Secrets of Spiritual Growth
Introduction: Spirituality is in vogue today. There seems to be an awakening to a spiritual side of life. Everyone is talking about it. It is an issue on Oprah. Spirituality is worthy of an article on NPR. Shows like “The X Files” feature the paranormal. Questions about God are finding their way into the lyrics of alternative music performers like Joan Osborne and Counting Crows. It has become a topic at the highest levels of business discussion. Growing spiritually is hot.
It is hard to say why this is happening. Some of it may be attributable to boomers growing up. Some of it may be driven by the despair of years of teaching about evolution which logically leads to the realization that your life does not matter. If you feed on that long enough, despair will drive you to want something more transcendent than Carl Sagan. Some of the interest is God-designed. Solomon said that God has put eternity into every person’s heart with a need to know the transcendent creator (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
Whatever the reasons, people are searching for ways to be spiritual. In our passage today, Jesus is going to chime in with His opinion about the topic of spiritual growth. He has an answer to the questions everyone in our culture is asking on the subject. We will see His answer to the question, “what are the secrets of spiritual growth?” through two parables and an encounter that Jesus has with His mother and brothers.
The essence of what Jesus is teaching is that spiritual growth can be an abundant experience. The abundance of the experience has as its source the word of God and is dependent upon our response to hearing the word of God.
Let’s begin at verse 1 of Luke chapter 8,
After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.
While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: ‘A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.’ When he said this, he called out, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear’ (Luke 8:1-8).
This parable is traditionally known as the parable of the sower. A more appropriate name would be the parable of the soils because its primary focus is the soil not the sower. Its secondary focus is the seed which falls on the soil. In verse 11, Jesus equates the seed with the word of God and through the parable we see that
God’s word is sufficient for spiritual growth.
Two observations lead us to that conclusion.
The content of God’s word remains the same regardless of the hearer. The same seed is sown on each kind of soil. Our day is one where we can genetically alter seeds to accommodate different kinds of environments. In our parable, the opposite is true. The seed is not altered as the soil changes. The same seed is sown on each soil. God’s word does not change. God’s word is true. It has been. It is now. It will be tomorrow. God’s word does not change in order to produce a crop.
The potential of God’s word is the same regardless of the hearer. A kernel of corn has within it all the genetic material necessary to make corn. The amazing thing about one kernel is that there is potential in the kernel to produce two to three ears of corn on one plant. On each ear, there will be hundreds of kernels of corn. So one seed produces hundreds of seeds just like it.
God’s word has the same potential to bear spiritual fruit. Whether the seed falls on the path or the rock or the thorns, each seed has the potential to bear a crop. The word of God is capable by itself to be the sufficient source for spiritual growth.
Before we proceed, what do we mean by the word of God? This is important because many books and people claim to have the word of God. Is The Book of Mormon the word of God? How about the Koran? Is the TV preacher who says the Lord spoke to him sharing the word of God? I would say no to all those questions.
The writer of Hebrews begins his letter by saying that,
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe” (Hebrews 1:1-2).
God could have remained silent. He didn’t need to tell us anything. But the writer of Hebrews is saying that God has spoken during two great periods of time. Once in the past, he spoke through prophets. The writer has in mind the Hebrew prophets like Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Malachi. He spoke in a number of different ways and spanning over 1000 years. The collection of the writings of those prophets is found in what we call the Old Testament. So when Jesus refers to the word of God in the parable, he is partly referring to the Old Testament record.
The second time God spoke was during a period that the writer calls the “last days.” During this time God has spoken through his Son. The person this writer has in mind is Jesus. And in the writer’s mind this will be the last time God speaks since these are the last days. They will remain the last days until Jesus comes again. Jesus is the living word of God. So Jesus may have also been referring to himself when he spoke of the word of God.
Today we extend the definition of the word of God to include the writings of Jesus’ closest followers, the apostles. Their writings unfold the teaching and the implications of Jesus’ life, ministry, death and resurrection. Their writings are collected in our New Testament.
Together in the Old and New Testaments we have an account of what God has spoken. They record what he has shown us about himself, what he has told us about ourselves and it contains the remedy for the sin problem that plagues the world.
I believe, and this Church affirms, that the contents of this book are sufficient for spiritual growth. God has not spoken since. So the Koran, The Book of Mormon, A Course on Miracles, The Seven Laws of Spiritual Success, Embraced by the Light, and many other books and people that claim some special status or that they are speaking for God are making false claims.
Most of the time, we preach one verse at a time from this pulpit. We pick up where we left off last week and we will pick up next week where we leave off today. It is not very sexy. It is hard to market. We don’t add any Beanie Babies to make a sale. But it has been Mike’s conviction and it is a conviction shared by the elders that the best meal that we serve is not an idea that comes from our minds but instead to study, understand and then re-present to you in a relevant way God’s word as it was written down by the biblical authors. I have tremendous confidence when I teach, not because I have anything to say, but because I am convinced that the word of God does! It is sufficient. Though God’s word is sufficient for spiritual growth,
The effectiveness of God’s word depends on the heart of the hearer.
This is the focus of Jesus’ explanation of His parable. Look at Luke chapter 8, verse 9:
His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, ‘The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, “though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.”
This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop’ (Luke 8:9-15).
The four soils are representative of four kinds of people who have four kinds of hearts. The first is an unresponsive heart.
The unresponsive heart has the word taken from it. This person is represented by the seed sown on the path. The seed fails to penetrate their hearts. Jesus is not the least bit shy about attributing part of this failure to the work of Satan. He has experienced the fury of Satan’s temptations and He believes and is aware that there is a battle going on for the souls of people.
On the other hand, Jesus does not excuse the hearer. Both in verses 8 and later on in verse 18, Jesus makes a strong exhortation for people to listen to the word of God. These people hear the word but do nothing with it.
The impulsive heart withers during times of testing. This person is represented by the seed that falls on the rock. The seed does a little better in this soil. These people hear God’s word and respond not only positively but also enthusiastically. They seem to grow quickly in the Lord. They gush about how great God is, but their faith is driven by emotion or experience. Times of testing put their faith on trial. Testing shows that their roots are shallow and they cannot draw on anything to help them persevere.
The testing that causes them to fall away is the same kind of testing that Jesus experienced in his showdown in the desert with the Devil. A personal adversity leaves them thinking that God must be against them. A family member or friend ridicules their faith or questions their loyalty to their family’s beliefs. Or a step of obedience is just too difficult to make because it is too disruptive to their lifestyle.
The preoccupied heart is choked by less important matters. This person is represented by seed that falls among the thorns. The seed shows signs of spiritual advancement, but other priorities grip their soul and distract them from seeking the important course of spiritual growth. They sprout but they never mature. The worries of life, an overly ambitious desire for wealth or other pleasurable pursuits suck all the time out of life.
Some of the distractions are valid priorities we cope with each day: work, traffic, important relationships and raising children. Other priorities are just distracting: keeping up daily with the batting averages of the top 25 batters in the National League or watching reruns of Seinfeld to see if there are any changes from the first time I watched it. One of my relatives once told me that he was going to make spiritual growth an issue as soon as he got his business established. His business is now 10 years old. It is well established. Spiritual growth has not become a priority.
Let me give an example of how misplaced priorities can choke off spiritual growth. Our culture has turned weddings into insane rituals where thousands and thousands of dollars are spent on flowers, dresses, napkins and gifts. A number of years ago, Money magazine published an article detailing how one couple spent over $70,000 for a wedding.
What concerns me as a pastor is that by the time a couple sees me about marriage usually their greatest concern is not how to prepare their hearts and lives for a lifetime of marriage. Rather, their foremost concern is over the opinions of Miss Manners, Martha Stewart and Dear Abby in the planning of their wedding day.
Engagement is seen as the necessary time needed to plan an event. The irony is that for 40% of couples that event becomes a day they later regret with bitterness as they stand before a judge in divorce court. Reorienting priorities may save lots of money and lots of pain.
Gordon MacDonald, in his book Ordering Your Private World, tells this story,
Years ago my father wisely shared with me that one of the great tests of human character is found in making critical choices of selection and rejection amidst all of the opportunities that lurk in life’s path. “Your challenge,” he told me, will not be separating out the good and the bad, but in grabbing the best out of all the possible good.
Paul exhorted his young pastoral protégé, Timothy, with these words, “train yourself to be godly. For physical training has some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:7-8) Making the nurture of our souls and long term spiritual development to be priorities will mean that we must say NO to something else very good. Doing so, Paul says, pays a huge dividend. It pays now and it keeps on paying after we die and see God face to face.
The responsive heart produces an abundant crop. This person is different from the other three in two ways. First, this person has an undivided heart. After they hear God’s word, they hold on to it and persevere in it. Their perseverance does not free them from periods of doubt and questioning, but they press on seeking to integrate God’s word into their life whatever the cost.
This person is also different because their perseverance produces a crop. God’s word reaches a fruitful end in the heart of the responsive person. It is interesting that Jesus does not clarify or quantify the crop. He knows that the crop will look different for every person because their circumstances are different. Jesus is not a legalist. He does not want us to focus on producing more, just on cultivating the soil of our hearts so that is responsive to his word.
Nearly two years ago, a woman sought my counsel whether she was biblically able to remarry. Since she had brought on the divorce for unbiblical reasons, I told her that biblically she was not free to remarry. She said to me, “I knew that was what you would say.” She asked me what she should do. Since there was no abuse or other physical or emotional dangers, I told her to seek reconciliation with her former husband. She told me that the thought of reconciling with that man was appalling and made her stomach turn. But she was committed to honoring God with her life.
Over the course of the next 15 months, she sought to integrate God’s word into her life despite her upset stomach. After months of prayer and meditation, she sent him a letter confessing all the sins she had committed against him since the time they dated. He replied that he willingly forgave her. After some discussions with him, she sent him a letter asking if he would be interested in pursuing reconciliation by going to see a counselor together. He said no. Before she sent that last letter, she told me how much God had changed her over the 15 months. He has changed her so much that she was significantly disappointed when her ex-husband refused to consider reconciliation. Despite the response of the ex-husband, God’s word had produced an abundant crop in the life of this woman.
Some of you may be asking if people who are the first three soils receive eternal life. Do they represent true Christians? You are asking a good question. But hold on to it. We’ll get to that question in a little while. The next parable and event in Jesus’ life will shed some needed light on the question.
In these next verses we will see that …
Our response to God’s word has lasting effects.
Jesus clarifies the point made in the parable of the soils by telling a new parable beginning in verse 16:
No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him (Luke 8:16-18).
Jesus now uses the imagery of a lamp to represent God’s word instead of a seed. His point is that lamps are lit for a purpose. And a lamp’s purpose is to help people see. God’s word is set out so that those who see it may be drawn away from the darkness of sin into the light of truth. Jesus makes his point in verse 17 that …
We are accountable for our response to God’s word. Jesus says that people can hide from the light or try to conceal the things that the light exposes, but that does not matter. Eventually all things will be made known. People can scoff at Jesus. They can disregard what God’s word teaches, but people are still accountable for their response. The truth of God’s word will always be vindicated.
Near the border of Des Peres and Kirkwood is a road that runs north. At the end of the road is a wholesale greenhouse where I worked in the summer of 1980. One of the people I worked with was this weird guy who wouldn’t go out and get wasted with us Friday nights because he and some friends met on Friday nights to talk about the Bible and to pray. I thought, “What an incredible waste of time!”
One afternoon in the fields near the greenhouses, right by the pond, we were working together cutting straw for the flower beds. Out of the blue he starts talking to me about Jesus and asking me if I will go to heaven when I die. He told me I could have my sins forgiven and have a relationship with God if I turned from myself and put my whole life in the hands of Jesus. I told him no, I didn’t believe that was true that you needed to be a good person to be in God’s favor. I can take you to the spot where that conversation occurred. I heard the gospel that day. But I did not listen. I walked away. I refused to respond.
As I look back at that afternoon in 1980, I have two recurring emotions. One is thanksgiving that God would allow me a second opportunity to hear the word of God about amazing grace. My other emotion is just as strong. In light of this passage, I look back on that event with sheer horror, because I see now that I was taking a huge risk. I am wired to be a bit of a risk taker. I like risky investments. I want to learn how to ski jump someday. But I would not take that risk again. To hear what God has spoken to the world and say “Ah, I don’t need it” is not only foolish but incredibly dangerous. This prompts Jesus’ final warning in verse 18:
We are not allowed to be neutral to God’s word. Jesus is saying, “Pay attention to be sure you are paying attention. Sitting still does not work.” Spiritual growth is just that, growth. As we listen and respond with obedience, more will be given. Spiritual growth is a process of taking what I know and moving a little bit forward. Getting a little more and moving a little bit more. If we do not seek to integrate the truth that we know, even what we think we know will be lost. Neutrality with the word of God is not an option.
I think we make this building far too inviting. We should put a sign on the street that says DANGER, ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK! Look at what happens here on a Sunday – up and down, in every corner of this campus, from the youngest to the oldest, the word of God is being exposed, explained, taught, illustrated and applied. It is exciting because God is changing people left and right. But it also a dangerous place for the same reason.
When I was a kid, one of my favorite TV shows was a campy space program called “Lost in Space.” On that program there was a robot who would alert the Robinson family when there was trouble by flailing its arms in the air and saying “Danger, Will Robinson! Danger, Will Robinson!” We should hire that robot and put him to work on Sunday out on the patio so that as we enter this building, we can be reminded that there is no neutral zone beyond these doors.
One last event crystallizes what we have seen so far. Look at Luke 8, verse 19:
Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. Someone told him, ‘Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.’ He replied, ‘My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice’ (Luke 8:19-21).
This brings us back to the question we asked earlier about which soils represent true Christians. It is clear from Jesus’ words in verse 12 that the unresponsive heart is not saved, because he does not believe.
In this last encounter, Jesus is saying that he has higher relationships than physical ones. A spiritual family exists that is more important to him than his own mother and brothers. The mark of that higher relationship is hearing God’s word and putting it into practice. This is the responsive heart. Jesus says of those kinds of people, “they are my sisters, they are my brothers.” If they are brothers and sisters then they must also have the same Father.
We have a relationship with Jesus through God’s word.
This leaves us wondering about the impulsive heart and the preoccupied heart. Jesus is deliberately ambiguous and leaves this question open. We can say with certainty that Jesus does not hold out the impulsive heart or the distracted heart as lifestyles to emulate and He does not offer any false security.
Conclusion: This passage begs us to ask the question, “What kind of soil am I?” Spiritual growth is no accident. It is not a gift for some and not for others. It is available to all who will cultivate a responsive heart to God’s word and then expose it to the word as much as possible.
Some of you this morning have unresponsive hearts. I know that threats don’t work with you because they didn’t work with me. Will you just trust me on this one? Will you at least just ask God if he is really there, to open your heart up so that you can hear what he wants you to hear?
Some of you are new in Christ and are overjoyed by amazing grace. My pastoral concern is that you might fall away when testing comes. Testing will come. We exist as a church to help you grow up in Jesus Christ. Expose yourself to the word of God—on your own, in small community groups, in our small churches and in our corporate worship. Seek to work it into the details of your everyday life and relationships.
Some of you have never matured in your relationship with Christ. Take inventory. Every one of us is stressed to the maximum. Say no to good things, things that in the big scheme of things are nice but not necessary. Some of you may even have to say no to serving opportunities because they distract you. Say yes to something great and lasting. Godliness lasts.
Many of you are the responsive soil. Not spiritual giants, but just lunch pail believers hungry for the word of God and working each day to see it lived out a little more in your life. It is your heart that makes this a fun community. It is the backbone of what God is doing to change St. Louis. I thank God for you. I know I speak for Mike and the staff and the pastor-teachers that it is a pleasure teaching you.
Prayer: Father, watch over this flock of people. Give us the courage to weed our hearts of those things that keep us shallow or distract us. Fan into flames a heart that, like the deer, pants for you. In particular, Father, protect our elders, pastors and leaders so that their hearts will be always responsive to you. Give them each something new to apply and live out so that their walk with their brother, Jesus, will be fresh. Give them ears to hear. Jesus be praised. Amen.
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Spirituality
God’s Word
Soils