The Condition of Your Heart ~ Luke 8:1-15 January 19, 2014 ~ New City Church of Calgary ~ Pastor John

Ferguson Intro: It has been said that a work of art judges the viewer as much as the viewer judges the work of art.

! Dr. James Romaine, Assoc. Prof of Art History in NY, Vincent van Goghs Sower with Setting Sun changed my
life. Although I had been surrounded by art and architecture of great significance all of my life, I did not have the eyes to really see the art. I dont know why this painting presented itself in a new way. However, when I encountered Sower with Setting Sun, in the Vincent van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, I understood it as something more than a picture. I understood that Vincent was challenging me to open myself to it, to let the work take root in me.

! In todays study, were going to examine a passage in which Jesus tells us that ones interest in the things of God has everything to do with the condition of the soil of your heart, and its receptivity to the Truth of Jesus. ! If you are not yet a Christian, this study is important because you will be challenged to look more closely at
yourself while at the same time look more closely about the message of Jesus and to ask, What sorts of things might get in the way of really understanding the relevance of Jesus for my life.

! If you are a Christian, you will gain a deeper understanding into how Jesus saw humanity, and youll learn
The Condition of Your Heart ~ Luke 8:1-15 Lookout for: (1) The different soils of the human heart; (2) What this parable reveals about you.

at least part of the reason that some people respond to the message of Jesus, why some respond for only a short time, and while others simply turn away.

! ! ! !

1 Soon afterward he went on through the cities and villages, preaching and bringing good news of the kingdom of God.! His theme: the good news of the Kingdom of God. IOW, something of enormous importance and practical relevance was about to take place. God was about to do something in which his rule as King would take a drastic step forward. It was a coming intervention / revolution, and news of that called for a response.! Zechariah 14:9, The Lord will be king over the whole earth.! To use, the revolution of God to paraphrase the kingdom of God helps us understand the urgency of Jesus message. !

And the Twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and inrmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out; 3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herods household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means. !

! ! These women had all been transformed by the ministry of Jesus, and they became his biggest supporters.! !
4 And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: !

Jesus popularity is growing; large crowds are following him. The disciples must have been impressed. But Jesus wasnt. He knew that there are all sorts of reasons why people are flocking to see him; not the least of which were his miracles, his rhetorical abilities, and their own desires to use Jesus for their own purposes.

! A parable is simply a metaphor used for teaching.

Page 1 " of 4 "

5 A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled under-foot,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 hundred fold. And as he said these things, he called out, He who has ears to hear, let him hear.!

! Pretty straightforward illustration from the everyday life of 1st century Israel: a farmer & 4 soils! ! !
Jesus shouts, He who has ears to hear, let him hear.! - Jesus speaks of a spiritual hearing and a spiritual seeing!

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. !

! One of the so-called hard sayings of Jesus.! ! ! ! ! ! !

Isaiah 6:9-10, And he said, Go, and say to this people: Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive. Isaiahs people wanted a veneer of religiosity, but didnt want sincerity. ! The same sun that hardens clay melts wax.!

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.! The rst kind of soil is hard and indifferent. ! They also have something more diabolical working against them. !

- 2 Cor. 4:4, In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, to keep them from
seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.!

13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word receive it with joy. But they have no root; they believe for a while, and in times of testing fall away.!

! This soil is shallow and supercial.! ! ! !

This soil represents the person who hears the message of the Gospel and responds with great enthusiasm. But they only last as long as things are going well; as soon as it costs something to be a Christian, or as soon as one experiences a little disappointment with God (a times of testing), this person ditches the whole thing.! TM, those who hear with enthusiasm, but the enthusiasm doesnt go very deep. Its only another fad, and the moment theres trouble its gone.!

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.!

! This is the person who is preoccupied and distracted.! ! !

Jesus mentions three weeds that choke out by (1) the cares of life; (2) the riches of life; (3) the pleasures of life!

Page 2 " of 4 "

- John Piper, A Hunger for God, The pleasures of this lifethese are not evil in themselves.

! ! !

These are not vices. These are gifts of God. They are your basic meat and potatoes and coffee and gardening and reading and decorating and traveling and investing and TV-watching and Internet-surfing and shopping and exercising and collecting and talking. And all of them can become deadly substitutes for God.

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.! This is the person who, by grace, has an honest and good heart. ! - Here, the Word of God doesnt bounce off the hardened surface like a bb hitting a brick wall.! - Here, the Word of God doesnt meet with a supercial enthusiasm only to dry up in adversity.! - Here, the Word of God doesnt get choked out by other things. ! - Rather, it produces a harvest, as Jesus says in verse 8, one that yielded a hundred fold.! 1 Peter 1:23, you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. And this word is the good news that was preached to you.!

! So, why did Luke record these stories in his historical biography of Jesus?! ! !

Because he wanted his audience to know and for us to know that the condition of ones heart determines the receptivity to Jesus radical message of the Good News of the coming Kingdom/Revolution/Reign of God.! Main Idea: Only the grace-tilled heart that is open to the Good News of Jesus Christ ! will produce a lasting harvest both in this life and for eternity.! Application: !

! 1. !

Ask Jesus for a good heart.!

! 2. Cultivate the soil of your heart.! ! How do you come to hear a message from the Scriptures? ! ! !

! his is a good thing, and you should cry out to God for it. Its there for the asking. ! T Heres the amazing thing: the cry for a new heart is the very evidence of a new heart.! !

E.g., compare the excitement and anticipation you bring to a novel or a movie or a sports event vs. the excitement and anticipation you bring to the Word of God.!

! Conclusion:! ! ! Let me tell you why this is important:! ! 2 responses to my sermon one week: ! ! !

Ezekiel 33:31-32 NIV, My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, you are nothing more to than one who sings love [ie., lustful] songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words, but do not put them into practice.!

Page 3 " of 4 "

! !

(1) That sermon was one of the best you ever preached. I feel like you were preaching right to me. Ive been a believer for a long time, but I feel like Im being born all over again. Im coming to life in new ways and Im so thankful and excited.! (2) That sermon had no relevance for us. Youre not getting mad about all the right things. Im sure God can use it, but you really should think about how you preach so that it can actually be of some good for your people.! Same message. Same preacher. Same text. ! What was different? The soil of these two peoples hearts.!

Page 4 " of 4 "