DAY TWELVE
When Jesus spoke to His disciples with a bigger crowd around, He often spoke in parables. Parables are stories Jesus used to illustrate deeper spiritual truths He was wanted to teach. It wasn’t always obvious what He meant when He would tell these stories. So, on several occasions, Jesus pulled His disciples aside after the story to explain to them what the story meant.
Luke 8:4-8 records one of these parables…
4 “When a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable:
5 The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled underfoot and the birds of the air ate it up.
6 Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.
7 Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out.
8 Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great."
Jesus’ storytelling always peaked the interest of those who were listening. We know from other accounts of His life, that He spoke with great authority. People had seen Him do miracles, or at least heard about His miracles. So the crowds continued to grow whenever He spoke.
This parable definitely caught the interest of His closest followers, the disciples, especially after what He said at the end of verse 8…
"As He said these things, He would call out, 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear.'"
What an interesting statement, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” This was a common phrase for Jesus. At first hearing, this statement would have found hearing ears. People could physically hear Him speak. But Jesus was clearly speaking about the spiritual, not the physical. Jesus was introducing a new concept to the crowds. To understand the matters of the kingdom of God, it takes spiritual ears. It requires a kind of hearing and understanding that is only possible when the Spirit of God directs it.
Even His disciples did not understand. Look at Luke 8:9…
“His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant.”
The disciples had clearly heard what Jesus said, but they were not able to put all the pieces together to fully understand what He meant. So, Jesus clarifies the meaning of His story. He was talking about “spiritual” hearing.
In Luke 8:10, He explains this to His disciples…
“And He said, 'To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that SEEING THEY MAY NOT SEE, AND HEARING THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND.'”
Interest had already been peaked and at these words, it reached an even higher summit. Jesus explains to His disciples that they have received a gift. They have been given a special anointing to give them understanding into “…the mysteries of the kingdom of God.” As you can imagine, now the disciples were really listening. A mystery is not just something mysterious or complex, a mystery is something that is hidden, but somehow discoverable. That mystery was about to be revealed.
Just as the disciples listened then, our ears should perk up now. Jesus is about to tell us the meaning of the story. He is going to tell us the mystery of the kingdom of God. He is about to reveal the secrets of the kingdom, something that has been hidden for generations, and will now be revealed.
He begins in Luke 8:11-12…
"Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.”
In verse 11, Jesus reveals that the secret of the kingdom is about having spiritual ears to be able to hear the word of God. The seeds in the story are the words of God. From the beginning of time, until now, God has always spoken. It is in His character to keep speaking, especially to His children, His people. This is at the core of the entire SENT experience.
In verse 12, Jesus gives the meaning of the first of four parts in His story. The seed, the word of God, falls on four different kinds of soil. The first soil is by the side of the road where seeds fall and are trampled under the steps of those who passed. The hard soil is the hard heart of the hearer and the trampling is the work of the enemy to prevent the words from lingering around long enough to be heard. Jesus is describing people who hear God’s words with their physical ears, but His words never reach their hearts.
Because there is no depth in the lives of some hearers, no spiritual life, the devil comes and steals God’s word from their heart, and it never does the work it was intended to do. God’s word is powerful, and it is meant to change lives, to bring healing, and to build faith. But, because there is no readiness to receive God’s word, this group of people never believe what God has spoken, and they do not experience the healing and deliverance that was meant for them. These are people who dip their finger in God’s written word, but never go deep. They occasionally hear something, but they never process it far enough to have it do its great work in them. All is lost.
Jesus subtly reveals another secret of the kingdom of God. When God takes from the 66 books of the Bible or from the thousands of promises in His word, and He breathes life into those words, giving us a special promise, our first step is to believe. We begin by processing with God until we believe that it is from Him. We keep processing until we believe that it is for us. We don’t stop until we know that it is true, and that it is true for us. This is always the first step of abiding.
Jesus goes on to the second soil in Luke 8:13…
"Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away."
The second soil tells a familiar story. It is rocky soil, soil where it is very difficult to grow anything, especially from seed. Here again, these people hear God’s word with their physical ears, and they even get excited about it. In their excitement, the receive it. In other words, they grab on to it and have a sense that there might be something there for them personally. They even take the first step of believing that it is from God and that it is true. But they don’t stick with it long enough for it to take root in them. A test of their faith comes along, and they turn away. They stop the process of letting God’s word do what it was intended to do.
This is the story of those who are reading the Bible or listening to a sermon and something jumps out at them. For a moment they know that this is special to them, a gift from God. They get excited about it and realize that it is for them personally. They put down their Bible or leave church with incredible joy regarding what they heard. They marvel in how true this is for them. But that is the end of the story. They do not pursue it any further. They see it as nothing more than a good experience and hope that it will happen again.
In this story, Jesus subtly reveals another secret of the kingdom of God. When God brings life to a certain place in Scripture, He wants us to receive it, believe it, and then stick with it until it becomes a part of our hearts, until it transforms us. In the process of letting God’s word transform us, there will always be a test of our faith. God wants us to know when we have truly received and believed His promise and when it becomes a part of our heart. The test of faith is never pass or fail. It is merely God pointing out to that we may need more processing, or that we have passed the test of faith and His word has now become a part of our hearts, never to be taken away.
So, what is the secret of the kingdom? After believing, God’s word to us is meant to take root in us. It is meant to become a part of us in a way that it never leaves us. We learn it once and always have it with us.
And what is it that stops that process? It is either a temptation or a test. A temptation is from the enemy. It comes along and pulls us into sin and out of the kingdom, so that we no longer have ears to be able to hear what God is speaking. A test is from God. It comes along to help us see if God’s word has done its work and truly taken root in us. It is not pass or fail. It simply shows us where we are in our journey. When the test comes, we can either stop the process and say, “It must not have worked,” or we can recognize that God has more work to do and say, “Let’s keep going God.”
The third part of Jesus’ story is in Luke 8:14…
"The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they, go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity."
The third soil sounds similar to the second soil. In this scenario, God speaks His word to the hearer. They hear it. But instead of processing it with God and processing it through to the end, they stop because they are so embroiled in the world. They are so busy worrying, pursuing wealth, or chasing pleasure that it prevents God’s word from doing its work in them. The excuse in this scenario is usually, “I don’t have time,” or “I’m too busy.” In reality, we are busy pursuing the wrong things, and we shortchange the process. We miss out.
What is the secret of the kingdom of God in this part of the story? It is at the end of the verse. When God guides us to a specific place in Scripture, we are supposed to stick with it until it matures and bears the fruit it was supposed to bear. If it is a promise, it is the fulfillment of the promise. If it is truth, it replaces the lies in our hearts with the truth. If it is about healing, then God’s word does its work and brings healing to us. When we process God’s words all the way through to the end, there is always beautiful fruit in the kingdom.
Finally, Jesus gets to the fourth soil in Luke 8:15…
"But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.”
If the disciples were still listening at this point, Jesus spoke clearly. It would still have taken spiritual ears to hear, but it is quite clear. In the fourth soil, Jesus gives us the instructions for processing God’s word through to the end.
First, we prepare our hearts to receive God’s word, His special word to us. The word “honest” means good in the sense of beautiful and genuine. A genuine heart genuinely wants to hear from God. It is a hearing heart. When an honest heart hears from God, it is ready to process and learn what needs to be learned. It is ready to be persuaded by God and ready to be transformed in whatever way God leads. A “good” heart is good by nature. It is a redeemed heart, made holy by the righteousness of God. It is a heart cleansed by God and prepared as a dwelling place for the words God speaks.
Then, instead of “falling away,” or “going our way,” we “hold it fast.” Literally, we hold on to God’s spoken word to us and we do not let it go until it is part of us, until we understand it and believe it. We keep processing until it does the work God intended it to do. The idea of holding it fast is to take possession of it, to possess it, and to keep firm possession of it, to never let it go, to keep it secure.
When we hold on to God’s word and process it through the end, it will bear fruit. It will do the work it was meant to do. But it only does that when we approach it with “perseverance.” By sticking with it, and abiding or remaining until it becomes ours, until it bears fruit. The fruit is real. It is not just good fruit; it is the best fruit for us at that point in our lives. And, ultimately, the fruit remains. We learn it once and it is ours forever. This is the way God intended for us to approach and process His word.
This is a contrast to the way most people approach the word of God. The most common approach is Bible study, to learn what we can learn. We approach it like a classroom where we analyze and understand. The secret of the kingdom is that God leads us to certain verses or ideas in the Bible. Our responsibility is to process with God until we believe it. Next, we keep processing until it takes root. Then, we stick with it, until it does the work it was meant to do in us. This is the secret of abiding! This is the secret of what it means to be a true follower of Jesus.
WORSHIP: The word of God is powerful and able to do powerful works of transformation, healing, cleansing, and direction. Take time to recognize the power of what God speaks. Then, worship Him as the God who loves to speak with great power and transform our lives.
PRACTICE: Spend some time in God’s word today. But, instead of going to study, ask God what He has for you today. If anything stands out to you, receive it from God. Write it down. Then begin to process through to belief and maturity. Stick with it for as long as it takes. It may be weeks, or even months.
MEDITATION: Ask yourself some questions today: Where Scripture does God want me to focus? In what area is God currently working on my heart or in my life? What will it look like for me to stick with it until it becomes a part of me?
ABIDING: Go back and read through this teaching one more time. Ask the Father if there is anything in these passages specifically for you. Write down anything you hear from Him. Spend some extra time listening to see if He has anything more to say to you or if there is a deeper teaching for you today. Write down whatever you hear. Ask the Father if there is someone, He wants you to share this with and follow through with His assignment.