Sermon Tone Analysis

*Who Shall Be Saved?*

*April 16, 2000               Luke 8:4-21*

* *

*What is the Subject: The Big Question of the passage?*

What are the characteristics of those who bear the fruit of saving faith as part of the family of God?

 

*Introduction: *(secular, personal, biblical, textual)

 

In last week's message about the sinful woman in Luke 7:36-50, we learned that it is possible to become friends with Jesus when we trust the genuineness of his friendship to attract us, the power of his friendship to protect us, and the forgiveness of his friendship to transform us.

Those that became his friends, like that woman, followed him and served him and ministered through him.

They were indeed transformed into a family following.

Jesus was, and is, the friend of sinners.

His fame grew far and wide.

In the beginning of this morning's passage in Luke 8:4-21 we find a large crowd gathering around him from town after town.

Many of these people were just curious, some would respond at various levels of faith, at least for awhile, and some would remain with him and become true disciples as family members.

It was time to separate the men from the boys (so to speak) and the women from the girls.

Here is the issue of maturity.

But how was Jesus going to accomplish that?

And who is it that will be saved?

What are the characteristics of those who bear the fruit of saving faith as part of the family of God?

I know that when I first attended ISU, the story was common there, as I'm sure it is in all colleges, that they try to flunk you out as a freshman.

The reason for this is so that they don't spend their resources on dead wood over the next four years it takes them to instruct you, or attempt to do so, to get you a degree.

Now, I don't believe this is specifically true in any place of learning or profession.

But by default it does take place.

No one wants you to flunk, but by virtue of the requirements involved, some will flunk because they can't meet them.

If everyone could meet the requirements without effort and sacrifice, there would be little challenge or accomplishment.

Every profession or job has its beginning stages where you either prove out or you don't.

It is no different with God's kingdom (place of employment).

But no wonder the requirements are stiff – you can't beat the personal relationship with the boss or the tenure, among other things.

Many will want a piece of the action.

/Luke 16:16  "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John.

Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it./

He doesn't want anyone to perish, but it is inevitable that some will perish because they still hold allegiance to the prince of this world (devil), are too weak to pass the test, or ultimately loved the world more than its rightful ruler.

They thought the kingdom was just plain stupid, found it harder than they imagined, or that it was inconveniently opposed to their real desires for this present world.

Like anything worth doing, we must start by learning.

And so Jesus teaches this crowd in his characteristic style of parables.

Who is it that would become part of his family?

He wanted to tell them.

Who is it that would listen?

How would they listen?

How do you listen?

Now many people in the world seem to have selective hearing.

A hundred people can listen to the same message and come up with a hundred different understandings.

I remember my great grandfather who was in his 90's when I knew him.

The subject of his hearing was the brunt of many family jokes.

Whenever you wanted to talk to him you had to yell and scream to make yourself barely heard.

But it seems that whenever anyone was talking about him, even in the lowest voice in the next room, like about sending him to a nursing home, his hearing was near perfect.

Then I remember my grandfather whom I later had many more conversations with, and found that this was a family trait.

I fear that I may get there myself someday.

I beg your patience with my imperfections.

But in some ways, isn't this just like it is with so many people?

They hear what they want to hear.

What is it that makes a difference what you hear, especially about the Word of God?

This parable and Jesus' explanation of it will tell us.

What are the characteristics of those with saving faith –that is, about who they are and how they listen?

*I.

Cycle One – The Parable of the Sower, the Seed, and the Soil*

 

*          A.

Narrative (8:4-15)*

 

Note here in this parable that Jesus tells to the crowd, and then explains privately to his disciples:

 

The farmer who sows the seed is God – here it is Jesus as God in the flesh.

The seed is the Word of God that goes out – here it is Jesus who speaks.

The soils are the hearts of those in the crowd, and our own hearts as well, who hear the teaching of Jesus.

Note that there are four kinds of soils upon which the seed of his teaching falls:

Note that there are four kinds of responses by the soils to his teaching – which illustrates the deeper conditions of the hearts that the soils represent:

Note that there are four kinds of causes that impact these hearts who hear:

 

*          Soil                                Heart                                       Cause*

          Road~/Hard                     Impacted                        Devil

          Rocky~/Thin                    Doubtful                        Testing

          Weedy~/Overgrown                  Compromised                Worldliness

          Fertile~/Productive          Good                              Love for God's Word

 

Note that it is only the good soil that keeps the Word of God and raises a mature crop.

It is the Word of God that raises a mature crop in the good soil.

Jesus looks at the reaction people have to the Word of God over time, since it always takes time to grow a crop from seed – it is a process.

1Cor.

15:35-36 further explains the process and the end result.

/35 ¶ But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised?

With what kind of body will they come?"

36  How foolish!

What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

37  When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.

38  But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.

(1 Corinthians 15:35-38 NIVUS)/

 

The seed is the news of the Kingdom of God that goes out into the world to reap converts to eternal resurrection life.

We are changed because of the seed.

The fruit of faith is eternal life.

Jesus gives the reason for speaking in parables.

It is so they will be a blessing for those who understand and a judgment to those who don't understand.

He is doing some weeding before hand, some gardening work in the Kingdom of God.

He is doing a soil survey.

The ground "speaks."

/Genesis 4:10  The LORD said, "What have you done?

Listen!

Your brother's blood/ /cries out to me from the ground./

The parables have a purpose of revealing soil.

It is a method of farming.

He is making room for those with good hearts.

He doesn't want to waste his seed.

And he spends his seed wisely upon his disciples to whom he gives his personal instruction.

*          B.

Implication*

 

The first characteristic of those who bear the fruit of saving faith as part of the family of God is that they have a good and fertile heart, ready to receive and retain and persevere in the Word of God.

 

*C.