A Year With the Bible

Luke 8:4–10 ESV

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.’

A year in the Bible… reading, listening, memorizing...

Some of finished

Many read more than they have in a loooong time

Key Passages We could have culminated this year with:

The images for the word in these passage are so helpful:

honey off the comb

lamp and light

rain and snow from the heavens

We conclude the year by considering this parable from Jesus where Jesus likens the Word of God with seed.

Many treat the Bible and its passages like stones...

Jesus never does this.

SEEDS… they die… they live… they’re small… they grow…each one a mystery.

Parables are odd things...

Marla a few weeks ago… “I thought your application was a little thin...”

Jesus heard this all the time, “You could have made that more clear...”

Jesus does something with this parable he normally doesn’t: He interprets it for us.

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.

Don’t miss that relationship between the Word and your heart.

The hard heart (the path) — Devil takes the word from their heart; they are not able to believe and be saved.

The shallow, dry heart (the rocks) — receive it with joy; believe for a while; trials come and they fall away.

The perpetually immature heart (thorns) — choked by cares, riches, and pleasures; fruit never matures.

The honest, good, patient heart (good soil) — bear fruit at a clip of 100 fold.

The criticism was that you reading through the Bible in a year wouldn’t let the seed go down deep because we would be blasting through.

Do you remember everything you read? No.

Did you understand everything you read? No.

Is that always the point of reading, meditating on, hearing, or memorizing the word? NO.

Mark 4:26–29 ESV

26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Growth and Maturity in the Kingdom of God includes:

Grace

Truth

Time

The Word and Savoring

Mark 4:21–25 ESV

21 And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? 22 For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25 For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

Mark 4:16–18 ESV

16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word,

Honest… Good… Patient Heart

If you:

Embrace and excuse dishonesty and deception

Embrace and excuse compromise, secrecy, selfishness

Embrace and excuse hurry, overcommitment, and driven demands

READ THE BIBLE ALL YOU CAN OR WANT, AND IT WON’T TAKE ROOT AND BECOME RIGHTEOUS

HONEST, GOOD, PATIENT HEART + THE WORD OF GOD… CHANGE YOUR LIFE AND LIGHT OF THE WORLD.