DO YOU HAVE THE HEART?
MF Blume
April 13, 1997 am
Luke 8:4-10 And when much people
were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by
a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by
the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away,
because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang
up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up,
and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried,
He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples asked him, saying,
What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they
might not see, and hearing they might not understand. [Truths not given during Old Testament
times only intended for those whose hearts could UNDERSTAND].
Luke 8:11-18 Now the parable is this:
The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then
cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they
should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they
hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while
believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns
are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares
and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But
that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having
heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. No man, when
he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a
bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the
light. For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any
thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. Take heed therefore how
ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not,
from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have. [if someone seems to have, then that
one is faking something. This will be brought into the open].
I. THE CONTEXT
- Jesus said nothing can be
hid. This service is another time God will reveal to you exactly what you
are thinking and what state your heart is in. Jesus' words bring out into
the open the very inner self.
- It is noteworthy that this
parable was given by Jesus when MANY PEOPLE were gathered around Him to hear
Him speak. They were come from every city. This represents every walk of
life. A very good picture of an overview of all people. This has to do with
the topic Jesus taught.
- After the parable and the
explanation of the parable, Jesus adds something connected to the parable.
A candle is not lit to be hid under a bushel. Nothing is secret that cannot
be made known and brought into the open. So take heed HOW YE HEAR.
- How we hear the Word is
exactly what the parable of "the sower and the seed" is all about.
- The parable is bringing
out into the open the very REACTIONS people's HEARTS' have towards the WORD
of God.
- Jesus showed all those
many people that God knows how we react deep inside to the Word. He knows
if we accept it or if we PRETEND it, or truly accept it.
- God will actually judge
us according to HOW we react to the Word. In fact, He is watching your heart
now.
- It is like giving LIGHT
to a candle. Something must COME FORTH to the OPEN. For all to see. The FRUIT
on the plant is like the light that shines OUTWARD.
- God wants this seed to
do something in you and then COME OUT and affect your world around you.
- Do not intend to live a
cloistered life for God and expect God to be pleased.
- Enjoy God - let this thing
WORK in you
- It affects the heart -
do you have the heart?
- Yes, you do. But its what
we do with it which is what we are speaking about this morning.
- Let the world SEE YOUR
GOOD WORKS.
- See what your work in loving
God can do.
II. THE PARABLE
- The parable deals with every
type of reaction people will ever give when they hear God's Word.
- Each picture has something
in common.
- A sower sowing seed to
the ground in the hopes that the ground will bring forth a plant and the
plant will bring forth FRUIT.
- We will find these four
illustrations of different types of ground with different conditions, receiving
the SAME Seed are further divided into two groups. We will find that these
two groups are:
- 1 - People who eventually
have nothing more to do with Church.
- 2 - And those who continue
with Church.
- All of YOU are ONE of these
pictures.
- Your HEART is the ground
- The WORD OF GOD is the
Seed.
- The preacher is the Sower.
III. THE FIRST
GROUP - THOSE WHO EVENTUALLY ABANDON CHURCH
- Sower sows seed to a ground
called "wayside"
- This "way side" actually
refers to a path BESIDE the actual intended target of ground.
- It is trampled and birds
come and eat it.
- Sower sows seed to a ground
that is stony and shallow.
- Too many rocks take up the
space so that the seed cannot germinate properly and root itself deeply.
- The plant grows quick,
but since it has no root depth, when the sun comes out it dies as quickly
as it grew.
LET US DEAL WITH
THE FIRST GROUP AT THIS TIME
IV. NO RESPONSE
- Jesus the stony heart is
a heart that cannot "understand" the Word
- Since soil must REACT with
the Seed before LIFE is activated, this heart simply casts it aside. The "way"
is the common path where everything goes by and counted as nothing to be
concerned with. It is trampled.
- The "way" is where we are
careful to not let precious things lay.
- Since the fourth person
is said to have an honest heart in receiving the word, this makes this hard-hearted
person dishonest towards the Word.
- This heart cares less for
things of God.
- We must realize that WE
determine the condition of our hearts.
- It is up to us to either
receive the Word or to reject it.
- Since the HEART is mentioned,
understand the parable is saying that your HEART is what God is reaching
for.
- Like the ground having
to be just right for a Seed to germinate and GROW, the heart must be in
the right condition. And Jesus implies that condition is determined by us!
- Psycho-babble is so often
heard as a crutch which shirks our responsibilities off in our need to ensure
our hearts are right with God.
- People say they cannot
help the way they are, due to experiences which have shaped them.
- I agree that life affects
us, but Jesus said we CAN CHANGE our hearts' situations.
- Do not say, "I cannot help
the way I am."
- You CAN HELP YOURSELF!
- Since the first ground is
"wayside", we understand that it is up to such a person to CHANGE that attitude,
and cease casting God's Word aside as nothing.
- The seed lies INACTIVE since
the soil cast it off.
- The birds are the devil
who comes and steals the word from the heart. The Word did not SINK IN.
James 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all
filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the
engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
- Ground MUST RECEIVE the
Seed.
- Let the heart REACT with
the Word.
- "RECEIVE WITH MEEKNESS"
- Meekness is a state of
the heart.
- A meek HEART is not proud
and will RECEIVE God's Word.
- The SEED is the WORD which
GROWS into a LIVING plant.
- It is the result of a special
work of TWO elements.
- The SOIL and the SEED produce
the plant.
- Your HEART and God's WORD
produces a life with God.
- Since God is LOVE, it is
LOVE that grows in the heart.
- Our hearts are intended
to RESPOND to God's LOVE.
- We receive LIFE from God
that is ACTIVATED when our HEARTS exert effort towards that seed and something
wonderful begins to happen!
- A relationship with ACTUAL
LIFE!
- The greatest form of Life!
- GOD!
- We cannot take all of God
as He is, for He is too great. That is why the Tree is God and the fruit
on the tree contains a seed that we can receive. And everything in that Tree
is in that seed.
When mentioning the creation
of plant life, we see a special detail, out of all details of plant life God
could have described. That detail is this:
Gen 1:11 And God said, Let the
earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding
fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was
so.
God did not want us to look at
this and argue whether a pumpkin is a fruit or not (since it contains its
seeds) but to notice something special about our relationship with Him! Jesus
later picked up on that special picture in this parable.
Adam should have eaten the FRUIT
of Life and received a SEED which would GROW in His heart. God's Word in
His heart. And a life to be lived forth in beauty. THAT would begin the TRUE
Garden of Eden. A person's heart fruitful with the fruit of the Spirit from
God.
- We can FEEL God's Spirit
of love activate in us when we receive the WORD and exert our hearts' functions
of LOVING HIM BACK. It takes soil and seed both to produce a plant. It takes
your effort and God's effort, and God is doing His part NOW! BUT DO YOU HAVE
THE HEART?
- We need a HEART relationship
with God.
- Our hearts are touched by
many things in life.
- Those who never show many
feelings are actually damaged from past incidents.
- The heart was meant to
be free.
- I actually pray for what
is within my heart to come forth freely! ENJOY LIFE WITH GOD!
- Symptoms of SIN attack
the soul and heart and a person is left locked up. BUT GOD CAN OPEN IT UP!
- We all SHOULD be able to
ENJOY God fully and OPENLY!
- DO NOT PUT IT OFF AS YOU
SIMPLY NOT BEING THAT TYPE OF PERSON!
- Or you will MISS what JOY
God has for you.
- Jesus died in the face
of the whole world.
- His FLESH side felt shame,
but His SPIRIT felt JOY.
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the
author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand
of the throne of God.
- The SOWER is sowing the
seed and asking you, the soil, to OPEN UP and receive it.
- You have all wept for something,
laughed for something, shed tears of joy for something.
- YOU ARE ALL HUMAN.
- Do you have the heart?
YES you do!!
- It may be turned off this
hope due to other lost hopes, but THIS HOPE is the BLESSED HOPE!
- This is from GOD!!
- Let your heart react to
this seed!
- Laugh with the Lord
- Cry tears of joy with the
Lord
- Shout in happiness with
the Lord
- Let your heart reach out
and connect with the Word by BELIEVING it until it hits you and you see just
how wonderful a thing this SEED, this LIFE, really is!!!
- ACTIVATE THIS LIFE! A seed
is so perfect a picture of God's Word.
1 Pet 1:23 Being born again, not
of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth
and abideth for ever.
- If it was something like
electricity, then everyone would react whether they wanted to or not!
- But it is a seed.
- Men found 4,000 year old
kernels of corn in Egyptian tombs, buried with the pharaohs.
- These kernels were planted
and actually GREW.
- They were inactive, almost
as though they were "dead".
- But when the soil wrapped
around the little seed, a reaction took place!
- Life activated.
- Something locked up deep
in the shell of the seed was touched by the soil!
- RELATIONSHIP OCCURRED.
- When you feel like dancing,
DANCE!
- When you feel like shouting,
SHOUT
- When you feel like running,
RUN
- When you feel like weeping
in joy, WEEP!
- When you seek the Holy
Ghost and you feel like talking in tongues, TALK IN TONGUES!!
- When something deep in
the Word-Seed calls to the deep within our hearts, and says, LET US JOIN,
then let this spiritual chemistry work!!!
- This is a relationship between
YOU AND GOD
- And its your very own relationship
with Him.
- You will share it with
nobody but Him.
- But all of us, at the same
time, can experience Him like that!
- But unless your heart exerts
effort to REACT with Him, the seed does nothing.
- There as those who sit and
their hearts lay still and silent, waiting for the seed to do all the work.
- Nothing will ever happen.
- God will not come down
and shake you out of your death.
- These are deserts -take
the seed off the ground and nurture it. -incubate it -BELIEVE THE WORD.
- Your heart BELIEVES!
- This involves LOVE, for
it asks the HEART to believe.
Speaking of CHARITY (love)...
1 Cor 13:7 Beareth all things, believeth
all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
- Do you believe the Word
LIKE THAT?
- The wayside heart is dry.
- The good earth is moist.
- The moisture starts and
softens the shell.
- A shell comes with the
Word.
- You must break through
something.
- (Every good thing has a
price).
- Then the minerals in the
soil touch deep with the seed.
- Relationship occurs.
- The seed extends roots
and touches MORE of the soil.
James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and
he will draw nigh to you.
- The word is something we
must BELIEVE.
- Its nature is something
that demands FAITH before it can work.
- We were not there when
God made Adam and when Adam disobeyed God, and when Adam was thrown out.
- We weren't there when Jesus
came and died to save us out of Adam's race and bring us into another.
- We are simply told that
this is true.
- And we are told to believe
it.
- And if we believe it something
will happen!
- Something beyond anything
NATURAL.
- When you believe enough
that you actually exert effort to reach out for a relationship to begin to
occur in your heart, you are reacting with the seed!
- If you simply "think" about
it, enjoy "hearing" it, and never RELATE with it, it does nothing.
- How can people die for this
Jesus?
- Because a love greater
than any other kind of love is going on between them and Jesus.
- Some simply never put their
heart in it enough to know anything about what this is like.
GIVE ALL YOUR HEART.
Mat 13:45-46 Again, the kingdom of
heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had
found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought
it.
- The Kingdom of God will
not do anything for less effort on your part than THIS!
- Give all that you have.
- The only cost of everything
that He is seeking from you is your LOVE and all that goes with your HEART.
Unimaginable LOVE!
Eph 3:19 And to know the love
of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness
of God.
- God's Word is so INTENSE
and so CONCENTRATED that sound waves of speech cannot truly convey THIS WORD.
- The only thing in the universe,
which passes angels' faculties in greatness and is above all perceivable
items of existence, is the HEART OF A PERSON.
- The heart can actually
experience something that is past knowledge.
- Your brain cannot know
what the heart can experience.
- To UNDERSTAND the love
of God.
Luke 8:10 - "hearing they might not
understand."
TAKE HEED HOW YE HEAR
- Every person here HAS THE
HEART.
- Realize this is for ALL
of you.
- It will take time.
- God knows, for He illustrated
it with a seed growing into a plant.
- What a wonder.
- LIFE in us.
- This Word I speak can affect
your heart!
- It is affecting hearts
right now.
- It is GOD.
- The word was GOD.
- God is so much closer than
anybody else can ever be, for He INDWELLS US!
- CHOIR - Sing with all your
HEART!
- Saint of God - WORSHIP
WITH ALL YOUR HEART
- React with this seed!
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Let a relationship with
God grow into a mighty tree, whose roots have been allowed to sink in your
hearts so deeply that nothing can separate you from that love. ENJOY GOD!