Luke 8:4 ¶ And when much
people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake
by a parable: 5 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. 6
And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered
away, because it lacked moisture. 7 And
some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. 8 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. 9
And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? 10 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. 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word
of God. 12 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. 13 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. 14 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. 15 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. 16 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. 17 For nothing is
secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that
shall not be known and come abroad. 18
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. 19 Then came to him his
mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press. 20 And it was told him by certain which
said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. 21 And he answered and said unto them, My mother
and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.
Starting with verse 10
notice that those who follow Christ are stewards of the mysteries of God’s
kingdom, things that people are not capable of understanding unless they are
submitted to Christ.
1Corinthians 4:1 ¶ Let a
man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the
mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is
required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
Christ gives lessons in
parables for a very important reason. Their understanding requires spiritual
discernment and a desire to obey God.
Psalm 25:14 The secret of
the LORD is with them that fear
him; and he will shew them his covenant.
Isaiah 44:18 They have not
known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot
understand.
Read Ephesians, chapter
3 to see one discussion of the mystery of Christ, not revealed until this time,
among other things, including that God’s people, the Jews, and Gentiles alike
are welcomed before the throne of God.
Jesus tells this
parable to make a point. Some will hear Him but will not believe. Soil is used
as a type of the human heart. The point
here is that it is Satan who is permitted to keep the word from having any
impact.
2Corinthians 4:4 In whom
the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them
which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the
image of God, should shine unto them.
Is the heart prepared
to receive the truth or are we so proud and full of Self that we can believe in
no god greater than ourselves, playing right into Satan’s hands?
There are some who have
a shallow belief based perhaps on pure self-interest, but when something comes
along to oppose their faith they crumble immediately. They retreat in the face
of persecution and the fact that faith is inconvenient to approval of the
world.
Matthew 10:33 But whosoever
shall deny me before men, him
will I also deny before my
Father which is in heaven.
2Timothy 2:12 If we suffer,
we shall also reign with him:
if we deny him, he also will deny us:
Some don’t bear fruit
because the worries, the quest for money, and the pleasures of this life
overcome them.
Luke 16:15 And he said unto
them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your
hearts: for that which is highly
esteemed among men is
abomination in the sight of God.
1Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the
root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the
faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
1John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
But, the simple and
honest person who receives the word with a good heart will bring forth much
fruit.
Galatians 5:22 But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against
such there is no law.
It is impossible to hide
these attitudes and beliefs from God. Nothing is hidden from Him.
Psalm 139:23 Search me, O
God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and
lead me in the way everlasting.
1Corinthians 4:5 Therefore
judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to
light the hidden things of
darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall
every man have praise of God.
The Bible itself,
Christ in book form, knows everything about you and God reveals it.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word
of God is quick, and powerful,
and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of
soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.13 Neither is there any creature that is not
manifest in his sight: but all things are
naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Should you be led to
doubt the divine nature of the Bible note this. Paul said that the Scripture
said to Pharaoh…
Romans 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee
up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared
throughout all the earth.
But it was God Himself
who said what was delivered.
Exodus 9:16 And in very
deed for this cause have I raised
thee up, for to shew in thee my
power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
Also, see Paul’s
reference to what God said in Genesis.
Galatians 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would
justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be
blessed.
Genesis 22:18 And in thy
seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my
voice.
And one thing is made
very clear in Psalms regarding God’s words.
Psalm 138:2 I will worship
toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy
truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above
all thy name.
Verse 18 is a clear
warning about the foundation of our faith. Upon what foundation does your faith
rest? Is it shallow or deep? Were you brought to Christ by the enthusiasm of a
preacher, the simple faith of other Christians, or by what means? Are you
grounded in the Bible’s truths or just some politically driven or social agenda
of a pastor? Are you prepared when storms assail your faith, either from the
world or from your own flesh?
Paul warned the
Corinthians about the foundation of their faith and how their faith would be
judged.
1Corinthians 3:11 ¶ For
other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if any man build upon this
foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for
the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire
shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built
thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15
If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself
shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
Our faith must be
founded on the belief in the resurrection of Christ, that Christ is the Son of
God, or God walking in human flesh, what Christ said about Himself, and it is
on the rock of that profession that God has built His church upon which the
judgment of Hell, the meaning of the phrase gates
of hell, shall not threaten it.*
Matthew 16:15 He saith unto
them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And
Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him,
Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is
in heaven. 18 And I say also unto thee,
That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates
of hell shall not prevail against it.
[For gates as a
reference to a place of judgment see Deuteronomy 16:18]
The family of God
consists of those who believe in Him.
Ephesians 3:14 ¶ For this
cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth
is named, 16 That he would grant you, according
to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the
inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in
your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints
what is the breadth, and
length, and depth, and height; 19 And to
know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with
all the fulness of God. 20 Now unto him
that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that worketh in us, 21
Unto him be glory in the
church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
There are those whose
hearts are hardened and they will not hear Christ. There are those of a shallow
profession of faith who fall away at the first difficulty. There are those
whose faith is choked by the cares and pleasures of the world. Then, there are
those whose foundation is solid, whose soil is fertile, who go on to bear much
fruit for Christ. And God surveys them all.
The Bible is the place
where the foundation of your faith rests. You are not saved because you feel
saved. Some days and after some things you do you might feel far from God. You
are saved because you believe and the Bible says that is the basis of your
salvation. Salvation is predicated upon belief. If you want to build your faith
read the Bible from cover to cover over and over again. Pray about it. Study
it. Write about it or record your thoughts and discoveries on audio. But, make
the Bible your main food. Food for the ear and the eye. It is in the Bible, not
in our twisted consciences, deluded minds, or wicked hearts that we find the
answers to our questions. God will speak to you through His words, words that
He has preserved for us. The Bible is not a textbook, is not like the user’s
manual for your computer or Emily Post’s Book
of Etiquette. You know, put your fork there and your knife there. It is a
conversation between you and your Creator.
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