1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,310 Well, if you brought a Bible, why don't you turn with me to 2 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:05,750 Mark's gospel? This is in the New Testament. 3 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:10,160 Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. You know where to find that. 4 00:00:11,260 --> 00:00:15,150 Last week we began a series called Multiply, and we've been 5 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:18,160 looking at really the parallels, beginning to look at some of the 6 00:00:18,170 --> 00:00:21,930 parables of Jesus, which are all related to the Kingdom of God, 7 00:00:21,940 --> 00:00:24,550 which was the primary topic of his teaching. 8 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:27,110 Fascinating. And we've been looking at the 9 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:30,630 expanding nature of the Kingdom that is expressed in the 10 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:36,020 parables and wrapping our mind around this rather big idea that 11 00:00:36,030 --> 00:00:41,300 you and I were made to multiply. That if you have received the 12 00:00:41,310 --> 00:00:45,840 grace of Jesus Christ of God through Jesus Christ, we have 13 00:00:45,850 --> 00:00:50,540 something to pass on to people that that to be loved and to be 14 00:00:50,550 --> 00:00:54,440 forgiven and to be made whole, and that that that process of 15 00:00:54,510 --> 00:00:57,060 restoration has begun. It's not something that we're 16 00:00:57,070 --> 00:01:00,380 meant to keep to ourselves, but it is to be shared with with 17 00:01:00,390 --> 00:01:05,670 others. Romans 10 verse 17 says faith 18 00:01:06,110 --> 00:01:11,020 comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. 19 00:01:12,070 --> 00:01:13,940 Take a look at the people around you right now. 20 00:01:13,950 --> 00:01:16,520 Just take a take your, your. It's OK to Google. 21 00:01:16,610 --> 00:01:22,950 Get the person next to you. Google, What's the word? 22 00:01:23,830 --> 00:01:26,610 Yes. Ogle Oht. 23 00:01:26,620 --> 00:01:28,850 My word. Google has really gotten into my 24 00:01:28,860 --> 00:01:30,590 mind. Wow. 25 00:01:32,250 --> 00:01:34,840 Yeah, no, that's nowhere close. That was bad. 26 00:01:35,090 --> 00:01:39,050 Anyway, the people around you are here because someone shared 27 00:01:39,060 --> 00:01:45,370 the word with him. Someone, someone passed it on to 28 00:01:45,380 --> 00:01:50,190 us in some way. About 80% of the people that are 29 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:52,930 in the church in particular have been invited by someone. 30 00:01:53,260 --> 00:01:56,390 We have been exposed to the Word of God through the influence of 31 00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:00,390 other people, and we are that people. 32 00:02:01,260 --> 00:02:04,470 We are meant to be that somebody who has shared it with somebody. 33 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:06,790 It's not meant to just be for us. 34 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:13,070 Salvation is awesome, but it's also meant to be shared as well 35 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:15,300 as enjoyed personally. It's actually part of the 36 00:02:15,310 --> 00:02:18,990 enjoyment process. Now, that idea of sharing the 37 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:22,070 word of God with people, that can be a very overwhelming 38 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:24,110 thought, right? It can be very intimidating. 39 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:26,970 You feel the pressure, maybe feel the weight on her 40 00:02:26,980 --> 00:02:31,780 shoulders. And, you know, we think you know 41 00:02:31,790 --> 00:02:34,720 me, not me. I mean, that person can do it. 42 00:02:34,790 --> 00:02:38,240 That person is a overachiever. That person is a, you know, type 43 00:02:38,250 --> 00:02:40,250 A personality. They had tons of friends and 44 00:02:40,260 --> 00:02:42,100 that's good. But not me, surely. 45 00:02:42,150 --> 00:02:45,100 Surely not me. I just want us to pause and 46 00:02:45,110 --> 00:02:49,940 think about that kind of thinking that is largely in the 47 00:02:49,950 --> 00:02:55,160 minds of most of us, that I'm not capable of bringing someone 48 00:02:55,250 --> 00:02:58,400 to Christ. I'm not capable of making that 49 00:02:58,410 --> 00:03:01,310 kind of an influence and impacting someone that they 50 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:05,580 would follow the word of God. If you think about that, if we 51 00:03:05,630 --> 00:03:10,440 ever would think that I'm capable of bringing someone to 52 00:03:10,450 --> 00:03:14,340 Christ and making such an impact in the life of another person by 53 00:03:14,350 --> 00:03:17,540 bringing to the Word of God, I've got a serious problem. 54 00:03:17,850 --> 00:03:23,640 Because no one is capable, Not a single person is capable of 55 00:03:23,650 --> 00:03:29,090 bringing someone to Christ. And one of the reasons why Jesus 56 00:03:29,100 --> 00:03:33,120 is teaching us about the Kingdom of God through parables is to 57 00:03:33,130 --> 00:03:36,960 liberate us from that kind of thinking that it's all up to us. 58 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:41,630 He is gonna bring a massive measure of freedom to us because 59 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:43,500 multiplication, we're talking about application. 60 00:03:46,430 --> 00:03:48,030 It's not something that we can do. 61 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:52,940 It's something that only God can do. 62 00:03:52,950 --> 00:03:55,480 We have a part to play, to be sure, but it's actually a very 63 00:03:55,490 --> 00:03:58,970 small part. Most of our job is to trust in 64 00:03:58,980 --> 00:04:04,570 the one who can do it, and that's what Jesus is gonna talk 65 00:04:04,580 --> 00:04:06,610 about here in this in this parable today. 66 00:04:06,620 --> 00:04:10,730 So just before we read the word together, let's offer a prayer 67 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:13,310 to God. Lord, we first of all, Lord, we 68 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:15,620 thank you for a beautiful day. In other words, there's some 69 00:04:15,630 --> 00:04:19,209 sunshine breaking through. Let me pray that the sunshine of 70 00:04:19,220 --> 00:04:24,390 your presence, Your Holy Spirit would penetrate our hearts and 71 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:28,500 minds and that you'd speak to us and and teach us what we need to 72 00:04:28,510 --> 00:04:31,670 hear. That your word would go forth in 73 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:35,270 all the earth and that you would be magnified and you alone in 74 00:04:35,280 --> 00:04:41,930 Jesus name we pray e-mail. I'm in Marks Gospel chapter 4 75 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:47,410 and we're starting in verse one. Everybody good with me again, 76 00:04:48,270 --> 00:04:50,700 Jesus began to teach by the lake. 77 00:04:50,970 --> 00:04:53,940 The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got 78 00:04:53,950 --> 00:04:58,300 into a boat and sat in it out on the lake while all the people 79 00:04:58,310 --> 00:05:00,700 were along the shore of the water at the water's edge. 80 00:05:00,710 --> 00:05:03,120 So just picture this. The crowd is so big, they're on 81 00:05:03,130 --> 00:05:05,340 the shore. Jesus pops into a boat to preach 82 00:05:05,350 --> 00:05:07,240 a sermon. This is a, this is a floating 83 00:05:07,250 --> 00:05:11,780 pulpit going on here and lots of churches they kind of spent a 84 00:05:11,790 --> 00:05:14,610 lot of time invested in what are we going to place the pulpits? 85 00:05:14,620 --> 00:05:16,860 Some will have it on the side, some in the middle or whatever. 86 00:05:16,910 --> 00:05:20,180 What size should the pole be? Just just get the word out that 87 00:05:20,190 --> 00:05:23,070 that's the idea. Jesus used whatever situation He 88 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:26,360 was in to preach the Word and here He is getting ready to do 89 00:05:26,370 --> 00:05:28,190 that. Verse 2. 90 00:05:28,340 --> 00:05:32,240 He taught them many things by parables. 91 00:05:33,590 --> 00:05:35,780 In fact, there are other texts that say he didn't say anything 92 00:05:35,790 --> 00:05:37,100 without saying a parable like he. 93 00:05:37,110 --> 00:05:40,010 He spoke of these parable parables, a story we talked 94 00:05:40,020 --> 00:05:42,800 about that last week. Just so the word parable, so 95 00:05:42,810 --> 00:05:48,440 para means alongside of it is a story that's told alongside of 96 00:05:48,450 --> 00:05:52,250 something else to bring clarity to what we're talking about. 97 00:05:52,260 --> 00:05:57,760 It's Jesus is using these stories of very common everyday 98 00:05:57,770 --> 00:06:01,680 experiences to teach us about something that is not so common, 99 00:06:02,460 --> 00:06:06,250 that is spiritual, that underlies everything alongside 100 00:06:06,260 --> 00:06:08,630 of this very common thing. We're gonna use this common 101 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:12,550 thing in order to describe something that is invisible 102 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:15,130 about the Kingdom of God. It's all about how the Kingdom 103 00:06:15,140 --> 00:06:19,850 of God expands. And so he uses these very, very 104 00:06:19,860 --> 00:06:23,640 tangible, very concrete stories in order to do that. 105 00:06:25,750 --> 00:06:32,300 Verse 3 Here it comes so and in his teaching he said, listen, a 106 00:06:32,310 --> 00:06:37,000 farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, 107 00:06:37,050 --> 00:06:40,530 some fell along the path and the birds came and ate it up. 108 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:45,060 Some fell on rocky places where it did not have much soil. 109 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:50,030 It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow, but when the 110 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:52,910 sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered 111 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:57,490 because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, 112 00:06:57,560 --> 00:07:01,110 which grew up and choked the plants so that they did not bear 113 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:06,080 grain perceived still other seed fell on good soil. 114 00:07:06,150 --> 00:07:11,400 It came up, grew, and produced a crop, some multiplying 30, some 115 00:07:11,410 --> 00:07:16,900 60, some 100 times. Then Jesus said, whoever has 116 00:07:16,910 --> 00:07:21,040 ears to hear, let them here. We'll just pause right there. 117 00:07:21,950 --> 00:07:25,230 I remember the very first time I read this parable and reread 118 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:28,490 this parable. I had ears to hear in the sense 119 00:07:28,500 --> 00:07:31,150 that I heard the parable, but I did not understand the parable. 120 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:34,000 Anybody with me? Jesus is gonna give the 121 00:07:34,010 --> 00:07:38,120 interpretation of it here soon, but before that time think about 122 00:07:38,130 --> 00:07:41,460 being one of the here first hearers of that parable. 123 00:07:41,570 --> 00:07:45,230 Would you been able to connect? Likely, likely not. 124 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:48,620 Jesus do the parables. What he's doing is he's he's 125 00:07:48,630 --> 00:07:53,000 intriguing in some, some ways he's jarring our understanding 126 00:07:53,010 --> 00:07:56,920 of things and really inspiring us to sort of lean in and, and, 127 00:07:57,030 --> 00:08:02,690 and learn a little bit more. Now, this particular parable is 128 00:08:02,700 --> 00:08:07,090 one that in all of the Gospels comes first. 129 00:08:08,070 --> 00:08:10,800 And so this is very important for us to understand what the 130 00:08:10,810 --> 00:08:12,880 Kingdom is all about. It's kind of foundational, 131 00:08:13,050 --> 00:08:16,980 foundational stuff. So here we go, verse 10. 132 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:22,750 He's spoken the parable. Now, when he was alone, the 12 133 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:26,230 that is the 12 disciples, his followers and the others around 134 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:31,310 him asked him about the parable. So the questioning him right 135 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:33,070 there, the, the, the they're wanting to they're, they're 136 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:35,480 leaning in trying to find out. Not everybody in the crowd, but 137 00:08:35,490 --> 00:08:40,480 there were a few that did. Verse 11 He told them The secret 138 00:08:40,650 --> 00:08:44,150 of the Kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those on 139 00:08:44,159 --> 00:08:48,730 the outside everything is said in parables so that they may be 140 00:08:48,740 --> 00:08:52,690 ever seen, but never perceiving and ever hearing but never 141 00:08:52,700 --> 00:08:57,160 understanding, otherwise they might turn and be forgiven. 142 00:09:00,710 --> 00:09:04,040 This these couple verses, verse 11 and 12 have been very 143 00:09:04,050 --> 00:09:07,020 troublesome for many people, including myself. 144 00:09:08,290 --> 00:09:13,260 It's like, OK, Jesus is speaking these parables to people on the 145 00:09:13,270 --> 00:09:17,310 outside so that they may maybe ever seen, but never perceiving, 146 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:18,990 ever hearing, but never understanding. 147 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:20,330 Otherwise they might turn and be forgiven. 148 00:09:20,340 --> 00:09:25,700 He's quoting Isaiah chapter 6. Is it that Jesus is speaking in 149 00:09:25,710 --> 00:09:27,960 parables so that people won't get it? 150 00:09:28,010 --> 00:09:31,920 That just does not make sense. And that's really not what what, 151 00:09:31,990 --> 00:09:36,980 at least in the context of of of of Isaiah isn't is insane. 152 00:09:37,090 --> 00:09:42,440 He is speaking in a way that will intrigue people and those 153 00:09:42,450 --> 00:09:45,460 who aren't interested. Those who feel no need to find 154 00:09:45,470 --> 00:09:50,140 out more will ignore it, but for those who have an interest, 155 00:09:51,890 --> 00:09:57,500 they're gonna lean in. They're invited to come a little 156 00:09:57,510 --> 00:10:03,480 bit closer to Jesus and to find out what the Kingdom is all 157 00:10:03,490 --> 00:10:09,870 about. There's all kinds of arguments 158 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:12,650 going flying around about, you know, the sovereignty of God and 159 00:10:12,660 --> 00:10:15,590 the free will of men here. Mark doesn't even deal with that 160 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:17,290 stuff. He just leaves the tension. 161 00:10:17,300 --> 00:10:20,790 Don't worry about that stuff. If you're intrigued, lean in. 162 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:25,980 If this is something that that you're not interested in, then 163 00:10:26,810 --> 00:10:28,530 you're you're, you're just gonna ignore it anyway. 164 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:33,190 But of course, Jesus's heart is that we would all turn toward 165 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:37,130 him, all lean in and learn more about what the Kingdom of God is 166 00:10:37,140 --> 00:10:41,510 like for searching. Then Jesus said to them, and 167 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:45,480 here comes he says, Don't you understand this parable? 168 00:10:46,830 --> 00:10:49,400 How then will you understand any parable? 169 00:10:51,850 --> 00:10:54,520 It might sound like a little like a scathing rebuke, but it 170 00:10:54,530 --> 00:10:56,360 really isn't. What Jesus is saying is that 171 00:10:56,370 --> 00:11:00,440 this parable is so foundational to the Kingdom of God, all the 172 00:11:00,450 --> 00:11:01,990 other parables are connected to it. 173 00:11:02,310 --> 00:11:05,340 And so listen, listen to what I have to say here. 174 00:11:05,410 --> 00:11:06,700 And here He is going to explain it. 175 00:11:06,710 --> 00:11:11,860 Verse 14 The farmer sows the word. 176 00:11:13,060 --> 00:11:17,750 Some people are like seed along the path where the word is sown. 177 00:11:18,220 --> 00:11:21,640 As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word 178 00:11:21,650 --> 00:11:26,960 that was sown in them. Others, like seed seeds sown on 179 00:11:26,970 --> 00:11:30,660 rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 180 00:11:30,930 --> 00:11:34,660 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. 181 00:11:34,910 --> 00:11:38,280 When troubled or persecution comes because of the Word, they 182 00:11:38,290 --> 00:11:42,350 quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown 183 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:45,600 among thorns, hear the word. But the worries of this life, 184 00:11:45,610 --> 00:11:48,790 the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things 185 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:51,930 come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 186 00:11:53,250 --> 00:11:59,260 Others, like seeds sown on good soil, hear the word except it 187 00:11:59,710 --> 00:12:05,220 and produce a crop some 30, some 60, some 100 times. 188 00:12:05,690 --> 00:12:09,960 But was sown multiplication, multiplication. 189 00:12:12,100 --> 00:12:13,730 So let's just walk through this briefly. 190 00:12:13,740 --> 00:12:18,090 Verse 14, we have the solar for the farmer sowing seed, but he's 191 00:12:18,100 --> 00:12:22,890 sewing the word. He's spreading the word, and 192 00:12:22,900 --> 00:12:24,740 notice that he's spreading it everywhere. 193 00:12:25,610 --> 00:12:28,960 Every square inch of his property is getting seed and 194 00:12:28,970 --> 00:12:31,920 some of it 3/4 of it is just gonna go to waste it would seem. 195 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:37,870 So it looks like the odds are are are pretty discouraging that 196 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:39,750 anything great is gonna happen there. 197 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:44,620 But it shows you the heart of God that he wants everybody to 198 00:12:44,630 --> 00:12:46,660 know him. He is spreading the word 199 00:12:46,670 --> 00:12:49,330 absolutely everywhere. And where is it gonna grow? 200 00:12:49,340 --> 00:12:51,820 That's the question. And so there's these different 201 00:12:51,870 --> 00:12:59,640 types of soil versus 15. Some people are like seed along 202 00:12:59,650 --> 00:13:03,440 the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan 203 00:13:03,450 --> 00:13:06,340 comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 204 00:13:06,350 --> 00:13:08,600 So the path, it's like a footpath. 205 00:13:08,650 --> 00:13:10,540 Some of the seed falls in the footpath. 206 00:13:10,710 --> 00:13:14,560 It's hard and ground. And that would represent people 207 00:13:14,910 --> 00:13:17,260 who are resistant to the word of God. 208 00:13:17,570 --> 00:13:20,410 And then here comes he. He enters Satan into the 209 00:13:20,420 --> 00:13:24,020 picture, which is really reminder to us that there is an 210 00:13:24,030 --> 00:13:27,550 enemy that is working against the Kingdom of God. 211 00:13:27,740 --> 00:13:30,290 There's nothing that state would want more than to keep people 212 00:13:30,300 --> 00:13:33,610 outside of the Kingdom of God, the rule of God, the love and 213 00:13:33,620 --> 00:13:40,450 the grace of God. First soil type resistant verse 214 00:13:40,460 --> 00:13:45,300 16 Others like seed sown on rocky places hear the word and 215 00:13:45,310 --> 00:13:48,230 at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, 216 00:13:48,690 --> 00:13:51,520 they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution 217 00:13:51,530 --> 00:13:53,820 comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 218 00:13:53,830 --> 00:14:00,860 So this example is of of, you know, like a thin layer of soil 219 00:14:00,930 --> 00:14:06,430 that's on a on rock face. And so the, the plant will, 220 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:09,090 will, will grow quickly, but because there's no roots, it's 221 00:14:09,100 --> 00:14:11,900 not gonna, it's not gonna be able to, to sustain itself. 222 00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:16,510 And this represents those who are really in for an easy life. 223 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:20,220 And as soon as things get difficult, it's like this isn't 224 00:14:20,230 --> 00:14:22,780 working anymore and they abandoned the word. 225 00:14:25,460 --> 00:14:27,590 Keep moving. Still others, verse 18, like 226 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:31,370 seed sown among thorns, hear the word. 227 00:14:31,380 --> 00:14:33,450 But the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of 228 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:36,690 deceitfulness of wealth and the desires of other things come in 229 00:14:36,700 --> 00:14:39,140 and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 230 00:14:40,110 --> 00:14:46,440 So here we have the depth was there, but because of other 231 00:14:46,450 --> 00:14:51,110 things that were crowding in other interests, that person 232 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:54,840 doesn't doesn't produce fruit. There's no multiplication that 233 00:14:54,850 --> 00:15:00,580 happens. Desires for other things creep 234 00:15:00,590 --> 00:15:06,270 in, but in verse twenty others, like seed sown on good soil, 235 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:10,290 hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop some 30, some 60, 236 00:15:10,460 --> 00:15:17,470 some 100 times what was sown. Here we have someone who hears 237 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:21,840 the word and accepts it. That's the only word we're 238 00:15:21,850 --> 00:15:22,740 given. Accepts it. 239 00:15:23,050 --> 00:15:27,360 And that word literally means to welcome something, to embrace 240 00:15:27,450 --> 00:15:32,120 this thing, to to, to take it in to our life. 241 00:15:32,330 --> 00:15:35,270 And as a result of that, fruit is produced. 242 00:15:36,140 --> 00:15:38,180 It's almost like, it's like, it's like it's automatic 243 00:15:38,940 --> 00:15:43,520 multiplication takes place. Now, maybe you've heard many 244 00:15:43,530 --> 00:15:46,800 sermons on the parable of the sower, you've studied it 245 00:15:46,810 --> 00:15:49,060 yourself, maybe you've heard some commentaries on it, 246 00:15:49,070 --> 00:15:52,770 etcetera. Often the focus is on the 247 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:54,930 different types of soil. And this is important. 248 00:15:54,940 --> 00:15:57,570 You know, we might think about it, what kind of soil am I or 249 00:15:57,580 --> 00:15:59,970 what kind of soil are the people in my life? 250 00:16:00,020 --> 00:16:02,430 And we can think about it in that term, in those terms. 251 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:06,180 But primarily, what this parable is about is about the seed. 252 00:16:07,010 --> 00:16:10,220 It's about the Word and the power of the Word. 253 00:16:10,840 --> 00:16:17,030 The Word of God is like a seed. It's not like a shoe or a car. 254 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:22,060 It's living, and when it's planted, life comes out of it. 255 00:16:22,070 --> 00:16:27,020 It brings life to things. Living and active is the word, 256 00:16:27,230 --> 00:16:31,730 and it's gonna have and impact. And here you have the solar 257 00:16:33,340 --> 00:16:40,230 scattering seeds scattering the word all over the place. 3/4 of 258 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:46,320 it is likely not gonna have any impact, but there's still a 259 00:16:46,330 --> 00:16:53,100 breathtaking harvest that takes place 100 times. 260 00:16:53,770 --> 00:16:57,610 Like we're talking about major multiplication going on here. 261 00:16:59,970 --> 00:17:04,050 Extremely fruitful. No ordinary harvest is the 262 00:17:04,060 --> 00:17:09,599 point, which I think is incredibly encouraging because 263 00:17:09,609 --> 00:17:11,280 this is a miracle that takes place. 264 00:17:11,609 --> 00:17:14,520 And I think it's an encouragement to the disciples 265 00:17:14,589 --> 00:17:17,220 primarily, who are going to be Soares of the seed, who are 266 00:17:17,230 --> 00:17:20,839 going to be spreading the word to it, to other people in that, 267 00:17:20,849 --> 00:17:24,460 you know what, 3/4 of your laborers are going to seem to go 268 00:17:24,470 --> 00:17:28,620 to waste. But the word is gonna reach its 269 00:17:28,630 --> 00:17:31,620 mark. It's gonna hit good soil and 270 00:17:31,630 --> 00:17:33,410 when it does, it's gonna produce a crop. 271 00:17:36,740 --> 00:17:39,850 What's being talked about here, the multiplication that's gonna 272 00:17:39,860 --> 00:17:42,760 happen the the, the, the production of the harvest is not 273 00:17:42,770 --> 00:17:46,680 a man made thing. It's a God thing, and the 274 00:17:46,690 --> 00:17:51,680 emphasis is all in the power of the Word to bring the harvest. 275 00:17:53,470 --> 00:17:59,780 Isaiah chapter 55 you know is the rain and and the snow come 276 00:17:59,790 --> 00:18:03,640 down from heaven and do not return to it without watering 277 00:18:03,650 --> 00:18:08,340 the earth, making it bud and flourish so that yields seed for 278 00:18:08,350 --> 00:18:09,960 the silver and bread to the eater. 279 00:18:10,390 --> 00:18:16,040 So my word goes out from my mouth and will not return to me 280 00:18:16,050 --> 00:18:20,280 empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose 281 00:18:20,290 --> 00:18:25,790 for which I sent it. God's Word is powerful and Jesus 282 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:28,990 wants his disciples, everyone of his followers, to know it. 283 00:18:29,460 --> 00:18:32,230 Don't depend on yourself. It's not about your efforts. 284 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:35,240 It's not about your capabilities, it's not about 285 00:18:35,250 --> 00:18:39,500 your skills. It's about my word and I want 286 00:18:39,510 --> 00:18:44,560 you to be faithful to share it and let my word do the work. 287 00:18:48,690 --> 00:18:52,180 That word contains the good news of the gospel. 288 00:18:52,670 --> 00:18:56,140 Everything in the Bible points to the gospel. 289 00:18:56,150 --> 00:18:59,820 It's all context for this incredible good news, and 290 00:18:59,830 --> 00:19:03,000 Adriana shared much of that in the children's message. 291 00:19:03,690 --> 00:19:07,180 I want to share with you 4 chapters of the gospel which are 292 00:19:07,190 --> 00:19:10,820 really answers to the main life questions that we have. 293 00:19:10,970 --> 00:19:14,100 This was summarized in Tim Keller's book Centre Church. 294 00:19:14,150 --> 00:19:17,370 First question is this, where did we come from? 295 00:19:19,330 --> 00:19:21,500 The word of God answers that question. 296 00:19:21,570 --> 00:19:26,800 We came from God. There is a God and He is and he 297 00:19:26,810 --> 00:19:32,080 cares about us and he loves us and he wants relationship with 298 00:19:32,090 --> 00:19:37,660 us and our full identity is found in him to whom we belong. 299 00:19:38,050 --> 00:19:42,460 Second question, why did things go wrong on this planet? 300 00:19:42,470 --> 00:19:45,470 We look around, things are not all right, right? 301 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:47,140 There's a lot that's wrong in the world. 302 00:19:47,390 --> 00:19:51,640 Quick answer, sin, sin, not in the sense of hey, we missed the 303 00:19:51,650 --> 00:19:54,800 mark, which is true. That is a definite definition of 304 00:19:54,810 --> 00:19:56,690 sin. But it's more that we have 305 00:19:56,700 --> 00:19:59,570 rebelled against God, rebelled against his authority. 306 00:19:59,580 --> 00:20:01,080 We've kind of set up our own government. 307 00:20:01,090 --> 00:20:03,960 We want to do things ourselves. It's kind of like high treason 308 00:20:04,030 --> 00:20:06,360 toward God. And as a result, everything has 309 00:20:06,370 --> 00:20:08,520 begun to fall apart. Everything. 310 00:20:08,710 --> 00:20:12,230 And the only solution, real solution to any of our problems. 311 00:20:13,630 --> 00:20:17,280 Comes when we deal with that rebellion problem, when we 312 00:20:17,290 --> 00:20:24,110 resist God. 3rd question. What will put things right? 313 00:20:25,010 --> 00:20:27,900 What is it that will put things right in a word and a person? 314 00:20:27,950 --> 00:20:31,090 It's Christ. Christ puts it alright. 315 00:20:31,750 --> 00:20:35,960 Christ, God in the flesh, has come to be our substitute 316 00:20:36,340 --> 00:20:39,720 substitutionary atonement. He has come to live that 317 00:20:39,730 --> 00:20:42,790 righteous life that we're meant to live, but we failed to do so 318 00:20:43,630 --> 00:20:46,620 on our behalf. And he's also died, that death 319 00:20:46,630 --> 00:20:50,180 that we deserve to die on the cross so that we could be 320 00:20:50,190 --> 00:20:52,600 forgiven and that relationship with God could be restored. 321 00:20:52,610 --> 00:20:58,590 And he rose to life in order to bring new life to us, to bring 322 00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:03,240 restoration. Jesus has come to restore all 323 00:21:03,250 --> 00:21:06,500 things, and He's beginning one person at a time. 324 00:21:06,910 --> 00:21:09,490 If you've received Christ, you are part of a new creation. 325 00:21:11,090 --> 00:21:14,510 Beautiful. Fully full restoration is 326 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:18,050 coming, but it has begun. And then the last question for 327 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:21,150 how can I be put right? How can I be put right? 328 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:24,520 And the answer is by faith. It's only by faith. 329 00:21:24,530 --> 00:21:27,180 I can't make things right in my life. 330 00:21:27,190 --> 00:21:29,230 I can't put my life back together. 331 00:21:29,290 --> 00:21:33,280 My life is unmanageable. As one of the principles of CR, 332 00:21:33,350 --> 00:21:37,740 it's true, but through my faith and what Christ has done and is 333 00:21:37,750 --> 00:21:41,570 restoring work, that's when the restoration begins in me. 334 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:44,350 That's when I forgiveness starts. 335 00:21:44,690 --> 00:21:51,190 That's when healing begins and I am invited to join Him in this 336 00:21:51,420 --> 00:21:56,060 grand venture of restoring the world one person at a time. 337 00:21:57,190 --> 00:22:00,560 God still restoring me, and He's using me to help restore other 338 00:22:00,570 --> 00:22:01,880 people. It's the coolest thing. 339 00:22:02,250 --> 00:22:03,940 There's nothing cooler than that. 340 00:22:04,110 --> 00:22:08,540 It is awesome. So that's the core of the story. 341 00:22:09,500 --> 00:22:13,070 That's the core of what God's Word is communicating us to to 342 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:15,020 us. Now I think about think about 343 00:22:15,030 --> 00:22:17,630 the first time that that lights went on for you. 344 00:22:17,700 --> 00:22:19,640 Perhaps they haven't. Maybe they're going on for you 345 00:22:19,650 --> 00:22:21,420 right now. Maybe they haven't quite gotten 346 00:22:21,430 --> 00:22:23,320 on you. But I remember for me the first 347 00:22:23,330 --> 00:22:28,260 time that suddenly I woke up to the grace of God, that it wasn't 348 00:22:28,270 --> 00:22:30,560 all about me. I I tried to live a very 349 00:22:30,570 --> 00:22:35,690 religious life for, for for for those first couple decades of my 350 00:22:35,700 --> 00:22:43,030 life and trying to be a St. Trying to live right and 351 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:48,660 realizing I could not do it, but the grace of God and Jesus 352 00:22:48,670 --> 00:22:53,580 Christ met me and I realized even though I'm an utter failure 353 00:22:53,590 --> 00:22:59,000 at doing this, I am loved by the God who has made provision for 354 00:22:59,010 --> 00:23:01,100 me in the midst of it. That was that. 355 00:23:01,110 --> 00:23:03,520 Just everything suddenly came together for me. 356 00:23:03,530 --> 00:23:06,960 All of these disjointed stories that I would read in the Bible 357 00:23:06,970 --> 00:23:10,470 or hear about everything suddenly came together and I 358 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:15,550 realized, no, this is all about the power of God at work in 359 00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:21,180 broken people, power of God at work in me. 360 00:23:24,890 --> 00:23:30,080 The Word brings life. That's where it all begins. 361 00:23:30,090 --> 00:23:34,440 That's where restoration begins. Peter chapter one, first Peter 362 00:23:34,450 --> 00:23:36,420 chapter 1. He says this, For you have been 363 00:23:36,430 --> 00:23:40,890 born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable 364 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:43,400 through the living and enduring Word of God. 365 00:23:44,420 --> 00:23:48,180 For all people are like grass, and all their glories like the 366 00:23:48,190 --> 00:23:50,370 flowers of the field. The grass Withers and the 367 00:23:50,380 --> 00:23:54,930 flowers fall, but the Word of the Lord endures forever. 368 00:23:54,940 --> 00:23:58,980 Everything begins with a word, with that seed that's planted in 369 00:23:58,990 --> 00:24:03,160 us, and then life begins and that word is what endures 370 00:24:03,170 --> 00:24:05,750 forever. That's where the power is or 371 00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:10,750 James chapter one verse 18 says he chose that his God chose to 372 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:13,870 give us birth through the word of truth. 373 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:18,140 That is the word of God Bible that we might be a kind of first 374 00:24:18,150 --> 00:24:20,650 fruits of all he created. That's where it all begins. 375 00:24:20,660 --> 00:24:25,120 The word brings life to us. We enter into a new creation and 376 00:24:25,130 --> 00:24:28,780 now we're the first fruits. We're the beginning and that all 377 00:24:28,790 --> 00:24:31,520 those who would have relationship with us can be 378 00:24:31,530 --> 00:24:33,560 impacted because we have been impacted. 379 00:24:33,810 --> 00:24:38,280 We're meant to spread that restoration news to others. 380 00:24:38,570 --> 00:24:40,680 You know which, as we look at the early church and what 381 00:24:40,690 --> 00:24:45,070 happened to the early church, everything began with a word. 382 00:24:45,940 --> 00:24:50,180 Remember in chapter 2 it says that they devoted themselves to 383 00:24:50,190 --> 00:24:53,690 the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of 384 00:24:53,700 --> 00:24:55,920 bread, and to prayer. Everything begins with the 385 00:24:55,930 --> 00:24:58,160 devotion to the apostles teaching the Word of God 386 00:24:58,810 --> 00:25:03,200 contemplated on that and then there was massive repercussions 387 00:25:04,090 --> 00:25:07,800 in the in the in the community of faith people started getting 388 00:25:07,810 --> 00:25:10,490 generous people started recognizing the grace of God 389 00:25:10,500 --> 00:25:11,980 that was on them and wanted to share it. 390 00:25:12,150 --> 00:25:16,360 And at the end verse in verse 47 it says and the Lord added to 391 00:25:16,370 --> 00:25:18,850 their number daily those who were being saved. 392 00:25:18,860 --> 00:25:21,740 That's where multiplication happens begins with the word of 393 00:25:21,750 --> 00:25:24,600 God. Later on in chapter 6 of Acts 394 00:25:24,730 --> 00:25:27,280 talks about when elders and deacons were established, when 395 00:25:27,290 --> 00:25:31,440 they separated their roles and good things were happening in 396 00:25:31,450 --> 00:25:33,350 the church. Practical needs were being met 397 00:25:33,780 --> 00:25:38,450 and godly leadership was in place and church government was 398 00:25:38,460 --> 00:25:41,100 was taking shape and people were sharing ministry, which was 399 00:25:41,110 --> 00:25:44,530 awesome. But all of that stuff just 400 00:25:45,390 --> 00:25:48,910 created the conditions where the Word of God could be liberated 401 00:25:50,980 --> 00:25:54,830 to change the hearts of people for seven it says. 402 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:57,510 So this is after all these things were in place. 403 00:25:57,520 --> 00:26:02,340 So the Word of God spread, and as a result of that, the number 404 00:26:02,350 --> 00:26:05,340 of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly and a large 405 00:26:05,350 --> 00:26:08,580 number of priests became obedient to the faith. 406 00:26:08,910 --> 00:26:11,010 What's the point? The Word of God is where the 407 00:26:11,020 --> 00:26:12,920 power is. That's where the power is. 408 00:26:13,290 --> 00:26:17,840 And when we begin to realize that it shapes the way that we 409 00:26:17,850 --> 00:26:21,270 pass things on. It's not about us, it's about 410 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:25,200 the power of the word. We're called to scatter the 411 00:26:25,210 --> 00:26:30,490 seed. Let's let God do the rest of the 412 00:26:30,500 --> 00:26:33,210 work. What do you think, Amy? 413 00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:34,470 Are you ready? You wanna come up? 414 00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:40,510 I I've asked Amy Lenstra to come and to share some of her 415 00:26:40,520 --> 00:26:45,750 experiences in this regard. Can we give her a warm welcome? 416 00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:55,280 She can't. Thank you. 417 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:03,680 Hello, my name is Amy. I Co own and operate a small 418 00:27:03,690 --> 00:27:06,430 coffee shop in Smithville called Milk and Honey. 419 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:10,020 We called it Milk and Honey based on the Old Testament idea 420 00:27:10,030 --> 00:27:12,960 of God's abundance as his people walk through wilderness. 421 00:27:13,740 --> 00:27:16,980 And this theme is actually what also largely convinced me that 422 00:27:16,990 --> 00:27:19,570 God was both real and that he really loved me. 423 00:27:19,620 --> 00:27:22,170 Because when I was going through some really dark times, God's 424 00:27:22,180 --> 00:27:25,850 people came into my life and were just incredibly kind and 425 00:27:25,860 --> 00:27:29,010 asked, what are you doing? And they said, well, Jesus loves 426 00:27:29,020 --> 00:27:33,360 us and he loves you too. And so milk and honey is meant 427 00:27:33,370 --> 00:27:37,160 to be a space where people can walk in and be known and loved 428 00:27:37,170 --> 00:27:41,180 and cared for. It's it is a business and the 429 00:27:41,190 --> 00:27:43,420 coffee is very good and invite you to come try it. 430 00:27:43,630 --> 00:27:46,340 And the space is beautiful. But all of that is secondary for 431 00:27:46,350 --> 00:27:48,990 us. So we get a few minutes with 432 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:52,270 every person who walks through our doors, and our hope is that 433 00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:55,350 when they walk in, they feel like they've met a friend and we 434 00:27:55,360 --> 00:27:59,040 get asked how they're doing. And often we get to celebrate 435 00:27:59,050 --> 00:28:02,410 things with them, but we also get to hear stories of real 436 00:28:02,420 --> 00:28:06,430 struggles that real people have. So on our second day of business 437 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:10,670 ever, a young woman knocked in and I was like, hey, how's it 438 00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:14,870 going? And she said, uh, not good. 439 00:28:15,890 --> 00:28:19,020 I, I had a miscarriage yesterday and I don't know, you know, how 440 00:28:19,030 --> 00:28:20,840 to feel or where to go or what to do. 441 00:28:21,330 --> 00:28:26,030 So I came here because I had nowhere to be and I changed my 442 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:29,520 tone pretty quickly and said, well, I'm glad you're here, have 443 00:28:29,530 --> 00:28:31,110 a seat, I'm gonna make you something. 444 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:35,070 And by the way, I believe in a God who loves us and cares for 445 00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:37,070 us. And I don't know if you do, but 446 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:39,520 can I pray for you? And he did. 447 00:28:39,590 --> 00:28:42,160 And she ended up going her way and I went back to a crazy day 448 00:28:42,590 --> 00:28:45,320 and we actually still talked to this day and continued to talk 449 00:28:45,330 --> 00:28:49,730 about Christ. For us as pretty new business 450 00:28:49,740 --> 00:28:52,770 owners, it's really easy to get caught up in our day-to-day and 451 00:28:52,780 --> 00:28:54,440 we forget that this is our purpose. 452 00:28:54,500 --> 00:28:56,500 And maybe that resonates with some of you. 453 00:28:57,590 --> 00:29:00,370 Usually it's by actually sharing stories of what we already see 454 00:29:00,380 --> 00:29:02,530 God doing that we get excited again. 455 00:29:02,540 --> 00:29:04,970 We're like, Oh yeah, let's get back into this. 456 00:29:05,970 --> 00:29:10,590 And so the prayer is usually as we refocus God, will you let us 457 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:12,970 see the people today who are walking through doors, who need 458 00:29:12,980 --> 00:29:16,330 a friend and who need to know you love them and just give us 459 00:29:16,340 --> 00:29:17,970 the courage to take that opportunity. 460 00:29:19,940 --> 00:29:23,560 We don't have a set script. We don't have like a a word we 461 00:29:23,570 --> 00:29:27,910 use every time, but we have a map called an Oikos map. 462 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:31,730 Oyco stands for a household in Greek, and it basically gives 463 00:29:31,740 --> 00:29:34,520 you a visual aid to see who are the people that are kind of in 464 00:29:34,530 --> 00:29:37,560 your direct context that you get to minister to. 465 00:29:37,710 --> 00:29:40,240 You can pray over that. You're looking for opportunities 466 00:29:40,250 --> 00:29:43,280 to speak with. And so one of the people on our 467 00:29:43,290 --> 00:29:45,940 map, I'm actually gonna give her a different name because I'm 468 00:29:45,950 --> 00:29:48,210 hoping she's gonna come with me to church one day. 469 00:29:48,730 --> 00:29:50,810 We'll call her Katie. She used to struggle with 470 00:29:50,820 --> 00:29:55,980 addiction and she found out she was pregnant and she needed to 471 00:29:55,990 --> 00:29:59,900 get out of addiction. So she went into rehab and found 472 00:29:59,910 --> 00:30:01,490 God there. At least be gay and to believe 473 00:30:01,500 --> 00:30:03,140 that there was a God and that he loved her. 474 00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:06,000 And we've been talking with her for about a year. 475 00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:09,140 We've been inviting her to a new believers Bible study also for 476 00:30:09,150 --> 00:30:11,710 about a year. A couple of weeks ago we were 477 00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:14,550 gifted a little gift basket to just pass on to someone who we 478 00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:18,980 felt needed it. And unknown to us, there was the 479 00:30:18,990 --> 00:30:22,380 Gospel of John in this basket. We didn't know that Katie didn't 480 00:30:22,390 --> 00:30:25,280 have a Bible. She has never opened a Bible. 481 00:30:25,290 --> 00:30:27,050 She's never read a Bible, but she believes in God. 482 00:30:27,670 --> 00:30:30,910 So this past week she came to Bible study and she was carrying 483 00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:33,020 the Gospel of John. She said, oh, you guys gave this 484 00:30:33,030 --> 00:30:36,740 to me and this past week was the first day as a Bible study that 485 00:30:36,750 --> 00:30:38,560 they were gonna open the book of John. 486 00:30:39,350 --> 00:30:41,180 God really cares about the details. 487 00:30:41,250 --> 00:30:43,350 I would encourage you to look and see where he's showing up in 488 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:47,780 those ways. So the Oikos map and the idea of 489 00:30:47,790 --> 00:30:51,880 multipling the Kingdom for us in practice really just looks like 490 00:30:51,890 --> 00:30:56,750 genuine friendships. We are willing to be a little 491 00:30:56,760 --> 00:30:59,250 and comfy and to just sprinkle Jesus into everyday 492 00:30:59,260 --> 00:31:02,810 conversations. I mentioned to anybody I can 493 00:31:02,820 --> 00:31:06,410 that I go to church on Sunday. You should come. 494 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:08,330 You know, all my church is in Grimsby. 495 00:31:08,340 --> 00:31:10,070 It's really friendly. I'll sit with you. 496 00:31:10,080 --> 00:31:12,990 I'll try to be on time and we can come in together. 497 00:31:14,170 --> 00:31:18,210 I'm never on time. And yeah, we just, we offer to 498 00:31:18,220 --> 00:31:20,690 pray for people and it usually looks like that conversation. 499 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:22,780 Hey, I don't know if you know God, but I do. 500 00:31:22,790 --> 00:31:24,770 And I know he loves you. Can I pray with you? 501 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:29,340 So last week mentioned Matthew 2819 to go and make disciples of 502 00:31:29,350 --> 00:31:31,990 all nations. And I just started with all the 503 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:34,910 coffee drinkers in a very small town in Canada. 504 00:31:34,970 --> 00:31:45,640 So thank you. So good, Amy. 505 00:31:45,650 --> 00:31:48,490 Thank you. We were made to multiply. 506 00:31:49,220 --> 00:31:55,970 We were made to multiply and we need, we need to just trust God 507 00:31:55,980 --> 00:31:59,670 and the power of His Word and just be faithful to scatter that 508 00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:03,700 seed and trust that He will bring the harvest. 509 00:32:08,280 --> 00:32:12,700 The work of a multiplier starts in verse 20 of this parable 510 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:16,910 where it says that the disciple that the the the good soil 511 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:21,250 person hears and accepts the word. 512 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:25,730 That word accepts talked about as welcoming something into our 513 00:32:25,740 --> 00:32:30,690 lives, fully embracing the entirety of it, enjoying its 514 00:32:30,700 --> 00:32:34,160 good news. That would be my encouragement. 515 00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:37,790 You know, it's, it's interesting that Jesus doesn't talk about 516 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:40,850 the techniques that we use in order to share the gospel. 517 00:32:41,260 --> 00:32:44,060 He's just talking about the Word and the power of the Word. 518 00:32:44,750 --> 00:32:47,600 Our enjoyment of the word. It it, it, it comes with that to 519 00:32:47,610 --> 00:32:52,120 completely embracing it and and living it out because you think 520 00:32:52,130 --> 00:32:54,460 about it. Adriana made that that point 521 00:32:54,470 --> 00:32:56,000 earlier. You know, if you see a great 522 00:32:56,010 --> 00:32:59,790 movie that you love, don't you wanna tell people about it, 523 00:33:00,210 --> 00:33:03,990 right? Maybe it's an Xbox game, or, or 524 00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:08,100 maybe it's a new recipe that was amazing or whatever it might be. 525 00:33:08,110 --> 00:33:11,770 The things that we really enjoy, the things that we really 526 00:33:11,780 --> 00:33:14,710 appreciated, we can't stop talking about those things. 527 00:33:15,670 --> 00:33:19,920 And Jesus would want that to be the basis of our sharing. 528 00:33:20,210 --> 00:33:23,320 Not all because I have to. I don't really want to share the 529 00:33:23,330 --> 00:33:28,520 word because, you know, enjoy the word, embrace the word, 530 00:33:28,570 --> 00:33:32,970 receive the word, welcome the word in your life, appreciate 531 00:33:32,980 --> 00:33:37,000 its good news, and let that be the vehicle through which we 532 00:33:37,010 --> 00:33:39,370 will be sharing the word with other people. 533 00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:41,740 We don't have to fully understand it. 534 00:33:43,180 --> 00:33:46,910 Who knows everything about the Bible, right? 535 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:50,520 I don't. No, none of us do Jesus and 536 00:33:50,530 --> 00:33:51,780 talking about this, he's talking about. 537 00:33:51,790 --> 00:33:56,110 He's talking about encouraging his disciples who know so little 538 00:33:57,020 --> 00:34:01,020 to share and let God do the work just to be faithful. 539 00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:05,630 Seeing the value of it, even if we don't understand all of it 540 00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:07,080 fully. Seeing the value of it. 541 00:34:07,140 --> 00:34:10,520 Seeing our need for it and knowing the need that everybody 542 00:34:10,530 --> 00:34:13,820 else has for it as well. So I just want to leave with you 543 00:34:13,830 --> 00:34:16,190 just a few ways that we can sow the seed. 544 00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:19,120 OK, Just a few ways that we can sow the seed. 545 00:34:20,659 --> 00:34:26,230 Social media, even if you're not a big fan of social media and 546 00:34:26,239 --> 00:34:28,550 maybe you're trying to limit your time on social media, but 547 00:34:28,560 --> 00:34:30,210 it was a great way to share the word. 548 00:34:30,219 --> 00:34:33,790 Just put a scripture up there, something that has impacted you. 549 00:34:34,770 --> 00:34:38,219 Powerful people, everybody that knows, you gonna see that 550 00:34:39,940 --> 00:34:43,070 Greeting cards, you know, many of us, you know, you know, 551 00:34:43,120 --> 00:34:45,380 greeting cards are a thing of the past, but green cards are 552 00:34:45,389 --> 00:34:47,310 really great. You know, you can, you can thank 553 00:34:47,320 --> 00:34:49,590 somebody for something, or maybe it's a Christmas card or 554 00:34:49,600 --> 00:34:52,800 whatever birthday card. Share a little scripture off to 555 00:34:52,810 --> 00:34:54,880 the side of it. The person that you're writing 556 00:34:54,889 --> 00:34:58,700 to may not have any appreciation for the Word of God, but the 557 00:34:58,710 --> 00:35:02,110 Word of God is powerful. Even just a few words of it. 558 00:35:02,720 --> 00:35:05,430 If you can put that in, in a meaningful way, not a preachy 559 00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:08,990 way, just a meaningful way. This is, you know it, it can be, 560 00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:11,110 it can, it can make make a massive difference. 561 00:35:11,180 --> 00:35:15,260 Halloween people coming to our house looking for treats, give 562 00:35:15,270 --> 00:35:18,510 them treats, be generous with the treats, but also maybe treat 563 00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:21,210 them to the sweetest thing on the planet, which is the word of 564 00:35:21,220 --> 00:35:23,760 God. Maybe a little card that would 565 00:35:23,770 --> 00:35:27,800 have some quote from Scripture that would be an encouragement 566 00:35:27,810 --> 00:35:29,480 to a little one that they would understand. 567 00:35:29,570 --> 00:35:31,820 Anyway, just think about those kinds of examples. 568 00:35:32,010 --> 00:35:35,720 Inviting someone to a Sunday service to hear the word 569 00:35:35,770 --> 00:35:39,160 preached. It's not about the preacher. 570 00:35:39,530 --> 00:35:42,730 It's about an opportunity to hear the Word of God and allow 571 00:35:42,740 --> 00:35:46,960 that seed to come in and so invite someone to CR. 572 00:35:47,070 --> 00:35:50,960 All the principles of CR that we go go over every Wednesday are 573 00:35:50,970 --> 00:35:53,440 based on scripture and the Scripture is read and that 574 00:35:53,450 --> 00:35:58,550 scripture is powerful. Invite somebody to alpha again, 575 00:35:58,620 --> 00:36:00,210 exposing people to the word of God. 576 00:36:00,220 --> 00:36:02,290 Invite someone to a Bible study. Right. 577 00:36:02,300 --> 00:36:04,050 I didn't even realize you guys did Bible studies. 578 00:36:04,060 --> 00:36:07,850 It's awesome. You think OK well how I I can't 579 00:36:07,860 --> 00:36:09,830 run a Bible study cause I don't know enough about the Bible. 580 00:36:10,710 --> 00:36:14,010 Friends, let's trust God and the power of His Word. 581 00:36:15,780 --> 00:36:19,030 Open the Bible up. I don't have to have all the 582 00:36:19,040 --> 00:36:20,890 answers. And let's just talk about and 583 00:36:20,900 --> 00:36:23,330 let God do His work. That's what life groups are 584 00:36:23,340 --> 00:36:24,350 about. We don't have all of the 585 00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:26,980 answers, but if we can expose ourselves to the Word of God, 586 00:36:26,990 --> 00:36:30,020 the Word is powerful and it's going to reach its mark. 587 00:36:30,620 --> 00:36:35,230 Invite somebody out to coffee and share your stories together, 588 00:36:36,410 --> 00:36:40,200 but maybe include a scripture passage that has really had an 589 00:36:40,210 --> 00:36:44,020 impact on your life and share that with him and maybe ask him 590 00:36:44,030 --> 00:36:46,320 a question about it. What how does that sit with you 591 00:36:46,330 --> 00:36:49,600 or what whatever it might be, but just just bringing that into 592 00:36:49,610 --> 00:36:53,340 some of the conversations of how significant the word of God has 593 00:36:53,350 --> 00:36:57,710 been to you. Share your story first, Peter 594 00:36:57,720 --> 00:37:00,550 315. You know, always be prepared to 595 00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:02,250 give a reason for the hope that you have. 596 00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:07,500 Could you Share your story how you came to Christ or why you're 597 00:37:07,510 --> 00:37:10,400 a follower of Jesus Christ? Be able to do that in a minute 598 00:37:10,410 --> 00:37:14,010 or a couple of minutes. We're we, as Isaac said, we have 599 00:37:14,020 --> 00:37:17,680 baptism classes along with those baptism classes are professional 600 00:37:17,690 --> 00:37:20,440 faith classes too. Even if you have taken, if 601 00:37:20,450 --> 00:37:22,770 you've already said your profession of faith, perhaps in 602 00:37:22,780 --> 00:37:25,460 another church or whatever, or even at this one, and you want 603 00:37:25,470 --> 00:37:28,680 to hone your capacity to be able to Share your story with 604 00:37:28,690 --> 00:37:31,780 anybody, take that course. It's coming up next month. 605 00:37:31,890 --> 00:37:35,200 It's awesome. So just sharing your story, 606 00:37:36,740 --> 00:37:42,520 think small. It's not the blow horn on the 607 00:37:42,530 --> 00:37:46,680 busy street corner of the city proclaiming the word of God. 608 00:37:46,690 --> 00:37:50,910 No, it's who's in my life. You might think, well, I don't 609 00:37:50,920 --> 00:37:53,820 have a lot of friends like Joe does or what, you know? 610 00:37:53,890 --> 00:37:56,260 No, which friend, What friends do you have? 611 00:37:56,370 --> 00:37:59,660 Where are they at with faith and could you share with them 612 00:37:59,700 --> 00:38:02,870 something that was personally meaningful for you in the Word? 613 00:38:03,610 --> 00:38:07,840 We need to be faithful with the few people that we do know make 614 00:38:07,850 --> 00:38:13,120 it very personal and for us parents, these precious little 615 00:38:13,170 --> 00:38:18,120 gifts from God that had been given to us and then I see you 616 00:38:18,130 --> 00:38:19,720 there. I didn't notice you coming in. 617 00:38:19,730 --> 00:38:22,020 We're gonna have to pray for for you. 618 00:38:22,030 --> 00:38:27,490 And anyway, sorry, I'm I'm good to see you, Evan. 619 00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:32,080 Great to see you that we have this responsibility. 620 00:38:32,150 --> 00:38:34,570 Open up the word. Read that word. 621 00:38:35,610 --> 00:38:39,400 I know meal times can be absolute disasters with young 622 00:38:39,410 --> 00:38:42,900 families, but if you even get a verse out, awesome. 623 00:38:42,910 --> 00:38:46,160 And as the kids grow older, crack open the word after the 624 00:38:46,170 --> 00:38:49,140 meal and start talking about the scriptures. 625 00:38:49,490 --> 00:38:51,190 Questions are going to come up and you're not going to have 626 00:38:51,200 --> 00:38:53,300 answers and that's OK. Great question. 627 00:38:53,550 --> 00:38:56,720 Let's research that together before bed. 628 00:38:56,910 --> 00:39:01,520 Get the word open. Just let that seed be sown in 629 00:39:01,530 --> 00:39:03,880 the hearts of our little ones. Just make it. 630 00:39:03,970 --> 00:39:11,650 Make it personal. What One of my favorite stories. 631 00:39:11,730 --> 00:39:13,750 Do I have time for one more? I know, I know. 632 00:39:13,760 --> 00:39:14,550 It's time. OK, No. 633 00:39:14,560 --> 00:39:15,680 We're done. Let's pray. 634 00:39:15,750 --> 00:39:20,970 No. G Campbell Morgan, British 635 00:39:21,480 --> 00:39:26,470 minister I talked about going to, had a trip to Italy and he 636 00:39:26,480 --> 00:39:31,410 wandered into this old cemetery and saw this massive grave site. 637 00:39:31,620 --> 00:39:35,150 Very prominent, well well known person at the time must have 638 00:39:35,160 --> 00:39:39,470 been very wealthy but had this massive marble slab on the grave 639 00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:44,080 site. And what was so mind blowing is 640 00:39:44,090 --> 00:39:48,180 that there must have been an acorn that fell into the into 641 00:39:48,190 --> 00:39:54,390 the grave because this oak tree had grown up and had split this 642 00:39:54,400 --> 00:39:59,110 massive marble slab into two and it was just towering over it. 643 00:39:59,990 --> 00:40:04,560 And you just think about the power of this little seed to 644 00:40:04,570 --> 00:40:07,800 become such an oak tree that had such force. 645 00:40:08,230 --> 00:40:12,600 And this is what this is what Morgan observed. 646 00:40:12,610 --> 00:40:17,420 He says if an acorn which has the power of just biological and 647 00:40:17,430 --> 00:40:22,060 botanical life in it, as slow as it is, if it can split a marble 648 00:40:22,070 --> 00:40:26,110 slab of that magnitude, what do you think the acorn of God's 649 00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:29,090 resurrection power can do in you? 650 00:40:30,200 --> 00:40:35,030 The word of the living God is so powerful, and how many of us 651 00:40:35,040 --> 00:40:38,410 feel like we've got massive marble slabs hanging over our 652 00:40:38,420 --> 00:40:40,850 lives? There's lots of reasons to be 653 00:40:40,860 --> 00:40:43,490 discouraged, lots of things that can weigh us down. 654 00:40:43,700 --> 00:40:49,110 We have many struggles and the world is no different because 655 00:40:49,120 --> 00:40:53,510 we're all experiencing a broken world that life. 656 00:40:53,560 --> 00:40:57,070 But the Word of God can break through it all, can breakthrough 657 00:40:57,080 --> 00:41:00,730 it all, if we will believe it, if we will accept it and we will 658 00:41:01,370 --> 00:41:04,120 share it. God will multiply. 659 00:41:04,290 --> 00:41:12,580 He will multiply our efforts. Let's pray Lord, you are such a 660 00:41:12,590 --> 00:41:17,120 good God that you would give us the gift of Your Holy Word and 661 00:41:17,130 --> 00:41:19,260 what we confess. We don't understand all of it, 662 00:41:19,950 --> 00:41:22,340 Lord. We confess that our faith is 663 00:41:22,350 --> 00:41:26,780 sometimes weak when we approach it, but this day, no, this day, 664 00:41:26,790 --> 00:41:31,420 Lord, we praise you for the power of your word and that you 665 00:41:31,430 --> 00:41:36,340 would grant to us an increasing faith to want to share it 666 00:41:36,750 --> 00:41:38,600 because it is life giving for us. 667 00:41:38,610 --> 00:41:42,010 It's life giving to this world and you want to multiply your 668 00:41:42,770 --> 00:41:46,180 goodness throughout this planet and expand your Kingdom. 669 00:41:46,190 --> 00:41:50,310 Lord, may you use us. May You use us for Your glory, 670 00:41:51,060 --> 00:41:53,010 the Lord. We recognize our weaknesses and 671 00:41:53,020 --> 00:41:55,890 so we pray that You would send Your Holy Spirit upon us. 672 00:41:55,900 --> 00:42:00,210 Just like the disciples were instructed to wait for the power 673 00:42:00,810 --> 00:42:06,060 from on high to fill them, that they would be witnesses, we pray 674 00:42:06,070 --> 00:42:10,160 that same power, You, Holy Spirit, would fill us up and 675 00:42:10,170 --> 00:42:14,360 bold us, fill us with the love of God and with the faith in 676 00:42:14,370 --> 00:42:18,010 Your Word, Lord, that we would be multipliers in our 677 00:42:18,020 --> 00:42:20,400 generation. For it's in your name we pray. 678 00:42:20,880 --> 00:42:21,270 Amen.