WEBVTT

00:00:07.749 --> 00:00:10.169
Thank you for listening to this message from

00:00:10.169 --> 00:00:21.829
Lifehouse Church. Morning. Good morning, good

00:00:21.829 --> 00:00:26.429
morning. Man, this was a good morning. Listen,

00:00:26.629 --> 00:00:29.390
that was some awesome praise and worship. You

00:00:29.390 --> 00:00:31.769
could feel God's presence. So if the message

00:00:31.769 --> 00:00:34.310
stinks, you already have a good reason to be

00:00:34.310 --> 00:00:35.869
in the house of the Lord, right? You can go home

00:00:35.869 --> 00:00:38.200
and say it was a good day. Come on, can we give

00:00:38.200 --> 00:00:45.340
God glory? I never... We should never, ever take

00:00:45.340 --> 00:00:48.520
the presence of God for granted. When you feel

00:00:48.520 --> 00:00:51.420
God's presence, step in, because He's there.

00:00:51.820 --> 00:00:54.119
I know He's always with us. The Word of God tells

00:00:54.119 --> 00:00:56.299
us this. We're the temple of the Holy Spirit.

00:00:56.399 --> 00:00:58.820
We're the temple of God. But at the same time,

00:00:58.859 --> 00:01:01.240
when you feel God in a corporate setting... Just

00:01:01.240 --> 00:01:03.640
step in and praise and worship because God moves.

00:01:03.960 --> 00:01:06.140
He really does. Well, it's good to be with you

00:01:06.140 --> 00:01:08.079
this morning. My better half is not here with

00:01:08.079 --> 00:01:11.180
me today. She and her sisters are actually ministering

00:01:11.180 --> 00:01:13.099
at her brother's church. They're there singing.

00:01:13.260 --> 00:01:16.099
They all get together once about every five years,

00:01:16.219 --> 00:01:19.180
it seems like, and do praise and worship together,

00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:21.439
and they're there in Man's Choice, the metropolis

00:01:21.439 --> 00:01:22.900
of Man's Choice. How many of you have ever been

00:01:22.900 --> 00:01:25.239
to Man's Choice? Raise your hand. There's about

00:01:25.239 --> 00:01:29.140
300 people in Man's Choice, so it's huge. Her

00:01:29.140 --> 00:01:31.219
brother has a great church there, a thriving

00:01:31.219 --> 00:01:33.140
church, and they're there ministering this morning.

00:01:33.319 --> 00:01:35.519
But this morning, if you've got your Bibles,

00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:38.200
you can go to the book of John. We're going to

00:01:38.200 --> 00:01:40.560
continue on in the gospel of John chapter 12.

00:01:40.680 --> 00:01:43.680
I hope you've enjoyed working through the book

00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:46.439
of John. There's so much great truth. There's

00:01:46.439 --> 00:01:49.640
so much great word in John, and we're just going

00:01:49.640 --> 00:01:51.560
to continue on. And where we're picking up today,

00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:55.280
we're going to follow up. really kind of a time

00:01:55.280 --> 00:01:59.099
when Jesus was going into Jerusalem. Now, I preached

00:01:59.099 --> 00:02:01.659
about this on Palm Sunday, about Jesus going

00:02:01.659 --> 00:02:04.739
into Jerusalem, and they were laying palm branches

00:02:04.739 --> 00:02:08.539
and crying out, Hosanna, Hosanna, right? Glory

00:02:08.539 --> 00:02:10.939
to God, right? King of Israel. They were just

00:02:10.939 --> 00:02:13.639
saying, Hosanna. And it's super interesting because

00:02:13.639 --> 00:02:17.080
my... One of my grandchildren, Mia, she's two

00:02:17.080 --> 00:02:20.020
and a half years old. She's in Atlanta. Her mom

00:02:20.020 --> 00:02:22.900
was teaching them about Easter this year. And

00:02:22.900 --> 00:02:26.939
she did this little box of things that she put,

00:02:27.099 --> 00:02:29.139
just different things that represent Easter.

00:02:29.300 --> 00:02:31.580
She had a rock in there for the, you know, the

00:02:31.580 --> 00:02:33.419
tomb, the rock that got removed from the tomb.

00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:35.460
And she had some different things in there that

00:02:35.460 --> 00:02:37.680
went along with the Easter story. And one of

00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:39.379
the things that she put in there was like this

00:02:39.379 --> 00:02:42.259
little leaf, right? Little plastic kind of palm

00:02:42.259 --> 00:02:45.580
leaf thing. And she would have the girls, they're

00:02:45.580 --> 00:02:47.780
two and a half and four, and she'd have them

00:02:47.780 --> 00:02:49.639
get them out and she would tell the Easter story

00:02:49.639 --> 00:02:51.520
and they'd repeat it back. And they'd get that

00:02:51.520 --> 00:02:53.699
little thing out and they'd go, Hosanna, Hosanna,

00:02:53.699 --> 00:02:57.659
right? And, you know, really what Jenna was trying

00:02:57.659 --> 00:03:00.020
to do is just to get it. the story of Easter,

00:03:00.099 --> 00:03:04.139
to stick in their heart and mind. And she said

00:03:04.139 --> 00:03:06.479
they went to a restaurant, got at the restaurant,

00:03:06.580 --> 00:03:09.860
and apparently Mia has a salad close by or something

00:03:09.860 --> 00:03:12.219
on her plate, a garnishment. And she picked up

00:03:12.219 --> 00:03:13.939
a leaf, and Jenna thought she was going to say,

00:03:14.020 --> 00:03:16.340
ooh, yuck, I don't want to eat this. And she's

00:03:16.340 --> 00:03:20.650
going, Hosanna! Hosanna! Yeah, in the restaurant.

00:03:20.689 --> 00:03:23.469
She said it was awesome. It was great. But really,

00:03:23.590 --> 00:03:25.009
that's what we're picking up in Scripture today,

00:03:25.150 --> 00:03:28.229
is where right after the time when Jesus comes

00:03:28.229 --> 00:03:30.750
into Jerusalem, they're crying out, Hosanna.

00:03:30.770 --> 00:03:33.349
This is before he goes to the cross. And they're

00:03:33.349 --> 00:03:35.590
crying out, Hosanna, because they know this.

00:03:35.729 --> 00:03:38.729
They know this guy that's named Jesus has been

00:03:38.729 --> 00:03:40.469
traveling from place to place, and he has the

00:03:40.469 --> 00:03:43.360
power to heal. They know he has the power to

00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:46.240
speak over nature and nature listens. They know

00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:49.219
that he has power over the demons with just a

00:03:49.219 --> 00:03:51.599
word. They even know that he has power over death

00:03:51.599 --> 00:03:54.599
because he calls Lazarus back to life after four

00:03:54.599 --> 00:03:57.879
days dead. And the crowd was yelling out. And

00:03:57.879 --> 00:04:00.180
really what took place is he came into Jerusalem.

00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:03.840
Following this, Jesus almost hit celebrity status.

00:04:04.810 --> 00:04:07.469
He was in a place where everybody in that region

00:04:07.469 --> 00:04:09.629
heard about him, knew about him, and he was almost

00:04:09.629 --> 00:04:12.629
at celebrity status, and everybody wanted to

00:04:12.629 --> 00:04:14.810
talk with him. Everybody wanted to meet with

00:04:14.810 --> 00:04:16.850
him. Everyone was curious about this powerful

00:04:16.850 --> 00:04:19.350
man. Everybody wanted something different from

00:04:19.350 --> 00:04:21.410
him. Some believed that he was Messiah. Some

00:04:21.410 --> 00:04:23.589
wanted just a healing. Some just maybe wanted

00:04:23.589 --> 00:04:25.670
his autograph. I don't know. Probably if the

00:04:25.670 --> 00:04:27.709
Today Show would have been around, they'd have

00:04:27.709 --> 00:04:29.810
been calling him up for an interview. But among

00:04:29.810 --> 00:04:32.449
these curious people, were people called the

00:04:32.449 --> 00:04:34.689
Greeks, right? They were a Greek group of people

00:04:34.689 --> 00:04:37.149
that were there in Jerusalem, and they wanted

00:04:37.149 --> 00:04:38.509
to meet with Jesus. That's what we're going to

00:04:38.509 --> 00:04:41.769
pick up today. John chapter 12, verse 20, it

00:04:41.769 --> 00:04:43.910
says this. Now, there were certain Greeks among

00:04:43.910 --> 00:04:46.990
those who came up to worship at the feast. Then

00:04:46.990 --> 00:04:49.769
they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of

00:04:49.769 --> 00:04:52.470
Galilee, and asked him, saying, Sir, we wish

00:04:52.470 --> 00:04:56.220
to see Jesus. Philip came and told Andrew, and

00:04:56.220 --> 00:04:59.319
in turn, Andrew and Philip told Jesus. So picture

00:04:59.319 --> 00:05:01.300
this in your mind. It's this group of Greek people.

00:05:01.379 --> 00:05:03.860
They come to the disciples. They start asking,

00:05:04.019 --> 00:05:06.439
and these two disciples are going back and forth,

00:05:06.500 --> 00:05:08.240
and they decide to go to Jesus and let Jesus

00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:10.100
know, hey, there's this group of people who want

00:05:10.100 --> 00:05:11.839
to talk to you, interview you, meet with you

00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:15.319
for some reason, right? Verse 23 says, And Jesus

00:05:15.319 --> 00:05:17.199
answered them, saying, The hour has come that

00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:20.180
the Son of Man should be glorified. Jesus doesn't

00:05:20.180 --> 00:05:24.160
even respond to the request. He isn't even worried

00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:26.800
about the interview. He's got something completely

00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:29.779
different in mind. He says, the Son of Man is

00:05:29.779 --> 00:05:32.360
to be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you,

00:05:32.459 --> 00:05:34.899
unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground

00:05:34.899 --> 00:05:37.600
and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it

00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:40.220
produces much grain. He who loves his life will

00:05:40.220 --> 00:05:42.879
lose it, and he who hates his life, in this word,

00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:45.439
will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves

00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:48.180
me, let him follow me, and where I am, there

00:05:48.180 --> 00:05:51.079
my servants will be also. If anyone serves me,

00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:54.750
him my Father will honor. These group of people

00:05:54.750 --> 00:05:56.610
want to interview Jesus, and Jesus is like, nope,

00:05:56.689 --> 00:05:58.769
today I'm going to teach my disciples something.

00:05:58.850 --> 00:06:00.730
I'm getting ready to leave. I'm getting ready

00:06:00.730 --> 00:06:03.829
to be out of here after the resurrection takes

00:06:03.829 --> 00:06:06.170
place, the crucifixion, the resurrection. And

00:06:06.170 --> 00:06:08.470
my disciples need to know something, and my people

00:06:08.470 --> 00:06:11.129
need to know something. He's not concerned with

00:06:11.129 --> 00:06:13.990
an interview. He's on mission. He's on point

00:06:13.990 --> 00:06:16.750
for the bigger plan of God. And instead of penciling

00:06:16.750 --> 00:06:19.709
in an appointment, he teaches the disciples a

00:06:19.709 --> 00:06:23.860
key kingdom of God principle. A key kingdom of

00:06:23.860 --> 00:06:27.879
God truth, and it's this. We need to know what

00:06:27.879 --> 00:06:31.680
it takes to produce fruit in the kingdom of God.

00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:34.220
If you don't like the word fruit, you can say

00:06:34.220 --> 00:06:36.959
profit, eternal profit, right? Eternal increase

00:06:36.959 --> 00:06:39.879
of some kind. Kingdom dividends, whatever you

00:06:39.879 --> 00:06:41.819
want to give it, whatever you want to call it.

00:06:41.860 --> 00:06:44.800
He was teaching them what it takes to have increase

00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:48.199
in the kingdom of God, and it might not be what

00:06:48.199 --> 00:06:52.029
you think. Because Jesus lets the disciples know,

00:06:52.129 --> 00:06:55.069
lets us know that you have to, if you're going

00:06:55.069 --> 00:06:58.649
to get kingdom increase, you've got to put something

00:06:58.649 --> 00:07:03.470
in the ground. Spiritual production begins with

00:07:03.470 --> 00:07:06.850
putting something in the ground. Now, I need

00:07:06.850 --> 00:07:10.509
to clarify right here. Notice I said put something

00:07:10.509 --> 00:07:13.850
in the ground and not someone in the ground.

00:07:14.649 --> 00:07:17.069
I don't want any, how many know the Bible still

00:07:17.069 --> 00:07:19.819
says thou shalt not kill? Right? Physically or

00:07:19.819 --> 00:07:22.259
in your mind, either one. Right? And some of

00:07:22.259 --> 00:07:24.800
you might be like, a name raised to your head

00:07:24.800 --> 00:07:26.959
when I said that. Like, yep, yeah, come on. That

00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:28.639
would be profitable. I'll put them in. That's

00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:30.160
not what we're talking about here. We're going

00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:33.139
to put something in the ground to produce anything

00:07:33.139 --> 00:07:36.259
of eternal value in our lives. Many times it

00:07:36.259 --> 00:07:39.000
involves putting something in our life in the

00:07:39.000 --> 00:07:41.959
ground, burying that thing, covering that thing

00:07:41.959 --> 00:07:44.519
up. Because Jesus said it in 1224. He said, most

00:07:44.519 --> 00:07:47.399
assuredly, I say unto you, unless a grain of

00:07:47.399 --> 00:07:50.920
wheat. right, a seed falls into the ground and

00:07:50.920 --> 00:07:54.939
dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it produces

00:07:54.939 --> 00:07:58.860
much grain. Last week, 14 individuals stood across

00:07:58.860 --> 00:08:01.420
this stage and they professed their faith and

00:08:01.420 --> 00:08:03.259
their commitment to Jesus Christ. It was an amazing

00:08:03.259 --> 00:08:05.980
week. Each one of them told a portion of their

00:08:05.980 --> 00:08:08.459
story and each one of them really talked about

00:08:08.459 --> 00:08:11.000
something that got buried in the ground, that

00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:14.000
they put in the ground and out of that came life

00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:17.500
through Jesus Christ. Jesus said, unless the

00:08:17.500 --> 00:08:20.959
grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies,

00:08:21.319 --> 00:08:25.569
it remains alone. It's this idea of burying something

00:08:25.569 --> 00:08:29.209
that is not of God so that something of God can

00:08:29.209 --> 00:08:32.179
come to life. And let me give you a little example,

00:08:32.279 --> 00:08:34.759
a little experiment you can go home and do if

00:08:34.759 --> 00:08:37.120
you think you don't fully understand this. I

00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:39.539
want you to go home today, and if you want to

00:08:39.539 --> 00:08:41.259
get the full effect of this, I want you to take

00:08:41.259 --> 00:08:43.759
a seed of some kind. Find a grain of wheat, find

00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:46.519
a kernel of corn, find some kind of seed. I want

00:08:46.519 --> 00:08:48.740
you to place it on your living room table or

00:08:48.740 --> 00:08:51.500
your kitchen table, place it on a plate, and

00:08:51.500 --> 00:08:53.779
then I want you to wait and see if any production

00:08:53.779 --> 00:08:58.320
happens with that grain. 365 days, leave it sit

00:08:58.320 --> 00:09:01.700
there, and I want you to see if any kind of fruit

00:09:01.700 --> 00:09:03.740
gets produced out of that thing, if there's any

00:09:03.740 --> 00:09:05.980
kind of production. How many of you get back

00:09:05.980 --> 00:09:08.399
there in 365 days? What's it going to look like?

00:09:09.250 --> 00:09:10.809
Yeah, it's going to look like a seed sitting

00:09:10.809 --> 00:09:13.009
on the plate, right? It's going to be, whether

00:09:13.009 --> 00:09:15.250
you put it in a cup or a plate, it's just going

00:09:15.250 --> 00:09:18.370
to be there. But until it's already dead, it's

00:09:18.370 --> 00:09:20.549
already dry, but until you put that thing in

00:09:20.549 --> 00:09:23.210
the ground, it's not going to produce anything.

00:09:23.470 --> 00:09:25.509
It's got to be put in the ground. It's got to

00:09:25.509 --> 00:09:28.750
be buried. If you take out same seed, you throw

00:09:28.750 --> 00:09:31.389
it in a hole in the ground, you cover it back

00:09:31.389 --> 00:09:35.110
up, right? You bury that thing. Less than 365

00:09:35.110 --> 00:09:37.649
days from then, you're going to see fruit that's

00:09:37.649 --> 00:09:40.250
produced. A kernel of corn will go into the ground,

00:09:40.350 --> 00:09:43.090
and a corn stalk will shoot up. And it'll have

00:09:43.090 --> 00:09:45.450
ears of corn on it. And you won't have one kernel

00:09:45.450 --> 00:09:49.210
of corn. You'll have dozens and dozens and dozens

00:09:49.210 --> 00:09:53.009
of kernels of corn. If you're going to have fruit

00:09:53.009 --> 00:09:55.549
in the kingdom of God, eternally, spiritually

00:09:55.549 --> 00:09:57.690
in some way, you've got to put that thing in

00:09:57.690 --> 00:09:58.909
the ground. There are going to be things you're

00:09:58.909 --> 00:10:01.149
going to have to bury, and you're going to have

00:10:01.149 --> 00:10:03.149
to give it to Jesus and put it in the ground.

00:10:02.990 --> 00:10:05.350
the ground. We want spiritual fruit in our lives,

00:10:05.429 --> 00:10:06.970
but sometimes we don't want to put the thing

00:10:06.970 --> 00:10:10.929
in the ground. Amen? That's true. If you want

00:10:10.929 --> 00:10:13.110
humility in your life, guess what you got to

00:10:13.110 --> 00:10:16.750
bury in the ground? Pride, right? You got to

00:10:16.750 --> 00:10:18.409
put it in the ground. You got to kill that thing

00:10:18.409 --> 00:10:22.169
off, cover it over. And because, how many know

00:10:22.169 --> 00:10:24.809
the Word of God says, God gives grace to the

00:10:24.809 --> 00:10:27.950
humble, but he resists the proud. You don't want

00:10:27.950 --> 00:10:30.110
to be prideful. You don't want God resisting

00:10:30.110 --> 00:10:33.159
you. You really don't. We confess. We repent.

00:10:33.299 --> 00:10:36.580
We put that dead thing in the ground. And it

00:10:36.580 --> 00:10:38.659
could be a sin thing that we put in the ground.

00:10:38.759 --> 00:10:41.419
It could be shame we put in the ground. It could

00:10:41.419 --> 00:10:43.940
be my anxiety and the depression that I'm walking

00:10:43.940 --> 00:10:46.059
through. I want to start putting that thing in

00:10:46.059 --> 00:10:48.100
the ground. Start covering that thing up and

00:10:48.100 --> 00:10:50.500
see what Jesus can birth out of that thing. You

00:10:50.500 --> 00:10:53.360
bury the dead thing in Jesus, and you're going

00:10:53.360 --> 00:10:57.200
to start to see production in your life. It was

00:10:57.200 --> 00:11:00.000
so awesome last week when everybody was up here

00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:03.320
giving their testimonies. We heard from so many

00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:05.700
people from different sides telling us and letting

00:11:05.700 --> 00:11:08.679
us know the power of those testimonies. And Tony

00:11:08.679 --> 00:11:10.940
Brandt, we were walking out. Tony, I don't know

00:11:10.940 --> 00:11:12.039
if you remember this or not. We were walking

00:11:12.039 --> 00:11:14.059
out of the sanctuary, and Tony looked at me,

00:11:14.100 --> 00:11:16.759
and he said, this is fruit. This is fruit that

00:11:16.759 --> 00:11:19.919
you see here. And he nailed it. All right? He

00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:24.120
nailed it. Put it. in the ground. And I can tell

00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:26.120
you in Scripture, this is not the only place

00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:28.620
that Jesus talks about this. This isn't the only

00:11:28.620 --> 00:11:30.779
place where he talks about planting something

00:11:30.779 --> 00:11:33.039
in the ground for production. As a matter of

00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:34.580
fact, we're going to go to Matthew chapter 13.

00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:35.899
If you've got your Bibles, you can flip over

00:11:35.899 --> 00:11:39.460
there. Jesus, again, teaches a parable. And I've

00:11:39.460 --> 00:11:41.919
taught on this parable many, many times. And

00:11:41.919 --> 00:11:43.519
there's multiple layers to this parable. And

00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:45.779
you'll find it in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, all

00:11:45.779 --> 00:11:48.639
three Gospels, where Jesus talks about this seed.

00:11:48.840 --> 00:11:52.279
And he says this, One out of the house, and he

00:11:52.279 --> 00:11:54.600
sat by the sea. Picture this. Picture what was

00:11:54.600 --> 00:11:56.460
being read here, right? He goes out and sits

00:11:56.460 --> 00:11:59.240
by the sea, and great multitudes were gathered

00:11:59.240 --> 00:12:02.399
together to him. So that he got into a boat and

00:12:02.399 --> 00:12:05.100
sat, and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

00:12:05.419 --> 00:12:07.779
Then he spoke many things to them in parables,

00:12:07.779 --> 00:12:11.039
saying, Behold, a sower went out to sow, and

00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:13.100
he sowed some seed, and it fell by the wayside,

00:12:13.240 --> 00:12:15.779
and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell

00:12:15.779 --> 00:12:17.820
on stony places where they did not have much

00:12:17.820 --> 00:12:20.340
earth, and they immediately sprang up because

00:12:20.340 --> 00:12:23.740
they had no depth of the earth. But when the

00:12:23.740 --> 00:12:26.259
sun was up, they were scorched, and because they

00:12:26.259 --> 00:12:29.059
had no root, they withered away. Some fell among

00:12:29.059 --> 00:12:31.919
thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them,

00:12:32.019 --> 00:12:34.820
but others fell on good ground. Say good ground.

00:12:35.399 --> 00:12:38.480
Good ground. And yielded a crop, some a hundredfold,

00:12:38.700 --> 00:12:42.679
some sixty, some thirty. Jesus said that there

00:12:42.679 --> 00:12:45.159
was one and only one soil condition that's going

00:12:45.159 --> 00:12:50.919
to produce fruit. 30, 60, and 100 -fold. Three

00:12:50.919 --> 00:12:54.379
other conditions are going to not produce fruit.

00:12:55.240 --> 00:12:58.779
Verse 9 said, he said, who has ears to hear,

00:12:58.840 --> 00:13:00.519
let him hear. And the disciples came and said

00:13:00.519 --> 00:13:03.240
to him, why do you speak to them in parables,

00:13:03.320 --> 00:13:06.240
right? Why do you tell stories? And he answered

00:13:06.240 --> 00:13:08.320
and said to them, because it has not been given

00:13:08.320 --> 00:13:12.049
to you. It has been given to you to know the

00:13:12.049 --> 00:13:14.570
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them

00:13:14.570 --> 00:13:18.850
it has not been given. Redeemed, saints of God,

00:13:19.009 --> 00:13:23.169
sons and daughters of God, it has been given

00:13:23.169 --> 00:13:25.350
to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom.

00:13:25.490 --> 00:13:27.549
This is one of the mysteries of the kingdom.

00:13:28.110 --> 00:13:30.210
One of the mysteries is that you have to bury

00:13:30.210 --> 00:13:33.850
something for God, something that's not of God.

00:13:33.929 --> 00:13:35.909
You've got to put it in the ground so God can

00:13:35.909 --> 00:13:37.929
raise something out of it. This is a mystery

00:13:37.929 --> 00:13:40.429
that is given to you but has not been given to

00:13:40.429 --> 00:13:43.009
them. He says this in the Scriptures. Who's they?

00:13:43.350 --> 00:13:45.909
Us, the saints, those who are redeemed. Who are

00:13:45.909 --> 00:13:48.309
them? Those who reject Christ don't understand

00:13:48.309 --> 00:13:50.750
this. The world doesn't get that you have to

00:13:50.750 --> 00:13:52.710
take something and put it in the ground. They're

00:13:52.710 --> 00:13:55.649
just grabbing for everything they can get. Jesus

00:13:55.649 --> 00:13:58.029
goes on to explain a little more in 12. He says,

00:13:58.070 --> 00:14:00.789
for whoever has, to him it will be given, and

00:14:00.789 --> 00:14:02.929
he will have an abundance. But whoever does not

00:14:02.929 --> 00:14:04.850
have, even what he has will be taken away from

00:14:04.850 --> 00:14:07.110
him. Therefore, I speak to them in parables,

00:14:07.129 --> 00:14:09.590
because seeing they do not see and hearing they

00:14:09.590 --> 00:14:12.769
do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them

00:14:12.769 --> 00:14:15.090
the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says,

00:14:15.330 --> 00:14:17.789
Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,

00:14:17.990 --> 00:14:20.570
and seeing you will see and not perceive. For

00:14:20.570 --> 00:14:22.710
the hearts of this people have grown dull, and

00:14:22.710 --> 00:14:25.049
their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes

00:14:25.049 --> 00:14:27.429
they have been closed, lest they should see with

00:14:27.429 --> 00:14:29.850
their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they

00:14:29.850 --> 00:14:31.769
should understand with their hearts and turn,

00:14:31.990 --> 00:14:36.759
so that I should heal them. But blessed are your

00:14:36.759 --> 00:14:39.860
eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.

00:14:40.039 --> 00:14:42.519
For surely I say to you that many prophets and

00:14:42.519 --> 00:14:44.940
righteous men desired to see what you see and

00:14:44.940 --> 00:14:47.759
did not see it, to hear what you hear and did

00:14:47.759 --> 00:14:52.059
not hear it. I want you to live and understand

00:14:52.059 --> 00:14:55.740
the mysteries of God. There is a life in this,

00:14:55.799 --> 00:14:58.539
and Jesus explains this parable. We're going

00:14:58.539 --> 00:15:00.139
to read just a few more portions of Scripture.

00:15:02.799 --> 00:15:05.139
Therefore, hear the parable of the sower. Jesus

00:15:05.139 --> 00:15:08.200
explains this to his disciples. When anyone hears

00:15:08.200 --> 00:15:10.519
the word of the kingdom and does not understand

00:15:10.519 --> 00:15:13.600
it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away

00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:15.960
what was sown in his heart. This is the seed

00:15:15.960 --> 00:15:19.080
that falls by the wayside. This is he who received

00:15:19.080 --> 00:15:22.460
that seed on the hard place by the wayside. But

00:15:22.460 --> 00:15:25.080
he who received the seed on a stony place, this

00:15:25.080 --> 00:15:27.500
is he who hears the word and immediately receives

00:15:27.500 --> 00:15:30.460
it with joy, yet he has no root in himself. but

00:15:30.460 --> 00:15:33.039
endures only for a little while. For when tribulation

00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:35.740
or persecution arises because of the word, immediately

00:15:35.740 --> 00:15:38.679
he stumbles. Now he who receives seed among the

00:15:38.679 --> 00:15:41.019
thorns is he who hears the word and the cares

00:15:41.019 --> 00:15:43.519
of this world and the deceitfulness of riches

00:15:43.519 --> 00:15:47.519
choke the word and becomes unfruitful. But he

00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:50.159
who received the word on good ground is he who

00:15:50.159 --> 00:15:53.159
hears the word, understands it, who indeed bears

00:15:53.159 --> 00:15:56.440
fruit and produces some a hundredfold, 60 and

00:15:56.440 --> 00:16:01.299
some 30. Three conditions that seed does not

00:16:01.299 --> 00:16:05.960
produce, does not produce, but one that produces

00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:11.399
30, 60, and 100. First condition that yields

00:16:11.399 --> 00:16:16.360
no spiritual fruit. If we are ignorant of God,

00:16:16.580 --> 00:16:21.000
we will produce nothing. Turn to somebody that

00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:23.539
you know and love sitting beside you and tell

00:16:23.539 --> 00:16:25.700
them, don't be ignorant. Tell them right now,

00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:28.000
don't be ignorant. Come on. Some of you have

00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:29.980
been wanting to say that for a long time. Make

00:16:29.980 --> 00:16:31.519
sure you know them and you love them, because

00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:33.100
if you say it to somebody else, it's weird. All

00:16:33.100 --> 00:16:38.440
right? Don't be ignorant. Ignorance of God, right?

00:16:38.879 --> 00:16:41.740
Lack of knowledge of God. will produce nothing

00:16:41.740 --> 00:16:44.620
in your lives. Lack of understanding of how he

00:16:44.620 --> 00:16:48.440
works will produce nothing. Not knowing what

00:16:48.440 --> 00:16:51.860
he expects, ignorance of his attributes, ignorance

00:16:51.860 --> 00:16:55.100
of his authority, and the power that he produces,

00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:57.879
and the power that can be in our lives. If we

00:16:57.879 --> 00:17:01.539
want increase in Jesus, if we want fruit in our

00:17:01.539 --> 00:17:05.059
lives, we cannot be ignorant of who God is. We

00:17:05.059 --> 00:17:08.839
must know who God really is according to his

00:17:08.839 --> 00:17:12.460
word. and not what our possible perception of

00:17:12.460 --> 00:17:16.279
what God is. We sometimes make up in our minds

00:17:16.279 --> 00:17:20.400
who God is, right? One of Satan's tactics is

00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:24.470
to keep you ignorant of God. Keep you from understanding

00:17:24.470 --> 00:17:27.190
who God really is. If he can keep you in the

00:17:27.190 --> 00:17:30.809
imagination lane of who God is versus what God's

00:17:30.809 --> 00:17:33.970
word really says, he can get you confused, he

00:17:33.970 --> 00:17:36.430
can mess you up, and you will not have any fruit

00:17:36.430 --> 00:17:40.250
in your life. He'll keep you fruitless as a Christian.

00:17:40.529 --> 00:17:43.089
Man, I hear people talking all the time about

00:17:43.089 --> 00:17:45.390
Jesus, and I'm thinking, are you reading the

00:17:45.390 --> 00:17:48.089
same Bible that I'm reading? Right? You'll hear

00:17:48.089 --> 00:17:49.490
them say something about Jesus, and I'm like,

00:17:49.799 --> 00:17:52.380
I've never heard that anywhere or seen that anywhere.

00:17:52.880 --> 00:17:54.779
Sometimes they talk about Jesus like he's the

00:17:54.779 --> 00:17:57.180
man upstairs. Anybody ever hear that? Oh, he's

00:17:57.180 --> 00:18:00.180
just a guy up in the attic. What? Where's that?

00:18:00.259 --> 00:18:02.119
Like, what chapter and verse did you get that

00:18:02.119 --> 00:18:05.819
out of? Jesus is in the attic somewhere. The

00:18:05.819 --> 00:18:09.029
enemy wants to keep us ignorant. He wants to

00:18:09.029 --> 00:18:12.789
give us a warped, perverted view of God, something

00:18:12.789 --> 00:18:15.910
that's in our imagination. And this lack of understanding

00:18:15.910 --> 00:18:19.130
of who God is will reduce God to something little

00:18:19.130 --> 00:18:21.950
or narrow or something that doesn't look anything

00:18:21.950 --> 00:18:25.950
like him. Satan doesn't want you to bury your

00:18:25.950 --> 00:18:28.430
ignorance in the ground. He wants to keep you

00:18:28.430 --> 00:18:31.450
in the dark. He wants to keep it unclear. He

00:18:31.450 --> 00:18:33.430
doesn't want you reading the Word of God. He

00:18:33.430 --> 00:18:35.430
doesn't want you involved in Bible recaps so

00:18:35.430 --> 00:18:37.289
you're listening and reading the Word of God

00:18:37.289 --> 00:18:40.009
every day and then getting a video to help you

00:18:40.009 --> 00:18:41.829
understand. He doesn't want you involved in that

00:18:41.829 --> 00:18:44.009
because if you start to know who God really is,

00:18:44.089 --> 00:18:45.829
you're going to start to understand how big God

00:18:45.829 --> 00:18:47.829
really is. You're going to start to understand

00:18:47.829 --> 00:18:50.150
what He can really do. You can start to understand

00:18:50.150 --> 00:18:52.509
the power that He really possesses. He doesn't

00:18:52.509 --> 00:18:56.210
want that. at all, right? So we got to put ignorance

00:18:56.210 --> 00:18:59.029
in the ground. You got to bury that thing. You

00:18:59.029 --> 00:19:01.809
got to dive into understanding. And when you

00:19:01.809 --> 00:19:04.190
do that, when you start to really understand

00:19:04.190 --> 00:19:07.069
who God is out of his word, you're going to see

00:19:07.069 --> 00:19:10.329
the fruit start in your life. You're going to

00:19:10.329 --> 00:19:13.509
see what God can really do in your life. It's

00:19:13.509 --> 00:19:16.589
true. What's next on this? What needs to die?

00:19:16.690 --> 00:19:19.470
What needs to go into the ground? Shallow commitment

00:19:19.470 --> 00:19:24.900
will produce nothing of eternal value. But godly

00:19:24.900 --> 00:19:27.420
shallowness in your life will produce nothing.

00:19:27.559 --> 00:19:30.799
If the roots don't run deep in Jesus, I will

00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:34.720
produce nothing. He said this, but he received

00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:37.519
the seed on the stony place. This is he who hears

00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:39.740
the word and immediately receives it with joy,

00:19:39.859 --> 00:19:43.519
yet he has no root in himself. But he only endures

00:19:43.519 --> 00:19:46.059
for a little while. For when tribulation or persecution,

00:19:46.339 --> 00:19:48.819
right, difficulty arises because of the word

00:19:48.819 --> 00:19:52.579
of God, immediately he stumbles. This is faith

00:19:52.579 --> 00:19:57.119
in God that takes root, but is not rooted. I

00:19:57.119 --> 00:19:58.299
mean, I know there's a difference between the

00:19:58.299 --> 00:20:00.759
two, right? There's a difference between taking

00:20:00.759 --> 00:20:04.240
root and actually being rooted. This is the person

00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:06.960
who understands some things about Jesus, but

00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:09.480
they're not deeply rooted in Jesus. They may

00:20:09.480 --> 00:20:11.940
understand some basics. They may have a few memory

00:20:11.940 --> 00:20:13.900
verses, and that's great at the beginning. They

00:20:13.900 --> 00:20:16.059
may even know a few Bible stories, but there's

00:20:16.059 --> 00:20:20.880
no depth of root, no understanding. No serious

00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:23.240
commitment to understanding and following who

00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:27.579
Jesus is. It's just shallow. This is the person

00:20:27.579 --> 00:20:30.420
who looks a little bit like a pine tree in a

00:20:30.420 --> 00:20:33.940
windstorm. I don't know if you've ever, Travis

00:20:33.940 --> 00:20:35.759
Hench is in the house. He's seen this plenty,

00:20:35.940 --> 00:20:39.259
right? A strong wind comes along and blows a

00:20:39.259 --> 00:20:42.619
pine tree over, you know, and it just flops over

00:20:42.619 --> 00:20:45.940
on its side. And you can go by that thing. And

00:20:45.940 --> 00:20:48.119
what does it look like on the end down by the

00:20:48.119 --> 00:20:50.359
earth when that thing flips up? It's like a big

00:20:50.359 --> 00:20:53.539
pan, right? It's just flat. Because on pine trees,

00:20:53.599 --> 00:20:56.000
the roots tend to go out, and they just span

00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:58.119
out in a circle. And if it doesn't have any kind

00:20:58.119 --> 00:21:00.880
of root down it, when a good breeze comes, a

00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:03.400
good heavy wind comes, a little adversity comes

00:21:03.400 --> 00:21:06.240
its way, it begins to push against them. Poof!

00:21:06.890 --> 00:21:09.490
It's over on its side. It's laying there. And

00:21:09.490 --> 00:21:12.490
you got this big round pan on the end of it where

00:21:12.490 --> 00:21:15.329
the roots just went across the surface. That's

00:21:15.329 --> 00:21:17.109
what it's talking about. If you don't have any

00:21:17.109 --> 00:21:19.470
root in Jesus, the first wind of adversity that

00:21:19.470 --> 00:21:21.210
comes, the first time you got to take a little

00:21:21.210 --> 00:21:24.609
persecution for being a Christian, you're over

00:21:24.609 --> 00:21:27.700
on your side. And all this is just this shallow.

00:21:27.940 --> 00:21:30.099
And the interesting part of this is, this is

00:21:30.099 --> 00:21:32.279
really hard to see in our own lives because if

00:21:32.279 --> 00:21:35.099
you go by a group of pine trees, they all look

00:21:35.099 --> 00:21:37.059
the same, whether they got shallow roots or they're

00:21:37.059 --> 00:21:39.940
deep. You go by them, they're all green. They

00:21:39.940 --> 00:21:43.859
all look the same until the wind comes, till

00:21:43.859 --> 00:21:46.960
the versity hits. And there's no root there.

00:21:47.740 --> 00:21:52.700
You got to bury the shallowness. Shallow Christianity,

00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:55.279
you've got to put that thing in the ground, and

00:21:55.279 --> 00:21:58.460
you've got to get serious about finding out about

00:21:58.460 --> 00:22:01.779
God, digging deep, going to prayer, getting in

00:22:01.779 --> 00:22:04.960
that personal time with God where he's speaking

00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:07.099
to you and you're speaking to him. You're listening

00:22:07.099 --> 00:22:09.240
to what he has to say, and he's listening to

00:22:09.240 --> 00:22:11.940
what you have to say. Guard this. Be militant

00:22:11.940 --> 00:22:14.019
about this. You've got to have this in your life,

00:22:14.119 --> 00:22:16.680
because if not, there's no fruit. There's no

00:22:16.680 --> 00:22:19.569
fruit. Worship team, if you'd come. I'm going

00:22:19.569 --> 00:22:20.730
to give you the third one, right? There were

00:22:20.730 --> 00:22:22.589
three conditions. They didn't produce any fruit.

00:22:22.730 --> 00:22:25.410
Three things you need to put in the ground. Jacked

00:22:25.410 --> 00:22:27.410
up priorities will never produce eternal fruit.

00:22:27.930 --> 00:22:30.750
Jacked up priorities. If I'm too busy for Jesus,

00:22:30.890 --> 00:22:33.430
I will not produce fruit. If I'm too busy with

00:22:33.430 --> 00:22:35.750
the wrong things, I will produce nothing for

00:22:35.750 --> 00:22:38.369
the kingdom of God. If I'm engaged in all the

00:22:38.369 --> 00:22:41.250
things that are earthly in kingdom and not in

00:22:41.250 --> 00:22:45.210
God's kingdom, I need to bury my jacked up priorities.

00:22:45.549 --> 00:22:49.579
I really do. This is Matthew 13, 22. Now he who

00:22:49.579 --> 00:22:52.099
receives seed among the thorns is he who hears

00:22:52.099 --> 00:22:55.339
the word and the cares of this world and the

00:22:55.339 --> 00:22:58.940
deceitfulness of riches choke the word and it

00:22:58.940 --> 00:23:03.359
becomes unfruitful. Any activity and desire that

00:23:03.359 --> 00:23:07.180
is prioritized over and above following Jesus

00:23:07.180 --> 00:23:10.319
will stop production in your life. It'll stop

00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:13.059
the fruit. This is one of the sneakiest attacks

00:23:13.059 --> 00:23:16.380
and tactics of the devil. It really is. If he

00:23:16.380 --> 00:23:20.200
can get you busy doing stuff, I mean, we get

00:23:20.200 --> 00:23:24.160
busy doing stuff. Yeah. All right? I actually

00:23:24.160 --> 00:23:26.019
said it this week. I do it all the time. Somebody

00:23:26.019 --> 00:23:28.059
comes up, how's it going? Oh, I'm busy. Right?

00:23:28.299 --> 00:23:30.839
That's my standard go -to answer. Oh, I'm busy.

00:23:31.450 --> 00:23:34.569
I'm busy. But you can get so busy. And the enemy

00:23:34.569 --> 00:23:36.930
loves this because for a lot of you who are walking

00:23:36.930 --> 00:23:38.910
with God, he's probably not going to get you

00:23:38.910 --> 00:23:41.329
with a deep temptation of some kind of sin, but

00:23:41.329 --> 00:23:43.710
he can get you busy with something else. He can

00:23:43.710 --> 00:23:46.109
get you sidelined with something else. And it

00:23:46.109 --> 00:23:48.329
could be good things. It's not necessarily a

00:23:48.329 --> 00:23:50.089
bad thing, an evil thing, or a sinful thing.

00:23:50.190 --> 00:23:52.589
But if he can get you going enough and he can

00:23:52.589 --> 00:23:56.910
get you busy enough, right, busy can actually

00:23:56.910 --> 00:23:59.579
masquerade as fruitful. I don't know if you know

00:23:59.579 --> 00:24:01.660
that or not. Busy can masquerade as fruitful.

00:24:01.859 --> 00:24:05.619
It really can. We'll get so busy that it looks

00:24:05.619 --> 00:24:08.200
like production. It looks like kingdom stuff's

00:24:08.200 --> 00:24:10.019
happening. It looks like eternal things are going

00:24:10.019 --> 00:24:12.779
on in our lives, but we're just busy. And there's

00:24:12.779 --> 00:24:15.339
nothing eternal to it. Doing stuff and producing

00:24:15.339 --> 00:24:18.480
nothing. Chasing the cares of life or chasing

00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:21.079
after riches. All those kinds of things. Now

00:24:21.079 --> 00:24:23.940
listen, I understand that you've got to go to

00:24:23.940 --> 00:24:26.299
work. You should. That's biblical, by the way.

00:24:26.440 --> 00:24:28.400
The Word of God tells us if you don't supply

00:24:28.400 --> 00:24:30.220
for your family, you're worse than an infidel.

00:24:30.559 --> 00:24:32.319
That's what the Word of God says. We've got to

00:24:32.319 --> 00:24:34.079
go do all those things. But I'm talking about

00:24:34.079 --> 00:24:36.400
priorities here. I'm talking about prioritizing

00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:39.259
that over. If you've got jacked up priorities

00:24:39.259 --> 00:24:41.859
in your life and you're chasing after those things,

00:24:41.799 --> 00:24:43.980
kind of things, you're going to wonder why there's

00:24:43.980 --> 00:24:46.380
no fruit in your life. You're going to wonder

00:24:46.380 --> 00:24:50.380
where the production eternally is. And a lot

00:24:50.380 --> 00:24:52.160
of times it's hard to gauge these things, but

00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:53.799
you want to gauge where you're at with that,

00:24:53.900 --> 00:24:56.400
I'm going to tell you something that only you

00:24:56.400 --> 00:24:58.619
can do. If you want to know where your priorities

00:24:58.619 --> 00:25:01.599
lie, take a look at your calendar and take a

00:25:01.599 --> 00:25:04.220
look at your bank account. Take a look at your

00:25:04.220 --> 00:25:06.240
calendar and take a look at your bank account.

00:25:06.500 --> 00:25:09.119
It will reveal what you prioritize in life. It

00:25:09.119 --> 00:25:12.759
really will. Take a look at those. We prioritize.

00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:15.960
We spend time and money on what we prioritize.

00:25:16.200 --> 00:25:21.539
We really do. And we've got to engage. And there's

00:25:21.539 --> 00:25:24.319
sometimes we just got to put those things in

00:25:24.319 --> 00:25:27.799
the ground. We got to bury them. We got to bury

00:25:27.799 --> 00:25:39.859
them. end to this message from Lifehouse Church.

00:25:40.380 --> 00:25:43.200
We pray that you were impacted powerfully by

00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:46.059
this message. If you have been personally affected

00:25:46.059 --> 00:25:48.579
by our ministry and you would like to partner

00:25:48.579 --> 00:25:51.880
with us as we love God, love people every day,

00:25:51.980 --> 00:25:53.519
visit our website at