SERMON OUTLINE

The Parable of the Sowing

The Single-Minded Heart

Matthew 13.8, 23; Mark 4.8, 20; Luke 8.8, 15

Introduction

-Some do not understand; the Evil One takes Word away

-Some immediately respond then quit when scandalized

-Some allow anxiety, riches, other desires to chock Word

-Others bear much fruit

Hearing the Word of God

-They must hear to be able to respond. Romans 10.14-15

-We are to share the Good News as individuals and as a church. Matthew 28.19-20

Understanding the Word of God

-They understand obedience and consequences

-They understand what needs to be followed and left

-They understand justification and holiness

-Understanding directly connected to bearing fruit and not understanding to the Evil One taking away the Word. Matthew 13.19,23

Accepting the Word of God

-Admit, welcome, embrace the Word and do not reject it.

-Directly connected to bearing fruit. Mark 4.20

Holding Fast to the Word

-Firmly possess some things and let go of other things

Persevering in the Word

-Steady, patient, obedience and service for fruit.

An Honest and Good Heart

-Willing to admit sin and need for God and inclined toward goodness. Luke 8.15

Conclusion

We find in these people all that was missing in the other groups – understanding, acceptance of the Word, holding fast and perseverance. A total engagement by the Word of God. The heart condition is the key.

SERMON NOTES

The Single-Minded Heart Matthew 13.3-9, 23; Luke 8.15

-This morning we are going to study together the last of four descriptions that Jesus gave us of how people respond to the Word of God. We have already learned that some people hear the Word of God and do not understand it and the Evil One takes that Word away from them.

-Others hear the Word of God and immediately respond to it even though they do not really understand the consequences of obeying God. When persecution and affliction result because of the Word of God they are scandalized and quit.

-Others hear the Word of God but allow anxiety, and riches, and the desire for other things to chock the Word of God so it does not bear any fruit in their lives.

-In these three kinds of people the Word of God produces little change and no mature fruit. In this fourth kind of people the Word of God meets conditions that lead to bearing much fruit. Let’s examine why there is fruit in this last group.

1) The first step in the fruit bearing process begins by hearing the Word of God. We are told that each of the four kinds of people hear the Word of God so we see nothing new in this first step. But note that the Word of God must be brought to these people in order to begin the process that leads to fruit. We are responsible to sow the Word of God in the lives of those around us. As Paul says in Romans 10.14-15, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’ ” Our calling as individual believers is to tell the good news to those around us so that they can hear of Jesus and believe. As a church we are to encourage through prayer and giving, the work of all those who share the Good News with those who have never heard it.

2) The second step in the fruit bearing process is that they understand the Word of God. They understand that they are sinners in need of a Savior. They understand the work of the cross and justification and the need for holiness and a changed life. They understand the obedience that God requires and they understand the consequences of that obedience. They understand what they need to leave behind and what they need to follow after. They know what God has done, what God demands, and what following God will cost them. The other three types of people do not understand the Word of God but this group does. When Matthew records Jesus’ description of this last group he directly connects understanding the Word of God with bearing fruit, “And the on the good ground sown, this is the one the word hearing and understanding, who indeed bears fruit and produces one indeed a hundred, the other sixty, the other thirty”. (13.23) Matthew also directly connects not understanding with the Word of God being taken away by the Evil One. Understanding is important to bearing fruit.

3) The third step in the fruit bearing process is that they accept the Word of God. Mark 4.20 says, “they hear the word and accept it”. The Greek word used here means to admit, to welcome, to embrace, and is the opposite of reject. There is a willingness to take in the Word of God and submit to its authority. When Mark records Jesus’ description of this last group he directly connects acceptance of the Word of God with bearing fruit, “Those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold”.

4) The fourth step in the fruit bearing process is that they hold fast to the Word of God. Luke writes, “in an honest and good heart hearing the word hold fast and bear fruit”. Hold fast means to firmly possess some things and to let other things go that may hinder holding fast to the Word of God. Unlike the second group which holds to the Word of God only until persecution comes, or unlike the third group which tries to hold on to the world and the Word at the same time, this group holds fast to the Word of God in a single-minded way with an honest and a good heart. They understand God’s desire and design from the Word of God and they accept the authority of the Word of God over their life and they hold fast to the teachings of the Word of God and so bear fruit.

5) The fifth step in the fruit bearing process is that they persevere in the Word of God. Luke writes that they bear fruit “with patience”. They do not turn away from God’s purpose as expressed in the Word of God but steadily follow after it. They are steadfast and enduring in holding fast to the Word of God and do not quit. They do not allow obstacles to turn them aside. They may get discouraged, disillusioned, even quit for a time but they never really give up. They do not allow the pursuit of other things to consume their time and energies. In steady, patient, obedience and service they pursue God and His will and fruit is produced.

-The amount of fruit varies but fruit is evident in their character and in their service to God.

–Hearing the Word of God and then understanding it and accepting it, and then holding fast with perseverance, is the process at work in this group of people who are fruitful. Why do these people understand and accept the Word of God and then hold fast and persevere in obeying it? Luke helps us to know why by giving us a description of the heart of this people. In the previous three groups of people we are not told what their heart is like but we can assume the condition of their heart from their response to the Word of God. We assume that the heart of the first group is hard, that the heart of the second group is impulsive, and that the heart of the third group is pre-occupied with other things. But in this fourth group we are told the condition of the heart of the hearers. Luke 8.15 says that they have “an honest and good heart”.

-Jesus said this is the good soil, (same word as good heart). The heart that is honest is willing to admit sin and a need for God. The good heart is inclined toward goodness. This heart understands and readily accepts the Word of God and then holds it fast and perseveres in it. This is a heart that has been prepared by God’s Spirit and by Christian example and by the Word of God to respond to God in a way that will bear fruit.

-In this group we find all that was missing in the other three groups. We find understanding of the Word of God. We find them holding fast to the Word of God and persevering instead of quitting under persecution. We find singleness of purpose which is willing to say NO to the world and YES to God. We find fruit. We find in this group a total engagement of the heart, the mind, and the will to the Word of God which is bearing fruit for God.

-Jesus told the parable of the sowing to teach his followers how people respond to the Word of God. Some ignore the Word of God and experience no spiritual change. Some obey the Word of God and are willing to make changes as long as it does not require too much sacrifice and persecution. Some fit the Word of God into a busy life and continue to do what they really want to do and little change is evident. Praise God that some understand what the Word of God teaches, accept it, hold fast to it, and persevere in it and see change in their life that brings Glory to God.

-The key to bearing fruit for God in our life is the condition of our heart. Our heart is conditioned by our temperament, our circumstances, the experiences of our life, our family and friends, the teaching we are exposed to, the choices that we make, and most importantly our sinful nature. Added to these influences upon the heart is the working of the Holy Spirit and the authority of the Word of God.

-The Holy Spirit along with the Word of God is able to soften the hard heart, to convict the impulsive heart, to draw the worldly heart, and to strengthen the good heart. The influences of our past and the pull of our sinful nature can only be overcome by the motivation and power of the Holy Spirit at work in us. We need to constantly call upon God for Grace and then step toward God in obedience to His Word.

-This morning you may want nothing to do with the God of the Bible and born-again Christianity. You have your own religion or no religion and you are quite happy with that. I pray that God will show you that you are in eternal danger of dying in your sins and living in hell for all eternity, so that your heart may be softened toward God and you may be willing to hear and understand.

-This morning you may be drawn to the hope of eternal life but you are not willing to be mocked and ridiculed as a follower of Christ. You pretend to be a Christian in church but you know you are not a true follower of Christ because your heart is not in love with Jesus and you are not willing to give a public confession of faith in Jesus Christ. I pray that your misery will grow until Jesus is more important to you than what others think about you.

-This morning you may profess to be a follower of Jesus Christ but the world is more important to you than Jesus. You love the world and the things of the world. I pray that God will discipline you in order for you to see that Jesus is more precious to you than the world can ever be. I pray that God will give you an eternal perspective on the world.

-This morning you may understand that Jesus Christ is Lord and that He is your Savior. You have given yourself to Him with single-minded purpose even through all the struggles and difficulties of life. I pray that Jesus will become more precious to you than ever and that your eternal perspective will grow and grow.

-No matter where you see yourself this morning, you can come to God and ask Him to produce in you an honest and good heart so that you may be more receptive to the Word of God. Ask God for Grace so that you will have a heart for Him. The place to begin any change is to bow humbly before God.

-May God richly bless all of you as you look to Him.