Luke 8:4-8 – “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
The meaning of the parable
Luke 8:11-15 – “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside 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. 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. 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. 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.
The parable of the sower gives many reasons why seeds could not grow. There are many factors that affected the seed that was sown, primarily based on the condition of the soil that received the seed. This also represents the heart conditions of Christians. What is the condition of your heart?
Some seed fell on rocky soil. Jesus explained that these are the ones who receive the Word of God with joy and believe for a while. But in the time of testing, they fall away because they have no roots.
A time of testing will come for every Christian. If you are shallow, in the time of testing you will fall.
Not having a deeper relationship with God for yourself will leave you at a disadvantage. Shallow rooted christians cannot even explain why they are christians or why they belong to a particular church. They don’t know why it is important to speak in tongues, they don’t even know why they give offerings, when they face a little criticism they are confused and don’t have a defense.
Without a deeper life as a Christian you can never say “God spoke to me” because your spirit is deaf to the voice of God. Many Christians fall away from the faith because they do not know the difference between the Gospel of Jesus Christ and fables inspired by demons.
There are many Christian’s who are empty, there is nothing in them. They have little or no word in them, they are neither full of the spirit or of love. They may have the outlook of a believer but inwardly they are empty and outwardly puffed up.
Emptiness will attract other things to fill the empty space. A spiritual vacuum will be filled with spiritual things whether positively or negatively. Nature does not like emptiness and so every space is filled with something.
And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”
Luke 11:24-27 – Empty Christians are a target for the empty. The devil will to fill you with evil tendencies because of the emptiness within you.
Seven things you must be filled with
1. Be filled with the fullness of God
“to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:19 NKJV
2. Be filled with the spirit of God
“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,”Ephesians 5:18 NKJV
3. Be filled with the knowledge of His will
“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;”Colossians 1:9 NKJV
4. Be filled with joy
“greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy,” 2 Timothy 1:4 NKJV
5. Be filled with faith
“And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch,” Acts 6:5 NKJV
6. Be filled with all knowledge
“Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.” Romans 15:14 NKJV
7. Be filled with goodness
“Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.” Romans 15:14 NKJV
What are you filling your spirit with? Fill your spirit with the word of God, with faith,with good Christian music. Fill our time with things that edify, exort and encourage. Drive away the emptiness from your spiritual life.
This is the fundamental key to becoming a strong Christian.
Be blessed! Rev. Ron
Virtuous Living 