1 00:00:01,480 --> 00:00:04,240 Good morning everyone. Take your Bibles, open up to the 2 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:10,800 Gospel of Luke chapter 8, Luke chapter 8, and that is page 917. 3 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:14,720 If you're using the Bible in the seat around you, if you don't 4 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:16,040 have a Bible, please take one of those. 5 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:19,240 That's our gift to you. Want to start off by welcoming 6 00:00:19,240 --> 00:00:21,040 some new members to our church family. 7 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:24,840 So would you join me in welcoming Jimmy and Katie Bender 8 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:29,360 Lewis and Monique the Jaeger and Damien Cothra to the Forward 9 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:36,720 family? And as always, if you consider 10 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:39,520 Forward to be your church home but you're not yet a member, we 11 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:43,880 want to invite you to consider membership and an important way 12 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:47,320 of making a covenant to each other as a church family and 13 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:48,960 part of your discipleship journey. 14 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,000 You can just text the Word member to get more information 15 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:55,760 on that. OK, how many of you this is I, 16 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:59,000 I'm going to do something to try to warm you up this morning, OK, 17 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:00,280 Because it is a little chilly out. 18 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:01,960 How many of you consider yourself to be good at 19 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:04,200 gardening? Right? 20 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:06,800 You're like looking forward to gardening season. 21 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:09,160 Gardening season. It is coming. 22 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:12,520 I promise you it's coming. All of you raise your hand. 23 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:14,240 I just want to say God bless you. 24 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:16,720 I am not good at gardening at all. 25 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:19,200 In fact, I think I could kill a plastic plant. 26 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:27,240 Over the last couple of years, I wanted my lawn to look as nice 27 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,560 as possible, as nice as all the other lawns on my street. 28 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:35,760 So I hired a company to come in and take care of my grass, just 29 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:39,240 to put some fertilizer on it and do whatever else it is they do 30 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:41,280 to make things green and keep weeds out. 31 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:44,560 And it was great for a little while. 32 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:48,360 And then one day, after spending a whole bunch of money, I was 33 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:51,880 devastated to see mushrooms growing on my front lawn. 34 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:56,800 And then there were brown patches on my back lawn and I 35 00:01:56,800 --> 00:02:00,480 was upset and I called up the the guy who was taking care of 36 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:02,000 my lawn. Like, what did you do to my 37 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:03,880 lawn? I never had mushrooms before you 38 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:09,000 showed up. And he said, Kirk, the problem 39 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:12,080 isn't what you can see. The problem is what you can't 40 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:14,920 see. The problem is what's going on 41 00:02:14,920 --> 00:02:18,120 below the surface. The problem is with the soil and 42 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:20,880 the health of the soil of your lawn. 43 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:24,680 And the reality of what was going on under the surface of my 44 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:28,200 lawn is like the spiritual reality that Jesus is going to 45 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:31,000 talk about today. Over the last number of weeks 46 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:34,480 we've been exploring this question of who exactly is 47 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:36,840 Jesus? And this week the passage is 48 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:40,480 going to show us that Jesus is the one who reveals the true 49 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:45,480 condition of your heart. One of the things that we've 50 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:48,680 seen as we've been walking through the book of Luke is how 51 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:52,320 Jesus has been sent on this mission from God to bring good 52 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:55,760 news to the people. The good news of the Kingdom of 53 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:58,920 God that has come. And the heart of Jesus is for 54 00:02:58,920 --> 00:03:02,440 the good of people. That he wants your life and my 55 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:05,520 life to be fruitful. That we could be everything that 56 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:09,240 God created and designed us to be as human beings. 57 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:13,240 We even saw that last week right where we looked at how Jesus is 58 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:17,160 the one who elevates even those who are overlooked. 59 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,680 And as Jesus is bringing this good news to people, he starts 60 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:23,840 to create a bit of a following for himself. 61 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:27,000 As you can imagine, of course, people want to be surrounded by 62 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:29,400 good news. They want someone who's going to 63 00:03:29,640 --> 00:03:32,320 make them feel good, make them feel loved, make them feel 64 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:35,680 known. And in verse 4 of Luke chapter 65 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:41,240 8, we read this as a large crowd was gathering and people were 66 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:45,160 coming to Jesus from every town. He said in a parable, and I'm 67 00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:47,200 going to pause right there for a minute. 68 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:52,000 This is the first time that we see the word parable used in the 69 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:54,680 book of Luke. It is the first what we're about 70 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:58,080 to read is the very first parable that's expressed in the 71 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:01,720 gospels and and part of Jesus message to people. 72 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:03,840 For some of you, you know exactly what a parable is, but 73 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:07,000 many of you may be new to the idea of what a parable is. 74 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:09,600 So let me just quickly define parable for you. 75 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:15,640 Parable is a short illustration meant to point to a spiritual 76 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:17,959 reality. It is something that the people 77 00:04:17,959 --> 00:04:20,000 of the day would have understood. 78 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:22,880 He's using language and an illustration that would have 79 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:26,160 made sense to the people of the day to be able to point to a 80 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:30,240 greater spiritual reality that he's trying to teach to them. 81 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:34,600 So up to this point, Jesus has taught all kinds of different 82 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:39,640 things, but now he transitions to using a parable in his 83 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:41,840 teachings. Let's keep reading verse 5. 84 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:48,440 A sower went out to sow his seed, and as he sowed, some seed 85 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:51,920 fell along the path. It was trampled on and the birds 86 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:55,680 of the sky devoured it. Other seed fell on the rock. 87 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:59,240 When it grew up, it withered away since it lacked moisture. 88 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:03,560 Other seed fell among thorns. The thorns grew up with it and 89 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:06,520 choked it. Still other seed fell on good 90 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:08,960 ground. When it grew up, it produced 91 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:13,760 fruit 100 times what was sown. As he said this, he called out, 92 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:17,400 Let anyone who has ears to hear listen. 93 00:05:18,280 --> 00:05:21,880 Then his disciples asked him, what does this parable mean? 94 00:05:22,280 --> 00:05:24,640 So here's the thing about the parables of Jesus. 95 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:28,040 They're often times very confusing. 96 00:05:28,280 --> 00:05:31,840 You will listen and read a parable of Jesus and it will not 97 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:34,440 always make sense to you at first. 98 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:38,440 You have to really match up the spiritual perspective of the 99 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:40,880 teaching with the practical thing that he's trying to 100 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:43,360 illustrate in the parable in order to make sense of it. 101 00:05:43,840 --> 00:05:46,720 This is not the last time that you are ever going to see the 102 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:52,840 disciples of Jesus listening to a parable and going, Huh, we 103 00:05:52,840 --> 00:05:54,000 don't know what you're talking about. 104 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:57,280 We, we're we're lost. What in the world do you mean by 105 00:05:57,280 --> 00:05:58,280 that? Jesus? 106 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:03,600 So in verse 10, Jesus begins to unpack why parables are 107 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:06,760 important and what he's trying to say in this parable. 108 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:10,720 So he says the secrets of the Kingdom of God have been given 109 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:15,240 for you to know, but to the rest it is in parables so that 110 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:20,160 looking they may not see and hearing they may not understand. 111 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:24,760 What Jesus says is that he's come to unpack secrets of the 112 00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:28,400 Kingdom of God, things that up to that point had not been fully 113 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:31,960 understood or known by a group of people who had an Old 114 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:34,640 Testament understanding of how God works. 115 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:39,760 And now Jesus is unpacking for them a a picture of the fullness 116 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:42,880 of what the Kingdom of God is like and what it's all about. 117 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:46,040 That he wants to help them understand more of the beauty 118 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:50,600 and the joy of life in a Kingdom where Jesus is king. 119 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:54,120 But then he says there's another side to the story. 120 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:58,560 The end of verse 10 is a quote from the book of Isaiah, chapter 121 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:00,600 6. Jesus is quoting the Old 122 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:02,560 Testament here. And what Jesus is saying is 123 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:05,800 this. Some people are going to hear my 124 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:08,720 words and they're going to have their lives transformed. 125 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:13,440 And some people are going to hear the words of Jesus and it's 126 00:07:13,440 --> 00:07:16,520 going to have no impact whatsoever on them. 127 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:22,360 And some people may even become bitter and angry when they hear 128 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:25,240 the words of Jesus. And that can be very 129 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:28,040 disorienting for a lot of people when when you stop and think 130 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:32,240 about it, why is it that you can have some people who hear the 131 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:36,040 message of Jesus and they feel so loved and so cared for and 132 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:39,880 that their life has meaning and purpose again, and other people 133 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:43,720 just shrug their shoulders and go, meh, no big deal. 134 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:50,000 Why is it that some people give their entire life to follow 135 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:52,520 Jesus? I mean, they will sell anything 136 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:55,160 and everything. They'll move to other parts of 137 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:57,520 the world because they just want to say yes to Jesus. 138 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:00,840 Why do some people do that? And other people spend their 139 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:03,680 entire life trying to disprove Jesus. 140 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:08,320 What's going on there? Why do some people say that they 141 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:12,600 follow Jesus and yet their life and their actions seem to be 142 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:15,840 doing the exact opposite of following Jesus? 143 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:21,280 You see, there is something about the message of Jesus that 144 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:25,240 is always going to reveal what's going on below the surface. 145 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:29,880 The mushrooms in my yard tell a story of what's happening in the 146 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:32,720 soil. And our response, your response, 147 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:38,760 my response to Jesus and his message, tell a story of the 148 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:43,280 true condition of your heart. It doesn't matter if you are 149 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:47,440 just exploring faith today or if you've been a Christian for most 150 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:50,920 of your life. The words of Jesus will always 151 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:54,440 reveal something about what's really happening inside your 152 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:57,680 heart. And so Jesus now starts to 153 00:08:57,680 --> 00:09:00,760 unpack the meaning of this parable for us. 154 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:03,800 And here's the first thing that he wants you to know. 155 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:08,320 You are here today because there have been seeds planted in your 156 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:10,120 life. That's why you're here. 157 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:15,240 Verse 11, Jesus says this is the meaning of the parable. 158 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:20,720 The seed is the word of God. Remember how this parable 159 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:23,560 started? A sower goes out to plant seeds, 160 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:27,040 and Jesus now says the seeds that were planted by the sower 161 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:31,960 were the word of God. God's word, both in terms of the 162 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:36,480 presence of Jesus himself and also God's written word in the 163 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:40,720 Bible, that is the seed that is planted in people's hearts. 164 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:43,600 And no matter who you are today, every single person who's in 165 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:45,920 this room and every single person who's watching online, 166 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:50,320 you are not here by accident. You are here in part because of 167 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:54,560 people who have planted seeds of the Word of God into your life. 168 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:58,320 Whether you are brand new to the Christian faith or you've been 169 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:01,960 around for decades, you are here because of those seeds. 170 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:05,600 You are here because God has been doing things in your life 171 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:09,720 to reveal himself to you. For some of you, he's worked 172 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:12,640 through a person in your life who's talked to you about faith. 173 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:16,840 It's been so cool to meet some people who are going through 174 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:20,160 Alpha or people who are new to our church who are saying, hey, 175 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:24,480 I'm here because this person has been talking to me about Jesus 176 00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:28,520 and that's why I'm here. That's planting seeds in your 177 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:31,120 life. Some of you are here because 178 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:37,040 your parents or teachers or youth leaders, they have planted 179 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:40,120 seeds into your life of the Word of God. 180 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:43,840 Maybe you've just stumbled across some Christian songs 181 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:47,840 along the way, or Bible verses, or Bible teachers who said some 182 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:50,960 things about Jesus. All those things over the course 183 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:53,840 of your life are seeds of the Word of God that have been 184 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:57,960 planted into your heart. Sometimes Jesus is going to 185 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:01,400 plant seeds just simply by you looking at nature and going man 186 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:03,880 alive. There's got to be somebody out 187 00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:08,280 there who would be so amazing to create something as beautiful as 188 00:11:08,280 --> 00:11:11,160 this. That's a seed being planted into 189 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:16,200 your life or looking at history or even thoughts in your mind 190 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:19,680 about the big questions of life. Those are seeds that have been 191 00:11:19,680 --> 00:11:22,000 planted. And what God has done is put 192 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:26,280 together this incredible resource and team of people in 193 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:28,640 your life to plant seeds of God's Word. 194 00:11:30,040 --> 00:11:33,320 And there are so many times we don't even pay attention to 195 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:36,080 what's going on. We don't even think about all 196 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:39,320 the people who've invested in our lives. 197 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:43,000 Sometimes it's just one sentence, sometimes over years, 198 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:46,840 but they've all been planting seeds of the Word of God into 199 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:50,080 our lives. And all those seeds have brought 200 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:53,480 you up to this point where you are today. 201 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:58,120 But what happens with the seeds that have been planted? 202 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:05,200 How well a seed develops is directly connected to the soil 203 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:09,400 that is planted in. And what Jesus is about to teach 204 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:14,280 us is that how you respond to the Word of God is an indicator 205 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:19,280 of the soil of your heart. Let's keep reading verse 12. 206 00:12:20,680 --> 00:12:24,560 Jesus says the seed along the path are those who have heard, 207 00:12:24,560 --> 00:12:27,000 and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their 208 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:30,480 hearts so that they may not believe and be saved. 209 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:33,880 And the seed on the rock are those who, when they hear, 210 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:38,480 receive the word with joy. Having no root, these believe 211 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:41,480 for a while and fall away in a time of testing. 212 00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:45,680 As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who 213 00:12:45,680 --> 00:12:48,960 when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with 214 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:53,800 worries, riches and pleasures of life and produce no mature fruit 215 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:56,360 but the seed and the good ground. 216 00:12:56,560 --> 00:12:59,400 These are the ones who, having heard the Word with an honest 217 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:04,320 and good heart, hold on to it and by enduring produce fruit. 218 00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:09,040 There are four different types of soils that Jesus begins to 219 00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:13,120 unpack and describe to say this is a picture of what the state 220 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:16,960 of your heart is, and these are the signs you should be looking 221 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:19,080 for to understand the state of your heart. 222 00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:22,440 And the first type of soil he describes is the path. 223 00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:26,360 If the path is like that path you walk on all the time when 224 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:28,320 you go for a hike, it's hard ground. 225 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:32,520 Nothing has happened to really loosen up the soil on a path. 226 00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:38,080 If you've ever planted grass seed on your front yard, you 227 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:41,360 know that some of the seed lands on your driveway or on your 228 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:43,520 sidewalk. And unless there are cracks in 229 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:47,600 your sidewalk or your driveway, that seed is not growing anytime 230 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:51,000 soon because it has hit hard ground. 231 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:56,000 When seeds are planted in this kind of soil, it's easy not only 232 00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:59,000 for the seeds to never grow, but for animals to come and pick up 233 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:01,600 the seeds and remove them so they have no chance because 234 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:03,320 they're just sitting on the surface. 235 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:08,200 What Jesus is saying is that some people are going to hear 236 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:12,000 the message of Jesus, they're going to hear the word of God 237 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:15,160 proclaimed, and they're going to have different responses. 238 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:17,520 Some people are going to go, I don't care. 239 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:20,040 Look, this just isn't relevant to me. 240 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:23,960 But why? Why would you think about some 241 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:26,560 guy who lived 2000 years ago? What difference does that make 242 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:29,720 in my life today? Some people are going to get 243 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:33,640 offended at the words of Jesus. Some people are going to become 244 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:40,080 defensive at the words of Jesus. Some are going to have literally 245 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:44,400 legitimate intellectual doubts and wonder about different 246 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:47,800 things. Some people simply have a lot of 247 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:51,200 wounds from other Christians in their past, and it's like their 248 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:54,640 heart has literally been trampled on by other people. 249 00:14:55,400 --> 00:15:00,440 And all those things are pictures Jesus is saying of how 250 00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:03,760 the soil of your heart is hardened. 251 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:11,400 People who don't want to hear God's word won't hear God's word 252 00:15:11,760 --> 00:15:14,680 simply because of the state of their heart. 253 00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:19,600 And then Jesus says because the seeds are just sitting on the 254 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:23,040 top of the soil, it's easy picking for the devil to come 255 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:30,280 and just take the seeds off. Some of you have people in your 256 00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:34,440 life that you are deeply concerned about in terms of 257 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:39,000 their spiritual well-being. For some of you it is children 258 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:45,080 or its grandchildren. It's close friends and you, 259 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:48,080 you're like, I've tried to talk to them about Jesus. 260 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:52,000 I've tried to say all the things that I know that I should say 261 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:55,240 and it just doesn't seem to be going anywhere. 262 00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:59,080 They seem to not want to listen to me and I feel like I'm 263 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:02,120 blowing it because I'm not doing this right. 264 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:08,000 And what Jesus is saying is the core issue isn't that you're 265 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:10,560 blowing it. The core issue is the state of 266 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:18,160 their heart. Their heart is hard ground and 267 00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:22,160 spiritually what's happening is that the soil of their heart has 268 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:27,000 become so hardened that any seed that is planted is easy for the 269 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:29,200 devil to come in and just pick it out. 270 00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:37,440 You need to remember that our role as people, as followers of 271 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:43,200 God, is not not to try and just convince someone to follow 272 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:45,480 Jesus. Our job is to plant the seeds. 273 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:51,560 We can't control what the soil of anyone's heart is. 274 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:56,200 All that we can control. Are we planting seeds of the 275 00:16:56,200 --> 00:17:00,960 Word of God in people's lives? The second type of soil that 276 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:06,480 Jesus describes is rocky ground. It's what the ground's like 277 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:08,119 where I live. It's very rocky. 278 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:10,839 On the surface it looks great, but once you dig about two 279 00:17:10,839 --> 00:17:14,040 inches down into the ground, you are hitting rocks, which makes 280 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:19,319 building a fence really fun. In my town, the good part of 281 00:17:19,319 --> 00:17:22,839 rocky soil is that you can loosen up the ground so that the 282 00:17:22,839 --> 00:17:25,599 seeds have at least a fighting chance in rocky ground. 283 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:31,240 But it's really difficult for seeds to grow any roots when the 284 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:33,840 ground is so rocky. Some seeds might make it, but 285 00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:37,680 most seeds never ever make it. And here's what Jesus is saying. 286 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:43,440 Jesus is warning us of the potential of people like you and 287 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:47,200 me becoming spiritual dopamine junkies. 288 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:54,040 Here's what I mean by that. It is possible for people to 289 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:57,600 come and hear the message of Jesus and get very excited about 290 00:17:57,600 --> 00:17:58,520 it. This is awesome. 291 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:00,600 Love this. Never experienced anything like 292 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:03,320 this before in my life. Never heard such great news 293 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:05,920 before in my life. Come and gather with God's 294 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:09,480 people and I listen to worship songs and I'm excited and I'm 295 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:11,560 pumped up. I've got tears coming down my 296 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:13,840 face. It's just amazing, amazing, 297 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:22,320 amazing experience. But then life gets hard and 298 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:24,840 suddenly the spiritual high isn't there anymore. 299 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:31,320 Many of us have grown up in churches and we've gone to 300 00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:34,880 retreats and conferences that are amazing spiritual 301 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:37,640 experiences where you just feel the presence of God. 302 00:18:39,360 --> 00:18:42,280 For many of us, there are favorite Bible verses that we 303 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:44,280 read. They are our go to Bible verse 304 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:50,120 to make us feel good and we lean into those things all the time. 305 00:18:50,120 --> 00:18:53,680 Or we listen to a pastor preach and you're like, man, he just 306 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:56,080 said exactly what I needed to hear today. 307 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:01,560 When those spiritual moments, we can't help but be filled with so 308 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:03,760 much joy and excitement. They're amazing. 309 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:08,920 But what Jesus warns us here in this parable is that the 310 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:11,520 dopamine hit doesn't last forever. 311 00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:17,040 The high you get in those moments doesn't last forever. 312 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:22,160 Most of the Christian life is really rather routine, to be 313 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:24,880 honest. Not every moment is going to be 314 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:29,040 a mountaintop experience. So what happens to your faith 315 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:33,000 when it's not the mountaintop experience? 316 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:39,480 What happens to your faith when life gets hard? 317 00:19:42,360 --> 00:19:45,160 There's going to be times where it's really difficult to follow 318 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:47,520 Jesus and do the things that Jesus says. 319 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:55,120 What happens to your faith then? So many people keep looking for 320 00:19:55,120 --> 00:19:59,280 that next spiritual high. And don't get me wrong, I love 321 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:03,400 having moments like that. Like those kinds of moments mean 322 00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:05,760 the world to me in terms of my walk with Jesus. 323 00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:09,800 I love those moments. But boy, have I ever come to 324 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:12,720 learn that those are not the norm. 325 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:20,520 Normal Christian life is going to be in the valleys, and it's 326 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:25,040 going to be in the challenges. And how you respond to Jesus in 327 00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:30,360 the hard times is an indicator of whether the seeds of Jesus 328 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:33,440 took root in your life in the good times. 329 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:39,360 The third type of soil that Jesus describes as thorns. 330 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:44,800 I think one of the most frustrating things in most yards 331 00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:49,680 or gardens is weeds of any kind. You dig them out, they keep 332 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:53,680 coming back, right? And the more weeds you have, the 333 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:56,160 more difficult it is to grow anything. 334 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:00,520 Seeds just get choked out. And we understand this when it 335 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:02,400 comes to our yards and our gardens. 336 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:05,720 But the same principle that exists for your garden and your 337 00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:08,080 yard is also true for your spiritual life. 338 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:13,640 There are going to be some people who have spiritual seeds 339 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:18,200 planted in their life, but they will never see the potential of 340 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:23,200 what those seeds can become. And the reason is just this 341 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:32,040 stuff, life. I see people all the time who 342 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:37,200 they come to church or they come to some ministry program and 343 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:39,160 they're excited and they're blessed and their courage, which 344 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:43,480 is awesome and they're excited about their faith. 345 00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:50,520 But then like life gets busy and when life gets busy or some 346 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:54,640 crisis hits in life, suddenly I, I just don't have as much time 347 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:58,040 for God anymore. I don't have as much time to go 348 00:21:58,040 --> 00:21:59,600 to church. I don't have as much time to 349 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:02,920 read my Bible anymore because life's just busy. 350 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:11,880 There's stuff going on. We like, let's let's be honest, 351 00:22:12,320 --> 00:22:16,960 we gather here on Sundays, we hear God's word preached. 352 00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:21,600 But if forward is like churches all over North America, I know 353 00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:25,360 that a large number of us walk away and we go, well, that was a 354 00:22:25,360 --> 00:22:27,280 nice service. And then we go and do whatever 355 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:28,840 the heck we want the rest of the week. 356 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:34,400 We live how we want the rest of the week with not even thinking 357 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:36,080 about life through the lens of Jesus. 358 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:40,560 There's this disconnect between what you know God says and how 359 00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:43,000 that actually shapes the rest of your life. 360 00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:49,200 But just think about some of the weeds that are choking out your 361 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:57,000 spiritual life. The worries of life, the work, 362 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:00,840 the busyness, the hobbies of life. 363 00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:08,040 Somehow we try to justify so many different things that Jesus 364 00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:10,800 would be fine with this. But if it's getting in the way 365 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:14,160 at all of your love for Jesus, he's not fine with it. 366 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:24,120 It's choking out the word of God in your life and it's a sign 367 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:27,800 that you have some weeds to deal with in the soil of your heart. 368 00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:32,360 One of my big weaknesses is I, I worry a lot. 369 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:36,080 I'm a warrior. I, I can come to church and I 370 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:39,400 can sing songs about the greatness of God and how much 371 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:41,880 God loves us. I can sing a song like the Lord 372 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:44,440 will provide. And I'm going to walk home today 373 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:46,840 and I'm going to go home and I'm going to sit at home probably. 374 00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:48,800 And I'm going to go. I'm not really sure he's going 375 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:52,160 to provide. I know He will, but I'm not sure 376 00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:55,080 he will. Anybody ever feel like that 377 00:23:55,080 --> 00:24:02,600 before? There's so many times where my 378 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:09,200 problems become bigger than my God, and when that happens, it's 379 00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:13,840 like a weed that is strangling out hope and joy in my heart. 380 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:17,560 And I know I'm not alone with stuff like that. 381 00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:21,240 Like, I am so glad you're here today. 382 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:23,080 I'm so glad you're watching online. 383 00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:26,080 It's great that you read your Bible and that you pray 384 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:28,520 throughout the week. Those are all really important 385 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:32,280 things to do because those are all places where God's Word, 386 00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:34,600 seeds of God's word, are being planted in your life. 387 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:41,520 But something can be part of your routines without changing 388 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:45,520 how you live. I can go to the gym every day, 389 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:48,760 but if I eat the wrong food the rest of the day, I'm never going 390 00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:55,080 to be healthy. What you do with God's Word 391 00:24:55,120 --> 00:25:01,600 every single time you hear it is going to reveal something about 392 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:08,120 your heart. It's heartbreaking to see how 393 00:25:08,120 --> 00:25:12,200 many Christians never realized their full potential as a 394 00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:16,520 Christian in this lifetime because we get distracted by 395 00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:18,640 things that are temporary all the time. 396 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:23,480 The worries that we carry become bigger than the God we say we 397 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:26,320 worship and the Father in heaven who says He's going to provide 398 00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:30,200 for our needs. The money in our bank account 399 00:25:30,360 --> 00:25:33,680 drives our decisions more than the God who gave us the money in 400 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:38,400 the 1st place. The pleasures that we pursue 401 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:42,480 Honestly, have you sat down and thought through all the 402 00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:47,040 pleasures you pursue in life? The pleasures we pursue that we 403 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:51,440 somehow convince ourselves are greater than the one who says 404 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:54,360 that at his right hand there are pleasures that last forever. 405 00:25:56,840 --> 00:26:02,480 So many of our hearts are being choked out by weeds. 406 00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:10,760 It's choking out our ability to be the people that Jesus came to 407 00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:16,200 set free. But the good news is that there 408 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:19,880 can be a different story, that there is such a thing as having 409 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:24,040 good soil. In verse 15, Jesus tells us that 410 00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:28,360 good soil has a desire to hear from Jesus and a lifestyle of 411 00:26:28,360 --> 00:26:31,600 saying yes to him. We read that again, verse 15, 412 00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:35,680 the seed and the good ground. These are the ones who having 413 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:39,360 heard the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it 414 00:26:39,360 --> 00:26:45,440 and by enduring produce fruit. Jesus says the people with the 415 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:49,360 good soil are the people who are like, I just, I need to hear the 416 00:26:49,360 --> 00:26:52,240 word of God. I need to hear from God. 417 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:58,320 I need to hear his voice. They want to know Him more and 418 00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:01,200 more. They want to know His will. 419 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:05,120 They want to know His heart. But not only that, over the 420 00:27:05,120 --> 00:27:08,200 course of their life, not only do they want the knowledge of 421 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:11,960 who God is, they want to live with a posture of constantly 422 00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:18,760 saying yes to God. When the seed of God's word is 423 00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:21,120 planted in good soil, it will grow. 424 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:25,880 And when it grows, people will become more and more like Jesus, 425 00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:31,920 the fruit of his character, and his priorities will blossom more 426 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:36,160 and more in your life. Like, you just know when you're 427 00:27:36,160 --> 00:27:38,280 around someone who's got good soil, right? 428 00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:41,080 You just look at the fruit in their life and you're like, man, 429 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:43,160 there's just something about these people. 430 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:46,600 But you can see it in their relationships. 431 00:27:46,600 --> 00:27:50,200 You know, they just have oddly healthy relationships. 432 00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:58,320 You see it in their consistent love for other people, like they 433 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:00,800 love people that nobody else wants to talk to. 434 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:05,040 You just see it in the deep, passionate love they have for 435 00:28:05,040 --> 00:28:07,320 people. You see it in their attitudes. 436 00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:11,880 You see it in their character. Like they tend to be more 437 00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:17,040 peaceful, more joyful, more more loving people. 438 00:28:17,120 --> 00:28:18,920 You see it in the way that they work. 439 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:24,160 You see it in the way that they worship and pray and read their 440 00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:25,640 Bibles. You see it in the way that they 441 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:28,720 live for the benefit of other people more than themselves. 442 00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:31,920 And by the way, it's not an age thing either. 443 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:37,920 Like you can be a 75 year old who's been in church your entire 444 00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:43,720 life and have terrible soil, and you can be a 13 year old who's 445 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:46,920 just figuring this out and you can have amazing soil. 446 00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:53,480 It's not an age thing. I, I see this in our church. 447 00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:56,560 I see people of all ages where I look at their life. 448 00:28:57,080 --> 00:29:00,360 My goodness, the fruit in their life is amazing to watch. 449 00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:03,880 It's so encouraging to see what God's doing in their life and 450 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:06,000 how God's using them and shaping their life. 451 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:11,000 But if you talk to those people, one of the things you're going 452 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:13,720 to discover is none of that happened overnight. 453 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:18,760 It happens through this consistent desire of wanting to 454 00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:23,200 hear from Jesus and a lifestyle of saying yes to Jesus. 455 00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:28,400 Now, I know that when I describe people with good soil in their 456 00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:31,120 hearts, there are going to be some of you who are here today 457 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:33,880 and you're going to be feeling very spiritually frustrated at 458 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:36,120 that because you're looking at your own life and going, Why 459 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:38,840 can't I have good fruit in my life like that? 460 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:42,840 Why isn't my life the way that Kirk's describing? 461 00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:46,000 Why isn't my life as fruitful as someone else? 462 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:50,720 Let me just encourage you with this fruit always takes time to 463 00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:56,240 grow. God is not done with you yet. 464 00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:01,480 Your part is to keep leaning into Jesus. 465 00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:05,280 The amazing thing about the spiritual life is you don't have 466 00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:10,960 to try harder to be like Jesus. The fruit will be there if the 467 00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:13,080 seed has been planted in good soil. 468 00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:17,800 It's not about you working harder to be like Jesus. 469 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:21,400 It's about you preparing the soil of your heart to receive 470 00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:27,440 the word of God into it. God is not focused on simply 471 00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,680 passing along information to us. God is interested in 472 00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:34,800 transforming us. He's not interested in giving 473 00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:38,320 you a little bit of self help. He's interested in making your 474 00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:41,240 life more fruitful than you could have ever dreamed was 475 00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:46,360 possible. But to do that, God will always 476 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:54,360 expose what's in our hearts because unless you and I deal 477 00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:58,560 with that, we won't be as fruitful as we can be. 478 00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:02,120 So the question that we have to wrestle with is this. 479 00:31:02,840 --> 00:31:06,080 How will you respond to Jesus shining His light on the 480 00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:10,400 condition of your heart? Look at verse 16. 481 00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:15,480 Jesus shifts from talking about farming to a light, but he still 482 00:31:15,480 --> 00:31:19,200 keeps this same theme going. In verse 16, He says no one, 483 00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:22,960 after lighting a lamp, covers it with a basket or puts it under a 484 00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:26,560 bed, but puts it on a lampstand so that those who come in may 485 00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:29,880 see its light. For nothing is concealed that 486 00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:33,840 won't be revealed, and nothing hidden that won't be made known 487 00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:37,400 and brought to light. Therefore, take care how you 488 00:31:37,400 --> 00:31:41,720 listen, for whoever has more will be given to him, and 489 00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:46,000 whoever does not have even what he thinks he has will be taken 490 00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:50,240 away from him. I want to challenge you and 491 00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:53,320 invite you into a regular spiritual habit in your life. 492 00:31:55,680 --> 00:32:00,000 I want to invite you anytime you are entering into a space where 493 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:03,400 you know you're going to have God's Word brought to you, 494 00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:07,720 whether that's coming into church, going into a class or a 495 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:11,520 discipleship group, or just in your own personal devotions or 496 00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:14,520 you're hanging out with friends. Anytime you're going to be in an 497 00:32:14,520 --> 00:32:17,920 environment where God's Word you know you're going to hear and 498 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:22,120 encounter God's Word. I want to challenge you to pray 499 00:32:22,280 --> 00:32:26,320 this prayer. God, use your word to shine a 500 00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:28,680 light on the condition of my heart. 501 00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:36,960 Use your word to shine a light on the condition of my heart. 502 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:41,040 Do it every single time. And here's what you're going to 503 00:32:41,040 --> 00:32:44,480 find as you do that. You're not going to find a God 504 00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:48,640 who is out to get you. You're going to find a God who's 505 00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:52,920 out to save you. You're going to find a God who's 506 00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:57,240 more like a gardener who wants to dig below the surface to find 507 00:32:57,240 --> 00:32:59,400 and remove the things that are getting in the way of your 508 00:32:59,400 --> 00:33:04,120 fruitfulness. When you ask God to shine His 509 00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:09,520 light on your heart, the truth is you will come face to face 510 00:33:09,520 --> 00:33:13,040 with some things that need to change if you're going to be 511 00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:14,880 increasingly fruitful in your life. 512 00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:19,440 So let me ask you, if you were to look at your life today, 513 00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:26,320 which soil would you say your heart has right now? 514 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:31,400 What soil is in your heart right now, today? 515 00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:36,480 It's interesting, I believe and have experienced that sometimes 516 00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:39,480 my soil can be different in different seasons, stages of 517 00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:41,400 life. Don't see this as I've graduated 518 00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:45,600 to this kind of soil. Even the healthiest of yards can 519 00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:54,480 still grow weed. What would you say is the type 520 00:33:54,480 --> 00:33:57,040 of soil? Maybe, maybe a better question 521 00:33:57,040 --> 00:34:01,720 is maybe I should ask the person sitting next to you, what kind 522 00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:04,120 of soil do you experience in that person's heart? 523 00:34:08,679 --> 00:34:12,679 Maybe the more important question though, isn't what any 524 00:34:12,679 --> 00:34:14,239 of us think. Maybe the more important 525 00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:19,159 question is what would God say is the condition of the soil of 526 00:34:19,159 --> 00:34:26,560 your heart today? And as God reveals what's in 527 00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:28,520 your heart, Jesus says these words. 528 00:34:28,840 --> 00:34:35,280 Take care how you listen. Don't just pay attention to the 529 00:34:35,280 --> 00:34:38,920 words. Pay attention to what the words 530 00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:42,040 are revealing about your own heart. 531 00:34:43,199 --> 00:34:46,880 Take care how you listen to the word of God, because how you 532 00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:52,639 listen to God's word has a direct connection to your 533 00:34:52,639 --> 00:34:58,920 spiritual future. The good news of Jesus is this, 534 00:34:59,240 --> 00:35:01,600 He doesn't leave you alone to figure this out. 535 00:35:03,360 --> 00:35:07,480 He doesn't make you go like, OK, fix the soil of your own heart. 536 00:35:07,760 --> 00:35:11,400 The good news of Jesus that Jesus is able to change any 537 00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:16,000 heart. Ezekiel chapter 36 says this. 538 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:22,200 I will give you a new heart and I will put a new spirit in you. 539 00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:26,400 I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of 540 00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:29,720 flesh. That's that's what Jesus came to 541 00:35:29,720 --> 00:35:36,880 do, change hearts. He didn't come to put a Band-Aid 542 00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:39,320 on our problems. He came to give us a new heart. 543 00:35:40,800 --> 00:35:43,800 Jesus came to change us from the inside out. 544 00:35:44,600 --> 00:35:47,800 So many times we look at behaviors and we go the 545 00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:50,760 behaviour needs to change, the behaviour needs to change and 546 00:35:50,760 --> 00:35:54,080 Jesus says that the behaviour is just a symptom. 547 00:35:56,880 --> 00:35:59,720 The behaviours only change when the heart changes. 548 00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:05,560 We need to ask God to shine a light on our hearts, and then we 549 00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:10,680 have to respond as He does that. We need to ask God to change the 550 00:36:10,680 --> 00:36:14,920 soil so that the seed of God's Word can take root in our lives. 551 00:36:14,920 --> 00:36:18,800 I'm going to ask you to close your eyes. 552 00:36:23,600 --> 00:36:30,320 You might be sitting here today and you recognize yourself as 553 00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:34,120 someone who has a hard heart. You don't. 554 00:36:34,680 --> 00:36:36,800 You're here maybe just to make someone else happy, but you 555 00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:40,840 don't really have any desire or interesting God. 556 00:36:41,840 --> 00:36:47,040 Or maybe your heart has been wounded and hurt so many times 557 00:36:47,040 --> 00:36:49,160 and it's just gotten hardened over time. 558 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:56,640 Today I want to invite you to just pray right where you are. 559 00:36:56,640 --> 00:37:02,000 Pray God, would you break open the soil of my heart and give me 560 00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:08,040 a new heart. Maybe you're here today and 561 00:37:08,040 --> 00:37:10,640 there's someone that you love who you know, like, hey, they 562 00:37:10,640 --> 00:37:11,520 have a heart. Heart. 563 00:37:12,600 --> 00:37:15,000 The soil of their heart is so hardened. 564 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:18,120 I'm going to invite you just to take the next minute and just 565 00:37:18,360 --> 00:37:21,440 pray for God to soften the soil of their heart today. 566 00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:30,480 Some of you, the soil of your heart is rocky ground right now. 567 00:37:31,680 --> 00:37:37,320 You're going through it and your faith is wavering and here's how 568 00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:39,720 you lean into Jesus in moments like that. 569 00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:44,440 Here's how you help invite Him in to deal with the soil of your 570 00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:46,560 heart. One of my favorite prayers in 571 00:37:46,560 --> 00:37:49,520 all the Bible. If you're going through it right 572 00:37:49,520 --> 00:37:51,600 now, pray. You can pray this prayer, God, I 573 00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:53,800 believe, but help my unbelief right now. 574 00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:01,200 And some of you, you recognize that you got weeds going on 575 00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:05,880 inside your heart. I want to invite you to pray the 576 00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:10,720 prayer that David prayed for himself, where he said, create 577 00:38:10,720 --> 00:38:17,440 in me a clean heart. God, remove the weeds from my 578 00:38:17,440 --> 00:38:21,120 life and restore to me the joy of my salvation. 579 00:38:28,870 --> 00:38:30,870 Wherever you are, I'm just going to give you a moment just to 580 00:38:30,870 --> 00:38:35,590 pray in response to whatever soil your heart is. 581 00:39:06,280 --> 00:39:11,520 Almighty God, I come to you and ask in your grace and your mercy 582 00:39:13,240 --> 00:39:20,280 that you would remove the heart of stone that some of us has and 583 00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:27,800 you would give us a new heart, a heart that is ready to receive 584 00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:32,080 whatever you want to plant into our into our hearts through your 585 00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:38,080 Word. God, we pray that you would 586 00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:45,040 create in us a clean heart and restore to us the joy of your 587 00:39:45,040 --> 00:39:50,520 salvation. Help us to be a people who take 588 00:39:50,800 --> 00:39:54,440 great care with how we listen to your word. 589 00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:04,160 Thank you for your Son Jesus who care. 590 00:40:04,280 --> 00:40:09,360 Aim to rescue us. Who is our hope? 591 00:40:09,760 --> 00:40:15,240 Who is our joy? Who is the name above all names 592 00:40:15,240 --> 00:40:21,840 that we stand on. Help us God, to be a people who 593 00:40:21,840 --> 00:40:30,840 live every day from a heart where Jesus is the center of 594 00:40:30,840 --> 00:40:35,160 everything. I pray, pray this in your mighty 595 00:40:35,160 --> 00:40:37,440 and powerful name. Amen. 596 00:40:38,040 --> 00:40:39,840 Amen. Let's stand together and respond 597 00:40:39,840 --> 00:40:40,840 to the Lord and worship.