Grosey's Messages

Luke 8:4-15  The Parable of the Four Soils.

¹ Soon afterwards He was traveling from one town and village to another, preaching and telling the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with Him,
² and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary, called  Magdalene (seven demons had come out of her);
³ Joanna the wife of Chuza,  Herod's steward; Susanna; and many others who were supporting them from their possessions.

⁴ As a large crowd was gathering, and people were flocking to Him from every town, He said in a parable:
⁵ "A sower went out to sow his seed. As he was sowing, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the sky ate it up.
⁶ Other seed fell on the rock; when it sprang up, it withered, since it lacked moisture.
⁷ Other seed fell among thorns; the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.
⁸ Still other seed fell on good ground; when it sprang up, it produced a crop: 100 times [what was sown]." As He said this, He called out, "Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!"

⁹ Then His disciples asked Him, "What does this parable mean?"
¹⁰ So He said, "The secrets of the kingdom of God have been given for you to know, but to the rest it is in parables, so that Looking they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

¹¹ "This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.
¹² The seeds along the path are those who have heard. Then the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
¹³ And the seeds on the rock are those who, when they hear, welcome the word with joy. Having no root, these believe for a while and depart in a time of testing.
¹⁴ As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and produce no mature fruit.
¹⁵ But the seed in the good ground—these are the ones who, having heard the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it and by enduring, bear fruit.

Two people walk into the same church and hear the same message. To one it is entirely boring, to the other it is completely gripping, God has spoken to his heart! What makes the difference?

The Lord Jesus spoke this familiar Parable, one which speaks to the difference.

There is an old poem:

"One ship sails East and another West

With the self-same wind that blows.

'Tis the set of the sail and not the gale,

Which determines the way that it goes."

The Lord Jesus spoke of four people that hear God's Word.

1.The Person Who Has a Closed Mind. They have a Hard Heart.

⁵ "A sower went out to sow his seed. As he was sowing, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the sky ate it up.

The Lord Jesus explained the meaning of this parable:

¹¹ "This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.
¹² The seeds along the path are those who have heard. Then the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

2.The Person Who Has A Cloudy Mind. They have a Shallow Heart.

⁶ Other seed fell on the rock; when it sprang up, it withered, since it lacked moisture.
The Lord explained: ¹³ And the seeds on the rock are those who, when they hear, welcome the word with joy. Having no root, these believe for a while and depart in a time of testing.

3.The Person Who Has A Cluttered Mind. They have a Crowded heart.

⁷ Other seed fell among thorns; the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.

¹⁴ As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and produce no mature fruit.

Worries choke the Word.

All these worry problems cause us to tune out. The corona virus problem has consumed much of our thinking and feeling over this week. We are living in unprecedented times!

Wealth chokes the Word.

Wants choke the Word.

Other things get in to our minds and there just isn't room for the Word of God to take root in our minds and hearts.

To over-come this your need to have a Hunger for God's Word.

James offers some helpful encouragement.

He says You should Tune In.  Worry about Wealth and Health and Wants causes us to tune out from God's Word.

James says James 1: ¹⁹ My dearly loved brothers, understand this: everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
²⁰ for man's anger does not accomplish God's righteousness.
²¹ Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and evil excess, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save you.
²² But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
²³ Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror;
²⁴ for he looks at himself, goes away, and right away forgets what kind of man he was.
²⁵ But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who acts—this person will be blessed in what he does.

To Tune In To God's Word you need to Allocate time.

Set aside time each day to read God's Word. If you don't allocate the time you won't read God's Word. Settle on it that each day you shall read God's Word.  You need to Receive God's Word!

To Tune In You Need To

Tone Down: Cultivate your Heart.

 James says : ¹⁹ My dearly loved brothers, understand this: everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
²⁰ for man's anger does not accomplish God's righteousness.
²¹ Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and evil excess, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save you.
There are things to get rid of out of your mind and heart.

Look at the list there: Anger! Impatience! Moral Filth!

Receive God's Word!

Repent of these things!

Eliminate Distractions.

Evil Excess! That is getting carried away with fear, anxiety, and anything else that takes your attention from God.

Refocus on God!

Tune In! Receive God's Word! Allocate Time!

Tone Down! Repent! Cultivate Your Heart! Eliminate the Distractions! Refocus on the Lord!

Sweeten Up.  ²² But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Look at how the Lord Jesus reminds us that the good soil bears fruit!

4. A Committed Mind, A Consecrated Heart

⁸ Still other seed fell on good ground; when it sprang up, it produced a crop: 100 times [what was sown]."

¹⁵ But the seed in the good ground—these are the ones who, having heard the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it and by enduring, bear fruit.

The fruit is seen in our contact with others. We bear fruit a hundredfold. Other people changed as we are changed. We bear fruit in other people. Who are you affecting with the gospel? Cooperate with God in bearing fruit! Help others know the Lord Jesus.  Bear fruit!