Luke 8:5-15 - How Is Your Heart?

Luke 8:11 (KJV)  Now the parable is this: The seed is the word
of God.
Luke 8:12 (KJV)  Those by the way side are they that hear; then
cometh the
devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they
should
believe and be saved.
Luke 8:13 (KJV)  They on the rock are they, which, when they
hear, receive
the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while
believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
Luke 8:14 (KJV)  And that which fell among thorns are they,
which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and
riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
Luke 8:15 (KJV)  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.

Usually known as the Parable of the Sower, it could better be
called the
Parable of the Soils. [Wycliffe Bible Commentary]

The word "hear" is used nine times in these verses, for it is by
our hearing that we take the Word into our hearts where it can
create faith (Rom. 10:17). The Word is like seed because it has life in
it and can produce fruit when it is planted (received and
understood). The human heart is like soil and must be prepared if the Word is
to be planted and fruitful. [Wiersbe Expository Outlines]

That some of the seed produced no crop was not the fault of the
faithful
farmer or of the seed. The yield depended on the condition of
the soil where the seed fell.... "Path" people, like many of the
religious leaders, refused to believe God's message. "Rock" people, like
many in the crowds who followed Jesus, believed his message but never
got around to doing anything about it. "Thorn patch" people,
overcome by worries and the lure of materialism, left no room in their
lives for God. "Good soil" people, in
contrast to all the other groups, followed Jesus no matter what
the cost.
Which type of soil are you? [Life Application SB]

The fate of the word of God depends on the heart into which it
is sown.
(a) The hard path represents the shut mind, the mind which
refuses to take
it in.
(b) The shallow ground represents those who accept the word but
who never
think it out and never realize its consequences and who
therefore collapse
when the strain comes.
(c) The thorny ground stands for those whose lives are so busy
that the
things of God get crowded out. We must ever remember that the
things which
crowd out the highest need not necessarily be bad. The worst
enemy of the
best is the second best.
(d) The good ground stands for the good heart. The good hearer
does three
things. First, he listens attentively. Second, he keeps what he
hears in his mind and heart and thinks over it until he discovers its
meaning for
himself. Third, he acts upon it. He translates what he has heard
into
action. [Barclay Commentary]

Only when I reach the point where I solemnly place great store
upon what he
says will it ever become a powerful force in my life.
Only when I really take Him seriously will His word be made
Spirit and life
(supernatural life) to me.
Only when I recognize that what I am hearing is in fact and in
truth divine
revelation designed by deity for my own good, will I hear it as
a word from
above.
God has chosen to articulate Himself to me as a man in four
ways: through
the natural created universe around me; through His word
expressed by
inspired men who reported it in human language I can read and
understand;
through the person of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh,
exemplified in
human form; through those other men and women in whom He deigns
to reside by His own Gracious Spirit.
He may speak to me deliberately and distinctly through any one
or all of
these ways. It is my responsibility then to recognize: "O God,
You are
communicating with me. I will listen. I do recognize Your voice
communing
with me.". . .
I must set aside whatever else preoccupies my thoughts and give
my undivided attention to the Lord.
It is not good enough to "half listen" to God. He demands my total
concentration on what He is conveying to me. He knows that
anything less
will leave me half-hearted....
My positive response results in immediate action on my part. His
will is
done. His wishes are carried out. His desires are complied with
happily His
commands are executed without delay or debate.
In short I simply do what He asks me to do.
This is faith in action-the faith of obedience.
This is the gateway into the good ground of God's garden.
This is to "hear" the Word and have it come alive.
This is to have Him implant the good seed of His good intentions
for me in
the good, warm, open, prepared soil of my responsive soul.
The seed will germinate. The young plants will prosper and grow
vigorously.
There will be fruit production of His choosing-a harvest that
delights Him
and refreshes others. (From A Gardener Looks at the Fruits of
the spirit by
Phillip Keller) [Inspirational SB]

Seeds Tell The Truth
Seeds are very interesting little things. Did you know that
seeds tell us a
very important story? Suppose you plant some seeds and you don't
know what
they are. When they produce plants, you can tell what kind of
seeds they
were. Seeds come in all sizes. The Bible talks about the mustard
seed (see
Mark 4:31, 32) as being the smallest of the seeds, yet it grows
into a big
plant.
I remember when I was a boy my grandmother asked me to help her
plant some
seeds in our garden. I said OK, so she gave me a package of
squash seeds and asked me to plant these seeds in hills, three seeds in
a hill. Then I was to cover them lightly with soil. I started down
the row. I would mound up the dirt, then dig a hole in it, put in
three seeds, cover them up lightly, and then go on to the next one. It
was a long row. By the time I reached the end of the row I was tired
of bending over. I still had quite a few seeds and should have
started another row, but instead I just dumped the rest of the seeds
into the hole and covered them up, thinking, Grandma will never
know.
Days went by, and with Grandmother's watering and the sunshine,
the seeds
began to sprout. You can imagine my surprise when she asked me
to come to
the garden and showed me that hill where I dumped the last of
the seeds.
There were not just three little plants but a whole bunch. She
scolded me
and told me that these little plants told her the whole story.
She knew what I had done.
God's Word is like seeds. If we put only a little of it into our
lives
people will be able to tell because only a little will show. But
if we put a lot of God's Word into our lives much will show, and
people will know that we spend time with God and His Word. God's
promises in His Word and other great truths and counsels are to help us
on the path toward heaven. We'll know which path to take. Pray
today that God's Word will grow in your life, and you will know which
path to take - the one that leads to heaven. [Talking Trees & Singing
Whales by Charles C. Case]