WEBVTT 00:00:03.240 --> 00:00:07.879 Dear God, we again pause and we recognize that 00:00:07.879 --> 00:00:10.580 we are here because of you. And as was already 00:00:10.580 --> 00:00:13.660 mentioned, we pray for our society, we pray for 00:00:13.660 --> 00:00:16.760 our world, for our nation, and we pray for our 00:00:16.760 --> 00:00:19.100 church. We pray for our families and for each 00:00:19.100 --> 00:00:21.679 one of us. And as we spend some moments together, 00:00:21.879 --> 00:00:25.699 may we dive into your word and may we remember 00:00:25.699 --> 00:00:28.219 what an incredible treasure you have given to 00:00:28.219 --> 00:00:38.039 us. In your name we pray, amen. So, do you remember 00:00:38.039 --> 00:00:43.219 when you first started to appreciate the Bible? 00:00:43.460 --> 00:00:46.899 Do you remember the first memory verse that you 00:00:46.899 --> 00:00:50.340 ever learned? I see a few heads nodding. I remember 00:00:50.340 --> 00:00:52.659 growing up in the Knoxville First Seventh -day 00:00:52.659 --> 00:00:54.420 Adventist Church, and I think it was the primary 00:00:54.420 --> 00:00:59.060 class, that if you memorized all 13 Bible verses 00:00:59.060 --> 00:01:01.799 for the quarter in Sabbath school, that you would 00:01:01.799 --> 00:01:04.239 get a prize. And the ladies that taught that 00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:07.760 class, the prize that they would provide was 00:01:07.760 --> 00:01:10.920 a stuffed animal. And it wasn't just any stuffed 00:01:10.920 --> 00:01:13.959 animal, but it was a homemade stuffed animal. 00:01:14.260 --> 00:01:18.079 And so the one I remember, there may have been 00:01:18.079 --> 00:01:21.900 some other variations, was a frog. It was a frog, 00:01:22.180 --> 00:01:27.260 homemade stuffed frog. And it had inside, you 00:01:27.260 --> 00:01:29.650 could feel it, it was like dried. beans, like 00:01:29.650 --> 00:01:31.790 pinto beans is what it was stuffed with. And 00:01:31.790 --> 00:01:34.010 if you memorized all of those memory verses, 00:01:34.129 --> 00:01:39.170 you could get this stuffed frog to take for yourself, 00:01:39.390 --> 00:01:41.609 to take home and to have it at your own home. 00:01:41.890 --> 00:01:46.450 And so that was an early memory. And maybe you 00:01:46.450 --> 00:01:49.370 have a similar memory, or maybe you have a memory 00:01:49.370 --> 00:01:52.969 of the Bible that was at a different time. In 00:01:52.969 --> 00:01:56.609 ancient Israel, they had something for young 00:01:56.609 --> 00:02:00.439 people called bet. Sefer, Bet Sefer. This was 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:04.719 for young people, probably particularly boys, 00:02:04.900 --> 00:02:07.359 but I believe girls could attend as well. And 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:11.620 this was a type of schooling or learning where 00:02:11.620 --> 00:02:15.300 the young people, age six, would go to the synagogue 00:02:15.300 --> 00:02:18.639 and would begin to learn the scripture, would 00:02:18.639 --> 00:02:22.180 begin to learn about the Bible. And on the first 00:02:22.180 --> 00:02:24.120 day that they would show up at the synagogue, 00:02:24.240 --> 00:02:29.340 the rabbi would take something, Something precious 00:02:29.340 --> 00:02:32.719 for that time frame. Something precious for that 00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:37.639 society. A little bit of... You may not be able 00:02:37.639 --> 00:02:40.259 to tell what this is. Let's see if I can... Oh, 00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:42.219 that was a little bit more than I was anticipating. 00:02:43.060 --> 00:02:49.639 A little bit of honey that was the sweetest thing 00:02:49.639 --> 00:02:53.039 that they knew. They didn't have sugar that you 00:02:53.039 --> 00:02:55.000 could go and buy. They didn't have sugar canes, 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:58.300 so if they wanted anything sweet, It would be 00:02:58.300 --> 00:03:02.080 from honey. And on that first day at Bet Sefer, 00:03:02.180 --> 00:03:04.860 the rabbi would take that honey and he would 00:03:04.860 --> 00:03:08.139 dribble it, just a few drops, onto the students' 00:03:08.340 --> 00:03:11.400 fingers. And then like I just did, they would 00:03:11.400 --> 00:03:15.219 be able to lick that off. And as they did that, 00:03:15.340 --> 00:03:18.860 they would read from Psalm 119 where it says, 00:03:18.919 --> 00:03:23.199 how sweet are your words to my taste. Yes, sweeter 00:03:23.199 --> 00:03:27.099 than honey to my mouth. And this was to remind 00:03:27.099 --> 00:03:29.960 them from that very young age that the words 00:03:29.960 --> 00:03:32.599 of God, the words of the scripture that they 00:03:32.599 --> 00:03:35.340 had, were the sweetest thing that they could 00:03:35.340 --> 00:03:38.180 appreciate, was the sweetest thing that they 00:03:38.180 --> 00:03:40.699 could experience. And before they finished that 00:03:40.699 --> 00:03:43.800 supper in about four years, they would spend 00:03:43.800 --> 00:03:48.460 that time not just studying God's word, but memorizing 00:03:48.460 --> 00:03:51.879 God's word. And they would memorize the books 00:03:51.879 --> 00:03:54.780 of the Torah, the first... Five books of the 00:03:54.780 --> 00:03:58.120 Old Testament, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, 00:03:58.120 --> 00:04:01.479 and Deuteronomy. Not just studying it, but what 00:04:01.479 --> 00:04:05.419 did I say? Memorizing it. And so by the time 00:04:05.419 --> 00:04:08.080 they were about 10 years old, they would have 00:04:08.080 --> 00:04:12.860 these words of God ingrained into their brains. 00:04:13.500 --> 00:04:16.100 And so we could ask ourselves, have you, have 00:04:16.100 --> 00:04:21.220 we experienced the sweetness of God's word? With 00:04:21.220 --> 00:04:23.810 that in mind... We're going to go to the New 00:04:23.810 --> 00:04:28.149 Testament in Matthew chapter 13, which was where 00:04:28.149 --> 00:04:31.569 our scripture reading for the day was. Matthew 00:04:31.569 --> 00:04:35.449 chapter 13, we can consider, have we experienced 00:04:35.449 --> 00:04:39.750 the sweetness of God's word? In Matthew 13, verse 00:04:39.750 --> 00:04:43.209 1, it says, On the same day, Jesus went out of 00:04:43.209 --> 00:04:47.329 the house and sat by the sea, and great multitudes 00:04:47.329 --> 00:04:50.850 were gathered together to him. So that he got 00:04:50.850 --> 00:04:54.230 into a boat and sat, and the whole multitude 00:04:54.230 --> 00:04:57.589 sat on the shore. And then it says in verse 3, 00:04:57.790 --> 00:05:03.430 he spoke many things to them in parables. So 00:05:03.430 --> 00:05:07.509 this crowd of people is gathered around. And 00:05:07.509 --> 00:05:09.730 the last time we were together, believe it or 00:05:09.730 --> 00:05:11.410 not, it's been a couple weeks because of camp 00:05:11.410 --> 00:05:14.050 meeting, and it was a whole month ago. It was 00:05:14.050 --> 00:05:18.050 back in May. We started a new sermon series looking 00:05:18.050 --> 00:05:22.310 at the parables of Jesus, looking at the parables, 00:05:22.310 --> 00:05:26.230 stories that Jesus told. And we're going to continue 00:05:26.230 --> 00:05:28.970 that series today and in the weeks to come, but 00:05:28.970 --> 00:05:32.310 I want to review down just a few verses. Matthew 00:05:32.310 --> 00:05:35.850 13 and verse 10, the disciples came and said 00:05:35.850 --> 00:05:39.550 to him, why? Why do you tell these stories? Why 00:05:39.550 --> 00:05:43.399 do you speak to them in parables? And Jesus answered 00:05:43.399 --> 00:05:45.939 and said to them, because it has been given to 00:05:45.939 --> 00:05:49.980 you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, 00:05:50.060 --> 00:05:53.579 but to them it has not been given. Jesus told 00:05:53.579 --> 00:05:57.019 these stories, these parables, these mysteries 00:05:57.019 --> 00:06:00.740 of the kingdom to give different glimpses of 00:06:00.740 --> 00:06:05.160 the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God. Now 00:06:05.160 --> 00:06:07.199 the kingdom of heaven, we mentioned it the last 00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:10.399 time we were together, is not a kingdom of power. 00:06:11.149 --> 00:06:14.230 But it's a kingdom of love. It's a kingdom of 00:06:14.230 --> 00:06:17.589 grace. We see in our world today that political 00:06:17.589 --> 00:06:20.670 kingdoms want to be kingdoms of power, want to 00:06:20.670 --> 00:06:23.529 be kingdoms of force. Whether it's attacking 00:06:23.529 --> 00:06:26.649 another nation or a nation fighting back or even 00:06:26.649 --> 00:06:29.790 within our own nation, we want to be a kingdom 00:06:29.790 --> 00:06:32.889 of force, a kingdom of power. And this is the 00:06:32.889 --> 00:06:36.529 opposite of God's kingdom because God's kingdom 00:06:36.529 --> 00:06:40.740 is a kingdom of love and grace. And we might 00:06:40.740 --> 00:06:44.279 say, Pastor, haven't you seen the headlines of 00:06:44.279 --> 00:06:48.620 this week? There's lots of crazy things going 00:06:48.620 --> 00:06:51.779 on in our world. Why are we taking the time to 00:06:51.779 --> 00:06:55.759 talk about parables? Well, I would say we mentioned 00:06:55.759 --> 00:06:58.939 it a couple weeks ago that even in Matthew 24, 00:06:59.060 --> 00:07:01.480 when Jesus talked about the signs of the times, 00:07:02.189 --> 00:07:04.509 You know, there's going to be wars and rumors 00:07:04.509 --> 00:07:07.050 of wars and all these different things that we 00:07:07.050 --> 00:07:10.750 look to. Even in the midst of that chapter, Jesus 00:07:10.750 --> 00:07:15.410 told his followers to keep watch, to watch and 00:07:15.410 --> 00:07:19.769 pray. And so even if we are following world events, 00:07:19.810 --> 00:07:22.870 and I hope that you are, even if you're tracing 00:07:22.870 --> 00:07:25.410 it down with prophecies, and I hope that you 00:07:25.410 --> 00:07:29.089 are, but every day that we live, we are one day 00:07:29.089 --> 00:07:33.160 closer to when Jesus comes. So why take the time 00:07:33.160 --> 00:07:35.759 to talk about parables? Because it's in these 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:39.079 parables that we see what it means to live as 00:07:39.079 --> 00:07:42.139 a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, even while 00:07:42.139 --> 00:07:45.399 we were on this earth. And even if we know all 00:07:45.399 --> 00:07:48.040 of the prophecies, but we don't know the giver 00:07:48.040 --> 00:07:52.500 of the prophecy, then we are amiss. Then we are 00:07:52.500 --> 00:07:55.540 not quite following what God would have us to 00:07:55.540 --> 00:08:00.180 do. And so we want to come back to Jesus in the 00:08:00.180 --> 00:08:03.389 boat. And it says, he spoke many things to them 00:08:03.389 --> 00:08:06.230 in parables. Now, before we go on, I've got to 00:08:06.230 --> 00:08:08.810 just pause here for a second because this beautiful 00:08:08.810 --> 00:08:12.930 artwork was done by one of our own church members, 00:08:13.129 --> 00:08:16.610 Bethany. I asked her a couple weeks ago, hey, 00:08:16.689 --> 00:08:20.230 could you draw me a picture of a sower? And so 00:08:20.230 --> 00:08:23.050 she sent it to me this week. And so be sure to 00:08:23.050 --> 00:08:25.410 tell her what an amazing job she did because 00:08:25.410 --> 00:08:27.790 I think it's a really good picture of a sower. 00:08:28.279 --> 00:08:30.740 Because it says here, Jesus spoke many things 00:08:30.740 --> 00:08:34.259 to them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower 00:08:34.259 --> 00:08:38.639 went out to sow. Now, this is not the typical 00:08:38.639 --> 00:08:41.399 way that we would plant a field in our day and 00:08:41.399 --> 00:08:45.000 age. You would see a tractor driving along, mechanized, 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:48.120 putting in how many rows of corn or whatever 00:08:48.120 --> 00:08:52.139 it is all at one time, or maybe in your garden 00:08:52.139 --> 00:08:55.730 at home. It's probably you stooped over, digging 00:08:55.730 --> 00:08:57.789 a little hole with your finger and inserting 00:08:57.789 --> 00:09:01.289 the seeds one by one. But as they were planting 00:09:01.289 --> 00:09:06.070 these crops, they would cast the seed out into 00:09:06.070 --> 00:09:10.409 the field. They would throw these seeds into 00:09:10.409 --> 00:09:13.590 the place where they needed to be. And these 00:09:13.590 --> 00:09:18.529 stories of Jesus, these parables, they're stories, 00:09:18.830 --> 00:09:23.399 but they contain a deeper lesson. If you're just 00:09:23.399 --> 00:09:25.340 listening and you're not really interested, you 00:09:25.340 --> 00:09:27.940 could say, oh, that's an interesting story. But 00:09:27.940 --> 00:09:30.980 Jesus allowed it so that if you wanted to learn 00:09:30.980 --> 00:09:35.039 something different, you could gain deeper insight 00:09:35.039 --> 00:09:38.860 into this kingdom of God that Jesus was telling 00:09:38.860 --> 00:09:41.620 us about. So let's read this parable now that 00:09:41.620 --> 00:09:44.659 we read for our scripture reading. But as he 00:09:44.659 --> 00:09:48.620 sowed, some seed fell by the wayside, and the 00:09:48.620 --> 00:09:52.500 birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony 00:09:52.500 --> 00:09:55.720 places where they did not have much earth, and 00:09:55.720 --> 00:09:58.100 they immediately sprang up because they had no 00:09:58.100 --> 00:10:00.960 depth of earth. But when the sun was up, they 00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:03.399 were scorched, and because they had no root, 00:10:03.559 --> 00:10:07.340 they withered away. And some fell among thorns, 00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:10.980 and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But 00:10:10.980 --> 00:10:13.980 then, verse 8, others fell on good ground and 00:10:13.980 --> 00:10:17.980 yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:22.139 some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him 00:10:22.139 --> 00:10:26.700 hear. And so the farmer goes out to sow the seed 00:10:26.700 --> 00:10:32.639 into the soil. Now, we could call this parable 00:10:32.639 --> 00:10:36.220 the parable of the soils, but Jesus calls it 00:10:36.220 --> 00:10:39.120 the parable of the sower. And so we're going 00:10:39.120 --> 00:10:43.460 to do that as well. But it's interesting because 00:10:43.460 --> 00:10:48.279 the book of Mark tells this exact same parable. 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:53.179 Often the parables are in different of the Gospels. 00:10:53.179 --> 00:10:56.720 And the book of Mark, it's almost word for word, 00:10:56.820 --> 00:10:59.279 except for a couple lines. So we're going to 00:10:59.279 --> 00:11:02.779 turn over to Mark chapter 4. Mark chapter 4. 00:11:02.840 --> 00:11:04.580 Just real quick, keep your finger in Matthew 00:11:04.580 --> 00:11:07.000 because we're going to come back. But Mark chapter 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:11.940 4 and verse 13. As Jesus begins to explain this 00:11:11.940 --> 00:11:14.539 parable, notice what he tells his disciples. 00:11:15.059 --> 00:11:19.529 Mark chapter 4 and verse 13. This line is not 00:11:19.529 --> 00:11:23.070 in Matthew, but it is in Mark. Jesus said to 00:11:23.070 --> 00:11:27.909 them, do you not understand this parable? How 00:11:27.909 --> 00:11:32.950 then will you understand all the parables? So 00:11:32.950 --> 00:11:36.049 it seems like in some way, this parable is an 00:11:36.049 --> 00:11:39.309 important one because this is one that gives 00:11:39.309 --> 00:11:41.789 us perhaps some insight. And if we can begin 00:11:41.789 --> 00:11:44.360 to... In this parable, then we can take that 00:11:44.360 --> 00:11:47.840 understanding and apply it to other parables 00:11:47.840 --> 00:11:51.659 as well. And so the very next verse, verse 13, 00:11:51.899 --> 00:11:57.879 it says the sower sows what? The word. The sower 00:11:57.879 --> 00:12:00.879 sows the word. So those seeds that are being 00:12:00.879 --> 00:12:04.200 scattered in this parable are not just wheat 00:12:04.200 --> 00:12:07.679 or barley or whatever it might be, but the spiritual 00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:12.370 context, the sower sows the word. So with that 00:12:12.370 --> 00:12:15.210 in mind, let's turn back to Matthew chapter 13. 00:12:15.769 --> 00:12:21.950 Matthew chapter 13 and verse 19. It says Jesus 00:12:21.950 --> 00:12:24.990 is explaining the parable. We read it earlier, 00:12:25.029 --> 00:12:28.090 what he said, but now he's explaining it to those 00:12:28.090 --> 00:12:30.850 who are interested in getting a little more insight. 00:12:31.529 --> 00:12:34.730 He says, therefore, hear the parable of the sower, 00:12:34.870 --> 00:12:38.509 verse 18, and then verse 19, when anyone hears 00:12:38.509 --> 00:12:42.820 the word of the kingdom. Jesus had said in Matthew, 00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:46.799 the sower sows the word. So if anyone hears the 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:50.639 word of the kingdom and does not understand it, 00:12:50.779 --> 00:12:55.419 then the wicked one comes and snatches away what 00:12:55.419 --> 00:12:58.519 was sown in his heart. This is he who received 00:12:58.519 --> 00:13:02.960 the seed by the wayside. He says that birds will 00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:06.500 come and snatch up the seed. Anybody have any 00:13:06.500 --> 00:13:09.620 problems with birds in your garden? coming and 00:13:09.620 --> 00:13:12.679 getting the seed right after you planted them. 00:13:13.059 --> 00:13:16.759 Now this says this falls on the wayside. So this 00:13:16.759 --> 00:13:20.159 would be perhaps the path that runs through the 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:23.440 field or around the field. So they didn't have 00:13:23.440 --> 00:13:26.639 the same type of sidewalks or roads that we have. 00:13:26.700 --> 00:13:30.860 It would be asphalt or concrete. But if you walk 00:13:30.860 --> 00:13:34.720 on dirt long enough, if you ride your cart or 00:13:34.720 --> 00:13:37.919 your donkey down the path long enough, what happens? 00:13:38.889 --> 00:13:42.710 It becomes compacted. It becomes hard. It becomes 00:13:42.710 --> 00:13:46.990 almost like concrete. So if that seed falls onto 00:13:46.990 --> 00:13:50.370 that, it's not going to be taken into the earth, 00:13:50.409 --> 00:13:53.549 and it's the perfect place for the birds to come 00:13:53.549 --> 00:13:59.509 and to snatch up those soil, those seeds. And 00:13:59.509 --> 00:14:02.149 so these birds represent, it says here, the wicked 00:14:02.149 --> 00:14:05.730 one. Satan is the one that comes and snatches 00:14:05.730 --> 00:14:08.889 this away. So it's interesting. as we think about 00:14:08.889 --> 00:14:12.370 this parable, there's four different locations 00:14:12.370 --> 00:14:15.730 that are mentioned. And in each one of these 00:14:15.730 --> 00:14:21.710 locations, the sower is the same, the seed is 00:14:21.710 --> 00:14:26.090 the same, but the only difference is where that 00:14:26.090 --> 00:14:30.289 seed lands, what that location is, how that location 00:14:30.289 --> 00:14:34.269 deals with the seed, deals with the word that 00:14:34.269 --> 00:14:36.710 it receives. And so we could look at that and 00:14:36.710 --> 00:14:42.220 say, well, well, that's us. How do we receive 00:14:42.220 --> 00:14:47.159 God's word? How do we experience God's word when 00:14:47.159 --> 00:14:50.440 we hear it, when we receive it? So in this first 00:14:50.440 --> 00:14:54.460 incident, incidents, this first location, it 00:14:54.460 --> 00:14:58.320 falls on the wayside and these birds come and 00:14:58.320 --> 00:15:03.700 snatch it away. Satan wants to make sure that 00:15:03.700 --> 00:15:07.149 if we hear the word, that it's not there very 00:15:07.149 --> 00:15:09.570 long. There's a group of people that are not 00:15:09.570 --> 00:15:14.090 interested at all in what God has to say, that 00:15:14.090 --> 00:15:16.610 they don't care what the Word of God says, they 00:15:16.610 --> 00:15:19.509 don't know what the Word of God says, and Satan 00:15:19.509 --> 00:15:22.169 wants to make sure that God's Word doesn't take 00:15:22.169 --> 00:15:25.049 root, that it doesn't germinate in somebody's 00:15:25.049 --> 00:15:28.389 life. And there's a whole group of society that 00:15:28.389 --> 00:15:31.549 doesn't even realize that they have a need for 00:15:31.549 --> 00:15:34.710 God. They're indifferent to God's Word because 00:15:34.710 --> 00:15:36.929 they don't even care about it. They don't even 00:15:36.929 --> 00:15:40.210 know about it. And sometimes we forget that we 00:15:40.210 --> 00:15:43.769 are in a spiritual battle. Each and every day, 00:15:43.889 --> 00:15:48.629 Satan is trying to snatch away the blessings 00:15:48.629 --> 00:15:51.950 that God wants to pour into our life. And we 00:15:51.950 --> 00:15:54.870 need to be thinking about what God's Word says 00:15:54.870 --> 00:15:59.590 to us. Not just during one hour on Sabbath morning, 00:15:59.769 --> 00:16:03.289 but we need to be thinking about God's Word as 00:16:03.289 --> 00:16:06.649 we go through the week. Notice what it says in 00:16:06.649 --> 00:16:10.289 2 Timothy. Paul is writing to a young minister, 00:16:10.409 --> 00:16:14.129 and he's giving him wisdom and advice. And in 00:16:14.129 --> 00:16:18.210 2 Timothy chapter 3, we see a little bit of what 00:16:18.210 --> 00:16:22.850 Paul writes to Timothy. He starts off talking 00:16:22.850 --> 00:16:27.149 about his childhood. Verse 15, that from childhood 00:16:27.149 --> 00:16:31.330 you have known the holy scriptures, and then 00:16:31.330 --> 00:16:34.529 he describes God's word here, the holy scriptures, 00:16:35.259 --> 00:16:39.019 which are able to make you wise for salvation 00:16:39.019 --> 00:16:44.220 through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. So God's 00:16:44.220 --> 00:16:48.120 word, this seed that Jesus is sprinkling into 00:16:48.120 --> 00:16:52.340 our life, it is able to make us wise for salvation. 00:16:52.580 --> 00:16:55.259 And then notice the next two verses, verse 16. 00:16:55.940 --> 00:16:59.360 All scripture is given. How much of scripture? 00:17:00.019 --> 00:17:03.179 All scripture is given by inspiration of God 00:17:03.179 --> 00:17:08.940 and is... profitable. Is that a good word? Yeah, 00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:11.019 we want things to be profitable in our life. 00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:13.720 If we're spending time doing something, we hope 00:17:13.720 --> 00:17:16.539 that there's a reward for it. We hope that there's 00:17:16.539 --> 00:17:19.680 a blessing for it. It says all Scripture is profitable, 00:17:19.779 --> 00:17:22.019 and then there's a couple different categories. 00:17:22.039 --> 00:17:25.220 For doctrine, okay, we can learn about God. We 00:17:25.220 --> 00:17:27.200 can learn about what it means to follow Him. 00:17:27.700 --> 00:17:32.420 For reproof, for correction. Okay, we don't maybe 00:17:32.420 --> 00:17:34.319 like that quite as much, but that's going to 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:40.359 point out mistakes that we're making, ways in 00:17:40.359 --> 00:17:43.039 our life that we need to perhaps turn a different 00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:46.380 direction. And then it says for instruction in 00:17:46.380 --> 00:17:49.579 righteousness. We get to be instructed in what 00:17:49.579 --> 00:17:53.119 it means to live our life for God. And then verse 00:17:53.119 --> 00:17:55.759 17, that the man, that the people, that the man 00:17:55.759 --> 00:18:00.039 or woman of God may be complete. thoroughly equipped 00:18:00.039 --> 00:18:04.759 for every good work. That's what God's word is 00:18:04.759 --> 00:18:07.700 all about. But Satan wants to snatch that away. 00:18:08.240 --> 00:18:11.539 And guess what? He has succeeded in many ways 00:18:11.539 --> 00:18:16.160 because in many ways our society today is almost 00:18:16.160 --> 00:18:18.839 biblically illiterate. We talked a little bit 00:18:18.839 --> 00:18:21.700 about it in Sabbath school this morning. But 00:18:21.700 --> 00:18:26.279 you can think to your bookshelf at home. Whether 00:18:26.279 --> 00:18:30.240 it's in a dorm room or at your house, how many 00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:36.119 Bibles do you have access to? You probably have 00:18:36.119 --> 00:18:40.579 at least one. I'm a pastor, so I've got a lot, 00:18:40.779 --> 00:18:44.759 but probably all of us have several, and I bet 00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:48.019 that many of us have an app on our phone that 00:18:48.019 --> 00:18:50.799 you can open up and you can pull up any version 00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:54.390 of the Bible that has ever been created. And 00:18:54.390 --> 00:18:56.569 you can find that. We have incredible access 00:18:56.569 --> 00:19:02.730 to God's Word, and yet our society remains biblically 00:19:02.730 --> 00:19:06.089 illiterate. A Gallup poll from a couple years 00:19:06.089 --> 00:19:09.250 ago, it stated that Americans revere the Bible, 00:19:09.410 --> 00:19:14.470 but often we don't read the Bible. And their 00:19:14.470 --> 00:19:17.950 poll said that only half of American adults can 00:19:17.950 --> 00:19:22.559 name the four Gospels. Less than half, less than 00:19:22.559 --> 00:19:25.759 50 % can name Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. 00:19:26.359 --> 00:19:29.480 Most can't name more than two or three disciples. 00:19:30.019 --> 00:19:32.160 Well, if you could name the four Gospels, you've 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:35.259 got two of them down there already, Matthew and 00:19:35.259 --> 00:19:41.619 John. 60 % can't even name five of the Ten Commandments. 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:45.920 We won't do a quiz, so don't worry. But can we 00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:48.380 be surprised that people are breaking the Ten 00:19:48.380 --> 00:19:52.049 Commandments if they don't even... know what 00:19:52.049 --> 00:19:57.349 the Ten Commandments even say. 82 % think that 00:19:57.349 --> 00:20:00.549 this phrase is in the Bible. God helps those 00:20:00.549 --> 00:20:04.369 who help themselves. It's not. Spoiler. It's 00:20:04.369 --> 00:20:06.410 not in the Bible. Anybody know who said this? 00:20:07.509 --> 00:20:09.970 Most people think it was Ben Franklin that first 00:20:09.970 --> 00:20:13.250 said this. God helps those who help themselves. 00:20:13.309 --> 00:20:17.670 82 % assumed, thought that that was in the Bible. 00:20:18.140 --> 00:20:21.039 So Satan has been successful when the word of 00:20:21.039 --> 00:20:24.359 God has been sprinkled onto the wayside that 00:20:24.359 --> 00:20:27.859 those birds, Satan has been able to snatch that 00:20:27.859 --> 00:20:30.519 out of people's hearts before they are able to 00:20:30.519 --> 00:20:34.400 let that take root, let that germinate. But there's 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:38.720 another part of the land that this seed lands 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:43.599 on. Verse 20, but he who received the seeds on 00:20:43.599 --> 00:20:48.269 stony places, so rocky ground, Probably off, 00:20:48.269 --> 00:20:50.490 again, to the side of the field. Maybe when they 00:20:50.490 --> 00:20:52.930 were plowing, they hit some rocks and they threw 00:20:52.930 --> 00:20:57.849 the rocks over into one area. This is he who 00:20:57.849 --> 00:21:01.470 hears the word and immediately receives it with 00:21:01.470 --> 00:21:05.369 joy. Yay! They're receiving the word with joy. 00:21:06.329 --> 00:21:12.630 But, uh -oh, he who received the seed, but yet, 00:21:12.849 --> 00:21:15.910 excuse me, not but, but yet, yet he has no root 00:21:15.910 --> 00:21:20.869 in himself. but endures only for a while. For 00:21:20.869 --> 00:21:23.910 when tribulation or persecution arises because 00:21:23.910 --> 00:21:28.750 of the word, immediately he stumbles. And so 00:21:28.750 --> 00:21:32.069 it's rocky ground, the seed, it might be able 00:21:32.069 --> 00:21:34.690 to find a little bit of soil, it might be able 00:21:34.690 --> 00:21:38.730 to take a start, but as soon as any kind of challenge 00:21:38.730 --> 00:21:42.910 comes, that person's going to give up on the 00:21:42.910 --> 00:21:46.740 word. They've accepted this word today. Because, 00:21:46.779 --> 00:21:49.920 wow, it sounds really good. I like the way my 00:21:49.920 --> 00:21:52.279 friend described that verse. I like the way the 00:21:52.279 --> 00:21:54.700 preacher said that. I'm going to follow that. 00:21:54.759 --> 00:21:56.880 I'm going to accept it because it feels good 00:21:56.880 --> 00:22:02.640 today. But maybe tomorrow, it doesn't sound as 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:05.759 good today. Because maybe somebody's asked me 00:22:05.759 --> 00:22:07.759 to do something that, oh, the Bible doesn't want 00:22:07.759 --> 00:22:10.980 me to do. Or maybe they're making fun of something 00:22:10.980 --> 00:22:12.960 that I'm believing because it's in the Bible. 00:22:13.059 --> 00:22:17.259 It's a little more challenging. It's a selfish 00:22:17.259 --> 00:22:21.319 reaction based only on emotion. This feels good 00:22:21.319 --> 00:22:25.200 today, but tomorrow something else might be easier. 00:22:25.460 --> 00:22:28.240 Life, believe it or not, this is going to sound 00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:32.759 strange, life is not about happiness. Because 00:22:32.759 --> 00:22:36.819 happiness comes and goes. I want to show you 00:22:36.819 --> 00:22:38.980 a picture here. I apologize to our sweet spot 00:22:38.980 --> 00:22:43.420 family back here. But this is a picture taken 00:22:43.420 --> 00:22:45.970 in front of Brewster's ice cream. And if you 00:22:45.970 --> 00:22:50.089 may not be able to see it, but it says March 00:22:50.089 --> 00:22:54.650 20, 2010. So 15 years ago. March 20 happens to 00:22:54.650 --> 00:22:58.630 be my birthday. And it says wear your PJs, wear 00:22:58.630 --> 00:23:02.710 your pajamas, and get a free waffle cone. So 00:23:02.710 --> 00:23:05.569 we live down near Calhoun. So hey, a free ice 00:23:05.569 --> 00:23:08.569 cream cone. We got the kids in their pajamas 00:23:08.569 --> 00:23:11.430 and ourselves in pajamas, and we went and got 00:23:11.430 --> 00:23:14.779 a free ice cream cone. And you can see Peyton 00:23:14.779 --> 00:23:17.440 on the left and Brandon on the right. They weren't 00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:19.380 waiting for the picture. They were eating their 00:23:19.380 --> 00:23:21.940 ice cream cone. You see Jolie in the middle with 00:23:21.940 --> 00:23:25.240 two ice cream cones. She wanted me to point out 00:23:25.240 --> 00:23:27.400 that she's holding my ice cream cone as I'm taking 00:23:27.400 --> 00:23:29.380 the picture, that she wasn't going to eat both 00:23:29.380 --> 00:23:33.059 of those. And then you see Jordan here in pink 00:23:33.059 --> 00:23:37.119 footie pajamas, if you could see the bottom of 00:23:37.119 --> 00:23:40.119 her body. And my brother described it this way. 00:23:40.180 --> 00:23:43.160 He said, I've never seen a kid look so upset 00:23:43.160 --> 00:23:46.819 while holding an ice cream cone. Because she's 00:23:46.819 --> 00:23:49.720 got this snarl on her face and a frown on her 00:23:49.720 --> 00:23:52.339 face because she does not want to be there in 00:23:52.339 --> 00:23:56.180 footie pajamas out in public, even though she's 00:23:56.180 --> 00:23:59.259 got an ice cream cone. And that's how life is. 00:23:59.380 --> 00:24:01.900 If we got ice cream, we're going to be happy. 00:24:02.279 --> 00:24:05.079 Sweet spot. If you have to wear footie pajamas 00:24:05.079 --> 00:24:07.190 in public. maybe you're going to be a little 00:24:07.190 --> 00:24:11.210 more grumpy. And that's how we often respond 00:24:11.210 --> 00:24:14.930 to the different aspects of life. If things are 00:24:14.930 --> 00:24:17.849 going good, oh, the Word of God sounds good today, 00:24:17.930 --> 00:24:23.130 it makes me happy. But tomorrow, maybe it doesn't 00:24:23.130 --> 00:24:25.349 sound quite as good. It makes me a little grumpy, 00:24:25.430 --> 00:24:28.109 and I'm not going to follow it anymore. I'm not 00:24:28.109 --> 00:24:31.609 going to listen to it anymore. It says there's 00:24:31.609 --> 00:24:36.690 no root, and they endure only for a while. We 00:24:36.690 --> 00:24:39.390 need to make sure that we are rooted in the Word 00:24:39.390 --> 00:24:43.549 of God. Then verse 22, it goes on and says, Now 00:24:43.549 --> 00:24:49.230 he who received seed among the thorns is he who 00:24:49.230 --> 00:24:53.069 hears the Word. They hear it. The Word of God 00:24:53.069 --> 00:24:55.009 is there. You hear it just like you hear a train. 00:24:55.450 --> 00:24:59.369 And the cares of this world and the deceitfulness 00:24:59.369 --> 00:25:03.900 of riches choke the Word. And Mark adds another 00:25:03.900 --> 00:25:07.299 phrase in there. Mark says, the desire for other 00:25:07.299 --> 00:25:12.420 things. So the cares of this world, the deceitfulness 00:25:12.420 --> 00:25:15.680 of riches, the desires for other things, choke 00:25:15.680 --> 00:25:20.539 the Word and He becomes unfruitful. And so you 00:25:20.539 --> 00:25:23.940 hear this Word, but there's so many other things 00:25:23.940 --> 00:25:29.960 in life that seem important. And maybe they are 00:25:29.960 --> 00:25:33.329 important. Because we, There's things that we 00:25:33.329 --> 00:25:35.730 have to do every day. We've got to work. We've 00:25:35.730 --> 00:25:38.329 got to cook dinner. We've got to wash the clothes, 00:25:38.470 --> 00:25:41.809 whatever it is. Those are good things. Even things 00:25:41.809 --> 00:25:44.490 we do for the church. Those can be good things, 00:25:44.690 --> 00:25:49.190 but they can also be all time consuming. And 00:25:49.190 --> 00:25:53.890 so the word of God or God only becomes one tiny 00:25:53.890 --> 00:25:57.329 little aspect of our life among so many other 00:25:57.329 --> 00:26:00.250 things. Oh, well, here's my schoolwork drawer. 00:26:00.789 --> 00:26:03.819 I'm going to... close that for sabbath of course 00:26:03.819 --> 00:26:06.480 and then i'll open up my god drawer and talk 00:26:06.480 --> 00:26:08.859 about god today but you know as soon as we get 00:26:08.859 --> 00:26:11.880 home i'm gonna put that bible back away and well 00:26:11.880 --> 00:26:14.680 the lawn's got to be mowed and schoolwork's got 00:26:14.680 --> 00:26:17.339 to be done and i've got to prep for this presentation 00:26:17.339 --> 00:26:21.859 at work and our relationship with god is just 00:26:21.859 --> 00:26:27.319 one tiny aspect of our life when it should be 00:26:27.319 --> 00:26:31.210 the most important thing of our life. And everything 00:26:31.210 --> 00:26:35.730 else needs to be under that. But we need to seek 00:26:35.730 --> 00:26:39.069 first the kingdom of God and all these things 00:26:39.069 --> 00:26:44.849 can be added unto us. I'm going to put up a little 00:26:44.849 --> 00:26:48.470 video here. And this is a video of people in 00:26:48.470 --> 00:26:54.410 China who are receiving a Bible, their own Bible, 00:26:54.609 --> 00:26:58.609 for the very first time. How many Bibles? Do 00:26:58.609 --> 00:27:02.569 we have? So these folks are able to receive, 00:27:02.670 --> 00:27:05.089 I hope it's going to work, receive a Bible for 00:27:05.089 --> 00:27:09.730 the very first time. And just watch their response. 00:27:10.329 --> 00:27:15.289 How excited. It's a little blurry. They're opening 00:27:15.289 --> 00:27:17.789 up packages of Bibles that have been given to 00:27:17.789 --> 00:27:26.630 them. Have you ever been that excited to open 00:27:26.630 --> 00:27:30.779 up your Bible? Have you ever been that excited 00:27:30.779 --> 00:27:37.299 to recognize God's Word? And in just a moment, 00:27:37.339 --> 00:27:42.980 I think she said right there, this is what we 00:27:42.980 --> 00:27:47.460 have needed the most. This is what we have needed 00:27:47.460 --> 00:27:51.440 the most. You've got a Bible. You might have 00:27:51.440 --> 00:27:53.640 brought it with you. You've got one on your phone. 00:27:53.700 --> 00:27:56.579 You've got one at your home. Have you ever been 00:27:56.579 --> 00:28:01.740 that excited? To open up God's word. God's word 00:28:01.740 --> 00:28:05.039 needs to be the central focus of how we live 00:28:05.039 --> 00:28:08.539 our life, not just one thing among so many others, 00:28:08.579 --> 00:28:12.299 even if those other things are good. But then 00:28:12.299 --> 00:28:15.900 we look at verse 23. It says, but he who received 00:28:15.900 --> 00:28:20.359 seed on the good ground is he who hears the word, 00:28:20.579 --> 00:28:24.539 all right, they've all heard it, and understands 00:28:24.539 --> 00:28:29.160 it. who indeed bears fruit and produces. He who 00:28:29.160 --> 00:28:32.559 receives seed on the good ground is he who hears 00:28:32.559 --> 00:28:38.019 the word and understands it. This is good ground, 00:28:38.119 --> 00:28:41.640 ready to receive the seed. But if you've ever 00:28:41.640 --> 00:28:44.220 done any planting in your life, you know that 00:28:44.220 --> 00:28:48.859 ground like this is not natural. You can't just 00:28:48.859 --> 00:28:52.000 go out somewhere and find ground like that. You've 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:55.099 got to work at it. You've got to prepare that 00:28:55.099 --> 00:28:57.470 soil. Maybe you've got to turn the soil. Maybe 00:28:57.470 --> 00:29:00.930 you've got to add some fertilizer or some amendments 00:29:00.930 --> 00:29:03.769 of some kind. You've got to clear away the rocks 00:29:03.769 --> 00:29:07.089 and the thorns. You've got to break up the ground. 00:29:07.230 --> 00:29:10.609 This is the ground that is ready to accept. It 00:29:10.609 --> 00:29:15.369 hears and it understands. Now what this parable 00:29:15.369 --> 00:29:19.309 tells me, one thing that it tells me, is that 00:29:19.309 --> 00:29:24.650 all of the ground can be, it can be good ground. 00:29:26.380 --> 00:29:29.140 But maybe we've got to clear those thorns out 00:29:29.140 --> 00:29:31.940 of our life. Maybe we've got to take those rocks, 00:29:32.140 --> 00:29:35.559 those things that are keeping us from getting 00:29:35.559 --> 00:29:37.720 that root of the word in our life. We've got 00:29:37.720 --> 00:29:40.319 to clear that out of the way. Maybe we've got 00:29:40.319 --> 00:29:44.059 that hard pathway. We've got to break that up 00:29:44.059 --> 00:29:48.019 and make that ready to receive God's word. We've 00:29:48.019 --> 00:29:51.539 got to fertilize. We've got to plow. Christ accepts 00:29:51.539 --> 00:29:55.660 each one of us just as we are. He forgives us. 00:29:55.930 --> 00:29:58.710 when we ask, but we need to be ready to recognize 00:29:58.710 --> 00:30:01.910 that we are in a spiritual battle, and we've 00:30:01.910 --> 00:30:05.549 got to take the time to know God. We've got to 00:30:05.549 --> 00:30:10.690 take the time to taste and experience the sweetness 00:30:10.690 --> 00:30:13.430 of his word. In the book of Psalms, it says, 00:30:13.470 --> 00:30:17.730 taste and see that the Lord is good. Are we taking 00:30:17.730 --> 00:30:22.869 the time to even taste what God has in store 00:30:22.869 --> 00:30:27.390 for us? Does anybody have a bulletin? Take out 00:30:27.390 --> 00:30:29.470 your bulletin real quick and just look at the 00:30:29.470 --> 00:30:32.890 back. There's a mission statement and then there's 00:30:32.890 --> 00:30:36.190 a vision statement. It says the Ringgold Seventh 00:30:36.190 --> 00:30:40.509 -day Adventist Church, that's us, will be a, 00:30:40.529 --> 00:30:45.269 what's the first word there? Biblical, spirit 00:30:45.269 --> 00:30:48.250 -led, faith -filled, family -focused, and growing 00:30:48.250 --> 00:30:52.049 fellowship. We desire, we want to be a biblical 00:30:52.049 --> 00:30:56.000 fellowship. our life to be based on the Word 00:30:56.000 --> 00:31:00.180 of God. Are we ready to taste and see what God 00:31:00.180 --> 00:31:04.019 has in store for us? How can you do that? Here's 00:31:04.019 --> 00:31:07.380 a couple ways just to do that. Maybe you're already 00:31:07.380 --> 00:31:10.500 deeply in Bible study. Praise the Lord. Continue 00:31:10.500 --> 00:31:13.839 that. Keep doing that. Maybe that is something 00:31:13.839 --> 00:31:17.700 that's kind of drifted apart. You've gotten too 00:31:17.700 --> 00:31:19.700 busy. You've got caught up in those stones or 00:31:19.700 --> 00:31:22.740 the thorns or whatever it is. So here's some... 00:31:22.960 --> 00:31:26.519 some ideas to maybe jumpstart that a little bit. 00:31:26.559 --> 00:31:33.299 I would say the first thing is just start. Whether 00:31:33.299 --> 00:31:37.119 it's this afternoon or tomorrow, just say, God, 00:31:37.140 --> 00:31:40.900 I want to start getting into your word, digging 00:31:40.900 --> 00:31:44.819 into your word, hearing and receiving. Just make 00:31:44.819 --> 00:31:47.420 that first step. I've got to start. And sometimes 00:31:47.420 --> 00:31:50.119 to make that first step and to make it last, 00:31:50.730 --> 00:31:52.470 You've got to not just start, but you've got 00:31:52.470 --> 00:31:56.170 to schedule when you're going to do that. You 00:31:56.170 --> 00:31:57.529 can't just say, I'm going to do it tomorrow. 00:31:57.849 --> 00:32:00.569 That's never going to happen. When are you going 00:32:00.569 --> 00:32:04.109 to do it tomorrow? Put it on your calendar. Set 00:32:04.109 --> 00:32:07.970 a little alarm on your phone. Whether it's when 00:32:07.970 --> 00:32:11.049 you first wake up. Okay, great. Maybe you're 00:32:11.049 --> 00:32:14.009 going to have to wake up 15 minutes earlier. 00:32:14.750 --> 00:32:17.630 And maybe to get up 15 minutes earlier, you're 00:32:17.630 --> 00:32:20.150 going to have to go to bed 15 minutes earlier. 00:32:20.670 --> 00:32:21.970 Maybe that means you're going to have to not 00:32:21.970 --> 00:32:24.190 be on your phone or turn the TV off or whatever 00:32:24.190 --> 00:32:26.849 that thing is that keeps you up late. I'm talking 00:32:26.849 --> 00:32:29.630 to myself. I stay up way too late. You've got 00:32:29.630 --> 00:32:31.890 to schedule it. Maybe you want to do it at your 00:32:31.890 --> 00:32:34.430 lunch break or in the evening. Set that little 00:32:34.430 --> 00:32:36.930 alarm on your phone that's going to go off every 00:32:36.930 --> 00:32:39.269 day to remind you, okay, beep, beep, beep, beep, 00:32:39.309 --> 00:32:42.529 beep, beep. That's my time to study God's Word. 00:32:42.930 --> 00:32:48.130 So start, schedule it, and keep it simple. Keep 00:32:48.130 --> 00:32:51.470 it simple. You don't have to, you know, get into 00:32:51.470 --> 00:32:54.490 the Greek and Hebrew unless you want to, but 00:32:54.490 --> 00:32:57.730 keep it simple. Just start. Say, I'm going to 00:32:57.730 --> 00:33:00.089 study through a book of the Bible. I'm going 00:33:00.089 --> 00:33:02.930 to read one of the Gospels. I'm going to read 00:33:02.930 --> 00:33:05.930 the book of Philippians, four chapters, all about 00:33:05.930 --> 00:33:09.609 joy. But don't just read it once. Read it today. 00:33:10.569 --> 00:33:13.029 And read it tomorrow. And read that same book 00:33:13.029 --> 00:33:16.369 for a week until it begins to become settled 00:33:16.369 --> 00:33:19.710 in your mind and it begins to take root. Keep 00:33:19.710 --> 00:33:22.910 it simple. Many of you, I already mentioned, 00:33:22.970 --> 00:33:27.109 have an app on your phone. I have one. I use 00:33:27.109 --> 00:33:30.289 the one called YouVersion. It just shows a picture 00:33:30.289 --> 00:33:33.950 of a Bible. And most apps, including the YouVersion, 00:33:33.950 --> 00:33:36.789 it's got a button called Plans. And I just happened 00:33:36.789 --> 00:33:40.190 to open up and here's a 12 -day... Study through 00:33:40.190 --> 00:33:42.630 the book of James. There's a seven -day study 00:33:42.630 --> 00:33:45.609 on encouragement. There's a seven -day study 00:33:45.609 --> 00:33:48.769 on men of the heart. Whatever topic, whatever 00:33:48.769 --> 00:33:51.869 book you may have, there's a plan. It's just 00:33:51.869 --> 00:33:54.250 going to give you some verses to read. Start, 00:33:54.569 --> 00:33:59.369 schedule, and keep it simple. Just begin. In 00:33:59.369 --> 00:34:01.549 Matthew 5, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus 00:34:01.549 --> 00:34:05.869 said, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst 00:34:05.869 --> 00:34:09.619 after righteousness. Let that be a prayer that 00:34:09.619 --> 00:34:14.079 you pray. God, help me to be hungry. Help me 00:34:14.079 --> 00:34:17.340 to be thirsty for your word. Help me to taste 00:34:17.340 --> 00:34:20.840 that sweetness of your word. You don't have to 00:34:20.840 --> 00:34:24.940 pray to get hungry. You know, it's almost noon. 00:34:24.960 --> 00:34:27.000 You're probably getting hungry right now. It 00:34:27.000 --> 00:34:30.260 just happens naturally. But that's a prayer that 00:34:30.260 --> 00:34:33.800 you can pray. Lord, help me to be hungry for 00:34:33.800 --> 00:34:36.670 your word. I want to go back to that verse again, 00:34:36.769 --> 00:34:40.150 13 verse 23, because it says, he who receives 00:34:40.150 --> 00:34:43.809 seed on the good ground is he who hears the word 00:34:43.809 --> 00:34:47.590 and understand it. What's the result? Who indeed 00:34:47.590 --> 00:34:52.869 bears fruit and produces, some a hundredfold, 00:34:53.090 --> 00:34:56.909 some 60, and some 30. Now, I'm not a farmer, 00:34:56.929 --> 00:34:59.289 but things that I've read have indicated that 00:34:59.289 --> 00:35:03.239 those are extraordinary yields. even in today's 00:35:03.239 --> 00:35:06.599 society with fertilizer and tractors and everything 00:35:06.599 --> 00:35:10.800 else. And so this is a prayer that when we begin 00:35:10.800 --> 00:35:13.460 to read God's Word, God's Word is going to do 00:35:13.460 --> 00:35:16.940 something in us. It's going to change us. It's 00:35:16.940 --> 00:35:20.199 going to make it a little bit different. So if 00:35:20.199 --> 00:35:24.699 you're throwing out seeds, maybe for a tomato 00:35:24.699 --> 00:35:27.519 plant in your garden, what do you hope is going 00:35:27.519 --> 00:35:32.059 to happen? Not just hoping that there's going 00:35:32.059 --> 00:35:34.800 to be one green plant that comes up. Oh, that's 00:35:34.800 --> 00:35:38.619 nice, a green plant. But your ideal is that that 00:35:38.619 --> 00:35:41.019 green plant is going to get some little flowers 00:35:41.019 --> 00:35:42.960 and those flowers are going to soon have little 00:35:42.960 --> 00:35:45.659 green bulbs on the end and those green bulbs 00:35:45.659 --> 00:35:48.920 are going to turn red and be delicious tomatoes. 00:35:49.599 --> 00:35:52.739 That's the point of planting the seed is to bear 00:35:52.739 --> 00:35:56.780 fruit. If you plant an apple seed, you're not 00:35:56.780 --> 00:36:00.340 just wanting a tree, you're wanting a harvest. 00:36:00.889 --> 00:36:04.429 of apples. And as God's word is planted in our 00:36:04.429 --> 00:36:09.170 heart, we are able to bear fruit. We're able 00:36:09.170 --> 00:36:14.889 to perhaps bear fruit that will plant seeds into 00:36:14.889 --> 00:36:19.610 someone else's life, someone else's heart. There's 00:36:19.610 --> 00:36:21.469 a gentleman I know, his name is Dan. He lives 00:36:21.469 --> 00:36:23.789 in another part of the country. And everywhere 00:36:23.789 --> 00:36:27.230 he goes, he takes something like this. He takes 00:36:27.230 --> 00:36:30.869 these little glow tracks. Anybody familiar with 00:36:30.869 --> 00:36:34.829 a little glow track? On the little bulletin board 00:36:34.829 --> 00:36:37.230 between here and the potluck, there's a couple 00:36:37.230 --> 00:36:39.269 stacks of them that I just put out there. And 00:36:39.269 --> 00:36:41.590 he takes a little thing like this, and almost 00:36:41.590 --> 00:36:44.789 every person he meets, he'll give them two. And 00:36:44.789 --> 00:36:46.449 he says, here's just a little something to brighten 00:36:46.449 --> 00:36:49.329 your day. And that will begin conversations. 00:36:49.969 --> 00:36:52.670 Oh, where do you go to church? What church do 00:36:52.670 --> 00:36:56.989 you belong to? And he's able to just, non -confrontationally, 00:36:57.010 --> 00:36:59.570 sometimes they take them. Sometimes they don't. 00:36:59.670 --> 00:37:02.409 Sometimes they ask a question. But he's like, 00:37:02.489 --> 00:37:05.090 here's just a little something to brighten your 00:37:05.090 --> 00:37:08.789 day. That's my challenge. Take a couple as you're 00:37:08.789 --> 00:37:13.250 going to potluck and see if through your experience 00:37:13.250 --> 00:37:17.170 this week, you can bear fruit. What else can 00:37:17.170 --> 00:37:20.829 you do to bear fruit? Well, this week we've got 00:37:20.829 --> 00:37:24.219 a vacation Bible school. Do you know anybody 00:37:24.219 --> 00:37:27.420 that has kids? Maybe your grandkids, maybe your 00:37:27.420 --> 00:37:29.139 neighbors, maybe the kids in the neighborhood. 00:37:29.360 --> 00:37:32.159 Take a couple of these little things and invite 00:37:32.159 --> 00:37:35.559 them to come starting Wednesday night. And yes, 00:37:35.599 --> 00:37:38.139 there's free ice cream from the sweet spot each 00:37:38.139 --> 00:37:43.219 night. Just invite someone to come and learn 00:37:43.219 --> 00:37:48.280 more about God, to experience God's Word into 00:37:48.280 --> 00:37:51.360 their own life, into their own experience. And 00:37:51.360 --> 00:37:55.420 we can complete... this circle and so we could 00:37:55.420 --> 00:37:59.219 ask ourselves where where in this story where 00:37:59.219 --> 00:38:04.340 in this parable do you see yourself because we're 00:38:04.340 --> 00:38:08.320 all in there somewhere maybe uh we're in that 00:38:08.320 --> 00:38:12.139 group that uh is rejecting it all that that doesn't 00:38:12.139 --> 00:38:15.599 care it's just allowing that that word to be 00:38:15.599 --> 00:38:17.559 snatched out of our heart we don't know and we 00:38:17.559 --> 00:38:20.780 don't care maybe we find see ourselves and we're 00:38:20.780 --> 00:38:23.219 in that that selfish group. We just want to go 00:38:23.219 --> 00:38:26.059 the easiest route. And it sounds good today, 00:38:26.119 --> 00:38:28.440 but maybe tomorrow something else is going to 00:38:28.440 --> 00:38:32.179 sound better. Or maybe we find ourselves just, 00:38:32.219 --> 00:38:35.139 we're just too busy. There's too many other things 00:38:35.139 --> 00:38:38.000 that we have going on. If you're in one of those 00:38:38.000 --> 00:38:42.079 groups, I invite you just to taste and see, to 00:38:42.079 --> 00:38:46.219 experience the sweetness of God's Word. But maybe 00:38:46.219 --> 00:38:49.840 you're in that group that is the good soil, and 00:38:49.840 --> 00:38:54.000 the seed is enveloping into your life and taking 00:38:54.000 --> 00:38:57.340 root. If that's your case, then I just invite 00:38:57.340 --> 00:39:01.260 you to say, all right, God, help me to bear fruit. 00:39:01.480 --> 00:39:05.340 Help me to find someone this week that I can 00:39:05.340 --> 00:39:07.780 invite to know you better. Whether it's invite 00:39:07.780 --> 00:39:11.159 to a program at the church or just invite to 00:39:11.159 --> 00:39:15.400 see the love of God in their life. I hope that 00:39:15.400 --> 00:39:20.380 each one of us will allow the seed of God's word, 00:39:20.860 --> 00:39:23.880 to take root into your life each and every day. 00:39:24.000 --> 00:39:28.519 Let's bow our heads for prayer. Dear God, what 00:39:28.519 --> 00:39:33.159 an incredible story that you sow the word of 00:39:33.159 --> 00:39:36.480 God, the word which is living and active, the 00:39:36.480 --> 00:39:39.460 word which makes us wise for salvation, that 00:39:39.460 --> 00:39:42.380 makes us thoroughly equipped for every good work. 00:39:42.599 --> 00:39:46.800 And God, we appreciate that you care about us, 00:39:46.860 --> 00:39:49.480 and no matter where we may be, which soil we 00:39:49.480 --> 00:39:53.400 may be, you continue to cast your word into our 00:39:53.400 --> 00:39:55.900 heart and into our life. And Lord, it's my prayer 00:39:55.900 --> 00:39:58.500 that wherever we are, we'll take one more step 00:39:58.500 --> 00:40:01.699 to be closer to you, to be more like you, to 00:40:01.699 --> 00:40:04.579 bear fruit that others may know you. In your 00:40:04.579 --> 00:40:06.019 name we pray. Amen.