Luke 8

To the people around you, talk for a moment about what makes a good listener.

would you agree that there is a difference between hearing and REALLY hearing?

listening and REALLY listening

There is a phrase that jesus uses many times in his ministry “He who has ears to hear let him hear”

There are times as a parent i have to get down on their level and say to my child “OK I need you to REALLY listen”

as a couple sometimes one of us will say “I need to talk to you for a few minutes” its not like we have not been talking but we mean “I need you to STOP EVERYTHING and HEAR me because this is very important”

If you are follower of Jesus it means at some point you HEARD the Word of Christ

Romans 10:17 ESV

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

John 5:24 ESV

24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

To become a christian, not only did you HEAR and believe but you SUBMITTED to the authority of the Word of God

JOHN 1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.....12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ....14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus is the WORD of GOD with sandals

Lets look at this idea of HEARING the WORD and SUBMITTING to the authority of the Word today in book of Luke Chapter 8

A. Hearing the word of God results in a desire to tell others

Luke 8:1–3 ESV

1 Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.

Even though it came at significant personal sacrifice these disciples were giving of their time and resources because they had HEARD and thought it was important that others hear as well.

Women and Jesus and Women in the church

valued for their real contributions, respected as equals, honored as created in the image of God, followed in ministry leadership

not objectified

B. God Calls everyone to hear His Word but not everyone has ears to hear it. Luke 8:4-15

Luke 8:4–15 (ESV)

And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable,

a quick word about parables

And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’

The crowds that came to see Jesus came for a lot of reasons the majority of the reasons were not good.

he spoke in a way that would be plain to those who were ready and willing to HEAR but would be murky to the people with bad motives.

“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. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 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.”

Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

The sower is Jesus/anyone who speaks the Word

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 hard soil

It seems to me that vast majority of people we encounter fall into this category, at least at first

They are not even remotely interested in the Word and may be even offended/antagonistic towards it

For believers we need to till the soil of our hearts by regularly meditating on and celebrating the gospel

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.

The rocky soil

“I’ll give this a go”.

“Try Jesus”.

The good news of the gospel is not “here’s a way to have an easy life”.

For believers we need to regularly meditate on and celebrate the gospel to keep our perspective healthy AND WHEN they crop up we need to tackle doubts head on

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.

Weedy soil

one of the hardest part of gardening is dealing with WEEDS

I have often wondered what would happen if you set out to grow a fantastic weed patch? Would reverse psychology kick in and the vegetables thrive and take over?

Unfortunately weeds are easy to grown and plentiful. Jesus says the weeds are the “cares and riches and pleasures of life” If that does not describe the main pursuits of people in our society don’t know what does. The passions and priorities of the world are relentless and come “easy”. The rewards of a life lived for Christ are often slower to come and require more work.

Our challenge is too

Weed the soil – to be In the world but not of the world

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.

Good Soil

I come from a family that gardens for generations. You know who has the best garden? My grandparents. They’ve been working on the same patch of dirt for probably 60 years, adding organic matter, fertilizer (we call it manure) removing rocks, pulling weeds, and their garden typically outshines everyone in the family.

Similarly, in the Christian life there is no replacing faithful growth over many years.

Fertilize the soil – Stay in the word. Stay in the church. Get discipled.

C. The more you hear the more you hear and the less you hear the less you hear

Luke 8:16–18 ESV

16 “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. 18 Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”

With investing, there is a term called “Compounding interest” If you invest $1000 today in stock market mutual funds, in 30 years you will have over $10,000.

If you have access to the Word but do not do anything with it, over time you will become less and less wise in term of what God wants and expects. You will drift further and further from the truth

BUT if you Read, “invest” over time it will take on exponential growth

D. Hearing and obeying the word results in change of loyalty Luke

Luke 8:19–21 ESV

19 Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” 21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

James 1:22 ESV

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Deuteronomy 11:1 ESV

“You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always.

John 14:15 ESV

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

We do not know why Jesus family was coming to see him

In other places we know they came to see him with imperfect motives but we dont know that that is happening here

Jesus is not saying he does not love his family and respect his mother, he is saying that there is something more important than blood.

our loyalty to God and our obedience to his word should transcend any human attachments

It should also closely bind us with fellow believers (triangle analogy)

E. Hearing The Word of God has the power to calm our fears

Luke 8:22–25 ESV

22 One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, 23 and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. 24 And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”

Psalm 65:5–8 (ESV)

By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs....

Jesus shows his ultimate authority

the power and authority of Jesus should calm our fears

The power and authority of Jesus should scare us a little

What God says matters. We tend to not take it too seriously. (The reaction when mom or dad SHOUTS)

F. Hearing The Word of God Will Transform Your Life

Luke 8:26–33 (ESV)

26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs.

28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.)

30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.

32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

Demon possession: Still possible for a non-believer.

Even though we do not see as much possession, we do see devastating effects of bondage to sin, addictions that are just as ingrained and deep as a demon and may be demonic

Luke 8:34–39 (ESV)

34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.

36 And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned.

38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

God’s Word has power and demands a response:

The demons hear God’s word and see his power but keep fighting

the locals hear God’s word and see his power and stick their fingers in their ears and say blah blah blah. Afraid of authority, change, accountability

The freed man hears and it transforms his life

We make doing ministry a big official thing, when it often should be as simple as “talk about what Jesus has done in your life”

G. Hearing The Word of God can heal brokenness

Luke 8:40–56 (ESV)

40 Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 41 And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus’ feet, he implored him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. As Jesus went, the people pressed around him.

He comes with humility and faith acknowledging Jesus authority and power

43 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. 44 She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. 45 And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!”

46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” 47 And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. 48 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

Many people were touching Jesus but this woman had faith and humility (and fear)

49 While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler’s house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.” 50 But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.”

51 And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. 52 And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.” 53 And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.

54 But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.” 55 And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. 56 And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.

How is the Soil of your Heart?

Do you need to make a commitment to gather more frequently on Sunday's?

Do you need to daily spend time in God’s Word?

Do you need to be more serious about being discipled?

Do you need to submit an aspect of your life to the Word?

Do you need to hear and believe?