Luke 8:4-15

4 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a

parable: 5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden

down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it

withered away, because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. 8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

    Here we have one of the parables of Jesus. A parable is a physical happening which is used to illustrate a great spiritual truth. Many times the same principles operate in both the seen and the unseen realm. The purpose of a parable was usually two fold. First of all it was used to enlighten those saved by grace. Verse 10a. Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God... Secondly, it was used to blind those that had never been saved. Verse 10b. ... but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. 

    This parable explains the reasons for the acceptation as well as the rejection of the Gospel. The Gospel is like seed that are broadcast by a sower. The seed is the word of God. In spite of the Gospel being the greatest message in the world many who hear it reject it. The problem is not the Gospel; but the problem is the disposition of the hearts of the hearers. At the same time the good heart receives the Gospel and bears fruit. The four types of soil describe the different inward conditions of those that hear the Gospel. There are those that readily receive the message. Then there are those that receive it in different ways. Then there are those that completely reject the message.

THE FIRST GROUP OF HEARERS ARE LIKE THE SEED THAT FELL BY THE WAYSIDE. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts. Their hearts are like ground that is not prepared for planting. This describes the hearts of many for the vast majority will never trust the Christ of the Gospels.

    They may go to church and they may hear the word but they allow the devil to interfere and keep them from being saved. II Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. Many will not go to church but the devil always goes to church so he can hinder the preaching of the word. He does everything he can possibly do in order to drag souls into hell with him.

    Like the birds of the air he will pick up the seeds of the Gospel which fall on the surface of the heart. It never has the opportunity to sink beneath the surface and germinate. The devil’s main goal is to hinder the gospel.

    This is probably the largest group of all. Matthew 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

    There will be more religious people in hell than atheists. Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Some of these will be those who have heard the Gospel Sunday after Sunday and have rejected it Sunday after Sunday! Don’t let the devil snatch the Gospel out of your heart and cause you to burn in hell!

THE SECOND GROUP OF HEARERS ARE LIKE THE SEED THAT FELL UPON A ROCK. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root... These were the seed sown in rocky ground which have no opportunity to put down roots and grow very long. Seeds under these circumstances may sprout and show great promise to start with, but the plants never last long enough to bear any fruit.

    They represent shallow hearts and lives without substance. Those in this class of hearers may respond quickly and even make a profession of faith and get baptized but they soon quit or give up when the heat is on. These are those who help you have a quick and short lasting revival. After a few weeks you cannot get them in church; much less the baptistery. Are they truly saved? Who knows for sure.

    They are like the story of the cat that was found frozen in a deep freeze When we were having revival services at the first church I pastored, the evangelist was kidding one of the members. He told the story about a missing cat that someone found in their freezer. Of course the cat was frozen solid. They put some gasoline on the cat’s tongue and all of a sudden the cat jumped up and ran around the room and then fell over. The member asked did it die? And the evangelist relied, “No it run out of gas!” Isn’t that like many emotional people they get all excited when they hear the Gospel and they take off running and before you know it they run out of gas (their emotions die down) and that is the end of their religion. They are the ones that make people like Billy Graham look good. 

THE THIRD GROUP OF HEARERS IS REPRESENTED BY THE SEED THAT FELL AMONG THE THORNS. Verse 14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life. Those in this group are already preoccupied with the things of this world therefore carnal things choke out the spiritual things and they live a hindered life. They fail to produce fruit for the LORD.

    They are covetous and more concerned with money than with the things of God. Luke 12:15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

    I Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. The love of money is one of the biggest problems of traditional Baptists. Money not truth is the test of fellowship with them. It doesn’t matter, how much they sing, “Oh, how I love Jesus,” they still love the almighty dollar more than they love Jesus. And they talk more about how much things cost than they do the LORD. They may be faithful church attendees and supporters of the church but the bottom line is always money.

THE FOURTH CLASS OF HEARERS IS REPRESENTED BY THE SEED THAT FELL ON GOOD GROUND. 15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

    Say what you will, it takes a good solid heart to be spiritually productive in the Christian life. Most will immediately tell you that the fruit of the spirit is the salvation of a soul. Of course, this is of utmost importance, but the scriptures say differently. Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Ephesians 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

CONCLUSION: 

ARE YOU BEARING FRUIT OR DO YOU JUST LEAF?