Alright, well we are continuing our way through the Gospel of Luke and we are in chapter 8.
And at this point in the story Luke gives us a little bit of a big picture, a little bit of a summary about what is happening around this time with Jesus.
Let me just read it for us from Luke chapter 8.
After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.
The twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases.
Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had come out.
Joanna, the wife of Chusa, the manager of Herod's household.
Susanna, and many others.
These women were helping to support them out of their own means.
So Jesus is preaching.
And again, Luke's reminding us that Jesus was not just a healer and a miracle worker.
He came with a message.
And his message was good news.
Good news about what?
The kingdom of God.
The good news of Jesus is the kingdom of God.
Already when we get to this point in the story, we might scratch our heads and wonder,
what is the good news of the kingdom of God?
Well, in another occasion, Jesus was heard saying these words in Mark's gospel.
The kingdom of God has come near.
Repent and believe the good news.
So this was his message, that the kingdom of God has come near.
And what kingdom is this?
As I said last Sunday, to really understand this, we need to look back in our Bibles.
We could look back to the kingdom that God established for his people through Saul.
And then later, especially through David.
God made some amazing promises to David.
He not only chose David to be the king over Israel,
but he promised that David's throne, his kingdom, would endure forever.
And then we can think back to what we heard at the beginning of Luke's gospel.
What did Gabriel reveal to Mary?
Gabriel said that her son, to be born, would be given the throne of his father David.
And that he would reign over Jacob's descendants forever.
In a kingdom that would never end.
This is the kingdom that Jesus is talking about.
It's the kingdom of God, because it's the kingdom that comes from God.
It's established by God.
It has its source in him.
And this kingdom is near, because the king of this kingdom has now come.
He has been born.
And he is here.
And his people put their faith in Jesus, the king.
The citizenship of this kingdom is growing.
And yet, at the same time, many people had different expectations of this kingdom.
Many expected that it would resemble the kingdom of Israel from ancient times.
Many anticipated an earthly, geopolitical government and rule, with the Messiah leading the charge and kicking the Roman Empire out.
Establishing an earthly throne.
And already, Jesus has not been acting or measuring up to those kinds of expectations.
And yet, Jesus continues to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God.
He continues to call people to repent and believe this good news, that the great kingdom of God is near.
As we'll see eventually, the rise of this kingdom will defy all expectations.
The path of Jesus to the throne will be through suffering, death, and resurrection.
And the full establishment of this kingdom awaits the second coming of Jesus in the distant future, when he returns from heaven.
So, Jesus went from one town and village to another, preaching this kingdom.
And Luke tells us that the twelve were with him.
The twelve disciples.
And not just the twelve, but also a large cohort of women.
And there's certainly some interesting details in there about the women.
But, for time's sake, we'll pass over those this morning.
What Luke really wants to get to and tell us about is what happened on one occasion, and possibly more than one,
where Jesus gave the people this teaching.
Verse 4.
While a large crowd was gathering, and people were coming to Jesus from town after town,
he told this parable.
A farmer went out to sow his seed.
As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path.
It was trampled on, and the birds ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground.
And when it came up, the plants withered, because they had no moisture.
Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it, and choked the plants.
Still other seed fell on good soil.
It came up and yielded a crop a hundred times more than was sown.
When he had said this, Jesus called out,
Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.
Now imagine for a moment that you just traveled several hours to hear Jesus on foot.
You've heard so much about him.
And this is what he says.
A farmer went out to sow his seed.
The seed landed in four different places,
and based on the condition of the soil in each place,
there was a different outcome.
One of the four outcomes was good.
Only one of them was the kind of outcome that the farmer hopes for.
Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.
What's your reaction to this?
I imagine there were many people thinking,
What's the point?
What does this mean?
Why is he telling us about this?
Is there a deeper meaning to this?
On its own, this teaching is kind of ambiguous.
It's kind of cryptic.
What are we supposed to do with this?
Is there some wisdom in here that we're supposed to discover?
And then there's the statement of Jesus at the end,
which is rather strange.
Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.
Don't we all have ears?
Aren't we all here listening to you, Jesus?
One modern translation attempts to highlight the force of the last part of Jesus' statement.
It says,
The one who has ears to hear had better listen.
Are you saying that we're not really listening, Jesus?
Are you saying that some of us don't have ears, that we're deaf?
And what does all this have to do with the farmer?
And the seed?
And the four kinds of ground?
Like, what are you talking about, Jesus?
Even a closer examination of the details of Jesus' parable
don't really get us much further.
The farmer sows seed, and it falls on these different places.
And what happens in each of these places is basically what we expect.
If it falls on the path, it gets trampled on.
Or the birds come and eat it.
That's expected.
If it falls on the rocky ground, the plant can hardly eke out its existence.
It's got no depth, and so it withers.
And it dies.
If it falls among the weeds, well, we've all seen things trying to grow alongside the weeds,
and we know how that goes.
That's expected.
Really, the only unexpected thing is maybe how Jesus describes the seed that falls on the good soil.
He says,
The plants came up and yielded a crop a hundred times what was sown.
This is what every farmer dreams of and hopes for.
A hundred times what was sown is the ultimate bumper crop.
We're talking like a wheat yield of around 160 bushels an acre.
With that kind of yield, the farmer would be hooting and hollering all the way up and down the field during harvest.
So that would be great for a farmer.
But what's the point?
And surprisingly, Jesus didn't explain the meaning of all this to this large crowd.
He just left it at that.
Many of them went away wondering what on earth Jesus was talking about.
Later on, Jesus' disciples asked him what the parable meant.
Verse 9.
His disciples asked him what this parable meant.
He said,
The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you.
But to others, I speak in parables.
So that though seeing, they may not see.
Though hearing, they may not understand.
From there, Jesus goes on to explain the details of the parable to them.
So there was a deeper meaning to this little parable or analogy of Jesus.
And we're going to get to it in just a moment.
But before he explains it to them, there's this explanation of why he speaks in parables.
And perhaps it's a little surprising.
These particular words of Jesus have been discussed and debated thoroughly through the centuries.
We'll start with the clear part.
Jesus says,
The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom has been given to you.
The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you.
So what's clear is that there are secrets.
There are mysteries, as some translations put it,
to the kingdom of God.
But this kingdom Jesus has been proclaiming has secrets.
It has elements that are hidden from plain sight.
It has inner workings that are not obvious or expected.
Jesus says,
The knowledge of these secrets has been given to you,
to his disciples.
According to Mark's gospel,
Jesus isn't just talking about the twelve,
but to the twelve and others of his disciples.
Probably it included these women as well,
that we've just heard were there,
and a good number of others as well.
And so what is clear is that there's this sort of insiders group,
and then there's an outside group.
And Jesus says to the insiders group,
The secrets of God's kingdom have been given to you,
but not to those on the outside.
And then Jesus explains the meaning of the parable to them.
He goes through each element,
and he tells what it represents.
We'll get to that in a moment,
in verses 11 to 15.
In other words,
when Jesus says the secrets of the kingdom of God
have been given to you,
what that means is that as Jesus tells these parables to the crowds,
he gives the explanation of them
only to his disciples,
only to the insiders group,
and not to everyone.
And this is just one of the many parables that Jesus told.
He told the parable of the mustard seed,
the parable of the prodigal son,
the parable of the wheat and the weeds,
the parables of the hidden treasure in the field,
and the pearl of great price,
and many more.
And Jesus, we notice,
begins quite a number of those parables
with this saying,
this phrase.
He'll say,
The kingdom of God is like,
and then he'll give this analogy,
he'll tell a parable,
where the kingdom of heaven is like,
by one count,
a dozen of the parables told,
which begin with those words.
Though some have pointed out
that probably about 25 to 30 of the parables
have to do with the kingdom of God.
They seem to almost all be focused around this.
And so Jesus is proclaiming the good news of the kingdom
to the crowds,
and as people ask questions,
well, what's the kingdom of God like?
How's it going to go?
Jesus is answering those questions
with a variety of parables and analogies.
But,
Jesus is explaining these parables
and their details only to his disciples.
Only to those who are traveling around with him
and following him.
To the twelve,
and to others who are part of that inside group.
The close followers of Jesus.
Now, why did Jesus do it like that?
Why not just explain the meaning of the parables
to everyone?
The details to everybody,
the whole crowd.
Here's where it becomes a lot less clear.
Here's what Jesus says about it.
He says,
He quotes from the prophet Isaiah,
who prophesied 700 years earlier.
What does that mean?
It almost sounds like Jesus is saying
he uses the parables deliberately.
But why?
Like,
are you saying that the purpose of them
is to conceal
or obscure the truth
from people who are hearing them?
It kind of sounds like that,
doesn't it?
To others I speak in parables
so that those seeing,
they may not see.
Though hearing,
they may not understand.
So,
what does that mean?
Jesus,
do you want them not to see?
Do you want them not to understand?
Don't you want them to see
and to understand everything that you're saying?
This apparent tension
has led to all sorts
of different explanations
of these words of Jesus.
But before we consider a few,
I just want to remind us that
this is a difficult passage to interpret.
And there's a number of reasons why.
The first reason
has to do with this
quoting the Old Testament prophet.
Quoting Isaiah.
Isaiah wrote
the part that Jesus
quoted 700 years prior.
He starts
his sentence,
Jesus does,
and then ends it
with the quote
from Isaiah.
If I quote Shakespeare
but you're not familiar
with that quote
or work
of Shakespeare
then it's not going to make sense.
And it's the same with this.
So we flip back
to Isaiah chapter 6
to try to understand
what Jesus means.
But then once we
get to it,
we realize that Isaiah 6
is itself
a difficult passage
to understand.
The prophet Isaiah
who lived during the reign
of King Uzziah
had a spectacular vision
from God.
He saw the Lord
high and exalted
seated on a throne.
and he saw
these strange
looking angel
things
worshiping God
and there was smoke
in the vision
and the ground shook
in the vision.
And Isaiah
is in the presence
of God
and he's crying out
sensing that he's
about to be
destroyed
because he's
a guilty sinner
in the presence
of a holy
and perfect God.
But then
in the vision
God takes his guilt
away
and makes atonement
for him
and then sends
Isaiah
to speak on his
behalf
to the people
of Israel.
It's like a
commissioning of Isaiah
to be a prophet.
But what God
says to Isaiah
in this commissioning
is
maybe unexpected.
He said
go and tell
this people
be ever hearing
but never
understanding
be ever seeing
but never perceiving
make the heart
of this people
calloused
make their ears
dull
and close their eyes
otherwise
they might see
with their eyes
hear with their ears
understand
with their hearts
and turn
and be healed.
Then I said
for how long
Lord?
And he answered
until the cities
lie ruined
and without
inhabitant
until the houses
are left deserted
and the fields
ruined and ravaged
until the Lord
has sent everyone
far away
and the land
is utterly
forsaken.
Do you see
what I mean?
Isaiah chapter 6
is a difficult
passage to understand.
He's sending
Isaiah
God is
but it sounds
here with
Isaiah
like God's
purpose
is not
to call
them
to repent
and be
saved
but rather
to bring
about
punishment
on them
for their
sins.
It seems
as if
God is
telling
Isaiah
right from
the get
go
that people
will not
respond
favorably
to his
words.
And we're
still left
with the
question
of what's
meant
by this
statement
go and
tell
this people
be ever
hearing
but never
understanding.
Be ever
seeing
but never
perceiving.
Is God
pronouncing
judgment
on Israel
here?
Is this
punishment?
Is it
that they're
kind of
left to a
sort of
spiritual
blindness
and deafness?
Is God
giving them
over to
hardness
of heart
and blindness
with these
words?
Or
you could
almost take
it the
complete
opposite way
too.
Is God
goading
them
with these
words?
Is he
trying to
provoke
a response
from their
dull hearts?
Is he
trying to
get them
to see
that they
think
they're
wise
and
understanding
but in
fact they
aren't?
Is God's
aim with
these words
really
stated there
in the
passage
that they
might turn
to him
and be
healed?
Or is
God
mainly just
expressing
to Isaiah
what he
knows
what will
happen?
what he
knows
will be
their
response?
Not
that he
wants
them
to
ignore
and
become
callous
but that
God
knows
that as
Isaiah
preaches
to them
this is
going to
be the
result.
They're
going to
harden
their
hearts
until
the
heart's
calloused.
They're
going to
tune him
out with
their ears
until
their ears
are dull
and unable
to hear
his voice.
And then
there's the
question of
when this
will happen.
how long
is this
to go
on for?
Verses
11 to
13 of
Isaiah
chapter 6.
Is
Isaiah
saying that
the Jewish
people,
the nation
of Israel
will be
deaf and
blind to
the word
of God
until
Jerusalem
is destroyed
and the
Jews
scattered
in the
first and
second
century?
You see
what I
mean about
this passage
being difficult
to understand?
And so
it's quite
reasonable that
there's different
opinions on
what these
words of
Jesus mean.
One idea
is that
Jesus speaks
in parables
as a form
of divine
judgment.
Deliberately
concealing the
truth from
the people
so that the
people of
Israel will
get what
they deserve
for their
wicked
stubbornness
toward God.
And yet
at the same
time though
that there's
this remnant
that God
has chosen
by grace
and by his
mercy and
granted
understanding
to them
so that
not all
will perish.
Another idea
is that
Jesus simply
is focused
on explaining
how their
response to
his preaching
is the same
as the
people's
response to
Isaiah long
ago.
God would
rather they
repent and
turn and be
saved but
because of the
already hard
hearts of the
majority they
will hear and
see wonderful
things from
Jesus yet
many will
never understand
or believe
or turn back
to God and
be saved.
Some even
suggest that
these parables
have a sort
of dual
effect.
In their
outside form
they have
kind of the
function of
a veil
and they
cover the
truth that's
inside.
They only
reveal enough
to invite
and to
provoke
people to
draw near
to come
to God
to come
to Jesus
for more
and then
whether people
press in
and come
to Jesus
and ask
what does
it mean
is the
thing that
determines
whether or
not they
will receive
the secrets
of the
kingdom.
It's sort
of a litmus
test about
what's really
in the heart
of a person.
Do they
really want
to understand
God's
kingdom?
And if so
they will
draw near
to Jesus
they will
follow him
they'll
become one
of the
inside
group
but if
not they'll
just listen
and go
their way
and ignore
the teachings
of Jesus.
These are
some of the
ideas Christians
have had about
these words
of Jesus
and what
they mean
but let's
just now
focus on
the parable
of the
farmer.
Back to
the parable
of the
farmer.
One of
the wonderful
things here
is that
Luke takes
us to
the insider
group's
meeting
where Jesus
explained the
details.
We get
the details
so let's
look at that
in verses
11 to
15.
Jesus
goes back
over the
parable
with them
in private
and he
starts by
explaining
the overall
elements.
This is
the meaning
of the
parable.
The seed
is the
word of
God.
Those
along the
path are
the ones
who hear
and then
the devil
comes and
takes away
the word
from their
hearts.
So this
is a
parable about
people hearing
the word
of God.
Matthew's
gospel makes
it especially
clear.
In Matthew
chapter 13
Jesus says
listen then to
what the
parable of
the sower
means.
When anyone
hears the
message about
the kingdom
and does
not understand
it the
evil one
comes and
snatches away
what was
sown in
their hearts.
So this
parable is
actually an
explanation
of why
people respond
the way they
do to
Jesus
preaching.
With that
key now
the meaning
of all of
it is
unlocked.
We can
understand
something of
what Jesus
was getting
at.
Now Jesus
goes through
each of the
four places
that the
seed fell
and each
one represents
the word
of God
that Jesus
is proclaiming
being heard
by people.
Suddenly
what Jesus
said at the
end makes
sense.
He who has
ears to hear
let him hear.
This whole
parable is
about hearing
the word
of God
which Jesus
has been
speaking.
So let's
go through
each of
these four
places
and see
how Jesus
explains them.
First there's
the seed
that fell
on the
path
and was
trampled
or eaten
by birds.
Jesus
says this
represents
those who
hear the
word of
God
but then
the devil
takes away
or snatches
the word
from their
hearts
so that
they may
not believe
and be
saved.
That's a
pretty sobering
thought
isn't it?
In other
words
some people
are responding
to Jesus
the way
that they
are
because
Satan
the devil
is at
work.
He is
influencing
them.
Personally
I find
the word
choice
of Jesus
rather
shocking
here.
The devil
comes and
takes away
the word
from their
hearts
so that
they may
not believe
and be
saved.
Can the
devil mess
with a
person's
heart?
Can he
steal
from that
deepest
part of
a person
the truth
that they've
heard?
According to
Jesus
the answer
is yes.
And his
purpose in
doing it
is so
wicked
so that
they might
not believe
and be
saved.
How evil.
The devil
hates God
and he
doesn't
want
anyone
to
believe
in
him.
He
wants
you
to
perish.
Now
we might
wonder
how the
devil
does
this
and we
could
talk
a little
bit
about
that.
We
know
from
other
places
that
his
main
way
of
operating
is
through
deception.
Jesus
called
him
a liar
and the
father
of
lies.
Jesus
said
that
when he
lies
he
speaks
his
native
language.
That's
in
John
chapter 8
verse
44.
And it's
not
like the
TV shows
where he
sits on
your
shoulder
and
whispers
lies
into
your
ear.
He's
not
everywhere
at
once
but he
is
deeply
responsible
for
creating
and
circulating
insidious
deceptions
in our
world.
Mix
enough
truth
with a
lie
and make
the lie
coherent
with other
lies
and
you
can
explain
all
sorts
of
things
without
the
need
for
God
or
Jesus.
He
doesn't
want
you
to
believe
in
Jesus.
He
doesn't
want
you
to be
saved.
And so
as far
as it
depends
on us
we need
to do
everything
we can
to receive
the word
of God
the words
of Jesus
deeply
into our
hearts.
we
can't
just
let
the
words
come
at
us
and
sit
up
on
the
surface.
We need
to take
it
in
deeply.
We need
to do
everything
we can
to soften
our hearts
towards
God
and
his
word.
Otherwise
we give
opportunity
to the
devil
to snatch
away
the truth
that we've
heard.
Next
there's the
seed that
fell on
the rocky
ground.
and
we
notice
that
these
are
people
who
receive
the
word
with
joy
when
they
hear
it.
The
good
news
of
Jesus
sounds
and
feels
like
good
news
to
them.
They
accept
it
but
not
deeply.
It's
still a
rather
shallow
and
surface
kind
of
belief.
They
have
no
root.
The
roots
can't
go
down
because
of the
rocks.
the
word
doesn't
go
deep
into
their
hearts.
They
believe
for a
while
says
Jesus
but
in
the
time
of
testing
they
fall
away.
Right
now
the
crowds
are
large
for
Jesus
but
the
size
of
the
crowds
doesn't
mean
that
all
of
them
really
believe
in
Jesus.
When
it
becomes
difficult
to be
a
follower
of
Jesus
later
on
in
the
story
and
the
opposition
intensifies
many
will
disappear
and
no
longer
follow
him
they
will
fall
away.
This
is the
story
for
many
in
every
generation.
They
grow up
going to
church
with
their
parents
and
for
many
years
that's
all
they
know.
It's
just
what
they
do.
But
then
when
it
becomes
apparent
that
there's
a
cost
to
following
Jesus
that
it
requires
personal
sacrifice
and
commitment
or
when
it
becomes
unpopular
to
follow
Jesus
they
fall
away.
They
stop
going
to
church
they
stop
doing
the
Christian
things
and
it
comes
out
that
their
faith
their
commitment
to
him
was
shallow
from
the
start.
Next
there is
the
seed
that
among
the
thorns
or
the
weeds.
Jesus
says
that
this
stands
for
those
who
hear
but
then
are
choked
by
life's
worries
riches
and
pleasures
and
they
do
not
mature.
So
they
hear
God's
word
maybe
even
make
a
profession
of
faith
in
Jesus
but
ultimately
they
do
not
respond
to
God's
word.
It's
choked
out.
It's
crowded
out
in their
hearts
and
in
their
lives
by
a
number
of
things.
Life's
worries.
Riches.
The
pursuit
of
material
things.
Pleasures.
Chasing
after
pleasures.
Feelings.
Entertainment.
They're
not
able to
respond
to
God's
words
deeply
because
even
though
they've
heard
it
there's
other
things
that
they're
giving
the
attention
of
their
heart
to
more.
Are
you
worried
about
a lot
of
things
in
life?
According
to
Jesus
worrying
about
things
in
life
can
affect
your
hearing.
Worrying
can
hinder
your
ability
to
hear
and
respond
to
the
word
of
God.
Or
are
you
constantly
thinking
about
how
much
money
you
have?
Or
the
next
thing
that
you'd
like
to
obtain
or
buy?
This
is
another
thing
that
can
affect
our
hearing.
The
pursuit
of
riches,
wealth,
material
things.
Or
is
it
pleasure?
Could
be
even
as
simple
as
being
addicted
to
our
phones.
habitually
scrolling
on a
device,
an
excess
of
movies
or
games
or
sports
or
social
media.
Or
it
could be
something
bigger
like
the
next
great
experience
that
we're
hoping
for,
the
next
luxury
getaway
or a
new
romantic
relationship.
And
God
has
made
this
life
and
this
world
with
pleasures,
things
for our
enjoyment.
But
the
problem
happens
when we
turn our
hearts
primarily
towards
getting
those
pleasures,
!
That's
the
main
thing
for us.
And
it
can
affect
our
ability
to hear
the
word
of
God
and
to
have
the
word
of
God
have
its
intended
result
in
our
life.
Finally,
!
There's
the seed
that fell
on the
good
soil
and
produced
the
ultimate
bumper
crop.
Jesus
says the
least
about
what this
looks like
in the
life of
a
person,
but
we
notice
just a
few
details.
We
notice
that
the
word
of
God
is
retained.
There are
those who
hear the
word,
retain it,
and by
persevering,
produce a
crop.
That
word
persevering
catches my
attention.
God's
word can
do great
things in
a person's
life,
but that
doesn't mean
it's going
to be
automatic,
instant,
or easy.
it requires
that we
stick with
the words
of Jesus.
It requires
that we
hear them
and go
on through
our lives
holding
on to
them
deeply
as
true.
But if
we do,
it leads
to the
most amazing
outcome,
the great
bumper crop,
which,
if we
translate the
metaphor,
salvation,
life as a
citizen in
God's
kingdom,
which is
coming.
And so
this is one
of the
first secrets
of the
kingdom.
Not
everyone,
sadly,
will enter
into it.
Many will
hear about
it,
or at least
hear about
the king
of this
kingdom,
and yet
only some
will end
up with
the good
outcome.
And it
comes down
to what
happens when
we hear
the word
of God,
the message
of Jesus.
Jesus.
It's not
enough to
just hear
it,
we must
believe it.
And it's
not enough
to believe
it in a
surface way,
to just
agree with
it,
or think it
sounds pretty
good,
we must
believe it
in the
deepest
depths of
our hearts.
We must
take Jesus'
words as
truth,
as the
very words
of God
to us.
and it's
not enough
to add
Jesus'
words to
the
collection
of all
the
other
things
that we
value,
but you
know,
kind of
keep it
on the
side while
we go
after all
these
things.
We must
value the
word of
God
as the
very word
of God
and prioritize
it above
all else
in life.
And it's
not easy
to do
this,
but the
good outcome,
the kingdom
of God
will be
found and
enjoyed
by those
who do.
Just a
brief word
on what
to do
with all
this.
You know,
the first
place of
this parable
was probably
very helpful
was no
doubt for
the disciples.
Think of
how they
followed
Jesus in
their own
day and
time,
and they
watched the
crowd
swarming
Jesus,
and everybody
is excited
about him.
Surely
they wondered
though,
why all of
a sudden
some people
just stopped
following.
And then
as it
gets closer
to Jesus'
death,
the crowds
are getting
really thin.
Maybe
even at
times they
felt discouraged
and had
doubts and
were even
tempted to
give up on
Jesus as
they saw
where this
was going.
And so
this, I
think,
was encouragement
for them
to understand
what's going
on.
It was
encouragement
for them
to persevere
and hold
on tightly
to the
word that
Jesus was
saying,
even with
the opposition.
But I
think we
can find
wisdom
and insight
in these
words too
as we
see how
people around
us today
respond to
the good
news about
Jesus.
It helps
us at
least to
understand a
little bit
of why
so many
fall short
of becoming
full-fledged
followers of
Jesus.
It tells
us to
expect this
and not
to think
that there's
some kind
of problem
with the
seed or
with the
message that
we've
believed.
saved.
But I
think more
important than
all that is
just this
simple question
that this
parable leads
us to.
It's a
question I've
never been
able to get
away from.
Every time I
read this
parable I'm
reminded of
it.
And I
hope it's
the question
that you
leave with
today.
Which of
these four
soils
am I?
which of
these four
soils most
describes my
heart?
My
response to
the word of
God?
Could it
be that I've
been seeing
but not
really seeing?
That I've
been hearing
but not
really hearing
his words?
Has my
heart become
calloused
toward God
like the
path?
And my
ears dull
to his
voice?
Which of
these four
soils am I?
We may not
understand the
full purpose
and intention
of God and
all he does
and why he
uses these
parables like
this but I
hope the
reminder that
Satan does
not want us
to believe
or to be
saved.
I hope
that reminder
drives us
to Jesus
and back
to Jesus
words.
Whatever the
past has
held,
if you've
fallen away
or maybe
never really
believed and
you know it
or maybe you
have but you're
tempted to give
up on
Jesus,
know that
there is a
good outcome
for those who
persevere in
faith and
cling to the
words of
Jesus to
the end
and it's
not too
late.
Let's pray.
Father in
heaven, we
ask that you
would go to
work in our
hearts by your
spirit.
Lord, convict
us.
We need that.
Speak the
truth to our
hearts.
Help us see
which soil
we are,
which soil
we've been
this past
week.
Call us
and draw us
near to
yourself.
We want
to be
that good
soil.
We want
to know
the joy
of that
bumper crop
in our
lives.
Pray this
in Jesus'
name.
Amen.