LUKE 8:11-15 INSIGHTS FOR SHARING2012 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 8:11-15 Insights For Sharing

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You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2012.

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But here we are in Luke chapter 8, looking once again at the parable of the sower. Now this is our fourth week looking at the parable of the sower, and this will be our final week in this parable, unless God changes it this week as I look again at his word. But as far as I know, this is the final week as we look at this parable. And the past three weeks we've been looking at the parable really from the aspect of self-evaluation.

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We first of all started looking at the different kinds of soils and seeing the heart conditions that are represented there. And so we saw the wayside soil and that represented the hardened heart. We saw the rocky soil that represented the shallow heart. Then we saw the thorny soil, which represents the divided heart. And then the good soil, which represents the committed heart.

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And so we got to see and to examine ourselves and allow God to speak to us regarding the condition of our hearts by this parable, these illustrations of these different kinds of soil that Jesus is talking about.

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Well, then the next week we talked about working the soil. Now that we know our heart condition, now that God's been kind of showing and revealing us those issues within our hearts, the good news is that we don't have to stay in that condition, but that he's given us tools to work the soil and to really develop bad soil into good soil. And so we learned how to soften the hardened heart and to deepen the shallow heart and devote the divided heart.

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Well, then last week we looked at the source of bad soil. What is it that causes our hearts to be in those bad conditions? And we saw the source looking at 1 John 2, verse 16. We saw that pride is what hardens the heart.

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And it's our flesh, our sinful nature, that limits the heart, that causes us to be shallow. And it's the eyes that distract our heart and cause us to be divided. And so we learned to ask God for help to break that pride. We learned to deny ourself and take up the cross to follow Jesus, that we would not be limited or shallow, and then to set our mind on things above, that we would not be distracted or divided in our hearts before the Lord.

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And so we've been spending this time evaluating and letting God speak to us about our condition. Now as we spend our final time in the parable of the sower this morning, the subject we're looking at today is insights for sharing. And so there's five things I want to point out to you from our passage this morning about sharing with people around us. Now I think, and I think it's important to point this out, that the proportion is very appropriate.

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That as we begin to look at others around us and consider what kind of soil do they have, that we have first spent three weeks

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examining our own hearts and presenting ourselves before God and saying, God, what kind of soil do I have? And that's a very good proportion to have, that we examine ourselves three times more than we examine others. I think that's very important as we consider ministering to others because it's very easy for us. We're quick to look on somebody else and judge their condition, but

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But Jesus tells us, hey, judge not, or judge and you will not be judged, right? If you judge yourselves, then God won't have to judge you. If you will present yourself before God and consider your own soil, that's going to be an important part so that God doesn't have to reveal that to you in much harder ways. In the same way, as we look on others, we need to make sure that we first have checked our own heart, that we've examined ourselves and

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Make sure that we're in right standing with God. And then we have the opportunity to minister to others. You know, like...

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making sure that you take the plank out of your own eye before you help your brother with the speck. It's that type of thing. We need to examine ourselves in this and then we can minister to others. But there is that opportunity to minister to others. And so we want to take some time today and consider that, to consider dealing with those who are in these different conditions that the soils represent.

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So five points this morning, the first of which we'll talk about in verse 11, which is spread the word. Spread the word. Verse 11 says, now the parable is this, the seed is the word of God.

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Jesus here is explaining the parable. Earlier in the chapter, he tells the parable to the people, but here with his disciples, he's explaining the parable. He gives the details, the significance of the different elements, and here he says the seed is the word of God. So the sower goes out to sow. He casts out the seed. The seed lands on different kinds of soil. Jesus says that seed is the word of God.

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You know, today there are lots of things that we can talk about. There's lots of things that we find online. There's lots of different discussions that are going on. There's things that we could talk about depending on, you know, what sport is in season at the moment. There's things that we could talk about regarding, hey, it's 2012. It's an election year. All of these different political scenes are going on. We could talk about the economy. We could talk about the weird weather. I mean, there's lots of things that we can talk about.

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But in the midst of all of those conversations, I want to encourage you this morning that one of our primary objectives from the Lord is to spread the word. That we need to make sure that we talk about

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The Word of God. That we share with people the Word of God. That it's more important for us to share with people the Word than to share our opinions and our thoughts, our ideas, the weather, you know, whatever. The most important thing that we can share is the Word of God.

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Sometimes we get caught up and distracted and think that we have to come up with, you know, very superior arguments. We have to come up with these, you know, very convincing reasons for people to listen to God. And we have this burden on ourselves that we need to, you know, come up with something they've never heard before, whatever the case may be. But that is not a burden that the Bible places upon us. It's a burden we put upon ourselves. Here's what the Bible teaches us.

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Share the word. Spread the word. I want to run you through a few scriptures very quickly. I'm not going to have you turn there, but I would encourage you to write them down, especially if you don't know these passages. You need to spend some time meditating on them and considering them because these are so essential for us as believers. Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 4, verse 2,

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preach the word. He says, be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching. And he tells them why in 2 Timothy 4.3. It says, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. But according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables.

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Paul tells Timothy there in 2 Timothy 4, preach the word. Why? Because the time is coming. And I would suggest we see evidence of this all around us where people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, they'll surround themselves with teachers who just tickle their ears, who tell them things that they want to hear, but they don't want to hear the truth.

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They're not interested in the truth. And so Paul says they turn away from the truth and they're turned aside to fables. And so he says because that time is coming, now is the time to preach the word. And I would suggest to you, because we see that kind of thing happening, now is the time to preach the word, to be ready, to share the word. It's essential for us

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to give out God's word. Not our thoughts, not our opinions, not our convincing arguments, but God's word. Why? Well, Hebrews chapter 4 verse 12. For some of you, I know these passages are very familiar, but it's good to be reminded of these things because we forget. Hebrews 4 12 says, for the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword.

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piercing even to the division of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow. And it is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. The author of Hebrews says, the word of God is living and powerful. Why is it so important that we share the word? Why is that our highest priority? Because it's the word of God that is living and powerful. Listen, you may be thoroughly convinced that your words are pretty powerful, but they do not compare to the word of God.

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It's the word of God that is living and powerful. That's why we need to spread the word. Our words are not nearly as powerful as God's word. God's word is sharper than any two-edged sword and it pierces even to the division of soul and spirit. He says it discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart. The word of God is able to penetrate right to the heart. It's living. It's powerful. It's effective. It's God's word.

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And so we need to spread God's word and make sure that we share God's word, that God's word is like the sower. It's being cast out of our lives and landing on the soils of all kinds of different people around us, that the word of God is going forth. Because as we unsheath the sword, it's effective, it's powerful, it's working. It's more powerful than anything that we could say.

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Another portion to consider is 2 Timothy 3, verse 16. It says, Paul tells us there, 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17, that God's word, the scriptures, are given by inspiration of God. They're God-breathed. And why did God breathe them?

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Why did God speak forth this word? He says it's profitable for doctrine. God has revealed himself to us by his word. It's profitable for that. Anybody who wants to know God should be in the word of God because that's what it's profitable for. To teach us who he is, what he says, what he has done. But it's also profitable for reproof and for correction.

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And so for those who need to be corrected, those who need to adjust their life and get it back on the right track, the Word of God is inspired by God to do that very thing. Those who need to be instructed in righteousness, the Word of God is inspired by God, designed and breathed forth by God to accomplish that purpose that, well, that we would be thoroughly equipped for every good work. So if we need to be prepared or corrected or built up or if we need to know God,

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That's what the scriptures are inspired by God to accomplish. You see, this is why the Word of God is so important. These are passages you and I need to know because what we need to be reminded of how important the Bible is. That we would share that above anything else. That we would

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deliver that before we deliver our own thoughts and opinions and strategies and things that we think are important. It's God's Word that's living and powerful. And then finally, Isaiah 55, 11, God says, My Word, or so shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth. It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. God says, look, My Word, it's living, it's powerful,

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It's profitable and it does not return void. It's working. It's accomplishing what I set it forth to do. It will accomplish what I please. It accomplishes the work of the kingdom of God. And so we need to spread the word, unsheath the sword, deliver it, wear it on your shirts, imprint it upon your forehead, speak it forth, post it on your walls, whatever you need to do, speak forth the word of God.

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Spread it out. Cast it out. Let it fall in all the different kinds of soils of people around you. Because the Word of God is living and active. Let your life cast out the Word of God. Sharing the Word above and beyond your opinion, your preferences, your personal convictions, your thoughts, your ideas, your strategies, your convincing arguments. Preach the Word. Spread the Word. It's powerful.

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And so we see, first of all, as we look at this parable, it's the word of God we're talking about. It's the word of God we need to get out.

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It's the word of God we need to share. Now as we look at the rest of the verses, we'll be looking at each of these different kinds of soils and seeing the condition that Jesus describes and then how we can minister to people in that condition. And so the next verse, verse 12 here in Luke chapter 8, gives us our second point, which is deliver messages to the unbeliever. Look at verse 12 again. It says, those by the wayside...

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are the ones who hear, then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. And so as he describes the first kind of soil, again, it's the wayside, which is the path or the road that goes along the field. And the dirt there on the path is packed down. It's hard because people have been walking on it. And so the seed does not penetrate the soil. It just sits on top.

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It gets trampled by the feet as people walk by and then the birds go and eat it. Jesus explains here in verse 12, this is those whose hearts are hard. They don't receive the word as it's sown. And so the devil comes and takes away the word. Notice he says, lest they should believe and be saved. And so we're dealing with, we're talking about unbelievers.

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Those who do not receive God's word, they're hard-hearted regarding God's word. They do not receive it. It might sit upon the surface for a few moments, but the birds come, the enemy comes and takes it away. How can you share with somebody who does not receive the word? Well, in many ways, you can't. There's not much you can do outwardly.

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But the main thing that you can do, which is true of all the different kinds of souls we'll be looking at further on in the passage, the main thing that you can do, your main objective is to pray. You must pray for that person with the hard heart, for that person who does not receive the Word of God. Please understand, if God cannot convince them, you cannot either.

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Right? If they don't receive God's word, no argument, no thing that you can come up with, nothing that you can drum up or try to, you know, think, oh, this is, they're not going to be able to refuse this. I'm going to win this debate. I'm going to win this argument. I'm going to convince them. Nothing that we can think up, no kind of reasoning will work if they won't listen to God, if they reject God's word. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 4 that if the gospel is veiled, it's veiled to those who are perishing and

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whose minds the God of this age has blinded. Paul says, look, when people do not receive the gospel, if it's veiled, they don't understand it. They don't receive it. He says, it's falling upon the hearts of those, well, they've been blinded by the God of this age. That's the devil. The devil is at work blinding people so that they do not receive the gospel message, the word of God. And so we must pray.

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More than talking, more than convincing, more than trying to reason and argue, we must pray.

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Jesus talked about in Matthew chapter 12 verse 29, the strong man. And how can you enter into the house of the strong man unless he is first bound? And so as we pray, we need to pray that, well, the strong man would be bound, that the enemy would not have his way, that the blinders would be removed, that the hearts would be able to see and hear the gospel message.

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that those obstacles that the enemy puts there would be removed, that they'd be able to know what God has said. That they'd be able to hear the Word of God. That they might have the opportunity to receive it. And so first of all, we pray.

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But as we pray, I think a good example of how to deliver messages to the unbeliever, how to minister to those who have a hard heart, we have a good example of that with the things that we've been reading through the book of Exodus in the Bible in three years. We have an example in Moses and Pharaoh.

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Keep your thumb here in Luke chapter 8 or your bulletin or something. We'll be coming back. But turn with me please to Exodus chapter 5. I'll be having you turn to a few different portions this morning as we look at the different kinds of soils and how to minister to those people that correspond with that soil.

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Here in Exodus chapter 5, we have a great example of how to deal with those who have hard hearts. Those who do not receive the word of God. And you're probably familiar with it because what we've been reading about Moses and Pharaoh and the exchanges that took place between them. Before God ever sent Moses to Pharaoh, God told him, Pharaoh's heart is going to be hard. And that's important to consider. We'll come back to that thought later.

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But chapter 5 verse 1 of Exodus says, So here Moses and Aaron go before Pharaoh. This is their first time standing before him. And notice what they say in verse 1.

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The first thing they say, first words out of their mouth, thus says the Lord. Thus says the Lord. I think this is huge when we're dealing with those who are hard-hearted. That we need to, well, we need to go to them with a thus says the Lord. We need to, in those cases, go with really a word from God. Not just a general, you know, a general exhortation of,

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of the word, but a very specific application of the word. In the same way, the message to Pharaoh was very specific. Here's what God says to you, Pharaoh. Let my people go. Now, Pharaoh responded saying, hey, I don't know the Lord. I don't have any responsibility to obey him. I don't know who he is. But they went with the message, Pharaoh, here's what God says to you. It was directed. It was specific to him and his situation.

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Although Pharaoh rejected, Moses, we see in the following chapters, kept going back before Pharaoh each time as God directed him. Jump over to chapter 7, verse 2. God is speaking to Moses. He says, you shall speak all that I command you, and Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of his land. So God is speaking to Moses in chapter 7. He says, all right, go back and tell him what I tell you to say.

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And then chapter 8 verse 1, and the Lord spoke to Moses, go to Pharaoh and say to him, thus says the Lord, let my people go that they may serve me. Notice God says again, go to Pharaoh. Here's the message to say, thus says the Lord. God is giving them specific words to say to the Pharaoh. Again in chapter 9 verse 1, then the Lord said to Moses, go into Pharaoh and tell him, thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews, let my people go that they may serve me.

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And we could go on and on. I'm just giving you a few examples. Over and over, throughout the plagues, God sends Moses to Pharaoh to deliver the message to him. And so we need to have that specific word of God to deliver to those who are hard-hearted in our lives, to those who are not receptive to the word of God. We need to ask God for those specific words. And following the example of Moses, we need to keep going back to

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as often as God directs. I look at Moses with great admiration because I think I would be discouraged. Maybe I would go the second time, but after the second time, I'd be like, did you notice it was the same message? Let my people go. Let my people go. Let my people go. After the second time, I'd be like, I already told them that, Lord. Why do you want me to tell them again the same thing? I mean, send me back with something else, something different.

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We need to go as God directs, even if it's the same thing that we've shared before. A lot of times we just kind of throw our hands up and say, well, I already told them that. But that's not the point. The point is we need to be obedient and share with those who are hard-hearted what God is saying to them, even if we know they've heard it before and even if we know that they will reject it. Remember from the very beginning, God told Moses, Pharaoh is not going to receive this.

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He's not going to respond. Even if we know they will reject it, we have to share with them the word that God gives us. Even if it's the same message as last time, we have to share with those who are hard-hearted the message that God gives us. And so first we see here to deliver messages to the unbeliever. That's the specific message that God gives you something to share with them. That you can say, thus says the Lord.

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This is what God says about your life, about your situation, about your condition. This is what God says. Now, I would imagine some of us would hear this first point and think, well, you know, I don't think I really hear from God like that. I mean, how do I know that God wants me to go and deliver a message to somebody and share with them, thus says the Lord, and this is what God wants to say to you? And if that's what you would say, if that's your response,

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then I would challenge you, you need to go back over the parable of the sower, revisit the last three weeks to examine your heart and see your condition. Because if you do not know that experience of God putting something upon your heart to share with somebody else, then you have a heart condition. There's something wrong. If your heart's hard or it's shallow or it's divided, something's going on. You need to know how to hear from God.

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Now, I'm not saying that every person you'll ever meet, God will give you some prophetic utterance for them. I'm not saying that. But as we have those hard-hearted people around us, we need to be praying for them. And there will be times that God will speak to us and He'll give us something to say. And we need to be faithful to follow the example of Moses and go and share that message. And if you don't get those words,

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impressed upon your heart from the Lord. If you don't know what that's like, you need to check your heart because something's wrong. God wants to speak to you. He wants to use you to reach the people around you. That's why He keeps us here, to reach the world around us. And so we need to know that experience. And if we don't have that experience, it goes back to our heart and our relationship with God. And so re-examine. Let God show you those issues of your heart that you might be an effective witness to.

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to deliver his messages to the people around you. And so we have the hard soil, the hard-hearted, the path. Well, the next thing is we jump back now to Luke chapter 8. In verse 13, Jesus explains the second kind of soil, which is the rocky soil. And here we have the third point this morning, and that is to call back the fallen. Verse 13 says,

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But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy. And these have no root, who believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. So here Jesus explains the second kind of soil. It's the rocky soil. It's seed that falls on, not dirt with a bunch of rocks in it, but a big rock with a little bit of soil upon it.

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And so that rock with a little bit of soil on top of it, the soil is kept at a warmer temperature because of the rock. And so when seeds are planted there, they sprout very quickly. They begin to grow very quickly, but they also die very quickly because there's not much to sustain them. The soil doesn't have the... It can't contain the moisture. It can't contain... It doesn't have enough room for the roots to develop and so on and so forth. And so the...

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The plants planted there do not last long. They sprout up quickly, but then they die because the soil cannot sustain the life. And we've been looking at this and describing it as the shallow hearted. Those who receive the word of God, they receive it with joy. There's quick growth, quick response. But then something happens. Jesus says at the end of verse 13 that they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.

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They believe for a while, but then they fall away. Do you know, is there anyone in your life that once walked with God, but now they have fallen away? Of course you do. We all know those kind of people. Those who heard from God responded. Maybe they went forward at a harvest crusade or something. They made a profession of faith and they walked with God for a time, but they have fallen away. Maybe they've fallen away because

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because some kind of false doctrine. Paul warns us of that in 1 Timothy 4.1. He says, in the latter times, some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. As we draw near to the return of the Lord, there's going to be those who fall away from false doctrine. They begin to practice, to believe, to hold on to something that is not biblical. And they walk away in doing so. Some walk away back to their old sinful lifestyle.

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They're old practices. They just go back to what they were once doing. Do you know those who once walked with God, but they've fallen away? How do we minister to those? How do we share with them? Well, again, first of all, first and foremost, we pray. As I have shared a couple times throughout the past couple of weeks, a shallow heart is really a hard heart in disguise.

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It's that same hardness, it's just covered over with a little bit of dirt. And so there looks like there's some response. There looks like, but then you hit the root and the issue is, well, there's a hardness there where they're not receptive. And so we need to pray that God would break up that rock, that hard ground underneath, that the word would penetrate deep. I think we have an example of how to share with those who have fallen, how to call them back

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As we look at Paul the Apostle writing to the church of Galatia in the book of Galatians. And so would you turn with me please to Galatians chapter 1. As Paul is writing to the church of Galatia, he's writing to a church that is, I would say, in the process of falling away. They're in the process of turning away from God as a result of some false doctrine that has crept in.

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And the false doctrine is basically teaching them to trust in their own works instead of the grace of God. And so he says in Galatians 5.4, you've fallen from grace as a result of this. So as he's writing to them, he's writing to those who are in the process of falling away, turning away from the grace of God.

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And we find some insight in how we can share with others in our life who are in that process or who have fallen away as we look at Galatians chapter 1 verse 6 and 7. And here we find Paul expressing his concern. Galatians 1.6 says, I marvel that you are turning away so soon.

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From him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel, which is not another, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. As we seek to reach out and share with those who have fallen, what we see the Apostle Paul doing here is he clearly expresses his concern.

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He clearly expresses his concern. He says, I marvel. I'm shocked. I don't understand how you could turn away so soon to a different gospel. He makes it clear. This is what's going on. This is what you are doing. You are turning away to a different gospel. The book of Galatians, I mean, he goes on to make it more clear. We don't have time to get into it today, but

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He's making sure to express clearly, this is what's happening. I'm concerned. I don't understand why you could do this or how you could do this in turning away from God, turning away from grace to follow this different gospel. There's a lot of times that we see people who are in the process of falling away and we never take the time to express our concern.

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There's a lot of times that even when we do express our concern, we do it very vaguely and kind of beating around the bush, trying to be subtle and not offend and not, you know, rock the boat too hard. But Paul here, he gets right to the core. He makes it very clear. Listen, that's not the gospel. You won't be saved following that gospel. There's not salvation in that. I don't understand how you are turning away so quickly.

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to this other gospel. I don't understand how you're turning to this sinful lifestyle. I don't know how you are going back to those things that God has delivered you from. We need to take the time to express our concern for those who have fallen or those who are falling. And we need to call them back. Jump forward to Galatians chapter 3.

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Verse 1, Paul says, Oh foolish Galatians. Again, he's making it very clear. This is not, I mean, could you imagine sitting down with Richard? Oh foolish Richard. I mean, this is pretty bold, clear. He's making it very clear, right? He's not just, you know, wanting to be mean or being disrespectful. He's sharing the truth in love, but he's making it clear this is foolish.

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This is not good. This is not wise. He says, who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified. Then jump down to verse 7. Therefore, know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. As Paul is dealing with this issue, he calls them back saying, look, the only way of salvation is by faith. You can't get to heaven by works.

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Come back to faith. He'll go on in chapter 5 to say, walk in the spirit. Don't continue on in the flesh. He's calling them back. He's clearly expressing the issue, expressing what's wrong, his concern. And he's calling them back saying, hey, come back to faith. Giving them an opportunity to respond as he shares the truth with them in love. And so we learn from Paul's example. When we see those who have fallen, those who are falling.

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First of all, we need to pray, of course. But we also need to express our concern and call them back, sharing the truth with them in love. Have you taken the time? Those who have fallen away, those around you, have you taken the time to reach out to them with the truth? To share your concern? To make sure that it's clear, the choice and the decisions that they're making? And to give them an opportunity to turn and get right with the Lord? We need to call back

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Maybe even share with them this parable. And share with them, this is what I see going on. This is what Jesus says. These are the marks. These are the indications. This is the pattern that you're following. Let them see for themselves the condition of their heart in Jesus' words. We need to make sure that it's clear as we express our concern. So we call back the fallen. Well, the next thing we find in verse 14, jumping back to Luke chapter 8...

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Now we're looking at the fourth point, which is disciple the immature. Disciple the immature. Look at verse 14 of Luke 8. It says, Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. So now Jesus is describing and explaining the soil issue.

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which has thorns in it. The seed is cast out, the seed begins to grow, the thorns grow, and the thorns, or the weeds, they, well, they choke out the seed, stealing away its nutrients, its space, its sunlight, etc. And so the end result is that seed begins to grow, but then it doesn't come to maturity because of the thorns that grow up with it. And we've been talking about this as the divided heart.

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The divided heart. Those who have received the word, but notice what Jesus says, they bring no fruit to maturity. And so they're in a state of infancy, immature. They've not gone on to maturity. They've received the word. They've made a profession of faith. They've begun to walk with God. And maybe there's some initial growth. There's some initial work as the seed sprouts up. But beyond that, there's no real change.

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And there's no real growth. Jesus explains, this is the condition of, well, the seed that falls on the thorny soil, where the heart is divided, that there's not growth, there's not maturity, they're immature. The word that is used here to bring fruit to maturity, it's basically two words in the Greek. The first one means to bring near fruit,

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The second one means to the end goal. And so it's the idea of bringing the end result near. That's what it means to bring fruit to maturity. To bring the end result closer. Or to bring yourself closer to the end result. Now what's the end result? God's will for us, Paul says, is for us to be conformed into the image of Jesus. The end result is for us to be like Christ.

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maturity in a believer looks like us becoming more like Jesus. There's that growth where we are more and more transformed into his image, transformed with his character, with his nature.

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That end result where we stand before God completed is brought near as we mature, as we grow. We become more like Christ. We develop and display the fruit of the Spirit and so on and so forth. We're delivered from sin. We bring that end result near. But the people that Jesus is talking about here are those who they've turned to the Lord. They began to walk with Him.

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But they're not bringing that end result near. They're not becoming more like Christ. Do you know, is there anyone in your life that is in a perpetual state of infancy or immaturity? They've believed God. They've responded. But there does not seem to be that growth that is necessary. They're not becoming more like Christ. Their life continues on in the same pattern.

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Those same old habits still conquer them and defeat them. It's the same old thing. They're not growing. They're not developing. How do we minister to those who are immature? Well, again, first and foremost, we pray. It's God who does the work. It's His Word that's living and active. He is the one who is able to reach them. But He also desires to use us. And so how do we minister? How do we share with those who are immature?

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Well, I believe we have an example of that as we look at the author of Hebrews and how he deals with those that he is writing to. Would you turn with me please now to Hebrews chapter 5. Hebrews chapter 5. The author of Hebrews is, he's been writing for a while obviously in chapter 5. He's been talking about many different things, but he takes a moment right here in the middle of a thought and

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to say, you know, I really want to share more with you guys, but you're not ready to handle it. Here in Hebrews chapter 5, let's start in verse 10. It's starting in the middle of a thought, but that's kind of the point. It says, Hebrews chapter 5 verse 10, he says, "...called by God as high priest, according to the order of Melchizedek, of whom we have much to say and hard to explain since you have become dull of hearing."

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An infant.

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He's writing. He's right in the middle of a thought. He's talking about Melchizedek, this fascinating character of the Old Testament that there's much depth there. There's much insight. He's right in the middle of the thought and he says, I wish I could tell you more. I want to tell you more about Melchizedek. I want to share with you more insights, more depth. There's so much here, but I can't because, well, you're dull of hearing. He says, look, by this time, you ought to be teachers.

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Listen, there's a lot of people around church, a lot of people who have been around God for a long time, and by this time, they should be able to teach. They should be able to share. They should be able to disciple. But instead, well, he says to his recipients here, instead, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God.

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You see, there's a problem here. He says to the Hebrews, you're immature. By this time, you should have grown. You should have developed. There should be some maturity here. You should be able to handle these things. Not only that, you should be able to teach these things. But you're in this condition, this perpetual condition of needing to be taught again the basics of the faith. It's a sad condition to be in. Immaturity.

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And so the author of Hebrews acknowledges, hey guys, I'm writing to you and you are immature. So what does he do with these immature believers? Well, what we see here in the book of Hebrews is, well, he disciples them. Hebrews is one of those incredible books, man. There's so much depth here. I mean, he just goes to this great detail of some very important doctrine, really building upon the Old Testament. There's

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I think about 41 quotations from the Old Testament in the book of Hebrews. In fact, I would encourage you as we are going through the Old Testament now in the Bible in three years, when we get through Deuteronomy, I think around June or July, we'll be finishing up Deuteronomy. When you get through, I would encourage you take an afternoon and then read through the book of Hebrews because it'll just...

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blow up before you. It'll explode as you realize and understand what God has delivered in the Old Testament, what God delivered to the nation of Israel. And then now it's revealed the real significance and depth of meaning behind those things. I mean, it's powerful stuff. And so the author of Hebrews goes and he gives us this great in-depth doctrinal explanation of the Old Testament to these immature believers. He talks about the supremacy of Jesus and

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the rest that we have in him, the high priest that Jesus is in the order of Melchizedek and what that means and how it's different from the high priest of the Levitical system. He talks about the differences between the old covenant and the new covenant and all of the different details and important things. He talks about the earthly tabernacle and how it represents the heavenly tabernacle and the sacrifices of the Levitical system and how Jesus fulfills them and is the final sacrifice. He talks about and gives us the examples of

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On and on and on I could go. I mean, there's just great depth in here. So what does he do? He says, look, you guys are immature. I'm going to take some time to teach you doctrine. I'm going to take some time to disciple you and build your foundation. But then, jump forward to Hebrews chapter 12 with me. Then he calls them to action. So he takes time to develop all of this doctrine, this great foundation, and

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And then Hebrews chapter 12 verse 1, he says, therefore, therefore, because of all this doctrine, because of all that we've learned, having built this foundation, therefore we also, since we're surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

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He disciples them. He builds up their understanding of God and explains to them the scriptures and then calls them to action. So he says, therefore, run the race. Now go forward. Now do what God's called you to do. I think there's a lot of times that we skip the doctrinal step and we go straight to, now, therefore, go do stuff.

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And there's no foundation, there's no substance for them to draw upon to be able to go forward and obey God. And so, will they remain in that perpetual state of infancy? There needs to be that discipleship where doctrine is taught, where substance is learned, where that foundation is built so that then they can run the race with endurance that is set before them. It's going to require an investment. Can you imagine?

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sitting down and writing the book of Hebrews to someone nearby? I mean, there's depth there. That took some study. That took some work. Took some time. Discipleship does. But if we want to share with those who are immature, we want to see God work, that's what we need to do. We need to take some time, teach them doctrine, that then they can go forward and run the race that is set before them. Have you reached out to disciple those who are immature?

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Those who are lacking in your life, teach them doctrine and then call them to action. Well, let's jump back to Luke chapter 8. Finish it off in verse 15. The final point this morning is we need to instruct the fruitful. Instruct the fruitful. Verse 15 of Luke 8 says, But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."

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So now Jesus talks about the final kind of soil, which we refer to as the good soil. The good soil is basically the opposite of the bad soil. Instead of being hard, it's soft. Instead of being shallow, it has depth. Instead of having thorns, it's clear of thorns. We've been describing this as the committed heart. This is, well, the one who receives the Word of God,

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Jesus says, then they also keep it, that is that they obey it, they put it into practice, and then they also bear fruit with patience. That is, they keep on doing it, they persevere, and as a result, there's fruit that abounds. There's results that come forth from obeying God, receiving the Word, and continuing on with perseverance. And so, how can we minister to those who have good soil?

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I bring this up and I thought it was interesting to consider because I think a lot of times we kind of skip by those who are doing good. Kind of pass them over because they're doing good. I mean, why would I need to share with them they're doing good? Why would I need to share with that guy he's a pastor? Why would I need to share with that guy she's not guy she, okay, I'm confused. Why would I need to share with that girl she's a ministry leader?

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She's involved. She's on the worship team. Why would I need to share with that person? We tend to skip over because we think, hey, they're doing good. Or we think, hey, they know more than me. They should share with me, not the other way around. Like John the Baptist, right? Hey, I should be baptized by you, not baptizing you. And yet, we find in the scriptures that God has designed us as the body of Christ to minister to one another, to need one another. There's none of us that do not need to be encouraged by others.

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There's none of us that do not need to be edified and built up and instructed by others. We all need one another. The encouragement, the counsel, the correction, all of us. Proverbs chapter 9 verse 9 says, Give instruction to a wise man and he will be wiser still. Teach a just man and he will increase in learning. When you instruct a wise man, he doesn't say, I already know that, get away from me. He doesn't say,

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That's what you think it means. That's so cute. Let me tell you what it really means. A wise man, when you instruct him, becomes more wise. And so I want to encourage you to consider those who are doing good and share with them. Encourage them. The author of Hebrews talks about doing that so much the more as you see the day approaching. We need that encouragement of one another, that building up of each other. In Revelation chapter 3...

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Jesus is writing to the church of Philadelphia. It's a church that's doing good. He doesn't have correction to give to them. And so we have a good example here of how to share with those who are doing good. What does Jesus say? He says in verse 11 of Revelation 3, Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold fast what you have that no one may take your crown. What does Jesus do? He reminds them that he's coming quickly and he says, keep it up. Keep up the good work.

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keep going hold fast what you have you're doing good you're holding the course now keep on holding that course he builds them up he strengthens them up you know sometimes i would let me rephrase that lots of times it is so encouraging for someone just to come and share with you hey look look something that god showed me today

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It doesn't have to be like the case of the hard heart where, thus says the Lord, Ronnie, here's what God wants you to do. It could just be, hey, look what God showed me today. I was just really blessed by this. Isn't this amazing how good God is? You see, when a person has a soft heart, I mean, we need the thus saith the Lord from time to time as well, but just the simple sharing of, wow, this really ministered to me is encouraging. It's edifying and it ministers well.

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to those who have a committed heart, to the good soil. And so instruct the fruitful. Share with them those things that God is sharing with you. Let them grow wiser still. Teach and encourage those who are doing well. And so through this, we get some insight for sharing with the different kinds of people in our lives. And I would ask you to consider, again, verse 15. Jesus says, Those that fell on the good ground heard the word,

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They keep it and they bear fruit with patience. And so I would encourage you to hear the word. Consider the people around you who are in these different conditions. The hard-hearted unbeliever. Those who have fallen away. The immature and the fruitful. Consider them. Pray for them. Ask God to give you words to share with them. And keep it. Put it into practice. Go cast the seed. Go share it. Spread the word of God according to the different needs.

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of the people that God has placed in your life. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. It's powerful instruction and correction for us, God. And Lord, we do pray that you would help us to not just hear it and walk away, but that you would help us to put it into practice. Open our eyes, God, to those who have these different conditions and help us, God, to minister to them appropriately.

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God, to call back those who have fallen away, to have the specific words from you for those who are hard-hearted and do not believe. God, that you would give us opportunity to disciple those who are immature and to encourage and build up those who are fruitful and who are walking with you. God, we thank you that you give us opportunity to participate with you in your work and your kingdom for your glory.

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And I pray, God, that you would help us to live it out. In Jesus' name, amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.