ABIDE || His Dwelling Place

Written By East Gate

Luke 8:4-15 New King James Version

4 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: 5 “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. 6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang 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 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!”

9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”

10 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.’

11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 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. 13 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. 14 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. 15 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.

God Longs to For You to Be His Dwelling Place

THE WAY THE LORD INVITES YOU TO ABIDE IN HIM, IS THE SAME WAY HE DESIRES TO ABIDE IN YOU

SETTING THE STAGE FOR LUKE 8

John 15:4,7&9 New King James Version

4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.

  • Jesus parallels Him abiding in you with His word abiding in you

  • Scripture teaches us that Jesus specifically abides in our Hearts

Ephesians 3:17 New King James Version

17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

JESUS, THE WORD MADE FLESH, DESIRES TO ABIDE IN OUR HEARTS

He SPOKE IN Parables

Luke 8:4 New King James Version

4 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: 

Jesus Spoke By a Parable

***Parables (greek parabole) are more closely related to riddles and proverbs than to analogy

They were heard and meditated upon, not examined and studied

The Secrets of the Kingdom are Found in the Secret Place

Luke 8:8b-10 New Living Translation

When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:

‘When they look, they won’t really see.
    When they hear, they won’t understand.’

THOSE WHO WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE SECRETS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, GET TO IN THE SECRET PLACE

*** The secret place is about deeper intimacy***

Proverbs 25:2 New King James Version

2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,
But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

God Desires to Dwell Within You through His Word

Luke 8:11 New King James Version

11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 

WHAT DID JESUS MEAN BY GOD’S WORD?

  • The gospel of the kingdom


Luke 8:1 New King James Version

8 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him,

Luke 17:20-21 New King James Version

20 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

  • The written word of God, the holy Scriptures

Psalm 119:11 New King James Version

11 Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.

John 1:14 New King James Version

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

  • The prophetic word of God, communicated to you through Holy Spirit

Galatians 4:6 New King James Version

6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

JESUS LIKENS THE WORD OF GOD TO A SEED

  • All of the future (exponential) potential of a plant is found in its seed

    • One seed becomes a plant that can bear many fruit throughout its lifetime

    • Each of those fruit are filled with many more seeds, with the potential to become mature plants, bearing fruit with more seeds

Your Heart Determines if He Abides


Wayside Hearts

Luke 8:5b New King James Version

5 And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 
Luke 8:12 New King James Version

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. 

WAYSIDE DWELLINGS ARE LIKE HOTEL ROOMS REFUSING RENOVATION:

  • Wayside hearts are like hotel rooms, Holy Spirit can visit for the night, but He can’t stay or get comfortable 

    • Dwellings that refuse to allow the Lord to rearrange the furniture, let alone renovate the space

    • I’ll go to church and allow Holy Spirit to visit my heart during worship, but He can’t stay and He definitely cannot make changes

  • The Wayside is a footpath formed through consistent use/travel

    • This is the way I have ALWAYS done things

    • Easiest path to travel

  • When the Holy Spirit challenges the wayside hearts, challenges the way they do things, they ignore Him and continue on, trampling down and rejecting Him

    Trampled down seeds are then devoured by the devil

    • The devil can only take the word you reject

    • The result of the rejected word is unbelief, and condemnation

John 3:17-18 New King James Version

17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

HOLY SPIRIT CANNOT DWELL IN A WAYSIDE HEART

  • Don’t get stuck in old ways just because they’re what you are used to

  • Only complete surrender to Holy Spirit will transform a wayside dwelling

    • Jesus paid a high price for you

    • His grace alone will demo and renovate your heart, you don’t have to do anything more than yield to Him daily

Rocky Hearts

Luke 8:6 New King James Version

6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.

Luke 8:13 New King James Version

13 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.

ROCKY DWELLINGS ARE LIKE AIRBNB’S, FULL OF LOCKED ROOMS

  • Holy Spirit is more welcome, and can stay for longer stretches of time, He can even get more comfortable and move some stuff around, but He never gets access to the whole house

    • I’ll start encountering Him in the secret place, He can have some parts of my life, but I still have control over the property

  • Rocky hearts are not completely hard, but have hard places hidden beneath a thin layer of good soil

    • Hidden, or unconfessed, sins

    • Acceptance of iniquity, or natural proclivities for sin

      • Unforgiveness

      • Hatred - bitterness, resentment, etc.

      • Worldliness

        • Driven by carnal or animalistic desire

        • Driven by desire for what we see

        • Pride in our own ability/accomplishments

  • Eventually any growth becomes wilted and dies under the heat of temptation (trial, testing, proving)

  • The new growth wilts and dies specifically due to a lack of moisture and deep roots

    • MOISTURE

Holy Spirit

John 7:38-39 New King James Version

38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Church Community

1 Corinthians 3:6-7 New King James Version

6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

  • DEEP ROOTS - the word of God was heard and planted, but never took root past the rocky places

    • If it hasn’t cost you something yet, you don’t have deep roots

      • Money, comfort, control, popularity, etc.

HOLY SPIRIT CANNOT DWELL FOR LONG IN A ROCKY DWELLING

  • Just like in an airbnb, Holy Spirit cannot make a rocky heart His forever home

  • Confession unlocks our doors and gives Holy Spirit access to transform the hard and hidden places in our hearts/lives.

    • Get it out of your heart, by forcing it out of your mouth

Thorny Hearts

Luke 8:7 New King James Version

7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.

Luke 8:14 New King James Version

14 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.

THORNY HEARTS ARE RENTED DWELLINGS FULL OF TOXIC ROOMMATES

  • Thorny hearts are not hard, nor have hard places, but they do not discern between God’s seed and worldly weeds

  • It’s like renting an apartment full of terrible roommates

    • Can’t sleep/study because they’re partying all night

    • Pot heads that hotbox your home, leaving you in a constant, second-hand fog

    • Never paying their portion of rent, so you can’t save money to get a place of your own

  • Jesus exposes these toxic roommates to His disciples in the secret place

    • Cares - merimna (G3308)

      • Anxieties that distract or remove attention from the purpose or goal at hand

      • Fear is a god in our cultural moment

        • If fear of COVID19 determined whether or not you obeyed God, fear is your god

        • If fear of what people might think of you determines whether or not you obey God, fear is your god

    • Riches - ploutos (G4149)

      • riches, wealth

        • abundance of external possessions

        • fulness, abundance, plenitude

        • a good i.e. that with which one is enriched

      • The love of money (Mammon) is a god in our cultural moment

        • If the availability of money, or the lack thereof, determines whether or not you obey God, money is your god

    • Pleasures - hedone (G2237)

      • Pleasure

      • Desires for pleasure

      • Pleasure (comfort, ease, convenience) is a god in our cultural moment

        • If your comfort level, or convenience level, determine whether or not you obey God, pleasure is your god

  • Thorny hearts are not holy or consecrated unto the Lord

    • Covenant relationship is Holy, meaning exclusive

      • Can’t have a wife and “have a little fun” on the side from time to time

    • He will not share you with any gods

  • Thorny hearts bear some fruit, but never bring it to maturity

    • They have the presence of God, but they’ve been baby christians for decades

      • Still constantly offended

      • Still double minded

      • Still bitter, resentful, refusing to forgive

      • Still complaining constantly

    • Have some fruit but its not mature

      • Not ripe/sweat - doesn't please the Lord

      • Cannot be pressed for oil - your crushing results in complaining, bitterness, resentment, offense, rather than greater anointing

      • Does not multiply disciples/dwelling places for Holy Spirit

HOLY SPIRIT CANNOT DWELL IN THORNY HEARTS

  • Holy Spirit will not share you with other god’s, He is a jealous God and demands exclusivity

Exodus 34:14 New King James Version

14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),

  • This heart type is so dangerous because it can appear as if we are growing deeper in Christ, but no matter how big our “plants” get, they will continually be choked and never produce the fruit of maturity

  • Only radical and costly consecration to the Lord can kick these toxic roommates out

    • Dedication to existing exclusively for Jesus

Good Hearts

Luke 8:8 New King James Version

8 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!”

Luke 8:15 New King James Version

15 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.

GOOD HEARTS ARE HOLY SPIRIT’S DREAM, FOREVER HOME

  • Noble - Genuine/Honest

    • It is difficult to be honest with ourselves, to view and judge ourselves soberly

    • Holy Spirit and community are more than happy to give us an honest perspective

  • Good Hearted - useful to the Lord

    • Rearranged, renovated and expanded - not hard

    • No locked rooms - no rocks

    • No squatters or toxic roommates - no thorns

  • Noble and Good Hearts

    • HEAR THE WORD

      • They have chosen God’s word over their ways

      • Jesus has permission to renovate every part of their lives

    • KEEP THE WORD

      • Read the bible regularly, meditate upon it, discuss it with others

      • Adopt a biblical worldview and live by it!

      • Steward prophetic words, write them down, test them, pray over them, reread them

    • BEAR FRUIT WITH PATIENCE

      • They tend and keep their hearts daily through confession and repentance

        • Being hard hearted toward the Lord

        • Withholding parts of your heart/life from the Lord

        • Allowing fear, money, and/or convenience to decide whether or not you obey the Lord

      • Trust Holy Spirit to do the work

Philippians 2:13 New King James Version

13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Will You Become The Dwelling Place of God Today?

Luke 9:58 New King James Version

58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

LAY - KLINO (2827)

  •  Transitively

    • to incline, bow

    • to cause to fall back

    • to recline

      • in a place for repose

  • Intransitively

    • to incline one's self

      • of the declining of the day

John 19:30 New King James Version

30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

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