Speaker: Norm Wakefield
Title: A Message for Judea
Luke 8:4-20
Series: Great Commission Series
Hearing and Doing: The Parable of the Soils
Have you ever wondered if everyone who has heard about Jesus has truly understood the gospel? This question is especially relevant for those of us living in areas where Christianity is familiar - our modern-day "Judea."
Jesus addressed this very question through the Parable of the Soils, a foundational teaching that helps us understand how people respond to God's Word. This parable isn't just about evangelism - it's about examining our own hearts and how we listen to God.
What Does It Mean to Live in "Judea"?
In Acts 1:8, Jesus commanded His disciples to be witnesses in "Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Judea was the region surrounding Jerusalem where many people had already heard Jesus teach. The people of Judea were more exposed to Jesus' teaching than almost anyone else because of their proximity to Jerusalem.
Our modern-day "Judea" might be the Bible Belt, or any community where Christianity is familiar. It's the people within a 15-minute drive who have heard about Jesus but may not truly understand the gospel.
Four Critical Questions About Sharing the Gospel
Jesus' Parable of the Soils answers four crucial questions:
- Should we assume everyone who has heard about Jesus has truly heard the gospel?
- How can we tell if someone has really heard and understood?
- What is the greatest danger for those who have heard about Jesus?
- What should we say to those who haven't truly heard the gospel?
The Four Types of Listeners
Jesus described four types of soil representing four types of listeners:
The Careless Listener (The Path)
"Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they may not believe and be saved."
These people hear the Word, but there's no place for it in their hearts. They might attend church because they have to, but they don't care about what's being said. The Word doesn't advance or progress in their lives.
The Overwhelmed Listener (Rocky Soil)
"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, they fall away."
These listeners initially receive the Word with excitement, but it doesn't take root. They might enjoy church or youth group, but when temptation comes - perhaps at college or in a new job - they fall away because there's no depth to their faith.
The Distracted Listener (Thorny Ground)
"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."
These people hear the Word but quickly move on to the next thing in life. They have a rhythm to their days that doesn't include giving God's Word time to examine their lives. They might attend church, hear a sermon, and then immediately return to their normal routine without reflecting on what they heard or how it should change them.
The Determined Listener (Good Soil)
"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."
This is the only listener who truly has "ears to hear." They approach God's Word with an honest and good heart, determined to be changed by it. They hold fast to what they hear and allow it to search their hearts, resulting in fruit that glorifies God.
How Do You Know If You've Really Heard?
Jesus explains that receiving God's Word is like lighting a lamp. We don't turn on a light and then cover it or hide it - we use it to see what needs to be done.
The determined listener realizes they're receiving light when they read or listen to God's Word, and they've already decided they're going to do something with what they hear. They want to see the "dirt" in their lives so they know what needs to be cleaned up.
The Greatest Danger: Thinking You Have What You Don't
Jesus warns: "Whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him."
The greatest danger for those who have heard about Jesus is thinking they have ears to hear when they don't. They may think they have eternal life because they're familiar with Scripture or know about Jesus, but if the Word hasn't changed them, they're deceived.
Who Are Jesus' True Family Members?
At the perfect moment, Jesus' mother and brothers arrived outside the house where He was teaching. Instead of giving them special treatment, Jesus used this opportunity to make a powerful point:
"My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."
Jesus' true family members - His special people - are those who not only hear His Word but do it. This is the heart of the gospel message we should share with those in our "Judea."
Life Application
The way you listen to God likely mirrors how you listen to others in your life. If you're a careless, overwhelmed, or distracted listener with God, you'll probably listen the same way to your spouse, children, parents, or pastor.
What kind of listener are you? What will you do with what you've heard today? Will you be a determined listener who holds fast to God's Word and bears fruit with perseverance?
Consider these questions:
- How has knowing Jesus changed your life? (Not just external religious activities, but how you actually live)
- Are you still being changed to become more like Him?
- What fruit of the Spirit is evident in your life?
- Do you love Jesus enough to hold fast to His Word and obey it?
James, who was likely standing outside that day when Jesus defined His true family, later wrote: "Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves."
Don't be content with merely hearing God's Word. Be determined to do it, and bear fruit for His glory in your "Judea."
It's a pleasure to be with you this morning as one of the recipients of your global giving. I just want to say thank you. This year you have made an impact in South Africa a couple of times, Mexico. So I'll be teaching a course on evangelism and discipleship in Columbia, South America to some pastors who will be impacting different countries in South America.
Back again to South Africa in November for a debrief of missionaries that I trained back in February that have gone to 15 countries this year taking the gospel. You're impacting the world and I just want to say thank you. Thank you for your support. Thank you for your encouragement. If you'd like to know more about it, you can check out spiritofelijah.com or livetolovewithjesus.com or listen to my daily podcast called Live to Love Scripture Encouragement.
Find it on Spotify or YouTube iTunes and be in touch with how you're loving around the world. World well, please join me in prayer as we begin our study of God's Word here this morning. Father, every heart is before you. You know us all, everything about us. We are sinners and we are helpless when it comes to listening to for having spiritual understanding and changing our lives.
Please, for your name's sake, have mercy on us and give us ears to hear. Give us understanding of what you're saying to each one of us.
Magnify your name and give glory to your son by giving us out of the riches of your mercy and grace what he has accomplished for for us at the cross. And may we experience the power of the resurrection this morning as his life is revealed in us.
Thank you for being generous this morning and looking upon us through him.
Amen.
It's an honor to be able to participate in this great commission series that Trevor launched a couple of weeks ago.
He entitled it the World is Waiting. Well, this series is based on this passage here in Acts 1:8. You can just follow along as I read it. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. Of course he's speaking to his disciples and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in Jerusalem, Judea, all Judea and Samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth.
Well, the focus today is Judea. That's what Trevor told me. Says you're going to get talk about Judea. Would you do that? And I thought Judea, when I've ever done a message on Judea, that's going to be interesting to see what the Lord gives.
And of course you don't live in Judea, but there's a concept here, here that is applicable, I think, to our Lives. Most of Jesus's ministry was in Galilee, you probably know that. But his cousin John the Baptist, almost all of his ministry was in Judea. In Matthew 3:5 it says then Jerusalem was going out to him. That's John the Baptist in all Judea and all the district around the Jordan.
However, Jesus also ministered in Judea. In fact, Matthew gave this account in Matthew 19:1, when Jesus had finished these words, he departed from Galilee and he came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.
And large crowds followed him and he healed them there. And Luke records this in chapter 4, verse 44. So he kept on preaching in the synagogue, synagogues of Judea. And in 7:17 Luke wrote this about Jesus. He resurrected a young man from name which is in Galilee.
And he wrote this, this report concerning him went out over all Judea and in all the surrounding district. So just what I want you to catch from that is this. Judea was a region where the Gospel had been preached both by John the Baptist and Jesus. The entire region.
But the word of Jesus had certainly spread from Jerusalem and the surrounding villages. The people of Judea were probably more represented than any other region in Jerusalem. Jerusalem because of their proximity. So they would have heard Jesus teach more than any other people would have heard him teach in the temple. He would come to the feast and he would teach and then they would return home and the word would spread and the news would spread about Jesus.
And then we also know that Jesus preached in the villages of Judea. Add to that the church was born in Jerusalem, which is a part of Judah Judea. In fact, listen to the beginning of Peter's sermon. Peter in Acts 2:14 says this or it says this. But Peter, taking his stand with the 11, raised his voice and declared to them, men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words.
Well, we know that many did give heed to the words of Peter that day. And the church spread primarily in the region of Judea. Well, here in the Bible Belt, my guess is most everybody you talk to has heard about Jesus, like the people of Judea.
But that doesn't mean they don't need someone to share the gospel with them. That doesn't mean they don't need someone to challenge them, to ask some pretty pointed questions of them. I mean, as mobile as we are, our Judea is what, within 15 minute drive for us. For them it may have been a day or two day walk to get to someplace in Judea, but for us it's really accessible. So this morning I want to encourage us with one of Jesus's parables that he spoke to the Judeans.
It's a parable about taking the gospel to those who have heard. Let me say that again. It's Judea is like taking the gospel to people who have heard.
And he answered four very important questions. First, should we think that everyone who has heard the gospel or actually knows about Jesus has actually heard it?
Number two, how can you tell if someone's really heard the gospel?
Number three, what is the greatest danger to those who have heard about Jesus? Because there's a danger. And four, what should we say to those who have not really heard the gospel? Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. What do we say to them?
So as we see the answer to these questions, we'll see how. We'll see clearly how God is glorified as we love and share the gospel in the power of the Spirit. So I want us to take a look at the parable of what's called the parable of the soils. I'm going to start off in Mark and I'm going to switch to Luke and I'm starting off in Mark in this verse. Mark, chapter 4, verse 13, because it says, says something that's very interesting in Mark.
Mark says that records this. And Jesus said to them, do you not understand this parable? And how will you understand all the parables? In other words, the lesson today is a foundational lesson. It's foundational to understanding and therefore foundational to those who have grown up in a gospel informed environment like Judea or Olive Branch or Great Commission church or Christian family heritage.
And let's see why. So I'm going to flip over now to Luke and let's read this parable for the Judeans. When a large crowd was coming together and those from the various cities were journeying to him, he spoke by way of a parable. Now, by the way, be careful. Here's the danger.
You've probably heard this before.
And what do you do when you think you've heard something before?
You think, I know that I've heard that.
So right now you're in a very dangerous place. You've probably read it or heard it. So listen carefully. 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. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Now you may right there go, no, but that doesn't Seem say that. Now, look at the last part of these verses. It says, as he said these things, he would call out, he who has ears to hear, let him hear.
So I'm just doing it.
Other seed fell on rocky soil. And as soon as it grew up, it withered away because it had no moisture. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Other seed fell among the thorns. And the thorns grew up and choked it out.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear. And other seed fell into the good soil and grew up and produced a crop a hundred times as great. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
After speaking to the crowd, the disciples asked him to unpack the parable. So he did, and here's where we really want to pay attention. The truth he wanted them to grasp was that there are mysteries in the kingdom of God. And one of them has to do with listening. Now, what's a mystery?
A mystery is something that is outside the range of unassisted comprehension. Let me say that again. A mystery is something that's outside the range of unassisted comprehension. In other words, you just don't get.
Has to be given to you. And you'll see that in these verses that Jesus. Jesus that we're going to read that he says to them. Notice he told them that they, the disciples as a group. Have experienced a grace that others have not received.
In other words, they have had ears to hear, whereas others have not. And this explains how there could be a Judas among the 12.
Somebody who hears but doesn't hear.
I think it also explains the church in the United States. It explains Judea. His disciples began questioning him as to what this parable meant. And he said to you, it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God. But to the rest, it's in parables.
So that seeing they may not see and hearing they may not understand.
That's a mystery, isn't it? I mean, just when you read it, you go, what? What is he saying? You see, it's possible to hear, but not hear. Can you see?
That's what he saying. It's possible to be a Judean. Somebody that's heard Jesus. Heard about Jesus all of your life and not really here.
So should we think that everyone who has heard the gospel or actually knows about or knows about Jesus has actually heard it? No. This verse tells us no. It's possible to hear, but not really hear or bear fruit for God. And if there's no fruit of the Spirit, then though they've heard about Jesus, they still need to hear the gospel.
They still need to have someone share with them. They need to have someone challenge them to obey the gospel. So let's not think it's enough for people just to hear. And I'm not going to assume this morning that everyone in this room has heard. Is that okay?
Because you don't know what you don't know. Isn't that true?
Because see, this morning I'm speaking to the, to those of us who live in Judea, most all of us have heard. I mean, you've been exposed to the seed of God's word, perhaps all of your life lives. Like me, I grew up in church. There's never a time, I mean, I got, I got all these pins for going to church every Sunday for a whole year.
But I didn't hear the gospel until I was 29. I mean, hear the gospel.
So it's possible that there's some here, here who have seen the spirit of God at work. You have heard and you still don't have the fruit of God in your life, which puts you in a very dangerous position as we're going to see. So let's not miss that from here on out. In our text, the explanation of the parable is to the disciples, not to the crowd.
It's the disciples who are going to receive the great commission mission to go to Jerusalem and Judea and to Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth.
So now Jesus begins to explain it. The first thing he tells them about is about the seed, the word of God. Now the parable is this. The seed is the word of God. So that begs a question for us.
Are we seed collectors or fruit producers?
I was a seed collector for 29 years.
I kind of picture myself as I hear scripture, just throwing it in the trunk, in the back.
As the years went by, it became a tractor trailer truck full of seats, feed with no fruit.
But I could answer all the Sunday school questions.
I could tell you about Jesus, I could tell others about Jesus. But there was not the fruit that we see in this parable. Most Judeans, because they were near Jerusalem, the spiritual center of Israel, they were regular consumers, consumers of the teaching of the best teachers of Israel. They had more opportunities to hear Jesus than any other people. The modern day equivalent would be those who have grown up in Christian homes, those maybe who have been homeschooled, maybe those who've gone to a private Christian school, those who've attended church most Sundays of their lives.
If you're like that, you've heard a lot, haven't you? You have received a ton of seed.
Jesus knew his disciples needed to know these four different kinds of soils or four different kinds of listeners, because they're going to go to these people and it's going to help explain the people, the Judeans, that they're going to go to. So there's four kinds of listeners who hear. And you'll notice, notice that all kinds that Jesus talks about here have heard the word I call the first kind of soil, the careless listener.
There's no place for the word of God in their hearts. And here's what that means. It means the word of God is not advancing. I mean, at one point, Jesus says to the Pharisees, he says, there's no place for my Word in your hearts. And what he means is, there's no place in your heart where the word of God is advancing and progressing and bearing fruit in your life.
This could be someone who goes to church because he or she has to. I would be. Wouldn't be surprised. There's not someone in this room that if you had your choice, you wouldn't be here. But your mom and dad feed you and they put clothes on you and you live in the house, so you go to church.
And maybe you grew up like that, like I did. I was there, but I could care less about what was being said, and therefore I was careless. And look how Jesus describes this kind of listener. And those beside the road are those who have heard so underscore that if you went back and asked them, did you know this? They would say, oh, yeah, I heard that.
I know about that. Then the devil comes and takes away the Word from their heart so that they may not believe and be saved.
So what's the result of the hearing but not hearing in this person's life? It says right here, they may not believe and may not be saved. Jesus was saying, this is a possibility for the care listener. I mean, if you ask this person if they've heard about Jesus or know him, they'll probably say yes, which is like most of the people you're going to meet right here in. Right here in your Judea.
The second kind of listener I'm going to call the overwhelmed listener. And you'll see why as we read this verse. And those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the Word with joy. Joy. And these have no firm root.
They believe for a while, and in time of temptation, they fall away. So these hear the Word, maybe a sermon, or maybe reading the Word devotionally, or in the lyrics to a song. But since it doesn't make any advancement in their lives. In other words, it doesn't get rooted. It has actually no application.
Now, let me say. Say this. I mean, that particular specific sermon like this morning, you're getting the seed. Now, that seed is meant to go in to the soil, and then the roots. It takes time, takes some nourishment, you know, some nourishing for the truth of that seed to root.
And those roots grow down into the soil of your soul and in your heart so that then they can produce fruit. Fruit. Well, what's true about these listeners is they get the seed and they go, oh, that's a good sermon. Or I really like Psalm 23. Or, you know, in your devotion time.
But then they get tempted. Tempted with a thought, maybe just to go off on that thought. Or they get in the car after church and their wife says something and the husband. Husband gets offended and they get tempted. And they never come back and think about what they just heard.
And so they just fall away. They've heard it, but they don't do any. Or they don't do anything with it. They don't have any fruit from hearing it. Now, we probably all know this kind of a Judean.
In fact, we've probably all been there at some time or another. They seem to be part of the group as they grow up, in the youth program, maybe. But once they go off the college and they get a job, they fall away. Do you know anybody like that? It seemed like they were here.
It seemed joyful to them. They seem to like it. I mean, they fall away because they were tempted by the worldly philosophies or the gospel, I mean, or the appeal of acceptance or the thrill of being, you know, in a. Maybe a fraternity or a sorority. And to get in that group.
I mean, you don't go to church, that group. You don't hear the word of God. God. And that becomes too much of an appeal to be accepted and to be a part, you know, of the community. And.
And then they fall away. There's no lasting fruit. So I'm going to call these the overwhelmed listeners. Do you understand what I mean by that? Overwhelmed by temptation.
And so the point is no fruit. Now, let's look at the third kind of listener Jesus told them about. I'm going to call them the distracted listeners. The seed which fell among the thorns. These are the ones who have heard and I underlined.
As they go on their way for a good reason, they are choked with worries and riches. And pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to maturity. Now, these people are characterized by their busy ways. They hear, but as soon as they hear, they move on to the next thing in life. They have a way that they live life.
I mean, we all have a way, don't we? I mean, do you have a Sunday way? Let's think about that for a moment.
They just have a way, a rhythm of the way they do life. And it doesn't involve giving the word of God time to examine their lives and make any changes in their lives. So the result is they've collected the seed, but again, it doesn't have a place in their heart. Hearts. Because it made no advancement in their lives.
They were fruitless, they were distracted, and they got distracted pretty quickly. And bear with me as I unpack this kind of listener in a practical way for us, because, boy, can I relate to this. If after you read the Word of God or hear a message like this one, or even memorize a verse of scripture, you move right on with your normal routine in life, then you're this kind of listener. For instance, what's your normal Sunday way of life?
What's the next thing you do? I mean, you hear the word of God taught, and then you turn and you greet your friends, greet some people as you go out.
Then you get in your car, or maybe you. Maybe before you even get your car, you talk about what you did last week or maybe what you're going to do this next week. And then you go out and get in your car. And the radio, you either have the radio on or it's already hooked up to your phone and music starts playing, or you listen to a podcast or something. You get home, either go out to eat, or maybe you get home, you change clothes, you fix lunch, and after you fix lunch, you maybe take a nap or maybe you sit down and watch a ball game, or maybe you watch YouTubes or, I don't know, maybe you text or chat with friends.
You plan something for the afternoon. You scroll through your social media feeds, you meet up with friends, you eat dinner, you watch YouTubes before you go to bed at night. Then you get up the next day and you do the same thing. You routine, routine. You sleep, you get up, you get ready for the day, you read your Bible, maybe pray a little, eat breakfast, go to work or school, and on your way and you go on your routine through the rest of the week.
Now, here's the question. Are you ready? Here's the question. Did you ever refocus on the word you heard and let it examine your life and ask yourself, what am I supposed to do or change?
Did you ever go back and do that?
If you didn't go back and do that, you're a distracted listener. You've heard, but there's no fruit. I mean, did you receive, did the seed you receive bring forth any fruit for the glory of God? See, that's the modern day busy, distracted Judean from Jerusalem and probably the majority of church attenders in the United States and maybe the greater Memphis area.
And it could even be here at gcc.
Well, now we turn to the fourth kind of listener, the determined listener and the seed and 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. Now here we have the answer to the second question. The second question was, how can you tell if someone's really heard the gospel and believed? And the answer is they bear the fruit of the Spirit.
This is the determined listener or the careful listener. This is the one who has ears to hear. Of all the four, this is the only one who has ears to hear. I mean, do you see, do you get it? Unless the word of God has a place to grow in the heart and it's held to and allowed to search the heart honestly over time with repeated careful meditation and application, there's not going to be any fruit.
You're still going to be the same person you were when you came to the mirror.
This is the only one of the four showing any signs of the work of the Spirit and new life in their lives. I mean, this kind of listener is not going to let the devil come and just snatch it away. And they're not going to be overwhelmed by temptation because they have an honest and good at heart. They're going to hear and go, wow, I need to, I need to go back and think about this. He's not, he's, he's naturally.
He's not going to, he's not going to let his routine stop him from getting what God has for him. Because his whole purpose for coming to the seed or getting the seed was to be changed.
That's why he listens. He's got a good heart. He's going to take what he hears. He's going to think about it and let its light shine in every aspect of his life until he sees what needs to change. And then he's going to make the changes by the grace of God that he receives.
That is a determined listener. Jesus wanted his Disciples to know this because they're going to Judea.
They're going to a people who've heard and they're going to say, oh yeah, we've heard about Jesus. What do you say to these people? Well, Jesus now really summarizes in the next verses the parable. He explains it more fully. And this is where we really want to even pay more attention.
Drill down into these words that Jesus says. Receiving the seed of word, of the Word of God. It's like. It's like lighting a lamp or turning on a light in order to do something in the the room. Notice what Jesus said.
No one, after lighting a lamp, covers it over with a container or puts it under a bed, but he puts it on a lamp stand. In other words, he raises it up in the room so the light can. In order, as he says here, in order that those who come in may see the light. For nothing is hidden that shall not become evident, nor anything secret that shall not be known and come to light. Now why do we turn on the lights?
We turn on the lights to see what we need to do. That was especially true in their day. You plan to do something in the room and you just can't see without the light. So the fourth kind of listener, he realizes he's receiving light when he reads or listens. And before he even sits down him to listen or to read, he determines that he's going to do something with whatever he hears.
In other words, the decision was made before he sat down.
How many of you made a decision before you sat down that your lives were going to be changed this morning? Seriously?
Good.
If you didn't, did you realize you were coming in to get light?
Or why come. I mean, why come in and flip on the light and get the light and do nothing with the light? I mean, that's what Jesus is saying here. He realizes he's going to receive light. So before he even sits down to listen, he determines he's going to do something.
He's going to clean the house, and he wants to be able to see the dirt so he knows what to remove. So he knows where the. Where he needs to change something in the room. That's. That's the picture here.
So now he summarizes it and makes the point. Here's the point of the parable. And we didn't know this when we talked to Judeans because they don't realize they're not hearing. They don't realize they're not listening. And so you have to kind of encourage them like Jesus does.
He says so then take care how you listen for whoever has. Has what? For whoever has ears to hear to him, more shall be given. Boy, that makes sense, doesn't it?
The good heart. The person has an honest and good heart who's going to take the word and hold it fast with perseverance until it bears fruit. Of course he's going to receive more, because that's why he comes. He comes to get more. He comes to hear what God is saying to him, so he knows what to do.
And whoever does not have. Not have what ears to hear, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.
That's sobering, isn't it?
Let's think about it. Now we have the answer to the third question. What is the greatest danger for those who have heard about Jesus?
The greatest danger is they think they have ears to hear, but they don't.
Who are the determined listeners? They have ears to hear. The ones who have ears to hear have good hearts. So they don't just have temporary fruit. The life within them is always producing fruit.
Fruit. If they have the life of Christ in them, then they're going to receive more and more fruit. However, look at the contrast, the warning to those who are careless, overwhelmed or distracted. Since it's possible to hear and see or know about Jesus, but not understand and bear fruit, the result is that one may think he or she has eternal life, but it doesn't. They think they have ears to hear because they know about Jesus, or they're familiar with Scripture, familiar with what the Bible teaches, but the Word didn't change them.
You know what we call someone who thinks they have something, but don't? We call them deceived or deluded. They're delusional. They've become deluded. They think they have something, but they don't have it.
They think they're believers, but they're not. They think they're okay. And if you ask them, are you going to. Are you going to go to heaven when you die? And they're going to say, yeah, do you know about Jesus?
Yeah, I'm not as bad. These other people.
Which tells you. They think it tells you already. They haven't heard because I guess everybody here knows good people don't go to heaven. Don't we all know that only perfect people go to heaven?
People who've had all their sins removed, people who are righteous in Christ?
Only those who have the life of Jesus go to heaven. Only the people who are living in heaven now are going to go to Heaven when they die.
So do you see how dangerous this is?
You know, that may be most of the people you meet in your Judea might be most of the people you meet here in Olive Branch.
That's your Judea that we're going to.
So now we come to the answer to the fourth question. What should we say to those who have not really heard the gospel, but think of they have now? These verses show us how the Father and the Son are working together. It's an amazing. It is just amazing to me.
The Father sent Jesus, mother and brothers to the house where Jesus was teaching his disciples. And they showed up at the very moment Jesus contrasted the determined listeners with the deluded listeners. Isn't that amazing? I mean, at that very moment when Jesus just said what we just read, that there are those who, the one who has ears to hear will receive more. And the ones who don't have ears to hear even what they think they have will be taken away.
And boom, right there. Mary and Jesus's brothers who are not believers. Mary was a believer. The brothers were not. Yet at that very moment, the Father brings them to the door.
I mean, the disciples would have been asking, probably like you are too. How do we know if we're deluded?
How do I know if I have a deceived heart? How do I know if I'm a deluded person? You know, one of those that thinks he has it, but I don't have it?
Well, here's God's answer to it. And his mother and brothers came to him and they were unable to get to him because of the crowd and it was reported to him. Your mother and your brothers are standing outside wishing to see you now. Notice what's happening here, Jesus. Special people show up at the house and what's expected.
I mean, if you were one of those special people and you're standing outside the house and you're his brother and you hear somebody inside go, or maybe standing right there with you, go, hey, Jesus, your mother and brother are here. What are we expecting? We're expecting somebody to go make room, put them on the front row. Let's. I mean, these are special people to Jesus.
They need special treatment. Let them in. That is not what happened. We would expect them, say, make room for them. And Jesus, I think, shocked them.
And he gave an unforgettable heart searching, deception, crushing truth. And here it is. He answered and said to them, my mother and my brothers, or another way of saying this, my family, the members of my family, my special people, are these who Hear the word of God and do it.
What should you say to those who've not really heard the gospel but think they have? What should you tell everyone when we share the gospel with them in Judea? I think in love, we should ask these questions. How has knowing Jesus changed changed your life?
In other words, what have you done with it?
Are you still being changed to become more like him?
Or how is Jesus discipling you each day? You see, we're taught in these verses to encourage them to listen with the aim to do do something with what they hear. Those who bring forth fruit in their lives are the ones who are Jesus's family members. If you don't want to be deluded, then do something. When the light shines in your house, like this morning when you sit down to read God's word, or you come to hear the word of God taught plan for your life to change.
When you have your quiet time, don't expect to get up to be the same person.
You read a passage through scripture. You ask yourself, okay, let this shine in every area of my life. And what's supposed to change? Because something needs to change. I've just turned the light on.
If you don't want to be deluded, then do something when the light shines in your house. And then protect the word that you you hear and hold on to it until you know what to do with it. I think of it that way. I'm going to hold on to it until I can see what needs to change. Until I can see what God is after in my heart and in my life.
And I'll hold on to it until I know what to do to glorify God and submit to Christ. Why? Because I love him. Because we love him. Because we want to bring him glory.
So may I be so bold as to ask you this morning these questions, you who are here in Judea, how has knowing Jesus changed your life now? I don't mean. Well, I go to church more.
I don't mean I read my Bible more. I mean, how's it changed how you live? Are you still being changed? I mean, can you see the word of God progressing in your life?
What fruit do you see in your life that's like Christ? I mean, would the people around you go, I can see the life of Jesus in her.
I see the life of Christ in her. Him.
Do you love Jesus? Do you hold fast to His Word and experience the Spirit's power and grace to obey it? So these are the questions you might ask someone that's in Judea, you're going to be witnesses to those who are in judgment. You're going to have to ask questions. Like those don't expect that they actually hear because they're sitting in the room.
So let me get right to the point of the application. More than likely the way you listen to your husband, wife, parents, children or pastor is more than likely the way you listen to God.
Let me say that again.
More than likely the way you listen to your wife or your husband or your parents or your children or the people around you is the way you listen to God.
If you don't know how to listen to God, then you won't know how to listen to anyone else. If you're a careless, overwhelmed, distracted listener with God, then you will probably be a careless, overwhelmed, distracted listener to your spouse or your parents or your children or your pastor.
Like Jesus said, this is a foundational lesson.
What will you do with what you've heard this morning?
What kind of listener are you? Jesus brought you here so you could know what kind of listener you are.
What kind of listener have you been? What kind of listener are you going to be? I mean, that's the real question, isn't it?
What's going to change? What kind of listener are you going to be as a result of what you've heard today?
James is one of his brothers. Can you imagine James standing outside expecting to get in? Look what he wrote in James one tells you what kind of listener he was that day. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the Word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the Word and not merely hearers only.
Like, where did he get that?
What do you think?
I think he got it that day, standing outside expecting to be let into the house because he's a brother of Jesus. And Jesus dissed him and said, no, here's my brother and my brothers. And he went, and he walked away going, oh, my God. Oh my goodness.
See, even what he thought he had was taken away from him.
He thought he was one of the special guys, and he wasn't.
For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he's like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror. For once he's looked at himself and gone away, he's immediately forgotten what kind of person he is.
So are you one of God's special people?
What kind of listener are you? Can you imagine standing outside the door of heaven expecting to be Let in. But here Jesus is say, my mother, My brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it. And then maybe you'll remember the words. Not everyone who says to me, lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who's in heaven will enter.
Many will say to me on that day, lord, Lord, do we not prophesy in your name? And in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles? And then I will declared to them, I never knew you depart from me, you who practice lawlessness, even what you thought you had taken away. May that not be the case for anyone within the hearing of my ears this morning.
Let's be determined, listeners who do God's word. If you want to be a fruit bearer for the glory of God in Judea, I invite you to pray with me. Would you place your hand on your spiritual hearing, place your heart and join me in prayer. Father in heaven, give us all good and honest hearts who hold fast to your word and with perseverance bring forth fruit for your glory. Grant us forgiveness for when we've been careless, overwhelmed, distracted listeners.
Give us repentant hearts, honest, good hearts. Give us hearts for those who live around us and still need to hear the gospel from us and be taught this foundational lesson of what to do when we receive the seed of God. May we call them to be doers of your word. Oh, God, give us compassion, grace and boldness to be witnesses to those you put in our paths. For your glory, we pray.
Amen.
Amen. Feels like a mirror. You can just look at God's word and see what's reflected back. We're going to have an opportunity at the end of the service. The prayer ministry team will be up here, here.
I'll let them know in just one second when to come forward. But what a great opportunity to receive prayer, to act on what we just heard, and to. To ask these prayer ministry teams to pray for you about anything in particularly if you come to them and say, I just want to hear God better and I want to do what I hear right, to give me that strength and that courage to not only listen to God, but also do what he says. And so I want to give you an opportunity at the end of the service to come and pray that prayer among anything else that might be on your heart that God has laid there during this sermon. Hey, but before you head out, I do want you to do one simple thing.
We'll have a QR code on the screen. It's a great way to take a next step here. Go ahead and get your phone out and you can scan that. You can also do this the card. There's a couple next steps but that QR code will if you fill that form out, it'll give you about a text message for the next 13 days of just real simple things to do.
How to read the scriptures, how to pray, how to say yes to Jesus, how to get involved in community at the church. So that's a great resource for you. Encourage that a short little video each day and about a paragraph to read. And hey, if you want to receive prayer today, we will have the prayer ministry team up forward. So prayer ministry team, would you go ahead and start coming forward making your way up here now everyone else you can go ahead and stand with me this morning.
I'm going to pray for us. And hey, as you're being prompted thinking I want to come receive prayer prayer as I'm praying, I'm going to give you a chance to go ahead and start making your way forward so you don't get lost in the crowd and start following the crowd out. I think everyone has something to pray for this morning. Hey, let me pray for you. Go ahead and start coming forward if you want to see prayer as well.
Father, we are so grateful to gather in your name. God. We want to minister to each other. Father, would the Holy Spirit dwell in this place as we worship through prayer? God, we love you and may this resonate on our hearts as we go throughout the week.
In Jesus name we're thankful. Amen. Come forward, receive prayer. You are dismissed. Take a next step today.
If you're new, swing by the new here station. Got a gift for you. Love you guys. See you Sunday.
Back again to South Africa in November for a debrief of missionaries that I trained back in February that have gone to 15 countries this year taking the gospel. You're impacting the world and I just want to say thank you. Thank you for your support. Thank you for your encouragement. If you'd like to know more about it, you can check out spiritofelijah.com or livetolovewithjesus.com or listen to my daily podcast called Live to Love Scripture Encouragement.
Find it on Spotify or YouTube iTunes and be in touch with how you're loving around the world. World well, please join me in prayer as we begin our study of God's Word here this morning. Father, every heart is before you. You know us all, everything about us. We are sinners and we are helpless when it comes to listening to for having spiritual understanding and changing our lives.
Please, for your name's sake, have mercy on us and give us ears to hear. Give us understanding of what you're saying to each one of us.
Magnify your name and give glory to your son by giving us out of the riches of your mercy and grace what he has accomplished for for us at the cross. And may we experience the power of the resurrection this morning as his life is revealed in us.
Thank you for being generous this morning and looking upon us through him.
Amen.
It's an honor to be able to participate in this great commission series that Trevor launched a couple of weeks ago.
He entitled it the World is Waiting. Well, this series is based on this passage here in Acts 1:8. You can just follow along as I read it. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. Of course he's speaking to his disciples and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in Jerusalem, Judea, all Judea and Samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth.
Well, the focus today is Judea. That's what Trevor told me. Says you're going to get talk about Judea. Would you do that? And I thought Judea, when I've ever done a message on Judea, that's going to be interesting to see what the Lord gives.
And of course you don't live in Judea, but there's a concept here, here that is applicable, I think, to our Lives. Most of Jesus's ministry was in Galilee, you probably know that. But his cousin John the Baptist, almost all of his ministry was in Judea. In Matthew 3:5 it says then Jerusalem was going out to him. That's John the Baptist in all Judea and all the district around the Jordan.
However, Jesus also ministered in Judea. In fact, Matthew gave this account in Matthew 19:1, when Jesus had finished these words, he departed from Galilee and he came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.
And large crowds followed him and he healed them there. And Luke records this in chapter 4, verse 44. So he kept on preaching in the synagogue, synagogues of Judea. And in 7:17 Luke wrote this about Jesus. He resurrected a young man from name which is in Galilee.
And he wrote this, this report concerning him went out over all Judea and in all the surrounding district. So just what I want you to catch from that is this. Judea was a region where the Gospel had been preached both by John the Baptist and Jesus. The entire region.
But the word of Jesus had certainly spread from Jerusalem and the surrounding villages. The people of Judea were probably more represented than any other region in Jerusalem. Jerusalem because of their proximity. So they would have heard Jesus teach more than any other people would have heard him teach in the temple. He would come to the feast and he would teach and then they would return home and the word would spread and the news would spread about Jesus.
And then we also know that Jesus preached in the villages of Judea. Add to that the church was born in Jerusalem, which is a part of Judah Judea. In fact, listen to the beginning of Peter's sermon. Peter in Acts 2:14 says this or it says this. But Peter, taking his stand with the 11, raised his voice and declared to them, men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words.
Well, we know that many did give heed to the words of Peter that day. And the church spread primarily in the region of Judea. Well, here in the Bible Belt, my guess is most everybody you talk to has heard about Jesus, like the people of Judea.
But that doesn't mean they don't need someone to share the gospel with them. That doesn't mean they don't need someone to challenge them, to ask some pretty pointed questions of them. I mean, as mobile as we are, our Judea is what, within 15 minute drive for us. For them it may have been a day or two day walk to get to someplace in Judea, but for us it's really accessible. So this morning I want to encourage us with one of Jesus's parables that he spoke to the Judeans.
It's a parable about taking the gospel to those who have heard. Let me say that again. It's Judea is like taking the gospel to people who have heard.
And he answered four very important questions. First, should we think that everyone who has heard the gospel or actually knows about Jesus has actually heard it?
Number two, how can you tell if someone's really heard the gospel?
Number three, what is the greatest danger to those who have heard about Jesus? Because there's a danger. And four, what should we say to those who have not really heard the gospel? Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. What do we say to them?
So as we see the answer to these questions, we'll see how. We'll see clearly how God is glorified as we love and share the gospel in the power of the Spirit. So I want us to take a look at the parable of what's called the parable of the soils. I'm going to start off in Mark and I'm going to switch to Luke and I'm starting off in Mark in this verse. Mark, chapter 4, verse 13, because it says, says something that's very interesting in Mark.
Mark says that records this. And Jesus said to them, do you not understand this parable? And how will you understand all the parables? In other words, the lesson today is a foundational lesson. It's foundational to understanding and therefore foundational to those who have grown up in a gospel informed environment like Judea or Olive Branch or Great Commission church or Christian family heritage.
And let's see why. So I'm going to flip over now to Luke and let's read this parable for the Judeans. When a large crowd was coming together and those from the various cities were journeying to him, he spoke by way of a parable. Now, by the way, be careful. Here's the danger.
You've probably heard this before.
And what do you do when you think you've heard something before?
You think, I know that I've heard that.
So right now you're in a very dangerous place. You've probably read it or heard it. So listen carefully. 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. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Now you may right there go, no, but that doesn't Seem say that. Now, look at the last part of these verses. It says, as he said these things, he would call out, he who has ears to hear, let him hear.
So I'm just doing it.
Other seed fell on rocky soil. And as soon as it grew up, it withered away because it had no moisture. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Other seed fell among the thorns. And the thorns grew up and choked it out.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear. And other seed fell into the good soil and grew up and produced a crop a hundred times as great. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
After speaking to the crowd, the disciples asked him to unpack the parable. So he did, and here's where we really want to pay attention. The truth he wanted them to grasp was that there are mysteries in the kingdom of God. And one of them has to do with listening. Now, what's a mystery?
A mystery is something that is outside the range of unassisted comprehension. Let me say that again. A mystery is something that's outside the range of unassisted comprehension. In other words, you just don't get.
Has to be given to you. And you'll see that in these verses that Jesus. Jesus that we're going to read that he says to them. Notice he told them that they, the disciples as a group. Have experienced a grace that others have not received.
In other words, they have had ears to hear, whereas others have not. And this explains how there could be a Judas among the 12.
Somebody who hears but doesn't hear.
I think it also explains the church in the United States. It explains Judea. His disciples began questioning him as to what this parable meant. And he said to you, it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God. But to the rest, it's in parables.
So that seeing they may not see and hearing they may not understand.
That's a mystery, isn't it? I mean, just when you read it, you go, what? What is he saying? You see, it's possible to hear, but not hear. Can you see?
That's what he saying. It's possible to be a Judean. Somebody that's heard Jesus. Heard about Jesus all of your life and not really here.
So should we think that everyone who has heard the gospel or actually knows about or knows about Jesus has actually heard it? No. This verse tells us no. It's possible to hear, but not really hear or bear fruit for God. And if there's no fruit of the Spirit, then though they've heard about Jesus, they still need to hear the gospel.
They still need to have someone share with them. They need to have someone challenge them to obey the gospel. So let's not think it's enough for people just to hear. And I'm not going to assume this morning that everyone in this room has heard. Is that okay?
Because you don't know what you don't know. Isn't that true?
Because see, this morning I'm speaking to the, to those of us who live in Judea, most all of us have heard. I mean, you've been exposed to the seed of God's word, perhaps all of your life lives. Like me, I grew up in church. There's never a time, I mean, I got, I got all these pins for going to church every Sunday for a whole year.
But I didn't hear the gospel until I was 29. I mean, hear the gospel.
So it's possible that there's some here, here who have seen the spirit of God at work. You have heard and you still don't have the fruit of God in your life, which puts you in a very dangerous position as we're going to see. So let's not miss that from here on out. In our text, the explanation of the parable is to the disciples, not to the crowd.
It's the disciples who are going to receive the great commission mission to go to Jerusalem and Judea and to Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth.
So now Jesus begins to explain it. The first thing he tells them about is about the seed, the word of God. Now the parable is this. The seed is the word of God. So that begs a question for us.
Are we seed collectors or fruit producers?
I was a seed collector for 29 years.
I kind of picture myself as I hear scripture, just throwing it in the trunk, in the back.
As the years went by, it became a tractor trailer truck full of seats, feed with no fruit.
But I could answer all the Sunday school questions.
I could tell you about Jesus, I could tell others about Jesus. But there was not the fruit that we see in this parable. Most Judeans, because they were near Jerusalem, the spiritual center of Israel, they were regular consumers, consumers of the teaching of the best teachers of Israel. They had more opportunities to hear Jesus than any other people. The modern day equivalent would be those who have grown up in Christian homes, those maybe who have been homeschooled, maybe those who've gone to a private Christian school, those who've attended church most Sundays of their lives.
If you're like that, you've heard a lot, haven't you? You have received a ton of seed.
Jesus knew his disciples needed to know these four different kinds of soils or four different kinds of listeners, because they're going to go to these people and it's going to help explain the people, the Judeans, that they're going to go to. So there's four kinds of listeners who hear. And you'll notice, notice that all kinds that Jesus talks about here have heard the word I call the first kind of soil, the careless listener.
There's no place for the word of God in their hearts. And here's what that means. It means the word of God is not advancing. I mean, at one point, Jesus says to the Pharisees, he says, there's no place for my Word in your hearts. And what he means is, there's no place in your heart where the word of God is advancing and progressing and bearing fruit in your life.
This could be someone who goes to church because he or she has to. I would be. Wouldn't be surprised. There's not someone in this room that if you had your choice, you wouldn't be here. But your mom and dad feed you and they put clothes on you and you live in the house, so you go to church.
And maybe you grew up like that, like I did. I was there, but I could care less about what was being said, and therefore I was careless. And look how Jesus describes this kind of listener. And those beside the road are those who have heard so underscore that if you went back and asked them, did you know this? They would say, oh, yeah, I heard that.
I know about that. Then the devil comes and takes away the Word from their heart so that they may not believe and be saved.
So what's the result of the hearing but not hearing in this person's life? It says right here, they may not believe and may not be saved. Jesus was saying, this is a possibility for the care listener. I mean, if you ask this person if they've heard about Jesus or know him, they'll probably say yes, which is like most of the people you're going to meet right here in. Right here in your Judea.
The second kind of listener I'm going to call the overwhelmed listener. And you'll see why as we read this verse. And those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the Word with joy. Joy. And these have no firm root.
They believe for a while, and in time of temptation, they fall away. So these hear the Word, maybe a sermon, or maybe reading the Word devotionally, or in the lyrics to a song. But since it doesn't make any advancement in their lives. In other words, it doesn't get rooted. It has actually no application.
Now, let me say. Say this. I mean, that particular specific sermon like this morning, you're getting the seed. Now, that seed is meant to go in to the soil, and then the roots. It takes time, takes some nourishment, you know, some nourishing for the truth of that seed to root.
And those roots grow down into the soil of your soul and in your heart so that then they can produce fruit. Fruit. Well, what's true about these listeners is they get the seed and they go, oh, that's a good sermon. Or I really like Psalm 23. Or, you know, in your devotion time.
But then they get tempted. Tempted with a thought, maybe just to go off on that thought. Or they get in the car after church and their wife says something and the husband. Husband gets offended and they get tempted. And they never come back and think about what they just heard.
And so they just fall away. They've heard it, but they don't do any. Or they don't do anything with it. They don't have any fruit from hearing it. Now, we probably all know this kind of a Judean.
In fact, we've probably all been there at some time or another. They seem to be part of the group as they grow up, in the youth program, maybe. But once they go off the college and they get a job, they fall away. Do you know anybody like that? It seemed like they were here.
It seemed joyful to them. They seem to like it. I mean, they fall away because they were tempted by the worldly philosophies or the gospel, I mean, or the appeal of acceptance or the thrill of being, you know, in a. Maybe a fraternity or a sorority. And to get in that group.
I mean, you don't go to church, that group. You don't hear the word of God. God. And that becomes too much of an appeal to be accepted and to be a part, you know, of the community. And.
And then they fall away. There's no lasting fruit. So I'm going to call these the overwhelmed listeners. Do you understand what I mean by that? Overwhelmed by temptation.
And so the point is no fruit. Now, let's look at the third kind of listener Jesus told them about. I'm going to call them the distracted listeners. The seed which fell among the thorns. These are the ones who have heard and I underlined.
As they go on their way for a good reason, they are choked with worries and riches. And pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to maturity. Now, these people are characterized by their busy ways. They hear, but as soon as they hear, they move on to the next thing in life. They have a way that they live life.
I mean, we all have a way, don't we? I mean, do you have a Sunday way? Let's think about that for a moment.
They just have a way, a rhythm of the way they do life. And it doesn't involve giving the word of God time to examine their lives and make any changes in their lives. So the result is they've collected the seed, but again, it doesn't have a place in their heart. Hearts. Because it made no advancement in their lives.
They were fruitless, they were distracted, and they got distracted pretty quickly. And bear with me as I unpack this kind of listener in a practical way for us, because, boy, can I relate to this. If after you read the Word of God or hear a message like this one, or even memorize a verse of scripture, you move right on with your normal routine in life, then you're this kind of listener. For instance, what's your normal Sunday way of life?
What's the next thing you do? I mean, you hear the word of God taught, and then you turn and you greet your friends, greet some people as you go out.
Then you get in your car, or maybe you. Maybe before you even get your car, you talk about what you did last week or maybe what you're going to do this next week. And then you go out and get in your car. And the radio, you either have the radio on or it's already hooked up to your phone and music starts playing, or you listen to a podcast or something. You get home, either go out to eat, or maybe you get home, you change clothes, you fix lunch, and after you fix lunch, you maybe take a nap or maybe you sit down and watch a ball game, or maybe you watch YouTubes or, I don't know, maybe you text or chat with friends.
You plan something for the afternoon. You scroll through your social media feeds, you meet up with friends, you eat dinner, you watch YouTubes before you go to bed at night. Then you get up the next day and you do the same thing. You routine, routine. You sleep, you get up, you get ready for the day, you read your Bible, maybe pray a little, eat breakfast, go to work or school, and on your way and you go on your routine through the rest of the week.
Now, here's the question. Are you ready? Here's the question. Did you ever refocus on the word you heard and let it examine your life and ask yourself, what am I supposed to do or change?
Did you ever go back and do that?
If you didn't go back and do that, you're a distracted listener. You've heard, but there's no fruit. I mean, did you receive, did the seed you receive bring forth any fruit for the glory of God? See, that's the modern day busy, distracted Judean from Jerusalem and probably the majority of church attenders in the United States and maybe the greater Memphis area.
And it could even be here at gcc.
Well, now we turn to the fourth kind of listener, the determined listener and the seed and 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. Now here we have the answer to the second question. The second question was, how can you tell if someone's really heard the gospel and believed? And the answer is they bear the fruit of the Spirit.
This is the determined listener or the careful listener. This is the one who has ears to hear. Of all the four, this is the only one who has ears to hear. I mean, do you see, do you get it? Unless the word of God has a place to grow in the heart and it's held to and allowed to search the heart honestly over time with repeated careful meditation and application, there's not going to be any fruit.
You're still going to be the same person you were when you came to the mirror.
This is the only one of the four showing any signs of the work of the Spirit and new life in their lives. I mean, this kind of listener is not going to let the devil come and just snatch it away. And they're not going to be overwhelmed by temptation because they have an honest and good at heart. They're going to hear and go, wow, I need to, I need to go back and think about this. He's not, he's, he's naturally.
He's not going to, he's not going to let his routine stop him from getting what God has for him. Because his whole purpose for coming to the seed or getting the seed was to be changed.
That's why he listens. He's got a good heart. He's going to take what he hears. He's going to think about it and let its light shine in every aspect of his life until he sees what needs to change. And then he's going to make the changes by the grace of God that he receives.
That is a determined listener. Jesus wanted his Disciples to know this because they're going to Judea.
They're going to a people who've heard and they're going to say, oh yeah, we've heard about Jesus. What do you say to these people? Well, Jesus now really summarizes in the next verses the parable. He explains it more fully. And this is where we really want to even pay more attention.
Drill down into these words that Jesus says. Receiving the seed of word, of the Word of God. It's like. It's like lighting a lamp or turning on a light in order to do something in the the room. Notice what Jesus said.
No one, after lighting a lamp, covers it over with a container or puts it under a bed, but he puts it on a lamp stand. In other words, he raises it up in the room so the light can. In order, as he says here, in order that those who come in may see the light. For nothing is hidden that shall not become evident, nor anything secret that shall not be known and come to light. Now why do we turn on the lights?
We turn on the lights to see what we need to do. That was especially true in their day. You plan to do something in the room and you just can't see without the light. So the fourth kind of listener, he realizes he's receiving light when he reads or listens. And before he even sits down him to listen or to read, he determines that he's going to do something with whatever he hears.
In other words, the decision was made before he sat down.
How many of you made a decision before you sat down that your lives were going to be changed this morning? Seriously?
Good.
If you didn't, did you realize you were coming in to get light?
Or why come. I mean, why come in and flip on the light and get the light and do nothing with the light? I mean, that's what Jesus is saying here. He realizes he's going to receive light. So before he even sits down to listen, he determines he's going to do something.
He's going to clean the house, and he wants to be able to see the dirt so he knows what to remove. So he knows where the. Where he needs to change something in the room. That's. That's the picture here.
So now he summarizes it and makes the point. Here's the point of the parable. And we didn't know this when we talked to Judeans because they don't realize they're not hearing. They don't realize they're not listening. And so you have to kind of encourage them like Jesus does.
He says so then take care how you listen for whoever has. Has what? For whoever has ears to hear to him, more shall be given. Boy, that makes sense, doesn't it?
The good heart. The person has an honest and good heart who's going to take the word and hold it fast with perseverance until it bears fruit. Of course he's going to receive more, because that's why he comes. He comes to get more. He comes to hear what God is saying to him, so he knows what to do.
And whoever does not have. Not have what ears to hear, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.
That's sobering, isn't it?
Let's think about it. Now we have the answer to the third question. What is the greatest danger for those who have heard about Jesus?
The greatest danger is they think they have ears to hear, but they don't.
Who are the determined listeners? They have ears to hear. The ones who have ears to hear have good hearts. So they don't just have temporary fruit. The life within them is always producing fruit.
Fruit. If they have the life of Christ in them, then they're going to receive more and more fruit. However, look at the contrast, the warning to those who are careless, overwhelmed or distracted. Since it's possible to hear and see or know about Jesus, but not understand and bear fruit, the result is that one may think he or she has eternal life, but it doesn't. They think they have ears to hear because they know about Jesus, or they're familiar with Scripture, familiar with what the Bible teaches, but the Word didn't change them.
You know what we call someone who thinks they have something, but don't? We call them deceived or deluded. They're delusional. They've become deluded. They think they have something, but they don't have it.
They think they're believers, but they're not. They think they're okay. And if you ask them, are you going to. Are you going to go to heaven when you die? And they're going to say, yeah, do you know about Jesus?
Yeah, I'm not as bad. These other people.
Which tells you. They think it tells you already. They haven't heard because I guess everybody here knows good people don't go to heaven. Don't we all know that only perfect people go to heaven?
People who've had all their sins removed, people who are righteous in Christ?
Only those who have the life of Jesus go to heaven. Only the people who are living in heaven now are going to go to Heaven when they die.
So do you see how dangerous this is?
You know, that may be most of the people you meet in your Judea might be most of the people you meet here in Olive Branch.
That's your Judea that we're going to.
So now we come to the answer to the fourth question. What should we say to those who have not really heard the gospel, but think of they have now? These verses show us how the Father and the Son are working together. It's an amazing. It is just amazing to me.
The Father sent Jesus, mother and brothers to the house where Jesus was teaching his disciples. And they showed up at the very moment Jesus contrasted the determined listeners with the deluded listeners. Isn't that amazing? I mean, at that very moment when Jesus just said what we just read, that there are those who, the one who has ears to hear will receive more. And the ones who don't have ears to hear even what they think they have will be taken away.
And boom, right there. Mary and Jesus's brothers who are not believers. Mary was a believer. The brothers were not. Yet at that very moment, the Father brings them to the door.
I mean, the disciples would have been asking, probably like you are too. How do we know if we're deluded?
How do I know if I have a deceived heart? How do I know if I'm a deluded person? You know, one of those that thinks he has it, but I don't have it?
Well, here's God's answer to it. And his mother and brothers came to him and they were unable to get to him because of the crowd and it was reported to him. Your mother and your brothers are standing outside wishing to see you now. Notice what's happening here, Jesus. Special people show up at the house and what's expected.
I mean, if you were one of those special people and you're standing outside the house and you're his brother and you hear somebody inside go, or maybe standing right there with you, go, hey, Jesus, your mother and brother are here. What are we expecting? We're expecting somebody to go make room, put them on the front row. Let's. I mean, these are special people to Jesus.
They need special treatment. Let them in. That is not what happened. We would expect them, say, make room for them. And Jesus, I think, shocked them.
And he gave an unforgettable heart searching, deception, crushing truth. And here it is. He answered and said to them, my mother and my brothers, or another way of saying this, my family, the members of my family, my special people, are these who Hear the word of God and do it.
What should you say to those who've not really heard the gospel but think they have? What should you tell everyone when we share the gospel with them in Judea? I think in love, we should ask these questions. How has knowing Jesus changed changed your life?
In other words, what have you done with it?
Are you still being changed to become more like him?
Or how is Jesus discipling you each day? You see, we're taught in these verses to encourage them to listen with the aim to do do something with what they hear. Those who bring forth fruit in their lives are the ones who are Jesus's family members. If you don't want to be deluded, then do something. When the light shines in your house, like this morning when you sit down to read God's word, or you come to hear the word of God taught plan for your life to change.
When you have your quiet time, don't expect to get up to be the same person.
You read a passage through scripture. You ask yourself, okay, let this shine in every area of my life. And what's supposed to change? Because something needs to change. I've just turned the light on.
If you don't want to be deluded, then do something when the light shines in your house. And then protect the word that you you hear and hold on to it until you know what to do with it. I think of it that way. I'm going to hold on to it until I can see what needs to change. Until I can see what God is after in my heart and in my life.
And I'll hold on to it until I know what to do to glorify God and submit to Christ. Why? Because I love him. Because we love him. Because we want to bring him glory.
So may I be so bold as to ask you this morning these questions, you who are here in Judea, how has knowing Jesus changed your life now? I don't mean. Well, I go to church more.
I don't mean I read my Bible more. I mean, how's it changed how you live? Are you still being changed? I mean, can you see the word of God progressing in your life?
What fruit do you see in your life that's like Christ? I mean, would the people around you go, I can see the life of Jesus in her.
I see the life of Christ in her. Him.
Do you love Jesus? Do you hold fast to His Word and experience the Spirit's power and grace to obey it? So these are the questions you might ask someone that's in Judea, you're going to be witnesses to those who are in judgment. You're going to have to ask questions. Like those don't expect that they actually hear because they're sitting in the room.
So let me get right to the point of the application. More than likely the way you listen to your husband, wife, parents, children or pastor is more than likely the way you listen to God.
Let me say that again.
More than likely the way you listen to your wife or your husband or your parents or your children or the people around you is the way you listen to God.
If you don't know how to listen to God, then you won't know how to listen to anyone else. If you're a careless, overwhelmed, distracted listener with God, then you will probably be a careless, overwhelmed, distracted listener to your spouse or your parents or your children or your pastor.
Like Jesus said, this is a foundational lesson.
What will you do with what you've heard this morning?
What kind of listener are you? Jesus brought you here so you could know what kind of listener you are.
What kind of listener have you been? What kind of listener are you going to be? I mean, that's the real question, isn't it?
What's going to change? What kind of listener are you going to be as a result of what you've heard today?
James is one of his brothers. Can you imagine James standing outside expecting to get in? Look what he wrote in James one tells you what kind of listener he was that day. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the Word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the Word and not merely hearers only.
Like, where did he get that?
What do you think?
I think he got it that day, standing outside expecting to be let into the house because he's a brother of Jesus. And Jesus dissed him and said, no, here's my brother and my brothers. And he went, and he walked away going, oh, my God. Oh my goodness.
See, even what he thought he had was taken away from him.
He thought he was one of the special guys, and he wasn't.
For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he's like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror. For once he's looked at himself and gone away, he's immediately forgotten what kind of person he is.
So are you one of God's special people?
What kind of listener are you? Can you imagine standing outside the door of heaven expecting to be Let in. But here Jesus is say, my mother, My brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it. And then maybe you'll remember the words. Not everyone who says to me, lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who's in heaven will enter.
Many will say to me on that day, lord, Lord, do we not prophesy in your name? And in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles? And then I will declared to them, I never knew you depart from me, you who practice lawlessness, even what you thought you had taken away. May that not be the case for anyone within the hearing of my ears this morning.
Let's be determined, listeners who do God's word. If you want to be a fruit bearer for the glory of God in Judea, I invite you to pray with me. Would you place your hand on your spiritual hearing, place your heart and join me in prayer. Father in heaven, give us all good and honest hearts who hold fast to your word and with perseverance bring forth fruit for your glory. Grant us forgiveness for when we've been careless, overwhelmed, distracted listeners.
Give us repentant hearts, honest, good hearts. Give us hearts for those who live around us and still need to hear the gospel from us and be taught this foundational lesson of what to do when we receive the seed of God. May we call them to be doers of your word. Oh, God, give us compassion, grace and boldness to be witnesses to those you put in our paths. For your glory, we pray.
Amen.
Amen. Feels like a mirror. You can just look at God's word and see what's reflected back. We're going to have an opportunity at the end of the service. The prayer ministry team will be up here, here.
I'll let them know in just one second when to come forward. But what a great opportunity to receive prayer, to act on what we just heard, and to. To ask these prayer ministry teams to pray for you about anything in particularly if you come to them and say, I just want to hear God better and I want to do what I hear right, to give me that strength and that courage to not only listen to God, but also do what he says. And so I want to give you an opportunity at the end of the service to come and pray that prayer among anything else that might be on your heart that God has laid there during this sermon. Hey, but before you head out, I do want you to do one simple thing.
We'll have a QR code on the screen. It's a great way to take a next step here. Go ahead and get your phone out and you can scan that. You can also do this the card. There's a couple next steps but that QR code will if you fill that form out, it'll give you about a text message for the next 13 days of just real simple things to do.
How to read the scriptures, how to pray, how to say yes to Jesus, how to get involved in community at the church. So that's a great resource for you. Encourage that a short little video each day and about a paragraph to read. And hey, if you want to receive prayer today, we will have the prayer ministry team up forward. So prayer ministry team, would you go ahead and start coming forward making your way up here now everyone else you can go ahead and stand with me this morning.
I'm going to pray for us. And hey, as you're being prompted thinking I want to come receive prayer prayer as I'm praying, I'm going to give you a chance to go ahead and start making your way forward so you don't get lost in the crowd and start following the crowd out. I think everyone has something to pray for this morning. Hey, let me pray for you. Go ahead and start coming forward if you want to see prayer as well.
Father, we are so grateful to gather in your name. God. We want to minister to each other. Father, would the Holy Spirit dwell in this place as we worship through prayer? God, we love you and may this resonate on our hearts as we go throughout the week.
In Jesus name we're thankful. Amen. Come forward, receive prayer. You are dismissed. Take a next step today.
If you're new, swing by the new here station. Got a gift for you. Love you guys. See you Sunday.
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Come and join us this Sunday at the Great Commission Church for a truly remarkable and uplifting experience. Great Commission Church is a family-friendly church in Olive Branch, MS. Great Commission Church is not just any ordinary place of worship; it's a vibrant community where faith comes alive, hearts are filled with love, and lives are transformed. Our doors are wide open, ready to welcome you into the warm embrace of our congregation, where you'll discover the true essence of fellowship and spirituality. At Great Commission Church, we are more than just a congregation; we are a family united by a common mission – to follow the teachings of Christ and spread His love to the world. As you step inside Great Commission Church, you'll find a sanctuary that nurtures your faith and encourages you to be part of something greater than yourself.
We believe in the power of coming together as a community to worship, learn, and serve. Whether you're a long-time believer or just starting your spiritual journey, Great Commission Church welcomes people from all walks of life. Our vibrant services are filled with inspiring messages, beautiful music, and heartfelt prayers that will uplift your soul. Every Sunday at Great Commission Church is an opportunity to deepen your relationship with God and connect with others who share your faith and values.
At Great Commission Church, we believe that faith is not just a solitary endeavor but a shared experience that strengthens and enriches us all. Our church is a place where you can find purpose, belonging, and the encouragement to live a life in accordance with Christ's teachings. Join us this Sunday at Great Commission Church and experience the transformative power of faith in action. Be part of a loving and supportive community that is committed to making a positive impact in our world. Together, we strive to fulfill the great commission to go forth and make disciples of all nations. We look forward to having you with us at Great Commission Church this Sunday, where faith, love, and community intersect in a truly amazing way.
Great Commission Church is a non-denominational, family-friendly Christian church located in Olive Branch, Mississippi. We are a short drive from Germantown, Southaven, Collierville, Horn Lake, Memphis, Fairhaven, Mineral Wells, Pleasant Hill, Handy Corner, Lewisburg and Byhalia. Great Commission Church is conveniently located, making it easy to find and attend. Many people have even called it their go-to “church near me” or the "Church nearby" because of how accessible it is and how quickly it feels like home.
See you Sunday at Great Commission Church in Olive Branch, Mississippi!
