Take Care Then How You Hear!

Introduction

Have you ever had that moment, where your spouse said, “I told you that,” and you were like, “I don’t ever remember you saying that?”

I’m not totally sure why every guy in the room just got an elbow to the ribs, but it seems like a common thing.

Some of you got elbowed and just said, “Ouch. What was that for? What did he just say?”

I think we’re all guilty of hearing something but not listening…or listening, but not really retaining.

Because we believe the Word of God is inerrant, we can say with absolute certainty that this is true in regards to God’s Word!

As we continue our Lessons from Luke series, we turn our attention to Luke 8 where Jesus shares one of His more well-known parables.

Luke 8:1–18 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. 4 And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, 5 “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. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 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.” 9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 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.’ 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 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. 13 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. 14 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. 15 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. 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.”

1) God’s Word is Available! (vs. 5, 11)

Luke 8:5 ESV

5 “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.

Luke 8:11 ESV

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

"A sower went out to sow.”

The terrain of Galilee is very complex.

There are all different kinds of soil and elevations.

It would not be uncommon for a landowner to cast seed over all parts of his property hoping that some would find good soil and produce a good crop.

When Jesus spoke this parable a great crowd had gathered. (v. 4)

It is likely that when it came to the things of God, the people’s hearts were as diverse as the typical terrain of Judea and Galilee.

Likewise, we live in a self-imposed complex world. God sees all that we are doing and all that we are involved in and He wants to get His Word into the lives of people.

God’s Word is all around us. We have unprecedented access to the Word of God.

Do we receive the Word of God?

Often times this parable is used to talk about those who are saved vs. those who are not. While there is certainly application for that when it comes to the Gospel message, the basics of this parable is that the Word is sown and how the Word is received. Regardless of who receives it, we know that the word is sown…

If you are listening to this message…you can never use the excuse…How was is supposed to know?

The Word of God never came to me. When it comes to God’s Word in where we are right now…ignorance is no excuse. Ignorance is irresponsible, but it is no excuse.

As Christians we should receive the Word and we should also share the Word!

When we sow the Word, we cast it out for any and all. God’s Word is so amazing that He uses the Word for His own glory, in His own timing, to accomplish His own work. Where it falls and what is done with it depends on the one who receives it.

The seed is not bad seed that is cast…good seed hitting poor ground has poor results, but good seed hitting good ground has remarkable and incredible results!

Don’t be afraid to cast the seed. Don’t be afraid to share the Word of God with others broadly and in personal conversation.

God’s Word is available! Receive it freely and share it freely!

2) Two Kinds of Hearers! (vs. 10)

Luke 8:10 ESV

10 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.’

Jesus quotes for us out of Isaiah 6. We need to understand that God is not intentionally leaving people out from understanding.

If we are not careful, we can have a mindset to think that God is intentionally leaving some people in the dark about understanding His Word…or we may put it this way… “God doesn’t want some people to understand.”

This is not the case. Remember, when we explore scripture we must always look at the 3 Cs: “Context, Context, Context.”

Isaiah 6 is God’s commissioning of Isaiah to be His prophet to the people of Israel. God tells Isaiah that He will give him the words to speak, but that he is going to be engaging a stiff-necked, hard-hearted and hard-headed people. He will not be well received by most, because most will not want to receive God’s Word. They like to be told what they want to hear, not what God’s wants them to hear.

Not much has changed...

The two kinds of hears are those who are open to hearing what God has to say, regardless of whether it is pleasing to them or not, and those who only want to hear what they approve of.

If God’s Word doesn’t fit their mold, they don’t want it.

They only like the parts that validate them and reject the parts that convict them. They’ll even read into the text or downplay parts of the text in order to validate their tolerance of sin and rejection of righteousness.

There are even those who don’t like to hear the challenging and convicting parts of God’s Word so much they get angry and belittle the ones who are sowing the seed.

Some may even reject challenges from the Word to be bold with the Word and instead hang on to stupid quotes like, “Go and share the Gospel, and if necessary use words,” trying to justify not having to be bold with the Word. That about as ridiculous as saying, “Go and feed the hungry and if necessary, use food.”

There are those who are open to the fullness of God’s Word and those who reject wholly or in part. Which camp are you parking your RV? Do you really want to hear from God, regardless of your comfort, or do you only want to hear from God if it fits your mold or preference? This is the question, we need to ask ourselves every day!

God’s Word is Available and there are Two Kinds of Hearers…and how people hear the Word is how they will respond to the Word.

3) Responding to God’s Word (vs. 11-15).

Luke 8:11–15 ESV

11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 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. 13 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. 14 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. 15 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.

If you don’t want to respond to God’s Word then you are like the hardened path. The seed comes your way, but you don’t care to even let it break the surface.

It’s easy for us to put those who are hostile to the Word of God in this category, but in reality, we all have times when our hearts are hardened...

Haven’t you ever been driving down the road, scanning through stations, come across a preacher, something pops out to you in the short little sound bite, you pause, then think… “I don’t want to listen to preaching right now…I want some music…where’s my favorite country station?”

…OR… Haven’t you ever recieved your verse of the day notification, and just deleted the notification without looking at cause we don’t have time for that right now… I’m in a hurry… It never even broke the surface...

…OR… You may see scripture that is shared on social media and you’re immediate response is: That’s just hateful and unnecessary…ummm God’s Word is hateful and unnecessary? Really? You may think it needs more context (and so you should add some context) but to deem the Word hateful and unnecessary is hard hearted. In that moment for you, the Word never even broke the surface…

If you find yourself not responding to God’s Word or not wanting to respond to God’s Word, then you need to check the terrain and soil content of your heart.

Sometimes we can receive the Word of God into our minds, but it doesn’t make it very far.

This is like the seed that falls among the Rocky Soil.

We can hear the Word, we know it hits home with us, we get excited that we connected with God through His Word, and we have good intentions to let it sink in.

We start applying it to our lives, but pretty quickly we are stretched out of our comfort zone.

What we were excited about and had good intentions about becomes difficult.

Social pressures are causing us to second guess our commitment to God’s Word, because it’s taking away from our already established socially acceptable routines.

We’re feeling pressure from our co-workers, our friends, or just societal norms in general to back-off. Pretty soon, what we once considered exciting and made us ready to change our lives, falls by the wayside, withers, and is less than an after-thought.

The Word was received with Joy, but after some trials and pressures it fell away.

Sometimes we receive the Word and we let it sink in and really take root and be big in our lives, but it doesn’t actually produce God’s Righteousness and Kingdom perspective in us.

This is like the seed that falls among the Thorns.

We hear the Word, we know it hits home with us, it takes root and become imbedded in our minds, but it never really produces a transformation in our lives.

We let the Word sink in to our lives enough to retain the idea, but we get distracted from its true application because we let “the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things” choke it out.

We like the taste of the Word, but don’t let it nourish our lives. We don’t get our fulfillment and passion from God’s Word…we let worldly, godless, and carnal things be our source of purpose, validation, and temporary fulfillment.

When we let ourselves get entangled by the cares of the world, often driven by the busyness of our lives, then the Word stays rooted into our minds, but the fruit never matures and never produces the righteousness of God in our hearts and lives.

Sometimes we receive the Word in a way that is rich and fertile.

This is like the seed that falls on Good Soil.

We hear the Word, we know it hits home with us, it takes root, it sinks in deep, and it produces fruitful righteousness in our lives.

Our lives are never the same. We don’t let the rocky pressure of society, and the thorns of worldly engagement affect the truth of God’s Word in us.

God’s Word is supreme, and all other things fall under His authority.

We still deal with all the challenges of life, but God’s Word navigates us through these challenges rather than letting the challenges of life drive how we receive God’s Word.

Getting the good soil takes work, time, and intentionality. But the hard work pays off.

The spiritual fruit produces and ripens to develop within us all that we need for life and godliness.

The Lord became our righteousness and no matter the situation or the circumstance we enjoy God’s presence through the application of His Word in our lives.

Closing

What about you this morning?

Do you realize that God is continuously sowing His Word in your life?

What kind of hearer are you this morning?

What kind of hearer do you want to be tomorrow and the next day and the next day?

Do you want to receive the Word or is your heart hardened and callous most if not all the time?

If you do want to receive the Word, how are you cultivating your heart?

Do you receive the Word, get excited about it, but let it whither when it impacts your comfort level?

Do you receive it and let sink into your mind, but it never produces fruits of righteousness because all of the nutrients are sucked away by busyness and life?

Or do you receive the Word and let it shape you, mold you, and produce God’s will and His righteous in your life?

Luke records these words as also being a part of Jesus’ parable:

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.”

There is a response demanded for everyone this morning. Will you cover the Light of the Word or will you display it in your life?

What you decide, hidden in your mind and heart will be made manifest in how you live your life.

Take Care then how you hear… for the one who truly hears and has God’s Word in His Heart will be given more to nourish him and grow him, but for the one who rejects the Word and does not have God’s Word in His heart, even what he thinks he has in his mind will never reach his heart and therefore taken away.