DIGGING DEEP NO. 940 – June 21st 2022 TEACHING AND HEARING GOD’S WORD Luke 8:5- 21

One of the major themes in Luke Chapter 8, is how to get faith and use it in the everyday experiences of life. In the first section, Jesus laid the foundation by teaching His disciples that faith comes through receiving the Word of God into an understanding heart. The Christian believer has put his faith in Jesus Christ, and he bases that faith on the Word of God. The word “hear” is used nine times in this section. It means much more than simply listening to words. “Hearing” means listening with spiritual understanding and receptivity Rom.10: 17. With this in mind, we can understand the admonitions Jesus gave His followers.

Hear and receive the Word – Lk.8: 5- 15. Initially, the Sower is Jesus Christ, but the Sower represents any of God’s people who share the Word of God. The seed is the Word of God, for, like seed, the Word has life and power Heb.4: 12 and can produce spiritual fruit Gal.5: 22- 23. But the seed can do nothing until it is planted. When a person hears and understands the Word, then the seed is planted in the heart. What happens after that depends on the nature of the soil. The human heart is like soil; if it is prepared properly, it can receive the seed of the Word of God and produce a fruitful harvest. Jesus described four different kinds of hearts, three of which did not produce any fruit. The proof of salvation is fruit and not merely hearing the Word or making a profession of faith in Christ Lk.6: 43- 49; Matt.7: 20.

The hard soil Vs.5, 12 – This soil represents the person who hears the Word but immediately allows the devil to snatch the seed away. How did the heart become hard? Traffic! Whatever goes into the ear or eye finally enters the heart; so be careful!

The shallow soil Vs.6, 13 – This soil illustrates the emotional hearer who quickly responds to the message, but his interest wanes and he does not continue Jh.8: 31- 32. The sun represents the testing that comes to all professing believers to prove their faith. Sun is good for plants if they have roots. Persecution can deepen the roots of a true Christian, but it only exposes the shallowness of the false Christian.

The crowded soil Vs.7, 14 – This soil illustrates the person who does not repent and weed out the things that hinder the harvest. There is enough soil so the roots can go down, but not enough room for the plant to grow up and produce fruit. The plant is crowded out and fruit is choked. Cares, riches, and the pleasures of this life are like weeds in a garden that keep the soil from being fruitful. The person with the crowded heart comes closest to salvation, but he still does not bring forth fruit to perfection.

The good soil Vs.8, 15 – This soil alone is fruitful. It illustrates the individual who hears the Word, understands it, receives it within, is truly saved, and proves it by patiently producing fruit 1Thes.2: 13; 1Pet.1: 22- 25. Not everybody produces the same amount of fruit, but all true believers will produce some fruit as evidence of spiritual life Matt.13: 8.

Jesus gave this story to encourage the disciples in their future ministry, and to encourage us today. When you consider how much teaching, preaching, and witnessing goes on in the course of a month, or a year, you wonder why there is such a small harvest. The fault does not lie with the Sower or the seed. The problem is with the soil. The human heart will not submit to God, repent and receive the Word, and be saved.

Hear and share the Word – Lk.8: 16- 18. The teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ is a light that must be allowed to shine so that sinners may be saved. It is a serious thing to hear and understand the Word of God, because this puts on us the obligation to share that Word with others. Everyone who receives the seed then becomes a Sower, a light-bearer, and a transmitter of God’s truth 1Thes.1: 5- 8. If we keep it to ourselves, we will lose it, but if we share it, we will receive more.

Hear and obey the Word – Lk.8: 19- 21. Our Lord’s mother, Mary, and His half-brothers were worried about Jesus and wanted to talk with Him. Jesus took this as an opportunity to teach another spiritual lesson: being a part of His spiritual family is much more important than any human relationship and is based on obedience to the Word of God. It is not enough to hear the Word of God; we must also keep it Lk.8: 15. It is easy to think we are spiritual because we listen to one preacher after another, take notes, mark our Bibles, but never really practice what we learn. We are only fooling ourselves Jam.1: 22- 25.

IN Conclusion – If we are faithful to receive the Word and share it, God will give us more, but if we fail to let our light shine, we will lose what we have.