"Devil Takes away Truths"

Devil Takes Away Truths

Luke 8:4-8 (NLT)

If you have been a Christian for a while, you have ridden the roller coaster of great joy in seeing someone make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, followed by awful disappointment as the same person later fell away from the faith. For a while he seemed to be dramatically changed. He got involved in the church. He was zealous for the things of God. But then a difficult trial hit. Perhaps he had a conflict with his relationship. His money turned funny. Or he had a personal health problem, or he lost a loved one. His zeal cooled off and gradually he stopped coming to church. Every effort to restore him failed. Today he is back in the world.

Others don’t fall away altogether, but their early enthusiasm wanes. They settle into a routine that includes going to church as long as there isn’t something “better” to do for the weekend. But God is not central in their lives. They are more focused on their things and on having a good time in life. They profess to be Christians, but they have no burden for the lost and no desire to serve God. They are living basically for self and for pleasure. But they are not living in light of eternity.

In the familiar parable of the sower, we see that even Jesus saw people respond superficially to His message. The problem was certainly not in His preaching, but in the audience’s hearing. The warning to those who hear the parable, of course, is to take it to heart so that we avoid a superficial faith. Whatever the current state of our hearts, we can appeal to God to grant us a new heart so that we will hold fast to Him and bear fruit with perseverance.

In the parable of Luke 8:4-15, Jesus likens the soils or grounds of a field to the different kind of people on this earth. Everybody falls into at least one of these four grounds. If you don’t like “your ground”, just know that the kinds of soils are not fixed forever. By God’s grace, a person can change. (can I get an Amen)

The Setting:

To understand this parable, we must see the context: Jesus’ ministry was immensely popular (8:4). People were journeying from great distances to hear Him speak. You have to understand something taking place right here. You see, many people confuse popularity with fruitfulness. When large crowds flock to a church, the preacher and the congregation think, “Look how God is blessing!” But is He truly blessing?

Jesus knew that large crowds did not equal God’s blessing unless those in the crowd were truly responding to God’s Word with saving faith. Jesus knew the selfish and fickle hearts of sinful men. He also knew the intensity of the spiritual conflict when the gospel is preached, that Satan waits to snatch the seed before it can take root in hearts. So He spoke this parable as a warning of the danger of a superficial response to the gospel.

Why did Jesus speak in a parable that even His disciples did not at first understand? Jesus explains in verse 10:

Luke 8:10 (NLT)

He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets[a] of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled: ‘When they look, they won’t really see. When they hear, they won’t understand.

Parables serve two functions: They reveal truth to those who are spiritually responsive (those that hear and believe); and they conceal truth from those who are spiritually superficial or scoffing (those that chose not to hear and believe).

1 Corinthians 1:21 (NLT)

Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.

The explanation:

Jesus explained this parable privately to His disciples. We need to make several correlations to grasp the meaning:
The seed is the Word of God (8:11). Of His own ministry, Jesus said

John 12:49-50 (NLT)

I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it. And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say.”

In other words, Jesus, the prophets, and the apostles were not religious geniuses who gave us their best ideas about God and man. It originates from the Father and the Holy Spirit

2 Peter 1:21 (NKJV)

for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit..

James 1:21 (NLT)

So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

Just as a seed has life in it, so the Word of God is alive and can impart life to those who are spiritually dead. Just as a seed has great power in it, so that it can sprout and grow to the point that eventually it cracks the foundation of a house, so the Word of God can germinate in the human heart and do a mighty work of transformation. Just as a seed can produce a tree that bears much fruit which gives nourishment, sustains life, and in turn produces more seeds to produce more trees and fruit, so the Word of God can bear fruit in human lives. (help me somebody)

This means that when we talk to people about Jesus Christ, we must share the content of the gospel from God’s Word. So often in our day, Jesus is presented as an emotional experience: “Believe in Jesus and you’ll feel better and your problems will be solved.” But many people know nothing of the Jesus in whom they are being encouraged to believe. To encourage a person who does not know what the Bible says about Christ, to believe in Christ, is to encourage a person to believe in a figment of his own imagination.

He needs to know something about who God is, who man is, and who Jesus is as revealed in the Word before he can intelligently repent of his sin and believe in Jesus Christ. (help me somebody)

The sower is the one who proclaims the gospel. Jesus was speaking primarily of Himself as the sower. But His followers are also sowers of the Word as they proclaim the gospel to those who are lost. One purpose of this parable is to encourage Jesus’ followers to sow the seed faithfully in spite of disappointing responses. Even Jesus knew that many would not respond rightly to His preaching, but He went on sowing the seed in obedience to the Father. The disappointing responses do not indicate a lack of power or effectiveness in the seed, but rather they point to the problem of the soil, the sinfulness of human hearts. (come on Jesus)

The four soils can be grouped into two categories: the unfruitful and the fruitful. All four soils hear the Word. The first soil is the only one not to accept it at all. The second soil accepts the seed briefly and shows initial promise, but it soon dies out. The third soil seems to make even further progress, but eventually the thorns choke it out. Only the fourth soil eventually bears fruit.

Luke 8:12 (NLT)

The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved.

Back up in Luke 8:5, it was the birds of the air who come and devour the seed. Here in Luke 8:12, it is the devil who comes and takes away the Word. The birds represent the devil. When the Word is preached, the devil does his best to keep people from hearing it and understanding it. He does his best to keep people from understanding and responding to it.

Jesus says that the devil takes away the Word, lest they should believe and be saved.

The word “saved” is what makes many people think this parable is about how to determine who has eternal life and who does not. But if you recall, the word “saved” in the Bible never refers to having eternal life. Whenever you see the word “saved” in the Bible, you should stop, substitute in the word “delivered,” and then look in the context to see what the deliverance is from, and what the conditions for this deliverance are. (can I get an amen)

As you know, eternal life is a free gift from God to anyone and everyone who simply believes in Jesus for it.

John 5:24 (NLT)

“I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.

But here in Luke 8, the salvation that Jesus is talking about has numerous other conditions. This should tell us right away that the word “saved” here does not refer to eternal life at all. The word “saved” in Luke is closely related to participating with God in the Kingdom of God, which means, allowing God to rule and reign in your life. When Luke uses the word “saved,” he is not referring to receiving eternal life, but is referring instead to receiving and acting upon God’s rule and reign in our life. (help me somebody)

When I was an associate pastor in a church, I counseled a man who had problems with alcohol and lust. As I talked to him one afternoon, he kept saying that he just wanted God to hit him over the head with a 2×4. He was tired of the struggle against sin, and wanted God to just knock him out with a 2×4.

Because he kept asking and I wanted to accommodate, I almost went and got a 2×4 and hit the man over the head. I didn’t, but I wonder what would have happened if I had. But instead we just kept talking about what the Bible said regarding this man’s struggles. The thing is that he didn’t want to hear what the Bible said. Instead, he just kept saying that it would be easier if God hit him with a 2×4.

This is what happens to those on the first type of ground. When any truth from the Word of God is proclaimed, Satan does his best to keep it from being understood and believed. He snatches it from the heart of the wayside soil before it can take root in the heart and bring about change.

So the first ground represents those people who do not respond to the Word at all. If they hear it, it goes in one ear and out the other. Our response should not be superficial. This often happens to non-Christians, but it also happens to Christians when we tune out the Holy Spirit or read the Bible and then do nothing about what it says. If we were to listen to what Scripture teaches, believe it, and then act upon it, we would be saved, or delivered, from whatever the Bible is warning us about. But if we just go away without hearing, understanding, believing, or acting upon the truth of the Word of God, this means that the devil is stealing the Word from you heart.

Colossians 2:6-7 (NLT)

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

Conclusion Illustration

There was a young couple at a conference with several small children, and it was obvious that they had some serious problems in their marriage. Both husband and wife became very engaged in the message. On the last day, they both came up to me and said, “We want you to know that when we came, we were ready to separate. We’re going back now stronger than we have ever been in our marriage.”

Same conference with the same speakers, the same truths, and the same surroundings, another man was turned off. He wasn’t open to God’s Word. He attended the first few sessions, but his guilt became so great and his conviction so deep that he went home early. His family left hurting, perhaps even more so than when they came.

What was the difference between those two men at the same conference? The difference was the condition of the ground of their hearts.

God wants each of us to check the ground of our hearts. Is it hard and resistant? Ask God for a responsive heart. Cultivate the seed of His Word every day. When you do, you will reap the fruit of eternal life in yourself and in others.