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Book: Luke
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Luke 8:15
I. The Word of God is like seed that is sown.
A. There are four basic soils upon which the seed falls, there are
four basic receptions to the word of God.
1. The seed that falls by the wayside.
a. As soon as it is sown the birds are there
eating the seed before it can ever germinate.
b. These are the people who are totally
disinterested in the Bible.
c. The word of God does not penetrate their hearts
at all.
2. There is the seed that falls on the stony ground.
a. In Israel the hillsides are in places just
large flat stones with little patches of dirt
in the holes and crevasses.
b. In these little patches of dirt in the early
spring you see the grass and wild flowers
spring up. They are the first spots to green
out and they are also the first places where
the flowers die.
c. Because of the warmth of the rock the seeds
germinate and develop faster, but because there
is no depth of earth the soil is the first to
lose its moisture.
d. These are the people who receive the message of
the gospel with great excitement. They are at
the church almost every time the doors are
open. They eagerly devour the word of God.
e. But as quickly as they sprang up, they die.
There was no real depth. The first little
trial, the first difficulty that arises finds
them turning away.
3. There is the seed that falls among the thorns. It falls
among the morning glory plants. It grows up so does
also the morning glory. Soon the morning glory is
entwining around the plant and it begins to choke out
the life so that there is no fruit that comes forth.
a. These are they who receive the word of God, and
they begin to grow, but there are other
interests that are growing along with their
interest in the word. Soon these other things
begin to choke out the word and their zeal for
God, and they never become truly fruitful.
b. These thorns are the cares of this life, riches
and the desires for pleasure.
4. The fourth soil is fertile and cultivated, and the seed
springs forth into life and produces fruit.
a. These are people with honest and good hearts
upon which the word of God falls.
b. They keep the word, and they bring forth fruit.
II. In which category would you place yourself?
A. It is quite possible that there are some here today whose
hearts are very unreceptive to the word of God.
1. You are only here to please someone else. While you are
here you really are not here for your heart is
elsewhere.
2. The word of God to you is like a mystery, you have no
understanding and if the truth were known, no desire to
understand.
3. Once in a while a truth will strike your heart and you
will listen for a moment, but you quickly dismiss it
and return to your skepticism.
4. The message of Christ's love for you and His death and
resurrection mean nothing to you, as far as you are
concerned it is so much fable.
B. There are no doubt those here today whose hearts are like the
patch of earth on the stony ground.
1. You find yourself very interested in the Bible.
2. You knew about the Bible, but you didn't know the
Bible, and you find yourself fascinated by the
teachings of the Bible.
3. You have always believed that God existed, but you have
never really known God, you did not know that He could
be known.
4. Soon some real trials will come your way, and you will
begin to question if this is really for you.
5. Maybe some of your family members will begin to
challenge your interest in the Bible and point out what
are seeming contradictions, and because you do not have
any real depth of word yet in your life, you will soon
lose interest, and always look back on that time in
your life when you tried Calvary Chapel for a time.
C. There are many, and shall I dare say, the vast majority of you
who believe that the Bible is the word of God. You believe and
you have received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. If
asked you admit to being a born again Christian.
1.Yet your life is not fruitful.
2. You find yourself in about the same degree of spiritual
development as you were 5 or 10 years ago.
3. You have not really grown or matured in your walk with
Christ.
4. Or as Jesus said, "You have brought forth no fruit to
perfection."
5. This was the condition of the church of Corinth, after
years of walking with Christ they were still spiritual
infants.
1CO 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto
spiritual, but as unto carnal, [even] as unto babes in
Christ.
1CO 3:2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto
ye were not able [to bear it], neither yet now are ye able.
1CO 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas [there is] among you
envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and
walk as men?
6. The writer of the book of Hebrews declared,
HEB 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need
that one teach you again which [be] the first principles of
the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of
milk, and not of strong meat.
HEB 5:13 For every one that useth milk [is] unskillful in the word
of righteousness: for he is a babe.
HEB 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age,
[even] those who by reason of use have their senses
exercised to discern both good and evil.
HEB 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ,
let us
go on unto perfection;
7. What are the things that choke out the fruitfulness in
a believers life, that cause your spiritual growth to
become arrested?
a. The cares of this life, need I list them for
you.
1. Most of us are burdened down with
things that sap our time and energy,
and have absolutely no permanent
spiritual value.
2. With many it is just keeping your head
above water, you live on the brink.
3. Jesus spoke of those who were overly
concerned with what they were going to
eat, and drink and what they were going
to wear.
4. Those who are caught up with the cares
of this life are usually those who are
poor, they spend most of their lives
just trying to get by.
b. Riches.
1. The Bible warns that if riches increase
set not your heart upon them. Ps.62:10
2. Jesus spoke of the deceitfulness of
riches. Riches are deceitful for they
hold out the promise of contentment and
security, they can provide neither.
3. Much harder for the rich man to enter
into the kingdom of heaven that the
poor. The rich fears what he must give
up, the poor has nothing to give up.
c. Pleasures of this life.
1. How many people are stunted in their
spiritual growth today because they are
seeking after pleasure.
2. Their minds are distracted and drawn
away to other interests.
3. Movies and T.V. contribute greatly to
this.
4. Many people spend their evenings
watching T.V. rather than reading the
Word of God.
5. Does the pursuit of pleasure choke your
relationship with Him or is communion
with Him your pleasure?
8. The Bible tells us to examine ourselves, and to judge
ourselves for if we judge ourselves we will not be
judged of God.
2CO 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your
own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus
Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
GAL 6:4 But let every man prove his own work,
9. Better yet as David ask God to search your heart and
reveal to you what He sees there. His estimate of me is
far more crucial than my own estimate of myself.
a. I am prone to show favoritism to myself and
rate myself higher than I really am.
b. I am very lenient when grading myself.
D. We always have that fourth group for which we thank God.
1. Jesus describes them as having good and honest hearts.
a. They are not deceived, they know the truth
about themselves.
b. They are not living in self deception. They
seek God earnestly and sincerely.
2. Having heard the word, they keep it.
a. James tells us to be doers of the word and not
hearers only, deceiving ourselves.
b. Jesus told the story of the father who had two
sons that he asked to go out and work in his
fields, the first refused, and the other
declared that he would go. The first then
repented and went out and worked in the field,
the second who said he would go never made it.
Jesus then asked, "Which one did the will of
the father?" It is not just assenting to the
truth, but doing the truth that counts.
3. They bring forth fruit.
a. This is what God is seeking in our lives, that
we bring forth fruit.
b. Now the fruit of the Spirit is love, which is
manifested in joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, and faith.
c. Jesus said, "Herein is My Father glorified in
that you bear much fruit."
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