WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:02.080 Um, I have a high schooler now. 00:00:02.160 --> 00:00:03.200 My oldest is in high school. 00:00:03.279 --> 00:00:04.879 I don't know what to what is that? 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:05.679 I'm old. 00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:07.440 Okay, that's what that means. 00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:08.400 Oh man. 00:00:08.480 --> 00:00:14.240 Well, uh last Sunday we started a new series called Stories Jesus Told. 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:19.039 For the next few weeks, we're looking at some of these famous stories that Jesus told. 00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:23.519 This is part of a larger study that we've been doing ever since February called Following Jesus. 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:26.239 We're going through the entire book of Matthew this year. 00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:30.960 And if you have actually students that are first grade through high school, they're going through the book of Matthew right along with us. 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:35.759 The takeaways might be a little different, but they're studying the same scriptures that we're studying in here. 00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:39.439 So if you have kids, you can kind of do that experience together, which I think is cool. 00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:42.399 But if you're new, you haven't been here, don't worry, you're not behind. 00:00:42.560 --> 00:00:44.399 Every week stands on its own. 00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:46.960 We're just trying to get our eyes laser focused on Jesus. 00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:51.840 We want to know him better, we want to understand him better, because you can never know Jesus too well. 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:53.920 You can never be too focused on Jesus. 00:00:54.079 --> 00:00:56.399 You can never have too clear of a picture of Jesus. 00:00:56.640 --> 00:00:59.119 He is the answer for life. 00:00:59.359 --> 00:01:03.280 And so we're spending our year going, Jesus, we just want to know you more. 00:01:03.520 --> 00:01:04.959 And we're laser focused on him. 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:08.959 And right now we're in this very interesting season of Jesus' ministry. 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:17.840 It's about two years in to the three years that Jesus was active in ministry from the time he was baptized to the time that he was crucified and then rose again. 00:01:18.079 --> 00:01:22.319 And Jesus is starting to teach now in a little bit of a different way. 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:28.400 Publicly, when he's out with the crowds, he's almost exclusively teaching in parables now. 00:01:28.560 --> 00:01:35.840 And parables are these little stories where a spiritual truth is set alongside an everyday occurrence. 00:01:36.159 --> 00:01:39.920 But the meaning of those parables is a little bit up for interpretation. 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:42.159 There are a few that Jesus lays out clearly. 00:01:42.239 --> 00:01:45.280 He tells his disciples later, hey, hey, here's exactly what this means. 00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:49.359 But for the most part, we read these parables and we do our best to say, man, what is this about? 00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:50.159 What does this mean? 00:01:50.239 --> 00:01:51.760 What are the takeaways? 00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:53.920 There's a lot of reasons why Jesus did that. 00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:55.680 Number one, we talked about this last week. 00:01:55.760 --> 00:01:56.879 He had a lot of enemies. 00:01:56.959 --> 00:02:00.159 And his enemies were always trying to trap him and arrest him. 00:02:00.239 --> 00:02:11.199 And by teaching him parables, Jesus is kind of always speaking in code, so it's really hard for his enemies to arrest him or try to pin something on him because, again, what he's saying, it's up for interpretation. 00:02:11.840 --> 00:02:15.199 Part of the reason why Jesus probably taught this way is because it's memorable. 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:16.560 Like it's super memorable. 00:02:16.639 --> 00:02:20.400 Sometimes people will come to me and say, hey, I really enjoyed the message last week. 00:02:20.479 --> 00:02:22.479 And I'll be like, What did I talk about last week? 00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:23.439 I can't remember. 00:02:23.599 --> 00:02:26.560 And part of that is because I always have to dump and then move on to the next one. 00:02:26.719 --> 00:02:30.960 But that also means that my messages aren't that memorable because I don't even remember them, right? 00:02:31.199 --> 00:02:34.560 Jesus was able to say things that people just remembered. 00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:36.159 I had a teacher in high school. 00:02:36.319 --> 00:02:37.120 I thought about this this week. 00:02:37.199 --> 00:02:38.240 It popped in my head. 00:02:38.479 --> 00:02:39.759 His name was Bruce Tucker. 00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:40.719 We all called him Dr. 00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:41.439 Bruce. 00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:42.479 And Dr. 00:02:42.560 --> 00:02:46.159 Bruce kind of spoke in like riddles and sing song. 00:02:46.240 --> 00:02:47.599 He was an interesting guy. 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:50.879 I remember this one day specifically, I'm walking down the hallway, and there's Dr. 00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:53.120 Bruce walking the other way, and it's just the two of us. 00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:54.319 And I said to him, Dr. 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:55.280 Bruce, how's it going? 00:02:55.360 --> 00:02:56.319 And here was his response. 00:02:56.400 --> 00:02:59.919 He said these words, the wheel will roll. 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:04.560 And I remember walking by going, the wheel will roll. 00:03:04.879 --> 00:03:05.599 I said, Dr. 00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:06.479 Bruce, how are you doing? 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:07.919 He went, The wheel will roll. 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:09.840 And I was like, Cool. 00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:10.800 What? 00:03:11.039 --> 00:03:11.919 And here's the thing. 00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:12.879 I don't know what he meant. 00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:15.520 I don't know if he meant, hey, life just happens and you just gotta roll with it. 00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:18.560 I'm not, but I've spent 20 years wondering. 00:03:18.800 --> 00:03:20.400 That was 20 years ago. 00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:21.599 I remember that moment. 00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:25.439 I can remember where I was standing, and I've spent 20 years going, the wheel will roll. 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:28.240 Is he crazy or a genius or both? 00:03:28.639 --> 00:03:30.240 Jesus would sometimes do stuff like that. 00:03:30.319 --> 00:03:34.800 He would say something that people go, I don't know what that means, but I'm never gonna forget it. 00:03:35.039 --> 00:03:36.960 So there's part of that. 00:03:37.199 --> 00:03:40.719 But the main reason Jesus speaks in parables, he lets us know. 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:41.680 He tells us why. 00:03:41.759 --> 00:03:43.759 We actually see this in Matthew chapter 13. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:48.960 Verse 10 says, That his disciples came and asked him, Why do you use parables when you talk to the people? 00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:56.159 He replied, You, talking about his specific disciples, you are permitted to understand the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. 00:03:56.319 --> 00:03:57.520 But others are not. 00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:04.000 To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. 00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:08.719 But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. 00:04:08.879 --> 00:04:12.800 Jesus is basically saying, I'm looking for people who really want to know. 00:04:13.520 --> 00:04:17.600 I'm searching for people who are hungry to know the truth and to really know God. 00:04:17.839 --> 00:04:20.319 They don't just want everything handed to them. 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:22.879 A lot of people who follow Jesus were just chasing miracles. 00:04:22.959 --> 00:04:27.680 They just wanted Jesus to do something for them, and then they could move along, and Jesus was happy to oblige that. 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:32.639 But at his heart, he was searching for people who desperately wanted to know God. 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:36.480 And they were willing to wrestle with God, they were willing to ask questions, they were willing to think. 00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:38.480 Parables don't think on your behalf. 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:39.759 You have to engage with them. 00:04:39.839 --> 00:04:46.399 And Jesus is saying, hey, if you're willing to listen to me and engage with me, you're gonna be given more. 00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:49.519 This signs up with something Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7. 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:52.480 He said, Keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for. 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:54.160 Keep on seeking and you will find. 00:04:54.319 --> 00:04:56.879 Keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. 00:04:57.040 --> 00:04:58.959 For everyone who asks receives. 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:00.639 Everyone who seeks finds. 00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:03.600 And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:07.920 Jesus is searching for people who have that heart, who say, I want to know. 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:16.800 And if you really want to know when you hear Jesus share a parable, when he tells a story, and you're not 100% sure what it means, your heart just goes, But I want to know. 00:05:16.959 --> 00:05:18.079 And what it what could that be? 00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:22.800 And you'll research and you'll study and you'll pray and you'll ask, and you'll just you'll just wonder. 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:26.560 And Jesus promises that if that's the way you engage God, you will know. 00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:29.439 You will be given understanding and you will grow. 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:36.879 And so, with that said, today we're gonna jump into a series of parables that Jesus taught that all have a similar theme. 00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:39.040 And that theme is growth. 00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:56.720 If you're someone who wants to grow with God, if you desire to grow deeper in your relationship with God, to grow further in your relationship with God, if you want more of whatever God has in your life, I'm telling you, these next 25 minutes, or if we're being honest, 30, uh five. 00:05:56.879 --> 00:05:58.000 Uh no, I'm teasing. 00:05:58.079 --> 00:05:59.120 I'll do my best. 00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:03.120 Hey, we're a one-service church, so we can just go as long as it needs to go. 00:06:03.199 --> 00:06:05.519 I'm joking, I actually do a pretty good job of staying on time. 00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:06.240 Check me on it. 00:06:06.319 --> 00:06:07.120 All right, seriously. 00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:10.399 Um, but no, no, for the next few minutes, today's for you if you want to grow. 00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:15.360 If you have a desire, you say, I want to be in a different place with God a year from now than I am today. 00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:19.199 If that's your heart, man, everything Jesus is about to say is for you. 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:22.560 Because this is all about how to grow with God. 00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:28.639 We're gonna start by looking at a parable that we actually examined in detail last week, but all of these kind of themed together. 00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:32.160 So we won't spend a lot of time on this, but it's definitely what sets us up. 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:38.319 So Matthew 13, verse 3, Jesus says, Listen, a farmer went out to plant some seeds. 00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:43.920 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:48.319 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. 00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:56.560 The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow, but the seeds, but the plants soon uh wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn't have deep roots, they died. 00:06:56.800 --> 00:07:09.360 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants, still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted. 00:07:09.519 --> 00:07:13.439 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:23.759 So again, we went through this in a lot more detail last week, but suffice it to say the point of this is that we we need to be receptive to what Jesus says. 00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:28.800 The seed is the message of Jesus, it's the gospel, it's the good news of Jesus. 00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:41.279 And the challenge for us is to have hearts that are so receptive to the good news of Jesus that it it hits us, it penetrates, and it becomes a deep thing within us that changes us. 00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:44.879 I don't know if you've ever received a piece of news that changed your life. 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:59.759 I'm sure many of us have, and maybe sometimes in a negative way, uh, but I hope also in positive ways, where you've just heard a bit of news, information you didn't have a moment before, and the moment you heard that information, it changed your life. 00:08:00.319 --> 00:08:03.199 I was thinking about one of those uh back in high school. 00:08:03.279 --> 00:08:04.720 I don't know why I'm thinking about high school so much. 00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:06.000 I thought about my high school teacher. 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:07.920 I think maybe it's because I'm 41. 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:10.639 I have a student who is now going into high school. 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:12.959 My hair is definitely thinning. 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:14.079 Um, that's clear. 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:17.519 Every time I I use a towel, there's there's hair on it, so I'm like, okay, that's happening. 00:08:17.600 --> 00:08:22.000 So maybe I'm just feeling old and I'm trying to overcompensate by thinking back to my younger days. 00:08:22.079 --> 00:08:22.959 So go with me on this, okay? 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:23.680 High school. 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:28.399 High school Justin, senior in high school Justin, received a piece of news that changed his life. 00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:29.600 I'll never forget it. 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:45.200 Um, there was a girl named Britney Burton, and she came up to me, and Brittany said, Hey Justin, I just want you to know, this is like January, February, she said, I just want you to know that uh if you were to ask Megan Richardson to prom, she would say yes. 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:48.720 And I said, Really? 00:08:49.360 --> 00:08:58.399 So you have to understand, um I noticed Megan the very first day, we were high school sweethearts, uh, I noticed Megan the very first day I ever showed up to that school. 00:08:58.639 --> 00:09:06.320 I went to that school in part to play basketball, and the coach said, Hey, I want you to come and ride with the team and kind of see we're gonna play somebody. 00:09:06.399 --> 00:09:14.960 And so I before I'd ever enrolled at the school, I showed up and I got on this bus, and at the very back of the bus was a girl on the girls' basketball team, and I was like, Who is that? 00:09:15.519 --> 00:09:17.679 I thought she was stunning. 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:27.440 And so, very promptly in my time at that school, I I flirted with Megan and was every bit as promptly rejected by Megan. 00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:35.759 Um, I tried my best, I tried to be smooth, like she had a she had like a part of her shooting uh uniform, like the the warm-ups that the team would wear. 00:09:35.919 --> 00:09:39.360 All the girls had nicknames sewn under the uniforms, and hers was Frosty. 00:09:39.679 --> 00:09:43.759 And so I walked up to her and I was like, hey, I like your nickname, Frosty. 00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:46.399 I get it, I have pale skin too. 00:09:46.799 --> 00:09:53.039 Um she's very fair skinned. 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:56.879 You should see our children, they're like the complexion of glue. 00:09:57.039 --> 00:10:00.240 Our children, when they go to the beach, they are like, they're ghosts. 00:10:00.399 --> 00:10:03.039 They are just, they are see-through, okay? 00:10:03.360 --> 00:10:07.519 Um like this is me tanned, okay? 00:10:08.399 --> 00:10:12.320 Well, Megan looked at me and said, that is not why they call me Frosty. 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:16.559 It was like a thing she did with her hair, I don't know. 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:18.320 But that crashed and burned, right? 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:24.080 So this happened multiple times, but we got to know each other and we were, we were, you know, friends, not super close friends, but we got along. 00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:26.879 But my senior year, Megan was a junior. 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:33.759 Brittany tells me, Hey, I just want you to know, because men, sometimes we need really obvious signs, right? 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:35.519 We don't pick up on subtlety. 00:10:35.679 --> 00:10:40.480 So apparently I'd missed some clues, and she's like, go tell him to ask me to prom. 00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:44.799 And so I called her, I heard that news, I'm like, okay. 00:10:44.960 --> 00:10:46.240 I acted upon it immediately. 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:56.720 I called her, called her house, because that's the way it worked back then, and I asked her mom if I could talk to her, and her mom got her, and I uh I said, Hey, I try to play it cool. 00:10:56.960 --> 00:11:00.000 I said, Hey, like, I was thinking about maybe asking you to prom. 00:11:00.559 --> 00:11:01.440 Just as friends. 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:03.919 I said, just as friends, which was a lie. 00:11:04.080 --> 00:11:06.000 That was not my intention at all. 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:08.399 Uh but I said, just as friends, and she said yes. 00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:10.240 Two weeks later, I asked her on a date. 00:11:10.399 --> 00:11:20.960 Three weeks after that, I told her that I loved her, and she said, thank you, which is the right way to respond to someone who says they love you three weeks into a dating relationship in high school. 00:11:21.039 --> 00:11:21.679 But I meant it. 00:11:21.759 --> 00:11:25.519 Guys, you have to understand, like, my romantic style is it's Pepe Le Pew. 00:11:25.679 --> 00:11:30.559 It is like lay it on thick, go for it, and eventually she will relent. 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:32.399 That is the way I did it. 00:11:32.559 --> 00:11:46.000 And so, like, fast forward, you know, six months later, I'm a freshman in college, and I bought an engagement ring for her the first semester of my freshman year, while she was still a senior in high school, a fact that her father and my parents did not know. 00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:50.320 Um, but my point, I would never advise anyone to do that, by the way. 00:11:50.799 --> 00:11:52.080 But it worked for me. 00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:59.279 And so here we are, 20 years later, 22 years later, and we have we have four children, we've been married for 19 years. 00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:00.399 It's been awesome. 00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:03.039 And it all started with one piece of news. 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:07.519 Just one piece of news that changed the entire trajectory of my life. 00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:11.440 If you asked Megan Richardson to prom, she would say yes. 00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:13.679 Everything changed in that moment. 00:12:14.080 --> 00:12:21.679 Because that news to me was so powerful that it like it hit me and I acted on it, and it changed my life. 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:26.159 What if we received the news about Jesus in the same way? 00:12:27.360 --> 00:12:33.120 We sang a song this morning, and I love it when this happens because I I don't always look at the songs that we're gonna sing. 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:36.559 Um I could, but like it's listed for me, I just don't. 00:12:36.639 --> 00:12:38.000 Uh, I like to be surprised. 00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:41.679 And I didn't know we were singing Blessed Assurance, which is an old hymn. 00:12:42.639 --> 00:13:06.879 But the reality of what that song communicates is the best news that's ever been given, that you can have assurance that you belong to God, that the God of this universe, who all we could ever before Jesus do would be try to interpret based on what prophets have said, based on miracles that had happened, and and piece it all together and try to have some way of knowing him. 00:13:07.039 --> 00:13:11.519 No, that that same God came to this earth as a human being so that we could know him. 00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:17.919 And he lived for us and he died for us and he paid the price for our sins and he gave us his righteousness. 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:23.039 And through faith in Jesus, you can know God, you can have a restored relationship with your creator. 00:13:23.200 --> 00:13:27.039 Through faith in Jesus, you can actually have the Spirit of God living inside of you. 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:33.840 You can become the person you were created to be because the only way you can be the person that you're created to be is to know the person who created you. 00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:44.799 That through Jesus we can have all of that, and we have heaven to look forward to, and we have total forgiveness and mercy, and we can have a life that is that is marked by relationship with God. 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:45.679 You can know him. 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:48.080 Not know about him, you can know him. 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:50.960 That is good news. 00:13:51.440 --> 00:14:04.480 And if we received that in such a way that we we took it in, we absorbed it, we we wondered about it, we were in awe of it, and then we acted upon it and we said, I will let this, this news will change my life forever. 00:14:04.720 --> 00:14:17.279 If that's the way we we are, if we have those receptive hearts, and if we live like that, constantly receptive to God, where we say, Hey, I'm gonna keep on asking, I'm gonna keep on seeking, I'm gonna keep on listening, I'm gonna keep on learning. 00:14:17.440 --> 00:14:19.279 I just want more of you, God, I want more of you. 00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:21.840 I want to be that fourth soil every day of my life. 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:25.279 If that's if that's the condition of your heart, you will grow. 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:28.159 You can't grow if you don't receive. 00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:33.279 But if you do receive, ooh, the things that God can do. 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:38.080 So if you want to grow with God, number one, you have to you have to receive, but there's more, Jesus goes on. 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:40.960 Matthew chapter 13. 00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:45.039 Here's another story that Jesus told. 00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:49.279 The kingdom of heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. 00:14:49.440 --> 00:14:54.000 But that night as the worker slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat and then slipped away. 00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:57.039 When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. 00:14:57.200 --> 00:15:01.600 The farmer's workers went to him and said, Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds. 00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:02.879 Where did they come from? 00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:05.519 An enemy has done this, the farmer exclaimed. 00:15:05.759 --> 00:15:06.879 Should we pull out the weeds? 00:15:07.120 --> 00:15:07.440 They asked. 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:09.519 No, he replied, You'll uproot the wheat if you do. 00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:17.519 Let both grow together until the harvest, and then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn. 00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:22.480 Now, this is one of the few parables that we we get to hear Jesus explain. 00:15:22.720 --> 00:15:24.320 He does that just a few verses later. 00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:31.679 It says, Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house, and his disciples said, Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field. 00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:35.279 And Jesus replied, The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed. 00:15:35.519 --> 00:15:39.120 The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the kingdom. 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:41.919 The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. 00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:45.440 The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. 00:15:45.679 --> 00:15:48.879 The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels. 00:15:49.120 --> 00:15:52.720 Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the world. 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:58.559 The Son of Man will send his angels, they will remove from his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 00:15:58.720 --> 00:16:02.799 And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:05.600 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their father's kingdom. 00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:08.399 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. 00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:11.200 Now that's a pretty intense explanation. 00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:20.080 And later on, we're going to get to a portion where Jesus talks a lot about that sort of thing, and we'll go into more detail when we get there in a few weeks or months. 00:16:20.480 --> 00:16:26.080 But this parable reminds us of a few things that are crucial for us to understand if we want to grow. 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:29.200 Okay, number one, we have an enemy. 00:16:29.840 --> 00:16:34.559 We have an enemy who is opposed to what God is trying to grow in this world. 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:39.279 That is true on a macro level when it comes to the world at large, but it's also true on an individual basis. 00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:45.519 We have an enemy who is trying to sabotage the growth that God wants to do in our lives. 00:16:45.679 --> 00:16:53.759 That is why 1 Peter chapter 1, verse, verse uh 1 Peter chapter 5, verse 8 says, Stay alert, watch out for your great enemy, the devil. 00:16:53.919 --> 00:16:58.080 He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 00:16:58.240 --> 00:17:01.679 We're not meant to be in fear of Satan, but we are meant to be on guard. 00:17:01.840 --> 00:17:04.079 We're meant to be watchful because Satan is cunning. 00:17:04.240 --> 00:17:11.920 Satan lies, Satan tempts, Satan seeks to sabotage the growth that God wants to do in your life. 00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:14.400 And he does that in a variety of ways. 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:17.440 A couple months ago we talked about the temptation of Jesus. 00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:19.440 Right after he was baptized, Jesus was tempted. 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:22.799 And he went out into the desert and he fasted for several days. 00:17:22.880 --> 00:17:24.240 He was starving. 00:17:24.559 --> 00:17:26.400 And Satan comes in the very first temptation. 00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:31.519 Satan says, If you're really the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread. 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:35.519 We typically think that Satan offered Jesus bread. 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:45.759 But not very long after that, Jesus was teaching and he said, Hey parents, those of you who love your children, would you ever give your child a stone if they asked for a loaf of bread? 00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:47.920 For Jesus, that's a callback to that moment. 00:17:48.400 --> 00:17:53.759 Jesus had the wisdom and the discernment to recognize that he wasn't being offered something good by his enemy. 00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:57.440 Satan was not giving him freshly baked bread to satisfy his hunger. 00:17:57.599 --> 00:17:59.680 He was hungry and Satan was offering him stones. 00:17:59.839 --> 00:18:00.960 That's what Satan does. 00:18:01.119 --> 00:18:09.119 But we're often we're often fooled, we're often tricked into believing that the temptations that Satan brings our way are good things. 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:10.720 They're never good. 00:18:10.880 --> 00:18:12.480 Satan offers you nothing good. 00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:14.079 It's always a lie. 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:16.960 It's always a setup, it's always a trap. 00:18:17.599 --> 00:18:21.119 You know, if it's promiscuity, it's not love. 00:18:22.960 --> 00:18:27.119 If it's a substance, it's not relief. 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:28.559 It's addiction. 00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:37.759 Satan's really good at giving us things, saying, hey, no, this is what you need, this is what will satisfy you, but it's it's never bread, it's always a stone. 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:41.119 We have to remember that we have an enemy and we have to be alert. 00:18:41.920 --> 00:18:45.680 We're also told in this parable that our job is not to be the judges. 00:18:45.839 --> 00:18:51.039 If we waste our time trying to be the judges of the world, that just stunts our growth. 00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:53.359 That's time that we could be focused on our own growth. 00:18:53.599 --> 00:19:05.440 In this parable, the workers, which would be kind of like us, you know, potentially people who are trying to help the kingdom grow, they say, hey, should we pull up the bad weeds? 00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:06.880 And he's like, No, that's no. 00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:08.079 You'll mess it all up if you do that. 00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:09.920 You'll pull out the good ones too. 00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:12.640 That's like for the angels to do. 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:17.519 Like, we're not we're not the harvesters, we're not the judge. 00:19:18.480 --> 00:19:22.160 That's something I have to remember a lot because it's so, isn't judgment fun? 00:19:22.559 --> 00:19:24.160 Like it's it's fun to judge people. 00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:25.599 Can we like be honest about that? 00:19:25.680 --> 00:19:28.079 Does anyone am I the only bad person in the room? 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:30.720 All right, it's so much fun to judge people. 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:37.839 That's why when you watch like TV shows and there's people who are performing or in their auditioning, there's part of you that's like, oh wow, what if they're amazing? 00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:40.240 But there's another part of you that's like, what if they're terrible? 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:43.839 And that might be better because it's kind of fun to judge that. 00:19:44.559 --> 00:19:47.359 It's so easy to judge, but it's a waste of time. 00:19:47.759 --> 00:19:49.680 Now, I want to say this as a caveat. 00:19:50.640 --> 00:20:02.720 In the last 20 years I've watched as being non-judgmental in the church has actually kind of just become uh meant to say, just don't practice any judgment in your life. 00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:09.440 Like, don't be a judgmental person, sort of became just say that everything is good. 00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:11.759 And that's not what judging people is. 00:20:11.839 --> 00:20:13.119 That's that's not what Jesus is talking about. 00:20:13.279 --> 00:20:19.920 We're supposed to be discerning, we're supposed to have good judgment, we're supposed to be able to look at the world and be like, that's bad, that's evil, that's wrong. 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:22.319 But what we're not supposed to do is judge people. 00:20:22.559 --> 00:20:26.160 We're not supposed to put ourselves in a position where we say, you're evil. 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:40.160 Now, I can look at someone and I can say, your actions are evil, your behavior is evil, your attitude is evil, your the things you stand for, the things you proclaim, those are evil. 00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:49.519 I can do that, I can practice wise judgment and say, hey, I'm not going along with that, I'm not gonna listen to you, I'm not gonna do what you say, because what you're saying, what you're doing, what you're preaching is wrong. 00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:55.440 But what I cannot do is step into the place of judgment and say that that person is evil. 00:20:55.599 --> 00:20:56.400 The reason is simple. 00:20:56.559 --> 00:20:57.759 I'm not fully grown. 00:20:57.920 --> 00:20:59.359 I'm still growing. 00:20:59.680 --> 00:21:04.640 And the only person who has the right to judge something is the person who's fully grown and understands everything. 00:21:04.799 --> 00:21:14.799 So as Jesus followers, we have to be passionate to have wise judgment, to look at the world and be like, that's good, that's not, that's, I can't go along with that, that is evil, that will not end well. 00:21:14.960 --> 00:21:19.519 We have to be wise, but what we can't do is fall for the temptation to say, hey, I'll sort it all out. 00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:21.039 That's God's job. 00:21:21.359 --> 00:21:22.720 So we pray for people. 00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:25.680 Even people that we think might be might be evil. 00:21:25.759 --> 00:21:32.160 We say, hey, Lord, it seems like this person is doing this, this, this, and this, and I'm, I'm, Lord, I'm burdened for them. 00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:38.960 Like, get a hold of them, reach them, change them, show them who you are, show them your truth. 00:21:39.279 --> 00:21:42.079 But if we try to judge, it stunts our growth, okay? 00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:45.279 So if we want to grow, we have to receive, right? 00:21:45.519 --> 00:21:53.519 We gotta be on guard and recognize we have an enemy trying to mess with the growth that we have, and we have to make sure that we don't we don't do what we're not meant to do because that just stunts our growth. 00:21:53.680 --> 00:21:54.319 But let's keep going. 00:21:54.400 --> 00:21:55.519 There's a few more. 00:21:56.160 --> 00:21:58.319 Matthew chapter 13, verse 33. 00:21:58.799 --> 00:21:59.759 Jesus used that. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:04.960 Illustration, the kingdom of heaven is like the yeast that a woman used in making bread. 00:22:05.119 --> 00:22:10.400 Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough. 00:22:10.640 --> 00:22:14.960 Jesus always used short stories like this and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. 00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:17.440 In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables. 00:22:17.599 --> 00:22:19.599 This fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet. 00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:21.359 I will speak to you in parables. 00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:23.839 I will explain things hidden since the creation of the world. 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:25.680 Now, anyone here bake? 00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:27.119 Like any bakers in the room? 00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:28.880 Or like, no one. 00:22:29.119 --> 00:22:31.279 A couple, or no, no, pr no one's proud of baking. 00:22:31.359 --> 00:22:33.200 Everyone's like, eh, I can't bake. 00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:41.039 I am not a baker, but I have a wife who uh has watched a lot of British baking show. 00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:43.119 I would actually love to know this. 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:45.279 This is just out of curiosity, if you'll humor me. 00:22:45.440 --> 00:22:49.759 Um, ladies, how many of you would say that if it's British, it's better? 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:52.480 When it comes to if my wife is like that. 00:22:52.559 --> 00:22:57.440 If it's the we could be watching a show, it is the most boring thing in the world. 00:22:57.599 --> 00:23:01.359 But if the people are speaking in British accents, she is like, it is riveting. 00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:02.559 You know what I mean? 00:23:02.720 --> 00:23:09.440 Like some of the TV shows that she's gotten into have just been the most, like, the slowest and the dumbest thing. 00:23:09.519 --> 00:23:18.319 It's like, oh, 17 seasons about servants and their masters and how they interact, and the whole episode is like they had a couple conversations at dinner. 00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:22.960 And I'm telling you, if it was like Alabama with southern accents, we wouldn't watch it. 00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:26.240 But because it's British, it's it's captivating, I guess. 00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:27.680 Uh, my wife loves British things. 00:23:27.759 --> 00:23:33.599 Her Siri is even a British guy, and I don't know if I should be concerned about that, but you know, I'm not worried about it. 00:23:34.160 --> 00:23:35.279 No, we beat the British. 00:23:35.359 --> 00:23:35.920 That's good. 00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:37.839 Um, America wins. 00:23:38.400 --> 00:23:43.039 But my wife loves British things, and one of the shows that she has watched a lot of over the years is British Baking Show. 00:23:43.119 --> 00:23:46.880 And so I have watched enough British Baking Show to understand what yeast does. 00:23:47.119 --> 00:23:50.000 Yeast causes bread to rise, it ferments the bread. 00:23:50.079 --> 00:24:00.160 Uh fermentation, you have like this release of carbon dioxide, but the dough and the bread traps it, and it causes bread to rise and get fluffy, and all those little pockets of air in there, and it makes bread awesome. 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:01.359 All right, it makes bread awesome. 00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:03.039 Have you ever had unleavened bread? 00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:06.079 Like bread with no yeast in it, it's not that good. 00:24:06.640 --> 00:24:08.960 It can be like both a loaf of bread and a frisbee. 00:24:09.039 --> 00:24:10.079 It can serve two purposes. 00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:11.200 It's very hard. 00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:15.279 Um but bread with yeast, that's the oh, that's where it's at, right? 00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:18.480 If yeast is in is in dough, you can't stop it. 00:24:18.960 --> 00:24:20.160 It'll take over. 00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:22.400 And the kingdom of God is like that. 00:24:22.720 --> 00:24:27.680 Both on a macro level, with the whole world, there's never been a movement like the movement of Jesus. 00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:39.359 There's never been a movement that began with such humble beginnings, with no power behind it in an earthly sense, no wealth, no influence, and yet it grew and it took the world by storm. 00:24:39.519 --> 00:24:43.839 There's never been a movement like the movement of Jesus that has been resisted as passionately. 00:24:44.079 --> 00:24:51.839 Some of the most powerful governments in the history of the world have worked the hardest you can imagine just to stop the movement of Jesus, and everyone has failed. 00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:55.200 And that both happened 2,000 years ago and it still happens today. 00:24:56.480 --> 00:24:58.640 The movement of Jesus is unstoppable. 00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:03.920 But the spirit of God is meant to be unstoppable inside of us as well. 00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:06.559 This is a deeply personal thing. 00:25:06.720 --> 00:25:14.640 That when we have the Spirit of God inside of us, and if you put your faith in Jesus, Scripture says that God's Spirit has joined with your spirit to affirm that you belong to God. 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:16.000 You don't always understand that. 00:25:16.079 --> 00:25:18.000 We don't always know what that means or how that works. 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:19.920 Like, I don't know, it's like yeast and bread. 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:21.039 It just does what it does. 00:25:21.359 --> 00:25:27.839 But the Holy Spirit inside of you is meant to permeate every part of your life and to truly change who you are. 00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:29.839 Listen to the way that Galatians puts it. 00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:32.160 Galatians chapter 5. 00:25:32.559 --> 00:25:36.559 The Apostle Paul wrote, So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. 00:25:37.039 --> 00:25:39.759 Think about that language, let allow. 00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:44.640 Allow the Spirit to do what the Spirit wants to do. 00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:47.279 Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. 00:25:47.839 --> 00:25:52.240 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. 00:25:52.319 --> 00:25:56.799 And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. 00:25:57.039 --> 00:26:01.680 These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you're not always free to carry out your good intentions. 00:26:01.759 --> 00:26:02.880 Can anyone relate to that? 00:26:03.039 --> 00:26:09.839 Like there's two of you, there's one of you that really wants the things of God and wants to do what's right, and there's another part of you that doesn't, and they are at war with each other. 00:26:10.160 --> 00:26:13.200 That's like a universal truth when you follow the Lord. 00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:18.880 It says, but when you're directed by the Spirit, you are not under the obligation of the law of Moses. 00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:33.440 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outburst of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. 00:26:34.240 --> 00:26:36.960 And all of us could say, Yeah, I'm somewhere on that list. 00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:40.319 But that's what our flesh produces. 00:26:40.880 --> 00:26:46.000