He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches;

(Revelation 2:7)

This phrase “If any man have ears to hear, let him Hear” is only spoken eight times by the Lord Jesus Christ during his earthly ministry.  This phrase is also used eight times in the book of Revelation, Seven times by Jesus and once by the Apostle John.  All seven times, Jesus says “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the spirit saith, unto the churches”..

We should pay attention to what the Spirit says to us; according to John 14:16-26, the Spirit will teach us all things, and bring to remembrance the Lord’s Words.

But we have to listen!  Jesus often spoke and taught using parables, using what they knew, to explain to explain what they did not know.  For instance, Jesus taught his disciples with 7 different parables in Matthew chapter 13:

1. The Parable of the Sower

2. The Parable of The Wheat and the Tares

3. The Parable of The Mustard Seed

4. The Parable of The Leaven

5. The Parable of The Hidden Treasure

6. The Parable of The Pearl of Great Price

7. The Parable of The Drag Net.

In this podcast, we are going to take a look at the parable of the sower as found in Luke 8:5-15.  We will take notice of the Four possible responses that people have when they hear the Word of God.

1. No Response
2. Emotional Response
3. Worldly Response
4. Fruitful Response

The first possible response is actually No Response,  Those by the wayside are those who don’t accept the Word at all.  They cast doubt on it, following the lead of that ol’ subtle serpent himself, The Devil, as found in Genesis 3:1 ”  Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?“.  These people don’t believe that we actually have God’s Words and are offended that we believe in a “Final Authority”.  The Fowls, here represent, the Devil and how he steals the truth away as quickly as possible so that the Word can’t grow.

The second possible response is an Emotional Response to the Word;  Those on the rock are those that actually accept and believe the Word and even get excited about it, for a while, but they have no root.  Since they have no root, as soon as trouble comes (James 1:2-3) they forget the Word and they simply give up.

This is the reason that getting rooted and grounded is so important.  In Colossians 1:23  we are encouraged to continue in the faith grounded and settled, and in Colossians 2:7  we are to be rooted grounded and established in the faith.

How do you get rooted? By joining a Local Bible Believing Church (Ephesians 4:7-15) and by submitting yourself to the Word of God as taught by Pastors and Teachers, in order to grow spiritually mature, for the work of the ministry and for the building up of the Body of Christ.

The third is a Worldly Response;  Those that fell among the thorns, for these, the Word is choked out by the cares of this world.  They care more about the cares of this world than what the Lord is trying to tell them (2 Timothy 4:10).  We as believers are commanded to not love the world (1 John 2:15-17), and we are cautioned in James 4:4 that the world system and whoever is a friend to the world are the enemies of God.

The final response is a Fruitful Response; Those on good ground;  This begs to question what makes ground good?  I have the furthest thing that you could have, from a green thumb, so I had to look it up.  I found an article on Preparing a New Garden Plot and found the following:

First, you need to choose the spot.  This needs to be a place where the conditions are conducive to growth, In order to prepare to receive the seed of the Word you need to start with an honest and good heart; (Luke 8:15) which means that we need to approach God’s Word correctly (Isaiah 29:13).  We don’t approach God’s Word with ulterior motives, Such as trying to prove a point, trying to find an error, or trying to justify our actions.  Approach the Word with this attitude: It’s right, I’m wrong- Every time!

Second, you need to mark the boundaries.  You need to know where your boundaries are.  When planting a garden this means staking off your plot and using fences and such.  For the Christian, this means that you must develop personal convictions concerning the way that you conduct yourself.  See 1 Corinthians 6:12 and 1 Corinthians 10:23.  Both of these references explain the fact that we need to mark our boundaries.

Thirdly, you will need to eliminate the competition.  Any and all elements that will compete with your desired outcome will need to be removed.  In gardening, this would be the weeds and rocks that must be removed from the environment.  For the Christian, this would include distractions or anything that has taken a predominant place in your life that keeps you from spending time in God’s Word.

The Fourth step is to add amendments, in order to adjust the PH levels.  In gardening, this is where you would add the necessary nutrients in order to make the soil fertile.  In relationship to God’s Word, this is where we listen (hear) what the Lord is saying to us. Remember, Listening and Hearing are separate functions.  We need to pay attention to what the Lord is trying to tell us.

The Final step is to work those amendments into the soil.  The added amendments need to be integrated into the soil, they need to actually become part of the soil.  Just leaving the amendments on the top of the soil, simply will not due.  In order to “work in” God’s Word, this falls under the command in Luke 8:15 to keep the Word.  What does that mean you ask?  In order to keep the word, we need to Memorize Scripture (Psalm 119:11) and we also need to Study the Word (2 Timothy 2:15).  Studying God’s Word is not just a good idea; it is a command.

In order to have the correct response when you hear God’s Word, you must make sure that you are preparing yourself to receive it.  How well do you listen to the Lord?

He is asking….. Can You Hear Me Now?  What’s your response today?

Our hope at Irvington Bible Baptist Church is that this podcast provided some encouragement and has helped you to develop a closer relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ.