WEBVTT 00:00:00.479 --> 00:00:01.199 Good morning. 00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:06.400 So this week's text is from Mark four, one through nine. 00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:19.760 Again he began to teach beside the sea, and a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got out into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:34.320 And he was teaching them many things and parables, and in his teaching he said to them, Listen, behold, a sower went out to sow, and as he sowed some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 00:00:34.880 --> 00:00:42.960 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:47.679 And when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:54.640 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 00:00:54.880 --> 00:01:05.120 And other seeds fell into good soil, and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold. 00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:08.560 And he said, He who has ears led him here. 00:01:08.719 --> 00:01:09.840 This is the word of the Lord. 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:11.200 Please be seated. 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:15.599 My name is John Kushneroff. 00:01:15.680 --> 00:01:18.159 I'm an elder here at Redemption Church, Denver. 00:01:18.719 --> 00:01:23.920 Got a few announcements before we start, and then we'll go ahead and pray and we'll jump into the text. 00:01:24.239 --> 00:01:28.319 So the first announcement is this Thursday, the 23rd. 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:38.879 Uh, we're gonna have a men's night, um, actually at my house, and it's uh it's gonna be a good time for us to gather, um, have a few drinks, maybe a cigar if you're so inclined. 00:01:38.959 --> 00:01:46.640 And um, yeah, so the the sign up, the details are in the app, um, and you can sign up there as well, just so we kind of know uh how many we're getting. 00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:49.040 Um if you don't sign up, still come. 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:50.000 No big deal. 00:01:50.159 --> 00:01:54.079 Um, second, uh next Sunday, the 26th, we have baptisms. 00:01:54.239 --> 00:02:03.519 So if you'd like to uh be baptized, or if your child uh would like to be baptized, then you can sign up and one of us will reach out to you. 00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:07.599 Um again, the details of that are in the app. 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:13.919 Um and then the last announcement is on October 3rd, we have a welcome team volunteer training. 00:02:14.080 --> 00:02:16.719 I'm assuming you're gonna practice handshaking a lot. 00:02:16.800 --> 00:02:17.439 I don't know. 00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:22.560 But um, and as you probably guessed, the details are in the app. 00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:25.280 Um so that's all the announcements we have. 00:02:25.360 --> 00:02:30.719 So let's go ahead and pray, and then we're gonna uh jump into the text in Mark 4 this morning. 00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:36.639 God, thank you so much for your church and thank you so much for your word. 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:55.120 Um, God, this morning, as uh we look at how your kingdom advances in this world, I just pray that uh that we would just open our ears, open our hearts uh to receive uh what your word says um and uh and be able to apply it to our lives. 00:02:55.280 --> 00:02:57.360 Um, God, please be with me this morning. 00:02:57.439 --> 00:03:05.120 Uh I pray that your Holy Spirit would speak through me and uh to help me speak clearly so that it's you speaking up here and not me. 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:07.280 We pray these things in Jesus' name. 00:03:07.599 --> 00:03:08.240 Amen. 00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:13.680 All right, so we're starting uh again our series in Mark. 00:03:13.759 --> 00:03:21.199 So last fall we we went through uh Mark one through three, and then we're gonna pick up the story here in Mark four. 00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:23.759 Um, and kind of uh a little bit of a recap. 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:29.520 So what we saw in the first three chapters um was Jesus beginning his ministry. 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:32.800 He's he's doing a lot of miracles, he's healing people. 00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:42.560 And as you would imagine, someone who's going around and healing people and performing miracles, when he shows up into a place, people start to gather. 00:03:42.719 --> 00:03:50.400 And so he's getting a following now that um, and so now that he's getting this following, he begins to teach these crowds. 00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:55.120 We haven't really um seen him do that a whole lot yet. 00:03:55.280 --> 00:04:08.879 Um, so this is kind of where we pick up the story, and the purpose of us moving through the book of Mark is really for us to see Jesus, see Jesus as central to the story. 00:04:09.039 --> 00:04:21.839 And the way that Mark writes this book is he really puts Jesus in the center and he looks to establish Jesus as the king and as the one who came to die. 00:04:22.319 --> 00:04:32.240 See, this is uh this is a really foreign concept uh for us as much as it was back then in the first century to have a king who also came to die. 00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:54.160 Um the way that the Jews in the first century would have hoped that the Messiah would come would have been uh to come as this mighty warrior, and he was gonna come down with thunder and lightning and overthrow the Roman government and re-establish Israel as a kingdom again. 00:04:54.399 --> 00:04:59.040 But that's not how Jesus describes his kingdom. 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:02.480 That's not what he says his kingdom is like. 00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:22.879 So when he teaches in parables, and we're gonna be moving through these in the coming weeks, but he uses analogies for the kingdom of heaven, and he says things like the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed, but when planted over time grows into the largest tree in the garden. 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:27.439 Or he says that the kingdom of heaven is like a field, which is what we're gonna look at today. 00:05:27.519 --> 00:05:34.000 It's it's like a field, and when planted over time, it yields a huge crop. 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:47.759 He says that the kingdom of heaven is like leaven pushed into bread, and all it needs is just a little bit of leaven pushed into that loaf before it moves out and right and leavens the entire loaf of bread. 00:05:47.920 --> 00:06:04.000 So all these things, what they have in common is that the kingdom of heaven starts very small, but over time it begins to grow and increase till eventually it will fill the entire world. 00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:36.240 So here at Redemption Church, we hold a what is what is kind of known as a post-mill eschatology, and we're not gonna get into end time stuff today, but I bring that up because the implications of that view of Scripture is that we actually believe that the world is being redeemed now, and that the entire trajectory of the world is moving upward, and that Jesus is establishing his kingdom now. 00:06:37.040 --> 00:06:45.920 So to put it another way, we do not believe that Jesus is going to be king. 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:50.720 We believe that Jesus is king right now. 00:06:50.959 --> 00:07:00.639 We believe that Jesus is king over this city, he's king over this country, and he is king over this entire world right now. 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:17.519 So I say all of this uh to try to give us a lens in which we can see these parables through uh both today and as we move through the book of Mark, because he's gonna be talking a lot about how he establishes his kingdom. 00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:20.800 And this is the lens that I want us to see this through. 00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:28.240 So today uh we're looking at the parable of the sower, and there are three components in this parable, and we're gonna look at all three. 00:07:28.399 --> 00:07:35.040 So, first we'll look at the sower, then we'll look at the seed, and then we'll look at the soils. 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:38.720 It's great when a sermon's just set up so easily like that. 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:41.120 Um, first let's look at the sower. 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:54.560 So, uh, right off the bat, one of the interesting things about this parable is that when when you look at it in scripture, in when you open your Bibles, um, it's actually titled the parable of the sower. 00:07:54.959 --> 00:08:03.680 It's not titled the parable of the seed, it's not titled the parable of the soils, although all of those things are important and we're gonna look at all of those things. 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:11.920 But what that tells us is that the sower, Jesus, um, is central. 00:08:12.240 --> 00:08:14.879 Everything is flowing out of him. 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:30.319 So something that we need to understand as we kind of set the stage for how we understand this is let's look at how the first century, the original listeners would have actually understood what Jesus is saying. 00:08:30.480 --> 00:08:37.120 And in order to do that, we're gonna have a really quick lesson in first century horticulture here. 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:48.320 So I don't know much about farming, um, but growing up, my dad and my uncle and my cousin and I, we used to go out to Nebraska and we go bird hunting. 00:08:48.559 --> 00:08:54.559 So I don't know if you guys have been to Nebraska or eastern Colorado, but there's a lot of fields. 00:08:54.799 --> 00:08:59.279 Um and we would be walking through these fields trying to chase birds around. 00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:12.159 Well, the way that we do it here in America is we've got these huge fields and then dirt roads, right, that go up and down, or you can drive the farm trucks, and between them is typically some grass or some weeds or something that's not the crop. 00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:23.360 And so when we look at uh farming that way, it kind of begs the question of why would Jesus spread the seed on the road? 00:09:23.600 --> 00:09:25.200 Why is he spreading it in the seeds? 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:28.320 We've got this huge, well-defined field right here. 00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:32.159 Like, why doesn't he just sow that seed in this field? 00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:38.320 But that's actually not the way that it worked um back during the first century. 00:09:38.559 --> 00:10:01.440 And uh the way that it worked then is you'd have you'd have these fields, and because everybody traveled everywhere by foot, um, the paths to get around would actually just go right through the fields, and they were just dirt paths, and so uh they would make sure not to plow those, and then they would sow the seed everywhere, and then they would come back and plow. 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:05.919 And and plowing then was more of just like making sure the seeds get covered up with dirt. 00:10:06.159 --> 00:10:22.399 And so what that so what that meant was you wouldn't exactly know that there were rocks underneath the soil, you wouldn't exactly know that there were thorns under that soil, um, and then you would just leave those pathways alone. 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:26.080 Although when you're sowing, they looked a lot like the dirt, they're made of dirt. 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:35.279 So um this this is just a good thing to understand because this is how Jesus is describing his ministry. 00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:40.399 So Paul describes his Paul describes this in another way. 00:10:40.559 --> 00:10:43.759 Jesus is using the analogy of seeds being scattered. 00:10:43.919 --> 00:11:02.080 Paul in Second Corinthians two says this, but thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:20.320 For we are among those or for we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to another a fragrance from life to life, who is sufficient for these things. 00:11:21.279 --> 00:11:27.519 So you see, what's being described here is how the word moves out throughout the world. 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:33.759 Um, Jesus is using the analogy of seeds, Paul is calling it an aroma or a fragrance. 00:11:34.080 --> 00:11:42.159 See, but what he's saying is this this seed, this fragrance is not received the same way by everyone. 00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:46.480 So do you guys remember um axe body spray? 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:48.639 For those of you dudes, especially. 00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:55.919 So when I was uh a teenager and playing football, you know, you'd get down with practice and you know you didn't smell good. 00:11:56.000 --> 00:12:07.759 And so you'd take your axe body spray and being a teenage guy, I know Jacob remembers this, you you would think um, if some is good, a lot must be better, right? 00:12:08.320 --> 00:12:10.960 And you would just get down on that axe body spray. 00:12:11.120 --> 00:12:20.240 Well, um this, yeah, so you guys remember, so this aroma, this was not pleasing to everyone, right? 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:22.559 Um it was to some of us. 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:32.960 Uh and and but I think to others, probably my parents, maybe some of the girls that you want to smell good for, they actually to them, this actually probably smelled like death. 00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:41.519 Um so in in the same way, the word is not received the same by everyone. 00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:49.039 But what he's teaching is that it will go out throughout the earth. 00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:52.879 All right, so let's let's move and look at the seed now. 00:12:53.279 --> 00:13:07.440 So the seed represents the word of God, which seems pretty obvious, but I think as we dig into it a little bit deeper, we even see how did Jesus start and end this parable? 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:09.840 See, he did that in very similar ways. 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:12.879 He he started it by saying, Listen, behold. 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:15.440 And then he finished it. 00:13:15.600 --> 00:13:18.159 He says, He who has ears, let him hear. 00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:27.519 So what Jesus is saying is that lives are transformed by the word, by the word of God. 00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:45.840 So when you read your Bible, when you come to church and you hear the word, the truth being proclaimed, when a Christian brother or sister speaks truth into your life, this is that seed, this is that word that we are talking about. 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:50.080 And this is how lives are transformed by the word and the word alone. 00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:59.840 See, Jesus is not the only one who is actually supposed to scatter this word either. 00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:02.720 If we remember what he said, the Great Commission, right? 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:18.000 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you, and surely I am always with you to the very end of the age. 00:14:19.200 --> 00:14:31.039 See, we are to follow in Jesus' example of sowing the seed, sowing the word indiscriminately throughout this world. 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:36.559 See, we have to remember we don't make the soil, we don't tend the soil. 00:14:36.639 --> 00:14:41.600 That's his job, but we do need to be faithful with what God has given us. 00:14:41.679 --> 00:14:48.159 And as Christians, the most valuable thing that he has given us is the word, the truth. 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:54.960 So now let's go ahead and look at these four kinds of soils that Jesus describes here. 00:14:55.200 --> 00:14:57.759 So the first one is the beaten path. 00:14:57.840 --> 00:15:05.120 And so this these soils um they they describe four conditions of the human heart. 00:15:05.360 --> 00:15:09.679 And so this beaten path describes the hardened heart. 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:22.000 So uh luckily for us, um we didn't read it this morning, James will cover more of it next week, but luckily for us, Jesus actually interprets this parable um for us to his disciples. 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:37.679 So in verse 15 of the same chapter, he says, And these are the ones along the path where the word is sown, when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:41.279 Okay, so first we have this hardened heart. 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:50.320 This is the man who hears about the kingdom, but does not understand it, and is in fact even resistant to it. 00:15:51.120 --> 00:15:53.759 And Jesus he he talks about Satan here. 00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:57.919 He talked about Satan plucking that seed away, actually taking that seed away. 00:15:58.159 --> 00:16:10.159 And what we see here is in the absence of truth, in the absence of true word, Satan is free to replace that with lies. 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:16.960 So if you've ever heard the phrase nature abhors a vacuum, this is what we're talking about. 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:21.120 Void space is is is just not a thing. 00:16:21.360 --> 00:16:24.240 Um, it will be filled with something. 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:32.240 And here Satan is actually looking for opportunities to replace truth with lies. 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:49.759 We see described in Isaiah 5, verse 20, woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. 00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:54.320 Okay, does this look at all familiar right now? 00:16:55.039 --> 00:16:56.000 It should. 00:16:56.240 --> 00:17:03.200 Um, when we turn on, I mean, all you have to do is turn on the news and you see things that are so backward. 00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:06.640 We see people calling abortion good. 00:17:06.799 --> 00:17:10.559 We see people calling anti-abortion laws evil. 00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:19.279 We see we see people actually attacking the traditional family, but saying that sexual freedom, that is the ultimate good. 00:17:20.079 --> 00:17:25.839 See, even even speaking against these things are getting people into hot water. 00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:32.480 If you ever look around and you think, man, like, am I just going crazy? 00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:37.519 Like, why can't people see how backwards this is? 00:17:37.680 --> 00:17:43.599 How can things that cause so much pain be celebrated so much? 00:17:44.319 --> 00:17:45.839 Well, this is why. 00:17:46.079 --> 00:18:07.920 This is why, because these hearts are hardened and they will not understand truth unless God softens the soil of their heart, which will then allow the word to penetrate deep in their hearts and actually transform the way they see the world. 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:12.480 So let's move now into the stony ground. 00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:17.039 This would be also kind of described as the shallow heart. 00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:42.079 So in verse 16, Jesus says, And these are the ones sown on rocky ground, the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy, and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while, then when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:55.200 So this is the person that receives this word and receives it eagerly, and but at the first sign of trouble, at the first sign of hardship, because they have no root of faith, they fall away. 00:18:55.519 --> 00:19:11.759 See, in James 1, chapter 1, verse 2, he says, Count it all joy, my brothers, when when you fe when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:16.799 See, do you notice that James says, when, when you face trials. 00:19:16.880 --> 00:19:19.519 He does not say if, he says when. 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:21.599 He makes this a certainty. 00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:23.200 Trials will come. 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:38.240 And in the midst of trials, a true faith with a deep root in the word will rely on God, which will allow us to persevere. 00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:42.079 When a shallow one will fall away. 00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:49.119 See, this is that kind of feel-good faith that when things are going well, they're all in. 00:19:49.519 --> 00:20:12.400 But as soon as hard things come, like the loss of a job, the loss of a loved one, maybe you maybe when friends or coworkers kind of find out you're a Christian, start to put just a little bit of distance between them and you, this person caves because they have no depth, they have no root in their faith. 00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:22.160 See, these are the people who never understood what it what Jesus was saying when he said, To follow me, you must take up your cross. 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:27.039 When he said, in order to save your life, you actually must lose it. 00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:37.680 These are also the people that never understood the glory that is waiting for faithful Christians on the other side. 00:20:38.319 --> 00:20:49.519 And then in the midst of these trials, we actually have a kind and faithful Savior that will walk beside us so that we actually might persevere. 00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:59.440 So, third, let's move uh into the thorns, uh the uh the seed that was that fell among the thorns. 00:20:59.759 --> 00:21:07.039 This would be um described as as the overcluttered heart or the divided heart. 00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:14.160 So it says in verse 18, and others are the ones sown among thorns. 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:29.039 They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 00:21:30.720 --> 00:21:45.359 See, it seems similar, right, to the Stony Ground in in that um it's it's an out it is an outward pressure, it seems, that um but that that is choking this this word out. 00:21:45.599 --> 00:21:51.039 But um in the first in in the stony ground, we saw that it was the care or it was trials. 00:21:51.200 --> 00:21:53.119 This this is the cares of the world. 00:21:53.200 --> 00:22:01.599 This is the person who i uh cares too much about what the world Has to offer. 00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:04.720 Maybe it's wealth. 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:06.400 Maybe it's fame. 00:22:06.640 --> 00:22:09.359 Maybe it's pressure to advance in your career. 00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:15.920 And it's the willingness to make just a small compromise here to gain that. 00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:18.160 And then another small compromise here. 00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:19.359 And then another one. 00:22:19.599 --> 00:22:20.880 And another one. 00:22:21.440 --> 00:22:31.440 And eventually there's been so many things that we've compromised on, that this person has compromised on, that they're not serving God at all. 00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:42.720 See, this is the person that values the things of this world more than they value the things that God promises. 00:22:43.359 --> 00:23:02.400 Math Jesus says in Matthew 6, do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 00:23:02.640 --> 00:23:07.359 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 00:23:09.599 --> 00:23:11.519 Let's look at the good soil. 00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:15.519 This is the Christian heart. 00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:21.039 This is the heart that hears and understands and bears a harvest. 00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:37.680 Jesus says in verse 20, But those were that sown on good soil, the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold. 00:23:38.160 --> 00:23:43.359 See that yield that Jesus is describing here was actually unheard of in those days. 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:53.599 He's speaking in hyperbole here, because uh a good crop, a great crop, in fact, then was gonna yield you six times, maybe ten. 00:23:54.319 --> 00:23:56.720 He's talking about 30, 60, and 100. 00:23:56.799 --> 00:24:02.240 And so what that means is we see this word is actually multiplying. 00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:17.839 Okay, so we touched on this a little bit earlier, but to stay with this farming theme that Jesus had been talking about, just if you even think about it, what's inside of fruits and vegetables? 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:19.920 I mean, if you crack them open, what's in there? 00:24:20.079 --> 00:24:21.119 Well, there's seeds. 00:24:21.279 --> 00:24:24.240 Seeds are inside the fruit and the vegetables. 00:24:24.400 --> 00:24:32.000 This is what Jesus is talking about is that we actually, as Christians, possess the word. 00:24:32.400 --> 00:24:42.240 We possess the truth, and we are called to share that and to multiply that as we move through this world like ripples in a pond. 00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:52.160 And as we do that, we will be coming in contact with all of the other three kinds of people that were described here that Jesus was talking about. 00:24:52.319 --> 00:24:54.240 That's who we're gonna meet. 00:24:54.880 --> 00:25:01.359 See, in in 1 Corinthians 3, 5 through 9, Paul uh describes that responsibility. 00:25:01.519 --> 00:25:04.160 And he says, This, what then is Apollos? 00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:05.599 What is Paul? 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:10.720 Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 00:25:11.039 --> 00:25:17.440 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:24.400 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 00:25:24.640 --> 00:25:30.640 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 00:25:30.880 --> 00:25:32.799 For we are God's fellow workers. 00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:36.480 You are God's field, God's building. 00:25:37.039 --> 00:25:52.240 See, we our job is to be agents of truth, taking the seed, taking the word that we have been given by Christ, and sowing it and watering it throughout this world. 00:25:52.720 --> 00:26:02.000 And we're to do it indiscriminately, we're to do it everywhere, knowing that it is God who is faithful to bring forth the harvest. 00:26:02.480 --> 00:26:04.640 See, that's his responsibility. 00:26:04.960 --> 00:26:08.480 Ours is just to share what we've been given. 00:26:10.799 --> 00:26:14.319 So let's look at verse nine, finish in verse nine. 00:26:14.640 --> 00:26:20.720 He just simply says, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:29.440 So what Jesus is saying here is that he's actually issuing a warning. 00:26:30.240 --> 00:26:34.960 He's actually requiring a response from his listeners. 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:47.119 He's requiring them to apply this to their hearts without dismissing it, as three of the four soils did dismiss it. 00:26:50.160 --> 00:26:55.920 So that that really begs the question, the obvious one, right? 00:26:56.240 --> 00:26:59.039 What kind of soil are you? 00:27:00.559 --> 00:27:04.880 Do you have a heart that's hard toward the truth? 00:27:05.920 --> 00:27:18.559 Do you have a faith that's shallow, that that you just know isn't going to sustain you through trials, isn't going to get you there when things get hard? 00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:24.559 Do you care too much about what the world has to offer? 00:27:24.880 --> 00:27:33.920 When push really comes to shove, is gaining things in this world the most important thing to you? 00:27:35.759 --> 00:27:40.319 Or have you taken the word deep into your heart? 00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:46.319 And if you're wondering, um, man, I don't know. 00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:50.480 Like how how do I know which of these I am? 00:27:51.359 --> 00:27:53.839 Well, the first thing is look at your life. 00:27:54.079 --> 00:27:54.960 Look at your life. 00:27:55.119 --> 00:27:57.839 Is there fruit being born in your life? 00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:05.440 Are there places where the truth did not actually was it affecting it? 00:28:05.599 --> 00:28:07.359 And now, now it is. 00:28:10.960 --> 00:28:13.440 If not, then repent. 00:28:14.160 --> 00:28:22.480 We can ask God to soften our hearts so that we might receive the truth and begin to bear that fruit. 00:28:23.119 --> 00:28:33.039 See, Isaiah, uh, Isaiah says in Isaiah 55, he says, Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. 00:28:33.759 --> 00:28:45.440 Let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:50.000 See, this is the good news, right? 00:28:50.079 --> 00:29:05.680 The good news is that we can I we can we can examine ourselves, we can look and see what are we actually like, and then we can ask a gracious and loving God to pardon us. 00:29:05.839 --> 00:29:10.720 We can call on him because that's our only hope. 00:29:10.960 --> 00:29:24.400 That's our only hope of producing fruit, that's our only hope of being productive in this world, that's our only hope of participating in the advancement of this kingdom, and it is advancing. 00:29:24.880 --> 00:29:28.000 God is redeeming this world. 00:29:28.240 --> 00:29:34.720 And the great thing is, we as Christians are invited to be a part of that. 00:29:36.640 --> 00:29:49.680 It's a very exciting thing, it's a wonderful thing that a God who doesn't actually need us at all for redemption uses us to help redeem this world. 00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:51.759 And he wants to. 00:29:52.400 --> 00:30:17.920 So as we move into a time of communion, I would just encourage you, just look, look at your life, look at your heart, and and if it's hardened or shallow or conflicted, ask God to soften it, to replace it with something that is, with soil that is soft and willing to receive his word. 00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:21.920 Um, so this is a time for Christians. 00:30:22.480 --> 00:30:34.319 And if you are a Christian, then please come and partake in the celebration of what God has done for us, about what Jesus did for us. 00:30:34.480 --> 00:30:41.599 That's what this time is meant for, is to remember that he died for us and that he rose so that we may have life. 00:30:41.680 --> 00:30:43.279 And that's what we celebrate every Sunday. 00:30:43.440 --> 00:30:48.240 If you're not a Christian, then we ask that you would abstain. 00:30:48.319 --> 00:30:49.920 This is something that is for Christians. 00:30:50.079 --> 00:30:57.200 But if it's something you want to talk about, please find one of us after the service and we can explore this a bit more. 00:30:57.519 --> 00:31:05.519 Um so it says here, so I'm gonna read the scripture for communion and then I'm gonna pray, and we'll move into a time of worship. 00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:09.920 First Corinthians eleven, twenty-three through twenty-six. 00:31:10.240 --> 00:31:25.759 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, This is my body which is for you. 00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:28.400 Do this in remembrance of me. 00:31:28.799 --> 00:31:36.720 In the same way also he took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. 00:31:37.039 --> 00:31:40.319 Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. 00:31:40.559 --> 00:31:47.519 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 00:31:47.839 --> 00:31:49.039 Let's pray. 00:31:51.680 --> 00:31:55.279 God, we come before you now and we we are grateful. 00:31:55.440 --> 00:32:05.759 We are grateful that your word goes out into this world and that and that you always accomplish your purpose, and that your purpose is redemption. 00:32:06.160 --> 00:32:19.119 Um, God, I just ask that you would soften the hearts of those who hear this uh this message that you that you preached um thousands of years ago. 00:32:19.440 --> 00:32:26.960 And God, that it would that it would penetrate deep into the hearts of those uh who maybe it hasn't yet. 00:32:27.119 --> 00:32:38.799 Um God, I also pray that we would be encouraged, encouraged by the sureness of the victory that you have already secured for us on the cross. 00:32:39.039 --> 00:32:41.920 We pray these things in Jesus' name. 00:32:42.160 --> 00:32:42.720 Amen.