Luke 8:5-15

Our hearts and God’s leading

In our text tonight that you guys discussed, we see Paul, Silas, and Timothy prevented and stopped by the Holy Spirit as they were trying to preach the word in different places. Prevented and forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word?

Not all of your good ideas are God’s ideas. This is a solid prooftext that not every one of your good ideas or plans are directed by the Holy Spirit, and we need to be careful and discerning to recognize the difference between a closed door and an open one.

This isn’t rhetorical- i want raised hands- Anyone ever had the Lord close a door to something or someone? A job, a relationship, a big purchase?

So here’s the question i want you guys to ask yourselves tonight: Are you ok with God’s opinion of your life? Are you ok with God telling you no? Do you want His word to guide and correct you, even if it means letting go of the control of the course of your life?

How do you respond in your heart when a door gets closed?

Are you ok with Him saying no?

PAUSE.

Tonight we’re going to look at the parable of the sower in Luke Chapter 8 starting in verse 5, and what i want you all to understand is that whether or not you believe in Jesus- this parable is for you. Our hearts fall into one of these categories, and my prayer is that the Lord would help you to understand where your heart is tonight.

Everyone heard of the parable of the sower right? If not, it’s this parable where Jesus is explaining how a farmer went out to sow seed, some feel by the wayside where people walked and was trampled, some fell where birds devoured it, some fell on rock and the crop sprang up quickly but withered away because of its lack of roots and moisture, and some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it, and lasty was the good ground where the crop yielded a hundredfold.

Jesus said essentially at the end of verse 8- “Hey this is spiritually valuable for you, pay attention to what i just said”.

The disciples believed Jesus’ words that it was valuable, and because they didn’t get it like the rest of the crowd- they asked. They asked him to explain the parable for them to understand the spiritual connection-

Don’t be afraid to ask if you don’t understand. That is the Holy Spirit’s prompting to go deeper, be humble, find out the answer.

Luke 8:11–15 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 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. 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. 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. 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.”

Story of Grace pushing and pulling away as i bring her in close- she thinks i’m restraining her and holding her back, but i’m really bringing her in close for a moment of love and real intimacy and closeness. But she refuses, so i let her go, and she’s on the ground holding out toys for me to pretend eat and play, and she’s trying so hard to earn my affection and love with her works- and she doesn’t even know it. She’s so distracted by all the things that she wants to do, that she misses moments of close and quite relationship with me. Close relationship as a family.

It’s not until she’s tired herself out and done all she can do that she receives my love and embrace and doesn’t fight it.

Some of you are so distracted by all of things you want to do that you are being choked out. PAUSE.

You’re missing out on close relationship with the family of Christ because you’re afraid there won’t be enough money, or you’re so career driven because that’s the environment of your household, or you’re letting the hurt of your past prevent you from opening up to other believers!

You can’t see the people that are gathered tonight as your family! - not just your friends, but everyone here. And the Lord is crying out to you saying

Is that where you’re at tonight? PAUSE.

This parable gives us 4 groups of people. Don’t think that because you’re a Christian that this teaching doesn’t apply to you, because you’ve already received the gift of salvation. As Christians, we don’t depart from the teachings of Jesus when we get saved- we press in deeper and deeper, realizing it is even more relevant for us now as His children. So everyone in this room is a part of one of these groups-

Those whose hearts are hard so the word doesn’t go deep into heart, and the enemy steals it away.

2. Those who hear the word and get excited and receive it, but they have no moisture- therefore no root, so when hard times come and temptation to pull away from God comes- they don’t stand a chance. These people don’t press into the things of God, they don’t pursue the living water that Jesus offers, they receive initially but then wither away as time goes on.

3. These are those who grow for a time in a beautiful season of love and joy and pursuit of the Lord and His people, then suddenly they are stopped and choked by the competition of unspiritual things they have allowed in their life. Work, BF/GF’s, extra college education on the side, a nice savings account, etc. According to Jesus, these people are both fruitless and immature.

These things aren’t bad you guys, but we can all agree they are not Inherintly spiritual, and so if your focus is more on those things, and not relationship with Jesus and community with His people- you are being choked out right now. Weeds will always try and grow at different times in our lives, but it’s our responsibility to address it and rip them out by the root.

4. The last group Jesus shows, is the soft hearts, the fertile ground. A noble and good heart, keeping God’s word in it with patience/perseverance.

Ezekiel 36:26 “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

So which group are you in?

Hard heart so the enemy can easily steal moments like tonight from you?

Maybe you hear and get excited, but then hard times come and because you didn’t really press into Him through reading, prayer, and community afterwards- so your walk with Him withers away as time goes on?

Or maybe you grew for a time in love and joy and pursuit of Jesus and His people, but then you became distracted and choked out?

Is your heart soft, fertile- humble, ready to receive the word of God and then go out and do it- waiting patiently for the fruit?

Maybe The Holy Spirit is closing doors in your life, and He brought you here again to hear His word being taught, and you’re just struggling to understand and receive?

Maybe youre too obsessed with your girl to hear or see the Holy Spirit trying to lead you. Trying to teach you. Maybe all you can think about is that next job, that next paycheck, that next assignment so you can get one more college credit. That next thing. You’re just so busy with the cares of this world that you refuse to make time for the Lord to reveal His love for you and surround you with His people?

Paul and his team saw and knew the Holy Spirit was leading them, but do you? Are you patient to wait for the guiding of His Spirit? Are you willing to be patient to let the Lord work in your life?

If the worship team wants to come back up, i’ll end with this.

If you are in group number 4- your heart is ready and willing to receive God’s word and leading in your life, praise God. You all know the difference between hard hearts and soft. God is calling you to confront your friends that are hard hearted, being choked out by the cares of this world, with no root.

You have the bridge in this relationship that’s been built to carry the weight of loving correction. x2

You need to trust the Lord and walk across that bridge and lovingly tell them they’re in a dangerous place spiritually.

Tonight is the night for those of you feeling the Holy Spirit pulling on your heart, drawing you back. Come find me, Tim, any of your leaders. You don’t need to share everything if you don’t want to, but share enough so we can pray for the Lord to do a work of revival in your heart.

Prayer