author: Ryan Hayden Take your Bibles with me and turn to Luke 8. Luke 8. In just a moment we are going to read the first 21 verses of this chapter.

As you are turning there, I want to talk about something interesting you may have never considered: you know I can see you right?

In any crowd, there are always different people.

• There are some people who just seem angry. Like (arms crossed, grumpy look on their faces.) It's almost like they are saying "I dare you to try to teach me something."
• There are some people who are obviously somewhere else. They are thinking about their todo list or their vacation or something. But they aren't checked in. They aren't listening.
• There are some people who are distracted by kids or by babies or by something someone else in the congregation is doing.
• There are always, always some people who are sleeping. I remember early on when I came to preach here, there was a man who used to sit right up front. And one night I was preaching and he was out. I mean, he was sawing logs. I wish I could nap like that in my bed. After the service he made a beeline to me and I thought he was going to apologize for sleeping. That's not what happened, he said "Pastor, that was the best message I have ever heard."
• Of course, what keeps me going is knowing that there are people who are listening intently, who are taking notes. I LOVE it when people ask me specific questions about the message because that means they are listening.

But the thing I want you to understand is that as I preach, I can see you.

In our story today, Jesus is preaching to huge crowds. Probably the biggest crowds of His entire earthly ministry. But far more than I can see people, Jesus could see the hearts of who He was talking to. Jesus knew that not everyone in the crowd was going to hear His message the same way:

• Some of them were skeptical and hardened - they had hard hearts and the truth was never going to break in.
• Some of them would get really excited about what Jesus was saying and go all in, but they would burn out in a week or two when things got tough.
• Some of the people who listened to Jesus would try to follow him, but the message of Christianity would just get choked out by the other junk in their life.
• But some of them, maybe a small percentage, but some of them would hear it and believe it and live the rest of their life for the Lord.

So the message today is all about how you hear the word of God.

Listen, the word of God is quick and powerful, it is alive. It is sharper than a two-edged sword. It is the thing that God has provided for us to make us perfect (or complete) followers of Him.

The word doesn't change. But that doesn't mean everyone receives the word the same way. The biggest variable for the success of God's word in your life is how you hear it.

I want to give you four points this morning about how we respond to the truth.

• I want us to look at the power of the truth first.
• Then we will look at how we must hear the truth.
• Then we will look at a principle Jesus gave hear about what happens when we hear or reject truth.
• Finally, we'll talk about how the truth must be acted on.

We will read all of verses 1-21 this morning, but we will read it as we go through each of these four points.

Let's pray and we'll get into our outline.

author: Ryan Hayden

The first point I want us to look at today is...

1. The truth has power.

Let's start by reading verses 1-3:

[!bible] Luke 8:1-3 - KJV

1. And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,
2. And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,
3. And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.

This chapter starts with an interesting side note: it tells us that Jesus, as He preached all around, had a group of followers with Him.

Of course, we would expect the 12 disciples to follow Him and they did. But along with them, there were a group of women who followed Jesus.

Now, that is interesting for a couple of reasons: First, because in Bible times, women weren't treated the same way they are treated today. A rabbi would usually refuse to teach women. They were almost treated like property.

But one thing you'll notice as you read scripture is how many of the stories of Jesus are about women who knew him and his love for and care for women.

Here in this text it tells us about just a few of the women who followed Jesus:

• One was named Mary Magdalene and it tells us that she had been demon possessed. She had been a very messed up woman before she met Jesus. But after she met Christ, she became one of His most faithful followers. In fact, she was one of the first people to know about Jesus' resurrection.
• Another one of these inner circle women was a woman named Joanna. Joanna had a very different background than Mary Magdalene. If Mary was rough around the edges, Joanna would have been blue-blood and upper class. She was married to Herod's right hand man. (Herod was technically the king at the time). So she was very wealthy.
• It mentions another woman named Susanna. She is only mentioned here and we know nothing else about her.

But it tells us that these women ministered to Jesus with their substance. In other words, they helped finance Jesus' ministry. No doubt they did many things as well behind the scenes.

So before we even get to the meat of our story today, we are introduced to these women who heard the Truth and the Truth changed their lives. The Truth helped them with their infirmities. Because of that - they now lived for Jesus.

Imagine this - just in this one verse here it mentions a woman with a very rough past and another woman who was the super wealthy and in the king's court. But the truth of God's word and love for Christ had brought these woman together.

Let's not forget that God's word changes lives. There is a song I love actually called "God's word changes lives" and it's chorus says:

God's word changes lives
It's power cannot be denied
The lost find salvation
The simple become wise
God's word changes lives

So as we think about hearing the truth today, lets start by reminding ourselves just how powerful the truth can be in our lives. It's not something to dabble in. It's not something to sample. It's something that wants to completely change your life for the better.

That's the first point today. The Truth has Power. The second point I want to cover today is...

2. The Truth must be heard

Let's continue reading in our text (we are going to read verses 4-15):

[!bible] Luke 8:4-15 - KJV 4. And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: 5. A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. 6. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. 7. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. 8. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 9. And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? 10. And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. 11. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. 14. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. 15. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

At this point, Jesus is preaching to probably the largest crowd in His whole ministry. They have come to Him from all over Galilee, from every city and there are so many people pressed to hear Jesus that Matthew and Mark tell us that Jesus had to teach from a boat. There could have been thousands and thousands of people listening to Jesus. Massive crowds.

But as Jesus looked out on these massive crowds, the thing that seemed to bother Jesus is that He knew that not everyone in that crowd was going to receive His word. Very few in that huge crowd would be like the disciples, or like Mary or Joanna.

And so Jesus gave them this parable of the soils. In Bible times, the typical way fields were planted was the farmer would go out with a bag of seed and just through it on the ground and then they would come back by later and till the ground.

So in this story, this parable, the sower represents Jesus (and all preachers of the word) and the seed represents the word of God. These are constants. They do not change.

What does change is the soil that the seed falls on.

Jesus said that some seed falls by the wayside. This would have been the paths around the field that were hard because they were walked on. The ground is so hard that the seed just sits on top of it and the birds swoop down and eat it.

Some seed falls on rocky soil. In Palestine, it's pretty common for there to be a shallow layer of soil, just an inch or two, on top of a rock. What happens when seed falls on it is it starts to grow really quickly - it can't go down, so it just gos up. But because it has no roots and can't absorb moisture as soon as the sun get's hot it withers and dies.

Some seed falls on crowded soil. Soil that already has plants and weeds in it. This seed starts to grow, but it has competition that chokes it out and it is never able to grow to maturity.

Of course, some seed falls on good ground and it creates a bountiful harvest. This is what makes the whole exercise worthwhile.

When the disciples ask Jesus about the meaning of this parable, Jesus explains that the seed was the word of God. And the four types of soils are the four types of hearts that hear the word of God.

• Some people have hard hearts. The word just cannot penetrate them. The devil just comes and gobbles up the truth.
• Some people have shallow hearts. These are the people who hear the truth and seem like they are on fire for God. But they have no roots and as soon as something bad happens they burn out and you never see them again.
• Some people have crowded hearts. They just have so much going on in their life, so many worldly concerns, that they can never grow to maturity.
• Finally, some people have good and honest hearts - they hear the truth and the truth creates a harvest in their life.

Again, the truth doesn't change. The same truth that created a 100x harvest in one heart just gets gobbled up by the devil in another heart. The same truth that changes one persons life never really takes any root in another persons life and so they burn out on it quickly.

The truth is constant - what matters is how we receive the truth.

Jesus said it in verse 8 when he finished this parable:

[!bible] Luke 8:8 - KJV 8. ...He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

So the question is - do you have ears to hear? What kind of truth hearer are you? What kind of heart do you have for the truth?

Do you have a hard heart? Have you already rejected Jesus. Has life so packed down your heart you can't hear it? Do you have a shallow heart?
Do you have a crowded heart?

What kind of soil are you? That is the most important question. It determines how you are going to receive the truth of God's word.

So I've talked about the power of the truth, I've talked about how the truth is heard by different types of people. Let's move on to the third thing we are going to talk about today and that is:

3. What happens when we receive or reject truth.

Lets keep reading in our passage. Look at verses 16-17 with me.

[!bible] Luke 8:16-17 - KJV 16. No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. 17. For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.

Jesus makes it clear hear the purpose of truth - its for everyone to see. Jesus' message wasn't some secret message. Jesus wanted everyone to see the light. Jesus wanted the truth to be revealed.

But in verse 18 Jesus gives us a really important principle. Look at it:

[!bible] Luke 8:18 - KJV 18. Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.

Let me tell you something about the truth: How you receive truth today determines your ability to receive truth tomorrow.

This is the use it or lose it principle.

If you receive the truth today - then that is going to enable you to receive more truth tomorrow. Truth is like a snowball. The more you know, the more you can know. The only way to learn more things is by associating them with things you already know.

So if we hear and embrace the word of God - then God gives us more understanding. But if we reject the truth of God's word - then God takes away even what we think we know.

Listen, almost everyone who is a rabidly anti-Christian today used to consider themselves a Christian. The God-haters used to be church sitters. Do you know what happened, at some point they did't receive the truth. They rejected it and lost it all.

So be careful about how you receive the word of God. Because how you receive it today determines your momentum. It determines your direction. Are you headed towards growth in the word or loss? It's up to you.

author: Ryan Hayden

Alright, let's keep reading in our passage and I'll give you one last point today. Let's read verses 19-21:

[!bible] Luke 8:19-21 - KJV 19. Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press. 20. And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. 21. And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.

This story ends in kind of a weird way. Jesus' mother and brothers try to see Him, but there are so many people that they can't get to Him. When his disciples tell him "Hey, your mother and brothers are trying to see you." Jesus turns to them and says "My mother and brethren are these which hear the word of God and do it."

Now, Jesus wasn't being calloused towards His mother. Some of Jesus' last words on the cross were taking care of his mother and at least one of Jesus' brothers went on to be leaders in the church.

Jesus was teaching us something.

So far, I've given you three points:

• The truth changes lives
• The way we receive the truth is what matters
• When we receive the truth we get more truth, when we reject the truth we lose the truth we already have.

But there is one more lesson here:

4. We must obey the truth to find true belonging.

There are two key things in what Jesus said here about being his mother and brethren.

The first is Jesus said we must hear the word of God and do it. This is the right response to the word - to do it. To put it into action.

It's not just theory for us to think about. It's not just stories to inspire us. It is an instruction manual for life - and the only way to really get it is to do it.

You know, in college and university, there is this idea that you can audit classes. Actually, you may not know this, but you can sign up for lots of classes online at all kinds of prestigious places like Harvard and Stanford and watch them free online. It's the same class the actual students are in.

You could go to Eastern and pay and audit a course. Which means you can sit in the class - but you won't get a grade.

Too many people are just auditing Christianity. They are auditing the word of God. They aren't doing the coursework. They are just sitting in the class.

But if you truly want to belong - you don't just need to hear the word and receive it, but you need to do it. You need to put it into action.

The second thing Jesus said is that when we hear, receive and do His word - we are His family. We are His mother and brothers.

Jesus is making an incredible statement here in verse 21. He’s saying that the deepest bond, the truest sense of belonging, comes not just from hearing the word of God, but from doing it. It’s obedience to the truth that brings us into the family of God. Think about that for a moment. You could sit in church every Sunday for decades, you could know every hymn by heart, you could recite the books of the Bible backward and forward—but if you’re not putting the truth into practice, you’re missing out on the relationship Jesus offers.

Let me give you an example. Imagine a child who says they love their parents but never listens to what they say, never follows their guidance, and just does whatever they want. Sure, they might still be part of the family by blood, but there’s no real closeness there. The relationship is shallow because there’s no obedience, no trust. It’s the same with God. Hearing the word is the first step, but doing it is what builds the bond. It’s what makes us part of His family in the deepest sense.

And notice what Jesus doesn’t say here. He doesn’t say, “My mother and brethren are those who have it all together,” or “those who never mess up,” or “those who know the most about the Bible.” No, He says it’s those who hear and do. It’s not about perfection—it’s about direction. Are you moving toward obedience? Are you letting the truth shape your life?

So as we think about this final point, let me ask you: Are you just auditing Christianity, or are you all in? Are you hearing the word of God and letting it sit on the surface, or are you putting it into action? Because here’s the beautiful promise Jesus gives us: when we obey the truth, we find our true belonging. We become part of His family. We’re not just spectators in the crowd—we’re His mother, His brothers, His sisters. There’s no greater belonging than that.

author: Ryan Hayden

Bringing It All Together

So let’s pull this all together as we close this morning. We’ve looked at four key points about how we respond to the truth of God’s word:

1. The truth has power. We saw in verses 1-3 how the truth changed the lives of women like Mary Magdalene and Joanna, bringing them from completely different worlds into the same family of faith. The word of God is alive, it’s powerful, and it wants to transform your life if you’ll let it.
2. The truth must be heard. In the parable of the sower in verses 4-15, Jesus showed us that the same truth can fall on different kinds of hearts—hard hearts, shallow hearts, crowded hearts, and good hearts. The difference isn’t in the truth itself; it’s in how we receive it. What kind of soil are you today?
3. What happens when we receive or reject truth. In verses 16-18, Jesus warned us to take heed how we hear. If we embrace the truth, God gives us more understanding—it snowballs into greater growth. But if we reject it, we lose even what we think we have. How you respond to the truth today shapes your ability to receive it tomorrow.
4. We must obey the truth to find true belonging. Finally, in verses 19-21, Jesus showed us that hearing the word isn’t enough. We’ve got to do it. And when we do, we’re brought into the closest relationship possible with Him—we become His family.

author: Ryan Hayden

Closing Challenge

As I close this morning, I want to go back to where we started. I can see you when I preach. I see the different responses in the crowd—the distracted, the sleepy, the skeptical, the engaged. But far more than I can see you, Jesus sees your heart. He knows exactly what kind of soil you’re bringing to this moment. He knows the distractions, the doubts, the things crowding out His word in your life. And He’s speaking directly to you today: “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

So let me ask you a few questions to take home with you:

• What kind of soil is your heart today? Is it hard, shallow, crowded, or good? Be honest with yourself.
• Are you just auditing Christianity—showing up but not doing the work—or are you all in, obeying the truth and letting it change you?
• And most importantly, what are you going to do with the truth you’ve heard today? Because how you respond right now will determine your direction tomorrow.

Here’s my challenge for you: Don’t leave this place without making a decision. If your heart is hard, ask God to soften it. If it’s shallow, ask Him to give you roots. If it’s crowded, ask Him to help you clear out the weeds. And if you’re ready to obey the truth, don’t just hear it—do something with it. Take one step of obedience this week. Maybe it’s forgiving someone you’ve been holding a grudge against. Maybe it’s starting to read your Bible every day. Maybe it’s finally surrendering your life to Jesus completely. Whatever it is, don’t just hear the word—do it.

Because when you do, you’ll find what Mary Magdalene found, what Joanna found, what countless others have found: the truth doesn’t just change your life—it brings you into the family of God. And there’s no better place to belong than that.

Let’s pray.