WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.000 Okay, so for this morning, how does Jesus get to our hearts? 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:10.000 My first point is one of guidance. 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:16.000 God wants to guide us through the uncertainties of this life, through his loving care, his faithfulness. 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:19.000 You and I don't know what's coming tomorrow. 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:21.000 We don't know what's happening. 00:00:21.000 --> 00:00:24.000 But he promises to be with us, never leave nor forsake. 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:26.000 He promises to take care of us. 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:28.000 The question is how? 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:30.000 How does God look after us? 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:32.000 How does he guide us? 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:34.000 He ministers personally to us. 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:36.000 He ministers through the Holy Spirit. 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:41.000 He ministers through angels, through circumstances, through other people. 00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:46.000 But primarily, can I suggest to you, he ministers to us through His Word. 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:51.000 He ministers to us by the Word that is spoken and the Word that comes by Revelation. 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:57.000 And the Bible wasn't given to us as a book of instructions independent of the Holy Spirit. 00:00:57.000 --> 00:01:05.000 As a matter of fact, Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3, 6, and he says, when we try to understand the Word of God without God, the letter kills. 00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:07.000 Would you agree with that? 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:15.000 You remember when Jesus himself died, the very people who put him to death knew their Bibles better than anyone else did. 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:21.000 They literally could recite the Torah, all five books, could recite it offhand. 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:26.000 And they could recite talking about God, but God in front of them, they never even knew. 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:29.000 Because it's not enough to just take a book. 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:33.000 I mean, let's be honest. How many of you, before you were saved, had a Bible? 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:35.000 And it made sense. 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:37.000 Hey, how many of you read it? 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:40.000 And when you read it, oh, that makes sense. 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:49.000 And if you like my age, your parents, the spare Bible they had was normally a King James Version, which is even harder when you start the Old Testament 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:53.000 and you're trying to understand what that's saying because the letter kills. 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:55.000 I had a Bible. 00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:59.000 My grandmother gave me a Good News Bible when I was young with a nice little picture. 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:02.000 I still didn't understand the thing. 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:04.000 Jesus knew. He knew this. 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:11.000 And he taught in a way that people would be led by the Holy Spirit into a realm of reality called the Kingdom of God. 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:14.000 Because that verse carries on to say, the Spirit gives life. 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:23.000 And so Jesus knew that it is a partnership between him bringing the Word and the Holy Spirit, who ministers the Word, that will bring life to you and I. 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:32.000 So whenever we approach the Bible and we ask how God guides us, or how does God lead us into an understanding on the Kingdom of God? 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:37.000 It will happen by the presence and influence of the Holy Spirit. 00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:39.000 You okay so far? 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:43.000 And the result is supposed to be Colossians 2, verse 6. 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:50.000 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, as your Lord, you must continue to follow Him. 00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:54.000 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. 00:02:54.000 --> 00:03:00.000 Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught and you will overflow with thankfulness. 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:08.000 So do you see, holding onto truth, the knowing truth outside of being rooted and built in Jesus isn't going to get you anywhere. 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:11.000 You need to be built and rooted in Him. 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:13.000 And Jesus himself knows this. 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:18.000 And so when he starts his discussion with people, he begins with this kind of phrase. 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:23.000 He's essentially telling people to think carefully about what they think they know about God. 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:28.000 You and I come to very interesting conclusions around what we think we know about God. 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:34.000 And it's found in that wonderful passage in Matthew 11:27, my father has entrusted everything to me. 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:37.000 No one truly knows the Son except the Father. 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:43.000 Then he flips it around and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:46.000 So there was a very Old Testament understanding of God. 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:52.000 And what Jesus is saying is, I want to get through your filters that you're able to understand who my Father is, 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:58.000 because I'm going to initiate, I'm going to bring to you light the fact that there is a kingdom you're meant to be a part of, 00:03:58.000 --> 00:04:00.000 but I don't know about you. 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:05.000 But if I'm going to a kingdom, it's very good idea to know what the king is like of that kingdom, 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:09.000 because the King sets the tone for the kingdom, isn't it? 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:13.000 And so Jesus carries on except the one the Father has chosen to reveal him. 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:16.000 And then he carries on with verses that we do know. 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:22.000 Well then Jesus said, come to me all you who are weary, and you carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:24.000 Take my yoke upon you. 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:29.000 Let me teach you, because I'm humble and gentle at heart and you will find rest for your souls. 00:04:29.000 --> 00:04:33.000 For my yoke is easy to bear and the burden I give you is light. 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:40.000 In other words, when you come to my Father, the Father I want to introduce you to, when you come to living in the kingdom, 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:42.000 I need to undo certain things. 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:45.000 We live in a very strongly performance based world, don't we? 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:52.000 And what Jesus is wanting to tell us is actually there are certain things God your Father wants you to give him the heaviness of what you carry. 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:57.000 He wants to give them, he wants you to give them to him and he wants to give you something instead. 00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:01.000 He wants to trade your heaviness for his lightness, in a sense. 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:03.000 So you need to know the kingdom. 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:05.000 You need to know the Father of the kingdom. 00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:10.000 And when you enter the kingdom, understand the nuance, the feel of this kingdom. 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:12.000 It is a beautiful kingdom. 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:14.000 And Jesus knows that. 00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:21.000 We're not going to understand God or His Word by being clever, intelligent, scholarly, even by studying hard. 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:27.000 The interaction of God with you and I, by His Word and through His Spirit, is personal. 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:30.000 He knows what it'll take to get you to hear Him. 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:32.000 He knows where you're missing it. 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:34.000 He knows where you aren't. 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:36.000 He knows where you are in your life. 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:38.000 He knows how to address you. 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:41.000 And here's the big thing you're going to learn this morning. 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:44.000 When the Word of God comes, Jesus is saying, there's an interaction. 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:46.000 I'm going to open it up now. 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:48.000 There's an interaction from me to you. 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:54.000 However, the interaction depends on the condition of our hearts, our minds and our lives. 00:05:54.000 --> 00:06:00.000 So no matter what I come and bring towards you, what soil is there that my word is going to go into? 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:02.000 That's kind of what Jesus is asking. 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:05.000 So that was point one, point two, the first parable. 00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:08.000 There were three aspects to Jesus ministry. 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:13.000 Earth teaching, preaching, otherwise known as announcing or healing, says, yeah, Jesus traveled. 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:15.000 Matthew 9:35. 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:22.000 Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the good news about the kingdom. 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:26.000 And he healed every kind of disease and illness. 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:31.000 So let's just look quickly at the flow of Matthew's gospel from chapter four through to chapter 12. 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:32.000 Right. 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:39.000 Chapter four starts with Jesus in verse 17, saying these words, repent of your sins and turn to God, for the kingdom of heaven is near. 00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:43.000 Repent of your sins, turn to God, for the kingdom of heaven is near. 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:46.000 The people of Israel have been waiting for a king. 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:48.000 They've been waiting for a Messiah. 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:50.000 The announcement has come. 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:54.000 And in that announcement, he draws masses of people to himself. 00:06:54.000 --> 00:07:00.000 And as these masses of people come to himself, he now wants to train them around, what does this kingdom look like? 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:05.000 So chapters five to seven is Jesus literally teaching about the nature of the kingdom of God. 00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:08.000 We call them the Sermon on the Mount or the Beatitudes. 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:13.000 And the Bible says chapter eight, as he came down, he began to heal, minister. 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:16.000 So he preached it, and then he did it. 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:19.000 Chapters 8 and 9, he started to minister from chapter 10. 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:21.000 Just how quick we're going through Matthew. 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:23.000 First time in history I've been so quick. 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:30.000 Matthew from Chapter 10 to Chapter 12, you now have Jesus appointing disciples and telling them, you've seen me do it. 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:32.000 Now I want you to go do it. 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:36.000 And as they go out and they minister, they come back with a report which you and I know. 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:40.000 And that report is recorded in Luke 10, verse 20. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:41.000 Is this. 00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:44.000 Even the demons obey us when we use your name. 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:52.000 Now listen, if you're in those days and there's spiritual warfare going on and you're not as familiar as you and I are, 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:56.000 it's incredible to know that demons can flee when you are around. 00:07:56.000 --> 00:08:00.000 How many of you have had things go bump in the night in your place? 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:07.000 How many of you have had move into a new home or you move into a new area, you go on holiday somewhere or you go stay in a hotel room 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:14.000 and something comes around and the lights turn on or something happens and things shake and you know there's something going on. 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:17.000 And my question is, who you going to call? 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:22.000 And these guys use spiritual info and say, can you believe it? These demons tremble in your name. 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:24.000 They flee. They listen. 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:28.000 Jesus responds, don't rejoice because evil spirits obey you. 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:32.000 Rejoice because your names are registered in heaven. 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:36.000 He's trying to show again, there is a king with a kingdom. 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:39.000 And when you have a place in that kingdom, you've got the passport. 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:44.000 When your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, you have a father, you're in a kingdom. 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:47.000 The demons are not fleeing because of you. 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:49.000 They're fleeing because of your dad. 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:51.000 They're fleeing because of Jesus. 00:08:51.000 --> 00:08:54.000 They're fleeing because of your position in this incredible kingdom. 00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:58.000 So Jesus is saying, don't get distracted by the battle because the battle is the Lord's. 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:02.000 Rather look to him and your identity in him. 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:04.000 He's concerned about it. 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:09.000 And then an extended record of Jesus teaching about the kingdom of God begins in Matthew, chapter 13. 00:09:09.000 --> 00:09:15.000 And as Jesus preaches in Matthew 13, he reaches a point where he's been teaching about the kingdom of God 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:17.000 and he's watching the people who are listening. 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:19.000 There's varied reactions. 00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:21.000 Not everyone did receive him. 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:23.000 Not everyone could receive him. 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:27.000 Those who did receive his words often heard in different ways. 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:34.000 He saw those whose hearts was set against his Father and they were simply trying to get their own way and how their hearts were hardened. 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:40.000 Even when Jesus made this incredible appeal and he said, if you do not believe my words, 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:45.000 at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves, they still wouldn't believe. 00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:48.000 Jesus knew their hearts were being hardened. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:52.000 He sensed their resistance and so he wants to minister to them. 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:54.000 How can Jesus get to your heart? 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:57.000 I think one of the toughest jobs must be to be a teacher. 00:09:57.000 --> 00:09:59.000 I've never been one. 00:09:59.000 --> 00:10:01.000 I was never called to be one. 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:07.000 I cannot imagine having between 25 and 50 kids in that class who have no intention of staying there. 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:10.000 Look, there's always two or three girls. Hey. 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:12.000 And they're always in the front taking. 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:15.000 And there's one little bloke, you know, they. But. 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:18.000 And they're just taking notes and they want to be there. 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:20.000 The rest of you preaching. 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:24.000 Sometimes you just take one look and you know, they're like they're there. 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:27.000 But they definitely aren't, are they? 00:10:27.000 --> 00:10:33.000 When Jesus is looking and he's preaching, there's a whole lot of spiritual activity going on while he's ministering. 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:35.000 He's watching. 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:37.000 And now he wants to teach them. 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:39.000 How does Jesus get to your heart? 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:42.000 So point number three, seeds everywhere. 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:45.000 Matthew 13 opens with large crowds following Jesus. 00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:49.000 And I read the first three verses later that same day from the living translation, New living. 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:53.000 Later that same day, Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake. 00:10:53.000 --> 00:10:56.000 A large crowd soon gathered around him. 00:10:56.000 --> 00:10:58.000 So he got into a boat. 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:02.000 Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore. 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:05.000 He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one. 00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:06.000 Listen. 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:07.000 Exclamation mark. 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:10.000 A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:12.000 He starts with, listen. 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:15.000 Have you ever had a kid who doesn't want to do what they're told? 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:19.000 And when you put your face down in front of them, you say, listen. 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:24.000 You know that if they don't, what follows thereafter is a consequence to the not listening, right? 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:26.000 And remember what we always said. 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:31.000 When you're a person from Edenvale and someone says, listen, my friend, you know this. 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:33.000 The time for listening is over. 00:11:33.000 --> 00:11:35.000 And he's not your friend what's about to. 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:36.000 You know the same. 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:37.000 So listen. 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:40.000 A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:46.000 Now, immediately, everyone, because it's an agrarian society, everyone knows exactly what Jesus means in that moment. 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:49.000 They're like, we know what you're trying to say. 00:11:49.000 --> 00:11:54.000 Because to plant or to sow seeds means to scatter them where they would have a chance to germinate. 00:11:54.000 --> 00:11:57.000 So he says, a farmer went to sow seeds. 00:11:57.000 --> 00:12:02.000 No one in their right mind goes to sow seeds in a place where there's guaranteed to be no reaction. 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:05.000 They're hoping that wherever they plant the seeds, it's going to germinate. 00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:07.000 That's why the farmer does it. 00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:09.000 He doesn't want to waste what he's got. 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:12.000 I'm not just risking and throwing my seed into the Sea. 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:14.000 He's saying, there's something behind this. 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:21.000 So he's saying to them, this word I'm giving you, My Father in heaven wants to release seed to you that is intentional. 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:23.000 He wants it to germinate. 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:25.000 They get it, they hear. 00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:26.000 Then it carries on. 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:29.000 As he scattered them across his field, because the world is the Lord's. 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:35.000 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath and the birds came and ate them. 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:39.000 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. 00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:47.000 The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow, but the plants soon wilted under the hot sun. 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:51.000 And since they didn't have deep roots, they died. 00:12:51.000 --> 00:12:56.000 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. 00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:59.000 So you can imagine Jesus giving a parable. 00:12:59.000 --> 00:13:05.000 He's giving all this bad news, this farmer sowing seed, you know, you want to plant into good areas. 00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:09.000 So he's planting, but it's not producing good. Why? 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:11.000 He's leaving them a question. Hang on. 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:18.000 If this is a clever farmer, why is he planting in these different kinds of soils that none of us would plant in? 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:21.000 And then, being a parable, Jesus teaches this way. 00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:24.000 Then he suddenly turns around and teaches exactly the opposite. 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:26.000 Because that's what a parable does, right? 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:27.000 It draws contrast. 00:13:27.000 --> 00:13:29.000 So this is the very next verse. 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:38.000 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was 30, 60, and even 100 times as much as has been planted. 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:42.000 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:46.000 Obviously, he's trying to let them know that there is something that's going to happen here. 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:49.000 If he's a clever farmer, what are the kinds of soil? 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:52.000 I mean, you probably heard us preach a hundred times. 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:59.000 And I just want to start by saying to you, when you and I trust God for revival, we trust God for growth, we trust God for salvation. 00:13:59.000 --> 00:14:02.000 This becomes very important for how we do ministry. 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:04.000 This passage, and I'll tell you why. 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:06.000 The point of the parable is straightforward. 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:12.000 A great spiritual start with great sowing of seed is not a guarantee of a great ending. 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:16.000 You and I rejoice, don't we, when people get saved? 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:24.000 Public commitments to Jesus, the first signs of spiritual life, they get excited, they come back a second week, they actually answer the phone. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:26.000 When you phone them, it's like, this is exciting. 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:30.000 But the evident fruitfulness is the thing we must be going after. 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:33.000 A tree has to be assessed by its fruit. 00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:39.000 It doesn't matter what you say, because what you demonstrate is reality of what's in there. 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:43.000 That's why I read Colossians 2, put your roots down into him, Be built up in him. 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:47.000 And so when we want to see people saved, remember, we don't get wowed by responses. 00:14:47.000 --> 00:14:51.000 We get wowed by fruit that needs to be seen later. 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:52.000 We don't be fooled. 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:54.000 Remember when Jesus had crowds following him. 00:14:54.000 --> 00:15:00.000 He stopped and he said, broad is the road, wide is the gate that leads to destruction. 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:03.000 Narrow is the path, small is the gate that leads to life. 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:04.000 There's a problem here. 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:06.000 There's too many of you. 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:10.000 You and I judge a successful church by its size, its numbers. 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:11.000 It's great. 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:13.000 I mean, I love that. 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:15.000 But it's not what we chase. 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:17.000 Because they can be deceiving. 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:21.000 That's why Jesus said, eat my body, drink my ear to show them. 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:22.000 Hang on. 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:24.000 You're missing something here. 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:26.000 We have to go after the fruit. 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:29.000 What does the Jesus parable about the four soils tell us? 00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:31.000 We've got to pay attention to things. 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:35.000 You and I offer courses, we offer teaching as a church. 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:43.000 But I want to say to you, our resulting effectiveness happens when people devote themselves to what the Lord has called them to. 00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:45.000 Acts 2 from verse 42. 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:51.000 They devoted themselves to the apostles, doctrine, prayer, fellowship, and breaking of bread. 00:15:51.000 --> 00:15:53.000 They devoted themselves. 00:15:53.000 --> 00:15:59.000 Looking out in the room this morning, there's very few of you that were dragged by your ear to church. 00:15:59.000 --> 00:16:03.000 I think most of you came here because you actually want to be here this morning. 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:06.000 Hey, in spite of the fact that I'm preaching, you came in not knowing that. 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:11.000 But my point is, you walk in because you want to be here only if you're in a crib or you're under the age of 10. 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:13.000 You're there because you're being dragged. 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:15.000 You're here because you want to be here. 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:18.000 Why? Because God has done something in you. 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:20.000 You longing to be with him. 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:22.000 You want to come under His Word. 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:28.000 You're not like that person who said, we don't need to preach all the time, we just need the presence of God. 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:33.000 Do you think if Jesus had just walked around for three and a half years, anything would have happened? 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:34.000 Of course not. 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:36.000 It's the preaching of the Word. 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:38.000 It's the ministry of the Word of God. 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:40.000 It's critical Jesus didn't resurrect David. 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:44.000 And they played the harp and pling, plinged and waited for people to come around. 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:50.000 And, you know, I remember one guy said, it's not. It's never to do with the anointing, the grace, whatever, on the preacher's life. 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:53.000 The power is in the Word itself. 00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:54.000 End of the conference. 00:16:54.000 --> 00:17:01.000 The guys got around him and said, well, if that's true, why don't we get 10 big churches, 10 really big churches 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:05.000 and ask them to sell everything they have, put it in a pot. 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:12.000 And with that money, we're going to get bookings on radio stations, TV stations, social media, in every country in the world. 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:15.000 And on a certain day, we're going to tell the whole world. 00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:20.000 John 3:16, the power of the Word will get the whole lot saved in one shot. 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:24.000 You can hear how ludicrous it is, and you're going to discover why now. 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:29.000 So the reality is the Word's going to go out there, but it's when you see people devoting themselves to the things of God, 00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:31.000 you know it's finally taken root. 00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:37.000 A tree starting to bear fruit because of its own root system, not because it's hanging around with its neighbor. 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:42.000 So Jesus tells the most important story, and you know it's the best part because you're going to see it now. 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:47.000 He says, if you do not understand this parable, you're not going to understand any of them. 00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:51.000 And the parables are the introduction to teaching on the kingdom of God. 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:56.000 So you're not going to get it unless you understand this parable is what Jesus said. 00:17:56.000 --> 00:18:02.000 But the disciples remember, they come to him afterwards and they say, why do you speak like this? 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:06.000 Because the religious rulers, they haul out the scroll, they ring the bells. 00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:08.000 There's a certain way you got to speak. 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:10.000 Jesus does none of that. 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:11.000 Do you see? 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:14.000 He doesn't even use one religious word in the story. 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:19.000 A farmer went out to sow birds and stony ground and hot weather crops. 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:21.000 Not one religious word. 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:24.000 Didn't read scripture, didn't pray, didn't sing a hymn. 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:26.000 He just tells them a story. 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:29.000 So they come to him and they say, now what's going on here? 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:32.000 And Jesus is going to tell them straight away, the seed. 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:35.000 Point number four, seeds versus weeds. 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:37.000 The seed is the word of God. 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:40.000 Everything else you're listening to is weeds. 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:42.000 The word of God is seeds. 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:48.000 I'm not going to get onto this this week, but I want to tell you, most of our screen time is weeds and not seeds. 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:52.000 And it's going to grow in the same field because you're watering that thing the whole time. 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:54.000 Matthew 13:18. 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:58.000 Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds. 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:03.000 Jesus says the seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the kingdom of God. 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:05.000 They don't understand it. 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:09.000 The evil one comes, snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:14.000 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:16.000 And then the story carries on. 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:19.000 What is Jesus trying to communicate at this point? 00:19:19.000 --> 00:19:22.000 When the word of God comes into an individual's life? 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:29.000 Right now, as I'm preaching, when you had your quiet time this morning, your quiet time tomorrow, when you're waiting on God next week, 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:36.000 or you did last month, whenever the Word of the Lord comes into your life, it can only begin to feed on the soil that's already there. 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:39.000 You can't go borrow soil from a neighbor. 00:19:39.000 --> 00:19:44.000 The soil, the condition of your own heart, is critical to hearing what God wants to say. 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:46.000 It's that important. 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:50.000 If you're too busy with other things to receive the Word of God, it won't take root. 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:54.000 Or if it does take root, because you're so busy, it'll be starved or anemic. 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:57.000 If your soil isn't ready, you ain't getting seeds. 00:19:57.000 --> 00:19:59.000 You're getting weeds. 00:19:59.000 --> 00:20:01.000 Weeds don't need much to grow. 00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:04.000 Have you ever noticed you can throw weeds anywhere they germinate? 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:06.000 That's why they're called weeds. 00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:07.000 Number five. 00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:12.000 Jesus is slowly edging us towards two truths, and he has the one. 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:14.000 The tricky issue of free will. 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:16.000 The tricky issue of free will. 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:20.000 The parable of Sower is so important because it answers this question. 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:26.000 Why doesn't the word of God, the Logos, have effect on people in the way we hope it will? 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:30.000 Why doesn't it have that effect on some people, but it does on others? 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:36.000 It moves me to ask this question, as a guy reads my Bible, why doesn't God just change people? 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:40.000 And the answer is that doesn't reflect a lack of power on God's part. 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:48.000 Do you know that if God wanted to, he could rewire every single one of us to be faithful followers like Job or Hannah or whoever? 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:50.000 God could move you. 00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:52.000 It's not a question about what God can do you. 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:55.000 The question is, what will God do? 00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:58.000 What's the manner God uses to interact with you and I? 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:05.000 Do you agree that God can do anything he wants, but yet, because we're in his kingdom, he has ways that he works within his kingdom 00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:08.000 that he wants you and I to learn from living in this kingdom of his. 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:10.000 So can I make this bold statement? 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:16.000 Please hear me in trying to explain to you this morning how seeds get into our hearts, but some hearts just don't receive it. 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:18.000 Why doesn't God just change them? 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:24.000 The kingdom of God is a kingdom of love, of understanding, of maturity, where people live together as Christians. 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:29.000 Under the governance of the most glorious being in all of reality, God himself. 00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:31.000 He says the principle of his kingdom. 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:36.000 In fact, the greatest commandment in his kingdom is love the Lord your God with all your heart. 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:40.000 The second greatest commandment is love your neighbor as yourself. 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:43.000 And God showed us his love for us in this. 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:47.000 That he, son sacrificed his own life on a cross. 00:21:47.000 --> 00:21:52.000 When you hear these words, I hope you're hearing the ways of the King of the kingdom. 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:54.000 This kingdom is. 00:21:54.000 --> 00:22:01.000 When you tell me that this is the kingdom, that my sin will be forgiven, will not be remembered, that God will love me, that he will take care of me. 00:22:01.000 --> 00:22:03.000 I want to be in that kind of kingdom. 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:05.000 It's a kingdom I long for. 00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:07.000 It's a kingdom that makes sense to me. 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:13.000 It will never be a kingdom of people who are knocked on the head or rewired to become religious robots. 00:22:13.000 --> 00:22:16.000 It's a kingdom in which you grow and mature freely. 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:19.000 This is a kingdom in which a groom woos a bride. 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:22.000 It's not a kingdom in which a groom rapes a bride. 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:23.000 Excuse my language. 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:26.000 He never forces or he is one who loves. 00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:28.000 He is the Rose of Sharon. 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:31.000 He's the most beautiful being that's ever been. 00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:34.000 In Christ we see the perfection of the Father. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:38.000 When you have worship like we had this morning, your heart is drawn towards him. 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:40.000 It's the nature of the King. 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:43.000 And so he'll present his word to you in that manner. 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:45.000 And can I tell you something about our God? 00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:50.000 He reveals himself in such a way through creation, through the revealed word, by His Holy Spirit. 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:57.000 Through the story of Jesus, the Father presents himself in such a way as to win the heart and to capture the mind. 00:22:57.000 --> 00:23:03.000 He wants to win you to himself, but he will always give you the freedom to choose what you want, won't coerce you. 00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:09.000 When a human being says, I want to have my way, God says, it's okay, you can. 00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:10.000 What is heaven? 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:13.000 Heaven is simply the dwelling where I'm gonna find God. 00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:18.000 My young boy, who looks so tired this morning was sleeping over at a friend's house. 00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:20.000 A friend called Chase, I believe. 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:21.000 Is that where you were? No. 00:23:21.000 --> 00:23:22.000 Yes. 00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:23.000 Where were you? There. 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:24.000 I want to tell you this. 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:27.000 He wouldn't have gone to Chase's house if Chase wasn't there. 00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:30.000 The reason he's going to Chase his house is because Chase is there. 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:35.000 If he goes and Chase's folks are hanging out and he's away, it's like, hey, 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:39.000 the reason that you and I want to get to heaven is because our Father is there. 00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:46.000 People who don't want the Father are not going to get to heaven for the simple reason that what God is saying is this. 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:48.000 I'm giving you your choice. 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:49.000 You. 00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:51.000 You don't want me now. 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:53.000 You want nothing to do with me here and now. 00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:56.000 So why am I going to take you to a place where there's a whole lot more of me? 00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:58.000 So what I'm going to do instead is. 00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:02.000 You don't want me by choice, then live without me. 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:05.000 I'm going to allow you to go to the place where my presence isn't. 00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:07.000 And that's what hell is. 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:09.000 So same with the Word of God. 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:11.000 The Word of God will come to you. 00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:12.000 I'm going to read it now. 00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:16.000 But you've got to understand, your responsive heart will what the soil. 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:20.000 The soil that you produce determines how far that seed's going to go. 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:26.000 The worst thing that can ever happen to a human is to have their way when that way doesn't include God. 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:28.000 Number six. Almost done. 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:30.000 Hardened hearts. 00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:34.000 It almost seems to me when I read Scripture that the Word of God can be effective. 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:38.000 But for those who don't listen, it can harden them even more. 00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:44.000 Because the hardening of the heart is a simple consequence of their own repeated rejection of God's grace and truth. 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:46.000 What does God do then? 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:49.000 He lets you simply walk the path that you wanted to walk. 00:24:49.000 --> 00:24:50.000 And they seem. 00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:56.000 It almost seems like when people walk further away from God in disobedience, they don't allow further intervention or softening of their hearts. 00:24:56.000 --> 00:25:00.000 It becomes more and more difficult for people to repent. 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:05.000 We know the sovereignty of God is always there, like we heard this morning, for the one who is far, who wants to come close. 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:07.000 But do you understand? 00:25:07.000 --> 00:25:10.000 The Bible says the goodness of God leads to repentance. 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:17.000 There is also a time the goodness of God can lead to a hardening of hearts because we refuse to listen, we refuse to obey. 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:23.000 Nine times Pharaoh asks Moses, please let God relent from his judgment to spare us. 00:25:23.000 --> 00:25:28.000 Nine times the goodness of God does a miracle which counters the judgment of God. 00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:33.000 Nine times there is a temporary repentance, but it was never of the heart. 00:25:33.000 --> 00:25:37.000 So on the 10th time, he lost his firstborn of everything in the land. 00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:45.000 Because sometimes the very goodness of the kindness of the Word of God can harden a heart where the soil does not want to receive it. 00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:51.000 How many times have you tried to speak to a friend, a contact, someone who just doesn't want to know about Jesus? 00:25:51.000 --> 00:25:55.000 And if they're aggro and you go at them, they come at you even stronger? 00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:57.000 That very Word actually hardens. 00:25:57.000 --> 00:26:03.000 Which is why we often say to you, when there's the trees, the fruits on the tree, once you pull it a little bit, 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:05.000 if it's green, it's not ready yet. 00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:06.000 Leave it alone. 00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:09.000 You might be person 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 along the way. 00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:11.000 Who's going to lead that person to Christ? 00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:13.000 You don't know the journey they're on. 00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:16.000 Bring the good news, leave the reaction up to the Lord. 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:18.000 If it's ripe, play it. 00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:19.000 If it's not right, don't. 00:26:19.000 --> 00:26:22.000 Because you don't know where people's hearts are at. 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:23.000 Are you okay? 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:25.000 Think of the people that we've seen in this church. 00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:32.000 We count the stats and we have on average between 250 and 300 people every year that publicly respond to Jesus. 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:33.000 Where they, where they. 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:35.000 Because they come here, they respond. 00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:40.000 We take them out there, we pray with them, we invite them to our rooted course. 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:45.000 They all get a phone call on Sunday, they all get material on Sunday, they all get given a phone call on Monday, 00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:46.000 they all get invited. 00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:51.000 We have about a 20% retention rate if we're lucky, with all the effort we busy putting in. 00:26:51.000 --> 00:26:54.000 If you look at this passage, makes perfect sense. 00:26:54.000 --> 00:27:01.000 It actually makes sense because the reason that people often put their hands up is to escape something, not to run to Jesus. 00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:07.000 And then what happens is God in his kindness, like with Pharaoh, literally, the thing I'm asking God to help me with, 00:27:07.000 --> 00:27:09.000 God does help me with. 00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:13.000 Then when I find relief from the thing God helped me with, suddenly it's going right again. 00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:14.000 I'm out of here. 00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:20.000 Because the seed has never been planted in that soil because of the hardening of their own hearts, 00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:23.000 which leads to the Last point number seven for today. 00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:25.000 The power of the Word. 00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:30.000 In Luke 8, 9, the disciples come to him and say, what does this parable mean? 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:32.000 Mark 4, verse 13 puts it like this. 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:38.000 Jesus said, if you can't understand the meaning of this parable, how will you understand the other parables? 00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:41.000 So you've got to get what this one is actually about. 00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:42.000 It is the key. 00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:45.000 There are ears to hear, there is soil that's around. 00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:47.000 Jesus says in the NIV. 00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:49.000 In Matthew 13, verse 19, the NIV. 00:27:49.000 --> 00:27:52.000 He starts off this verse by saying this. 00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:58.000 When anyone hears the message or when anyone hears the word, the Greek word is Logos. 00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:02.000 When anyone hears the logos, which is from the Greek word Lego. 00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:03.000 I don't know. 00:28:03.000 --> 00:28:05.000 I don't think it's Lego blocks. 00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:06.000 It might be. 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:13.000 Which is a powerful term meaning when something is the same because it's when something is structured or formed. 00:28:13.000 --> 00:28:20.000 So the Greek word lego means you take something that wasn't and you put it together and you structure or form something. 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:24.000 Which is, I think, where we get our word lego from, which is the word Logos. 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:26.000 So God is. 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:30.000 Jesus is saying when the Word or the Logos goes out, a formation is done. 00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:31.000 Now in present tense. 00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:37.000 When our team went out to Hillbrow last week and prayed for that lady to be healed, they spoke words. 00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:41.000 Jesus did something forming, some structure happened, a healing happened. 00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:43.000 Something happened to my knee. 00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:48.000 Something happens to people when we pray for them because the Logos goes out, the Word goes out. 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:49.000 Genesis chapter one. 00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:52.000 God spoke and everything came into being. 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:53.000 John, chapter one. 00:28:53.000 --> 00:28:56.000 In the beginning was the Word, the Logos. 00:28:56.000 --> 00:28:58.000 The Logos was before all things. 00:28:58.000 --> 00:29:03.000 He's trying to show us that every time you have a quiet time, read your Bible, you're hearing now. 00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:08.000 Every time you wait on the Lord, literally personal power goes out from him to you. 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:13.000 But it requires a listening heart with good soil, which leads to this. 00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:15.000 When a word comes to you. 00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:16.000 Point 8. 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:17.000 I said that was the last. 00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:19.000 This is really the last. 00:29:19.000 --> 00:29:21.000 Deciding to listen. 00:29:21.000 --> 00:29:22.000 Verse 19 continues. 00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:29.000 When anyone hears the Logos about the kingdom and doesn't understand it, hearing and understanding the message involves your mind and your will. 00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:33.000 You do know that your will has very little power in and of itself. 00:29:33.000 --> 00:29:36.000 Even the strongest world, the brightest mind would agree. 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:41.000 You lost the battle of the vows you made on January 1, you lost by January three or four. 00:29:41.000 --> 00:29:44.000 Let's be honest, we don't keep those things. 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:46.000 Doesn't matter how strong your will is. 00:29:46.000 --> 00:29:47.000 The reality is this. 00:29:47.000 --> 00:29:50.000 When the Word of God comes into our minds. 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:52.000 These are my closing statements. 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:57.000 When the Word of God comes into our minds, we decide how important it is to hold on to. 00:29:57.000 --> 00:30:03.000 We decide when Jesus was sharing his stories, the listeners get to determine how important the Word is to them. 00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:07.000 That's why whenever you come under God's Word, I think the most important question to ask is this. 00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:11.000 What am I choosing to do with the Word that has come into my mind? 00:30:11.000 --> 00:30:15.000 That which the Lord is speaking, what am I choosing to do with it? 00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:17.000 Because I'm responsible for it. 00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:19.000 I want to close with this. 00:30:19.000 --> 00:30:24.000 If you've got a Bible open to one John chapter two, and I'm saying I'm saying this to Christians. 00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:31.000 How many Christians have spent hours under the Word of God, hours having quiet times, reading their Bibles, bible reading plans, etc. 00:30:31.000 --> 00:30:32.000 Etc. 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:39.000 Then you read this where John is just trying to describe to you and I the growth process of a believer from being born Again to maturity, 00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:41.000 and he just throws out. 00:30:41.000 --> 00:30:45.000 In 1 John, chapter 2, I'll read from the new living, but I'll reference the NIV as well. 00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:47.000 1 John 2:12. 00:30:47.000 --> 00:30:55.000 I'm writing to you who are God's children, or you dear children, because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus or on account of his name. 00:30:55.000 --> 00:31:03.000 I'm writing to you who are mature in the faith, or you who are fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning, 00:31:03.000 --> 00:31:06.000 or you know Christ who existed from the beginning. 00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:08.000 Then he picks on the young men. 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:15.000 I write to you who are young in the faith, or the young men because you have won your battle with the evil one. 00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:17.000 You have overcome the evil one. 00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:20.000 I write to you who are children because you know the Father. 00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:27.000 I write to you who are mature in the faith because you know him who is from the beginning, or you know Christ who existed from the beginning. 00:31:27.000 --> 00:31:34.000 I write to you who are young in the faith, you young men, because you're strong, because the Word lives in your heart 00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:37.000 and you've won your battle with the evil one. 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:44.000 Do you see how John, under the direct influence of Jesus, tells us to assess the fruitfulness of a Christian 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:52.000 in the baby phase of being a Christian, when you first got saved, the two things that you own above every other thing is number one, 00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:55.000 I now have a father, which means I'm no longer an orphan. 00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:57.000 I have a father in heaven. 00:31:57.000 --> 00:31:59.000 I have an identity. 00:31:59.000 --> 00:32:06.000 If I have a father, then I'm a child, which means I live in a home where my Father has rules that I choose to live by. 00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:13.000 Not only do I have a father, but that Father, through the death and resurrection of his son, has forgiven me my sin. 00:32:13.000 --> 00:32:15.000 It's not held against me anymore. 00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:17.000 I am free of sin. 00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:20.000 I am free of the condemnation of the evil one sins past, present and future. 00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:25.000 And why that's relevant is a young person in this room, a young faith person, needs to know your identity. 00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:30.000 You have a father, you are in a household and your sin has been forgiven. 00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:33.000 So stop playing around in the areas of who am I? 00:32:33.000 --> 00:32:34.000 What's my identity? 00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:35.000 I don't know where I am. 00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:37.000 You're in the house of God. 00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:38.000 You're a child of God. 00:32:38.000 --> 00:32:40.000 I always feel so bad for my sins. 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:42.000 I don't know if I should go to church. 00:32:42.000 --> 00:32:43.000 I don't know. 00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:44.000 May I? 00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:45.000 Stop it. 00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:46.000 Not feeling great. 00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:48.000 I'm not feeling this, I'm not feeling that. 00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:55.000 How many of you are held in condemnation by the evil one because you haven't let the word get in your heart that says 00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:59.000 you're a loved child forgiven, with an identity that a father has given you. 00:32:59.000 --> 00:33:00.000 How many of you? 00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:02.000 And then you move on to a young man. 00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:04.000 What does it say about a young man? 00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:06.000 The word of God lives in you. 00:33:06.000 --> 00:33:07.000 The not you are. 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:09.000 You have overcome the evil one. 00:33:09.000 --> 00:33:12.000 You win far more battles than you lose. 00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:16.000 Your life is characterized by far more victories than defeats. 00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:20.000 You're young, your head is up, you have the word of God in your hand. 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:23.000 You know how to defeat evil when it comes. 00:33:23.000 --> 00:33:25.000 And then you progress to a father. 00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:28.000 You fathers, you mature men in the face, mature people in the face. 00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:33.000 And what identifies about you is you have known him who is from the beginning. 00:33:33.000 --> 00:33:41.000 You are now comfortable with mystery, that God surprises you, that God can take your life as a living sacrifice, 00:33:41.000 --> 00:33:46.000 that he can alter your life plan with his life plan, that he can change all the dreams and desires you had. 00:33:46.000 --> 00:33:50.000 And because you did in him, he can give you his dreams and desires and you're happy. 00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:54.000 And you're happy to spend your life for the sake of the gospel. 00:33:54.000 --> 00:33:58.000 And you're growing in your maturity and things don't always work out the way you thought they would. 00:33:58.000 --> 00:33:59.000 And you're comfortable. 00:33:59.000 --> 00:34:05.000 You're not throwing your toys out the cart every time God didn't give you what you think God needs to give you. 00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:09.000 You're no longer a spoiled little brat because you suddenly progressed. 00:34:09.000 --> 00:34:10.000 Why? 00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:14.000 What is this progression from little child to young man to father? 00:34:14.000 --> 00:34:22.000 It's a progression of people who take the Logos, the word of God, into a heart that's ready for it and says, 00:34:22.000 --> 00:34:26.000 come, Lord, let your word bear fruit in my life. 00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:32.000 The problem is not the power of the Logos, it's coming to form structure, to form things in your life. 00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:34.000 God's coming to do things. 00:34:34.000 --> 00:34:40.000 The issue is what condition is the soil of your heart that that living word is getting put into. 00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:42.000 Stand with me, please. 00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:45.000 Thank you so much for being a part of our meeting today. 00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:47.000 Can I just ask two things? 00:34:47.000 --> 00:34:53.000 The first is if today the message has in any way been useful to you, would you mind just maybe liking it 00:34:53.000 --> 00:34:59.000 or putting perhaps a statement down or a comment down that we can know how the ministry has helped you. 00:34:59.000 --> 00:35:04.000 Maybe a thumbs up, maybe you can subscribe to the channel, do whatever, just so we can know what impact 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:06.000 this message may be having on you. 00:35:06.000 --> 00:35:12.000 And secondly, you may be someone who's saying, Greg, I hear you, and this hope that Jesus has for us 00:35:12.000 --> 00:35:14.000 can come into my heart and it can change me. 00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:19.000 But the reality is that I don't even know if I know Jesus, I want to say two things to you right away. 00:35:19.000 --> 00:35:21.000 The first is he's near you right now. 00:35:21.000 --> 00:35:26.000 The Bible says if you believe in your heart that he is the Lord, and if you confess him with your mouth, 00:35:26.000 --> 00:35:27.000 you will be saved. 00:35:27.000 --> 00:35:29.000 Which means you just need to where you are. 00:35:29.000 --> 00:35:33.000 Turn to the Lord Jesus Christ even now and just say, lord, here I am. 00:35:33.000 --> 00:35:35.000 I recognize who you are. 00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:37.000 I confess my sin to you. 00:35:37.000 --> 00:35:41.000 I acknowledge you as Jesus Christ, the Lord of all, the Son of the living God. 00:35:41.000 --> 00:35:43.000 And I want to follow you. 00:35:43.000 --> 00:35:45.000 I want to become a disciple of yours. 00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:48.000 I want to give my life to you, Lord. 00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:51.000 And you can pray that prayer right now between you and the Lord. 00:35:51.000 --> 00:35:53.000 Secondly, you can get hold of us. 00:35:53.000 --> 00:35:55.000 You can see the telephone number. 00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:58.000 You can get hold of us and say, hey, I've given my life to the Lord. 00:35:58.000 --> 00:36:00.000 Can you help me from here on out? 00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:05.000 And we could either send you some material, we can put you in touch with a really good church near you. 00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:09.000 If you live in our area, you can come to us, you can come follow us on YouTube. 00:36:09.000 --> 00:36:14.000 But it is good to get connected into the family of God, to get connected into a local church 00:36:14.000 --> 00:36:17.000 that your life changes being surrounded with the family of God. 00:36:17.000 --> 00:36:18.000 Please stay in touch. 00:36:18.000 --> 00:36:20.000 God bless you.