We Think We Have

Luke 8:4-18
How much we love to quote Luke 8:18.  We always think we are the ones who have much, so we will be given even more.  What a wonderful thought for us.  But why are we so quick to think we are the ones who have?  How do we know we are not the ones who think we have, but in the end are deceived and all is taken from us (vs. 18)?  We go back to when we asked Jesus into our heart, look at present day and how we go to church and tithe regularly, are involved in a few things here and there, as long as they are not too time consuming and inconvenient for us, and read our bibles somewhat regularly, and are "blessed" materially, having all of our needs and wants met.  We look at all these things and naturally assume we are the ones who have, and the world would agree, and in the future will be given even more, which even more appeals to our self-centered consumerism.  How lucky and blessed we are to have so much and expect to receive even more to come!  But we must be very, very careful before we begin to jump to conclusions.  Let us approach this biblically, not culturally or religiously.  Let us look back to the preceding parable in verses 4-15.  Jesus tells us that there are several types of seed that are sown.  One is obviously sown amiss and clearly misses out on eternal life (vs. 10-12).  But the next two seeds are not so clear and definitive.  The seeds sown among the rocks and the thorns strongly resemble the seed sown among the good soil.  All three receive the gospel with joy, seeing and hearing the truth (vs. 10), asking Jesus into their heart and initially walking in the ways of the Lord.  But something happens as time passes, two things begin to creep in and draw us away.  The first is hardship (vs. 13).  These people have "accepted" Jesus but it is a false conversion.  Once things get hard they abandon the faith and move on, taking this whole Christianity thing to be too difficult and not worth the supposed benefits it offers.  The next one is even more deceptive.  This is where most of us would fall.  This seed is also received with joy, Jesus and the gospel are received and initially lived out.  But as time passes these people begin to be drawn away by those natural rights we all have, our inalienable rights as our Constitution puts it.  The things that aren't "bad", that we  continually ask "what's wrong with this" because we don't want to give them up in lieu of Christ.  Plus, the lukewarm church and religious culture also tell us they are ok, we can have Christ and all these indulgences and pleasures, God just wants us to be happy, and as long as we have repented and received Christ then we are unshakeably His, not matter our fruit or lack thereof.  This is in no way biblical, in fact it is counter-biblical and earthly in mindset.  Read these passages and decide what they are saying: Matthew 6:24-25, 24:9-13; Luke 9:23-25, 14:25-33; James 5:1-6, I Timothy 6:9, 10.  How can we ever say that all these self-indulgences and pleasures are ok to combine with the gospel, when Jesus is warning us here that they choke out the gospel and deceive men?  Is it not alarming to us that we look just like the world, this same world that Jesus warned would hate us and persecute us (Matthew 24:9, John 15:20), and yet for some reason agrees with us today?  Stop measuring yourself according to what every other christian and church says your life should look like and start measuring yourself biblically, or else you risk your seed being choked and lost.  Have you endured suffering and persecution for Jesus' name?  Have you lost your life, given up everything you have, regarded your life as worth nothing apart from Christ, abandoned the world and its luxuries and temptations?  These are the biblical measuring sticks that Jesus and the New Testament gives us.  Do we stack up?  If not, what makes us think that we are the ones who have so much and will be given so much more?  Because the world says so?  Because a pastor told us this at some point?  What does the Bible say?  Have we completely missed it?  We must wake up, we are the choked out seed and it is evidenced by our affections and passions and self-indulgences in this world and the me first mentality in our "Christianity".  Verse 18 tells us that those who lose everything, in reality, think they have so much, but it is only deception, ultimate deception.  No one in this parable sees clearly that they are without.  Each type of seed is deceived into thinking they are the ones who have so much, but only one does.  He who has is he who has lost all for Christ's sake, all other is deception, and it will be revealed in time, no exceptions (vs. 17), only it will be too late.  Read Luke 18:10-14 and determine which man was condemned and which man was justified: the one who was so sure he had been given so much or the one who knew he had nothing to offer?