WEBVTT 00:00:02.080 --> 00:00:05.040 Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast. 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:06.879 Thank you so much for listening today. 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:09.439 We hope it encourages you and inspires you. 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:10.720 Here's today's message. 00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:12.160 Celebration Church Orlando. 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:12.880 How are you guys doing? 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:13.919 You guys doing good? 00:00:15.359 --> 00:00:15.679 Okay. 00:00:16.239 --> 00:00:18.480 That's not quite 1030 service energy. 00:00:18.719 --> 00:00:20.480 And I'm not comparing, but I kinda am. 00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:23.120 So let's do this again because I believe that nine o'clock is where it's at. 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:23.839 Y'all are true saints. 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:24.719 Y'all got up early. 00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:28.079 I believe there's a special level of righteousness to be here for the 9 o'clock service. 00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:28.960 So let me say this again. 00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:30.960 Celebration Orlando, how are you guys doing? 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:32.000 Are y'all doing good? 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:35.039 There we go, there we go, there we go. 00:00:35.119 --> 00:00:37.280 We're so glad that you are here with us today. 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:45.119 And I'm excited to um uh to be sharing uh the word with us today as we're closing out our series called Seeds. 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:51.119 Over the past couple of weeks, we've been unpacking um the parable that's found in the Gospel of Luke, chapter number eight. 00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:54.560 And I really do believe that it's been like a great catalyst. 00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:59.679 I think it's a great spot for us in the beginning of the year to kind of really talk about what's available to us. 00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:03.280 You know, our theme for this year is to be rooted and rising. 00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:10.480 I truly believe that that the principles that we see in scripture, the principles that we that we see in agriculture are very much true. 00:01:10.640 --> 00:01:13.200 That whatever you sow is what you will reap. 00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:15.840 Whatever you're rooted in is what you're going to be rising in. 00:01:15.920 --> 00:01:22.239 So we truly believe that this is a year that if we're rooted in the things of God, we're gonna rise and see a harvest in the things of God. 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:30.400 If we're rooted in the things of the world, we're gonna see a harvest that relates to that scripture over and over again, reminds us that whatever you're rooted in is what you're going to produce fruit in. 00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:36.239 And so this series is really meant to allow us to know what's available to us just through the power of the seed. 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:37.439 Somebody say seed. 00:01:38.239 --> 00:01:44.400 The power of the seed, that's the ability to transform our lives if we allow it to take root in our heart. 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:55.760 So over the past three weeks, we've been unpacking what the seed is, but more importantly, the varied types of terrain the seed may fall on, and how we can cultivate our lives in such a way that the seed can truly take root. 00:01:56.000 --> 00:02:05.439 As we conclude the series, I want to read it all in its entirety so that we can now get a full glimpse of what it is, I believe, that God wants to speak to us as we close out this series. 00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:14.879 In the Gospel of Luke, um chapter 8, starting at verse number 15, we're gonna read this one more time, and I hope that we can get this deep into our spirits as we as we wrap this up. 00:02:14.960 --> 00:02:19.599 Here's what it says it says this Um a sower went out to sow his seed. 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:25.280 As he sowed, some fell along the path and it was trampled on, and the birds of the sky devoured it. 00:02:25.360 --> 00:02:29.919 Other seed fell on a rock, and when it grew up, it withered away and because it lacked moisture. 00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:35.039 Other seed fell among the thorns, the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. 00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:41.680 Still other seed fell on good ground, and when it grew up, it produced fruit, a hundred times what was sown. 00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:47.360 As he said this, he called out, Let anyone who has ears to hear listen. 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:52.800 Then his disciples came to him and asked, What does this parable mean? 00:02:52.960 --> 00:03:03.759 So he said, The secrets of the kingdom of God have been given for you to know, but for the rest it is imperable, so that looking they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. 00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:05.840 But this is the meaning of the parable. 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:08.719 The seed is the word of God. 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:18.879 The seed along the path are those who have heard, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 00:03:19.120 --> 00:03:28.719 And the seed on a rock are those who, when they hear it, they receive the word with joy, but having no root, these believe for a while and fall away in a time of testing. 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:43.039 As for the seed that fell among the thorns, these are the ones that when they have heard, they go their way and are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of life and produce no mature fruit. 00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:59.759 But the seed on the good ground, these are the these are the ones who, having heard the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it by enduring and produce too much fruit. 00:04:00.479 --> 00:04:10.560 When you look at this in Matthew's account of the same parable, he says that they produce fruit a hundred times more than what they initially invested. 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:20.319 That there's a way that I can be so faithful in my walk with God, holding on to what he says that it's gonna produce more than what I put into it. 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:24.319 That is what you call a great return on your investment in the kingdom of God. 00:04:25.279 --> 00:04:36.480 Today I want to talk to us for a few moments around this idea of what it looks like when we get to see that 100fold response that Jesus is speaking about. 00:04:36.959 --> 00:04:39.920 If you're taking notes, and I hope that you are, I want you to write this message title down. 00:04:40.560 --> 00:04:41.199 It's so simple. 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:42.079 The harvest. 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:45.519 Let's pray and let's see what it is that God wants to speak to us today. 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:55.600 Lord, as we as we delve into your word, we've been on this journey of recognizing not only the power of your seed, but also the resistance that it can face in our lives. 00:04:56.079 --> 00:04:59.199 But Father, as we come to this conclusion, we want this outcome. 00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:07.680 We want to be people that can see the harvest, that can see the fruit of everything that we have sown into because you've made your seed available to us. 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:16.000 So Lord, I just pray over the next few moments that I decrease, that you increase, that everything that is spoken brings honor and glory to you. 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:19.680 Father, I just pray that you give us open eyes that we can see you. 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:24.959 I pray for open ears that we can hear you, and open hearts to receive everything that you have for us. 00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:26.639 It's in Jesus' name that we pray. 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:27.360 Amen. 00:05:27.920 --> 00:05:29.120 Amen and amen. 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:35.759 You know, I I'm not one to want to brag, but I'm gonna flex a little bit. 00:05:35.839 --> 00:05:42.720 That this week has been a remarkable week in the culinary context in the Pittman household. 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:45.279 In a culinary, I just like the way that sounds. 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:46.879 That just sounds so eloquent. 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:49.040 The culinary context in the Pittman household. 00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:50.560 Let me let me explain to you why. 00:05:50.720 --> 00:05:57.759 Uh on Monday, I I was moved by the Spirit of the Living God, and and I and I made lobster stuffed with crab meat. 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:01.439 It was amazing. 00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:02.399 It was amazing. 00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:03.519 Like, I know what you're thinking. 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:04.720 You're like, you did that on a Monday? 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:06.639 Like, yeah, that's how we do it in the Pittman household. 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:09.199 Like, I did that on a Monday, and I also know what you're thinking. 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:11.519 You're thinking, like, man, your wife is so lucky to have you. 00:06:11.680 --> 00:06:15.120 Um, to that, I would also say that is 100% true as well. 00:06:15.199 --> 00:06:22.879 Um, so so I we so we made that, and then later in the week, um, I I made these um I made these Mediterranean tacos like on the smoker man. 00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:25.120 It was absolutely amazing with with my smoke case. 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:26.879 So that was absolutely uh amazing. 00:06:26.959 --> 00:06:29.600 And then tonight, I'm I'm gonna be grilling up some steaks and some things. 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:31.439 So, like, your boy's showing off right now. 00:06:31.519 --> 00:06:33.439 I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm working a system right now. 00:06:33.519 --> 00:06:42.240 I I I got some things I'm working on, but there's this one recipe um that I had to prepare for because I saw this recipe for for um smoke guacamole. 00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:46.160 Um it's it's it's it's been calling me for about a year now. 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:48.319 Um and so I feel like this is the time to go and get it. 00:06:48.399 --> 00:06:51.519 But the thing about guac obviously is that you you need avocados. 00:06:51.680 --> 00:07:02.959 And so, in preparation for this very moment, I went to the grocery store to get the avocado so they can be ready for me when I get home from church today, so I could begin the process of making this amazing meal. 00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:05.439 Again, Megan is so lucky to have me. 00:07:05.600 --> 00:07:14.079 Um But when I went to the grocery store and I saw the recipe, and the recipe had called for a very specific type of avocado. 00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:18.000 So when I went into the grocery store, I didn't see the pickings that I was used to seeing. 00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:23.759 And so I saw the guy that was working in produce, and I said, Hey man, do you guys have any of the Florida um avocados? 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:28.560 And he and he looked at me and he was like, he was like, No, man, like those those aren't in season right now. 00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:32.399 What you see is basically all that we have left at this exact moment. 00:07:32.639 --> 00:07:37.759 And so I'm seeing these sad avocados that have clearly been the ones that have been rejected after the past few weeks. 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:42.079 And so now I'm thinking to myself, do I accept defeat or do I try to go to another store? 00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:56.319 So as I'm walking there trying to process through what do I do with this dilemma, I see this guy out of the corner of my eye, and he kind of like whispers to me, he's like, I look over, he's like, he's like, You don't want to ask about those avocados? 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:00.639 I was like, Yeah. 00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:03.439 He said, How many you need? 00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:06.240 I said, bro, like how many you got? 00:08:06.399 --> 00:08:07.279 He said, How many you need? 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:10.079 I'm like, all right, give me, give me like four, give me like four or five. 00:08:10.160 --> 00:08:11.600 He's like, Alright, I got you. 00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:13.519 And I blink and he's gone. 00:08:13.759 --> 00:08:17.279 So I'm standing there for about two minutes, wondering, like, yo, like, what was this? 00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:18.639 He didn't have on any type of uniform. 00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:19.519 He was dressed like me. 00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:30.079 Like, I didn't know what was going on, so I didn't know if if somehow avocado was a street term for something that I just got caught up in the middle of, and I didn't know that I'm caught in a sting operation or something. 00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:32.159 So I'm like, okay, like I don't know if I should be here. 00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:34.399 So I'm I'm just gonna keep walking and I'm just gonna move on. 00:08:34.480 --> 00:08:36.720 And if I happen to see the guy, then then so be it. 00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:43.120 I I go through the story, pick up a couple of other items, and then he just shows up, he appears, and he's like, hey, here you go. 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:45.279 And I'm like, man, like, why are we looking around? 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:48.080 He's like, yo, these just came off the truck. 00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:50.480 These just fresh off the truck, bro. 00:08:50.559 --> 00:08:53.279 Like, you yo, let me know what you think. 00:08:53.519 --> 00:09:00.320 So as I'm sitting here and I take these avocados, he said, hey, but listen, you you can't ring them up until 11 o'clock because they're not even in the system yet. 00:09:00.559 --> 00:09:02.879 So I got some unauthorized avocados. 00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:08.639 But I was done shopping and it was like 10.40. 00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:09.840 I mean, it was like 1048. 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:11.919 I'm like, I gotta, I gotta wait another 12 minutes. 00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:15.120 So he's like, Yeah, man, just wait, wait until wait until about 11 o'clock. 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:18.960 The man go ahead and check out, just go straight to the self-checkout, don't let nobody know that you saw me. 00:09:19.039 --> 00:09:22.000 And then he, and then, and then he literally, then I was like, what is going on? 00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:23.200 And then he was gone. 00:09:23.440 --> 00:09:24.399 Just like that. 00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:26.480 And so I began to ponder for a moment. 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:29.200 I was like, did I just have an encounter with an angel? 00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:32.320 Is is this is this what it's like? 00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:37.759 I know that when Ezekiel saw an angel, he saw the throne room of heaven and saw the wheel in the middle of the wheel and all the eyes. 00:09:37.840 --> 00:09:40.240 I got avocados, so I think that we're on the same page. 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:50.720 I I get these avocados, and when I walk up, I check out and I'm looking around, I'm looking over my shoulder, and and then when I remember asking him, I was like, but bro, I I thought I thought that the avocados weren't in season. 00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:53.039 And I'll never forget the words that he spoke to me. 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:56.399 He says, Nah, these are built different. 00:09:56.639 --> 00:09:58.320 They always in season. 00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:02.879 I'm like, yo, this is amazing. 00:10:03.039 --> 00:10:12.000 So so I leave with my illegal avocados, and and as I'm walking outside, I'm looking over my shoulder and I'm thinking, like, yo, I literally had an angelic encounter. 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:17.679 And then I looked up and then I saw him giving somebody else avocados, and it didn't feel special anymore. 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:25.600 He he had lured me in, but apparently he was the produce manager and he was hooking people up because they had just got a fresh batch of avocados. 00:10:25.679 --> 00:10:28.639 But there's something that I just cannot shake that this man had said. 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:33.840 He said, These are built different, they're always in season. 00:10:34.399 --> 00:10:40.000 He he said that there are some avocados, that there's a season when there is going to be some fruit there. 00:10:40.240 --> 00:10:48.080 But these particular ones, no matter what season they're enduring, they have the ability to continue to grow and produce fruit. 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:51.440 I wish I was talking to somebody that understood where I was going with this. 00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:59.679 Because I believe that there are some of us that believe that depending on the season, that depends on whether or not we have the capacity to be fruitful. 00:10:59.840 --> 00:11:07.200 But as I got in my car and I was driving home, I felt like the Holy Spirit said to me, This is what the condition of the Christian is supposed to be like. 00:11:07.440 --> 00:11:09.039 No, you're built different. 00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:10.480 You're always in season. 00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:15.120 You're built different, you're always able to produce fruit no matter what season you may be facing. 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:17.679 You're built different, so you should be able to endure. 00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:24.000 You're built different, so you should handle job loss a little bit different than everyone else because you got the revelation that I am your provider. 00:11:24.159 --> 00:11:30.080 You're built different, so even when you get that sick diagnosis that you understand that I'm a healer, so you're gonna still be able to respond differently. 00:11:30.240 --> 00:11:33.600 He said, make sure you understand, Keith, that you are built different. 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:38.559 You are capable of producing something in every single season. 00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:47.519 When I look at what Jesus' words are speaking and he begins to talk about this concept of harvest, I think sometimes we can overlook the significance of what he's saying. 00:11:47.679 --> 00:11:52.639 Did you know that back in Jesus' time, that the harvest lasted longer than any other season? 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:54.240 In fact, all of them combined. 00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:58.559 The harvest season typically lasted about seven to nine months. 00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:03.840 And depending on what was going on, that determined the fruit that was going to be produced as a result of it. 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:11.679 So that means that in seven to nine months, that the that the seed had to endure some things, but it still was able to produce some fruit. 00:12:11.840 --> 00:12:15.600 That means that even in that time of harvest, it was still going to be some rainy seasons. 00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:17.120 Can somebody say storms? 00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:19.759 But it still was able to produce some fruit from it. 00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:24.720 That even in those cold seasons in the wintertime, that it still was able to produce some fruit. 00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:39.279 That even in the dry seasons, those drought seasons, interestingly enough, that's the season where the olive trees are able to produce the most amount of olives because they don't need all the moisture like other ones do because they are built to be able to endure the dry seasons. 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:46.960 It's no coincidence that olive trees are the ones that create olive oil, which is the representation of the anointing, which is the representation of the Holy Spirit. 00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:53.759 That means that even when I am in dry seasons, that the anointing can still come out of me because I should always be in season. 00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:55.200 Somebody say in season. 00:12:56.080 --> 00:12:57.200 But here's the beautiful thing. 00:12:57.279 --> 00:13:01.919 I want you to recognize is that the season that you're in doesn't stop the harvest that God has for you. 00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:06.320 The season that you're in doesn't stop the harvest that God has for you. 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:10.399 But I also want to make sure that we have proper context. 00:13:10.639 --> 00:13:15.840 I don't believe that every area of your life will always be fruitful. 00:13:17.039 --> 00:13:21.519 But I do believe that every season of your life is capable of producing fruit. 00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:24.960 I don't believe that your everything's gonna always be going well. 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:26.080 I don't believe that. 00:13:26.240 --> 00:13:32.879 But I do believe that no matter what's going on, God can do something in you that's gonna be effective, that's gonna be able to move you forward. 00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:34.080 So, how do we do this? 00:13:34.320 --> 00:13:36.879 The concept is you gotta have good ground. 00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:46.720 It's all about making sure that we are cultivating a good ground so that whatever is planted in us has the ability to produce what God wants us to produce. 00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:52.720 Good ground from an agricultural context is a ground that has been meticulously prepared. 00:13:52.960 --> 00:14:03.279 Rocks have been removed, the weeds have been removed, and now you're in a position that you're ready to receive the seed of the word of God, allowing it to take root in our hearts. 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:07.919 See, we have to understand that the harvest is a promise, but it's also a process. 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:11.759 It's a promise, but it's also a process. 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:14.159 Jesus says these words to his disciples. 00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:24.080 He says, Now these people, now that we're talking about the ones who are able to produce fruit, these are the ones who have heard the word, and watch this, it says, and held on to it. 00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:35.360 They heard it with a good heart, they they held it with conviction, and it says, and they held on to it, and as they held on to it, it was able to produce an immense amount of fruit. 00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:36.639 They they held on to it. 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:44.559 When you look at that word held on in the context of the Greek, what it actually speaks about is someone who is actively restraining. 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:45.679 Actively restraining. 00:14:45.759 --> 00:14:47.279 It makes me think about my my big brother. 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:53.360 There was a there was a time when I was in high school and I was being bullied by somebody who didn't know that my big brother was a star football player. 00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:54.720 And so he had no clue. 00:14:54.799 --> 00:14:59.519 And so I still remember that moment when he was picking on me, and then my brother showed up. 00:14:59.759 --> 00:15:02.799 And when my brother showed up, he he didn't have a lot of restraint. 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:05.120 So when the guy saw my brother, he begins to back away. 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:10.159 And I just remember seeing my brother approaching him with this anger, because that's what you expect the big brother to do. 00:15:10.320 --> 00:15:11.279 That's exactly what he felt. 00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:12.960 He did his job, he was standing on business. 00:15:13.039 --> 00:15:16.559 So he was approaching this guy, and as he was approaching the guy, the guy was backing away. 00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:18.559 But I recognized there was something in me. 00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:20.480 Ever since I was 14, I had a pastor's heart. 00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:21.519 I'm like, man, don't hurt him. 00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:24.720 So I remember getting in front of my brother and I was holding him back. 00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:27.039 I said, hey man, just let it go, just let it go. 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:29.600 But I remember him moving forward, but I was holding him back. 00:15:29.759 --> 00:15:35.840 That image is what I want you to get when I'm talking about when the enemy is trying to steal the truth of God's word out of your life. 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:37.440 You gotta have this ability to hold on to it. 00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:38.960 It's like, no, but I'm holding on to it. 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:44.399 I realize I'm dealing with some, but I'm I'm holding this thing back because I believe that this is gonna take some root in my life. 00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:47.679 It's all about making sure that we hold on to that soil. 00:15:47.840 --> 00:15:52.720 I believe that there's a beautiful narrative found in scripture that beautifully accentuates this. 00:15:53.039 --> 00:15:56.720 There's a story about a man called Naaman in 2 Kings. 00:15:56.799 --> 00:16:01.120 And what the Bible says about him, I preached about him a few weeks ago, but but he's the one who showed up. 00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:06.080 He he came to Israel, he asked Elijah to wave his hand over his situation so that it could be fixed. 00:16:06.159 --> 00:16:08.399 But Elijah said, No, you're gonna have to be fully immersed. 00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:11.600 He goes out, he baptizes himself in the Jordan River seven times. 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:13.840 He comes out and he's completely clean. 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:18.320 When he comes out, he knows that he has to go back to this pagan environment that he just came from. 00:16:18.399 --> 00:16:22.480 So he says to Elijah, he's like, Hey, I know that my life has just been changed. 00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:27.679 I've had an encounter with the living God, but I gotta go back to a pagan environment where they don't believe in God. 00:16:27.840 --> 00:16:30.399 But I know that I just received the harvest of healing. 00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:39.120 And so I'm asking you, can I take the soil from the ground with me so that matter where I go, I am able to cultivate the harvest of faith. 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:44.240 I'm able to cultivate the harvest of joy because I'm gonna go into some environments where there is no joy. 00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:46.559 I'm gonna go into some environments where there is no peace. 00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:49.039 I'm gonna go into some environments where there is no God. 00:16:49.200 --> 00:16:57.360 But because of my encounter, I'm gonna cultivate that and I want to bring the soil with me so that no matter where I'm at, I'm still able to produce a harvest of faith. 00:16:57.519 --> 00:17:10.559 What I believe can happen to some of us, we may come to church, we may come to a worship night, we may have a Bible study, and we have this encounter with the living God, but sadly we leave it at the altar and we're going back into these pagan environments and we're not bringing the soil with us. 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:17.119 But what if I were to tell you that God is saying, I need you to bring the soil with you because you can be fruitful even in a godless job. 00:17:17.279 --> 00:17:22.880 You can be fruitful even with the unbelieving spouse, but you got to hold on to it and bring it with you. 00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:25.839 Can y'all tell I'm excited today? 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:33.519 He says, I want to I need to take this soil from Israel back with me so that it's able to produce fruit. 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:36.559 We're talking about the idea of good ground. 00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:46.240 And when you find that you have been on good ground, you're gonna do any and everything you can to invest so that it can grow and cultivate exactly what you believe God wants you to do. 00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:50.319 So the question becomes this how do I become good ground? 00:17:50.480 --> 00:18:01.599 When Jesus is saying that these are the ones who held on to it and that they're good ground and it produced fruit, Keith, how do I actively become a person that is good ground for what God wants to do in my life? 00:18:02.400 --> 00:18:17.119 Every single week when I stand before you guys, every single week whenever I stand before any group of people, there's a three-fold prayer that I pray that is meant to spiritually cultivate a good ground in all of us. 00:18:17.519 --> 00:18:26.400 Maybe you've been here for a period of time, but you know that every time I pray, I say, God give us open eyes, God give us open ears, and God give us open hearts. 00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:32.480 When we are in that position, we are good ground for what God wants to do in our lives. 00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:35.359 So I've just given you all three points straight up front. 00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:37.839 This is like me saying, This is going to be on a test. 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:53.359 You already got the information, but I want to unpack in a little bit more detail so we can understand that every time I pray this over you, that you understand prophetically what I'm trying to do is cultivate an atmosphere where we can see, hear, and receive everything that God has for us. 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:56.240 Here's the first one open eyes. 00:18:56.640 --> 00:19:08.079 In order for us to truly be people that can cultivate good ground in our lives, the first thing we have to pray for and believe for is that God will open our eyes. 00:19:08.400 --> 00:19:12.640 But he has to open our eyes to see the right things. 00:19:13.119 --> 00:19:18.559 Because we live in a world where our eyes are wide open, but we're more blind than we ever have been. 00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:27.519 I I recently got a new computer, and as I'm getting this new computer, I'm researching the varying ways that I can use it so that I can be more productive and more effective. 00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:38.319 And what I began to recognize as I was looking at all of the content that's been curated on YouTube, I found that we are becoming experts at multitasking and we celebrate it. 00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:41.039 And maybe in certain environments, that's a beautiful thing. 00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:47.440 But here's the reality: none of us, none of us have the bandwidth to be 100% in multiple places. 00:19:48.079 --> 00:19:53.039 So what ends up happening is multitasking just becomes code word for distracted. 00:19:53.839 --> 00:19:58.640 That I can I can do a bunch of different things, but at the end of the day, I'm not focused on any one thing. 00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:02.000 And sadly, we bring that into our belief system. 00:20:02.160 --> 00:20:10.079 And then we're trying to multitask, and Jesus is just another thing that's that's maybe in the background, but it's not the forefront, so we lose the filter of it. 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:15.039 Nothing is more real to me than when I took my daughters uh to Disney for the very first time. 00:20:15.119 --> 00:20:23.599 And me wanting to capture these moments with them and capture their joy and their excitement and taking pictures as they're getting on the different rides and the different experiences. 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:29.279 But what was happening is every time I'll pull up my phone to take a picture of something, I would get an email or I'll get a text message. 00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:31.279 And then I would say, like, okay, I could reply to that real quick. 00:20:31.359 --> 00:20:34.720 It's it's not going to take me that long just to say yes, no, okay, maybe tomorrow. 00:20:34.880 --> 00:20:36.640 Like, I'm trying to do this as much as possible. 00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:45.519 But I got caught up into this one text thread, and then apparently about five minutes had passed with me standing in one location and I completely lost sight of my family. 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:49.599 Now, before y'all call anybody on me, they were with my with my wife, so they weren't wandering around lost. 00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:50.799 I was the lost one. 00:20:50.960 --> 00:21:00.240 But I was standing in the middle of of this amusement park, and I'm looking around and a sensory overload, and I've lost sight of what's the most important things in my life. 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:10.960 I was so inundated with being engaged with what's going on in my hand, what's happening in other parts of the world, that I completely lost sight because I didn't prioritize what was most important to me. 00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:19.039 I hope this simple illustration is something that is challenging to us because I often wonder what is the thing that is more important to God in your life? 00:21:22.480 --> 00:21:23.119 Let me hear you. 00:21:23.599 --> 00:21:33.599 I'm not gonna make up your what I'm saying is what I'm saying is the things in our lives are often the things that we drift to, that becomes our default mode, and then somehow we say, but I don't have time for Devo. 00:21:34.319 --> 00:21:36.160 Your screen time says otherwise. 00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:40.480 I I don't have time to come and engage in community. 00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:44.799 But but but your but your bank account shows that you have time and resources to do a lot of other things. 00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:52.799 What I'm saying is that we have the ability to make excuses because we've gotten great at multitasking and we've lost sight of the most important thing. 00:21:52.960 --> 00:21:58.799 When I was walking around trying to find my family, I was I would it was sensory overload as because I lost sight of them. 00:21:58.880 --> 00:21:59.680 There were so many things going. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:00.559 On. 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:13.119 And that same thing happens with us because as we're engaged in all of these different things, while it may seem entertaining, but a lot of times it's it's fueling fear, it's fueling anxiety, it's fueling doubt, it's fueling a lot of different things that are going on in our mind. 00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:17.759 And all of a sudden we begin to lose sight of the power of God that we serve. 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:19.359 We lose sight of his promises. 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:28.559 So when I say God, give us open eyes, it is literally a prayer of declaration that in spite of all that's going on, we don't ignore it, but God, I see you through it all. 00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:30.000 Give us open eyes. 00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:43.119 Paul tells the church in Ephesus and Ephesians 1.18, he says, I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the things, what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints. 00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:53.519 This is such a beautiful prayer that Paul is saying that even though you're inundated and being in this paganistic environment, there's all these different cultures, but I pray that the eyes of your heart are enlightened. 00:22:53.599 --> 00:22:54.960 I pray that you see this. 00:22:55.119 --> 00:22:58.640 I pray that you can see the activity of God amongst your lives. 00:22:58.880 --> 00:23:04.880 Second Kings chapter 6 tells this beautiful story of when Elisha was being surrounded by the enemy. 00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:09.519 And while he was there, his servant that was next to him says, What are we going to do? 00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:15.759 It's just us here by ourselves, and I can see every single enemy that has us surrounded. 00:23:15.920 --> 00:23:26.000 But Elijah, which I believe this is where Paul got it from, he says, Lord, open his eyes so that he may see those who are with us are more than those who are with them. 00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:38.000 It says, In that moment that the servant's eyes were open, and he was able to see an outer rim of angelic beings that were there to intercede for every opposition that the enemy was throwing their way. 00:23:38.160 --> 00:23:44.079 What I want to encourage you with is maybe you came in here with an itemized list of every challenge that you are facing. 00:23:44.240 --> 00:23:48.000 Maybe you have a detailed breakdown of everything that's not going good in your life. 00:23:48.160 --> 00:23:55.039 But my prayer is this Lord, open their eyes and allow them to see that those who are with them are greater than those who are against them. 00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:59.680 God, open their eyes and allow them to see that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. 00:23:59.759 --> 00:24:02.559 God, allow them to see, God, that you're faithful and true. 00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:05.359 Allow them to see that you have power on the inside of you. 00:24:05.519 --> 00:24:11.039 Allow them to see that God is gonna stick with them through every storm that they've allow them to see that, God, you are faithful. 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:13.680 Allow them to see that God, you're gonna get them through the storm. 00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:14.640 Allow them to see it. 00:24:14.799 --> 00:24:18.400 Don't lose sight of the power of God in the midst of your situation. 00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:23.039 It doesn't mean that we won't go through situations, but it does mean that we won't go through them alone. 00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:29.680 Helen Keller once says, the only thing worse than being blind is having vision but no sight. 00:24:31.200 --> 00:24:38.720 Let us not be people that have vision but we don't have clarity on what God is doing in our lives. 00:24:39.039 --> 00:24:44.799 Let us slow down and let us recognize and see the activity of God and not be so distracted. 00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:49.039 The second point is this God give us open ears so that we can hear you. 00:24:49.680 --> 00:24:58.319 God just give us the ability to hear you above everything else, because the fact of the matter is there's always going to be things that are that are yelling out. 00:24:58.480 --> 00:25:06.400 In Matthew's gospel in chapter 13, verse 9, Jesus says these words let anyone who has ears, let them listen. 00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:09.519 If you have ears to hear, let them hear it. 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:13.359 Let them hear it above all the chaos, let them hear it above all the distractions. 00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:19.519 Hearing is not merely a physical process, but it's a it's an act of spiritual reception. 00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:24.880 Tuning into God's voice amidst all of the chaos and life's demands. 00:25:25.359 --> 00:25:30.480 God, I still want to hear you even when there's distractions all around me. 00:25:31.039 --> 00:25:37.440 Wednesdays have traditionally been days that I would say they were designated for message prep for me exclusively. 00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:46.559 Those are days that after processing through whatever sermon, whatever series, that Wednesdays are the days that I put it all together and begin to kind of pray into what I believe Sunday is going to be. 00:25:46.640 --> 00:25:48.480 That has since changed a little bit this year. 00:25:48.799 --> 00:25:54.880 Wednesdays have become incredibly busy for me now that we're seeing clients now, now that we have a lot of activity going on. 00:25:54.960 --> 00:25:56.480 We we um I'm leading a men's group. 00:25:56.640 --> 00:25:57.920 Anybody in here from our men's group? 00:25:58.880 --> 00:25:59.839 Yes, let's go. 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:02.000 We're we we lead a marriage group on Wednesdays. 00:26:02.079 --> 00:26:03.519 Anybody in here from our marriage group? 00:26:04.960 --> 00:26:05.599 Yeah. 00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:07.279 Yeah, four of us. 00:26:07.440 --> 00:26:10.480 Okay, so it's great, it's great, it's great, it's okay, it's no problem. 00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:10.880 It's okay. 00:26:10.960 --> 00:26:14.799 Um, so so Wednesdays have become very, very power-packed days for me. 00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:21.359 And so for me, I have to find ways to still worship and still prepare, but I also have to make room for other things that are going on. 00:26:21.599 --> 00:26:31.920 And so this past Wednesday, I had a meeting with a colleague, and so when I came in, I was like, okay, well, I need to make sure that I still have my time of worship because I don't ever want to talk about a God that I haven't talked to. 00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:33.759 I don't want to ever be beginning. 00:26:36.079 --> 00:26:37.759 Don't y'all play with me. 00:26:38.640 --> 00:26:43.039 So I know that I have to be creative in how I begin that now that my schedule is a lot more busy. 00:26:43.200 --> 00:26:49.519 So as I was driving into downtown um this past Wednesday, I was having a whole worship service in my car. 00:26:49.680 --> 00:26:51.279 Like I was just riding, getting after it. 00:26:51.359 --> 00:26:54.960 Like I'm riding down the street, got my hands lifted up, people are looking at me like, yo, that's dangerous. 00:26:55.039 --> 00:26:56.720 I'm like, shut up, the Lord's gonna take the wheel. 00:26:56.880 --> 00:26:59.200 Like, I'm I'm it's it's it's going amazing. 00:26:59.279 --> 00:27:02.799 And then when I get out of the car, I have to walk about four blocks to get to the coffee shop. 00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:06.799 I park at our at our offices and I get out and then I use my headphones. 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:13.759 And when I put my headphones in, I'm walking, but I get about uh, I'll say about maybe a half a block, and I realize I can't hear the music. 00:27:13.920 --> 00:27:18.480 It's very faint in the background, but I can hear everything in the city. 00:27:18.640 --> 00:27:22.000 Like it's drowning out literally the worship music that I was playing. 00:27:22.240 --> 00:27:25.839 And it occurred to me that I was listening on transparency mode. 00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:38.480 I have these little ear pods that you put in, and they have these different settings, and when you put it on transparency mode, it basically magnifies the outside sound, but you it comes at the expense of losing the volume of what you're trying to listen to. 00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:42.000 So as I was walking the streets, it was faint in the background. 00:27:42.160 --> 00:27:48.000 I couldn't hear the music that clear, but I could hear everything that was happening around me, and it was it was downright distracting. 00:27:48.079 --> 00:27:49.200 But so here's what I did. 00:27:49.279 --> 00:27:50.880 I said, okay, cool, I got a solution for that. 00:27:50.960 --> 00:27:52.880 I'm gonna put it on noise cancellation mode. 00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:53.359 Boom. 00:27:53.440 --> 00:27:56.559 And it was like a vacuum, like, and that's and it was like it was amazing. 00:27:56.640 --> 00:27:59.920 So as I'm walking down the street now, I can't hear a thing. 00:28:00.079 --> 00:28:08.640 So I'm just walking, I get about a good two blocks, and then I get to this spot where I'm standing there, but then I can kind of sense that there's somebody coming in close. 00:28:08.799 --> 00:28:11.039 I'm not sure if I told you, I'm from the streets up north. 00:28:11.119 --> 00:28:16.640 So when I see someone coming in close, I'm not thinking they want me to lay hands on them, but I'm thinking that I may have to lay hands on them. 00:28:16.799 --> 00:28:17.039 Okay. 00:28:17.200 --> 00:28:19.920 Um I'm downtown Orlando, man. 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:21.279 You gotta be able to adapt to your environment. 00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:32.960 So as I'm as I'm as I'm there and I see somebody closing in on my periphery, I realize it was someone who had been talking to me for the past block, but I didn't hear them because I had it on noise cancellation mode. 00:28:33.119 --> 00:28:38.720 I take the earbud out and he's like, hey, um, do you do you happen to have a couple dollars on you that that you can give me? 00:28:38.880 --> 00:28:39.599 It startled me. 00:28:39.680 --> 00:28:42.240 So I was like, I was like, nah, man, I don't I don't have any cash on me. 00:28:42.400 --> 00:28:43.680 And I turned to walk away. 00:28:43.920 --> 00:28:47.359 But God is so interesting because watch this. 00:28:47.680 --> 00:28:55.039 I was so completely oblivious to the needs of people around me that the song I was listening to was an Israel Houghton song called Others. 00:28:55.200 --> 00:29:01.839 And as I put my headphones back in, he starts singing, can I love other people the way that you have loved me? 00:29:02.960 --> 00:29:07.359 So as I'm walking and I stop, I'm like, okay, I guess I failed that. 00:29:08.160 --> 00:29:09.920 So then I turned around and I gave him some money. 00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:12.319 But here's here's what I want you to, here's what I want you to capture. 00:29:12.559 --> 00:29:24.319 When we're talking about having open ears, there's a difference between being Christians who have it on transparency mode that I can't hear the voice of God, and all I can hear is the voice of the world, and I've lost sense of what God is speaking altogether. 00:29:24.480 --> 00:29:36.240 But there's also the other extreme Christians that are so consumed with their own spirituality, they're not listening to the message of God telling them that you need to actually be sensitive and serve other people that are right around you, that you somehow have learned how to other and you don't care about them anymore. 00:29:36.319 --> 00:29:37.119 Don't y'all get me started. 00:29:37.200 --> 00:29:40.960 So, what God showed me in my app is he showed me adaptive mode. 00:29:41.039 --> 00:29:52.480 And what adaptive mode allows me to do is it adapts to my surroundings so that if someone begins to speak to me, it lowers the volume just enough that I can hear them while still simultaneously hearing the worship music in the background. 00:29:52.640 --> 00:29:56.000 When I say having open ears, I'm not talking about closing out on the world. 00:29:56.160 --> 00:30:07.839 What I'm saying is be more in tune to what the Spirit of God is leading you to do because he may tell you to buy that person a cup of coffee, he may be telling you to sew into that person's life without asking any questions, he may tell you to be quiet in that moment. 00:30:07.920 --> 00:30:13.039 What God is challenging us to do is to be open-eared so that we can hear exactly what God is telling us to do. 00:30:13.119 --> 00:30:13.680 And guess what? 00:30:13.839 --> 00:30:19.839 Sometime it's going to challenge us, sometime it's going to correct us, sometimes it's going to redirect us. 00:30:20.319 --> 00:30:24.640 But God is always speaking to us if we have the ears to hear it. 00:30:26.079 --> 00:30:27.279 Here's the third and final thing. 00:30:27.359 --> 00:30:31.519 I'm gonna I want to move on because I really want us to spend a few minutes in in worship. 00:30:31.680 --> 00:30:34.240 The final thing is we need to have open hearts. 00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:40.799 Open hearts is just to be a person who is willing to receive what God is speaking. 00:30:40.880 --> 00:30:44.640 But but the interesting thing about an open heart is that it starts with an open mind. 00:30:44.880 --> 00:30:47.039 An open mind leads to an open heart. 00:30:47.200 --> 00:30:49.440 You you have to have the ability to be open-minded. 00:30:49.519 --> 00:30:59.279 Have you ever considered that you could be in a church service like this, somewhere else, and and and people can walk away with completely different experiences, completely different perspectives. 00:30:59.440 --> 00:31:03.759 Like you can hear a word from God and be like, uh, this has radically changed my life. 00:31:03.920 --> 00:31:07.440 I'm going to change the way I orient my life as a result of what God has spoken to me. 00:31:07.519 --> 00:31:09.440 And somebody's like, Man, it's okay. 00:31:09.759 --> 00:31:11.839 What's what's this what's the disconnect? 00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:20.559 Now, we could be distracted, there could be a lot of varying nuances, but what I've found is that people that are the most resistant to the gospel are people who have very closed minds. 00:31:20.720 --> 00:31:24.480 And when you have a closed mind, it's hard for you to have an open heart. 00:31:24.720 --> 00:31:35.920 I believe this is beautifully expressed in the Gospel of Luke chapter 19 with the story of Zacchaeus, because the Bible speaks about him, and what he says about Zacchaeus is he says, Um, he just wanted to see Jesus. 00:31:36.160 --> 00:31:37.599 That's being open-minded. 00:31:37.759 --> 00:32:01.599 Like he had no context, he was living his best life, he had all the resources and wealth that he could ever ask for, but he was at a place where he hears about Jesus, he sees that Jesus has just healed a man in the distance named blind Barnamaeus, he sees that all the all the excitement, and the Bible says that he just wanted to see Jesus for himself, so he broke free from the crowd and repositioned himself so that he can see Jesus for himself. 00:32:01.759 --> 00:32:04.079 That's being open-minded. 00:32:04.400 --> 00:32:14.079