We heard that Ramadan has started this week. Lent started this week, so we are now counting down to Easter, 6 Sundays from now. Just be aware that this is a very spiritual time, as we have heard, there are enemies of the Cross also fasting and praying at this time. This weekend we’ve had our friend Simon come to stay with us who visited PCC last year and taught us about healing. He is in Auckland by invitation from one of the churches to preach the message of the Gospel and pray for people for healing, mostly though to impart to other believers the same ability to do what he’s doing. The whole of the last year he travelled from place to place doing the same thing. Last night he was at Sylvia Park with a group from Pioneer Ministries and he did that his little team led 6 people, all foreigners, to the Lord. He flies back to Palmerston North on Tuesday and back to his home in Germany in May. He is certainly a good example of someone who fits the category of a true believer that we read in today’s passage on the Parable of the Sower.
Luke 8:1-3
Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.
The women who provided for him had been truly saved from sickness and demons. The contrast in their lives before and after meeting Jesus could not be more stark. They now followed him around and gave to Jesus the things he needed to continue his ministry. Every ministry needs support to be able to continue whether that be money, food, accommodation or friendship.
Luke 8:4-8
And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
If you can understand the message, if it seems obvious to you, it has been revealed to you, you are very privileged because not many people can understand it.
Luke 8:9-10
Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?” And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’
That might seem very hard, that the Lord hid his message by way of parables. Why didn’t he spell it out in plain language? In some ways it’s mercy if you don’t understand. If you do understand and rebel against the message you are far worse off.
Luke 8:11-12
“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
The wayside is hard ground. Many people today are hard. They might have been abused, lied to, let down, cheated on and their way of coping is to become hard. They don’t trust or believe anybody. Or alternatively, they might be proud of their achievements, the life they’ve built. There’s no room for God in their hearts just like the footpath where no flowers can grow. They believe this life is all there is and to live it to the maximum before you die. What happens? One day they hear the Word of God being spoken but immediately they switch off or get distracted by something or someone else that interests them. The Word of God gets taken away, eaten by the birds.
The truth is that to be saved only requires us to believe. However, there is a very real threat to us. There is a predator who quickly comes to make you forget the message you heard, he’s called the Devil. He will throw every discouragement and doubt at us to try to prevent us from simply believing.
Luke 8:13
But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.
Others are like rocky ground. The earth that sits on top is shallow with rock mixed in and underneath. Plants grow there but they need constant watering. People like this judge by emotion, how it makes them feel. If something feels good they’ll go with it. They hear the Word of God and they love the message, and the blessings, the friends they make in the church. But then life throws a curve ball at them. They have trouble at work because they are a Christian, the boss wants them to work on Sunday. Or else someone comes along who is attractive but not a believer and they quickly get pulled away because that person makes them feel good. They fall away because they have no depth just like the rocky soil. I’ve seen that a few times in my life. In church one week then gone suddenly the next without any explanation.
Luke 8:14
Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
This type makes me scared because it’s so easy to get distracted by the things in this life. In the parable, the seed turns into a plant but it’s growing up amongst weeds. In our world today there are so many things that scream for your attention and take your time 24 hours a day. You got mobile phones , you got sport, you got music, you got money, you got TV. It takes your time and money. You find so little time for God, that you produce no fruit. There is no evidence to convict you of being a Christian, your life looks just like everyone else in the World.
What a tragedy to believe, not produce any fruit and waste your life. One day time will be called on each one of us and we will each have to give an account of what we did with our lives. The Lord will examine us for fruit, for evidence that we truly believed.
Luke 8:15
But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.
Many people think they are a good person, not just Christians. But are they bearing fruit (Galatians 5:22), are they bringing others into the Kingdom of God?
The command to bear fruit has been there from the beginning.
Genesis 1:28
Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Many people wonder why they’re here. We’re here to bear fruit for the Lord. He’s invested in each one of us. We owe him a return but what will we bring? Will it be acceptable like Abel or unacceptable like Cain?
You know Auckland is built on 40 volcanoes. Volcanic soil is different to rocky soil. Because volcanic materials are often porous, they break down faster than other rocks, turning into nutrient-rich soil more quickly. It is exceptionally fertile because it is young and rich in volcanic ash and weathered rock (basalt, pumice) that release essential minerals—potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, and iron—as they break down. These soils have high water retention, high porosity for roots, and form unique clay minerals (allophane) that boost nutrient uptake.
They say a good heart is hard to find. You probably know someone like that in your life. Someone different from the rest. The person who is truly following Christ is like a light to the World.
Luke 8:16-18
“No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”
We need to take heed how we hear. This means to notice our own response when we hear the Word of God. How does it react inside of us?
- Do we quickly disregard it?
- Are we put off by it’s difficulty?
- Do we easily give up when the going gets harder
- Do we even try to bear fruit?
- Do we know it’s true but have many other things that keep us busy?
- Are we putting our faith into action?
- Are we sharing what we’re learning with others?
Luke 8:19-21
Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.” But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”
When you become a Christian, you become part of the family of God the World over. Wherever you go, you can find believers and when you meet them you find so much in common because they are family. They are even more your family much as you love your blood family.
The parable of the Sower is about spiritual life, it reveals the types of responses to the Gospel. Ultimately it calls the listener to produce a crop. In the parable, only one out of four of the listeners that heard the word kept it, and bore fruit to maturity. The remaining three had heard it more or less in vain. What made the difference? It was the soil where the seed fell. The soil which produced the crop had been been broken up, turned over, rocks and weeds removed. Our hearts need to be soft, need to be free of sin and focused on the Lord, then we will be like the good soil and produce a crop for him.
