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The parables of Jesus were his
way of helping us understand the

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kingdom of heaven, the kingdom
of God, which day by day is a process.

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It's not something you just
get all of a sudden because it's

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so dramatically different from
the world in which we live.

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The kingdom we live in is
distorted by power and sin and corruption.

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And that is so different from
the kingdom of heaven where we see

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the world through God's eyes
as he designed it.

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And so it's a process day by
day to see, to love, to follow every

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day a bit more and see the
world upside down from the way we

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understand it as we've talked about.

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Because kingdom life and
kingdom world is upside down from

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the world we know.

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It's not just a little bit
different from the world we know

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is totally different.

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And if you think the world as
we know as dominated by sin, which

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it is compared to the holiness
and purity of God, they are complete

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opposites.

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And so the kingdom of heaven,
the kingdom of God, is completely

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different.

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And that's what Jesus is
trying to help us understand through

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these parables.

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And so today we're going to
look at, at the parable of the sower

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and four types of ground that
Jesus describes of the kinds of people

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hearing his word.

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So you had the story read to
you in a beautiful way this morning.

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Jesus attracted this crowd
wherever he went because they were

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aware of his miracles.

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And so they kind of pushed him
to the edge of the lake.

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So he got in a boat and the
scripture says he sat down to teach

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them.

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Now, in those days, a rabbi
would sit down to teach something

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important.

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Today we stand up when we want
to say something important.

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It was completely opposite
then they would sit down.

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And the interesting thing
about the story as you heard it today,

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there wasn't one religious
word in it.

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He didn't pray ahead of time.

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He didn't say, now I'm going
to give you a sermon.

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He just began to tell a story.

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And that shows us how
accessible Jesus is to, to his message.

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He just told a story.

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He told a story about a sower,
a farmer.

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And chances are, as he was
sitting there in that boat and looking

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at that crowd, there might
have been one in the distance that

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he was watching do this.

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And in those days, they didn't
have the machinery we had.

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And so a farmer would take a
bag of seed, it was probably wheat,

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and have it in a big bag at
his side, and he would take big handfuls

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of it and, and began to
scatter it across the ground.

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He'd move A few steps.

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And scatter some more.

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And scatter some more.

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And he was sowing this seed
into the ground.

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And Jesus said the seed fell
on different types of soil.

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And he defined four distinct
types of soil.

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Now, it's interesting that in
our modern culture, often we get

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kind of analysis and tests
that define people into four groups.

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Maybe you've done some of
those, you know, the four temperaments,

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or maybe you've done where
it's a color dominant or an animal

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or whatever, you know, modern
business and psychology, it's currencies.

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Temperament sorter is really
the kind of the standard in that

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arena, which are artisans and
guardians, idealists and rationals.

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So you're one of those four.

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You know, when I was teaching
in business, long, long time ago,

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I teach principles of
management at the college where I

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was.

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And I would focus on Merrill
and Reed's study of social styles

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model, which also divides into
four categories.

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So I'm really familiar with that.

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So I think about Jesus
defining these four categories.

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I think about how today's
society, we define four categories

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of people.

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And if you look at that study,
it kind of lays out like this versus

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the analytical side.

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Then the driver, the amiable,
or the expressives.

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And you're dominantly one of
those four in both your strengths

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and your weaknesses.

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The analytical, they're
careful, they're logical, they're

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thorough.

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But then on the negative side,
they're slow to take risks, they're

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overly cautious and often can
be perfectionists, so they don't

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get anything done.

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The driver category, they're
decisive, they're results oriented,

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they're efficient, they're pushing.

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But they can also, on the
negative side, be impatient, they

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can be blunt, they can
steamroll other people in a bad way.

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The amiables are loyal,
they're empathetic, they're team

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oriented, they like to work in groups.

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But they've also got problems.

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They avoid conflicts, they're
often indecisive, they're too accommodating.

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They're trying to just get the
lowest common denominator, make everybody

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happy, and nothing gets done.

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And then you've got the
expressive, who are charismatic and

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creative and persuasive, but
they're also impulsive and they're

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disorganized at times, and
sometimes they're unrealistic.

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And so you got these four
categories of people that there's

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researchers defining.

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If you take the test, you
dominantly fall into one of those

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other categories.

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I've taken that test and I'm
primarily an expressive.

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There are parts of Driver in
me, there's parts of analytical,

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somewhat amiable, but mostly
it's the expressive side.

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You can go take the test too.

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We offer it on our campus, but
there's a mix in there of who you

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are, but there's dominantly
one side.

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Now, here's when I was
teaching business, the key message

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of this four dominant styles
of leadership is that any of the

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four can be successful.

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Don't have to be one style to
be successful.

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Any of those four can be successful.

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And back in the days when I
was teaching it, when primarily we

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didn't have a lot of cable,
everybody's watching television,

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same television shows.

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So I was using examples of
television detectives who each had

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four different styles, and all
four of them solved the crime.

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And so everybody can be
successful in that quadrant depending

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on their style, but also
everybody in those can be failures.

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And so that is kind of how the
theory lays out.

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And the important part of the theory.

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You don't have to be a certain
style to be successful within an

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organizational structure.

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Well, Jesus gives us four
types of people too.

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But.

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But in the kingdom of heaven,
only one is successful.

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The other three are failures.

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Again, the kingdom of God is
upside down from what we're used

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to understanding from our
sinful perspective.

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And so Jesus gives us these
four types of people.

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And it's not built on your
personality or your strengths.

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It's on the nature of your
heart, heart and your mind.

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That's what Jesus cares about.

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Not what you can do, but who
you are.

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And so he told this story
about the sower.

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And in the sower there are
four types of people.

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He said the first one is those
who the seed fell on hard ground.

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In some of the scriptures,
they call it pathway land.

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And basically in those days,
the Middle east, they didn't have

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fish fences between their farms.

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And so a farmer would have a
stretch of land.

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Again, they didn't have
machinery, so they couldn't take

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a big piece of land.

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They have a stretch of land.

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And there would be a pathway
between this stretch and your stretch

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of land which is over here.

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And I don't walk in your
field, you don't walk in mine.

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We walk in a pathway in between.

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And so that pathway was beat
down hard.

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Well, when the sower comes out
and he's flinging this wheat seed

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all the way around, some of
it's going to fall in that pathway.

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There's no way to be that
precise with it.

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And Jesus uses this as the
example of somebody who has a hard

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heart and a closed mind.

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They're cynical, they're
selfish, they're unwilling to learn.

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You know, I hire a lot of
people through the years and the

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number one thing I look for
when I'm looking for a new employee

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is a teachable spirit.

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If they don't want to learn, I
don't care how gifted they are, they're

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not going to be successful in
our organization of Belhaven.

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So a teachable spirit.

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Jesus is saying these people
don't have a teachable spirit.

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But it's even worse than that.

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He says the measure of their
heart is that they not only don't

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believe in Christ, but they
love sin.

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They love sin.

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And this is what Romans 1
talks about when it's written.

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They know God's justice
requires that those who do these

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things deserve to die, yet
they do them anyway.

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Worse yet, worse yet, they
encourage others to do them too.

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That's the measure of a hard
heart, a closed mind, living in a

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sin controlled life, even when
you know it's wrong.

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And justifying yourself by
encouraging others to join in your

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sinning.

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Because if others are sinning
with you, you don't feel as bad about

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who you are.

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That's hard ground.

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And Jesus says, you're
throwing the seed on that ground

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and nothing will grow.

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And so you look at that and if
that's you today, you say there's

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no hope.

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No, there is hope.

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And we're going to get to that
at the end of what I want to share

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with you today.

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So that's the first kind of
ground that Jesus shares is the ground

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that's hard.

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The second is shallow ground.

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Now in the Middle east, the
ground often has a layer of shale

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rock underneath it or just
rocks of different kinds underneath

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the soil.

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So the soil might be this deep
and then it comes to hard rock.

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And the farmers through
experience would know you can't really

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plant anything in there
because it won't survive for long.

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It's kind of like Jesus said,
this ground, this shallow, it starts

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with an excitement of faith.

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I want to follow Christ.

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I want to do the right thing.

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But there's no depth to who we
are because the roots can't go down

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and be established.

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You know, the wheat roots run
about three to four feet into the

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ground.

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Now, wheat's about that tall
seed, so the roots in the ground

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are about as tall as it is above.

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And if it can't go down that
far, it can't get rooted.

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It's a faith that fades under pressure.

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It's a faith that's strong
when everything's Going right.

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But when it gets tough, it
reverts to the old way and goes back

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to clinging to sin.

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There's not enough character
in that person to withstand the Son

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as and the storms that come
that allow the crop to grow.

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So shallow ground was the second.

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The third kind of ground Jesus
talked about was thorny ground, thorny

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ground.

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The seed falls on the ground,
he says, and it'll grow.

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But bad stuff grows up with it.

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The weeds grow up with it.

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It all gets mixed together.

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And there are a lot of
Christians who live this way.

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They want to be a believer.

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They want to follow Christ.

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They've been trying to do the
right thing, but they allow the sin

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of life to grow up around
them, and the joy of salvation gets

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choked out.

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The good and the evil are so
intertwined, it's hard for the good

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to really bloom and grow.

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And part of that is there's
never been really true repentance.

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If you're dealing with a sin
in your life and that sin controls

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you and dominates your life,
until you see that sin in light of

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the death of Christ, that
horrible, gruesome crucifixion on

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the cross, to realize that's
the pain of sin.

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Until you see that the sin
will continue to grow up around you,

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you've got to come to true
repentance for sin in order to get

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the weeds out.

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So the thorny ground he talks
about, and then he talks about the

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fruitful ground, the prepared ground.

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Somebody's gone in and done
the work to dig out the rocks, to

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clear out the thorns, to
prepare the ground, to make the ground

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soft.

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So when that farmer throws the
seed, it's going to come down in

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the soil and it's going to
root and it's going to grow.

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And after a while, you know,
when the weed, excuse me, the wheat

240
00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:47,420
gets rooted and starts to grow
up, there's really no room for the

241
00:12:47,580 --> 00:12:51,260
weeds to come up because this
wheat will overtake it.

242
00:12:51,260 --> 00:12:53,660
And that's what a fulfilled
Christian life is.

243
00:12:53,980 --> 00:12:55,980
We need to be ready to be seeded.

244
00:12:55,980 --> 00:12:59,900
As Jesus said, it's the one
who hears and understands.

245
00:13:02,540 --> 00:13:06,540
But keeping it that way,
keeping that ground fertile, is constant

246
00:13:06,540 --> 00:13:06,940
work.

247
00:13:07,180 --> 00:13:11,420
You don't go in and fix up a
garden and kind of get all the stuff

248
00:13:11,420 --> 00:13:13,420
ready and you plant it and you
walk away.

249
00:13:14,670 --> 00:13:15,710
It'll fall apart.

250
00:13:15,790 --> 00:13:16,670
It won't grow.

251
00:13:17,390 --> 00:13:18,670
The weeds will take over.

252
00:13:18,750 --> 00:13:20,430
You've got to stay after it.

253
00:13:20,430 --> 00:13:22,150
And that's what Jesus is
saying here.

254
00:13:22,150 --> 00:13:24,590
To be fertile ground, you've
got to stay after it.

255
00:13:24,590 --> 00:13:29,390
So these are the types of four
people that Jesus describes, those

256
00:13:29,390 --> 00:13:32,910
in the hard ground, shallow
ground, thorny ground, and fruitful

257
00:13:32,910 --> 00:13:33,150
ground.

258
00:13:33,150 --> 00:13:37,230
Now, the interesting thing
about this is all four of them had

259
00:13:37,230 --> 00:13:38,190
the same seed.

260
00:13:38,910 --> 00:13:43,190
The same seed was thrown in
all four types of soil.

261
00:13:43,670 --> 00:13:45,270
The seed is the word of God.

262
00:13:45,590 --> 00:13:47,350
The seed is the spirit of God.

263
00:13:47,750 --> 00:13:49,430
It is always good.

264
00:13:49,430 --> 00:13:53,990
There was nothing wrong with
the seed that fell on the hard ground

265
00:13:54,230 --> 00:13:56,469
or the shallow ground or the
thorny ground.

266
00:13:57,030 --> 00:13:58,710
Nothing wrong with the seed.

267
00:13:59,830 --> 00:14:01,190
They had the same son.

268
00:14:01,590 --> 00:14:04,310
They all had the same son,
which is God's grace.

269
00:14:04,790 --> 00:14:08,480
And even people who aren't
Christians still benefit from from

270
00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:12,400
a grace of God that permeates
our world to a level.

271
00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:17,760
And in that grace, they have
that even though they're not growing.

272
00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:20,440
It was the same water that
fell on them.

273
00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:23,600
If it rained, it fell on all
four types of ground, didn't it?

274
00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:25,840
It didn't just fall on one, it
fell on all four.

275
00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:28,000
That's the forgiveness of God.

276
00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:32,440
And two of the soils, the hard
ground and the shallow ground couldn't

277
00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:33,120
soak it up.

278
00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:37,810
And in the thorny ground, all
the weeds took all the moisture and

279
00:14:37,810 --> 00:14:38,970
the soil couldn't grow.

280
00:14:39,450 --> 00:14:41,530
But they all had the same opportunity.

281
00:14:42,170 --> 00:14:46,170
And then it really was the
same soil, although it looked very

282
00:14:46,170 --> 00:14:46,450
different.

283
00:14:46,450 --> 00:14:47,370
It was the same soil.

284
00:14:47,370 --> 00:14:51,130
It had the same minerals, the
same organic material, the same nutrients.

285
00:14:51,370 --> 00:14:54,570
You see, the lesson is about
the soil.

286
00:14:55,290 --> 00:14:57,530
The lesson is not about the sower.

287
00:14:57,530 --> 00:15:02,820
The seed is all powerful, but
the soil really matters.

288
00:15:04,180 --> 00:15:09,300
Jesus also promised when the
soil is tended and prepared, it will

289
00:15:09,300 --> 00:15:12,020
be fruitful and the harvest is
for sure.

290
00:15:13,300 --> 00:15:18,099
It's just a different
preparation for a life that's going

291
00:15:18,099 --> 00:15:23,060
to be fulfilling and
productive and enjoying all that

292
00:15:23,060 --> 00:15:24,300
God designed it to be.

293
00:15:24,300 --> 00:15:28,430
And a life that's going to be
destroyed by sin over time.

294
00:15:30,110 --> 00:15:31,630
Yeah, it's kind of like going
to class.

295
00:15:32,270 --> 00:15:36,510
If you come ready to go to
class, you're going to learn.

296
00:15:36,910 --> 00:15:39,990
You come in, you put your
phone away, you get out your notebook,

297
00:15:39,990 --> 00:15:41,630
you've read the material ahead
of time.

298
00:15:41,630 --> 00:15:42,950
You want to learn about this.

299
00:15:42,950 --> 00:15:45,470
You study, you take good
notes, you're going to get A's, you're

300
00:15:45,470 --> 00:15:48,350
going to get good jobs, and
life's going to take off in your

301
00:15:48,350 --> 00:15:54,430
career from that or the exact
same class A another person could

302
00:15:54,430 --> 00:15:55,950
come who doesn't want to learn.

303
00:15:56,350 --> 00:15:58,830
So they come in and they just
kind of got to get through it.

304
00:15:58,910 --> 00:16:01,950
And so they flip their phone
during class, they kind of fall asleep

305
00:16:01,950 --> 00:16:02,510
a little bit.

306
00:16:02,510 --> 00:16:05,150
They don't really put the
effort into it, and they get a D

307
00:16:05,150 --> 00:16:08,510
maybe to get by and their
career shows it.

308
00:16:08,510 --> 00:16:14,350
Eventually, in the same way,
exact same opportunity, but the soil

309
00:16:14,430 --> 00:16:15,870
was totally different.

310
00:16:17,630 --> 00:16:19,550
Jesus is telling us, prepare.

311
00:16:21,190 --> 00:16:21,310
Now.

312
00:16:21,310 --> 00:16:25,110
I want to give you six quick
takeaways from this scripture beyond

313
00:16:25,510 --> 00:16:27,830
the soil differences.

314
00:16:27,910 --> 00:16:28,790
The first is this.

315
00:16:29,110 --> 00:16:31,270
The disciples didn't
understand the message.

316
00:16:31,750 --> 00:16:32,790
They didn't get it.

317
00:16:33,190 --> 00:16:35,790
The disciples said, you know,
why do you teach in parables?

318
00:16:35,790 --> 00:16:36,550
We don't get it.

319
00:16:36,870 --> 00:16:39,470
This is the simplest of all
the parables we're going to look

320
00:16:39,470 --> 00:16:40,150
at this year.

321
00:16:40,550 --> 00:16:42,590
They don't get any easier than
this one.

322
00:16:42,590 --> 00:16:44,430
This is parables for beginners.

323
00:16:44,430 --> 00:16:45,590
This one, okay.

324
00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:48,280
But they still had to have it
explained to them.

325
00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:51,040
And not all the parables explained.

326
00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:53,240
In fact, very few of the
parables are explained.

327
00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:57,000
This is one of the times Jesus
took the time to really explain his

328
00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:57,880
parables.

329
00:16:57,880 --> 00:16:59,560
And to me, that's encouraging.

330
00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:01,320
And here's why it's encouraging.

331
00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:04,000
Because we know what those
disciples were after.

332
00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:05,800
The day after the resurrection.

333
00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:06,920
We talked about that.

334
00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:10,000
That they had this courage to
go to the whole world and share the

335
00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:12,800
gospel, even if it meant they
were going to be persecuted for their

336
00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:13,960
faith, which they all were.

337
00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:18,760
They still wanted to because
they so knew Jesus was who he said

338
00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:19,120
he was.

339
00:17:19,120 --> 00:17:20,240
He was the Son of God.

340
00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:24,080
Contrast that with right now
with these disciples.

341
00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:27,920
They don't even get the
simplest parable Jesus is trying

342
00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:28,480
to explain.

343
00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:30,320
You see, faith is a progression.

344
00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:32,640
You don't just jump to that.

345
00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:34,560
You have to grow to that.

346
00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:39,200
That's why Jesus used this
example of the farmer and growing

347
00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:40,480
as the foundation.

348
00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:44,590
But for our faith, prepare the
ground, and then you slowly grow

349
00:17:44,670 --> 00:17:49,270
into that level where you can
be a follower of Christ with that

350
00:17:49,270 --> 00:17:51,550
kind of intensity and
significant reach.

351
00:17:52,910 --> 00:17:58,590
A person's initial response to
the gospel doesn't have to be their

352
00:17:58,750 --> 00:18:00,030
permanent response.

353
00:18:00,910 --> 00:18:04,630
So if you see people on campus
and you go, man, I wish I could be

354
00:18:04,630 --> 00:18:05,070
like them.

355
00:18:05,150 --> 00:18:06,470
Look at them growing their Bible.

356
00:18:06,470 --> 00:18:09,860
They're always caring about,
talking about the Lord and what God's

357
00:18:09,860 --> 00:18:10,500
doing in their life.

358
00:18:10,580 --> 00:18:11,620
I'm just not there.

359
00:18:11,620 --> 00:18:12,500
That's okay.

360
00:18:13,220 --> 00:18:14,420
You can be there.

361
00:18:14,980 --> 00:18:19,780
If you prepare the soil, if
your heart and mind is open, God

362
00:18:19,780 --> 00:18:21,300
will use you.

363
00:18:21,700 --> 00:18:26,540
So the disciples didn't get
it, but eventually they really got

364
00:18:26,540 --> 00:18:29,260
it because they understood
what the kingdom of heaven was all

365
00:18:29,260 --> 00:18:29,540
about.

366
00:18:29,860 --> 00:18:32,420
Second takeaway I'd take is
that the enemy steals.

367
00:18:33,310 --> 00:18:36,110
The evil one comes and
snatches away the seeds that were

368
00:18:36,110 --> 00:18:37,310
planted in their hearts.

369
00:18:37,470 --> 00:18:40,150
In Luke, when he tells this
parable, he said, the birds come

370
00:18:40,150 --> 00:18:42,830
in and they pick up the seed
and they take it away.

371
00:18:45,230 --> 00:18:49,070
And the message here is that
the enemy, Satan.

372
00:18:49,550 --> 00:18:54,190
Evil is present and active in
our world.

373
00:18:55,070 --> 00:18:56,910
Evil's not on the sidelines.

374
00:18:57,230 --> 00:19:01,070
Just as God is active in our
world for good, evil is active in

375
00:19:01,070 --> 00:19:02,150
our world for sin.

376
00:19:02,870 --> 00:19:07,030
And the easiest time to hurt
us as Christians is when we are new

377
00:19:07,030 --> 00:19:10,670
in our faith or when we're re
energized in our faith or we get

378
00:19:10,670 --> 00:19:14,150
a new insight and we say,
yeah, I'm going to do this right.

379
00:19:14,150 --> 00:19:16,390
I'm going to get in a good
pattern here.

380
00:19:16,710 --> 00:19:19,190
That's the easiest time for
the devil to attack.

381
00:19:19,270 --> 00:19:22,670
That's why when Jesus said
they threw the seed down, that was

382
00:19:22,670 --> 00:19:27,640
the easiest time for it to be
destroyed by the birds or be taken

383
00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:28,000
away.

384
00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:32,960
Satan is active even in the
Garden of Eden.

385
00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:36,120
Even in the Garden of Eden.

386
00:19:36,120 --> 00:19:38,400
Satan's telling Adam and Eve.

387
00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:41,520
Did God really say that?

388
00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:43,840
You think he really meant that?

389
00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:45,200
That you can't eat that tree?

390
00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:46,640
Why would he do that?

391
00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:49,200
He put doubt in their mind
right from the beginning.

392
00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:52,880
Satan puts doubt in our minds.

393
00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:55,280
You're having a tough time.

394
00:19:55,280 --> 00:19:56,640
Things are hard with your family.

395
00:19:57,040 --> 00:19:58,800
Well, God didn't fix your problems.

396
00:19:59,120 --> 00:20:00,480
Why are you relying on him?

397
00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:02,800
You see the pain in the world.

398
00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:05,760
Well, why is there so much
suffering in the world if God's a

399
00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:06,320
good God?

400
00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:11,600
Satan puts these questions in
our mind to make us question, and

401
00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:13,120
he will do it the most.

402
00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:16,000
He will attack you the most.

403
00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:23,040
When you feel lonely, that's
the time you are most vulnerable.

404
00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:24,480
And I'm most vulnerable.

405
00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:31,040
When we are lonely, we have to
be ready to hear God's love and forgiveness

406
00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:33,120
and unity and acceptance.

407
00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:36,920
And that's why community of
other believers is important to us.

408
00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:39,760
So we don't have that
loneliness where you get attacked.

409
00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:42,880
The enemy comes to seal the
joy of our salvation.

410
00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:46,940
And we see that in the story
as the seed is planted.

411
00:20:47,580 --> 00:20:51,980
Third thing we see is the
thorns are really our biggest challenge.

412
00:20:52,700 --> 00:20:56,540
Other seeds fell among the
thorns that grew up and choked out

413
00:20:56,860 --> 00:20:58,140
the tender plants.

414
00:20:58,380 --> 00:21:01,260
Wheat and weeds will grow
together for a while.

415
00:21:01,820 --> 00:21:03,740
And it doesn't look too bad at
the beginning.

416
00:21:03,820 --> 00:21:06,740
You kind of don't see the weeds.

417
00:21:06,740 --> 00:21:07,740
They kind of mix in.

418
00:21:08,460 --> 00:21:12,060
Eventually the weeds will take
over every single time.

419
00:21:12,380 --> 00:21:14,460
And there are a lot of
Christians who live that way.

420
00:21:14,940 --> 00:21:16,100
I'm going to follow Christ.

421
00:21:16,100 --> 00:21:16,980
I'm doing the right thing.

422
00:21:16,980 --> 00:21:17,580
I'm a Christian.

423
00:21:17,580 --> 00:21:19,660
I believe in God, all the
right stuff.

424
00:21:19,740 --> 00:21:22,980
But, you know, there's some
sins in my life, but yeah, I got

425
00:21:22,980 --> 00:21:23,420
them handled.

426
00:21:23,420 --> 00:21:24,300
Don't worry about it.

427
00:21:24,700 --> 00:21:26,540
I got that sin handled.

428
00:21:26,540 --> 00:21:27,299
It's okay.

429
00:21:27,299 --> 00:21:29,100
It can be there beside me.

430
00:21:29,100 --> 00:21:30,620
It's not Going to take over.

431
00:21:32,140 --> 00:21:34,060
Well, Jesus is saying, yeah,
it will.

432
00:21:34,620 --> 00:21:37,020
It may take time, but it will.

433
00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:42,520
And God will eventually
separate the wheat from the weeds,

434
00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:44,640
he says, made that very clear.

435
00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:50,640
God is very patient in his
judgment, but his judgment is certain.

436
00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:52,880
It will come.

437
00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:58,240
So weeds either have to be
pulled or they have to be poisoned.

438
00:21:58,720 --> 00:21:59,920
There's no other way.

439
00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:05,710
And if you live with the weeds
in your life, it's eventually going

440
00:22:05,710 --> 00:22:07,630
to choke out your joy.

441
00:22:08,270 --> 00:22:12,550
Scripture says kingdom of
heaven is like the farmer who planted

442
00:22:12,550 --> 00:22:13,590
good seed in his field.

443
00:22:13,590 --> 00:22:16,430
But that night, as the workers
slept, his enemy came and planted

444
00:22:16,430 --> 00:22:18,830
weeds among the wheat, then
slipped away.

445
00:22:18,990 --> 00:22:22,190
When the crop began to grow
and produce grain, the weeds also

446
00:22:22,190 --> 00:22:22,830
grew up.

447
00:22:22,910 --> 00:22:26,430
The farmer's workers went to
him and said, sir, a field where

448
00:22:26,430 --> 00:22:28,830
you planted that good seed is
full of weeds.

449
00:22:29,150 --> 00:22:30,430
Where did they come from?

450
00:22:31,810 --> 00:22:32,930
The enemy has done this.

451
00:22:32,930 --> 00:22:35,930
The farmer exclaimed, should
we pull out the weeds?

452
00:22:35,930 --> 00:22:36,530
They asked.

453
00:22:36,770 --> 00:22:40,370
No, he replied, you'll uproot
the wheat if you do.

454
00:22:40,610 --> 00:22:43,410
Let's let both grow together
until the harvest.

455
00:22:43,730 --> 00:22:46,530
Then I will tell the
harvesters to sort out the weeds,

456
00:22:46,850 --> 00:22:51,450
tie them into bundles and burn
them, and to put the wheat in the

457
00:22:51,450 --> 00:22:51,890
barn.

458
00:22:53,090 --> 00:22:55,410
We live within a sinful world.

459
00:22:56,620 --> 00:22:58,140
It's hard to escape sin.

460
00:22:58,540 --> 00:23:03,100
But the kingdom of God is
calling us to separate out ourselves

461
00:23:03,180 --> 00:23:04,300
from that sin.

462
00:23:04,700 --> 00:23:09,060
Weeds grow around us, and if
we let those weeds grow, they will

463
00:23:09,060 --> 00:23:09,660
take over.

464
00:23:12,139 --> 00:23:14,380
You say, well, I got it handled.

465
00:23:14,700 --> 00:23:15,580
It's okay.

466
00:23:16,940 --> 00:23:20,580
Well, God's not okay with
that, because God knows what will

467
00:23:20,580 --> 00:23:21,820
eventually happen.

468
00:23:22,770 --> 00:23:24,130
He is not okay with that.

469
00:23:24,370 --> 00:23:26,770
And judgment will come.

470
00:23:28,770 --> 00:23:32,130
We might grow among the weeds,
but we'll never produce much fruit.

471
00:23:32,130 --> 00:23:33,170
And that's the goal.

472
00:23:33,410 --> 00:23:35,970
It's not just to grow, it's to
produce the fruit.

473
00:23:36,130 --> 00:23:37,890
But weeds suck up all the moisture.

474
00:23:37,890 --> 00:23:39,490
They drain out all the nutrients.

475
00:23:40,210 --> 00:23:42,050
And that's what sin does in
our lives.

476
00:23:42,130 --> 00:23:47,250
It takes all the energy out
from us of the good things and destroys

477
00:23:47,330 --> 00:23:48,810
what could be fruitful.

478
00:23:49,050 --> 00:23:51,370
Weeds have to be pulled or poisoned.

479
00:23:51,450 --> 00:23:53,770
But too often we think, I'll
just cut them back.

480
00:23:53,850 --> 00:23:56,570
I'll just keep them under
control and I can handle this.

481
00:23:57,130 --> 00:24:00,210
But kind of like texting and
driving, when you say, I won't do

482
00:24:00,210 --> 00:24:03,770
it, and you just do it a
little bit, eventually you're going

483
00:24:03,770 --> 00:24:04,250
to crash.

484
00:24:06,010 --> 00:24:08,290
It's not something to play
around with.

485
00:24:08,290 --> 00:24:11,370
We've got to deal with the
weeds in our lives.

486
00:24:14,260 --> 00:24:16,740
Well, weeding is kind of a
forever job.

487
00:24:17,220 --> 00:24:19,620
It's never totally done again.

488
00:24:19,700 --> 00:24:22,580
You can't prepare a piece of
ground plant and walk away.

489
00:24:22,660 --> 00:24:26,020
The weeding has to continue,
and that's what the parable is saying.

490
00:24:26,020 --> 00:24:30,380
To grow up fully and get all
that God has for us in the kingdom

491
00:24:30,380 --> 00:24:33,300
of God, you've got to stay
after it.

492
00:24:33,380 --> 00:24:37,060
Well, the fourth takeaway I'd
say is endurance is the key to faith.

493
00:24:37,300 --> 00:24:40,510
You know, both Peter and and
Judas failed.

494
00:24:40,510 --> 00:24:42,070
They did so in the same weekend.

495
00:24:42,390 --> 00:24:43,070
Same weekend.

496
00:24:43,070 --> 00:24:48,790
They both failed, but Peter
endured and Judas committed suicide.

497
00:24:50,470 --> 00:24:52,070
Here's an absolute of life.

498
00:24:52,870 --> 00:24:54,950
You will fail in your
Christian life.

499
00:24:55,590 --> 00:24:57,350
You will fail at some time.

500
00:24:58,150 --> 00:24:59,590
So the question is, what then?

501
00:25:00,390 --> 00:25:01,350
Do you give up?

502
00:25:01,990 --> 00:25:03,030
Do you question everything?

503
00:25:03,590 --> 00:25:05,190
It wasn't for real to begin with.

504
00:25:06,550 --> 00:25:08,470
You will be tempted in your
Christian life.

505
00:25:08,470 --> 00:25:09,390
That's an absolute.

506
00:25:09,390 --> 00:25:10,630
Jesus was tempted.

507
00:25:11,110 --> 00:25:12,470
Everybody's tempted.

508
00:25:13,110 --> 00:25:16,950
And you have to decide now
what you're going to do when you

509
00:25:16,950 --> 00:25:18,470
fail or when you're tempted.

510
00:25:18,470 --> 00:25:22,230
Don't wait until that time
comes because the real test of life

511
00:25:22,390 --> 00:25:23,230
is not today.

512
00:25:23,230 --> 00:25:25,350
The real test of life is 50
years from now.

513
00:25:26,710 --> 00:25:31,060
Do you have the endurance to
really grow up and be fruitful?

514
00:25:31,610 --> 00:25:34,650
The fourth takeaway I'd have
is you've got to prepare the ground.

515
00:25:35,530 --> 00:25:40,410
Anyone with ears to hear
should listen and understand.

516
00:25:40,490 --> 00:25:42,090
A healthy garden needs work.

517
00:25:42,490 --> 00:25:44,570
If it's ignored, the weeds
will take over.

518
00:25:45,130 --> 00:25:49,410
So you got to have a desire to
love God for who he is.

519
00:25:49,410 --> 00:25:53,850
You got to have a desire to
hear the Word and study the Word

520
00:25:53,850 --> 00:25:54,650
with openness.

521
00:25:55,210 --> 00:25:59,630
Root yourself in scripture and
in prayer and in community with other

522
00:25:59,630 --> 00:26:00,190
Christians.

523
00:26:00,190 --> 00:26:04,990
Weed out the distractions,
whether those be sins or people who

524
00:26:04,990 --> 00:26:09,230
pull you away from the focus
that should be your life.

525
00:26:09,790 --> 00:26:11,630
Bear the fruit that blesses others.

526
00:26:12,350 --> 00:26:15,710
You know, faith multiplies
when you bear fruit in your life.

527
00:26:15,950 --> 00:26:20,270
Your faith multiplies as you
give it and sow it into others.

528
00:26:21,390 --> 00:26:24,840
Preparing the ground is a
lifetime work.

529
00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:26,840
It's not a one time thing.

530
00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:31,320
And the sixth takeaway I give
you is God can break up hard ground.

531
00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:33,640
God can break up hard ground.

532
00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:37,200
To those who listen to my
teaching, more understanding will

533
00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:37,600
be given.

534
00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:39,640
But they have an abundance of knowledge.

535
00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:43,960
But to those who are not
listening, even what little understanding

536
00:26:44,120 --> 00:26:48,280
they have will be taken away
from them.

537
00:26:49,970 --> 00:26:53,650
The disciples didn't get this
parable when Jesus told it to them.

538
00:26:53,730 --> 00:26:54,770
They couldn't see it.

539
00:26:56,370 --> 00:27:00,290
If you can't see it today, ask
God to help you.

540
00:27:00,690 --> 00:27:03,890
If you ask God to help you, he will.

541
00:27:04,930 --> 00:27:10,010
Whether you got a life that's
hard ground or you got a life that's

542
00:27:10,010 --> 00:27:14,090
shallow, or you got a life
that's thorny, if you ask God to

543
00:27:14,090 --> 00:27:18,730
help you, he will break you
down, you know, putting extra seed

544
00:27:18,730 --> 00:27:19,610
on bad ground.

545
00:27:19,610 --> 00:27:21,290
Doesn't do him any good.

546
00:27:21,770 --> 00:27:26,210
You can throw more seed on a
hard packed ground all day long and

547
00:27:26,210 --> 00:27:27,210
nothing's going to grow.

548
00:27:27,850 --> 00:27:28,890
It's not going to happen.

549
00:27:29,690 --> 00:27:32,250
You got to break up the ground.

550
00:27:33,530 --> 00:27:34,490
That is key.

551
00:27:35,210 --> 00:27:39,290
If you ask God to break up the
ground in your life to make you more

552
00:27:39,290 --> 00:27:42,010
open and more fruitful, he
will do it.

553
00:27:42,550 --> 00:27:46,870
It may not happen how you
expect and God won't ever force you

554
00:27:46,870 --> 00:27:50,950
to come closer to him and God
won't ever force you to live and

555
00:27:50,950 --> 00:27:52,630
see in the kingdom of God.

556
00:27:53,350 --> 00:27:57,590
But if you're willing, God
will bring it to you.

557
00:27:59,270 --> 00:28:03,750
If you're not doing that,
you're missing the best of what life

558
00:28:03,750 --> 00:28:04,550
has to offer.

559
00:28:05,270 --> 00:28:08,310
Invite him to break up the
ground even if it's hard packed ground

560
00:28:08,570 --> 00:28:10,730
and you say I don't want to
have anything to do with Christianity.

561
00:28:10,890 --> 00:28:12,490
I've been burned too many times.

562
00:28:13,530 --> 00:28:14,650
I'm not interested.

563
00:28:15,610 --> 00:28:21,330
Have the courage to ask him to
show you New if you know the story

564
00:28:21,330 --> 00:28:26,090
of Paul who wrote half the New
Testament is the guy who hated Christians.

565
00:28:26,570 --> 00:28:28,010
He wanted to kill Christians.

566
00:28:28,330 --> 00:28:33,170
He was as anti Christian as it
could get until God broke up his

567
00:28:33,170 --> 00:28:37,860
hard ground and he became the
greatest theologian of the early

568
00:28:37,860 --> 00:28:41,940
church and the one who set the
course by writing half the New Testament.

569
00:28:43,700 --> 00:28:45,380
God will break up hard ground.

570
00:28:45,380 --> 00:28:46,020
You know why?

571
00:28:46,500 --> 00:28:48,180
Because remember our verse of
the year.

572
00:28:48,820 --> 00:28:53,900
I am with you always, even to
the end of the age.

573
00:28:53,900 --> 00:28:57,060
God is planting in your life
for fruitfulness.

574
00:28:57,380 --> 00:29:00,580
He's planting in your life for
purpose and fulfillment.

575
00:29:00,580 --> 00:29:05,560
And don't seek settle for less
than the kingdom of God.

576
00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:07,960
Let's say our benediction together.

577
00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:13,080
No eye has seen, no ear is
heard, no mind is conceived.

578
00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:16,280
What God has prepared for
those who love Him.

579
00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:17,120
God bless.

580
00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:17,959
Have a great day.