Can You Hear Me Now?
Notes
Transcript
Announcements:
Thank you to all who helped with the Back to School Bash. It went very well and we were able to help many kids with school supplies as they prepare for this next school year!
We will not be having Wednesday night Bible Study, Youth or Kids Church this Wednesday. We will be meeting again on Wednesday, September 7th at 6:30PM
We will be starting a new bible study on Wednesday, September 7th entitled “70x7” by Bruce Wilkinson (Show Video promo)
Worship:
Stand In Your Love
Jesus on the Mainline
Better is One Day
Altar: Take Me In
Introduction:
I love movies. I have a decent collection of movies and TV shows at home. I watch them over and over again. My wife, on the other hand, cannot watch the same thing over and over again. She will only watch something again if it has been a long time since she watched it or she can’t remember the majority of the movie or show.
This morning, we will be looking at a well-known parable. So, I am wanting us to look at this unbiased and through new eyes like we haven’t read this before in order to hear what the Lord is telling us. Sometimes, I believe, we hinder hearing from God because we bring in our own biased and preconceived understanding to something without allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to us. If we are not careful, that could also happen to us this morning.
As you are turning to our passage in Matthew 13:1-23, I want to point out verse 11 as we being this morning.
11 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not.
When Jesus is talking about the secrets/mysteries of the Kingdom, He is referring to those things that we have no knowledge of it without God revealing it to us.
Have you ever wondered why some respond differently to the Gospel when they are hearing the same Gospel message as you are?
This parable tells us why: hearing isn’t enough!
There are two soil types in this parable that heard the Gospel but it didn’t benefit them or have an effect on them. Why? Because hearing isn’t enough!
So, let’s look as the veil of peoples’ hearts are opened and we see a person’s heart from God’s point of view.
1 Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake.
2 A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore.
3 He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one: “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds.
4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them.
5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.
6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died.
7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants.
8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!
9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
10 His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”
11 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not.
12 To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.
13 That is why I use these parables, For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.
14 This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend.
15 For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’
16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.
17 I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.
18 “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds:
19 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts.
20 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.
21 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.
22 The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced.
23 The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
Jesus uses a farmer in His parable which was a common vocation during that time so many of the people hearing could relate to what He would be saying.
The seed is the Word and was scattered = it may seem careless at first glance to randomly scatter the seed everywhere without being purposeful but it is a reminder that the Gospel is not discriminating.
The soils discussed here are conditions of the heart and I have given each soil a specific title. The first soil is:
Body:
I. The hard-hearted non-hearer (v18-19 cf. v4)
4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them.
18 “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds:
19 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts.
A. The birds refer to Satan
B. The path was walked on and more like concrete than soil as it was compacted and the seed had nowhere to go
C. the seed/Word was not received at all
D. Doesn’t understand it and not because it is complex
E. Paul describes harden hearts in:
17 With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused.
18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.
1. A hard heart doesn’t allow someone to hear or understand the Word
2. How does a heart get hard?
13 You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.
a. through deceitfulness of sin (thinking you are okay when you aren’t)
1) Arrogance
15 Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.
2 People may be right in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their heart.
2) Bitterness
b. no desire to change
c. loves sin
d. will not repent
Illustration: clay and water
Clay is moldable when in water but hardens when out of water
The only way we are going to be able to continue to be molded into the image of Jesus Christ is through the water of the Word!
Water = the Word
If we reject the Word, we become hard and brittle and will be easy to crack and break!
The next soil we see here is:
II. The shallow hearer (v20-21 cf v5-6)
5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.
6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died.
20 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.
21 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.
A. shallow soil on type of rocks
B. it looks like good ground, but no cultivating or preparation was done
C. Sunlight is vital to growth but because there was no root, it was killed by the sunlight
D. the Word is heard and received with joy
1. excited in church, reading the Word/TC guys get excited while on a spiritual high/we warn about the valley (problems/persecution)
2. no root (discipleship, bible study/reading, prayer, accountability)
E. After time passes, they stop going to church, why?
F. They are challenged to obey the Word and choose to give up because it got hard
We have talked about the hard-hearted non-hearer and the shallow hearer. Next we will talk about:
III. The double-minded hearer (v22 cf 7)
7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants.
22 The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced.
A. thorns = weeds (why is it do easy for weeds to grow anywhere and everywhere? they grow faster because of shorter germination process and adjust to the environment quicker and are found in existing root systems)
So the weeds/thorns we encounter can be dealt with or controlled by the environment we keep!
B. preoccupied with two kingdoms: the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world
C. want to follow God but also wants what the world has
1. think about wealth/money a lot; even may dream about it (winning the lottery, etc.)
D. choking God’s Word because seeking both kingdoms
33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
Lastly, we come to:
IV. The good hearer (v23 cf 8)
8 Still other seed fell on good ground and produced fruit: some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times what was sown.
23 But the one sown on the good ground—this is one who hears and understands the word, who does produce fruit and yields: some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty times what was sown.”
A. fruitful
B. multiplies
C. people will be fruitful in different levels and that’s ok
D. what makes good soil?
1. not hard
2. not shallow; there’s depth because God works in their heart, and they practice the Word
3. the focus is on the kingdom of God, and they let go of the things of this world
4. The Word settles in the heart and grows
Conclusion:
Charity play “Take Me In” for altar
It is easy to look at the types of soil we looked at (conditions of the heart) and to equate them to be characteristics of a type of person and their life.
For instance, Uncle Joe is the hard-hearted non-hearer because he never wants to talk about God and doesn’t understand anything regarding God and therefore doesn’t care.
Or Cousin Sally is the double-minded hearer because she goes to church and everything but is also so caught up in going to the bars and constantly worries about getting the next best job.
I want to remind us this morning that these conditions of heart can creep into our lives as believers as well!
Just as Paul warned the believers in Ephesians, toying with sin can result in the hardening of our heart which can make it difficult and also cause our craving for God’s Word to cease just as a heart-hearted non-hearer.
Refusing to practice the Word in all areas of our life can result in being a shallow hearer or double-minded hearer as we may only practice the Word in the area of finances but not in our marriage.
Or we quickly give up living for God when difficulties come, and it seems to be too hard to do what God tells us to do in His Word. Or we try to seek the kingdom God and still crave and go after the things of the world.
If we allow these conditions to affect our heart, it will affect the fruitfulness of us as a believer!
Questions:
1. What is the condition of your heart this morning? I believe the Holy Spirit has already spoken to your heart and revealed to you your present condition.
2. Have you been out of the Word for so long that you are hardened to what the Lord has to say?
3. Have you experienced the joy and excitement about coming to Christ and living for Him only to find yourself this morning in a place of allowing difficulties and problems to choke the life of living for Christ out?
4. Do you find yourself this morning trying to serve two kingdoms? You want to live for Christ and do what He wants you to do but you also want what the world has to offer as well? You are trying to apply God’s Word to your life but only in certain areas.
No matter the condition of your heart, it is not too late to change and allow God to give you a new heart!
26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.