Take Care How You Listen – Part 3
Luke 8:4-21 (16-21)
July 15, 2018
If you’ve been with us over the last few weeks
You know that we are in the middle of a VERY DIRECT
AND CONFRONTATIONAL SERMON that Jesus preached.
It actually began as a sermon of judgment
And has become a sermon packed with a very sobering warning.
It is a sermon about the importance of listening.
We’ve already walked through the first 3 points, but it’s important to hit them again quickly to maintain our continuity.
#1 THE PARABLE GIVEN
Luke 8:4-8
This was the initial sermon, and it was nothing but a farming analysis.
• On a spiritual level it was absolutely incomprehensible.
• On a practical level it was relatively unbeneficial.
All Jesus did was explain the common woes of farmers.
• Some seed lands on the foot path and the birds eat it
• Some seed lands on rocky soil and it withers
• Some seed lands in the weeds and it is choked
• Some seed lands in good soil and you get a crop
THAT WAS IT.
And that would have been all of the sermon
Had His disciples not pressed Him for more.
For in fact the sermon of Jesus had but one purpose
Which was to separate those who desired truth
From those who did not.
• Those who didn’t care about truth, would have been content with not understanding and would have gone home with nothing.
• Those who desired the truth determined to stay and dig deeper until Jesus made the point plain.
Which is what we saw next.
#2 THE PARABLE QUESTIONED
Luke 8:9-10
There we see that there were some in the crowd who wanted more.
They were willing to dig deeper.
And if you read this alongside Matthew’s gospel you find that the crowd
HAD TWO QUESTIONS.
1) Why did You speak in a cryptic parable?
2) What does it mean?
Well, both Matthew and Luke reveal the purpose behind preaching in parables.
• The purpose was to hide the truth.
• The purpose was to make the truth incomprehensible.
It was a form of judgment.
Where Jesus takes a group of people who would not listen to truth
And eventually determines to no longer give it to them.
We saw this played out most clearly in Isaiah’s ministry.
Both in his commissioning in Isaiah 6 and later in his ministry.
In fact Jesus quoted from the commissioning of Isaiah when He said:
(10) “And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that SEEING THEY MAY NOT SEE, AND HEARING THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND.”
It was judgment.
Which forced us to consider the terrifying reality:
What if God purposely hid the truth from you to keep you from hearing it?
That is terrifying since hearing and believing the gospel
Are essential for salvation.
That would be the ultimate form of earthly judgment.
And yet that is precisely what Jesus did with this crowd
Who had thus far ignored everything He had told them.
But the disciples were different.
• Not different in their comprehension (they didn’t get it either)
• But different in their desire.
So they ask Jesus what the parable meant.
They wanted the truth, they wanted it explained.
And that is what we saw last week.
#3 THE PARABLE EXPLAINED
Luke 8:11-15
Jesus cracked the riddle when He said “the seed is the word of God”
And all of a sudden it became clear.
• The farmer isn’t a farmer, he’s a preacher
• The seed isn’t seed, it’s God’s word
• The dirt isn’t dirt, it’s the human heart
And we saw the various responses to the gospel when it is proclaimed.
Some are hard (like the path)
• They aren’t interested and even though they hear it, they ignore it, and the devil helps them forget it or contradict it.
Some are shallow (like the rocks)
• They are all emotional, they don’t count the cost, they want salvation for the benefit only and when persecution or temptation comes, they leave.
Some are divided (like the weeds)
• They can’t give their heart fully to Christ because they have other idols already there that they are unwilling to part with. The result is no fruit.
Some are good soil.
• They aren’t shallow in their commitment they aren’t fickle with their love. They surrender it all for Christ and they produce fruit.
And upon understanding that parable we began to recognize
That while hearing the truth is certainly important,
More than just hearing is required.
All four of those hearts heard the word. They all went to church.
But only 1 of the 4 ended up being saved as a result.
It’s a serious point and it forced us to begin to examine our own hearts
Have I listened to the truth, counted the cost of the truth, and valued the truth?
And this morning we continue to get that opportunity because the Lord is now winding down His sermon with the all-important application portion of the sermon.
The Parable Given, The Parable Questioned, The Parable Explained
#4 THE PARABLE APPLIED
Luke 8:16-18
What Jesus is doing here is cutting off all excuses and all arguments.
Prevalent in Jesus’ day and also prevalent in our day
Is the problem of FALSE ASSURANCE
We actually talked about it last time.
James 1:22 “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”
It is a potent verse that reminds us that hearing is not enough.
• If we think we are Christians simply because we’ve heard the truth (and
possibly because we can regurgitate it) then we are sorely mistaken.
Hearing must be accompanied with obedience.
If we hear but don’t obey and yet still think ourselves to be a Christian
James says we have deluded ourselves.
AND THIS SORT OF THING HAPPENS.
Galatians 6:3 “For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”
1 John 1:8 “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.”
People continually like to convince themselves they are saved
Based upon their own criteria as opposed to God’s.
We see this in people like the man mentioned in Matthew 7
Who was convinced he was saved because prophesied in the name of Christ, worked miracles, and cast out demons.
But that wasn’t God’s criteria, that was his criteria.
God’s criteria is clear. It has always been the fruit of righteous obedience.
TURN TO: Isaiah 5
(I hope you are familiar with this chapter, but if you are not let’s introduce you)
It is called the song of the vineyard.
It is foundational because Jesus appeals to it in His preaching.
The song is easy to understand.
• We have a vineyard owner (God)
• And we have a vineyard (Israel)
And the first 2 verses explain all that God did in order to make His vineyard fruitful, and yet it was not.
And the question then arises in verses 3-4 “What more was there to do for My vineyard..?”
And the implication is “Nothing”.
It wasn’t Your fault.
So, God pronounces judgment on the vineyard.
The question is, what did the vineyard not give the vineyard owner that he desired? And the answer is “fruit”
(7) “For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel And the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.”
We learn there two important things.
1) The necessity of fruit (without it God judges)
2) The description of fruit (OBEDIENCE: justice & righteousness)
Now, TURN TO: John 15
And you hear Jesus make a very bold statement.
“I am the vine”
That is His way of saying,
That He is everything that God intended for Israel to be.
They failed, they were judged, but Jesus perfectly fulfilled
The justice and righteous obedience which God looked for.
And the only way we can now produce the fruit which God demands
Is if we are “in Him”.
And we know we are “in Him” by one defining characteristic.
(READ 1-6)
There again it is the importance of fruit.
And this isn’t the only place we learn this.
Luke 13:6-9 “And He began telling this parable: “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. “And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ “And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.'”
Or how about an object lesson from Jesus?
Matthew 21:18-19 “Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry. Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.”
Something you should know about fig trees is that
• They put on figs before they put on leaves.
• So a fig tree with leaves is broadcasting, “I have figs”.
However this was a lying fig tree.
• It was a hypocrite.
• It was also a picture of Israel.
• And Jesus cursed that fig tree (which would soon happen to Israel)
So I hope you’re getting the point.
Fruit is the absolute expectation of God.
AND THEREFORE FRUIT IS ALSO THE CHIEF INDICATOR OF SALVATION
(It proves you have listened to Christ and are now “in Him”)
And that is what we just saw in the parable of the soils.
• 3 soils produced no fruit, they were failures
• 1 soil produced fruit, it was a success
But regardless of the clear truth
It is inevitable that PEOPLE WILL ARGUE with it.
And probably one of the most common is:
I’M SAVED I JUST DON’T SHOW IT.
It is people who claim salvation in spite of a lack of fruit.
I’m a Christian.
• I may not talk like a Christian
• I may not give like a Christian
• I may not fellowship with other Christians
• I may not pray like a Christian
• I may not live like a Christian
But I’m a Christian
It’s the absurdity of a field with no crop
Adamantly arguing that it’s still acceptable.
And that is what Jesus addresses here.
He is addressing the problem of a field with no fruit that still insists on claiming salvation.
Jesus has 3 matter of fact statements for that person.
1) YOU WOULDN’T DO THAT (16)
In short, no one who has fruit would hide it.
(16) “Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light.”
Obviously you recognize that Jesus has now shifted His analogy.
Here He references light instead of fruit.
But He does this for a reason.
• He does this because of a fundamental belief Israel had about
themselves.
Namely that they believed themselves to be the light to the world.
Do you remember Paul addressing them in Romans 2?
Romans 2:17-24 “But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For “THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,” just as it is written.”
Paul is there addressing the false assurance of the Jews.
• Namely that they believed themselves to be saved when they were not.
• And in listing their false-assurances Paul mentioned that they were confident that they were “a light to those who are in darkness”
Now, let me carry this for you a little more.
Because this is one of the most misapplied verses in the Bible.
TURN TO: Matthew 5
Remember the Sermon on the Mount?
It starts with the beatitudes where Jesus exposes a truly righteous heart.
You need to know that the purpose of Matthew 5 is CONDEMNATION.
• Jesus is exposing the Jews as those who are not righteous.
• (See the “You have heard…but I say” sermons)
And early on in that sermon we read:
(VERSES 13-16)
And for years the church has sort of laid claim to that verse
And used it as a describer of what we are.
And that’s not totally false,
Since as believers we are to shine as lights in the world.
But the immediate application there was to Israel.
And in those verses Jesus is being SARCASTIC.
• Because you have people there who think themselves to be salt and light and
yet they are a people without flavor and who don’t shine.
Jesus is exposing their false assurance,
Just as He does in the rest of the chapter.
I point that out, because that is the same thing He is doing here.
He is confronting people who claim to be legitimate and yet have no fruit.
People who say, “It’s there I just hide it.”
And Jesus says, “IMPOSSIBLE”
“NO ONE after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand”
I mean to turn on the light and then cover it totally defeats the whole purpose.
That is absurd.
If you light a lamp then you display the light.
“so that those who come I may see the light.”
And the application is also simple.
If you had it, you’d shine it.
If you had fruit you’d display it.
You most certainly wouldn’t have and just keep it private.
No one does that.
You could also there make a pretty solid point about
THE EVANGELISTIC FAITHFULNESS of genuine believers.
People who have been transformed by Christ share Christ.
We live in a day when people love to share every experience they have.
• People see a movie they Facebook how awesome it was.
• People go on vacation they post pictures.
• People eat good Mexican food, they tell their friends.
You get the idea…that’s just what we do.
And the notion that someone would be forgiven of all their sin,
And transformed by the indwelling Holy Spirit
But keep it private is just an absurd notion.
NO ONE HIDES THEIR LIGHT.
You wouldn’t hide it
2) YOU COULDN’T HIDE IT (17)
“For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.”
Just in case we’re dealing with a really argumentative person,
Jesus continues.
He says “Fruit is essential”
This person says, “I have it, I just don’t show it.”
Jesus answers, “You wouldn’t do that”
And this person says, “Yes, I do”
And Jesus responds, “Well, that’s impossible”
For one thing, everything is revealed.
Moses said:
Psalms 90:8 “You have placed our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your presence.”
Solomon said:
Ecclesiastes 12:14 “For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
Paul said:
Romans 2:16 “God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.”
1 Corinthians 4:5 “Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.”
And we could read about how in the judgment the books are opened
And everything is brought to light.
God exposes everything.
But even beyond that Jesus isn’t just speaking about the judgment here.
Jesus is talking about today,
And the fact is, you can’t even hide it today.
Matthew 12:33-37 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. “The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
It’s the old Adrian Rogers quote:
“What’s down in the well, comes up in the bucket.”
It is obvious and apparent.
You know people by their fruit.
The book of 1 John is especially insightful here.
Here are a few:
1 John 2:3-4 “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;”
1 John 2:18-19 “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”
1 John 3:7-10 “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.”
1 John 4:20 “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.”
1 John 5:1-3 “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.”
It’s just obvious.
Even if you wanted to hide it, you couldn’t.
And in fact, you may think you’re fooling a lot of people.
In reality you’re most likely just fooling yourself.
As James said, you have deluded yourself.
Think of it like this.
If I were to take you to the zoo and we approached the elephant exhibit; and one of the elephants was dead and the other was alive, do you think you could tell the difference?
Well the unredeemed are spiritually dead, and the fruit is fairly obvious.
What is the point to all of this?
Well, examine your fruit.
Then look at the fruit, and know your heart
Examine whether or not you are that good soil that produces fruit.
If you’re not producing fruit then quit convincing yourself that your saved.
That is the point Jesus is making.
• If you had light you wouldn’t hide it.
• If you had light you couldn’t hide it.
And then there’s one more.
3) YOU SHOULDN’T HIDE IT (18)
(18) “So take care how you listen; for 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.”
Now we know that you can’t and you won’t,
But even if you could, then you shouldn’t.
First here Jesus gives the point to the entire section.
“So take care how you listen”
• This whole sermon has been about the importance of listening to God’s truth.
• This whole sermon has been about hearing and obeying what God has to say.
A failure to do that produces a lack of fruit.
And if you don’t have fruit, can I remind you of the problem?
You’re not getting any more truth.
That’s why even if it were possible (and it’s not) for you to hide your light.
YOU SHOULDN’T DO IT.
“for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken from him.”
Every Sunday as a child we’d eat at my grandmother’s house,
And when I was young my mom would always fix my plate.
And you know how it is for young boys.
Heavy on the rolls, potatoes and gravy, light on the vegetables.
But if you have a good mom like I do,
You know that you’re getting some of those vegetables.
Also, when she puts those potatoes on your plate, you first thing you say is, “Can I have some more of those?”
And every boy in here knows what his momma says.
“Eat what you’ve got and then you can have some more.”
(painful words to a growing boy)
She wasn’t trying to starve me. She’d gladly give me more.
She was just making sure I dealt with what I had first.
NOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND JESUS?
It CIRCLES BACK TO THAT FIRST PROBLEM we talked about
With people who were not granted the right to hear the truth.
Do you know why they were not granted the truth?
• Because they hadn’t done anything with the truth they had.
Do you know how we know they hadn’t done anything with the truth they had?
• Because they had no fruit.
So even if you could hide it, you shouldn’t.
Because the Lord graciously gives more
To those who take the truth He presents,
But those who don’t,
He takes away even what they think they have.
DO YOU SEE THE DANGER HERE?
“So take care how you listen”
FARMERS DON’T KEEP TENDING FRUITLESS FIELDS.
Can I point you again to what Jesus said?
John 15:1-2 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.”
Fruitful trees get pruned.
They get more attention to increase their fruit.
However:
John 15:6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.”
Fruitless trees get burned.
It really is quite simple.
• You must listen to what the Lord has to say.
• You must accept it.
• You must obey it.
• You must produce the intended fruit.
That is the Parable Applied.
The Parable Given, The Parable Questioned, The Parable Explained, The Parable Applied
#5 THE PARABLE ENFORCED
Luke 8:19-21
Here is a story that is so fitting
It’s just as an exclamation point on the end of the sermon.
Jesus is preaching and the crowd is listening to the sermon.
• And at that moment His family arrives, but they can’t get to the Lord.
• And so the word is passed up through the crowd to Him.
(20) “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You.”
And we see His answer.
(21) “But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”
No, Jesus was not being disrespectful to His mother.
Fast forward to the cross, Jesus cares for His mother.
Rather, Jesus was using their request
To drive the final nail in the coffin here.
He is talking about spiritual life and spiritual relationships.
• And we don’t identify the children of God by their allegiance to outward ceremony.
• Coming to this building every Sunday does not make you part of the church.
• Having your name on the ledger in the office does not make you a member of the church.
• Even being baptized does not make you a member of the church.
Those things may make you a member of First Baptist Church of Spur
But they do not make you a member of “The” Church.
Membership of the true church is a spiritual one.
• It is a fellowship that transcends physical ties.
• It is a fellowship that transcends common answers to common questions.
The fellowship of the true church is a spiritual fellowship
With one overarching and unifying characteristic.
“My mother and My brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”
It can’t be any clearer.
True Christians listen to God and do what He says.
Failure to listen or Failure to obey; both prove a lack of salvation.
This is why we stress over and over
“Take care how you listen”
And friend all we can say at this point is that
IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT EACH ONE EXAMINES HIS HEART.
• Do you delight in the word of God?
• Do you study it?
• Do you read it?
• And when God’s word gives direction to your life, do you obey it?
THAT’S THE CRITERIA.
If it’s not you, then it’s time to repent of your sin,
And run to Jesus in full submission.
• Trust in His atoning work to forgive you for your pride and arrogance to fail to listen to God.
• Submit to Him as your Lord and do what He says.
And in so doing enter the family of God.
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear”
