Luke 8:1-15

Welcome (New?)- Going through the Gospel of Luke

Chapter 8 today….

Some of us are curious ppl… Why does that work that way??? How do they do that???…

Decaf coffee… Card tricks… ALL OF US WOULD LIKE TO KNOW…

THE THINGS OF GOD- Why did he do it that way? How does that work?

Read Deuteronomy 29:29 ““The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

Every now and then… PULLS BACK THE CURTAIN…

The Scene-

Read Luke 8:1-4a- The 12 and many women are with Jesus

The crowds are growing… (Mk 4:1- A very large crowd… got into a boat to teach)

Jesus is unimpressed with the size of the crowds (says something… but not necc. good)(Political, show, fame)

Even with churches… Celebrity, Show, Feel Good (Goal is to not offend)

Jesus has many fans… and very few followers… WHY?- That’s the question…

Jesus pulls back the curtain with a parable

Read Luke 8:4-8a- THIS IS HIS EXPLANATION… (Interp.= v. 11-15)

But before we look at the interpretation… WHY DOES HE SPEAK IN PARABLES?

Read Luke 8:8b-10- “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”… NOT EVERYONE HAS EARS TO HEAR

A hard saying of Jesus- “I speak in parables to that some will understand and some won’t…”

Back to the question at hand: Why are there so many fans and so few followers? (Why do some bel and some don’t?)

Soils= Hearts of those who hear the good news/Receptivity depends on type of heart… soil…

Seed= Word of God/Gospel of the kingdom- Read Luke 8:11

(1) The Path (Hard)- Read Luke 8:5- Trodden down dirt between fields… seed cannot penetrate… birds and wind

Explanation- Read Luke 8:12- Hard heart… do not receive/believe/trust/don’t need it…

We have loved ones that fit into this category… Just no receptivity to the gospel…

(2) Rocks (Shallow)-Read Luke 8:6- Not gravel… Israel is rocky place… bedrock just inches under surface

Bedrock would not allow the root to go deep… Shoot up quickly… but die from the sun’s heat

Explanation- Read Luke 8:13- This is the person who hears and confesses… Joy… Excitement… Emotions… YET IT FADES…

YoungLife- I was saved at WFR, “Wild Wild Country”, very emotional, many kids I knew confessed…

For many… some quickly… some when college began… some a few years later… IT FADED… NOT AT CAMP ANYMORE..

Altar calls… Sinners prayer… Can cause all sorts of false assurances/ Spontaneous baptisms….

(3) Thorns- Read Luke 8:7- Explanation- Read Luke 8:14- Rocks= Excitement/emotion… Thorns= Cares/Riches/Pleasures

Extrinsic Faith VS Intrinsic Faith (Get things from God VS Get God)(Corey Seager Bobble-Head… Have it or sell it?)

NOT A BELIEVER… but someone who believes God will provide for material desires…

Many have been deceived by churches/teachers/pastors…

Many of these people continue to call themselves Chritians… but it’s not about Christ.

(4) Good- Read Luke 8:8a- Explanation- Read Luke 8:15- The one who hears and believes… and bears fruit

THIS IS THE BELIEVER… No matter when or the specifics… If you’re a Christian… This is how it happened!

WHY DO SOME BELIEVE AND SOME DON’T??? DIFFERENT SOILS… DIFFERENT RECEPTIVITY….

So much here… TWO THINGS: (1) Who prepares the soil? (2) What is the seed?

(1) Who prepares the soil?- Soil doesn’t prepare itself

The heart of the person is soften and prepared by the Spirit (John 3- “You must be born again”)

A child does not cause himself to be born… a person cannot cause himself to be born again… Read John 6:44- No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

Man in neighborhood… Skeptical… conversations… books… Let’s just pray… I can’t do anything

WHEN WE SAY WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE… WE REALLY MEAN IT! You didn’t soften your heart!!!

(2) What is the seed?- We already know… “The Word of God” (v. 11)… So what does this mean?

It doesn’t matter who the sower is… but the seed is the same (Not really the parable to the sower… but the seed and the soils)

The Word of God/The good news of the KOG… THAT’S THE MESSAGE

NOT niceness… NOT relationships… NOT acts of service… THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

THE SOWER CHANGES… THE SEED DOES NOT!!!

THIS SOWER IS WASTEFUL… ISN’T HE???

This type of sowing is what we are called to… Haphazard… Wasteful… Throwing…

If God prepares the soil AND the seed is the Word of God… THEN gimmicks won’t work… strategies won’t work

Raffles… Celebrities… Concerts…

Quadrants… consumerism…

If we regarded it as our job, not simply to present Christ, but actually to produce converts—to evangelize, not only faithfully, but also successfully—our approach to evangelism would become pragmatic and calculating.

J. I. Packer

We can be confident in our gospel proclamation… We can only throw seed… Leave the rest up to the Lord….

WILL YOU?