¤
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>> Good morning, church.
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Guests, visitors,
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you're as welcome as
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the sunshine outside.
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We're really glad you're here.
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Thank you for coming.
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And if you are joining us via
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media, we really welcome you.
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Isn't it a gorgeous day outside?
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It really is.
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And we trust that our service
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today will be a blessing
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to each of us, as well as our
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Heavenly Father
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and all His hosts.
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Would you stand with me
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for the call to worship?
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It's either in your bulletin
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or on the screen, and we're
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going to read responsively.
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All right?
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I can't think of a better way
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of living than that.
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Shall we pray?
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Heavenly Father,
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we lift our hearts
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and eyes to You this morning.
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Would you empower us, please,
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to worship You in spirit
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and in truth?
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We come to You through Jesus,
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Your Son, our Savior and Lord,
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and we ask in His name.
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Amen.
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[ "Come, Thou Almighty King"
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begins ]
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[ "Give Me the Bible" begins ]
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[ "Wonderful Words of Life"
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begins ]
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[ "Standing on the Promises"
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begins ]
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>> Good day.
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Our Scripture reading today
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is found in Hosea 10:12.
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Hosea 10:12.
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"Sow righteousness for
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yourselves, reap the fruit
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of unfailing love,
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and break up your unplowed
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ground,
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for it is time to seek the Lord
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until He comes and showers
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His righteousness on you."
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Amen.
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[ Organ plays ]
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>> ¤ Open my eyes
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that I may see ¤
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¤ Glimpses of truth
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You have for me ¤
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¤ Place in my hands
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the wonderful key ¤
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¤ That shall unclasp
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to set me free ¤
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>> ¤ Silently now
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I wait for You ¤
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¤ Ready, my God,
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Your will to see ¤
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¤ Open my eyes
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¤ Illumine me
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¤ Spirit divine
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>> ¤ Open my ears
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that I may hear ¤
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¤ Voices of truth
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You sent me clear ¤
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¤ And while the wave notes
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fall on my ear ¤
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¤ Everything false
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will disappear ¤
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>> ¤ Silently now
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I wait for You ¤
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>> ¤ Ready, my God,
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Your will to see ¤
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>> ¤ Open my eyes
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¤ Illumine me
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¤ Spirit divine
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>> ¤ Open my ears
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>> ¤ Open my eyes
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[ Applause ]
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[ Organ plays ]
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>> We are blessed with
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great music here at Pioneer.
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Are we not?
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Amen and amen.
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Thank you,
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musicians and singers,
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for leading us in worship.
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Let's jump right in.
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If you have a Bible,
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would you take a look, please,
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at Matthew 13:1.
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If you don't
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have a Bible with you,
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there is one in a pew somewhere
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nearby, a red Bible there.
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And chances are,
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if you look on page 658,
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you will find Matthew 13:1.
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Page 658.
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We're going
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to look at Matthew 13,
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and then we're going to jump
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over to Luke chapter eight,
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just so you can be ready
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to flip over to that part,
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beginning Matthew 13:1.
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Those of you
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that have experience
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with this portion of Matthew,
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you know that it is significant
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because Matthew 13 begins
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a series of parables
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that Jesus is going
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to share with His disciples and
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the surrounding crowds there.
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Now, a parable, as I
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mentioned a couple of weeks ago,
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it's not an actual factual
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recounting of
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an historical event.
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It may be rooted
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in an historical event,
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but as was common in the day,
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Jesus here molds and shapes
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it into an object-lesson story.
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The facts of the story
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may not have happened that way,
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but the spiritual point
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is absolutely true.
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Jesus was a master at telling
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these kinds of stories.
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Let's see what happens here.
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Matthew 13:1
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says, "That same day
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Jesus went out of the house
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and sat by the lake."
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This is the Sea of Galilee.
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"Such large crowds
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gathered around Him
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that he got into a boat
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and sat in it, while all
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the people stood on the shore."
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Isn't that interesting?
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Jesus sat while preaching.
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Huh.
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[ Laughter ]
00:17:16.03\00:17:20.00
Verse three. "Then He told them
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many things in parables,
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saying, 'A farmer
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went out to sow his seed.
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As he was scattering the seed,
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some fell along the path, and
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the birds came and ate it up.
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Some fell on rocky places,
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where it did not have much soil.
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It sprang up quickly
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because the soil was shallow.
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But when the sun came up,
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the plants were scorched,
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and they withered because
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they had no root.
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Other seed fell among thorns,
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which grew up
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and choked the plants.
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Still other seed
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fell on good soil,
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where it produced a crop 100,
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60, or 30 times what was sown.'"
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And then just to make sure
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that we all know this is for us,
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Jesus says, "He who has ears,
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let him hear."
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Flip over, please, to Luke
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chapter eight.
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It's on page 696.
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Luke chapter eight,
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beginning with verse 11.
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When Jesus finishes the parable,
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the disciples immediately begin
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to ask, "Help us to understand
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what this parable is."
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They probably could guess
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about some of it because, again,
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this was part of Jewish
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culture at that time.
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But they wanted to be sure
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that they had it.
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Well, the explanation
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for this parable
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actually comes most succinctly
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and distinctly in Luke 8.
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Jesus told this parable
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on more than one occasion.
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And here we have here
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the interpretation Luke 8:11.
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Jesus said, "This is the meaning
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of the parable.
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The seed is the Word of God.
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Those along the path
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are the ones who hear.
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And then the devil comes
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and takes away
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the Word from their hearts,
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so that they may not believe
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and be saved.
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Those on the rock are the ones
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who receive the word with joy
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when they hear it,
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but they have no root.
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They believe for a while,
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but in the time of testing,
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they fall away.
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The seed that fell among thorns
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stands for those who hear,
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but as they go on their way,
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they are choked by life's
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worries, riches, and pleasures,
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and they do not mature.
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But the seed on good soil
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stands for those with a noble
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and good heart
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who hear the word, retain it,
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and, by persevering,
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produce a crop."
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Now, one of the things that you
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will quickly discover if you
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study the parables of Jesus
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is that there is layer
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upon layer of meaning.
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This is part of the genius
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of Jesus, because when He
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tells this story, I mean,
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you could spend a very long time
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still unearthing these gems.
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You know, when Ellen White
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comments on this, Ellen White,
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one of the founders of the
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Seventh-day Adventist Church,
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a prophet of God,
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when she writes about this
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in "Christ's Object Lessons,"
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it's one of the longer chapters
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in the book
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because there's so much here.
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Let's see if we can at least
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scratch the surface.
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Back to verse 11, Luke 8.
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"This is the meaning
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of the parable," Jesus says.
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The seed is the what?
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What is it?
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Okay, the Word of God.
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So, this right here, the Bible.
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The Bible's referred to as
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the Word of God, and rightly so.
00:20:12.84\00:20:13.84
God inspired this.
00:20:13.94\00:20:14.91
He breathed it by
00:20:15.01\00:20:15.88
His Holy Spirit, inspired people
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to write this down.
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It also refers generally
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to the Word of God,
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which is, to say
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the least, powerful.
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If you go back to Genesis
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chapter one, God speaks, and
00:20:25.19\00:20:27.86
the world appears essentially.
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That's power.
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That's great power.
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And here the seed is not Jesus.
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The seed is not,
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you know, generally,
00:20:36.80\00:20:37.70
the kingdom of heaven.
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The seed, very interestingly,
00:20:38.73\00:20:39.73
is the Word of God.
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This is how the kingdom
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is seeded.
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And if it germinates,
00:20:45.64\00:20:47.61
the kingdom of God will grow
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in the person in which
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the seed has been planted --
00:20:51.85\00:20:53.48
powerful stuff here.
00:20:53.58\00:20:54.92
Now, this is one reason
00:20:55.02\00:20:56.35
why the Bible throughout ages
00:20:56.45\00:20:57.42
has been
00:20:57.52\00:20:58.92
so often denied to the people.
00:20:59.02\00:21:00.69
The enemies of truth,
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the devil himself would like
00:21:01.99\00:21:03.09
nothing better than to keep
00:21:03.19\00:21:04.66
this book out of people's hands,
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and even if they have it
00:21:06.53\00:21:07.46
in their hands,
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his next-best thing is to either
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have them misinterpret it
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or not read it.
00:21:11.37\00:21:13.67
Which category does America fall
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into these days?
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And who knows, maybe much
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of the rest of the world, too.
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We just don't read
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it very often.
00:21:20.58\00:21:21.78
And yet God here,
00:21:21.88\00:21:23.18
Jesus Himself, is saying, "This
00:21:23.28\00:21:24.71
is the seed of the kingdom."
00:21:24.81\00:21:29.35
Verse 12.
00:21:29.45\00:21:31.55
"Those along the path" -- so the
00:21:31.65\00:21:33.19
seed that falls along the path
00:21:33.29\00:21:34.59
here -- "are the ones who hear.
00:21:34.69\00:21:36.29
And then the devil comes
00:21:36.39\00:21:37.56
and takes away the Word
00:21:37.66\00:21:39.03
from their hearts,
00:21:39.13\00:21:40.10
so that they may not believe
00:21:40.20\00:21:41.26
and be saved."
00:21:41.36\00:21:42.63
Now, you tell me.
00:21:42.73\00:21:44.20
What kind of soil would one find
00:21:44.30\00:21:45.80
along the path?
00:21:45.90\00:21:49.97
Okay. Hard. Yeah. Hard-packed.
00:21:50.07\00:21:51.51
Why would it be hard-packed?
00:21:51.61\00:21:54.78
Yeah, because people walk there.
00:21:54.88\00:21:55.84
I mean, it's simple questions,
00:21:55.94\00:21:56.41
right?
00:21:56.51\00:21:57.18
But it's important.
00:21:57.28\00:21:58.41
You have to ask these questions.
00:21:58.51\00:21:59.35
It would be hard-packed
00:21:59.45\00:22:00.82
because people made it that way.
00:22:00.92\00:22:05.92
And here we have
00:22:06.02\00:22:07.09
a key foundational principle
00:22:07.19\00:22:09.02
for understanding
00:22:09.12\00:22:11.09
and rightly interpreting
00:22:11.19\00:22:12.23
the rest of the parable.
00:22:12.33\00:22:14.60
Follow me carefully.
00:22:14.73\00:22:15.83
The Bible
00:22:15.93\00:22:16.90
tells us in Isaiah 1:18 --
00:22:17.00\00:22:18.77
some of you have probably
00:22:18.87\00:22:19.63
memorized this -- that God
00:22:19.73\00:22:21.07
offers us this invitation.
00:22:21.17\00:22:22.37
He says, "Come now.
00:22:22.47\00:22:23.67
Let us reason together."
00:22:23.77\00:22:26.17
Exactly. God invites us
00:22:26.27\00:22:27.74
to sit down with Him in essence,
00:22:27.84\00:22:29.18
and to use our minds, to use
00:22:29.28\00:22:30.55
our reasoning ability,
00:22:30.65\00:22:31.65
our cognition.
00:22:31.75\00:22:33.25
We are to be people who think
00:22:33.35\00:22:36.28
and sit down and reason
00:22:36.38\00:22:38.29
when we make our decisions.
00:22:38.39\00:22:39.32
And Joshua 24:15.
00:22:39.42\00:22:40.56
You may recall Joshua
00:22:40.66\00:22:42.29
there is talking
00:22:42.39\00:22:43.93
to the people there as they
00:22:44.03\00:22:45.19
contemplate the promised land.
00:22:45.29\00:22:46.59
And he says to them,
00:22:46.70\00:22:47.56
"Choose you this day
00:22:47.66\00:22:49.93
whom you will serve."
00:22:50.03\00:22:50.40
Choose.
00:22:50.50\00:22:51.40
In other words,
00:22:51.50\00:22:52.83
I'm not going to force you.
00:22:52.93\00:22:54.07
God is not going to force you.
00:22:54.17\00:22:55.40
No one can force you.
00:22:55.50\00:22:56.54
You are made in the image of God
00:22:56.64\00:22:58.74
and therefore you are
00:22:58.84\00:22:59.67
a free, moral agent.
00:22:59.77\00:23:03.08
Do you see what that means?
00:23:03.18\00:23:05.45
It means
00:23:05.55\00:23:07.38
that the quality of the "soil"
00:23:07.48\00:23:11.35
in our lives, and, therefore,
00:23:11.45\00:23:14.12
to a great extent,
00:23:14.22\00:23:15.26
the quality of the "harvest"
00:23:15.36\00:23:17.26
that Jesus reaps in our lives
00:23:17.36\00:23:19.49
is up to us.
00:23:19.59\00:23:24.37
We choose.
00:23:24.47\00:23:27.74
Now, let's be clear.
00:23:27.84\00:23:28.77
That's not
00:23:28.87\00:23:29.70
real popular these days.
00:23:29.80\00:23:30.77
You know, Western culture
00:23:30.87\00:23:32.64
sometimes today specializes
00:23:32.74\00:23:34.48
in being a victim.
00:23:34.58\00:23:35.94
And as we talked
00:23:36.04\00:23:36.85
a few weeks back, it is true.
00:23:36.95\00:23:37.88
Sometimes there are things
00:23:37.98\00:23:38.95
that happen in our lives
00:23:39.05\00:23:40.08
over which we have no control,
00:23:40.18\00:23:41.25
and they have adverse effect
00:23:41.35\00:23:42.68
on us, no doubt about it.
00:23:42.78\00:23:44.19
Blessedly, probably,
00:23:44.29\00:23:45.65
for most of you listening,
00:23:45.75\00:23:47.09
that is a tiny minority
00:23:47.19\00:23:48.92
of your life.
00:23:49.02\00:23:50.99
The rest of the time
00:23:51.09\00:23:52.26
you can choose.
00:23:52.36\00:23:56.43
And, moreover,
00:23:56.53\00:23:58.73
if you wish to thrive in Christ
00:23:58.83\00:24:00.44
in the kingdom, you must choose.
00:24:00.54\00:24:05.27
So, really, perhaps this
00:24:05.37\00:24:06.81
parable is misnamed.
00:24:06.91\00:24:10.78
Most of the time,
00:24:10.88\00:24:11.68
this is called the parable
00:24:11.78\00:24:12.45
of the...?
00:24:12.55\00:24:13.62
Of the sower.
00:24:13.72\00:24:15.05
Maybe it would be better
00:24:15.15\00:24:16.48
if it was called the parable
00:24:16.58\00:24:17.82
of the soil,
00:24:17.92\00:24:20.96
because, really, the sower here
00:24:21.06\00:24:22.76
is already on solid ground.
00:24:22.86\00:24:24.49
It's the soil, as we will see
00:24:24.59\00:24:26.93
where the question lies.
00:24:27.03\00:24:29.90
I say again, the quality
00:24:30.00\00:24:32.10
of the soil in our lives
00:24:32.20\00:24:33.94
is largely up to us.
00:24:34.04\00:24:39.37
That said, what decisions
00:24:39.47\00:24:42.78
might we be called to make?
00:24:42.88\00:24:46.35
Verse 13, Luke 8:13.
00:24:46.45\00:24:50.92
"Those on the rock," so, the
00:24:51.02\00:24:51.99
seed that falls on the rocky
00:24:52.09\00:24:53.02
ground, "are the ones who
00:24:53.12\00:24:55.09
receive the word with joy
00:24:55.19\00:24:56.59
when they hear it,
00:24:56.69\00:24:57.79
but they have no root.
00:24:57.89\00:24:59.76
They believe for a while,
00:24:59.86\00:25:01.23
but in the time of testing,
00:25:01.33\00:25:03.16
they fall away."
00:25:03.26\00:25:04.93
Huh.
00:25:05.03\00:25:06.00
Now you tell me.
00:25:06.10\00:25:06.84
Is it good to receive the Word
00:25:06.94\00:25:07.74
of God quickly and with joy?
00:25:07.84\00:25:09.50
Yes or no? Yes. All right.
00:25:09.60\00:25:11.37
That seems fairly obvious.
00:25:11.47\00:25:12.67
Ask any traveling evangelist
00:25:12.77\00:25:14.21
if it's good for people
00:25:14.31\00:25:15.04
to quickly and with joy
00:25:15.14\00:25:16.21
accept the Word of God.
00:25:16.31\00:25:17.01
They will say, "Yes,
00:25:17.11\00:25:17.91
two thumbs up, absolutely."
00:25:18.01\00:25:19.85
And, indeed, there are
00:25:19.95\00:25:21.05
biblical examples of this.
00:25:21.15\00:25:22.52
Tax collector Matthew
00:25:22.62\00:25:24.32
becomes disciple Matthew.
00:25:24.42\00:25:26.19
Jesus walks up to the tax
00:25:26.29\00:25:27.29
collector's booth,
00:25:27.39\00:25:28.72
utters just two words --
00:25:28.82\00:25:30.13
"Follow me."
00:25:30.23\00:25:31.33
And what does Matthew do?
00:25:31.43\00:25:32.86
Stands up, follows Him.
00:25:32.96\00:25:34.50
And how do we know that that was
00:25:34.60\00:25:35.90
not just quick, but joyful?
00:25:36.00\00:25:37.40
Because a few hours later,
00:25:37.50\00:25:38.83
they're all having a big party
00:25:38.93\00:25:39.73
at Matthew's house, okay?
00:25:39.83\00:25:41.34
So, Matthew accepts quickly
00:25:41.44\00:25:43.27
and joyfully the kingdom of God,
00:25:43.37\00:25:44.87
the Word of God here.
00:25:44.97\00:25:45.77
So, the parable is not trying
00:25:45.87\00:25:47.91
to say something against quick,
00:25:48.01\00:25:50.08
happy reception of Jesus
00:25:50.18\00:25:51.48
or the kingdom.
00:25:51.58\00:25:52.15
No.
00:25:52.25\00:25:56.05
And as soon as we acknowledge
00:25:56.15\00:25:57.49
that, if we're really tracking
00:25:57.59\00:26:00.22
with what Jesus is doing here,
00:26:00.32\00:26:02.59
we might get
00:26:02.69\00:26:03.56
a little bit nervous,
00:26:03.66\00:26:06.06
because it could be,
00:26:06.16\00:26:06.96
it could be that as we
00:26:07.03\00:26:09.26
have moved now to the second
00:26:09.36\00:26:10.87
phase of this parable,
00:26:10.97\00:26:13.34
Jesus is now talking firmly
00:26:13.44\00:26:16.54
about us.
00:26:16.64\00:26:18.97
You say, "What do you mean?"
00:26:19.07\00:26:20.04
Well, in the first phase
00:26:20.14\00:26:21.44
of the parable,
00:26:21.54\00:26:22.64
the seed falls along the path.
00:26:22.74\00:26:23.81
Hard-packed ground,
00:26:23.91\00:26:24.81
never gets into the dirt.
00:26:24.91\00:26:25.91
The seed never germinates.
00:26:26.01\00:26:26.95
Birds come, take it away.
00:26:27.05\00:26:28.18
No kingdom of God grows
00:26:28.28\00:26:29.45
within these people, right?
00:26:29.55\00:26:30.79
So, spiritually speaking,
00:26:30.89\00:26:32.62
these are people
00:26:32.72\00:26:33.82
that have some exposure
00:26:33.92\00:26:34.99
to the Word.
00:26:35.09\00:26:36.06
Maybe they watch
00:26:36.16\00:26:37.43
a broadcast like this one.
00:26:37.53\00:26:38.36
Maybe somebody gives them
00:26:38.46\00:26:39.23
a Bible study.
00:26:39.33\00:26:40.16
Maybe they see a tract on the
00:26:40.26\00:26:41.30
ground, and they read it.
00:26:41.40\00:26:42.63
Some seed of the Word,
00:26:42.73\00:26:44.73
because that's what it is,
00:26:44.83\00:26:45.83
is somehow attempted
00:26:45.93\00:26:47.57
to be planted in their lives.
00:26:47.67\00:26:49.67
But because they're on the
00:26:49.77\00:26:50.54
hard-packed path, there's so
00:26:50.64\00:26:51.51
much going on in their lives --
00:26:51.61\00:26:53.58
they're busy, busy,
00:26:53.68\00:26:54.38
busy going to and fro --
00:26:54.48\00:26:55.71
off they go,
00:26:55.81\00:26:56.98
and they leave the seed behind.
00:26:57.08\00:26:58.41
The devil swoops in
00:26:58.51\00:26:59.65
and essentially says, "Phew!
00:26:59.75\00:27:01.55
That was a close call.
00:27:01.65\00:27:04.02
It almost stuck and germinated.
00:27:04.12\00:27:06.65
Glad we took care of that one."
00:27:06.76\00:27:07.99
That's phase one of the parable.
00:27:08.09\00:27:09.56
Now we come to phase two,
00:27:09.66\00:27:11.66
and things have changed
00:27:11.76\00:27:12.46
a little bit here,
00:27:12.56\00:27:13.86
because here the seed is
00:27:13.96\00:27:16.20
planted, and it germinates
00:27:16.30\00:27:18.90
and begins to grow.
00:27:19.00\00:27:22.74
In fact, if we were to make
00:27:22.84\00:27:25.34
a comparison in this rocky-soil
00:27:25.44\00:27:27.94
phase two, the Word of God
00:27:28.04\00:27:29.98
has been planted.
00:27:30.08\00:27:30.78
The kingdom of God has begun
00:27:30.88\00:27:31.71
in this person.
00:27:31.81\00:27:32.45
The plants of these people
00:27:32.55\00:27:35.28
at this stage of development
00:27:35.38\00:27:36.45
look like most
00:27:36.55\00:27:38.05
every other plant in the field.
00:27:38.15\00:27:42.32
They have made a start
00:27:42.42\00:27:43.26
in Jesus Christ,
00:27:43.36\00:27:44.63
and they look a great deal like
00:27:44.73\00:27:46.39
they are spiritually healthy.
00:27:46.49\00:27:47.96
The real thing,
00:27:48.06\00:27:51.97
but they're not.
00:27:52.07\00:27:54.50
They're not.
00:27:54.60\00:27:58.37
A story...
00:27:58.47\00:28:00.24
Within the last
00:28:00.34\00:28:01.74
30 years at a church
00:28:01.84\00:28:02.94
within 10,000 miles of here,
00:28:03.04\00:28:05.38
I was pastoring,
00:28:05.48\00:28:06.35
and one of my members
00:28:06.45\00:28:07.48
had a construction accident.
00:28:07.58\00:28:09.78
They worked
00:28:09.88\00:28:10.92
as a construction worker,
00:28:11.02\00:28:12.19
and in the accident he ended up
00:28:12.29\00:28:14.79
face down in fresh cement
00:28:14.89\00:28:17.29
for an inordinately
00:28:17.39\00:28:18.66
long amount of time.
00:28:18.76\00:28:21.33
It was quite serious, and when
00:28:21.43\00:28:23.23
they finally got him out,
00:28:23.33\00:28:24.77
of course he was rushed
00:28:24.87\00:28:25.63
to a trauma-care center.
00:28:25.73\00:28:27.64
I got in my car, I raced down
00:28:27.74\00:28:29.27
there, and I go into the
00:28:29.37\00:28:30.87
hospital, and there's the man's
00:28:30.97\00:28:33.84
wife there in the lobby.
00:28:33.94\00:28:34.81
Say, "How's it going?
00:28:34.91\00:28:36.01
What's what's going on?
00:28:36.11\00:28:36.81
How are things with him?"
00:28:36.91\00:28:37.85
And she said, "Well,
00:28:37.95\00:28:38.91
they've got him stabilized.
00:28:39.01\00:28:40.05
He's in a room in ICU,
00:28:40.15\00:28:42.05
but they are refusing to
00:28:42.15\00:28:44.22
clean off the cement."
00:28:44.32\00:28:48.56
Now, those of you
00:28:48.66\00:28:50.06
who have ever worked with cement
00:28:50.16\00:28:51.33
know that you don't do it
00:28:51.43\00:28:52.19
in your bare feet,
00:28:52.29\00:28:53.19
generally speaking, okay?
00:28:53.29\00:28:54.20
Most of time you got boots,
00:28:54.30\00:28:55.36
you got protective clothing
00:28:55.46\00:28:56.60
because there are chemicals in
00:28:56.70\00:29:00.47
concrete that will quite truly
00:29:00.57\00:29:03.14
and lastingly burn your skin
00:29:03.24\00:29:05.51
if you are in it.
00:29:05.61\00:29:06.51
And here, this man had
00:29:06.61\00:29:08.11
already been face down in it,
00:29:08.21\00:29:09.28
some of it even gone
00:29:09.38\00:29:10.55
down his lungs.
00:29:10.65\00:29:12.98
And he was apparently
00:29:13.08\00:29:14.25
still sitting in the room,
00:29:14.35\00:29:15.42
still caked with the concrete.
00:29:15.52\00:29:17.32
They had stabilized him
00:29:17.42\00:29:17.92
and then left.
00:29:18.02\00:29:20.86
Now, this is not my first rodeo
00:29:20.96\00:29:22.39
at a hospital,
00:29:22.49\00:29:23.86
and we're all okay here
00:29:23.96\00:29:25.56
in Michigan and Indiana.
00:29:25.66\00:29:27.23
This would not happen here, but
00:29:27.36\00:29:28.40
in other places in the country,
00:29:28.50\00:29:29.86
in the American medical-care
00:29:29.96\00:29:30.43
system,
00:29:30.53\00:29:31.23
sometimes you have to be
00:29:31.33\00:29:32.03
your own advocate.
00:29:32.13\00:29:33.80
And so, I opened my bag,
00:29:33.90\00:29:35.67
and I reached in,
00:29:35.77\00:29:36.67
and I got my chaplain's badge
00:29:36.77\00:29:40.88
from a different hospital.
00:29:40.98\00:29:44.58
And that different hospital,
00:29:44.68\00:29:45.28
I remember
00:29:45.38\00:29:46.65
when they issued me that badge.
00:29:46.75\00:29:47.45
You know, if you're a chaplain
00:29:47.55\00:29:48.35
or a pastor, and you're going to
00:29:48.45\00:29:49.62
do visits at the hospital,
00:29:49.72\00:29:50.59
they printed up these badges.
00:29:50.69\00:29:52.32
And when I got it, I thought,
00:29:52.42\00:29:52.82
"Wow, that's
00:29:52.92\00:29:53.52
impressive-looking."
00:29:53.62\00:29:54.56
And when I got on an elevator
00:29:54.66\00:29:56.26
with my new badge,
00:29:56.36\00:29:57.46
there were two other doctors
00:29:57.56\00:29:58.29
in the elevator.
00:29:58.39\00:29:58.86
We're going up.
00:29:58.96\00:29:59.66
And I looked at their badges.
00:29:59.76\00:30:00.53
I thought, "Man,
00:30:00.63\00:30:01.53
these are mighty close together.
00:30:01.63\00:30:02.83
Look at that, right?"
00:30:02.93\00:30:05.43
So, come back now to this other
00:30:05.53\00:30:06.27
hospital.
00:30:06.37\00:30:06.97
I reached into my bag.
00:30:07.07\00:30:07.87
I pull out my badge.
00:30:07.97\00:30:08.80
I put it on my shirt
00:30:08.90\00:30:10.24
with my jacket kind of halfway
00:30:10.34\00:30:11.61
covering it, okay?
00:30:11.71\00:30:13.94
And I marched straight
00:30:14.04\00:30:15.01
to the nurses' station,
00:30:15.11\00:30:16.24
and I said, "Excuse me, ma'am.
00:30:16.34\00:30:17.45
We need assistance right away
00:30:17.55\00:30:18.05
in room
00:30:18.15\00:30:19.41
such-and-such for Mr. So-and-So.
00:30:19.51\00:30:20.62
He is still covered in cement,
00:30:20.72\00:30:22.38
and it is burning his skin.
00:30:22.48\00:30:24.15
Can we get that taken care of
00:30:24.25\00:30:24.79
right away?"
00:30:24.89\00:30:28.52
And you could see the nurse's
00:30:28.62\00:30:30.09
wheels turning.
00:30:30.19\00:30:32.49
"Who do you think you are?"
00:30:32.59\00:30:36.23
And her eyes scanned down
00:30:36.33\00:30:37.27
to my badge,
00:30:37.37\00:30:38.47
which she could not fully see,
00:30:38.57\00:30:42.50
and she apparently decided
00:30:42.60\00:30:44.24
that discretion
00:30:44.34\00:30:45.24
was the better part of valor.
00:30:45.34\00:30:46.84
And she said, "Right away, sir.
00:30:46.94\00:30:48.98
We'll get some nurses in there
00:30:49.08\00:30:49.64
right now."
00:30:49.74\00:30:50.98
And they did.
00:30:51.08\00:30:51.88
Within 30 seconds, there's a
00:30:51.98\00:30:52.91
couple nurses in there,
00:30:53.01\00:30:54.18
and the saline solution
00:30:54.28\00:30:54.95
is flying,
00:30:55.05\00:30:56.22
and they're dabbing this down.
00:30:56.32\00:30:57.09
They get them all cleaned up.
00:30:57.19\00:30:58.12
And he is doing much,
00:30:58.22\00:31:00.42
much better now that he's not
00:31:00.52\00:31:02.06
just simmering there in his bed,
00:31:02.16\00:31:03.43
okay?
00:31:03.53\00:31:06.19
But what if
00:31:09.90\00:31:15.77
I step out of that room?
00:31:15.87\00:31:17.17
Let's just imagine this.
00:31:17.27\00:31:18.44
I step out of that room.
00:31:18.54\00:31:20.21
The procedure for cleaning is
00:31:20.31\00:31:21.04
successfully completed,
00:31:21.14\00:31:22.98
and a gurney comes rushing by,
00:31:23.08\00:31:24.68
being pushed by two nurses.
00:31:24.78\00:31:26.11
They look at me and they say,
00:31:26.21\00:31:27.22
"Doctor, stat!
00:31:27.32\00:31:28.08
We need you down and room
00:31:28.18\00:31:28.85
so-and-so.
00:31:28.95\00:31:29.62
The patient has coded!"
00:31:29.72\00:31:30.42
[ Laughter ]
00:31:30.52\00:31:31.59
"Uh...uh...uh...uh...hmm.
00:31:31.69\00:31:36.49
Uh..." You know.
00:31:36.59\00:31:38.53
Because, in reality,
00:31:38.63\00:31:41.76
while my badge
00:31:41.86\00:31:42.73
had proved useful,
00:31:42.83\00:31:44.87
the truth of the matter was,
00:31:44.97\00:31:46.20
is that it was a baseless badge.
00:31:46.30\00:31:48.94
Or, if I can put it this way,
00:31:49.04\00:31:50.01
it was a rootless badge.
00:31:50.11\00:31:52.07
It was not rooted in reality
00:31:52.17\00:31:54.11
when it came to medical care.
00:31:54.21\00:31:57.08
And any test, any real emergency
00:31:57.18\00:32:00.65
that had come along that needed
00:32:00.75\00:32:01.62
real doctor skill,
00:32:01.72\00:32:03.89
I would have been shown
00:32:03.99\00:32:05.12
for the fraud that I was
00:32:05.22\00:32:08.62
because my badge could not have
00:32:08.72\00:32:09.62
helped me past any genuine
00:32:09.72\00:32:11.36
medical doctor test.
00:32:11.46\00:32:15.20
I may have looked like one.
00:32:15.30\00:32:17.37
But I wasn't.
00:32:17.47\00:32:19.57
But we're talking about
00:32:23.87\00:32:24.71
spiritual things, aren't we?
00:32:24.81\00:32:26.37
This is the parable.
00:32:26.47\00:32:28.51
So, let's just play this out.
00:32:28.61\00:32:30.31
Why do plants need roots?
00:32:30.41\00:32:33.92
Simple question. How come? Why?
00:32:34.02\00:32:37.22
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:32:37.32\00:32:37.82
Water, nutrients
00:32:37.92\00:32:38.89
so they can soak it up,
00:32:38.99\00:32:40.19
get nourishment from the soil.
00:32:40.29\00:32:41.26
That's what they're for.
00:32:41.36\00:32:42.09
And -- and plants need roots
00:32:42.19\00:32:44.59
so that they can be protected
00:32:44.69\00:32:46.16
in storms, not from them --
00:32:46.26\00:32:50.90
in storms, but not from them.
00:32:51.00\00:32:53.20
And spiritually speaking,
00:32:53.30\00:32:54.34
let's just bring this down here.
00:32:54.44\00:32:55.37
Who is our nourishment?
00:32:55.47\00:32:57.17
Jesus Christ -- right? -- and
00:32:57.27\00:32:58.64
His Word, right?
00:32:58.74\00:32:59.41
We're to feed
00:32:59.51\00:33:00.34
on the Word of God, right?
00:33:00.44\00:33:01.71
So, who protects us during
00:33:01.81\00:33:04.18
storms, during difficult times?
00:33:04.28\00:33:05.05
Who is it? Jesus.
00:33:05.15\00:33:06.98
Yes.
00:33:07.08\00:33:08.15
Easy question, easy answer --
00:33:08.25\00:33:09.22
often through the promises
00:33:09.32\00:33:10.42
of His word.
00:33:10.52\00:33:11.22
We sang about that earlier.
00:33:11.32\00:33:12.62
This is how we are protected
00:33:12.72\00:33:14.26
during these storms.
00:33:14.36\00:33:15.99
And right here is one of the
00:33:16.09\00:33:17.43
greatest challenges that I think
00:33:17.53\00:33:19.03
Christianity faces today.
00:33:19.13\00:33:21.06
Too many people
00:33:21.16\00:33:22.33
have joined up with Jesus
00:33:22.43\00:33:23.83
because they think He's the way
00:33:23.93\00:33:25.03
to escape from suffering
00:33:25.13\00:33:26.50
rather than from sin.
00:33:26.60\00:33:30.24
Too many people
00:33:30.34\00:33:31.67
have joined up with Jesus
00:33:31.77\00:33:32.97
because they think He's the way
00:33:33.07\00:33:34.01
to escape from suffering
00:33:34.11\00:33:35.51
rather than from sin.
00:33:35.61\00:33:38.05
And so, when,
00:33:38.15\00:33:39.28
as the parable says,
00:33:39.38\00:33:41.68
they believe for a while,
00:33:41.78\00:33:44.05
but then the time of testing
00:33:44.15\00:33:45.99
comes, and the Greek there is
00:33:46.09\00:33:47.86
interesting -- time of testing.
00:33:47.96\00:33:48.82
It can mean an array of things.
00:33:48.92\00:33:49.66
When the winds
00:33:49.76\00:33:50.99
of strife and difficulties
00:33:51.09\00:33:52.26
and even sinful temptations,
00:33:52.36\00:33:54.00
when you feel like you're just
00:33:54.10\00:33:54.83
being bombarded with temptation,
00:33:54.93\00:33:56.43
life's challenges, etcetera.
00:33:56.53\00:33:58.10
When that time of testing comes
00:33:58.20\00:34:00.27
to these kinds of believers,
00:34:00.37\00:34:02.77
they fall away because that's
00:34:02.87\00:34:07.01
not what they signed up for.
00:34:07.11\00:34:09.31
They signed up
00:34:09.41\00:34:10.38
for the gravy train
00:34:10.48\00:34:12.25
not for the work of discipleship
00:34:12.35\00:34:14.12
and knowing Jesus.
00:34:14.22\00:34:18.29
Surely, there are at least
00:34:18.39\00:34:19.29
two lessons for us
00:34:19.39\00:34:21.49
in this phase of the parable.
00:34:21.59\00:34:23.89
Number one, trouble
00:34:23.99\00:34:25.96
or temptations in your life
00:34:26.06\00:34:27.76
do not necessarily mean
00:34:27.86\00:34:29.53
that you've lost your connection
00:34:29.63\00:34:30.43
with Jesus.
00:34:30.53\00:34:31.90
It may instead simply mean
00:34:32.00\00:34:33.23
that you are in a normal part
00:34:33.34\00:34:34.70
of a normal growth phase.
00:34:34.80\00:34:38.24
That's good news, isn't it?
00:34:38.34\00:34:40.41
You know, rare indeed
00:34:40.51\00:34:41.64
is the farmer
00:34:41.74\00:34:43.18
who does not expect
00:34:43.28\00:34:44.55
that storms will come
00:34:44.65\00:34:45.91
during the time that his crops
00:34:46.01\00:34:47.02
are out in the field, okay?
00:34:47.12\00:34:49.32
They expect it. They plan it.
00:34:49.42\00:34:50.59
Most farmers -- and I think
00:34:50.69\00:34:51.55
I can safely say this --
00:34:51.65\00:34:52.42
for most parts of the world,
00:34:52.52\00:34:54.12
they actually plan on this.
00:34:54.22\00:34:55.62
I mean, they'll have drainage
00:34:55.72\00:34:56.66
ditches made just especially
00:34:56.76\00:34:58.19
so that the rain won't
00:34:58.29\00:34:59.23
take away their crops, etcetera,
00:34:59.33\00:35:00.66
so that their plants can
00:35:00.76\00:35:01.96
withstand the inevitable storms.
00:35:02.06\00:35:05.60
And what is true for
00:35:05.70\00:35:06.97
earthly farmers is also true
00:35:07.07\00:35:08.50
for the Heavenly One.
00:35:08.60\00:35:10.47
He knows that we will experience
00:35:10.57\00:35:11.84
storms,
00:35:11.94\00:35:13.71
and we should therefore not be
00:35:13.81\00:35:14.78
surprised when they happen.
00:35:14.88\00:35:17.15
Lesson number two...
00:35:17.25\00:35:19.28
To thrive in testing times --
00:35:19.38\00:35:22.85
follow the math carefully here.
00:35:22.95\00:35:24.65
To thrive in testing times,
00:35:24.75\00:35:26.25
we must have deep roots.
00:35:26.35\00:35:28.46
In other words, we must be
00:35:28.56\00:35:29.29
firmly planted in Jesus Christ.
00:35:29.39\00:35:31.49
Deep roots only come
00:35:31.59\00:35:34.46
when the Word runs deep in us.
00:35:34.56\00:35:38.47
So, let us remove the rocks that
00:35:38.57\00:35:41.10
stand in the way of the roots.
00:35:41.20\00:35:45.57
Now, again, this is not
00:35:45.67\00:35:46.44
this is not difficult.
00:35:46.54\00:35:47.14
Again, this is part
00:35:47.24\00:35:47.91
of the genius of Jesus.
00:35:48.01\00:35:48.74
Jesus is laying out
00:35:48.84\00:35:49.91
the spiritual heavenly
00:35:50.01\00:35:50.98
math here for us.
00:35:51.08\00:35:52.11
One plus one equals two.
00:35:52.21\00:35:53.28
If you wish to have
00:35:53.38\00:35:54.72
deep roots in Jesus,
00:35:54.82\00:35:56.42
you need to remove the rocks.
00:35:56.52\00:35:59.65
You know, in Christ,
00:35:59.75\00:36:00.79
if we are in Christ,
00:36:00.89\00:36:03.56
growth is going to come.
00:36:03.66\00:36:05.96
Good things are going to happen.
00:36:06.06\00:36:08.36
But if there are rocks
00:36:08.46\00:36:09.70
in the way that stop that Word
00:36:09.80\00:36:12.33
from running deep into us,
00:36:12.43\00:36:13.87
then we will not experience
00:36:13.97\00:36:14.74
the growth that
00:36:14.84\00:36:15.97
He is looking for us to have.
00:36:16.07\00:36:17.61
So, let me just ask you, in the
00:36:17.71\00:36:18.54
quietness of your own mind,
00:36:18.64\00:36:19.91
what rocks are there in the soil
00:36:20.01\00:36:22.04
of your life that need to go?
00:36:22.14\00:36:26.21
What are these things?
00:36:26.31\00:36:28.68
For instance, if there is known
00:36:28.78\00:36:31.29
and condoned sin in your life...
00:36:31.39\00:36:34.49
I'm not talking about, you know,
00:36:34.59\00:36:35.26
the layers of the onion,
00:36:35.36\00:36:36.19
as God grows and shapes us,
00:36:36.29\00:36:36.79
you know,
00:36:36.89\00:36:38.19
and things are revealed to us.
00:36:38.29\00:36:39.16
I'm talking about right now,
00:36:39.26\00:36:40.96
if the record of your life
00:36:41.06\00:36:42.33
were laid out for
00:36:42.43\00:36:43.83
you to see clearly,
00:36:43.93\00:36:46.00
are there sins in your life
00:36:46.10\00:36:47.37
that are there, you know it,
00:36:47.47\00:36:49.04
and you're okay with it?
00:36:49.14\00:36:52.44
Ladies and gentlemen,
00:36:52.54\00:36:53.11
that's a rock.
00:36:53.21\00:36:54.51
That's a boulder.
00:36:54.61\00:36:56.24
It can keep the Word of God
00:36:56.34\00:36:58.85
from taking root.
00:36:58.95\00:36:59.95
So, by God's strength and power,
00:37:00.12\00:37:01.18
get rid of it.
00:37:01.28\00:37:02.62
Take it out of your garden.
00:37:02.72\00:37:03.65
Take it out of your soil.
00:37:03.75\00:37:04.32
Get rid.
00:37:04.42\00:37:05.52
Do whatever it takes in there.
00:37:05.62\00:37:06.79
The payoff will be more than
00:37:06.89\00:37:08.06
worth whatever pain it is
00:37:08.16\00:37:08.82
that you suffer
00:37:08.92\00:37:10.09
as you seek to take that out,
00:37:10.19\00:37:11.06
by God's grace, to take
00:37:11.16\00:37:12.43
that rock out of the soil.
00:37:12.53\00:37:13.76
Maybe the rock in your
00:37:13.86\00:37:14.93
spiritual soil is just that
00:37:15.00\00:37:16.10
there are parts of your life
00:37:16.20\00:37:16.70
that Jesus
00:37:16.80\00:37:17.43
does not have access to.
00:37:17.53\00:37:18.43
You know, you've still got
00:37:18.53\00:37:20.47
the key to that particular door
00:37:20.57\00:37:21.74
in your mind and your life.
00:37:21.84\00:37:23.24
You know, maybe you come here
00:37:23.34\00:37:24.67
or some other religious space,
00:37:24.77\00:37:26.14
and you're there,
00:37:26.24\00:37:26.94
and you participate,
00:37:27.04\00:37:27.91
and then you go do your thing
00:37:28.01\00:37:29.04
for the rest of the time.
00:37:29.14\00:37:30.48
And you're kind of this cyclic
00:37:30.58\00:37:32.05
on again, off again thing.
00:37:32.15\00:37:33.28
Jesus doesn't have access
00:37:33.38\00:37:34.48
to that part of your life.
00:37:34.58\00:37:35.65
Ladies and gentlemen,
00:37:35.75\00:37:36.25
that's a rock.
00:37:36.35\00:37:37.92
That's a rock. It's got to go.
00:37:38.02\00:37:41.19
By the grace and power
00:37:41.29\00:37:42.09
of Jesus Christ,
00:37:42.19\00:37:43.76
take it out of your garden.
00:37:43.86\00:37:44.83
Take it out of your soil.
00:37:44.93\00:37:47.00
No sin is worth it.
00:37:47.10\00:37:48.83
No part of you is worth keeping
00:37:48.93\00:37:50.20
off-limits from the Savior.
00:37:50.30\00:37:51.77
Ultimately, it will hurt you
00:37:51.87\00:37:52.90
and His heart, as well.
00:37:53.00\00:37:54.94
By the strength of Jesus,
00:37:55.04\00:37:56.04
get the rocks out of the soil
00:37:56.14\00:37:56.67
of your life.
00:37:56.77\00:37:57.91
Spend time in the Word of God
00:37:58.01\00:37:59.44
regularly each day.
00:37:59.54\00:38:00.58
Drink it in.
00:38:00.68\00:38:01.28
By God's grace, obey it.
00:38:01.38\00:38:03.08
And then when the time
00:38:03.18\00:38:04.25
of testing comes,
00:38:04.35\00:38:06.41
those roots will keep you
00:38:06.51\00:38:08.12
standing firm for Christ.
00:38:08.22\00:38:10.45
Verse 14.
00:38:15.42\00:38:18.59
Phase three.
00:38:18.69\00:38:21.50
"The seed that fell among thorns
00:38:21.60\00:38:24.33
stands for those who hear,
00:38:24.43\00:38:26.50
but as they go on their way,
00:38:26.60\00:38:27.87
they are choked by life's
00:38:27.97\00:38:29.44
worries, riches, and pleasures,
00:38:29.54\00:38:32.27
and they do not mature."
00:38:32.37\00:38:35.48
Hmm. Do you see
00:38:35.58\00:38:36.91
what's happening here?
00:38:37.01\00:38:38.35
Jesus now is progressing.
00:38:38.45\00:38:40.18
We started with
00:38:40.28\00:38:40.85
the hard-packed soil.
00:38:40.95\00:38:42.38
Seed went there, bounced off
00:38:42.48\00:38:43.52
essentially.
00:38:43.62\00:38:44.15
The birds took it.
00:38:44.25\00:38:44.92
No kingdom progress.
00:38:45.02\00:38:46.52
Next phase, phase two,
00:38:46.62\00:38:47.39
the rocky soil.
00:38:47.49\00:38:48.56
There is some progress here.
00:38:48.66\00:38:50.09
There's a seed. It germinates.
00:38:50.19\00:38:51.29
There's something that grows up.
00:38:51.39\00:38:52.13
Looks like every other plant
00:38:52.23\00:38:52.96
for a little while.
00:38:53.06\00:38:54.00
But when the time
00:38:54.10\00:38:55.26
of testing comes, it goes away.
00:38:55.36\00:38:56.53
In phase three,
00:38:56.63\00:38:58.43
with the thorny soil,
00:38:58.53\00:39:00.90
Jesus is now looking at people
00:39:01.00\00:39:03.97
that are followers of Him.
00:39:04.07\00:39:06.44
These are people that are in the
00:39:06.54\00:39:07.64
church.
00:39:07.74\00:39:09.18
We have progressed spiritually.
00:39:09.28\00:39:11.41
And did you notice something odd
00:39:11.51\00:39:13.78
about the impediments
00:39:13.88\00:39:14.85
that Jesus says will
00:39:14.95\00:39:16.35
be present for this third phase?
00:39:16.45\00:39:17.82
He said, "Life's worries,
00:39:17.92\00:39:19.59
riches, and pleasures."
00:39:19.69\00:39:22.66
But how could all three of them
00:39:22.76\00:39:23.69
be thorns?
00:39:23.79\00:39:24.66
I mean,
00:39:24.76\00:39:25.46
how often have we thought that
00:39:25.56\00:39:26.66
if we had riches and pleasures,
00:39:26.76\00:39:28.16
we would not have worries?
00:39:28.26\00:39:29.96
Right? You know, kind of
00:39:30.07\00:39:31.33
the American dream writ large.
00:39:31.43\00:39:32.67
You have money and time
00:39:32.77\00:39:33.90
for leisure.
00:39:34.00\00:39:34.80
And how could you possibly have,
00:39:34.90\00:39:35.97
you know,
00:39:36.07\00:39:36.71
worries from life, right?
00:39:36.81\00:39:39.04
And yet here Jesus very clearly
00:39:39.14\00:39:40.81
lumps all three together as
00:39:40.91\00:39:42.71
things that can keep us from...
00:39:42.81\00:39:45.11
What's the goal at the end
00:39:45.21\00:39:46.58
of the verse that we just read?
00:39:46.68\00:39:48.45
Starts with an "m."
00:39:48.55\00:39:49.12
What's the goal?
00:39:49.22\00:39:50.49
Maturity.
00:39:50.59\00:39:52.15
Show of hands.
00:39:59.23\00:40:02.16
How many of you have ever
00:40:02.26\00:40:03.93
started a garden
00:40:04.03\00:40:05.83
out of virgin territory,
00:40:05.93\00:40:07.44
out of wilderness?
00:40:07.54\00:40:08.37
Show of hands.
00:40:08.47\00:40:10.61
Okay, we should
00:40:10.71\00:40:11.77
meet up front afterwards
00:40:11.87\00:40:12.84
so that we can commiserate
00:40:12.94\00:40:13.88
and comfort one another
00:40:13.98\00:40:15.51
for the trauma that we have
00:40:15.61\00:40:16.48
experienced
00:40:16.58\00:40:17.71
in that gardening journey, okay?
00:40:17.81\00:40:18.98
And why do I say that?
00:40:19.08\00:40:21.02
Because if you have ever tried
00:40:21.12\00:40:22.35
to carve a garden
00:40:22.45\00:40:23.89
out of virgin territory,
00:40:23.99\00:40:26.35
it is painful.
00:40:26.45\00:40:27.79
It will take you years
00:40:27.89\00:40:29.46
to get that thing right.
00:40:29.56\00:40:30.69
What do I mean?
00:40:30.79\00:40:31.33
Well, so, years ago,
00:40:31.43\00:40:33.46
when my wife and I,
00:40:33.56\00:40:34.76
my daughters were living
00:40:34.86\00:40:36.03
in Virginia, on our back 40 --
00:40:36.13\00:40:37.73
we didn't have 80 acres,
00:40:37.83\00:40:39.87
but we called it the back 40.
00:40:39.97\00:40:41.47
And it was it was wilderness.
00:40:41.57\00:40:43.17
There were trees growing there.
00:40:43.27\00:40:44.24
At one point,
00:40:44.34\00:40:44.94
it had been an orchard
00:40:45.04\00:40:45.57
many years past,
00:40:45.67\00:40:46.54
but those days were long gone.
00:40:46.64\00:40:47.58
There was real tall grass
00:40:47.68\00:40:48.54
and bracket and thorns,
00:40:48.64\00:40:50.25
of course, all kinds of weeds.
00:40:50.35\00:40:51.45
And this is where
00:40:51.55\00:40:53.58
we wanted to put the garden.
00:40:53.68\00:40:55.92
So, Darlene comes out there,
00:40:56.02\00:40:57.02
and we look at it,
00:40:57.12\00:40:58.05
and she points, and says, "Oh,
00:40:58.15\00:40:59.39
you know, maybe about this area.
00:40:59.49\00:41:00.39
Could we do that?
00:41:00.49\00:41:01.09
And we could take care
00:41:01.19\00:41:01.79
of these trees,
00:41:01.89\00:41:02.59
get some more sun down here,"
00:41:02.69\00:41:03.43
this kind of thing.
00:41:03.53\00:41:04.16
I'm like, "Okay, break."
00:41:04.26\00:41:05.49
Off we go.
00:41:05.59\00:41:06.46
I get my chainsaw,
00:41:06.56\00:41:07.40
I cut down the trees.
00:41:07.50\00:41:08.90
Then I go for the roots
00:41:09.00\00:41:09.90
and, you know, digging those
00:41:10.00\00:41:10.83
things out and pulling them out.
00:41:10.93\00:41:11.80
And then I go for
00:41:11.90\00:41:12.90
the big thorn bushes.
00:41:13.00\00:41:14.24
Now, in Michigan, we would
00:41:14.34\00:41:16.10
never have these, I'm sure, but
00:41:16.20\00:41:17.14
in Virginia, some of
00:41:17.24\00:41:19.14
the thorn bushes there,
00:41:19.24\00:41:20.08
they got stalks that big,
00:41:20.18\00:41:21.94
and they are not coming out of
00:41:22.04\00:41:23.04
the ground just by pulling them.
00:41:23.14\00:41:23.88
I mean, if you have a truck
00:41:23.98\00:41:24.75
or something like that,
00:41:24.85\00:41:25.65
you might be able to rip it
00:41:25.75\00:41:26.25
out of there.
00:41:26.35\00:41:26.95
They're deep!
00:41:27.05\00:41:27.85
And so, I'm hacking away
00:41:27.95\00:41:28.82
at these things, and I'm digging
00:41:28.92\00:41:29.72
them up day after day,
00:41:29.82\00:41:30.69
getting everything all done.
00:41:30.79\00:41:32.35
And, finally, I think
00:41:32.45\00:41:33.32
I have it ready for rototilling.
00:41:33.42\00:41:35.66
And I get my rototiller out
00:41:35.76\00:41:36.79
and fire it up and, you know,
00:41:36.89\00:41:38.83
run into a root that I missed.
00:41:38.93\00:41:40.03
Right?
00:41:40.13\00:41:41.20
And that happens many times --
00:41:41.30\00:41:42.60
and rocks that I missed.
00:41:42.70\00:41:43.63
And so, these things
00:41:43.73\00:41:44.70
are picked out.
00:41:44.80\00:41:45.87
And finally I make a final pass
00:41:45.97\00:41:48.07
with the rototiller.
00:41:48.17\00:41:49.90
And it looks perfect.
00:41:50.01\00:41:53.01
I get on the phone and say,
00:41:53.11\00:41:53.48
"Hey, hon,
00:41:53.58\00:41:54.28
you got to come and see this."
00:41:54.38\00:41:55.81
So, she comes up and looks
00:41:55.91\00:41:57.15
at this, and oh, I mean,
00:41:57.25\00:41:58.35
it is just picture-perfect
00:41:58.45\00:42:00.78
having reclaimed
00:42:00.88\00:42:02.82
from the wilderness
00:42:02.92\00:42:03.95
our garden paradise.
00:42:04.05\00:42:08.39
And 15 seconds later,
00:42:08.49\00:42:10.19
weeds begin to grow again.
00:42:10.29\00:42:11.76
[ Laughter ]
00:42:11.86\00:42:13.66
I mean, that is
00:42:13.76\00:42:14.73
barely an exaggeration.
00:42:14.83\00:42:16.20
I mean, the next day, like,
00:42:16.30\00:42:16.97
"Wait a second.
00:42:17.07\00:42:17.73
I took you out of there.
00:42:17.83\00:42:18.97
How dare you come back
00:42:19.07\00:42:20.10
like this?"
00:42:20.20\00:42:20.87
Bloom, di-di-bloom, bloom.
00:42:20.97\00:42:22.30
Like, for the next ten years --
00:42:22.40\00:42:24.51
no joke -- we spent pulling
00:42:24.61\00:42:26.11
these weeds out of this because
00:42:26.21\00:42:27.74
you can't quite get them all,
00:42:27.84\00:42:28.68
it seemed.
00:42:28.78\00:42:29.71
Roots that you thought
00:42:29.81\00:42:31.08
you got are still there.
00:42:31.18\00:42:32.05
Two feet down,
00:42:32.15\00:42:33.15
they're still growing stuff up
00:42:33.25\00:42:34.18
through the top like this.
00:42:34.28\00:42:35.68
And, indeed, there were times
00:42:35.78\00:42:38.12
when those thorn bushes
00:42:38.22\00:42:39.45
and those weeds kept the plants
00:42:39.55\00:42:42.66
we wanted from growing.
00:42:42.76\00:42:47.03
Simple question -- how did
00:42:47.13\00:42:48.33
they do that?
00:42:48.43\00:42:51.80
Those of you that are gardeners,
00:42:51.90\00:42:52.47
I'm sure you know.
00:42:52.57\00:42:53.60
What process did they use?
00:42:53.70\00:42:54.77
Well, it's actually quite
00:42:54.87\00:42:55.60
simple.
00:42:55.70\00:42:56.71
The thorns -- the weeds --
00:42:56.81\00:42:59.57
they sucked up needed resources
00:42:59.67\00:43:03.38
in that garden for themselves
00:43:03.48\00:43:06.45
so that they were not available
00:43:06.55\00:43:08.48
for the plants that we wanted.
00:43:08.58\00:43:11.05
Let's just picture this here.
00:43:11.15\00:43:12.49
They sucked up needed resources,
00:43:12.59\00:43:13.89
for instance, such as sunlight.
00:43:13.99\00:43:14.82
I mean, a lot of these weeds,
00:43:14.92\00:43:15.76
they grow really fast.
00:43:15.86\00:43:16.66
They got these big, broad
00:43:16.76\00:43:17.39
leaves.
00:43:17.49\00:43:18.09
And so, quite literally,
00:43:18.19\00:43:19.13
the sunlight could not get
00:43:19.23\00:43:20.76
to the little plants
00:43:20.86\00:43:21.73
that we wanted in the garden.
00:43:21.83\00:43:22.76
Right?
00:43:22.86\00:43:23.47
And the roots,
00:43:23.57\00:43:24.70
sometimes these root systems,
00:43:24.80\00:43:25.63
the weeds are growing
00:43:25.73\00:43:27.07
so fast, they're sucking up
00:43:27.17\00:43:28.10
nutrients and water in the soil
00:43:28.20\00:43:29.84
so that, again, the little
00:43:29.94\00:43:31.84
plants that we wanted to grow
00:43:31.94\00:43:33.71
can't get what they needed.
00:43:33.81\00:43:35.71
This is the "choking" that Jesus
00:43:35.81\00:43:39.08
referred to in His parable.
00:43:39.18\00:43:41.88
It's not that the thorns in the
00:43:41.98\00:43:43.15
garden necessarily reached over
00:43:43.25\00:43:45.22
and wrung the necks of the other
00:43:45.32\00:43:46.22
plants.
00:43:46.32\00:43:48.29
But functionally speaking,
00:43:48.39\00:43:49.42
they soaked up the needed
00:43:49.52\00:43:50.73
nourishment themselves,
00:43:50.83\00:43:52.19
figuratively choking
00:43:52.29\00:43:53.66
the other plants.
00:43:53.76\00:43:58.03
And, remember, we're talking
00:43:58.13\00:43:59.20
about spiritual things here.
00:43:59.30\00:44:01.27
What does Jesus mean?
00:44:01.37\00:44:07.11
You know, the first thing
00:44:07.21\00:44:08.11
that Jesus mentions in this
00:44:08.21\00:44:09.28
verse as being a thorn,
00:44:09.38\00:44:11.11
we can probably understand it,
00:44:11.21\00:44:12.41
the "worries" of this life.
00:44:12.51\00:44:14.35
I mean,
00:44:14.45\00:44:15.35
we can kind of intuitively
00:44:15.45\00:44:16.25
get that one, can't we?
00:44:16.35\00:44:17.19
We can easily see how this could
00:44:17.29\00:44:18.59
choke off spiritual blessings
00:44:18.69\00:44:20.12
that could otherwise be ours.
00:44:20.22\00:44:23.09
But "riches and pleasures,"
00:44:23.19\00:44:26.53
how could those be thorns
00:44:26.63\00:44:27.76
that would choke us off?
00:44:27.86\00:44:28.66
I mean, assuming the pleasures
00:44:28.76\00:44:30.00
are not overtly sinful ones,
00:44:30.10\00:44:31.53
what could possibly
00:44:31.63\00:44:32.37
be the problem?
00:44:32.47\00:44:34.80
The answer is sadly simple.
00:44:37.81\00:44:40.04
Three things -- time, energy,
00:44:40.14\00:44:42.14
and focus.
00:44:42.24\00:44:44.61
Time, energy, and focus.
00:44:44.71\00:44:48.38
In other words, if we are not
00:44:48.48\00:44:50.49
careful, riches and pleasures,
00:44:50.59\00:44:52.45
and in reality most
00:44:52.55\00:44:53.59
anything else can become
00:44:53.69\00:44:54.99
so absorbing of our time,
00:44:55.09\00:44:57.19
our energy, and our focus
00:44:57.29\00:44:59.39
that they will soak up resources
00:44:59.49\00:45:02.20
that should have been spent
00:45:02.30\00:45:03.16
on the Word of God
00:45:03.26\00:45:04.00
and growing to
00:45:04.10\00:45:04.67
be more like Jesus.
00:45:04.77\00:45:07.04
And if we do this long enough,
00:45:07.14\00:45:08.77
we will spiritually die.
00:45:08.87\00:45:12.17
Not because I say so,
00:45:12.27\00:45:13.27
but because this is what Jesus
00:45:13.38\00:45:14.44
is telling us in this parable.
00:45:14.54\00:45:17.48
I mean, remember, this is phase
00:45:17.58\00:45:19.58
three now of this parable.
00:45:19.68\00:45:21.18
The Christians under discussion
00:45:21.28\00:45:22.52
here, they have some growth
00:45:22.62\00:45:25.79
under their belt.
00:45:25.89\00:45:26.82
These are Christians
00:45:26.92\00:45:27.59
that are in church,
00:45:27.69\00:45:28.32
like us here.
00:45:28.42\00:45:30.19
These are not Christians that
00:45:30.29\00:45:31.23
are robbing banks or, you know,
00:45:31.33\00:45:32.93
shooting people on the highway.
00:45:33.03\00:45:34.56
They're not doing those
00:45:34.63\00:45:35.20
high-handed sins.
00:45:35.30\00:45:37.70
But by now they may be
00:45:37.80\00:45:38.93
engaging in activities
00:45:39.03\00:45:40.54
which by themselves
00:45:40.64\00:45:41.60
may be harmless,
00:45:41.70\00:45:43.57
but they are investing
00:45:43.67\00:45:45.01
too much in them.
00:45:45.11\00:45:48.71
And those activities begin to
00:45:48.81\00:45:50.21
choke off their spiritual life.
00:45:50.31\00:45:54.68
So, again, in the quietness
00:45:54.78\00:45:55.68
of your own cranium,
00:45:55.78\00:45:57.09
ask yourself the question,
00:45:57.19\00:45:59.65
"Have I allowed the worries
00:45:59.75\00:46:01.59
of this life or wealth
00:46:01.69\00:46:03.16
or pleasures of whatever sort,
00:46:03.26\00:46:05.19
to take away from me
00:46:05.29\00:46:06.96
time and energy and focus
00:46:07.03\00:46:09.06
that should be invested
00:46:09.16\00:46:10.87
in growing in Christ?"
00:46:10.97\00:46:13.07
You know, our purpose
00:46:17.91\00:46:18.77
in this life is to know Jesus.
00:46:18.87\00:46:21.81
That's why we're here,
00:46:21.91\00:46:24.38
for fellowship with God Himself.
00:46:24.48\00:46:27.65
And it's not just
00:46:27.75\00:46:28.68
the surface knowledge
00:46:28.78\00:46:29.98
that Jesus is longing for
00:46:30.09\00:46:31.32
for each of us.
00:46:31.42\00:46:32.45
It's this intimate knowing of
00:46:32.55\00:46:33.99
Him, this deep knowing of Him.
00:46:34.09\00:46:35.72
The Bible often uses
00:46:35.82\00:46:36.89
the phrase "mature."
00:46:36.99\00:46:39.36
This is our calling in life,
00:46:39.46\00:46:40.50
our privilege in life to become
00:46:40.60\00:46:41.80
mature in Jesus Christ,
00:46:41.90\00:46:44.20
not ones that, you know,
00:46:44.30\00:46:45.20
when trouble comes,
00:46:45.30\00:46:45.77
we float away.
00:46:45.87\00:46:47.04
We don't stay in the kingdom.
00:46:47.14\00:46:48.70
No, Jesus wants us
00:46:48.80\00:46:50.04
to know Him deeply
00:46:50.14\00:46:51.67
and closely, as deep
00:46:51.77\00:46:53.48
as we possibly can to grow up
00:46:53.58\00:46:55.71
into the fullness of
00:46:55.81\00:46:56.95
Jesus Christ.
00:46:57.05\00:46:58.01
This is the essence
00:46:58.11\00:46:58.68
of Christianity.
00:46:58.78\00:46:59.75
It's the essence of the
00:46:59.85\00:47:00.75
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:47:00.85\00:47:01.68
This is why we are here.
00:47:01.78\00:47:04.99
And yet so often we settle
00:47:05.09\00:47:09.12
for something less.
00:47:09.22\00:47:11.69
We end up doing, you know,
00:47:11.79\00:47:12.93
maybe good things.
00:47:13.03\00:47:14.10
On the surface,
00:47:14.20\00:47:15.16
they're good things,
00:47:15.26\00:47:16.06
maybe harmless as it were.
00:47:16.16\00:47:17.50
But we put so much time
00:47:17.60\00:47:19.50
and energy and focus into them
00:47:19.60\00:47:21.54
that gradually we drift away
00:47:21.64\00:47:24.21
from the knowledge of Jesus
00:47:24.31\00:47:25.37
and His Word.
00:47:25.47\00:47:28.01
How is it with you?
00:47:30.95\00:47:32.71
Are there
00:47:32.81\00:47:34.22
some thorns that need to go?
00:47:34.32\00:47:37.35
To be clear,
00:47:37.45\00:47:39.09
I have met, for instance,
00:47:39.19\00:47:40.19
many wealthy people who were
00:47:40.29\00:47:41.59
deeply committed to God.
00:47:41.69\00:47:42.72
They knew Jesus.
00:47:42.82\00:47:43.63
And I have met many wealthy
00:47:43.73\00:47:44.73
people whose wealth owned them.
00:47:44.83\00:47:48.66
Money is not the issue.
00:47:48.76\00:47:49.83
Pleasure is not the issue.
00:47:49.93\00:47:51.17
It is, instead, what you're
00:47:51.27\00:47:52.20
asking those things to do for
00:47:52.30\00:47:53.87
you and what you're allowing
00:47:53.97\00:47:55.54
them to do in you.
00:47:55.64\00:47:57.37
Are they a reminder of
00:47:57.47\00:47:58.94
and a tool for extending God's
00:47:59.04\00:48:00.98
kingdom in you and in others,
00:48:01.08\00:48:02.71
or are they tools
00:48:02.81\00:48:03.68
for extending your kingdom
00:48:03.78\00:48:05.11
further in your world?
00:48:05.21\00:48:09.18
Ask and answer honestly
00:48:09.28\00:48:11.05
the right questions.
00:48:11.15\00:48:12.29
And if you find some thorns
00:48:12.39\00:48:14.09
along the way,
00:48:14.19\00:48:15.72
please, I plead with you,
00:48:15.82\00:48:17.56
pull them out by the roots.
00:48:17.66\00:48:21.30
Call a time-out, refocus,
00:48:21.40\00:48:24.43
bring your energies back,
00:48:24.53\00:48:26.07
and do whatever is necessary
00:48:26.17\00:48:27.60
by the grace and power
00:48:27.70\00:48:28.97
and discernment of Jesus Christ,
00:48:29.07\00:48:30.41
and pull those thorns
00:48:30.51\00:48:32.17
out of your life by the roots.
00:48:32.27\00:48:37.78
You do that, and maturity,
00:48:37.88\00:48:38.98
sooner or later, can be yours.
00:48:39.08\00:48:44.12
And then, phase four,
00:48:44.22\00:48:47.56
the final phase of the parable.
00:48:47.66\00:48:49.42
Verse 15.
00:48:49.52\00:48:53.43
"But the seed on good soil
00:48:53.53\00:48:57.60
stands for those with a noble
00:48:57.70\00:48:58.90
and good heart
00:48:59.00\00:49:00.10
who hear the word, retain it,
00:49:00.20\00:49:01.70
and by persevering,
00:49:01.80\00:49:02.97
produce a crop."
00:49:03.07\00:49:05.44
You see what He said there?
00:49:05.54\00:49:06.27
"Those with a noble
00:49:06.37\00:49:07.21
and good heart" --
00:49:07.31\00:49:08.14
this is what this seed in this
00:49:08.24\00:49:09.01
particular phase represents --
00:49:09.11\00:49:10.55
"who hear the word, retain it,
00:49:10.65\00:49:12.88
and by persevering
00:49:12.98\00:49:14.15
produce a crop."
00:49:14.25\00:49:16.12
Now, there's so much
00:49:16.22\00:49:17.09
that can be said about this,
00:49:17.19\00:49:17.82
but let me just pull out
00:49:17.92\00:49:18.65
just two things here.
00:49:18.75\00:49:20.16
Number one, remember again,
00:49:20.26\00:49:21.62
who determines the quality
00:49:21.72\00:49:22.96
of the soil in your heart?
00:49:23.06\00:49:25.99
Okay. You do. We do.
00:49:26.09\00:49:27.13
It's our decision.
00:49:27.23\00:49:28.06
Generally speaking,
00:49:28.16\00:49:28.93
this is nearly always true.
00:49:29.03\00:49:29.93
We are the ones who decide
00:49:30.03\00:49:31.20
the quality of the soil.
00:49:31.30\00:49:32.67
Number two, that being the case,
00:49:32.77\00:49:36.47
let us be clear as to how
00:49:36.57\00:49:37.94
we can become people
00:49:38.04\00:49:39.47
that truly know Jesus
00:49:39.57\00:49:40.78
and produce a fruitful crop
00:49:40.88\00:49:42.61
with and for Him.
00:49:42.71\00:49:46.75
Story...
00:49:46.85\00:49:51.12
My father was heavily
00:49:51.22\00:49:52.75
into a brand of car
00:49:52.85\00:49:55.86
called Austin-Healey.
00:49:55.96\00:49:57.79
Let me just put a picture
00:49:57.89\00:49:58.56
up here for you.
00:49:58.66\00:50:00.13
This is a 1955
00:50:00.23\00:50:01.26
Austin-Healey 104.
00:50:01.36\00:50:03.03
He bought it in 1961,
00:50:03.13\00:50:05.17
and he began to race it
00:50:05.27\00:50:06.33
almost immediately.
00:50:06.43\00:50:07.57
And it stayed in the family for,
00:50:07.67\00:50:08.84
what, the next 55, 60 years?
00:50:08.94\00:50:12.74
It's a British car.
00:50:12.84\00:50:13.94
It was made for a number of
00:50:14.04\00:50:14.78
decades there.
00:50:14.88\00:50:15.81
They don't make them anymore.
00:50:15.91\00:50:17.58
Dad was really into those.
00:50:17.68\00:50:19.65
And when Dad died,
00:50:19.75\00:50:21.25
he left thousands of pounds'
00:50:21.35\00:50:24.32
worth of cars and parts to me.
00:50:24.42\00:50:28.76
I can still remember it.
00:50:28.86\00:50:29.59
The funeral was done.
00:50:29.69\00:50:30.69
It was the next day and went to
00:50:30.79\00:50:32.79
the garage there at his house.
00:50:32.89\00:50:34.36
And I opened up the door,
00:50:34.46\00:50:36.70
and I thought to myself,
00:50:36.80\00:50:37.73
"I can't imagine what
00:50:37.83\00:50:38.83
anybody else would be thinking
00:50:38.93\00:50:39.87
if they saw this,"
00:50:39.97\00:50:41.80
because my dad collected stuff.
00:50:41.90\00:50:43.51
So, British workmanship today,
00:50:43.61\00:50:45.07
if you're listening from England
00:50:45.17\00:50:46.11
right now, British workmanship
00:50:46.21\00:50:47.94
is of the highest quality today.
00:50:48.04\00:50:50.91
Not so much in the 1950s.
00:50:51.01\00:50:52.31
There were a few holes
00:50:52.41\00:50:53.11
in their armor at that time,
00:50:53.21\00:50:54.15
and so my dad
00:50:54.25\00:50:55.05
collected other Healeys.
00:50:55.15\00:50:56.25
He probably owned about a dozen
00:50:56.35\00:50:57.49
of them during his lifetime,
00:50:57.59\00:50:58.72
and all the parts
00:50:58.82\00:51:00.49
he never threw away.
00:51:00.59\00:51:02.76
And as I opened
00:51:02.86\00:51:03.36
that garage door,
00:51:03.46\00:51:04.36
this sea of nuts and bolts
00:51:04.46\00:51:07.10
and acorn nuts and parts
00:51:07.20\00:51:08.96
and differentials and engine
00:51:09.06\00:51:10.17
blocks and cylinder heads
00:51:10.27\00:51:11.70
and valve springs and tappets
00:51:11.80\00:51:13.03
and all of these things
00:51:13.13\00:51:14.10
were lying before there.
00:51:14.20\00:51:15.07
And anybody else would have
00:51:15.17\00:51:16.50
looked at it and said,
00:51:16.60\00:51:17.57
"Just call the recycling truck
00:51:17.67\00:51:19.41
and throw the stuff in."
00:51:19.51\00:51:22.21
But here's the thing.
00:51:22.31\00:51:23.71
I could have told you
00:51:23.81\00:51:27.12
what 99% of those parts were,
00:51:27.22\00:51:30.95
down to the smallest nut
00:51:31.05\00:51:32.19
and bolt, because they're
00:51:32.29\00:51:33.36
fairly unique on a Healey.
00:51:33.46\00:51:35.79
And the reason
00:51:35.89\00:51:36.86
why I could do that
00:51:36.96\00:51:38.76
is because for the first two
00:51:38.86\00:51:39.86
decades of my life,
00:51:39.96\00:51:41.60
I lived Austin-Healeys.
00:51:41.70\00:51:45.23
I lived them.
00:51:45.33\00:51:46.84
I didn't just read about them.
00:51:46.94\00:51:47.30
I mean,
00:51:47.40\00:51:48.60
Dad had all kinds of books
00:51:48.70\00:51:49.70
about Austin-Healeys and, sure,
00:51:49.80\00:51:50.44
I did indeed read them,
00:51:50.54\00:51:51.21
but I lived them
00:51:51.31\00:51:52.81
far more than just, you know,
00:51:52.91\00:51:54.11
watching them from afar.
00:51:54.21\00:51:55.51
I had Austin-Healey shirts.
00:51:55.61\00:51:56.95
I had Austin Healey hats.
00:51:57.05\00:51:58.11
We would travel thousands
00:51:58.21\00:51:58.98
of miles to go
00:51:59.08\00:51:59.81
to Austin-Healey events.
00:51:59.91\00:52:01.58
We would go to races together.
00:52:01.68\00:52:02.65
I fixed Healeys.
00:52:02.75\00:52:03.82
I repaired them.
00:52:03.92\00:52:04.95
I ordered parts for them.
00:52:05.05\00:52:05.89
I made parts for them.
00:52:05.99\00:52:06.86
I painted them.
00:52:06.96\00:52:07.76
I did all kinds of things.
00:52:07.86\00:52:09.19
I lived Austin-Healeys.
00:52:09.29\00:52:11.09
This is actually
00:52:11.19\00:52:12.46
a picture of the car early on.
00:52:12.56\00:52:15.10
This precedes me, all right?
00:52:15.20\00:52:16.33
So, the Healey was there
00:52:16.43\00:52:17.13
when I came into the world,
00:52:17.23\00:52:18.60
and I grew up working with my
00:52:18.70\00:52:19.90
dad on this particular car.
00:52:20.00\00:52:21.50
I even spent many times
00:52:21.60\00:52:23.14
racing this particular car.
00:52:23.24\00:52:24.94
It even, one of these Healeys
00:52:25.04\00:52:26.37
appeared at my wedding as the
00:52:26.47\00:52:27.54
getaway car.
00:52:27.64\00:52:29.28
I'm putting here --
00:52:29.38\00:52:30.08
this is a 1953.
00:52:30.18\00:52:31.85
This is Darlene, and I'm gently
00:52:31.95\00:52:33.11
placing her there.
00:52:33.21\00:52:33.95
My dad is standing there
00:52:34.05\00:52:34.95
with an umbrella
00:52:35.05\00:52:36.55
with the Austin-Healey
00:52:36.65\00:52:37.95
logo on it, emblazoned, right?
00:52:38.05\00:52:40.69
We lived, ate, and slept
00:52:40.79\00:52:42.29
Austin-Healeys.
00:52:42.39\00:52:44.29
No wonder I could tell you
00:52:44.39\00:52:46.53
what almost every last
00:52:46.63\00:52:48.00
one of those parts were
00:52:48.10\00:52:51.17
because I had lived them.
00:52:51.27\00:52:53.64
And, consequently, when I went
00:52:53.74\00:52:54.74
to a race with a Healey,
00:52:54.84\00:52:55.84
there was a pretty good chance
00:52:55.94\00:52:56.50
I could win.
00:52:56.60\00:52:57.94
If there was a Healey problem,
00:52:58.04\00:52:59.11
there was a pretty good chance
00:52:59.21\00:52:59.77
I could fix it.
00:52:59.87\00:53:00.84
If someone needed to know
00:53:00.94\00:53:01.61
something about
00:53:01.71\00:53:02.38
how to make their own Healey
00:53:02.48\00:53:03.45
run better or go faster,
00:53:03.55\00:53:05.41
there was a pretty good chance
00:53:05.51\00:53:06.35
I could tell them what they
00:53:06.45\00:53:07.28
needed to know, all because
00:53:07.38\00:53:08.92
I had lived Austin-Healeys.
00:53:09.02\00:53:11.52
Now, I must point out
00:53:15.42\00:53:17.63
that that kind of devotion
00:53:17.73\00:53:18.76
to automotive things
00:53:18.86\00:53:20.00
is, generally speaking,
00:53:20.10\00:53:21.50
inappropriate for a Christian.
00:53:21.60\00:53:24.33
I did not live that time
00:53:24.43\00:53:25.63
of my life those first
00:53:25.73\00:53:26.70
two decades correctly
00:53:26.80\00:53:27.97
in that regard,
00:53:28.07\00:53:28.90
and since my college days,
00:53:29.00\00:53:30.77
I have had to very intentionally
00:53:30.87\00:53:31.91
place cars in my life
00:53:32.01\00:53:33.38
in their proper place.
00:53:33.48\00:53:37.45
But...but...
00:53:37.55\00:53:41.52
that kind of devotion
00:53:41.62\00:53:44.89
is completely appropriate
00:53:44.99\00:53:47.46
when it comes to Jesus Christ
00:53:47.56\00:53:49.12
and His Word.
00:53:49.22\00:53:50.83
I mean, the Word of God.
00:53:50.93\00:53:52.13
You saw what Jesus said
00:53:52.23\00:53:53.23
in there, the Word of God.
00:53:53.33\00:53:53.90
We are to hear it.
00:53:54.00\00:53:54.73
We are to retain it.
00:53:54.83\00:53:55.76
We are to persevere in it,
00:53:55.86\00:53:57.23
hearing the Word of God.
00:53:57.33\00:53:58.40
This means we spend time in it,
00:53:58.50\00:53:59.77
that every day we're spending
00:53:59.87\00:54:01.00
some time in the Word of God,
00:54:01.10\00:54:02.10
that we're reading it.
00:54:02.20\00:54:03.10
If we have some way to listen
00:54:03.20\00:54:04.47
to it, that we listen to it.
00:54:04.57\00:54:05.77
As we're driving in our cars
00:54:05.87\00:54:07.11
there, riding on our bicycles,
00:54:07.21\00:54:08.24
or jogging or whatever,
00:54:08.34\00:54:09.18
we can have the Bible playing
00:54:09.28\00:54:10.28
in our ears so that we are
00:54:10.38\00:54:11.48
indeed hearing it.
00:54:11.58\00:54:12.25
Retain it.
00:54:12.35\00:54:13.98
I tell you what, in the Greek,
00:54:14.08\00:54:14.82
this is a fascinating word.
00:54:14.92\00:54:15.75
It's almost a fighting word.
00:54:15.85\00:54:16.92
You know,
00:54:17.02\00:54:18.09
"You cannot take it away, devil.
00:54:18.19\00:54:19.35
This is mine.
00:54:19.45\00:54:20.99
I'm not going to take it away."
00:54:21.09\00:54:22.19
We make it a part of us.
00:54:22.29\00:54:23.89
It goes deep inside.
00:54:23.99\00:54:25.69
We marinate in it so that even
00:54:25.79\00:54:27.73
when we are in other places,
00:54:27.83\00:54:29.83
and we've committed the Word
00:54:29.93\00:54:30.80
to memory,
00:54:30.90\00:54:31.90
we may not have a Bible
00:54:32.00\00:54:33.10
in our hand, but we have
00:54:33.20\00:54:34.14
a Bible in our heart.
00:54:34.24\00:54:36.30
And because of that,
00:54:36.40\00:54:37.41
we walk with this, we retain it,
00:54:37.51\00:54:38.87
and the old devil cannot take it
00:54:38.97\00:54:40.41
away, no matter what he tries.
00:54:40.51\00:54:41.88
And if we persevere,
00:54:41.98\00:54:44.25
if we keep at it,
00:54:44.35\00:54:45.68
if we keep this relationship
00:54:45.78\00:54:46.92
with the seed,
00:54:47.02\00:54:47.95
the Word of God, well...
00:54:48.05\00:54:51.45
Well,
00:54:51.55\00:54:52.79
let's just put it this way.
00:54:52.89\00:54:54.79
There's an entire planet
00:54:54.89\00:54:55.96
out there that is inviting us
00:54:56.06\00:54:57.86
to plant all the wrong kinds
00:54:57.96\00:54:59.49
of seed -- the seeds of pride
00:54:59.59\00:55:01.83
and of arrogance,
00:55:01.93\00:55:02.76
of immoral pleasures, lust of
00:55:02.86\00:55:04.80
the eyes and of the flesh,
00:55:04.90\00:55:05.67
etcetera, etcetera.
00:55:05.77\00:55:06.67
"So what?" the world says.
00:55:06.77\00:55:08.30
"Plant whatever seed you want."
00:55:08.40\00:55:13.01
But when we see the cross
00:55:13.11\00:55:15.81
and what Jesus did there,
00:55:15.91\00:55:17.28
when we learn
00:55:17.38\00:55:18.81
of the resurrection,
00:55:18.91\00:55:20.22
and we see what Jesus did there,
00:55:20.32\00:55:22.32
and when we learn
00:55:22.42\00:55:22.98
that even to this day,
00:55:23.08\00:55:23.89
to this very second,
00:55:23.99\00:55:24.95
Jesus Christ is our
00:55:25.05\00:55:26.45
High Priest interceding for us
00:55:26.55\00:55:28.09
in the heavenly sanctuary,
00:55:28.19\00:55:29.22
pushing back
00:55:29.32\00:55:30.13
the devil's accusations,
00:55:30.23\00:55:31.36
when we see all of that, we ask
00:55:31.46\00:55:33.93
a very different question.
00:55:34.00\00:55:36.03
Not "So what?" -- S-O.
00:55:36.13\00:55:37.77
But "Sow what?" -- S-O-W what?
00:55:37.87\00:55:42.54
"Sow what?" we say.
00:55:42.64\00:55:45.07
"What kind of seed is the best
00:55:45.17\00:55:46.91
to have planted in my life?
00:55:47.01\00:55:47.98
Not the easiest, but the
00:55:48.08\00:55:49.08
best one," we ask ourselves.
00:55:49.18\00:55:50.61
"And under what conditions
00:55:50.71\00:55:51.68
do I want the growth of that
00:55:51.78\00:55:52.68
seed to take place?"
00:55:52.78\00:55:54.15
And when we choose to let Christ
00:55:54.25\00:55:55.48
plant the seed of His Word,
00:55:55.58\00:55:56.92
of His kingdom in our lives,
00:55:57.02\00:55:58.69
we can blessedly also choose
00:55:58.79\00:56:00.26
what kind of soil our lives
00:56:00.36\00:56:01.79
will be for that seed.
00:56:01.89\00:56:03.76
We do not need to be soil
00:56:03.86\00:56:05.53
that is hard or rocky or thorny.
00:56:05.63\00:56:07.96
We can instead be good soil by
00:56:08.06\00:56:10.53
living -- living the Word of
00:56:10.63\00:56:13.10
God, letting it become deeply
00:56:13.20\00:56:15.60
rooted in our lives.
00:56:15.70\00:56:16.94
And when, by God's grace,
00:56:17.04\00:56:18.47
we persevere in doing this,
00:56:18.57\00:56:21.41
a great harvest
00:56:21.51\00:56:22.91
cannot help but come.
00:56:23.01\00:56:26.48
Amen.
00:56:26.58\00:56:29.82
[ Applause ]
00:56:29.92\00:56:32.49
>> Before you go, let me take
00:56:39.63\00:56:41.00
just a moment to share with you
00:56:41.10\00:56:42.10
an opportunity to get into
00:56:42.20\00:56:43.73
the Bible in a fresh, new way.
00:56:43.83\00:56:46.10
All across the world,
00:56:46.20\00:56:47.47
more and more people are hearing
00:56:47.57\00:56:48.57
the call to examine
00:56:48.67\00:56:49.77
the Scriptures for themselves.
00:56:49.87\00:56:51.91
If you've felt drawn to learn
00:56:52.01\00:56:52.94
more about God's Word,
00:56:53.04\00:56:54.04
but you don't know
00:56:54.14\00:56:54.61
where to start
00:56:54.71\00:56:55.91
or you're just looking for
00:56:56.01\00:56:56.91
a more in-depth examination
00:56:57.01\00:56:58.25
of Bible truths,
00:56:58.35\00:57:00.05
then I have something right here
00:57:00.15\00:57:01.42
that I believe
00:57:01.52\00:57:02.08
you're going to enjoy.
00:57:02.18\00:57:03.95
I would like to send you
00:57:04.05\00:57:04.99
a series of Bible-study guides.
00:57:05.09\00:57:07.32
Each of these study guides asks
00:57:07.42\00:57:08.82
and answers very important
00:57:08.92\00:57:10.23
questions, such as these
00:57:10.33\00:57:11.56
examples right here.
00:57:11.66\00:57:13.06
Why does God allow suffering?
00:57:13.16\00:57:15.16
Can God be trusted?
00:57:15.26\00:57:17.80
Each of the initial five guides
00:57:17.90\00:57:19.30
begins with a story
00:57:19.40\00:57:20.74
to introduce the subject.
00:57:20.84\00:57:22.40
Then, through a series
00:57:22.50\00:57:23.30
of focused questions,
00:57:23.41\00:57:24.91
you'll soon be learning portions
00:57:25.01\00:57:25.94
of the Bible
00:57:26.04\00:57:27.24
you may never have known before.
00:57:27.34\00:57:29.31
And when you're through,
00:57:29.41\00:57:30.55
you'll be able to share
00:57:30.65\00:57:31.38
with others these inspiring
00:57:31.48\00:57:32.88
truths from God's Word.
00:57:32.98\00:57:35.52
Just call our toll-free number.
00:57:35.62\00:57:36.82
It's on your screen now.
00:57:36.92\00:57:38.32
877, the two words HIS-WILL.
00:57:38.42\00:57:41.79
Friendly operators are standing
00:57:41.89\00:57:43.56
by to send you these guides.
00:57:43.66\00:57:45.29
Once again, that's 877-HIS-WILL.
00:57:45.39\00:57:47.30
Call that number.
00:57:47.40\00:57:48.80
And don't forget to join me
00:57:48.90\00:57:50.63
next week right here
00:57:50.73\00:57:52.13
at this same time.
00:57:52.23\00:57:53.37
¤
00:57:59.71\00:58:02.61
¤
00:58:02.71\00:58:12.62
¤
00:58:12.72\00:58:22.60
¤
00:58:22.70\00:58:27.87