Luke 8:16-25

Notes
Transcript

Introduction

Last week we looked at the parable of the soils.
My belief is that most of the people attending church in this country are 3rd soil people.
Those are folks who Jesus described as...
Luke 8:14 ESV
14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
The riches and pleasures of life are a constant distraction for us, rich Americans.
Rich?? Who??
(Roof, food, clean water)
People who don’t have those things don’t have time to be distracted by them.
Mark - mourning in Wyoming.
The passage we looked at last week was about how different people receive, or don’t receive the gospel...
but...
as we continue today, we will see that it is also about how we hear the Word of God.
How well do you listen?
If you are like most people, it probably depends on a number of things.
Who is speaking?
Are you awake and alert?
So, going back into last week’s passage, let me ask you...

Do you have ears to hear?

When Jesus was speaking to the crowd...
(read from “As he said these things,”)
Luke 8:8 ESV
8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Then when he was speaking to the 12...
Luke 8:10 ESV
10 he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’
The question is, Why would Jesus not want people to understand??
Because it was the judgment of God on their unresponsive and impenitent hearts.
So, how did you hear the parable of the soils?
Did you hear the danger and the temptation of being 3rd soil people?
Did you say, Yeah, I really have to be constantly vigilant...
against being drawn away from the Word of God and my mission by...
the cares and riches and pleasures of life?
Or...
Did you think...
Some of these folks need to hear that?
Please be careful and prayerful about how you hear!
==
If you have been blessed to really hear the Word of God, please don’t take that for granted.
If you do not respond to what you hear, you may not be hearing for long.
So, let me ask you...

What do we do with what we hear?

Please read with me...
Luke 8:16–21 ESV
16 “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. 18 Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.” 19 Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” 21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”
Most of the times I have heard this passage preached...
I have heard that v. 17 means that someday all of your secret sins will be displayed before the watching world.
(elaborate)
Personally, I believe that would be a whiplash inducing change of subject from what Jesus has been talking about...
so...
I don’t think that is what he is talking about at all.
So, from the understanding that Jesus is talking about what to do with what we hear...
look again at v. 16
Luke 8:16 ESV
16 “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.
When we are given light, in other words...
when we actually hear...
We are to share what we have heard and share the light we have been given.
God does not give you truth for you to store up and horde...
He gives you truth for you to pass on to others.
What does the GC say?
Matthew 28:19–20 ESV
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
What God has taught us, we are to teach others.
What we have heard, we are to make sure others hear.
That is what v. 16 is talking about.
With that in mind let’s look at v.17
Luke 8:17 ESV
17 For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.
I believe Jesus is saying...
The truths that are now wrapped up in parables...
and...
secretly revealed to these disciples
should be made manifest by the disciples to others later on.
And...
That is exactly what they did.
The reason we have this clear understanding of this parable...
is...
what was hidden has been made manifest...
and
what was secret has been made known and come to light.
==
So, the first answer to our question of "what do we do with what we hear?”
is

We are to share with others what God has taught us.

Now, they won’t always listen.
I had three people that I tried to share the gospel with at different times this week.
Two of them acted like they were too busy to listen.
(that is rare, by the way)
Did I feel rejected?
Nope.
Neither were unpleasant.
I was just sad that they did not have ears to hear.
v. 16 and 17 have shown us that we are to share with others what God teaches us.
Let’s look at v. 18 to see that...

We are to treasure what God has taught us.

Luke 8:18 ESV
18 Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”
The more you read your Bible, the more you will want to read your Bible, and the more you will understand the Word.
The less you care about what God has to say, the less you will understand what God says.
If you want to get a well-rounded perspective on who God is, you need to read and re-read the Bible.
If you want to know God, then know His Word.
==
Next, we will see that...

We are to obey what God has taught us.

Look with me in verses 19-21
Luke 8:19–21 ESV
19 Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” 21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”
Remember what we are talking about in this passage.
- hearing and listening
In v. 21 Jesus says those who are in His family are the ones who “hear the word of God and do it.”
Therein lies the rub.
Most of us don’t mind hearing a decent sermon and enjoying good worship music that is done well...
but
Obeying the Word of God is where we start to separate the fans of Jesus from His followers.
If you didn’t sort of like or admire Jesus, you probably wouldn’t be here.
To obey him, though, is what his followers do.
If you look at the life of Jesus presented in the gospels, I think you will see that he was not after mere admirers.
He ran folks like that off.
Look with me in John chapter 6 for a moment.
(after the feeding of the 5k)
John 6:25–26 ESV
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.
Jesus said stuff that really challenged these fans.
John 6:51–54 ESV
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” 52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
Let’s see the difference between a fan and a follower...
John 6:66–68 ESV
66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,
When things get uncomfortable, fans leave...
but...
Followers say, “some of this is hard, impossible even without the Spirit doing it through me...
but...
You are the master - I am the slave...
so...
Yes sir!”
Fans listen and admire...
but...
Followers obey.
That is a really big, categorical difference.
It’s also the difference between...
a fairly well-behaved, morally decent, upstanding lost person on their way to hell...
and...
someone who has truly repented, been saved, and is bound for heaven.
A difference can’t get more important than that.
==
We are going to switch topics a little bit now and talk about how

We are to take comfort in God’s sovereignty.

Please read with me...
Luke 8:22–25 ESV
22 One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, 23 and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. 24 And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”
I think you will see that we aren’t totally switching topics...
because...
God’s sovereignty plays a large part in how people hear the Word of God and what we are to do when we hear.
We are about to have an election in the next few days that will have a huge impact on the future and fate of this nation.
Am I worried?
Unfortunately, yes.
We don’t need to be worried, though, because my hope is in my king and not my president.
We did not vote him in, and nobody can vote him out.
King Jesus will be on the throne, regardless of who our next president is.
==
Jesus had the ultimate understanding of God’s sovereignty...
and...
here we see him sleeping soundly in the midst of the storm.
((yeah, well we can’t calm our storms like he could))
((yeah, but he can still calm your storms - so trust him))
==
Remember that Luke has been teaching us that Jesus has authority over stuff?
We can add “creation” to that list of stuff.
(read the first part of the verse)
Luke 8:25 ESV
25 He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”
I’m pretty sure as I freak out over the election, Jesus would say to me, “Where is your faith?”
Let’s vote and trust Him.
Now, how does God’s sovereignty play into who hears and who does not hear?
God is the One who prepares the soils that we studied last week.
There are some Hyper-Calvinists that take the following attitude...
(God saves whom He will so we don’t need to witness.)
That is clearly wrong, because we are told to witness.
(kind of like saying ...
God is sovereign and knows the day of my death...
If I don’t eat or drink, I will die...
But if I don’t eat or drink, and I die that must have been God’s plan for me...
Right?)
If you asked me that, I would tell you to quit asking stupid questions and eat and drink.
That is why we vote and trust God.
The person God wants in the White House next year will be in the White House.
But...
We get to vote.
God uses means to accomplish His ends.
Who is going to hear and receive the Word of God and be saved?
Those whom God appoints to eternal life.
How do I know?
Acts 13:48 ESV
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.
God’s got this, so we don’t need to witness do we?
Of course we do!
We are the ones sowing the seed!
We are to share with others what God teaches us!
God is so sovereign that these things work together.
==
God will be perfectly faithful to carry out His part...
so let’s focus on carrying out our part.

What do we do?

Really hear the Word.
Share the Word.
Treasure the Word.
Obey the Word.
Trust God to sovereignly produce what He desires as we sow the Word liberally and indiscriminately.
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