Greg Laurie - How to Grow and Last Spiritually (12/31/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie shares from Luke 8's Parable of the Sower, explaining four responses to the gospel: indifferent hearers, shallow rocky-soil believers, worldly choked-out ones, and fruitful persevering Christians. He stresses lasting spiritual growth requires deep roots in Christ through discipline, not fleeting emotion or distractions—urging all to examine their hearts and choose fruitful endurance.
Welcome and Prayer – Setting the Stage
All right. Well let's turn in our Bibles to Luke 8. This is a special message. We will be getting back to our studies in the book of Acts in a couple of weeks. But this is a single message with the title, "How to Grow and Last Spiritually."
By the way how many of you are visiting here at Harvest Orange County for the first time? You have never been here before. Raise up your hand. Well a lot of you. Welcome. Glad you could come.
All right. Let's pray together. Father we ask now for your blessing on this time of Bible study. We want to have ears to hear as you say in the parable that we are about to read. Help us to see that that simply means we need to pay attention. We need to listen up. So speak to us now as we open the Scripture. We ask it in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.
Recent Harvest Crusade Results and Follow-Up
I am not walking out on you. I am shutting this door. Shh. As they are talking in the back room telling them to be quiet. Okay. They are bugging me. All right. Here we go.
Okay. So last week at the Angel Stadium we saw the Lord really work powerfully. Didn't we? Or not last week. A few weeks ago. Seems like last week. We saw 115,000 people come over three nights. And we saw 11,592 people respond to the gospel. Now that is fantastic. And the work of follow up continues on.
But here is the big question. All those people that came forward did they become Christians? Well we don't know the answer to that. That is why we don't call them conversions. We call them professions of faith. Time will tell if they were conversions.
But listen. Here is my job as an evangelist. It is to reach as many people as I can with a life changing message of the gospel. Colossians 1:28 says, "We proclaim Christ, warning everyone we meet and teaching everyone we can all that we know about Him."
Now once that person has responded we will do everything we can to help them grow spiritually. I want you to know we are on it when it comes to follow up. We not only give the information out to local participating churches to follow up. But we ourselves make phone calls to these people. We send emails to them. We send letters to them. We do everything we can just short of being completely obnoxious about it.
So I want you to know we do our part. But here is what it really comes down to. Once that person has responded it is really in a way up to them. I mean if they want to go forward they will. And if they don't want to they won't. All the follow up in the world will not change that.
The Parable of the Sower – Four Soils Explained
And to make this point we are going to look at a familiar passage of Scripture. It is called the parable of the sower. It is an illustration that Jesus used that shows different reactions to the gospel message.
But we will read it in a moment. But I think we all have heard the story before about a sower going out and sowing seed. And it falls on four different types of soil.
And back in biblical times that is the way they planted a crop. Now we might go out and we will prepare the ground and carefully put in the seed. And already there is an irrigation system in place and all kinds of sophisticated hardware we can use to help us get the job done well.
But back in these days it was a little more primitive. Basically you would just have a sower with a sack. It would cut a hole in it and he would just reach his hand and then throw the seed out. To the left, to the right, forwards, backwards and wherever the seed went it went.
And some of it went on good ground and some of it went on rocky ground and some of it went on the roadside and so forth. And then finally some fell and it was very productive. And the actual act of plowing was what was done later. And then the sower would see what kind of crop he actually had.
Well the same could be said of crusade evangelism, so called. Proclamation evangelism. We throw the seed out. You know we throw it out in a stadium. And then we throw it out over the Internet where our Internet audience was larger than the people, the crowd inside of the stadium. Then we throw it out on the radio. On this crusade that we are doing in L.A. in nine days we are going to be on 500 radio stations live around the United States. So a lot of people. And then it goes out later on television. We have already shown two nights of the crusade on television and one more night to go. And the L.A. crusade will go on TV.
And so the seed just gets thrown out further and further and further. But it really is ultimately God that does the work of conversion. Jesus Himself said, "No man comes unless the Father who has sent me draws him."
Again our job is to reach as many as we can. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3, "My job is to plant this seed in your heart. Another watered it. But it was God, not us, who made it grow." The ones who do the planting and watering aren't important. But God is important because He is the one that makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work as a team with the same purpose.
So this is what we are called to do. Just get it out.
Common Questions About Spiritual Response and Growth
Some people are critical of this type of evangelism. And I don't believe in that. Well why not? Why would we not want to reach as many people as possible using every form of media available? Because this is a great opportunity.
But now we answer some questions that will often come up.
Why Some Never Respond to the Gospel
Why is it that some people never seem to respond to the gospel? They are not necessarily mean about it, though they may be. They just are close to it. You know some people will say no with a smile. You will tell them all about your faith in Christ and they will say, "Well that is very nice for you." And you will say, "Well would you like to become a Christian?" "No." They will smile at you. Not at all.
And then other people will be hostile and argumentative. But the bottom line is they just don't respond. Why is that?
How Can Someone Seem Converted Then Fall Away?
Number two. How is it that someone could appear to be radically converted, and so passionate about their new faith, and then without warning just suddenly give up and walk away from it? You have seen that happen. Why does that happen? Were they saved and then they lost their salvation? Or were they ever saved to begin with?
The Secret of Lasting Spiritual Growth
And thirdly. What is the secret of going forward spiritually and having lasting fruit in your life?
Well the answer is in the parable that we are about to read. But let me say at the outset God has given us everything that we need for spiritual growth and progress. In fact we are told in 2 Peter 1:3, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us."
Everything you need is there to grow. So if you want to grow you will. If you don't want to grow you won't. So why do some succeed spiritually when others fail? Because of choices they make. Some don't want to go forward spiritually so they don't. Others do want to go forward spiritually so they do.
It is not just one choice. But it is hundreds of choices made over a period of time.
Now don't misunderstand me. I am not suggesting that living the Christian life is done through human effort. It is God working through us. But we need to yield. Right? There is cooperation here. There is God's part and there is our part. He will transform us and help us. But we need to call upon Him.
One passage that sort of pulls it all together is in Philippians when it says, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." It doesn't say work for your own salvation. Because salvation is not a result of human effort. The Bible says none of us are saved by works.
However that verse does say work it out. What does that mean? It means carry it to the goal and complete. But then it goes on to say "for it is God that works in you both to will and do of His good pleasure."
So yeah. Carry it to the goal and complete. And it is God working through you. There is God's part and then there is your part. So we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit that wants to transform us.
And the end game here is to be a fruitful Christian. In fact as we will look at these categories in a moment only one category really brought forth spiritual fruit.
We will read the whole parable in a moment. But over in Luke 8:15 we read, "The ones who fell on the good ground are those who hear the word of God with a noble and good heart. Keep it and bring forth fruit with perseverance."
That is what it is all about. Being a fruitful and growing Christian.
By the way did you know that is why you are here on this earth? To bring forth fruit and to glorify God. You might say, "Well I thought I was on this earth to just think about myself all day long." Or "I thought I was here on this earth to find personal fulfillment and happiness." No. Actually you are on this earth to glorify the God who made you and bring forth spiritual fruit.
Jesus said, "You did not choose me but I chose and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain."
So here is my question. How are you doing in that regard? Are you bearing fruit? Are you growing spiritually?
Let me ask it another way. Are you satisfied with where you are at right now in your spiritual life? If you are totally satisfied with where you are at raise your hand up. Oh really? That is good. That is a good response. I was just waiting for one guy to go, "Me!" You know. Okay.
Well let me answer that question personally. I am not satisfied with where I am at. I think I have a long ways to go. And my wife would say, "Amen to that." Oh sure it is true. I am not satisfied and I want to continue to grow.
Listen. The enemy to growth is contentment. The good is often the enemy of the best. Well we say, "Well it is good enough." You see this when people just give up trying to get in shape. You know they don't even exercise anymore. They just, "Ah just forget it." There is nothing you can do. They don't even try to control the intake of food. They just, just go for it. "I am already overweight. Might as well even be more overweight." You know. "I have just given up." And I think that is a bad way to live. I think you should try to keep in good shape.
You know I, I get a physical every year. And I go in and, and they have me do X amount of push ups and sit ups. And I will ask, "How many did I do last year?" And they will tell me. And I will always try to surpass it. Like this last year. "How many did I do last year?" They said four. So I did four push ups. But, ah, but I am up to two hundred crunches a day now. Pretty good. You should try it. Nestle's crunches. It has been very... But what I try to do is surpass what I did before.
Well we can have that same attitude spiritually. Well admittedly I am not as spiritual as I ought to be. But you know there are a lot of people I know that are even worse than I am. Oh so is that your standard of measure? You are always going to find someone worse than you. Right? But how about all those people that are doing better than you? Well why not say I want to grow even more.
Paul summed it up perfectly in Philippians 3:12 when he said, and this is a modern translation, "I am not saying I have this all together or I have it made. But I am well on my way reaching out for Christ who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong. By no means do I count myself an expert in this. But I have got my eye on the goal where God is calling us onward to Jesus. I am off and running and I am not turning back."
Reading the Parable of the Sower – Luke 8
So with that in mind let's look now at the parable of the sower and think a little bit about how we all can grow and last. And I underline that word spiritually.
Luke 8:4. "And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: '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!'"
Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?" And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God; but to the rest it is given in parables, that 'Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.'"
"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 for a while believe, 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."
Highway Hearers – Indifferent and Unresponsive
A very important phrase that is used here. Jesus says, "He that has ears to hear, let him hear." That is just an old fashioned way of saying listen up. Pay attention to what I am about to say. Jesus is pointing out. Listen to what I am telling you now.
Now as you think about these soils you will find you fit in one of these categories. One of these four categories represents you. You decide which one describes you best.
Let's start with category number one. We will call them highway hearers. Verse 12. "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."
The seed in the first category never takes root. These are people that hear it but simply don't believe it. It is not like they start to believe. They just blow it off. They are not interested. Their hearts are like Teflon.
And Jesus uses the image of birds coming to eat the food. Now you know what this is like. You ever eat outside at a McDonald's or an In and out. There are birds that hang out. This is like the promised land of birds. Especially when kids show up. Because when you have food for kids more food ends up on the floor than in their stomach. Right? And so the birds just wait. And that fry before it even hits the ground. They come down and they swoop it up and they grab it.
And that is the idea that is being conveyed here. Think about when you go to the beach. Have you ever been bothered by seagulls? I don't really like seagulls at all. They are just lame birds. You know they are not really very pretty and they are absolute thieves. You know they will come and take your food. I have had seagulls fly off with my lunch. They will sometimes take your children if you don't watch them. Some of you are saying, "OK what beach is that because I like..." No. You know but they are scavengers. They are waiting to swoop in.
And so that is the picture that Jesus uses. The birds just come in and they grab the seed before it ever even hits the ground.
These are the people that will not respond to the gospel. So let us answer that first question. Why is it that some people hear the gospel and don't respond?
Now first let me say what they will probably offer as their reason. They will say, "Well you know I have a problem with this teaching of the Bible." Or "I think the Bible is full of contradictions." Or "I think there are a lot of hypocrites in the church." Or "What about the person living in the middle of the jungle who has never heard the gospel." Or "Why does God allow suffering."
You know it is not about any of those things. And I will tell you why. Because the moment you start to address the actual issues with an intelligent and biblical response they will change the subject. Because it is not about any of those things. It is simply about this. They want you to go away. And they are saying those things to perplex or confuse you. Hoping you will be stumped by them.
But if you have prepared yourself and you give them answers they will become angry. They don't want to believe. That is why.
Jesus gave it to us succinctly in John 3:19. "Here is the condemnation. Light is coming to the world. And men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil."
Bottom line is they don't want to change. Bottom line is they don't want to stop doing the thing that they are doing that they know deep down inside is a sin before God. Bottom line is they don't want to admit their weakness and their need for God. They just don't want to believe. That is why these people are the way that they are.
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4, "If our gospel is hid, it is hid to those that are lost. And the God of this world has blinded the eyes and minds of those who do not believe lest the light of the gospel should shine on them."
These people go the way of the crowd. They will do what everybody else does. They march in lock step. The Bible says, "All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way."
So what should we do? Give up on them? No. Pray for them. Because we ask that the Lord would open their eyes and help them to see their need for Jesus Christ.
But this is at least why some people are completely resistant.
Rocky Road Hearers – Excited But Rootless
But now the second category is a little more interesting. Not as easy to figure out. I will call them rocky road hearers. Verse 13. "Those on the rock are the ones when they hear the word, listen, receive it with joy. But they have no root. They believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away."
In contrast to the hard heartedness or indifference of the highway hearer, these people react with excitement, passion, and a temporal joy. But they don't stand the test of time because they have no roots.
One thing you will discover if you ever go to Israel. And we are going to take a tour of Israel next year. You might want to check that out. But one thing you will see is there are a lot of rocks. I was talking to my granddaughter Stella the other day and I said, "What do you remember most about your trip to Israel?" She said, "Rocks." Rocks are everywhere. Rocks are on top of the soil. They are embedded in the soil. They are underneath the soil.
So when you throw the seed, this is the idea of a patch of ground that was filled with rocks. And so the roots would start to go down. But they would hit the rock and shoot out so outwardly it would look good. But there was no root to sustain the growth.
That is this category. Who are these people? In contrast to the others, the highway hearer that just blow it off, these people come with you to church. And when the invitation is given at church or in a crusade they don't walk forward. They run forward. And they come back talking about how God has changed their life. And they go out and get a Bible. They don't just get any Bible. They get the biggest Bible you have ever seen. They carry it around in a little trailer behind them. And they have their car covered with bumper stickers. Not just one. They have a hundred stickers on their car.
And they talk about Jesus. And they talk about their new faith. And they are at church every night of the week. And they sing louder than you do in the worship songs. And they lift their hands higher. And you say, "That is the most amazing conversion I have ever seen."
Well maybe. Time will tell. Listen. It is not how high you jump. It is how straight you walk when you hit the ground again.
And I have met people that are all emotional about Jesus. And all fired up about their faith. And then you see them fall into gross sin. And you say, "What is going on?" Well they may be in this category.
These people were into it. But they never really got rooted in Christ. But why? Some people are just impulsive by nature. Right? They are always on to the latest fad. Whatever gets their attention. That is what they want to be into.
Have you ever noticed that when you buy something on Amazon.com? How many of you have shopped at Amazon? Okay. When you buy something they have this crazy software that figures out what else you might want to buy. Right? So you are getting ready to order it. And it says, "If you like this you might also like that." Ooh. Look at that. All it takes is click. Click. And it is coming to you. And you just got charged for it. Oh but if you like this other thing you might like this, this, and this. Click, click, click, click, click.
Because they know there are impulsive people out there that will buy just because it catches their attention. And they won't think about it and ask themselves the question, "Do I really need this thing?"
There are impulsive people. If you don't believe me just walk through a neighborhood anywhere on a Saturday afternoon when people have the garage doors open. See all those exercise machines? How many times have you seen someone working out? No. You see things hanging on them. Because they probably saw a commercial on television or decided they were going to get into shape and then they didn't follow through.
I remember years ago we were over in Hawaii doing a pastor's conference and Raul Reis was there. And I was on this stupid diet called the Atkins diet. It is high protein. And it is the greatest diet on earth for one day. And I will tell you why it is great for one day because for breakfast you can have an omelet with cheese and bacon. Even more bacon. And for lunch you can have fish or meat or some cheese if you want. Then dinner it is more cheese and meat. And it is protein. It is all protein. No carbs for the most part.
So I was on this diet and I told Raul Reis about it. I said, "Raul, I am on the Atkins diet." He goes, "How does it work, man?"
"Okay, so... I need to go on it completely. I am telling you." I said, "Okay Raul, you eat protein." So after church we went to this little buffet. They had cheese. I said, "I walked through. You can eat this. You can eat this. Can't eat that. Don't eat that. Eat this." So Raul comes back to his table with the biggest mound of shrimp I have ever seen. It seemed like it was this high.
"What are you doing?" "You said I could eat them, man." And Raul, the thing is, he eats the shrimp tail and all. He eats the whole thing. He is going, "Greg, I love this diet."
Okay. So that evening we are walking around and we go by an ice cream store. And "Oh let us get some ice cream." "Oh it is not on the diet." So we didn't go. Raul told me later, "You know when you were by the ice cream store I was in there." "What were you doing?" "Eating a hot fudge sundae man."
"Well that is not really on the diet." Now it has just turned into a weight gain diet. Raul liked it for two hours.
That is how a lot of us are. And these people are excited but it does not stand the test of time. But why? Some possible explanations.
Why Some Fall Away After a Strong Start
Maybe they built their faith on the wrong foundation. You know maybe they went forward because their friends did. And when their friends fall away they fall away too.
Or maybe they put their faith in a certain church or a preacher. And they went to church and found out it wasn't perfect. It is filled with flawed people like them. "Oh well this is not what I was expecting." Or some preacher didn't measure up to their expectation. Or whatever it was. But they didn't build their foundation on Christ.
Listen. That is the only foundation that will sustain you as a Christian. Not a person. Not a preacher. Not a church. Jesus Christ. That is what you want to build your life on. 1 Corinthians 3:11 says, "No man can lay any foundation other than the one that is already laid which is Jesus Christ."
But we get hung up on preachers and churches. And sometimes we are all about that more than we are about Christ. And this happened even in the days of Paul. Where people were running around saying, "Well I am a follower of Paul." And others are saying, "Well I follow Apollos." And others are saying, "Well I follow Peter."
And we have the same thing today. "Well I am an Episcopalian." "Oh well I am a Pentecostal." "Well I am confused. I am an Episcopalian, you know." "Oh I go to Calvary Chapel." "Oh well I go to Saddleback." "Well I go to Mariners." "Well I go to all of the above. We call it Middleback Chapel." I don't know. Don't ever do that with this church. "Oh we go to Harvest." It is not about Harvest. It is not about Calvary Chapel. It is not about Saddleback. It is about Jesus. It is about Jesus. Be of Christ.
I mean good. You have a church you go to. Go to the church. Ours is the best. No I am joking. I am kidding. See it is not. We are all part of the body of Christ. And that is our message. And that is where our identity should be in Christ Himself.
Build your foundation on Him and you will be able to weather any storm.
Number two. Maybe it was the challenge of discipleship that caused them to turn away. You know some people like the idea of having their sin forgiven and going to heaven. But when they read passages where Jesus tells them to deny themselves and take up the cross and follow their response is, "I don't know. That sounds a little hard. I don't think I want to do that."
And they turn away. But if you are going to be a real Christian you are going to stay with it.
In fact I believe if a person professes faith and falls away and never comes back. It is not an issue of a person losing their salvation. It is an issue of a person who was never saved to begin with.
You say, "Well what do you base that on?" Well I actually base that on 1 John 2:19. It says, "They went out from us. But they did not really belong to us. Because if they really belonged to us they would have remained with us. But their going out showed that none of them belonged to us."
Now I am acknowledging you can make a commitment to Christ and fall away and come back. Because a prodigal will always come home. But for people that come and never return they are not prodigals. They were never believers. Or they would return.
And so that is what this category is. Maybe it was unbelief that is set in. Every new believer especially is going to be hit by tests of their faith. And one of the first things the devil is going to whisper into the ear of a brand new Christian is, "Do you really think God saved you? You psyched yourself into that whole thing. That is not real. This whole Christianity thing isn't real."
That is why if you know a new believer you need to encourage them on what God's Word has said about the assurance of salvation. It is not based on your emotions.
Well anyway these people just never bring forth lasting fruit.
Thorny Hearers – Choked by Worldly Cares
Now we come to category number 3. These are choked out by weeds and thorns. So we will call them thorny hearers. Verse 14. "They fell among thorns. They hear it. They go forth. But listen to this. This is fascinating. They are choked with the cares and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to perfection."
Weeds choke them out. I have always been amazed by weeds. You know you can take a little flower and you plant it. And you make sure there is no snails or anything around it. You make sure it is watered. It is in the sun. You sing to it every day. You give it a little gentle hug. You know. You do everything possible for that flower. And it slowly grows.
Then some stinking weed in the same amount of time grows twenty feet high out of a crack in the sidewalk. Now the idea is that the weed chokes out the flower.
Now you have probably noticed that weeds don't just burst out of the ground and grab the flower and start shaking it. It is gradual. First there is a flower growing. Then the weed comes out. Then the next day the weed is a little closer. And it is a little closer. And it is a little closer. And it starts to wrap itself around the flower and choke out its growth.
And that is what Jesus is describing. This is not something that happens over night. This is something that happens over a period of time.
What is it that chokes it out? The cares and riches and pleasures of this life. It is interesting it doesn't say the sins, though it could include that. These are not necessarily bad things in and of themselves. But these are good things that became the most important things choking out the spiritual things.
It has been said more have been killed by food than by poison. The second best is often the worst enemy of the best.
This is not a person that says, "I won't pray. I won't read the Bible. I won't go to church." This person would say, "I think those are good things to do." But over a period of time they just start losing interest and things of this world become more important to them than the things of the next world. The physical is more important than the spiritual.
You know for them they would rather watch television than go to church. They would rather do something fun than something that involves faith. And these are the things that choke them out.
Now it is interesting because the word that Jesus uses here can be translated, "the anxieties and worries of life." Life is filled with anxiety. We all have it. Especially with this economy. Maybe you had a lot of money put away or at least some money put away and suddenly it was gone. And it is like, "That was my nest egg. I was planning for my retirement." Sad thing is you are sixteen. But still you know. You are going to retire young.
Or maybe you have lost your job. Or maybe you have lost your job. Or you are not being paid as much as you were paid. Or something has happened and you are in anxiety. It keeps you up at night. And you worry a lot. You are not worrying about bad things. You are worrying about the necessities of life.
And Jesus says you can be choked out by these things. Sometimes people worry so much about living longer they end up living shorter. Because they are stressed all the time.
We live in a time where people are just obsessed with trying to extend the length of life. You know through vitamins or health spas or exercise. You know. They just... You ever go to a health food store? I think the people in health food stores are sometimes a little weird. I don't know. Is it just me? It is like sometimes you want to say, "People the sixties are over. I don't know." They are just like still wearing the tie-dye shirts. "Yeah. I tell you. The Grateful Dead. They were the best." Yeah. Okay.
But then there are other people that frighten me a little as well. Now there are nice normal people that go to health food stores. I am not saying you should eat bad food or never exercise. What I am saying is we need to find balance.
But here is what you need to know. You don't determine how long you live. God does. The Bible says in Job 14:5, "Man's days are determined. You have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed."
By all means live a healthy life. By all means get your regular checkups and do what your doctor tells you to do. Of course. But understand that may improve the quality of your life. But ultimately the quantity of your life is up to God.
So what chokes these people out? It is the cares of this world. Some people are drawn to this world like a moth is drawn to a flame. You ever watch a moth with a light? It is almost like they get drunk. You know they come cruising up. "Hey. Whoa. Hey." Oh you know. They are just bouncing around getting all crazy.
And that drives my wife nuts because she hates moths and feels that they are all out to get her. It is a moth. You know because she has that luxurious beautiful hair. Moths look at me and like "Why bother him." I mean I will take a landing strip. We want to go into her hair. Now that is fun.
I remember years ago we were in China. And we actually smuggled some Bibles in. And we were walking around. And I am walking down the street there in Shanghai. And my wife is walking toward me. And I looked on the ground and saw the biggest moth I have ever seen. Literally it was the size of a good sized bird. It was a moth. It even freaked me out a little bit. I went "Whoa." And I looked at it and said, "Kathy come look at the little bird." And so because I knew this would just see what a bad husband I am.
So she comes walking up. And then the moth starts to flutter. And I am like "Whoa." And some guy comes out of nowhere and he just goes. It is a horrible moment. I am still traumatized by it. But how did they get up on all this moth stuff.
All right. It is the cares of this world. You know Paul in his letter to the Philippians spoke of fellow believers. Philippians 1:23. He said, "Epaphras my fellow prisoner in Christ send you greetings. So do Mark, Aristarchus, and Demas and Luke my co-workers."
How cool would it be to be mentioned by name in one of Paul's epistles. Do you think you would bring that up in conversation? "Hey my name is Aristarchus. You may have heard of me in one of the epistles of Paul." "Yeah me and Paul are like this." Yeah.
Well one of those guys mentioned is Demas. What an honor that was. And not only was Demas mentioned in one epistle but in two. The good news is Demas was mentioned in two epistles. The bad news is the second mention was about his apostasy.
Something happened to Demas between the time of the writing of Paul's first epistle. Because in 2 Timothy 4:10 Paul says, "Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica."
Hey remember Demas? "Yeah he is not with me anymore. He loves what? The things of this life."
There is nothing wrong with having a nice home. And having a good career. And having things that God blesses you with. In fact the Bible even says He has given us these things richly to enjoy.
But if those things become the most important things to you. More important than God Himself. Then you have a problem my friend. And this is what Paul is warning about.
That is why the Bible says, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."
So the thorns choke it out. The weeds hinder its growth.
Fruitful Hearers – The Goal of Lasting Growth
But now we finally come to category number four. We will call them fruitful hearers. This is where we want to land. I hope you didn't relate to those other categories. This is the only totally legit category.
Verse 15, "Those on the good ground who are they when they with an honest and good heart have heard the word they keep it and bring forth fruit with patience."
Now that word patience comes from a Greek word that means to endure, to press on. So they hang in there.
Good ground is made that way by the gardener. It doesn't just happen to be good ground. The rocks have to be uprooted. The boulders have to be removed. The weed growth has to be pulled. And sometimes the Lord will come into our life and do a little work to help our heart be more receptive. And we are often resistant of that. But we need to cooperate and let the Holy Spirit do His work that we might bring forth fruit.
How do you bring forth this fruit? Verse 15, "They hear the word and they keep it." Jesus told us in John 15 that He wants us to bring forth fruit. And He said, "Abide in Me and you will bring forth much fruit."
What does it mean to abide? It means to stay in a given place and not move. I mean what would happen if I had a tree in my front yard. And I looked at it and said, "You know what? I don't think that is a good place for this tree. I am going to put it in my backyard." So I dug it up and took it around in my backyard and planted it.
And I looked at it and said, "That is really not right. It was better in that front yard." So I pulled it up again and I bring it out and plant it in my front yard. "Yeah, I am not really thinking this is the right place." And I take it back to my backyard and I do this, excuse me, five more times.
What is going to happen to the tree? I choke up thinking about it. It is a very emotional thing to me. I think I just swallowed a moth. I am not sure. But that tree is going to die.
You can't plant something, uproot it, plant it, uproot it, plant it, uproot it, and not expect it to die.
So here is what happens. We say "I am going to walk with the Lord. I am going to get into the Word and pray every..." I am going to go out and get drunk tonight. That might be fun. "Oh no. I need to go back to church and be worshiped." You know "I think we are going to go out and go to this party." You know "I am going to do this and that." And you are back and forth like that.
You are never going to bring forth fruit. To abide means you develop discipline. And every day you get up in the morning and you open up the Word of God and you read it.
By the way we have a harvest app you can download for free. Put it on your iPhone, your iPad, your iTouch or your Android device. And it has a through the Bible in a year guide that I use myself and really enjoy. It will take you to the whole Bible. You click the little thing. It takes you to the Scripture. Then there is a daily devotional and much more to go with that.
But the main thing is you get into the Word of God every day. You pray every day. You are faithful in your involvement in the church. And these things will produce fruit in time.
But some people don't want to do that. Listen. Here is what it comes down to. Time will determine who the true Christians are.
I think we are going to be in for some surprises when we get to heaven. I think some of the people we thought would be there won't be there. Some of the people we never thought would be there will be there. And we will be there. That is a big surprise. But I am kidding really because I fully expect to be there.
But you know sometimes people have a good start and a bad end. And some people have a slow start and a great end. The main thing is to end well. Even if you haven't necessarily started well.
Consider this. Judas Iscariot was an apostle in good standing when Nicodemus was just finding his way in. But in the end Nicodemus stood up for Jesus publicly when Judas betrayed him for thirty pieces of silver.
But some start and finish well. That is hopefully where we will be. So let's work on finishing well. Maybe you didn't start so well. Maybe you haven't done so well for the first three years or four years. All right. Change that tonight. Say "I am going to be a fruitful hearer. I am going to sink my roots deep into Jesus Christ. I am going to develop discipline in these things. And I want to bring forth fruit that will remain so I can bring glory to God."
And look what happens. He brings forth fruit. Matthew's version of it says he brought forth fruit thirty, sixty, even a hundred times.
So what is this seed we are sowing? It is the Word of God. It is the Gospel. We are telling people who Jesus is. It is God's work to bring the response.
Upcoming Dodger Stadium Crusade and Personal Application
In just nine days we will be at Dodger Stadium. I urge you all to come and bring with you someone that does not yet know the Lord. And who knows what God will do.
I think back over the years some of the amazing stories that have bubbled up from these crusades. And one of our first crusades, 1990, actually was our first crusade. A young man went forward whose name was Greg Rossinger. This guy had struggled with drugs. He had overdosed at one point and turned from drugs to heavy drinking.
And looking for a drinking partner Greg called his ex-girlfriend not knowing she had become a Christian. And after failed attempts to get Greg to church he got him to go with her to the Harvest Crusade. And he received Christ that night.
Not only did he turn away from drugs and alcohol but he started serving the Lord. Ended up as a youth pastor. And then went and started his own church. See that is the truth that remains.
But we do not just reach drug users. When we were in Sacramento holding our crusade at the Arco Arena there was a successful litigation attorney named Gary there. He was a good guy. Actually tried to practice what he perceived as a Christian work ethic at his law office. His wife Lori was a very moral person. They were making really good money. They lived in a beautiful home.
But something was missing in Gary and Lori's lives. And here is the interesting thing. They both heard about the crusade by having flyers given to them separately. Someone came up to them and said, "Hey here is a flyer to the Harvest Crusade" to Lori. And someone else came up to Gary in a different place. Gave them the flyer.
They came home. Compared flyers. Said "Let us go to this thing." And then they went forward at the invitation. Both gave their life to the Lord.
Now Gary is involved in his church. He has been involved in missionary work. That is fruit that remains.
But here is a story I just received this week via email. And this involves bumper stickers of all things. This is why it is important to put a Harvest sticker on your car. It is from a girl named Madison.
She says, "Hello Greg. I am sure you do not read these emails." Well I do. And I would appreciate it if you would listen to my story. This time last year I was struggling with the meaning of life. And I stumbled upon a Harvest Crusade sticker. Saw it in someone's car. And so I looked it up.
She googled it. Found out about our ministry. Went to our website. Found a video that told her how to come to Jesus Christ. She prayed. Gave her life to the Lord. And she also mentioned that she had considered suicide prior to this. And now she has a ministry to other people who are contemplating suicide.
So you know. You see. Just an invitation given here. A bumper sticker on your car there. How God can use it.
So our job is just sow the seed. Get it out to as many people as possible. It is God's job to do what He will with that seed.
Final Invitation – Come to Christ Publicly
Now I don't know if you relate to any of these people that I just mentioned. Maybe you are struggling with drugs like Greg did. You have suicidal tendencies like that girl Madison. Or maybe you are moral and good like Laurie and Gary. But everybody needs Jesus. I don't care who you are. If you are up and out. Down and out. Young. Old. Everybody needs Christ.
And I hope you don't wait until the L.A. Crusade to settle this. If you have joined us tonight, and most of you have. At least bodily. This man has been asleep the entire time. No he hasn't.
But if you have never put your faith in Jesus why don't you do that as we close right now. Jesus Christ came to this earth. He died on the cross for your sin. He paid the price for all the wrongs you have done. He rose again from the dead three days later.
Now He stands at the door of your life and He knocks and says if you will hear His voice and open the door He will come in.
So here is my question to you. Have you asked Christ to come into your life? Do you know with confidence right now that if you died tonight you would go to heaven? If not let's settle that.
Or maybe some of you have fallen away from the Lord. And you need to come back. I mentioned earlier if you are a real Christian though you may go astray for a time you will always come home. But if you don't come back home that would indicate to me you were never a Christian to begin with.
Maybe some of you need to come back home again tonight. We are going to give you that opportunity as we close now in prayer.
Let's all bow our heads. Father I pray for any that have joined us here that do not yet know You. Help them to see their need for You. Help them to come to You tonight and believe and be forgiven of all of their sins.
Or if they have fallen away Lord help them to come back to You again we ask.
Now when our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying. How many of you would say tonight, Greg pray for me. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life. I want Him to forgive me of my sin. I want to know that when I die I will go to Heaven. I am ready to say yes to Jesus.
If that is your desire wherever you are. If you want Christ to come into your life and forgive you of your sin. Would you lift your hand up right now and I would like to pray for you.
If you want Christ to come into your life God bless you back there. Just lift your hand up right now and see it in the very back. God bless you. And there in the back God bless you as well. God bless you too.
This is a step only you can take. You need to say, "Lord I need You in my life. I want Your forgiveness." And if you want that tonight. If you want to know God in a personal way. You want your guilt taken away. Lift your hand up. I will pray for you tonight. Wherever you are. God bless you. Anybody else? Lift your hand now. God bless you guys.
While our heads are still bowed maybe some of you would say, "You know I have been a prodigal son or daughter. And I want to come home tonight. I want to return to the Lord." Pray for me.
If that is your desire. If you want to return to Christ this evening. Would you lift your hand up. And let me pray for you right now. You want to return to the Lord. God bless you. Just lift your hand up where I can see it please. God bless you. Anybody else? God bless you. God bless each one of you.
Father thank You now for these. And I pray You will give them the strength to stand up and follow You from this night forward. For we ask it in Jesus name. Amen.
Listen. Everyone that Jesus calls He calls openly and publicly. In a moment our worship group is going to lead us in a song of invitation. And I am going to ask if you would raise your hand with me during that last moment of prayer saying that you want Christ to come into your life. Saying you want to be forgiven of your sin. Or saying you want to come back to the Lord.
I am going to ask that when the song begins you would get up out of your seat and walk down here to the front and stand in front of this stage. When you get here I am going to lead you in a prayer.
Now why do I ask you to come publicly? Well because Jesus said if you will acknowledge me before people I will acknowledge you before my Father and the angels in heaven. But He added if you deny me before people I will deny you before the Father and the angels.
This is a way to acknowledge Him before people. To say I mean this. I am serious. I don't care who sees. In fact I am glad they see it. Because this is a commitment that I really want to make.
Maybe you did not lift your hand. But you want to make this commitment to follow Jesus. You come up as well.
So again if you raise your hand even if you did not. But you want Jesus Christ to come into your life. You want your sin forgiven. You want to know that when you die you will go to heaven. Or you have fallen away from the Lord and you want to come back to Him now.
As the group sings get up out of your seat. Come on down here to the front. When you get here I will lead you in prayer. Get up and come now. Come. Come on, come on.