gift? Would you accept His grace, forgiveness, love, joy, His peace. Those all sound so sweet and feminine. So, for the tough guys out there, would you accept His courage, His power, His strength, would you accept the God of the heavenly armies to be on your side, would you put on His armor, wield His sword, defend yourself with His shield? Sounds good doesn’t it?
But do we take what Jesus offers us? I mean who would turn all of that down? Let alone turn down eternal life? Who would turn down heaven for hell? Why do people say a resounding NO to the message of Christ?
Today we’re going to look at a parable which answers some of that question. You see, it’s not the messenger who is being rejected. When people say NO, they are not rejecting you, they are rejecting the message. Ultimately, it’s a heart condition. It's all about the heart condition of the hearer. That's the issue. Jesus told a story about our hearts in the best way He could, through a parable. Before we get there, Jesus said this about our hearts.
20 And Jesus said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him.
21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,
22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.
23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” – Mark 7:20-23
So, Jesus is telling us, it’s our hearts which are evil, where sin flows from. And in Luke 8:4-15, Jesus told this parable ~
4 And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable,
5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.
6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.
7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.
8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.
14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
You see, this story is about the soil, it’s not about the seed. The seed never changes. The same seed is being thrown, and the same individual is throwing the seed. So it’s not about a variation in the seed, and it’s not a variation in their methodology. It’s a variation in the soil that brings about the variation in the results.
Remember in verse 4, Jesus was surrounded by a great crowd, but now He’s talking to the disciples and those who want to stick around and learn what the parable means. That huge crowd was now separated into the people who want to know what this means, and the people who don’t care. They were the indifferent crowd — those who came for the miracles, the signs, the wonders, the show. But they didn’t have a particular interest in the truth.
The disciples ask Jesus to explain the parable, and now we gain insight.
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I want to demonstrate for you what the 4 possible choices are to the Holy Spirit and what the end results can be.
Now, let’s just pretend that these 4 jars represent the 4 soils Jesus talks about.
JAR NUMBER 1 — (put water in the jar {or put nothing to show there is no soil}- “the soil” - and put in as much baking soda “the seed” as you like) * Put food coloring in all jars, helps the effect *
Jesus said, 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
The 1st Jar represents the path or sidewalk. This is the type of person that hears the message of Jesus, but they aren’t receptive to it, they reject Him lock, stock and barrel. The Word never penetrates their minds, or touches their consciences, or enters their hearts.
The problem is not in the word of God, it’s in the hearts of the people who hear it. They may be hardened by bitter experiences in life, or some prejudice against God, or by an unwillingness to give up some sin, or by indifference to spiritual truth. Whatever the reason, God’s word never enters their hearts.
Also, notice these people have someone working against them: the devil, who comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Notice that the devil takes away the word after it’s been heard. satan is most active when the gospel is presented.
Now, the second group which received the seed were very different than the first group. Jesus said, 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.
So, when we let’s look at JAR NUMBER 2 — (fill 1/4 water + 1/4 cup vinegar and put in a ½ teaspoon of baking soda. Want a little fizz but not much more)
The 2nd Jar represents the rocky soil. The rocky soil represents those who receive the word with joy. They're the opposite of the hard hearts. They are receptive and interested. Not only are they interested, they’re emotional about it. They are excited and thrilled about their new faith. They receive it with joy. But there is no place to put their roots.
Jesus tells us "They believe for a while." That's an important statement. There are people who believe for a while but in times of trials and testing and temptation, they fall away. The writer of Hebrews talks about true believers being those who persevere. Paul told the Colossians – the true believer is the one who continues in the faith.
Initially they hear the gospel. They’re excitement quick change in lifestyle usually convinces us this is an authentic conversion. There were tears of joy and hugs and all the right words were said. You say to yourself, wow, how cool, that’s the real deal.
But we can’t base someone’s faith according to their excitement, we need to see the actions, the changes, the character, the transformation. So, in this group, their faith was never real, because they were never rooted and grounded in the truth of God’s word and as soon as they face testing and temptation, they fall away.
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Now we come to the third type of soil. Jesus said, 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
JAR NUMBER 3 — (fill 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup vinegar and put 1 teaspoon of baking soda. The result you’re looking for is for the vinegar to boil almost to the top of the jar and then die down)
This 3rd jar represents the soil among the thorns and weeds. We all know how fast weeds grow. I’m amazed when we have no rain, that the thistles and weeds keep growing. When we think about this type of person, they are the ones who become all excited about Jesus, they come to church, may even become a Christian. But their faith gets choked out. They never took the weeds out of life. They become distracted by something else and Jesus suddenly is choked out of their lives.
These are the people who are able to withstand the pressures and trials of life, however, they weren’t able to give up the things of the world. Things like bitter spirits, greed, money, gossip, drunkenness, anger, and the list goes on.
Jesus mentioned three kinds of thorns: the cares and riches and pleasures of life. These things can keep our hearts from being fruitful. Again, this group represents people who have initially embraced the word of God but, after a time, the cares and riches and pleasures of life overwhelm their new found faith. And they choke out what fruit they may have produced.
The people in this group are not believers. They are not Christians who have fallen away. Instead, they are people who make a profession of faith and seem to be Christians, but when the cares and riches and pleasures of life take precedence, Christ is nowhere to be found. Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”
And it’s so easy for us to become caught in this trap. It’s too easy to think we can temporarily put our faith aside so we can enjoy the riches and pleasures of life. It’s not that we can’t enjoy life, the question is what do we treasure? Where is our heart, first and foremost?
We always have to be aware of the things of the world which pull us in directions which pull us further and further away from Christ. This group of people didn’t fully embrace the Word of God. They were easily swayed by any better offer that was out there.
Now we come to the final type of soil. About this soil, Jesus said, 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
JAR NUMBER 4 — (fill jar 1/4 cup water and 1/3 cup vinegar and put 1 tablespoon of baking soda. The result you’re seeking is for the vinegar to boil over abundantly – you’ll want a tray underneath to catch the overflow)
This represents the good soil. When the seed is planted in the good soil, it can produce a crop which yields 100 times more than was planted. That’s what God is looking for. He’s looking for a believer who is more than just a casual acquaintance. A believer who takes their faith seriously and produces fruit. This si the person who does not the trials of life, nor the prospect of riches and pleasures, nor the concerns and worries distract them from the call to follow Christ.
Ultimately, this is all about the Holy Spirit making a difference in our lives because we’ve opened our heart to God. Because we are receptive to His Word and His calling in our lives.
The impact that the Holy Spirit can make in each of our lives varies. It varies for only one reason — us. When we’re willing to let the Holy Spirit in and take over, then watch out. But most people fall in jar number 3. Most people are in that range because we have not let go of the things of the world. We haven’t let go of the things that we know we must let go of, if we ever want to experience the Spirit as we desire.
Take a moment and think to yourself, where do you fall in this continuum?
Are you more like the seed planted on the sidewalk or path?
Are you more like the seed planted among the rocky soil?
Are you more like the seed planted among the thorns? OR
Are you more like the seed planted in the good soil?
None of us have to be satisfied where we are at. If you believe you’re fighting the Holy Spirit tooth and nail, and that seed He’s dropping is falling on the sidewalk, than I have good news for you. You don’t have to be satisfied with that.
Or if the Spirit has been dropping its seed and you have accepted it, but when trouble hits, you high tail it out of here, then you can stop and turn back to God.
If the Spirit has been planting seed in your weeds and thorny soil, and the things of the world are grabbing hold of you. Then you cut away those weeds and take the next step . . .
If you are already accepting that seed and you believe you are in good soil, then fantastic. Keep up the good work and bring more people along with you. But know that when you are in the good soil, satan is always going to try to throw things at you that will knock you down.
The next step is grabbing onto the good soil. The Holy Spirit wants you to take the good soil, so that we can experience His presence, we can experience His power. And I’ll tell you something, we all have His power within us, it is just a matter of unleashing the power of the Holy Spirit and then . . . WATCH OUT!! Because when that happens there will be no force on earth or in hell that can stop us. Satan watch out, because as Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16:18, ‘the gates of hell will not prevail against the church.”
That’s the Good News of the Holy Spirit. I would encourage anyone who wants to move from where they are right now in their lives and wants to accept the power that is available from the Holy Spirit, then I encourage you to come forward during this hymn so we can pray that we would accept His Spirit in greater ways, so that we not only experience its power, but we begin to unleash it in our lives.
Would you pray with me. . .
* Illustration comes from “Heno Head’s Simple Science Object Talks.”
