1 00:00:00,049 --> 00:00:01,640 Pastor Rod: God, we need you tonight. 2 00:00:02,180 --> 00:00:07,519 We recognize that there are things that are happening, uh, even around us, people 3 00:00:07,519 --> 00:00:09,200 that are living and people that are dying. 4 00:00:09,650 --> 00:00:12,590 People that are doing awful things, and we need you to help 5 00:00:12,590 --> 00:00:13,850 us understand those things. 6 00:00:14,810 --> 00:00:20,570 Sometimes we take for granted the little things in our lives, and sometimes the 7 00:00:20,570 --> 00:00:24,440 little thing is life itself, that we're given the ability to live and breathe 8 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:28,549 and have blood flowing through our veins, and sometimes we're awakened to the fact 9 00:00:28,549 --> 00:00:30,590 that those things aren't for granted. 10 00:00:30,830 --> 00:00:34,910 So please help us tonight to have a tender heart toward you and to 11 00:00:34,910 --> 00:00:37,490 think seriously about the things that we're about to discuss. 12 00:00:37,490 --> 00:00:39,425 Us we ask this in Jesus' name. 13 00:00:39,905 --> 00:00:40,175 Amen. 14 00:00:42,525 --> 00:00:43,525 have you ever played one of those? 15 00:00:43,525 --> 00:00:44,574 Figure it out games. 16 00:00:44,905 --> 00:00:47,905 You know how you, like, you go to winter camp and there's like nine 17 00:00:47,905 --> 00:00:51,234 pieces of tissue paper and you have to figure out the pattern that makes the 18 00:00:51,234 --> 00:00:57,114 thing up Was at Disneyland, waiting in line with the group of giggly girls. 19 00:00:57,864 --> 00:01:00,414 And the girl says to me, she says this, maybe you know this one. 20 00:01:00,414 --> 00:01:01,044 She says this. 21 00:01:01,495 --> 00:01:04,465 She says, okay, my line is from here to here. 22 00:01:05,185 --> 00:01:06,055 Is that a good line? 23 00:01:06,715 --> 00:01:08,965 And I said, ah, yes. 24 00:01:08,979 --> 00:01:11,019 She said, yes, that's a good line. 25 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:13,899 And she said, my line is from here to here. 26 00:01:13,899 --> 00:01:14,560 Is that a good line? 27 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:16,750 And I said, yes. 28 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:18,310 She said, no, that's a bad line. 29 00:01:18,759 --> 00:01:21,310 And I'm like, she did this several times over. 30 00:01:21,609 --> 00:01:24,130 And everyone around me is looking at me like, is he, is this guy 31 00:01:24,130 --> 00:01:25,030 ever gonna figure this out? 32 00:01:25,030 --> 00:01:26,169 So she starts doing this thing again. 33 00:01:26,169 --> 00:01:28,329 She said, okay, my line is from here to here. 34 00:01:28,329 --> 00:01:29,109 Is that a good line? 35 00:01:29,530 --> 00:01:31,720 And I said, I don't know. 36 00:01:31,959 --> 00:01:33,489 And she said, yes, it's a good line. 37 00:01:34,030 --> 00:01:36,489 We proceeded to do this for, I don't know, maybe 20 minutes. 38 00:01:36,970 --> 00:01:37,929 And then it clicked. 39 00:01:38,424 --> 00:01:39,535 I figured it out. 40 00:01:41,125 --> 00:01:42,055 You guys paying attention? 41 00:01:42,835 --> 00:01:44,335 All right, let me do it again for you. 42 00:01:44,335 --> 00:01:44,755 So let see. 43 00:01:44,755 --> 00:01:45,324 You can figure this out. 44 00:01:45,354 --> 00:01:45,864 Okay. 45 00:01:46,405 --> 00:01:48,745 Um, all right. 46 00:01:48,805 --> 00:01:49,134 Alright. 47 00:01:49,195 --> 00:01:52,104 My line is from here to here. 48 00:01:52,345 --> 00:01:53,245 Is that a good line? 49 00:01:54,055 --> 00:01:54,144 Yes. 50 00:01:54,294 --> 00:01:56,305 No it's not. 51 00:01:56,334 --> 00:01:56,725 That's terrible. 52 00:01:56,725 --> 00:01:58,345 It's a bad line. 53 00:01:59,305 --> 00:02:00,084 Okay. 54 00:02:00,115 --> 00:02:01,495 My line is from here to here. 55 00:02:01,495 --> 00:02:02,155 Is that a good line? 56 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:02,539 Yes. 57 00:02:02,935 --> 00:02:04,225 Yes it is. 58 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:08,380 My line is from here to here. 59 00:02:08,380 --> 00:02:09,250 Is that a good line? 60 00:02:09,910 --> 00:02:10,870 It's a bad line. 61 00:02:10,870 --> 00:02:11,830 It's a bad line. 62 00:02:11,830 --> 00:02:13,240 Some of you might know this one. 63 00:02:14,410 --> 00:02:16,240 I'll let you guys figure that out yourselves later on. 64 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:17,260 I'm not gonna tell you how to do it. 65 00:02:20,710 --> 00:02:21,880 Or maybe you did the Johnny. 66 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:23,410 Johnny, Johnny Whoop Johnny, whoop Johnny. 67 00:02:23,500 --> 00:02:25,000 All those things are black magic. 68 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:26,079 Have you played that one yet? 69 00:02:26,290 --> 00:02:28,660 There's all sorts of fun games that are to figure it out. 70 00:02:28,660 --> 00:02:33,040 Games you have to have a certain something to figure out how the game is played. 71 00:02:33,430 --> 00:02:37,690 In fact, one wonders what makes someone really good at these games. 72 00:02:37,900 --> 00:02:41,290 Maybe they're especially creative or they have an IQ over one 73 00:02:41,290 --> 00:02:43,570 60, or they play in the band. 74 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:45,610 Who knows what the criteria is? 75 00:02:46,089 --> 00:02:51,040 Or maybe as we're gonna see tonight, maybe the, the real ability to figure 76 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:55,899 out these mind puzzles has to do with the condition of your heart. 77 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:59,200 Jesus is actually gonna say that the biggest challenge in 78 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:00,940 understanding what he teaches. 79 00:03:01,450 --> 00:03:04,690 Is not whether you're smart enough or whether you're tall enough, or whether 80 00:03:04,690 --> 00:03:07,899 you're cool enough or anything else, he's gonna say that the biggest challenge with 81 00:03:07,899 --> 00:03:14,170 you, understanding what he's teaching is not anything more than your heart. 82 00:03:14,290 --> 00:03:18,100 Your heart determines what your head believes, what's 83 00:03:18,100 --> 00:03:19,720 at the core of who you are. 84 00:03:19,779 --> 00:03:23,320 Your heart is gonna dictate everything about you, whether you're 85 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:25,300 a hard worker, whether you're lazy. 86 00:03:25,584 --> 00:03:28,404 Whether you love playing music, whether you love reading books, 87 00:03:28,404 --> 00:03:32,154 whether you obey your parents, whether you even submit to God is really a 88 00:03:32,154 --> 00:03:34,644 matter of your heart, your heart. 89 00:03:35,245 --> 00:03:36,954 A lot of people think about the heart, and when they think about 90 00:03:36,954 --> 00:03:40,135 the heart, they'll say, well, uh, my heart told me to love this person, 91 00:03:40,135 --> 00:03:42,204 or My heart felt like it was wrong. 92 00:03:43,375 --> 00:03:44,875 They're saying more than what they realized. 93 00:03:44,875 --> 00:03:46,195 Your heart is more than your feelings. 94 00:03:46,195 --> 00:03:48,745 It actually has a lot more to do with how your whole life works. 95 00:03:49,524 --> 00:03:53,935 Your heart governs how you think your heart governs, what you believe your 96 00:03:53,935 --> 00:03:56,215 heart governs, uh, what you feel. 97 00:03:56,215 --> 00:03:58,885 Your heart governs everything about your life, and most importantly, 98 00:03:59,635 --> 00:04:02,785 most importantly, your heart governs. 99 00:04:02,815 --> 00:04:07,310 It determines whether and how you respond to God. 100 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:13,225 Tonight, I'm gonna share with you a 25 minute sermon, and your response is not 101 00:04:13,225 --> 00:04:16,015 gonna be whether or not my sermon is good, although that really should matter. 102 00:04:16,495 --> 00:04:18,865 But your response is gonna be determined on whether or not your 103 00:04:18,865 --> 00:04:23,455 heart is humble, whether or not your heart is humble and soft before God. 104 00:04:24,535 --> 00:04:25,585 Your heart is a big deal. 105 00:04:26,155 --> 00:04:29,725 So the problem with the parables is not whether someone is smart enough, the 106 00:04:29,725 --> 00:04:33,745 reason some people get it and some don't, has everything to do with their heart. 107 00:04:33,955 --> 00:04:35,155 So to not have a question for you. 108 00:04:35,935 --> 00:04:36,775 How's your heart doing? 109 00:04:37,735 --> 00:04:38,515 How's your heart? 110 00:04:39,505 --> 00:04:40,735 How's your heart before God? 111 00:04:41,725 --> 00:04:43,284 How's your heart doing before other people? 112 00:04:43,284 --> 00:04:44,095 How's your heart doing? 113 00:04:45,190 --> 00:04:47,710 And when I say this, I'm not just saying like, are you sick or healthy? 114 00:04:47,710 --> 00:04:49,330 I'm saying, is your heart soft? 115 00:04:49,780 --> 00:04:50,680 Is your heart humble? 116 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:53,140 Do you genuinely desire to know what's true? 117 00:04:53,349 --> 00:04:56,680 Do you genuinely desire to have the best possible life you can have? 118 00:04:57,310 --> 00:05:01,449 Do you genuinely have a desire to hear what God would say if, if God is 119 00:05:01,449 --> 00:05:03,969 speaking through the Bible, do you want to know what God has to say to you? 120 00:05:04,809 --> 00:05:07,030 Your heart will determine the answer to that question. 121 00:05:07,659 --> 00:05:10,059 Some of you, your heart is in the place of saying, I don't even care. 122 00:05:10,434 --> 00:05:11,454 I don't want to be here. 123 00:05:11,515 --> 00:05:12,354 I don't like you. 124 00:05:12,444 --> 00:05:13,704 I don't like the people next to me. 125 00:05:13,704 --> 00:05:14,694 I don't like the people behind me. 126 00:05:14,755 --> 00:05:15,625 I don't want to be here. 127 00:05:16,135 --> 00:05:16,944 That's a heart problem. 128 00:05:17,964 --> 00:05:20,544 And for some people, you'll ask them, well, why don't you believe in God? 129 00:05:20,544 --> 00:05:23,905 They're gonna say, well, you know, so intellectually the reason why First 130 00:05:23,905 --> 00:05:27,655 law thermodynamics and the reason, evolution, and they're gonna say all 131 00:05:27,655 --> 00:05:29,395 these things that sound terribly smart. 132 00:05:29,995 --> 00:05:33,414 But the reality is, is not that Christianity's a dumb religion. 133 00:05:33,414 --> 00:05:34,464 The reality is our heart. 134 00:05:35,064 --> 00:05:38,755 That our heart makes us resistant toward God because we are proud. 135 00:05:38,995 --> 00:05:43,164 We naturally don't want to hear what God says because we wanna do things our way. 136 00:05:43,495 --> 00:05:45,354 Our heart says, I'm the boss. 137 00:05:45,414 --> 00:05:46,914 I'm the king or the queen. 138 00:05:47,214 --> 00:05:50,454 I determine what the world around me should be. 139 00:05:51,114 --> 00:05:52,164 I determine my own truth. 140 00:05:52,164 --> 00:05:53,544 I'm gonna speak my truth to power. 141 00:05:54,775 --> 00:05:58,194 The problem with the parables is not a problem with what Jesus says. 142 00:05:58,194 --> 00:05:59,395 It's the problem of your heart. 143 00:05:59,964 --> 00:06:02,214 Your heart determines what your head believes. 144 00:06:03,354 --> 00:06:06,265 So as we jump into this, we're gonna jump, we're gonna jump in, 145 00:06:06,265 --> 00:06:08,814 we're gonna have a lot of territory to cover, and we're gonna go fast. 146 00:06:09,084 --> 00:06:11,664 So buckle up, make sure you have your Bibles open. 147 00:06:11,664 --> 00:06:13,344 If you have your Bible, make sure you're taking notes. 148 00:06:13,344 --> 00:06:15,864 I would love for you to take notes 'cause that really matters to me. 149 00:06:16,194 --> 00:06:20,334 I also want you to make sure that you're facing the, the screen here or facing me 150 00:06:20,334 --> 00:06:21,655 so that I know that you're looking at me. 151 00:06:21,684 --> 00:06:23,844 I wanna be able to see your eyes and interact with you. 152 00:06:24,234 --> 00:06:27,594 Uh, I honestly pay attention when I'm talking to you and I look at your eyes. 153 00:06:27,594 --> 00:06:29,664 I can tell whether or not you're tracking with me or not. 154 00:06:29,664 --> 00:06:32,125 So it's really important to me that I can see your eyeballs. 155 00:06:32,484 --> 00:06:35,304 And that I can see that you're tracking or not. 156 00:06:35,515 --> 00:06:37,104 Either way, I want to be able to look. 157 00:06:37,104 --> 00:06:37,734 That's important to me. 158 00:06:38,334 --> 00:06:38,694 Okay. 159 00:06:38,875 --> 00:06:42,984 Matthew chapter 13, we're gonna start with the first parable that this one, 160 00:06:42,984 --> 00:06:45,834 you might actually know, this one's called the Parable of the Soils, 161 00:06:46,224 --> 00:06:48,204 the four different kinds of soils. 162 00:06:48,414 --> 00:06:50,905 We're gonna look at four, and let me just summarize for you what we're gonna 163 00:06:50,905 --> 00:06:52,255 see in these first few verses here. 164 00:06:52,464 --> 00:06:56,365 Jesus is gonna say that a farmer went out to sow seed. 165 00:06:56,635 --> 00:06:58,555 He has a satchel around his back. 166 00:06:58,555 --> 00:07:01,135 He takes a seed, he spreads it on all these places. 167 00:07:01,135 --> 00:07:04,375 On his farm, he's sowing seed into the ground and he said, as 168 00:07:04,375 --> 00:07:08,455 the farmer sows his seed into the ground, there are four types of soil. 169 00:07:08,725 --> 00:07:10,225 The first soil is the path. 170 00:07:10,945 --> 00:07:15,145 The path is hard, and so the seed doesn't really have any place to go. 171 00:07:15,145 --> 00:07:17,905 People are trampling upon it, and the seed gets eaten by 172 00:07:17,905 --> 00:07:19,645 the birds doesn't do anything. 173 00:07:19,645 --> 00:07:22,975 The second soil is the soil of the stony ground. 174 00:07:23,125 --> 00:07:25,105 Some seed falls on stones. 175 00:07:25,630 --> 00:07:26,620 On Stony ground. 176 00:07:26,949 --> 00:07:29,980 And so, as you might imagine, there might be a little bit of life that 177 00:07:29,980 --> 00:07:31,720 shows up, but not really a whole lot. 178 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:32,890 So the Stony Ground's another one. 179 00:07:33,069 --> 00:07:37,030 The thorny ground is a soil that has weeds around it that steal 180 00:07:37,030 --> 00:07:38,470 the nutrients from the soil. 181 00:07:38,709 --> 00:07:40,750 The last soil is the good soil. 182 00:07:41,020 --> 00:07:44,530 This is a soil that is soft and prepared and fertilized. 183 00:07:44,558 --> 00:07:47,650 This is a soil that's ready to receive the seed, and it's 184 00:07:47,650 --> 00:07:49,030 gonna produce something great. 185 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:53,230 At the end of this session that Jesus describes these four soils. 186 00:07:53,260 --> 00:07:54,130 Here's what he says. 187 00:07:54,130 --> 00:07:56,650 Very mysterious, but here's what Jesus says. 188 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:01,270 He who has ears to hear, let him hear. 189 00:08:02,650 --> 00:08:04,419 He could have said something like this. 190 00:08:04,929 --> 00:08:07,330 Look, if you're paying attention, you'll understand what I'm saying. 191 00:08:08,985 --> 00:08:12,880 If you're wise, you'll hear what I'm saying and know that there is deep 192 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:16,240 meaning invested into this parable. 193 00:08:17,304 --> 00:08:21,414 Parable, since they haven't described it yet, is a story that's meant 194 00:08:21,414 --> 00:08:23,875 to be compared to something else. 195 00:08:23,995 --> 00:08:27,235 He's saying, this story is like how life works. 196 00:08:27,505 --> 00:08:32,063 This story is meant to be understood as something more than just a story. 197 00:08:32,063 --> 00:08:32,395 It's not. 198 00:08:32,515 --> 00:08:33,985 It's not a myth, it's not a legend. 199 00:08:34,405 --> 00:08:37,433 It's a story that's meant to highlight a big idea. 200 00:08:38,155 --> 00:08:41,245 Let's take a look at that big idea together here, Matthew chapter 13. 201 00:08:41,453 --> 00:08:44,063 We're gonna skip on down to verse 18. 202 00:08:44,725 --> 00:08:45,835 He's gonna say here. 203 00:08:45,835 --> 00:08:48,955 Then he's telling his disciples the parable of the sower. 204 00:08:49,435 --> 00:08:53,335 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, 205 00:08:53,605 --> 00:08:57,835 the evil one comes and takes this, takes rather, and snatches away 206 00:08:58,225 --> 00:09:00,775 what has been sown in his heart. 207 00:09:01,255 --> 00:09:04,315 This is what was sown along the path. 208 00:09:04,675 --> 00:09:10,555 So the first soil, he says, the soils are all representative of the heart. 209 00:09:11,335 --> 00:09:13,705 You're gonna see this, these, these, all, all these soils are 210 00:09:13,705 --> 00:09:14,665 representative of the heart. 211 00:09:14,665 --> 00:09:17,965 And he's saying the path is the, is the soil that is compacted. 212 00:09:17,965 --> 00:09:19,465 It's hard, it can't be penetrated. 213 00:09:19,495 --> 00:09:23,755 And when seeds, which is the word of God, the gospel, when that's given to 214 00:09:23,755 --> 00:09:28,765 this soil, notice that the devil comes, the evil one comes and takes it away. 215 00:09:29,665 --> 00:09:31,375 He has something to do with this. 216 00:09:31,555 --> 00:09:35,335 The devil wants you to not listen so that he can take it from you. 217 00:09:35,485 --> 00:09:37,195 This is what is sown along the path. 218 00:09:37,225 --> 00:09:39,115 This is a bad soil. 219 00:09:39,115 --> 00:09:40,195 This is a hard heart. 220 00:09:40,195 --> 00:09:40,255 I. 221 00:09:40,855 --> 00:09:42,685 He continues on the second soil. 222 00:09:43,075 --> 00:09:47,995 He says, as for what is sewn on the rocky ground, this is the one that hears the 223 00:09:47,995 --> 00:09:50,575 word and immediately receives it with joy. 224 00:09:50,575 --> 00:09:51,895 There's some kind of life. 225 00:09:52,135 --> 00:09:54,535 They hear the gospel, they hear the word of God preach, and they say, 226 00:09:54,535 --> 00:09:55,975 wow, that's really interesting. 227 00:09:56,155 --> 00:09:57,055 I get it. 228 00:09:57,115 --> 00:09:58,165 I like that. 229 00:09:58,555 --> 00:09:59,845 They receive it with joy. 230 00:10:00,145 --> 00:10:01,615 Yet this is important. 231 00:10:01,615 --> 00:10:04,165 Yet he has no root in himself. 232 00:10:05,155 --> 00:10:06,805 But endures for a while. 233 00:10:06,805 --> 00:10:08,574 And when, here's the important part here. 234 00:10:08,574 --> 00:10:13,015 When tribulation or persecution arises on accord, on account of the 235 00:10:13,015 --> 00:10:15,265 word, immediately he falls away. 236 00:10:15,564 --> 00:10:18,535 This is the person who at first looks like a Christian. 237 00:10:18,535 --> 00:10:21,775 They respond well, but then bad things begin to happen to them 238 00:10:21,775 --> 00:10:22,704 and they think, wait a minute. 239 00:10:22,704 --> 00:10:25,975 I thought Chris Christianity was supposed to make my life better. 240 00:10:26,005 --> 00:10:27,025 That's not better. 241 00:10:27,085 --> 00:10:28,885 Therefore, Christianity's not true. 242 00:10:28,944 --> 00:10:29,814 I'm outta here. 243 00:10:29,875 --> 00:10:30,865 I'm not gonna do this. 244 00:10:30,865 --> 00:10:31,795 This is too hard. 245 00:10:31,944 --> 00:10:33,355 I don't want anything to do with this. 246 00:10:34,180 --> 00:10:38,439 The third soil is the soil that is sewn among the, uh, rather 247 00:10:38,890 --> 00:10:40,480 the seed is sewn among thorns. 248 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:46,209 This is the one who hears the word, but they understand it, but the cares 249 00:10:46,209 --> 00:10:52,390 of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word that means the word 250 00:10:52,390 --> 00:10:57,160 can be given to somebody, but because they care a lot more about things that 251 00:10:57,160 --> 00:10:59,620 the world offers or even money, power. 252 00:11:01,285 --> 00:11:04,345 That person says, I can't afford to let go of what I got. 253 00:11:05,485 --> 00:11:07,645 I can't afford to give this up to Jesus. 254 00:11:07,645 --> 00:11:08,635 He's just not worth it. 255 00:11:09,535 --> 00:11:11,694 I value my video games more. 256 00:11:11,694 --> 00:11:13,314 I value my music more. 257 00:11:13,555 --> 00:11:15,505 I value my shoe collection more. 258 00:11:15,685 --> 00:11:17,755 I value my job more. 259 00:11:17,755 --> 00:11:20,035 I value almost anything. 260 00:11:20,694 --> 00:11:23,605 The cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches. 261 00:11:23,949 --> 00:11:25,569 Notice the word deceitfulness. 262 00:11:25,630 --> 00:11:26,770 The trickery of riches. 263 00:11:26,770 --> 00:11:29,439 I care more about that, and so it chokes the word. 264 00:11:29,650 --> 00:11:32,920 It means that it restrains it from ever taking root and growing 265 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:34,720 because I care much more about these other things over here. 266 00:11:35,500 --> 00:11:36,400 That's the third soil. 267 00:11:37,090 --> 00:11:39,790 The fourth soil is the good soil. 268 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:44,260 Here's what Jesus says, as for what was sewn on good soil, this is the one 269 00:11:44,260 --> 00:11:46,060 who hears the word and understands it. 270 00:11:46,329 --> 00:11:47,230 They're listening to it. 271 00:11:47,230 --> 00:11:48,130 They understand it. 272 00:11:48,250 --> 00:11:51,790 He indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundred fold, 273 00:11:51,790 --> 00:11:53,439 and another 60 and another 30. 274 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:57,760 The one who understands it and hears it is the one that bears fruit. 275 00:11:57,850 --> 00:11:59,500 They do something with the word of God. 276 00:11:59,500 --> 00:12:01,780 And in Luke chapter eight, this is the same. 277 00:12:01,870 --> 00:12:04,000 It's a parallel account in another gospel. 278 00:12:04,030 --> 00:12:08,800 Here's what Luke says, as for that, in the good soil, they are those who hearing 279 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:16,120 the word hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. 280 00:12:16,900 --> 00:12:18,580 When the bad times come, they're okay with that. 281 00:12:18,580 --> 00:12:20,080 I'm just gonna stay focused. 282 00:12:20,380 --> 00:12:21,640 I'm gonna stay the course. 283 00:12:21,730 --> 00:12:23,440 And so you have four soils. 284 00:12:24,070 --> 00:12:28,390 The first soil, the path doesn't have anywhere to go, and so it ends 285 00:12:28,390 --> 00:12:33,340 up, it ends up producing nothing, uh, and it's attacked by Satan. 286 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:35,380 The birds of the air come and steal the seeds. 287 00:12:35,380 --> 00:12:37,120 The evil ones involved the second soil. 288 00:12:37,885 --> 00:12:39,745 Is the seeds that fall on the rocky soil. 289 00:12:39,745 --> 00:12:40,435 There's no root. 290 00:12:40,435 --> 00:12:42,865 They can't build a, they can't build a foundation, and so when the 291 00:12:42,865 --> 00:12:44,845 hot times come, they wither away. 292 00:12:44,845 --> 00:12:46,015 Kind of like a Texas summer. 293 00:12:46,315 --> 00:12:49,165 Some things in Texas can't afford to grow because it's just 294 00:12:49,165 --> 00:12:50,515 too hot out or too cold out. 295 00:12:50,515 --> 00:12:53,665 So because it has no root, can't sustain it, it withers away. 296 00:12:53,665 --> 00:12:58,105 It dies The third soil, it sea a seeds that falls on the thorny soil. 297 00:12:58,285 --> 00:13:00,325 It gets choked out because of the weeds. 298 00:13:00,580 --> 00:13:04,450 The weeds and the thorns, they come and rip away that soil 299 00:13:04,450 --> 00:13:05,770 or rip away the nutrients. 300 00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:08,530 Therefore, the seed cannot, cannot produce. 301 00:13:08,770 --> 00:13:12,130 But the last one, seeds that fall on the fertile soil. 302 00:13:12,130 --> 00:13:14,770 Think about a good soil that's all manured, and it's broken 303 00:13:14,770 --> 00:13:16,720 up seeds falling easily. 304 00:13:16,810 --> 00:13:21,670 And because the soil is soft and tender and ready for the seed, that seed goes in 305 00:13:21,670 --> 00:13:26,320 there and it bears fruit and it does good because the word of God sewn in the heart. 306 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:27,430 That's prepared and humble. 307 00:13:27,580 --> 00:13:27,970 Can do. 308 00:13:27,970 --> 00:13:28,420 Great. 309 00:13:28,420 --> 00:13:28,930 Good to you. 310 00:13:31,870 --> 00:13:35,890 All of these soils are conditions of your heart. 311 00:13:36,820 --> 00:13:38,320 Which one do you think you are? 312 00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:43,210 Which soil do you think best reflects where you're at right now? 313 00:13:44,020 --> 00:13:45,490 It's good to be honest with yourself. 314 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:48,880 No one to trick yourself and say, well, I think I'm the fourth soil 'cause I'm here. 315 00:13:49,330 --> 00:13:51,940 It's good to say, well, I, I think I ought to really examine my life 316 00:13:51,940 --> 00:13:53,290 and say, where am I with God? 317 00:13:54,910 --> 00:13:57,280 Your heart will determine what your head believes. 318 00:13:58,555 --> 00:14:00,834 If that's the truth, if that's the case, then what you really 319 00:14:00,834 --> 00:14:02,125 need do is grow a humble heart. 320 00:14:02,814 --> 00:14:05,454 You have to take it seriously to grow a humble heart. 321 00:14:06,385 --> 00:14:09,625 If your heart is hard and you think the Bible is just a bunch of stories, and you 322 00:14:09,625 --> 00:14:13,015 think Jesus coming to live and die in your place, and rise again on the third day is 323 00:14:13,015 --> 00:14:17,125 just a legend, you're not gonna respond the way that you might even want to. 324 00:14:18,834 --> 00:14:24,145 The thing that changes people's lives is a humble reception of God's word. 325 00:14:24,895 --> 00:14:26,305 God wants you to have a tender heart. 326 00:14:27,265 --> 00:14:29,875 If you come with a hard heart, you're gonna have a hard time understanding 327 00:14:30,145 --> 00:14:31,225 anything that I'm talking about. 328 00:14:32,455 --> 00:14:33,775 Think about a good tortilla. 329 00:14:34,975 --> 00:14:35,065 Mm-hmm. 330 00:14:37,705 --> 00:14:39,685 Imagine your grandma. 331 00:14:41,185 --> 00:14:43,195 Your grandma makes you these homemade tortillas. 332 00:14:43,525 --> 00:14:47,395 They're piping hot, fresh, they're covered in lard. 333 00:14:47,935 --> 00:14:49,075 They smell terrific. 334 00:14:49,135 --> 00:14:53,245 They feel your house with joy and gladness when you pick up this 335 00:14:53,245 --> 00:14:55,045 tortilla, which has been warmed up. 336 00:14:56,170 --> 00:14:56,979 In her heart. 337 00:14:58,630 --> 00:15:00,819 What does this tort, what does this tortilla feel like? 338 00:15:02,079 --> 00:15:02,949 It's pliable. 339 00:15:02,979 --> 00:15:03,880 Soft. 340 00:15:04,479 --> 00:15:07,000 You could put your beans and your meat in there. 341 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:09,699 You could put some cheese on top, put some salsa. 342 00:15:10,060 --> 00:15:11,500 That thing is gonna do its job. 343 00:15:12,130 --> 00:15:14,199 That is a good heart. 344 00:15:15,130 --> 00:15:16,030 It's flexible. 345 00:15:16,209 --> 00:15:18,939 Smells good, feels good, does its job well. 346 00:15:19,900 --> 00:15:22,599 But let's say your grandmama doesn't love you and she gets 347 00:15:22,599 --> 00:15:24,010 you the store by tortillas. 348 00:15:24,550 --> 00:15:26,319 Cold and stale. 349 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:27,730 You pull it outta the refrigerator. 350 00:15:27,730 --> 00:15:28,329 It doesn't look like this. 351 00:15:28,329 --> 00:15:30,579 You pull it outta the refrigerator, it's brittle. 352 00:15:30,879 --> 00:15:33,520 What happens when you try to take that brittle corn tortilla 353 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:34,780 and fold it into a taco? 354 00:15:34,780 --> 00:15:35,290 What happens? 355 00:15:35,464 --> 00:15:35,885 Breaks. 356 00:15:36,129 --> 00:15:38,170 Breaks kind of garbage. 357 00:15:38,170 --> 00:15:40,780 Is this, you might say, grandma hates me. 358 00:15:41,170 --> 00:15:43,659 You would be right if grandma bought you. 359 00:15:43,659 --> 00:15:44,319 That kind of Yeah. 360 00:15:44,589 --> 00:15:46,629 The heart is a lot like a tortilla. 361 00:15:47,079 --> 00:15:47,560 Yep. 362 00:15:47,619 --> 00:15:48,490 I said that. 363 00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:50,920 A warm heart. 364 00:15:51,460 --> 00:15:54,670 Like a warm tortilla does its job well, it's flexible. 365 00:15:54,670 --> 00:15:55,360 It's pliable. 366 00:15:56,140 --> 00:16:00,070 A cold heart, a cold hard heart, like a tortilla is not flexible. 367 00:16:00,070 --> 00:16:01,120 It's not gonna do its job. 368 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:01,420 It's not. 369 00:16:01,420 --> 00:16:02,260 It's gonna crumble. 370 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:03,640 It's not gonna serve you well. 371 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:05,530 A hard heart will ultimately destroy you. 372 00:16:05,740 --> 00:16:07,630 You therefore need a humble heart. 373 00:16:07,990 --> 00:16:09,430 Now, humble heart looks like this. 374 00:16:09,820 --> 00:16:11,980 It listens carefully to God's word. 375 00:16:12,250 --> 00:16:15,970 A humble heart is willing to say, look, if God is real and he's talking to me 376 00:16:15,970 --> 00:16:17,980 through the Bible, I better pay attention. 377 00:16:18,130 --> 00:16:18,910 I have to. 378 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:21,970 Because if this is God talking to me, I need to hear what he says. 379 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:25,570 If I don't hear what he says, man, I'm gonna put myself in a world of hurt. 380 00:16:25,900 --> 00:16:29,290 If this is truly God's word, and the Bible says this is God's 381 00:16:29,290 --> 00:16:33,790 word, and he's proven it over and over again by signs and miracles. 382 00:16:33,790 --> 00:16:36,910 The miracle the most, the the biggest miracle, the one that we celebrate 383 00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:39,160 is Jesus, resurrection from the dead. 384 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:43,780 You need a humble heart that says, I want to carefully listen to God's word. 385 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:47,890 The good heart hears and understands God's word. 386 00:16:49,045 --> 00:16:50,724 The hard heart doesn't even bother. 387 00:16:51,264 --> 00:16:52,585 'cause I've got bigger things to do. 388 00:16:52,585 --> 00:16:53,545 I've got better things to do. 389 00:16:53,545 --> 00:16:54,925 I, I really like my sin. 390 00:16:54,954 --> 00:16:57,234 I don't want Jesus because sin is just too much fun. 391 00:16:58,165 --> 00:17:01,825 A humble heart, however, seeks understanding of God's word. 392 00:17:02,004 --> 00:17:03,264 Let me just cut it straight with you guys. 393 00:17:03,264 --> 00:17:04,523 The Bible's hard, isn't it? 394 00:17:04,645 --> 00:17:06,263 Can we just be honest about the Bible's hard? 395 00:17:06,565 --> 00:17:07,795 It's a, it's a difficult book. 396 00:17:07,795 --> 00:17:10,763 There's a lot of complexity in it, even though it's simple 397 00:17:10,763 --> 00:17:11,964 enough for a child to understand. 398 00:17:11,964 --> 00:17:12,835 The Bible is hard. 399 00:17:13,075 --> 00:17:16,523 A soft, humble heart says, I will persist. 400 00:17:17,290 --> 00:17:21,128 If this is God's word, I will seek to understand it because it matters. 401 00:17:22,690 --> 00:17:24,460 A humble heart says, I need this. 402 00:17:24,670 --> 00:17:27,040 If it's really God, I need to understand it. 403 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:30,670 I will slow down and do what I need to do to make sure that I understand it. 404 00:17:30,670 --> 00:17:35,440 Thirdly, a humble heart produces good works from God's word. 405 00:17:36,250 --> 00:17:39,580 A humble heart is gonna say, okay, I, I, I wanna listen to it. 406 00:17:39,580 --> 00:17:42,040 I wanna understand it, and now I want to put it to work. 407 00:17:42,070 --> 00:17:44,710 I need to do what it says because I believe what God says. 408 00:17:44,710 --> 00:17:46,149 I trust what God says, I'm gonna do it. 409 00:17:46,225 --> 00:17:48,024 It, I'm gonna do it. 410 00:17:49,074 --> 00:17:52,405 This is what it means to have a humble heart before God. 411 00:17:52,405 --> 00:17:55,314 Not just to hear the word, but to do the word again. 412 00:17:55,584 --> 00:17:56,334 How's your heart? 413 00:17:57,115 --> 00:17:59,725 What soil best represents you? 414 00:18:00,235 --> 00:18:03,355 Are you the soft soil that says, yes, Lord, I want to do what you say, or are 415 00:18:03,355 --> 00:18:05,094 you the hard soil that says, no thank you. 416 00:18:05,455 --> 00:18:07,794 I don't have any interest in what you're, what you're giving me here. 417 00:18:10,645 --> 00:18:12,534 Your heart determines what your head believes. 418 00:18:12,985 --> 00:18:14,544 You've gotta make sure your heart is humble. 419 00:18:16,975 --> 00:18:17,995 Jesus continues. 420 00:18:18,565 --> 00:18:20,545 He tells more stories, more parables. 421 00:18:20,845 --> 00:18:22,585 And this next parable, we're gonna look at two of them. 422 00:18:22,585 --> 00:18:25,165 We're gonna look at the weeds, actually, I think we're only gonna look at one, 423 00:18:25,165 --> 00:18:26,095 but we're gonna look at the weeds. 424 00:18:26,485 --> 00:18:31,285 He put this parable before them saying The kingdom of heaven may be compared to 425 00:18:31,285 --> 00:18:33,475 a man who sowed good seed in his field. 426 00:18:34,015 --> 00:18:37,345 So this goes back to the parable of so again, but this is beyond that, 427 00:18:37,345 --> 00:18:41,875 he says, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sewed 428 00:18:41,935 --> 00:18:44,395 weeds among the wheat and went away. 429 00:18:44,425 --> 00:18:44,485 It. 430 00:18:45,385 --> 00:18:50,575 So when the, when the plants came up in Bo Borg grain, then the weeds also appeared. 431 00:18:50,575 --> 00:18:53,875 So imagine a farmer sowing good seed and he goes to sleep, but 432 00:18:53,875 --> 00:18:55,435 his neighbor who hates him, Mr. 433 00:18:55,435 --> 00:18:59,065 Johnson, he comes at night sneaking in like a burglar and is sowing 434 00:18:59,065 --> 00:19:01,524 weeds into to the farmer's soil. 435 00:19:01,764 --> 00:19:06,415 So later on when he sees the, the, the harvest begin to come up, he's like, 436 00:19:06,415 --> 00:19:08,575 Hey, where did all these weeds come from? 437 00:19:08,815 --> 00:19:10,675 And then his friends are like, well, hey dude. 438 00:19:10,885 --> 00:19:11,455 Um. 439 00:19:11,980 --> 00:19:14,710 He said, Hey master, didn't you just sow good seed in your field? 440 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:16,180 How then does it have weeds? 441 00:19:16,270 --> 00:19:18,700 And he said to them, an enemy has done this. 442 00:19:19,030 --> 00:19:20,170 It's Farmer Johnson. 443 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:20,650 I know it. 444 00:19:21,370 --> 00:19:22,870 Farmer Johnson did this. 445 00:19:23,290 --> 00:19:26,980 So the servant said to him, well, do you want us to go and gather the weeds? 446 00:19:26,980 --> 00:19:28,480 Then that's what my lawn service does. 447 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:31,120 They come and they spray for the weeds and they take them out for us. 448 00:19:31,120 --> 00:19:32,440 They help us to control our lawn. 449 00:19:32,980 --> 00:19:35,200 And so they ask them, do you want us to go take out the weeds? 450 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:36,910 And then the farmer says. 451 00:19:37,254 --> 00:19:41,905 No, because if you gather the weeds, you might accidentally take up the wheat 452 00:19:41,995 --> 00:19:45,565 along with them, that you might destroy the crop if you take out the weeds. 453 00:19:45,895 --> 00:19:48,475 Therefore, let both of them grow together. 454 00:19:48,475 --> 00:19:49,975 Until the harvest. 455 00:19:50,905 --> 00:19:53,845 Until the harvest, and at harvest time, I will tell the reapers, 456 00:19:54,145 --> 00:19:57,774 gather the weeds first, and then bind them into bundles to be burned. 457 00:19:57,805 --> 00:19:58,585 That's not a good thing. 458 00:19:59,274 --> 00:20:00,770 Gather the wheat into my bar. 459 00:20:01,794 --> 00:20:07,135 Okay, so Jesus is telling you a little story, a parable about how you should 460 00:20:07,135 --> 00:20:09,985 expect the church to work in the church. 461 00:20:09,985 --> 00:20:12,655 He says, in the kingdom of God, there's gonna be two 462 00:20:12,655 --> 00:20:14,245 kinds of people in the church. 463 00:20:14,245 --> 00:20:17,635 At any given time, you're gonna have weeds, and you're gonna have weeds. 464 00:20:18,205 --> 00:20:19,705 The enemy is the devil. 465 00:20:19,735 --> 00:20:22,824 He comes and he sows bad things into the church. 466 00:20:23,185 --> 00:20:27,504 He sows people in the church that their job is to deceive and to take away. 467 00:20:29,379 --> 00:20:32,830 Instead of exposing them right now, Jesus says he's gonna wait until the 468 00:20:32,830 --> 00:20:36,760 very last day of judgment to expose them and to gather them and to judge them. 469 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:39,159 This is a bad situation, but you should know, know something 470 00:20:39,159 --> 00:20:40,419 about, know something about this. 471 00:20:41,230 --> 00:20:44,590 Jesus is telling us that in the church there will be both Christian 472 00:20:44,590 --> 00:20:48,129 and non-Christian going to church together, doing church things, 473 00:20:48,399 --> 00:20:50,530 producing church activities. 474 00:20:51,220 --> 00:20:52,330 What does this mean for us? 475 00:20:53,110 --> 00:20:59,020 Jesus is telling us, if you see hypocrites and sin in the church, maybe it's 476 00:20:59,020 --> 00:21:00,490 not the church who's at fault here. 477 00:21:01,120 --> 00:21:04,690 Maybe it's the enemy, the devil sowing people in the church 478 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:06,040 who are there to destroy it. 479 00:21:06,850 --> 00:21:09,190 If that's true, then you need to guard your heart against 480 00:21:09,460 --> 00:21:10,750 something called cynicism. 481 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:14,830 You need to realize that there are people in the church even now who are 482 00:21:14,830 --> 00:21:17,050 not Christians, who are the weeds. 483 00:21:17,379 --> 00:21:20,320 And who are those who are planted by the enemy that are meant to 484 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:22,090 take away from the church itself? 485 00:21:22,270 --> 00:21:24,370 They're there to confuse, they're there to destroy. 486 00:21:24,370 --> 00:21:25,840 They're there to sow discord. 487 00:21:26,110 --> 00:21:29,530 They're there to create problems for the church as Christians. 488 00:21:29,530 --> 00:21:33,070 Then we shouldn't look at that and say, well, uh, you know, it must 489 00:21:33,070 --> 00:21:35,560 be that it must be true then that the church is full of hypocrites. 490 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:37,540 The church is full of evil people. 491 00:21:37,629 --> 00:21:39,730 I, I'll never go to a Christian Church because those people 492 00:21:39,730 --> 00:21:41,050 are all fakes and phonies. 493 00:21:41,230 --> 00:21:42,220 I can't trust them. 494 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:44,980 And, and for some of those people in the church, maybe that's true. 495 00:21:45,415 --> 00:21:46,104 Maybe that's true. 496 00:21:46,254 --> 00:21:50,004 You know, when I was your age, when I was your age, one of my favorite 497 00:21:50,004 --> 00:21:51,655 youth pastors, he's a cool guy. 498 00:21:51,655 --> 00:21:52,284 I really liked him. 499 00:21:52,290 --> 00:21:54,054 He was, he was like one of the most popular guys in the church. 500 00:21:54,834 --> 00:22:00,205 One of my favorite youth pastors cheated on his wife and wrecked his family. 501 00:22:01,375 --> 00:22:02,215 I was my youth pastor. 502 00:22:02,304 --> 00:22:02,935 I looked at him like. 503 00:22:03,565 --> 00:22:05,005 How God, how could this be? 504 00:22:05,005 --> 00:22:06,445 This guy was a godly guy. 505 00:22:06,445 --> 00:22:07,735 He said all the right things. 506 00:22:07,735 --> 00:22:08,455 He was funny. 507 00:22:08,455 --> 00:22:09,295 He was engaging. 508 00:22:09,295 --> 00:22:12,985 I liked him, but then that guy goes and does something so stupid. 509 00:22:12,985 --> 00:22:13,825 It rocked my world. 510 00:22:13,825 --> 00:22:17,365 I thought, how could I possibly, how could I possibly move past this? 511 00:22:19,465 --> 00:22:22,225 My parents both were professing Christians. 512 00:22:22,225 --> 00:22:25,465 They're the reason I ended up in church in the first place when 513 00:22:25,465 --> 00:22:27,175 my parents decided to divorce. 514 00:22:27,550 --> 00:22:30,790 I thought, well, if God can't fix my parents' marriage, 515 00:22:30,850 --> 00:22:32,050 what's he gonna do with my life? 516 00:22:32,050 --> 00:22:35,890 If he can't be trusted to fix my parents, how's he gonna fix my life? 517 00:22:35,950 --> 00:22:36,730 That's two people. 518 00:22:36,730 --> 00:22:37,450 I'm only one. 519 00:22:37,450 --> 00:22:39,850 If he can't do anything with two, surely he can't. 520 00:22:39,910 --> 00:22:40,900 He can't do anything for me. 521 00:22:40,930 --> 00:22:41,350 The one 522 00:22:47,500 --> 00:22:48,595 in high school. 523 00:22:50,470 --> 00:22:54,460 I began to ask serious questions about my faith, and so I challenged 524 00:22:54,460 --> 00:22:56,710 my leaders by asking hard questions. 525 00:22:57,160 --> 00:22:59,200 I, I don't even remember what some of them were. 526 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:02,350 One of them had to do with the nature of love, and I asked my leaders these really 527 00:23:02,350 --> 00:23:05,170 hard questions that I was wrestling with, and, and you know what they answered. 528 00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:06,580 Here's what they said. 529 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:07,420 You ready for it? 530 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:08,020 Here it goes. 531 00:23:08,740 --> 00:23:09,340 I don't know. 532 00:23:09,850 --> 00:23:10,510 That's a good question. 533 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:13,510 You don't have answers to these things. 534 00:23:13,510 --> 00:23:14,350 These are important questions. 535 00:23:14,350 --> 00:23:15,760 I need answers to these questions. 536 00:23:16,270 --> 00:23:17,920 I'm having an existential crisis of faith here. 537 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:19,420 You need to tell me the answer to these questions. 538 00:23:19,870 --> 00:23:22,810 And my, my youth leaders, I mean well intentioned, but they, they just 539 00:23:22,810 --> 00:23:24,550 didn't know I had serious questions. 540 00:23:24,550 --> 00:23:26,500 That really rattled me, that really bothered me. 541 00:23:26,740 --> 00:23:30,610 Questions about God and goodness and evil and badness and how this all works. 542 00:23:30,610 --> 00:23:32,140 And if God can destroy evil, why doesn't he? 543 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:34,180 And why doesn't God do all the things that I expect him to do? 544 00:23:34,270 --> 00:23:35,650 He can't keep my parents together. 545 00:23:35,830 --> 00:23:38,740 Uh, he's clearly, he can't keep a pastor married to his wife faithfully. 546 00:23:39,025 --> 00:23:41,575 If God's real, why is all this stuff happening in the church? 547 00:23:41,725 --> 00:23:45,295 Why is it true that the, the church seems to be struggling all the time and 548 00:23:45,295 --> 00:23:48,085 that even the best Christians seem not to be able to keep their lives together? 549 00:23:48,205 --> 00:23:51,145 Man, I'm really having to struggle keeping myself in the church here. 550 00:23:51,205 --> 00:23:52,045 And here's the thing. 551 00:23:52,135 --> 00:23:53,365 I almost slipped. 552 00:23:53,365 --> 00:23:54,175 I almost said, you know what? 553 00:23:54,175 --> 00:23:54,985 I'm done with this. 554 00:23:55,555 --> 00:23:59,005 I struggled and I didn't think, I can't stay here with a clear conscience 555 00:23:59,875 --> 00:24:04,105 until God taught me by softening my heart and giving me a humble heart. 556 00:24:04,885 --> 00:24:06,865 Maybe there are people in the church who are not Christian. 557 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:12,580 Maybe there are people in the church who are here simply to create issues and maybe 558 00:24:12,820 --> 00:24:17,110 even for Christians who are in the church, maybe Christian sin in grievous ways, 559 00:24:18,129 --> 00:24:22,510 and maybe just maybe I'm a really big sin or too, and I just don't see it yet. 560 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:26,230 One of the biggest things that you're gonna have to fight young person 561 00:24:26,409 --> 00:24:27,969 is cynicism against the church. 562 00:24:30,189 --> 00:24:32,080 I wish that I could tell you that some of the people that you love 563 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:33,280 and respect won't let you down. 564 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:34,870 Truth is they will. 565 00:24:35,965 --> 00:24:37,855 I wish I could tell you and make a guarantees. 566 00:24:39,595 --> 00:24:42,925 I wish I could tell you and make a guarantees that everybody that 567 00:24:42,925 --> 00:24:45,955 you run into at the church is a godly man and a godly woman. 568 00:24:45,955 --> 00:24:48,835 They have your best interest at heart and they're always gonna do what's right. 569 00:24:49,285 --> 00:24:50,215 That's simply not true. 570 00:24:52,254 --> 00:24:54,595 But your hope shouldn't be in the people. 571 00:24:55,405 --> 00:24:56,455 Your hope should be in the Lord. 572 00:24:57,504 --> 00:25:01,345 You need to guard your heart, protect your heart against cynicism, by the way, in 573 00:25:01,345 --> 00:25:02,754 case you're wondering what cynicism is. 574 00:25:04,150 --> 00:25:06,100 It's always seeing what's wrong in the world. 575 00:25:06,100 --> 00:25:08,830 It's just saying, it's looking at something and saying, this is 576 00:25:08,830 --> 00:25:10,480 broken, this is evil, this is out. 577 00:25:10,690 --> 00:25:12,760 Or let's just say you get a good present in the mail. 578 00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:13,660 Someone's sending you a good present. 579 00:25:13,660 --> 00:25:14,500 Oh, it's probably broken. 580 00:25:15,340 --> 00:25:16,060 They send you a present. 581 00:25:16,060 --> 00:25:17,440 Oh, they probably bought it secondhand. 582 00:25:18,010 --> 00:25:22,510 You know, a cynic is someone who doubts everything. 583 00:25:22,510 --> 00:25:23,080 That's good. 584 00:25:23,379 --> 00:25:25,389 A cynic is someone who's always looking at the glass and 585 00:25:25,389 --> 00:25:27,430 saying, half full, not enough. 586 00:25:27,430 --> 00:25:27,879 For me. 587 00:25:28,540 --> 00:25:32,620 A cynic looks at everything through a dark color lens and says. 588 00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:34,090 Everything is messed up. 589 00:25:34,090 --> 00:25:36,940 Everything is broken, everything is shot. 590 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:41,020 In fact, some people have argued that the author of Ecclesiastes, one of the 591 00:25:41,020 --> 00:25:43,450 books of the Bible is quite cynical. 592 00:25:45,610 --> 00:25:48,370 Cynicism is something that you have to guard your heart against because 593 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:49,960 it doesn't just start in your heart. 594 00:25:50,140 --> 00:25:52,398 It expands and moves toward God and says, God can't be trusted. 595 00:25:53,770 --> 00:25:54,550 I don't want that for you. 596 00:25:54,850 --> 00:25:56,320 So to protect your heart against cynicism. 597 00:26:01,360 --> 00:26:04,420 To protect your heart against sin, can you move it forward? 598 00:26:04,750 --> 00:26:05,770 Protect your heart against cynicism? 599 00:26:05,770 --> 00:26:06,670 I don't know why I can't connect. 600 00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:08,260 Connection. 601 00:26:08,260 --> 00:26:09,130 Lost. 602 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:09,520 Okay. 603 00:26:10,570 --> 00:26:10,930 Thank you. 604 00:26:11,260 --> 00:26:13,660 Protect your heart against cynicism by expecting demonic 605 00:26:13,660 --> 00:26:14,800 opposition to the church. 606 00:26:15,130 --> 00:26:16,300 The devil is at work. 607 00:26:16,300 --> 00:26:19,180 He is sowing opposition into the church. 608 00:26:19,300 --> 00:26:21,280 He's got his people working for him. 609 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:22,450 His people are called demons. 610 00:26:22,900 --> 00:26:25,840 Demons are constantly at war with God's true church. 611 00:26:25,840 --> 00:26:26,020 Why? 612 00:26:26,020 --> 00:26:27,700 Well, 'cause they don't want people to know the gospel. 613 00:26:27,850 --> 00:26:29,140 They don't want people to get saved. 614 00:26:29,170 --> 00:26:31,960 And so you should always expect that even within a good church, perhaps, 615 00:26:31,990 --> 00:26:35,650 especially in a good church, there's going to be things that are gonna 616 00:26:35,650 --> 00:26:37,960 make you sad and angry and upset. 617 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:41,410 I'm not saying the church should tolerate sin, but you should 618 00:26:41,410 --> 00:26:45,610 expect the church is going to be struggling with sin all of her life. 619 00:26:46,360 --> 00:26:49,660 'cause Jesus says there's gonna be wheat and there's gonna be weeds 620 00:26:49,690 --> 00:26:50,830 in the church at the same time. 621 00:26:50,830 --> 00:26:52,180 And this is because of the devil's. 622 00:26:52,570 --> 00:26:53,170 Strategy. 623 00:26:53,620 --> 00:26:57,040 He wants to sow demonic opposition into the church so that she's not 624 00:26:57,040 --> 00:26:59,800 as effective, so that she doesn't bring God the glory that he deserves. 625 00:26:59,920 --> 00:27:03,040 Second, protect your heart against cynicism by expecting 626 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:04,900 sin and hypocrisy in the church. 627 00:27:05,170 --> 00:27:10,780 I'm not saying that the church is sinful or that Christians 628 00:27:10,780 --> 00:27:12,370 are hypocrite, hypocritical. 629 00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:18,580 Sometimes they are, sometimes, but, and while Christians do sin, and while 630 00:27:18,580 --> 00:27:21,345 Christians do sometimes express hypocrisy. 631 00:27:22,149 --> 00:27:25,690 It is not true that the church is full of sinners who are hypocrites. 632 00:27:26,290 --> 00:27:29,440 The church is full of broken people, but they're not hypocrites. 633 00:27:30,070 --> 00:27:32,440 Christians are in church because they recognize they're 634 00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:33,760 broken and they need a savior. 635 00:27:34,810 --> 00:27:35,860 Have you noticed that yet? 636 00:27:35,860 --> 00:27:38,350 Have you noticed in your own life that you're broken and that you need a savior? 637 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:42,040 Have you realized that when you point your bony finger at all these 638 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:44,830 Christians, you're actually pointing several fingers back at yourself 639 00:27:44,830 --> 00:27:45,940 saying, I'm actually a hypocrite. 640 00:27:46,764 --> 00:27:47,784 I'm actually a liar. 641 00:27:48,024 --> 00:27:49,075 I'm actually a thief. 642 00:27:49,105 --> 00:27:50,875 I'm actually quite broken myself. 643 00:27:50,935 --> 00:27:53,155 This is the whole reason Christians are Christians in the first place. 644 00:27:53,305 --> 00:27:55,105 We see that we need Jesus. 645 00:27:55,405 --> 00:27:57,895 We recognize I can't do life by myself. 646 00:27:57,895 --> 00:27:59,125 I need Jesus to save me. 647 00:27:59,425 --> 00:28:00,625 I've already broken his law. 648 00:28:00,625 --> 00:28:01,945 I can't do anything to change that. 649 00:28:01,945 --> 00:28:04,645 Therefore, I need Jesus to save my life and otherwise. 650 00:28:04,764 --> 00:28:07,075 The challenge for us is that we, we look at all of this and we say, 651 00:28:07,075 --> 00:28:08,125 man, the church is just broken. 652 00:28:08,125 --> 00:28:08,784 I hate the church. 653 00:28:08,784 --> 00:28:09,835 I hate the Christians of the church. 654 00:28:09,835 --> 00:28:10,915 They're all phonies and fakes. 655 00:28:11,034 --> 00:28:11,815 It's just not true. 656 00:28:11,845 --> 00:28:12,745 It's just not true. 657 00:28:13,495 --> 00:28:15,805 A cynical heart will make you believe. 658 00:28:16,165 --> 00:28:19,375 That everything you see while they're just baking it, that's just Sunday. 659 00:28:19,735 --> 00:28:23,815 I want to see you on Tuesday and hey, it's perfectly right to expect 660 00:28:24,145 --> 00:28:26,275 that a real Christian grows in grace. 661 00:28:26,275 --> 00:28:26,935 They should. 662 00:28:27,985 --> 00:28:31,195 I know for some of you, you look at your parents and say, my parents are phonies. 663 00:28:31,615 --> 00:28:33,985 They're like this on Sunday, and they're like this on another day. 664 00:28:34,705 --> 00:28:35,185 I get it. 665 00:28:35,545 --> 00:28:39,415 I really do, and I'm sure that everybody, when they go to church, they're, they're 666 00:28:39,415 --> 00:28:40,675 trying to put their best foot forward. 667 00:28:40,675 --> 00:28:41,635 I, I understand that. 668 00:28:42,955 --> 00:28:44,395 Hypocrisy is not the same thing though. 669 00:28:45,205 --> 00:28:49,705 Hypocrisy is not saying that you don't acknowledge that there are 670 00:28:50,035 --> 00:28:52,405 severe shortcomings in your life. 671 00:28:53,185 --> 00:28:55,465 Hypocrisy be would be to pretend that there isn't. 672 00:28:56,065 --> 00:28:57,355 It's like, oh, I'm, I'm totally fine. 673 00:28:57,415 --> 00:28:59,635 I'm, I'm, I'm perfectly, I'm perfectly good. 674 00:29:00,355 --> 00:29:03,175 Every Christian knows that who they want to be and who 675 00:29:03,175 --> 00:29:05,395 they are are different places. 676 00:29:06,325 --> 00:29:10,045 Guard your heart against cynicism 'cause your heart determines 677 00:29:10,045 --> 00:29:10,825 what your head believes. 678 00:29:11,575 --> 00:29:13,825 And whether or not you just accepted what I said right now is 679 00:29:13,825 --> 00:29:15,085 gonna be determined by your heart. 680 00:29:15,415 --> 00:29:18,055 If your heart is humble, willing to understand and listen to reason, 681 00:29:18,115 --> 00:29:20,515 great, not you won't listen. 682 00:29:21,355 --> 00:29:24,895 Last passage here, Matthew 1344 to 58. 683 00:29:26,485 --> 00:29:28,495 I wanna look at two parables as we close together. 684 00:29:29,035 --> 00:29:31,195 These last two parables are the best. 685 00:29:31,615 --> 00:29:32,185 Here's why. 686 00:29:33,115 --> 00:29:36,655 Jesus is gonna make a case for why you should be a Christian. 687 00:29:37,315 --> 00:29:37,705 Here we go. 688 00:29:38,409 --> 00:29:38,919 Two parables. 689 00:29:38,919 --> 00:29:39,879 Parable of the Hidden treasure. 690 00:29:40,300 --> 00:29:42,639 The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. 691 00:29:43,300 --> 00:29:48,639 So the gospel is hidden in a field which a man found in covered up. 692 00:29:48,699 --> 00:29:49,270 He sees it. 693 00:29:49,270 --> 00:29:49,689 He finds it. 694 00:29:49,689 --> 00:29:50,679 He says, this is awesome. 695 00:29:51,189 --> 00:29:51,970 I'm gonna cover it up. 696 00:29:51,970 --> 00:29:52,300 Why? 697 00:29:52,449 --> 00:29:56,409 Because in joy, he goes and sells all that he has to buy that field. 698 00:29:56,425 --> 00:29:59,875 It because he's gonna get something far greater than everything that he sells. 699 00:30:00,024 --> 00:30:02,365 The second parable is the parable of the pearl of great price. 700 00:30:02,365 --> 00:30:05,034 He says this again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant 701 00:30:05,034 --> 00:30:06,685 in search of fine pearls. 702 00:30:06,865 --> 00:30:10,105 And then he finds this pearl, this one pearl of great price. 703 00:30:10,315 --> 00:30:13,225 This is the most valuable pearl that he could find ever. 704 00:30:13,585 --> 00:30:17,185 And so he goes, sells all that he has and buys it. 705 00:30:17,725 --> 00:30:21,655 And both of these parables, both of these stories, Jesus is highlighting a man 706 00:30:21,655 --> 00:30:23,815 and a merchant who give up everything. 707 00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:28,780 To gain the kingdom of heaven, to gain Jesus, to gain the gospel. 708 00:30:30,220 --> 00:30:34,630 Point number three, you need to show your heart that Jesus is worth everything. 709 00:30:36,550 --> 00:30:38,230 It's worth giving up your whole life for. 710 00:30:38,230 --> 00:30:42,490 In fact, that's exactly the price that you have to pay if you want, follow Jesus. 711 00:30:42,490 --> 00:30:46,900 Jesus says you have to lay down your life to follow me, and that means 712 00:30:46,930 --> 00:30:49,810 signing up to do anything that he says. 713 00:30:50,575 --> 00:30:51,475 He's the Lord. 714 00:30:51,655 --> 00:30:52,525 We're the servants. 715 00:30:52,555 --> 00:30:53,305 He's the king. 716 00:30:53,335 --> 00:30:54,325 We're the subjects. 717 00:30:57,595 --> 00:31:01,105 Imagine that you're a teenager who collects great shoes. 718 00:31:01,405 --> 00:31:06,025 You're a sneakerhead and you have several pair of cool shoes. 719 00:31:06,055 --> 00:31:08,395 Nothing great, but enough to be respectable. 720 00:31:08,875 --> 00:31:11,095 Several hundred dollars worth of good sneakers. 721 00:31:12,265 --> 00:31:15,445 But at a yard sale in North Texas, you go to prosper. 722 00:31:15,475 --> 00:31:16,945 'cause those are where all the rich people live. 723 00:31:17,245 --> 00:31:18,205 You're in prosper. 724 00:31:18,985 --> 00:31:24,264 And you go to a yard sale and you see at the yard sale, oh look, a pair of Air 725 00:31:24,294 --> 00:31:28,225 Jordan ones, oh look, these are original. 726 00:31:28,435 --> 00:31:32,185 And then you begin to do some internet searching and you realize this looks 727 00:31:32,274 --> 00:31:36,115 like a game worn pair of Air Jordan ones. 728 00:31:36,205 --> 00:31:40,344 And so you begin to realize you just stumbled across the 729 00:31:40,344 --> 00:31:42,865 biggest find of your entire life. 730 00:31:43,074 --> 00:31:46,885 You asked the person at the desk, how much are you selling these junky old shoes for? 731 00:31:47,980 --> 00:31:51,580 And they say to you, those are a hundred bucks, a hundred bucks. 732 00:31:52,900 --> 00:31:53,560 What's your move? 733 00:31:55,030 --> 00:31:55,690 What's your move? 734 00:31:56,320 --> 00:31:56,950 Whatcha gonna do? 735 00:31:58,180 --> 00:31:58,840 You got an answer? 736 00:32:00,430 --> 00:32:05,230 If you're like most of us, you're gonna go home, you and scrounge up every 737 00:32:05,230 --> 00:32:07,060 dog you can to buy this pair of shoes. 738 00:32:07,060 --> 00:32:07,570 You know why? 739 00:32:07,990 --> 00:32:09,370 How much did this pair of shoes go for? 740 00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:10,180 This is a game worn. 741 00:32:10,180 --> 00:32:12,010 This is an actual game worn pair of Air Jordan. 742 00:32:12,010 --> 00:32:14,770 Ones worn by Air Jordan, not just game worn by somebody 743 00:32:14,830 --> 00:32:16,360 these worn by Michael Jordan. 744 00:32:17,155 --> 00:32:20,004 Uh, and I believe this is the one that he broke the backboard on. 745 00:32:20,395 --> 00:32:21,385 How much are these going for? 746 00:32:22,165 --> 00:32:22,554 Anyone? 747 00:32:22,585 --> 00:32:23,034 Take a guess. 748 00:32:23,034 --> 00:32:23,514 Just call it out. 749 00:32:23,575 --> 00:32:24,175 Take a guess. 750 00:32:24,625 --> 00:32:24,925 Million. 751 00:32:25,735 --> 00:32:26,335 Close. 752 00:32:26,544 --> 00:32:27,294 No way too. 753 00:32:27,325 --> 00:32:27,715 Way too. 754 00:32:28,225 --> 00:32:28,435 Okay. 755 00:32:28,435 --> 00:32:29,395 You guys are way at the ballpark. 756 00:32:29,605 --> 00:32:30,955 $600,000. 757 00:32:30,955 --> 00:32:33,445 Is the numbers pretty good? 758 00:32:33,475 --> 00:32:35,005 Pretty good pay date if you ask me. 759 00:32:35,154 --> 00:32:38,904 So you go home, you sell all your shoes to get the a hundred dollars 760 00:32:38,904 --> 00:32:41,185 to buy this $600,000 pair of shoes. 761 00:32:41,574 --> 00:32:42,505 Did you make a good deal? 762 00:32:42,505 --> 00:32:43,255 Was that a good bargain? 763 00:32:44,094 --> 00:32:46,525 Yes, yes, absolutely right. 764 00:32:46,585 --> 00:32:46,735 Duh. 765 00:32:47,425 --> 00:32:49,074 The best deal of your life. 766 00:32:50,844 --> 00:32:55,945 When Jesus says in these two parables, the man and the merchant sell everything 767 00:32:56,185 --> 00:32:57,864 to gain this pearl of great price. 768 00:32:58,135 --> 00:33:05,364 He's saying the gospel, the God of the gospel, Jesus is worth far more 769 00:33:05,395 --> 00:33:07,135 than anything that you give up for it. 770 00:33:08,469 --> 00:33:09,969 Some of you guys will say, well, I don't wanna lose 771 00:33:09,969 --> 00:33:11,080 friends if I become a Christian. 772 00:33:11,110 --> 00:33:13,270 I don't wanna lose the music I listen to when I become a Christian. 773 00:33:13,540 --> 00:33:15,370 I don't wanna lose my free time when I become a Christian. 774 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:18,250 I don't want to uh, I don't wanna lose my freedoms when I become a Christian. 775 00:33:18,819 --> 00:33:20,739 All the things that you might add up and say, I don't wanna do it 776 00:33:20,739 --> 00:33:24,580 because of these things, Jesus is saying, it is worth it more than 777 00:33:24,580 --> 00:33:28,360 you realize following Jesus, loving Jesus, living for Jesus is worth it. 778 00:33:28,360 --> 00:33:31,389 So you need to show your heart that Jesus is the priceless treasure. 779 00:33:32,469 --> 00:33:34,929 He is the treasure that is worth all treasures. 780 00:33:35,755 --> 00:33:38,695 We talk about selling your shoes, you could sell your whole house and your 781 00:33:38,695 --> 00:33:42,175 life and everything and give it to Jesus and you would still be getting a bargain 782 00:33:42,595 --> 00:33:45,325 because Jesus is a priceless treasure. 783 00:33:45,385 --> 00:33:47,845 He is a the one of a kind savior. 784 00:33:48,145 --> 00:33:52,045 He's worth all that you possibly could imagine and so much more. 785 00:33:52,315 --> 00:33:57,175 Jesus is supremely valuable and you would do well to have a heart that. 786 00:33:57,730 --> 00:34:01,690 Humble enough to say if he is who he says he is, if he is God on the flesh, 787 00:34:01,870 --> 00:34:06,070 if he is the man who lived and died in my place, who was perfect, and if 788 00:34:06,070 --> 00:34:09,520 he is the king of Kings and the Lord of Lords and he died for me, then 789 00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:12,010 surely I should give my life to him. 790 00:34:13,810 --> 00:34:19,900 And if I give my life to Jesus and I trade my life for his on the cross, I am getting 791 00:34:19,900 --> 00:34:24,400 the best deal that I could possibly ever get because he is the priceless treasure 792 00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:26,080 and he's the one of a kind savior. 793 00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:26,139 Here. 794 00:34:29,469 --> 00:34:33,940 Now that I'm old and I'm over the hill, I've been thinking a lot about 795 00:34:33,940 --> 00:34:35,739 buying a watch, like a nice watch. 796 00:34:35,800 --> 00:34:38,199 Not, not like a super nice watch, but like a timepiece, you know, 797 00:34:38,199 --> 00:34:42,370 a, a Rolex, uh, perhaps, and buy a Rolls Royce on top of it. 798 00:34:42,580 --> 00:34:44,170 This is what you call a midlife crisis. 799 00:34:44,949 --> 00:34:45,370 I'm just kidding. 800 00:34:45,730 --> 00:34:48,250 Uh, not gonna buy those things, but just a nice watch. 801 00:34:48,310 --> 00:34:49,810 A watch that's more than an Apple Watch. 802 00:34:49,810 --> 00:34:50,739 Everyone wears an Apple watch. 803 00:34:51,445 --> 00:34:53,935 And so I found this one that I wanted to bring to your guys' 804 00:34:53,935 --> 00:34:56,935 attention in case you thought about it during Pastor Appreciation Month. 805 00:34:58,285 --> 00:35:03,925 This is called the Graph Diamonds Hallucination. 806 00:35:04,225 --> 00:35:04,960 I got you. 807 00:35:05,335 --> 00:35:05,875 Got me. 808 00:35:06,175 --> 00:35:06,655 Thank you. 809 00:35:07,705 --> 00:35:13,015 This watch can be yours for a cool $55 million. 810 00:35:14,845 --> 00:35:18,175 It's a bit feminine, but I can, I could roll with it is all I'm saying. 811 00:35:19,195 --> 00:35:19,675 How do you even. 812 00:35:20,545 --> 00:35:22,225 I don't know, but I'd figure it out. 813 00:35:23,305 --> 00:35:24,595 All of these are diamonds. 814 00:35:24,805 --> 00:35:25,645 That's all Real. 815 00:35:26,455 --> 00:35:28,465 Graph made it, and this is a one of a kind. 816 00:35:28,585 --> 00:35:29,845 This is a one of a kind. 817 00:35:29,875 --> 00:35:30,415 There's no more. 818 00:35:30,445 --> 00:35:30,985 This is it. 819 00:35:31,015 --> 00:35:32,155 This is the one wash they made. 820 00:35:32,155 --> 00:35:35,455 It's 55 million and if you guys want to get it from me, it's in October. 821 00:35:35,455 --> 00:35:36,955 That's when pastor appreciation month is. 822 00:35:37,165 --> 00:35:37,855 There it is. 823 00:35:38,455 --> 00:35:41,365 It's actually not for sale, but if they did sell it, it'd be $55 million. 824 00:35:41,610 --> 00:35:42,390 You could rock that. 825 00:35:42,980 --> 00:35:44,605 I could rock that during worship. 826 00:35:45,475 --> 00:35:47,335 Lots of rocks to rock that too. 827 00:35:48,910 --> 00:35:51,280 Jesus is more valuable than a $55 million watch. 828 00:35:51,730 --> 00:35:54,820 He is a one of a kind, and in part of what makes that thing valuable is there's 829 00:35:54,820 --> 00:35:56,230 nothing like nothing else like it. 830 00:35:56,260 --> 00:35:56,920 It's a one of a kind. 831 00:35:57,190 --> 00:36:01,390 Jesus is the one of a kind savior who graciously gives his life. 832 00:36:01,420 --> 00:36:07,330 For anybody who willingly submits their life to him, Jesus is worth everything. 833 00:36:07,870 --> 00:36:11,080 If you've been flirting back and forth up to this point, you've been in true 834 00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:13,120 north, you've been thinking, don't wanna become a Christian, don't I, 835 00:36:14,740 --> 00:36:16,660 man, it's time to make your decision. 836 00:36:16,660 --> 00:36:16,720 You. 837 00:36:17,410 --> 00:36:18,460 Jesus is valuable. 838 00:36:18,759 --> 00:36:19,569 He's worth it. 839 00:36:19,779 --> 00:36:22,720 There is nothing in your life that's more valuable than Jesus. 840 00:36:22,720 --> 00:36:26,200 He gives you to himself freely at the cost of his own blood. 841 00:36:26,259 --> 00:36:28,120 If you'll just but submit yourself to him. 842 00:36:28,870 --> 00:36:30,339 Die to yourself, live to him. 843 00:36:30,370 --> 00:36:30,940 It's worth it. 844 00:36:33,370 --> 00:36:35,470 Some people have a really hard time discerning what's really valuable. 845 00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:36,490 I could prove it to you. 846 00:36:37,210 --> 00:36:41,830 People spent millions of dollars on an art exhibit where a 847 00:36:41,830 --> 00:36:43,779 man taped a banana to a wall. 848 00:36:44,649 --> 00:36:45,520 I'm serious. 849 00:36:45,895 --> 00:36:47,154 Millions. 850 00:36:47,214 --> 00:36:48,265 Look at that number up there. 851 00:36:48,685 --> 00:36:49,645 $6.2 852 00:36:49,645 --> 00:36:52,765 million for a banana taped to a wall. 853 00:36:55,555 --> 00:37:01,254 I, you just have to have some serious cash and some problems to do that. 854 00:37:04,225 --> 00:37:06,205 You guys will laugh at that and say, well, that's just crazy. 855 00:37:06,234 --> 00:37:07,075 Who would do that? 856 00:37:07,134 --> 00:37:10,015 Well, there's people out there, but you know what's really crazy 857 00:37:10,404 --> 00:37:13,015 is to see the value of the gospel and say, well, no, thank you. 858 00:37:14,500 --> 00:37:15,340 That's really crazy. 859 00:37:15,430 --> 00:37:16,240 You think they're crazy? 860 00:37:16,240 --> 00:37:16,360 No. 861 00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:18,640 The real craziness is the people that see Jesus for who 862 00:37:18,640 --> 00:37:19,660 he is and says, no thank you. 863 00:37:19,660 --> 00:37:23,560 I, I will prefer to be the soil number one, or soil number two or so, soil number 864 00:37:23,560 --> 00:37:25,120 three, because I don't wanna do that. 865 00:37:25,120 --> 00:37:26,110 I love money too much. 866 00:37:26,110 --> 00:37:27,850 I love my comfort too much. 867 00:37:27,850 --> 00:37:29,080 I love anything else too much. 868 00:37:29,260 --> 00:37:30,370 You're making a batch trade. 869 00:37:31,600 --> 00:37:34,690 Jesus is more valuable than anything, and the thing that stands between you 870 00:37:34,690 --> 00:37:38,380 and Jesus is not the intellectual, rational questions that you might have. 871 00:37:38,380 --> 00:37:41,950 It's really your heart because your heart determines what your head believes. 872 00:37:42,549 --> 00:37:44,529 So if you wanna respond to Jesus rightly, you need to make 873 00:37:44,529 --> 00:37:45,580 sure you pursue a humble heart. 874 00:37:46,359 --> 00:37:47,109 Maybe starting tonight. 875 00:37:47,109 --> 00:37:49,270 You need to pray to the Lord and ask him to give you a humble heart 876 00:37:49,810 --> 00:37:50,980 and to give you a repentant heart. 877 00:37:51,580 --> 00:37:54,250 It all starts there and is totally worth it. 878 00:37:55,870 --> 00:37:58,120 Lord, we ask that tonight as we prepare to go to small groups, that you would 879 00:37:58,120 --> 00:38:01,089 give us the grace now to discuss these things openly and honestly. 880 00:38:01,810 --> 00:38:04,750 Help us to have fun in our groups, but also to get down to business and 881 00:38:04,750 --> 00:38:09,310 to be honest and vulnerable and able to get through the questions, not for 882 00:38:09,310 --> 00:38:11,710 the question's sake, but really Lord, just to talk about what's happening. 883 00:38:12,399 --> 00:38:14,919 The things that we've learned and, and what we need to take away from this. 884 00:38:15,129 --> 00:38:18,370 And so tonight we ask that you would make it a great time of honest, 885 00:38:18,459 --> 00:38:19,899 vulnerable, real conversation. 886 00:38:19,899 --> 00:38:24,490 Let us walk away with new truth to put to, to put to work in our lives. 887 00:38:24,669 --> 00:38:25,870 We ask this in Jesus' name. 888 00:38:26,439 --> 00:38:26,950 Amen.