1 00:00:05,049 --> 00:00:09,669 Speaker 2: Well, brothers, I'm so excited to be spending time with you this weekend. 2 00:00:09,790 --> 00:00:14,229 Um, let me commend you, first of all for being here, making time to be here. 3 00:00:15,249 --> 00:00:16,509 Is this a me issue? 4 00:00:17,229 --> 00:00:18,100 No, just keep talking. 5 00:00:18,549 --> 00:00:18,939 Okay. 6 00:00:19,659 --> 00:00:21,400 Let me commend you for making time to be here. 7 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:26,259 We know that to get away at all from your, your jobs and your families 8 00:00:26,259 --> 00:00:29,139 and other, the things that, that are happening on a Friday and Saturday night. 9 00:00:29,214 --> 00:00:33,535 It can be really hard to do, and so we work really hard to make 10 00:00:33,535 --> 00:00:36,234 sure that this is worth your time, this is valuable, and that you walk 11 00:00:36,234 --> 00:00:39,445 away better as a result of this. 12 00:00:39,954 --> 00:00:41,454 Goal for the weekend is really simple. 13 00:00:41,904 --> 00:00:47,305 We want to improve and increase your love for God and your love for others. 14 00:00:47,335 --> 00:00:48,415 This is the great commandment. 15 00:00:48,415 --> 00:00:49,885 This is what Jesus wants us to do. 16 00:00:50,784 --> 00:00:53,034 Trouble with that though, is that this isn't an easy thing. 17 00:00:53,034 --> 00:00:56,305 This is one of the most challenging things to do because it requires 18 00:00:56,514 --> 00:00:58,165 a whole lot of effort on our part. 19 00:00:58,990 --> 00:01:03,339 And sometimes things like this can, can feel like an obstruction to your 20 00:01:03,339 --> 00:01:06,580 calendar, to your agenda, to things that you might already want to do. 21 00:01:06,970 --> 00:01:09,580 You know, spending time with the wife and hanging out with the kids, or going 22 00:01:09,580 --> 00:01:12,370 and finishing that project in the garage that's been working on you for months. 23 00:01:12,370 --> 00:01:16,060 Now, this is so critical that you're here though, and we're so grateful for you. 24 00:01:16,660 --> 00:01:20,560 I want you to also know that your pastors have been praying for you individually. 25 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:23,320 Um, we knew who was gonna be here. 26 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:26,740 And of course, because we knew who was coming, we were able to take your names 27 00:01:26,740 --> 00:01:31,090 and just plug away at you day by day to pray for your attendance here and to pray 28 00:01:31,090 --> 00:01:34,180 that God would make you receptive to all the things that we want to have happen. 29 00:01:34,570 --> 00:01:37,330 So, uh, I want you to first of all be encouraged. 30 00:01:37,330 --> 00:01:38,530 You're here and you made it. 31 00:01:38,530 --> 00:01:41,770 For some of you, there's resistance to even get here in the first place. 32 00:01:42,070 --> 00:01:44,380 There's lots of things on your calendar and there's lots of things that would 33 00:01:44,380 --> 00:01:48,340 press you to say, there's other things I want to do, but you're being here so good. 34 00:01:48,954 --> 00:01:52,914 Let me now exhort you as we prepare to jump into a series of four sermons 35 00:01:52,914 --> 00:01:56,785 over the course of less than, well, we'll be here for a little over 24 36 00:01:56,785 --> 00:02:00,114 hours, but the sermon time is gonna be compressed into less than that. 37 00:02:00,114 --> 00:02:03,084 So you're about to get a lot of Bible and trust that you're 38 00:02:03,084 --> 00:02:03,954 here because you want that. 39 00:02:03,954 --> 00:02:05,334 We're excited for you to have this. 40 00:02:05,695 --> 00:02:08,663 So let me exhort you not only to be here, but to be as attentive. 41 00:02:08,695 --> 00:02:13,105 Uh, David mentioned that, I think Lewis prayed that, um, I don't know either. 42 00:02:13,855 --> 00:02:15,234 Lewis prayed that, oh, there it is. 43 00:02:15,745 --> 00:02:17,424 And it's, it's one of the. 44 00:02:17,500 --> 00:02:23,530 It, you're here and that's great, but it's also important that you be here mentally, 45 00:02:23,530 --> 00:02:25,870 that you be here with your whole person. 46 00:02:25,870 --> 00:02:28,210 In fact, that's really what this weekend is about. 47 00:02:28,930 --> 00:02:31,450 Let me just start us off by taking us to our first text. 48 00:02:31,750 --> 00:02:34,480 Uh, we are going to be in Mark chapter four. 49 00:02:34,870 --> 00:02:37,210 Uh, you know that we're gonna be in the Parable of the Souls, but as you're 50 00:02:37,210 --> 00:02:40,240 pulling out your Bible, let me just tell you quickly why we're doing this together. 51 00:02:41,125 --> 00:02:44,995 The parable of the soils is one of the most critical parables that Jesus 52 00:02:44,995 --> 00:02:48,385 tells because he says it really is a linchpin to the other parables. 53 00:02:48,385 --> 00:02:50,995 If you can't get this one, Jesus says, your disciples, you're gonna have 54 00:02:50,995 --> 00:02:52,495 a hard time understanding the rest. 55 00:02:52,885 --> 00:02:59,065 So this one is going to clarify for us the kind of life that God expects 56 00:02:59,095 --> 00:03:01,525 of those who are his followers. 57 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:05,470 You're gonna find out that there's four different kinds of soils and the soils 58 00:03:05,470 --> 00:03:10,540 represent our hearts, and only one of those soils is actually productive. 59 00:03:11,230 --> 00:03:14,709 Only one of those soils does what God designed it to do. 60 00:03:15,730 --> 00:03:19,899 The reason we're preaching it to you, a room of what we presume is generally 61 00:03:19,899 --> 00:03:24,250 believers is because the first three soils are going to warn us about the 62 00:03:24,250 --> 00:03:29,740 dangers and the hazards that can befall all sorts of professing believers. 63 00:03:30,234 --> 00:03:31,105 First one accepting. 64 00:03:31,105 --> 00:03:32,635 We'll talk about that one in a second. 65 00:03:33,175 --> 00:03:36,595 But if you're a fourth soil kind of guy, and that's the one that you should be, 66 00:03:36,925 --> 00:03:40,675 there's going to be hazards and dangers that you need to be well aware of in 67 00:03:40,675 --> 00:03:45,835 your Christian life so that you don't fall prey to the traps that catastrophize 68 00:03:45,835 --> 00:03:47,635 and ruin all sorts of Christians. 69 00:03:47,935 --> 00:03:51,445 In fact, one of the texts you're gonna get to reminds me of what Paul 70 00:03:51,445 --> 00:03:52,825 says in one Timothy chapter six. 71 00:03:52,825 --> 00:03:55,885 He says, because people are striving after riches. 72 00:03:56,095 --> 00:03:58,195 He says, people ruin themselves. 73 00:03:58,615 --> 00:04:00,894 Ruin themselves because they're striving after money. 74 00:04:01,615 --> 00:04:03,475 They're looking after that kind of security. 75 00:04:03,505 --> 00:04:06,235 I don't wanna preach Pastor Mark's sermon, but that's one of the dangers. 76 00:04:06,834 --> 00:04:08,964 Another danger is that you get distracted. 77 00:04:09,205 --> 00:04:10,465 Your heart is elsewhere. 78 00:04:10,525 --> 00:04:13,495 You're here preaching, you hear teaching, and you're somewhere else because 79 00:04:13,495 --> 00:04:16,975 you're thinking about the bills and the fight that you had with your kids. 80 00:04:16,975 --> 00:04:19,135 You're thinking about the project that hasn't closed yet. 81 00:04:19,135 --> 00:04:21,325 You're hoping that you're gonna get an email about that soon. 82 00:04:21,654 --> 00:04:24,805 Maybe you've got grandkids that you're thinking about who are wayward, or 83 00:04:24,955 --> 00:04:26,845 they're having a difficult time in school. 84 00:04:26,995 --> 00:04:28,570 You might be thinking about your retirement. 85 00:04:28,570 --> 00:04:29,575 Am I gonna have enough money? 86 00:04:29,635 --> 00:04:33,295 I mean, you could be thinking about almost anything right now, and 87 00:04:33,295 --> 00:04:36,330 that is exactly the danger that we're warned about in the parable. 88 00:04:37,359 --> 00:04:42,909 Distractions, temptations, things that constrict and ultimately remove 89 00:04:42,909 --> 00:04:45,039 the oxygen supply for your faith. 90 00:04:45,099 --> 00:04:46,630 Choking it out and killing it. 91 00:04:47,500 --> 00:04:50,830 There are lots of hazards and dangers, but why this parable right now? 92 00:04:50,830 --> 00:04:53,530 Then we want to talk about this one because it's evergreen. 93 00:04:53,919 --> 00:04:59,799 This is the perennial issues that confront real Christianity and because your 94 00:04:59,799 --> 00:05:02,140 pastors are concerned that you bear fruit. 95 00:05:02,995 --> 00:05:04,105 And keeping with repentance. 96 00:05:04,105 --> 00:05:07,735 And because your pastors are concerned that you continue to level up in your 97 00:05:07,735 --> 00:05:11,455 faith, we think this is the right set of sermons for you for this weekend. 98 00:05:12,475 --> 00:05:14,125 Some of your brothers are unable to make it. 99 00:05:14,365 --> 00:05:16,645 Um, we trust that God will use this and maybe they'll listen to 100 00:05:16,645 --> 00:05:18,205 it later, but God wants you here. 101 00:05:18,775 --> 00:05:19,435 You're here. 102 00:05:19,705 --> 00:05:20,845 God clearly wants you here. 103 00:05:20,845 --> 00:05:21,745 We want you to listen. 104 00:05:21,745 --> 00:05:22,795 We want you to be blessed. 105 00:05:22,975 --> 00:05:25,585 We've worked hard for you because we think this is so valuable. 106 00:05:26,335 --> 00:05:29,484 Let me encourage you again and exhort you make this weekend count. 107 00:05:29,965 --> 00:05:31,135 We're bringing our A game. 108 00:05:31,315 --> 00:05:34,465 We never bring anything less, of course, but we're bringing you our very best 109 00:05:34,885 --> 00:05:37,614 part of you bringing your very best is coming with the receptive heart. 110 00:05:37,614 --> 00:05:38,935 We'll talk about that very soon, in fact. 111 00:05:39,565 --> 00:05:41,905 But let me just give you the, the, the point of this particular sermon. 112 00:05:42,265 --> 00:05:45,534 One of the things we're gonna see is that different soils respond differently 113 00:05:45,655 --> 00:05:50,484 depending on one singular item, and it's a complicated and simple topic. 114 00:05:50,484 --> 00:05:51,325 It's called your heart. 115 00:05:51,745 --> 00:05:53,784 Here's, here's essentially my point of my sermon. 116 00:05:54,115 --> 00:05:57,775 It's the condition of your heart that determines the fruitfulness of your 117 00:05:57,775 --> 00:06:01,795 response, and that's really gonna be the underlying thesis for the whole weekend. 118 00:06:02,094 --> 00:06:04,525 It's the condition of your heart that determines the 119 00:06:04,525 --> 00:06:06,055 fruitfulness of your response. 120 00:06:06,594 --> 00:06:12,265 Whether or not you make progress in your faith as a Christian is determined. 121 00:06:12,820 --> 00:06:17,080 On the condition of your heart, whether or not it's receptive and 122 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:21,460 right with God, whether or not your heart is prepared to receive the word. 123 00:06:22,420 --> 00:06:25,450 And it's because of this critical feature that we wanna make sure 124 00:06:25,450 --> 00:06:27,460 we understand what's happening in the parable of the soils. 125 00:06:27,460 --> 00:06:29,590 Let's go to, uh, mark chapter four. 126 00:06:30,970 --> 00:06:32,290 I think there's something wrong with this. 127 00:06:32,290 --> 00:06:35,560 Mark Chapter four, or my headset, one of the two. 128 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:38,290 Um, mark chapter four is where we're gonna be. 129 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:40,720 We're, we're not gonna, we're not gonna go through the whole thing. 130 00:06:40,750 --> 00:06:41,710 We don't have time to do that. 131 00:06:44,349 --> 00:06:44,800 Thank you, sir, 132 00:06:52,030 --> 00:06:54,430 but check we will get well acquainted with it. 133 00:06:54,969 --> 00:06:58,120 So starting at March chapter four, we're gonna look at verses one and two. 134 00:06:58,150 --> 00:06:59,500 I'll try to fill in the gaps for you. 135 00:06:59,500 --> 00:07:02,800 And then we're gonna look at verses 10 through 14 to hopefully get 136 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:03,940 acquainted with the text itself. 137 00:07:03,940 --> 00:07:07,780 So starting at March chapter four, verses one and two again, Jesus 138 00:07:07,780 --> 00:07:09,370 began to teach beside the sea. 139 00:07:10,465 --> 00:07:12,775 And a very large crowd gathered about him. 140 00:07:13,315 --> 00:07:15,145 Now, that's a big point here, and let's just start with this. 141 00:07:15,175 --> 00:07:17,724 There's lots of people that are gonna be exposed to the word of God. 142 00:07:17,724 --> 00:07:20,245 There's a large crowd, and Jesus is gonna speak to them. 143 00:07:20,365 --> 00:07:21,925 He's gonna deliver the word to them. 144 00:07:23,005 --> 00:07:26,724 So Jesus is experiencing such a large audience that he has to move inside 145 00:07:26,724 --> 00:07:28,645 a boat and put himself on the scene. 146 00:07:28,645 --> 00:07:31,075 That's what he does in verse one there, and the whole crowd 147 00:07:31,075 --> 00:07:32,875 was beside the sea on the land. 148 00:07:32,875 --> 00:07:36,230 In verse two, he was teaching them many things in parable. 149 00:07:37,270 --> 00:07:41,979 And in his teaching, he said to them, and he began to tell the parable, let's just 150 00:07:41,979 --> 00:07:46,180 understand here, what's happening is that Jesus is speaking the, the, the word, 151 00:07:46,180 --> 00:07:51,310 the word of God to the crowd, and he's making clear what God expects of them. 152 00:07:52,060 --> 00:07:54,340 We're gonna, we'll get back to the parable in a second here, but go 153 00:07:54,340 --> 00:07:56,320 drop down to verses 10 through 14. 154 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:00,909 He tells the parable of the sower, we'll, we'll come back to it, but 155 00:08:00,909 --> 00:08:04,510 he his disciples later on ask him when he was alone, those around 156 00:08:04,510 --> 00:08:05,720 him and the 12 with the twelves. 157 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:09,430 Asked him about the parables and he said to them, to you, it has been 158 00:08:09,430 --> 00:08:11,110 given the secret of the kingdom of God. 159 00:08:11,110 --> 00:08:14,320 But for those outside, everything's in parables. 160 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:21,220 So that, and he's quoting Isaiah six here, they may indeed see but not perceive, and 161 00:08:21,220 --> 00:08:26,590 they may indeed hear but not understand unless they should turn and be forgiven. 162 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:28,660 So this is a fascinating turn of events. 163 00:08:28,660 --> 00:08:33,580 Already, Jesus is using the parable to say this kind of teaching. 164 00:08:33,895 --> 00:08:35,155 Has a twofold function. 165 00:08:35,155 --> 00:08:37,375 It actually does more than one thing. 166 00:08:37,495 --> 00:08:41,424 And this simple story, even though it is simple, it actually has layered meaning. 167 00:08:41,635 --> 00:08:42,683 Let's just start with this point. 168 00:08:42,683 --> 00:08:46,135 Number one, we need to see the purpose of the parable, and the purpose is both 169 00:08:46,135 --> 00:08:49,045 to teach, to reveal, and to conceal. 170 00:08:49,615 --> 00:08:52,285 The parable that you're gonna go through this weekend has a twofold 171 00:08:52,285 --> 00:08:56,365 function For those with ears to ear, uh, hear, Jesus is gonna say the parable 172 00:08:56,515 --> 00:08:59,035 instructs and teaches and explains. 173 00:08:59,545 --> 00:09:01,075 But for those who are hardhearted. 174 00:09:02,695 --> 00:09:05,395 They're not going to hear it, they're not gonna be able to receive it. 175 00:09:06,685 --> 00:09:10,045 He says, in fact, as he, as he quotes Isaiah six, that the parable functions 176 00:09:10,045 --> 00:09:11,845 as a passive form of judgment. 177 00:09:12,565 --> 00:09:18,385 The, the, the parable of the soils is one way that God hides truth from 178 00:09:18,385 --> 00:09:19,975 those who don't want to hear truth. 179 00:09:20,365 --> 00:09:22,045 Hopefully you already feel some of the tension here. 180 00:09:22,315 --> 00:09:24,625 Jesus gives the word to all different kinds of people, 181 00:09:24,625 --> 00:09:25,795 but not everybody hears it. 182 00:09:25,795 --> 00:09:28,375 In fact, one of the challenges is at the heart of people. 183 00:09:28,930 --> 00:09:31,300 Can hear an incredible message, an incredible sermon. 184 00:09:31,300 --> 00:09:34,300 They can read an incredible text and still be unmoved. 185 00:09:35,079 --> 00:09:38,620 The problem is not the word, the problem is the receptivity of the heart. 186 00:09:38,620 --> 00:09:42,819 So Jesus is saying the parable then functions both to deliver truth and 187 00:09:42,819 --> 00:09:46,599 to passively conceal information. 188 00:09:46,599 --> 00:09:49,689 In fact, let me just do it this way here, uh, to the faithful, the word 189 00:09:49,689 --> 00:09:53,170 opens up and deeper insights with every look as you get acquainted with 190 00:09:53,170 --> 00:09:54,545 the word, if you're willing to hear. 191 00:09:55,435 --> 00:09:58,375 Parables can be enormously productive in that they show you 192 00:09:58,375 --> 00:09:59,694 things you wouldn't otherwise see. 193 00:09:59,875 --> 00:10:03,954 But for those who are hardhearted to the unrepentant, those who respond 194 00:10:03,954 --> 00:10:08,965 either passively or poorly, or even temporarily, the word closes, 195 00:10:09,085 --> 00:10:11,064 it doesn't reveal, it conceals. 196 00:10:11,064 --> 00:10:14,665 It becomes harder to understand, and this again, is a passive form of judgment. 197 00:10:14,665 --> 00:10:16,345 Hence, we have Isaiah chapter six. 198 00:10:16,855 --> 00:10:18,954 So the purpose of the parable is dual. 199 00:10:19,165 --> 00:10:21,954 There's more than one purpose behind it. 200 00:10:22,465 --> 00:10:25,615 And this weekend, whether or not you get a great deal from it or whether or not 201 00:10:25,615 --> 00:10:29,395 you find it more confusing will again come back down to the condition of your heart. 202 00:10:30,385 --> 00:10:31,525 Parables are actually pretty simple. 203 00:10:31,555 --> 00:10:32,155 They're straightforward. 204 00:10:32,155 --> 00:10:36,385 In fact, they're like things that are hidden in plain sight, and 205 00:10:36,385 --> 00:10:37,465 you have some examples of that. 206 00:10:37,465 --> 00:10:41,035 The FedEx logo, for instance, if you know the FedEx logo, you, you've, 207 00:10:41,035 --> 00:10:44,395 maybe someone has pointed out to you, there's an arrow in the FedEx logo. 208 00:10:44,425 --> 00:10:45,175 Can you see it? 209 00:10:45,235 --> 00:10:46,165 You might've seen that before. 210 00:10:46,165 --> 00:10:46,765 Someone pointed this. 211 00:10:46,765 --> 00:10:48,415 Oh, there's an arrow in there, and it shows their movement. 212 00:10:48,415 --> 00:10:49,225 They're making progress. 213 00:10:49,765 --> 00:10:51,115 Or the Amazon logo. 214 00:10:51,115 --> 00:10:53,635 It's got the, everything from A to Z. 215 00:10:53,635 --> 00:10:55,435 The smile connects the two, you see? 216 00:10:55,465 --> 00:10:56,125 Oh, I get it. 217 00:10:56,125 --> 00:10:57,355 That's clever Advertising. 218 00:10:57,775 --> 00:11:01,135 Or here's something I learned recently and maybe within the last 10 years 219 00:11:01,135 --> 00:11:04,915 recently, I didn't realize that the gas gauge tells you what side of 220 00:11:04,915 --> 00:11:06,715 the car that your gas tank is on. 221 00:11:06,715 --> 00:11:07,645 I was like, oh, that's amazing. 222 00:11:07,975 --> 00:11:08,875 There it is. 223 00:11:09,475 --> 00:11:11,245 First time I learned that I was, my mind was blown. 224 00:11:11,245 --> 00:11:12,385 My life was forever changed. 225 00:11:14,245 --> 00:11:15,985 The parables can sometimes be like this. 226 00:11:15,985 --> 00:11:18,535 Once you see it, you can't unsee it, but they're actually a little more 227 00:11:18,535 --> 00:11:22,225 challenging than that because they're not just a matter of intellectual engagement. 228 00:11:22,225 --> 00:11:26,155 You see, the parables are not just you saying, oh, I understand how this works. 229 00:11:26,155 --> 00:11:27,205 It's A plus B equal C. 230 00:11:27,295 --> 00:11:29,365 The parables require patience. 231 00:11:29,425 --> 00:11:33,025 They require scrutiny and they're, they're gonna require more from you 232 00:11:33,025 --> 00:11:34,825 than just your intellectual engagement. 233 00:11:34,825 --> 00:11:37,075 It's actually heart level engagement. 234 00:11:37,285 --> 00:11:39,930 There's a moral component to your understanding of scripture. 235 00:11:40,780 --> 00:11:43,449 That is to say that when you open your Bible, it may not be that you 236 00:11:43,449 --> 00:11:45,250 can't intellectually understand it. 237 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:49,479 It might be that there's sin that prohibits you from seeing what God 238 00:11:49,479 --> 00:11:51,040 wants you to see in the parables. 239 00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:54,609 The fact that they're both revelatory, they reveal and 240 00:11:54,609 --> 00:11:56,079 conceal means at least two things. 241 00:11:56,260 --> 00:11:58,660 First of all, the word is going to challenge you. 242 00:11:59,620 --> 00:12:03,189 Parables are interesting because Jesus is saying, look to the faithful, it 243 00:12:03,189 --> 00:12:07,000 reveals more, but to those who are unrepentant, it closes off truth. 244 00:12:07,390 --> 00:12:09,970 Which tells me then if you're a Christian and you approach your Bible, 245 00:12:09,970 --> 00:12:12,670 there will be times and you should expect it where the word is going 246 00:12:12,670 --> 00:12:14,260 to challenge your understanding. 247 00:12:14,530 --> 00:12:16,330 It's going to challenge your receptivity. 248 00:12:16,330 --> 00:12:20,020 It's going to challenge your ability to put your arms around the text. 249 00:12:20,500 --> 00:12:24,100 Jesus, when he was preaching about eating his flesh and drinking 250 00:12:24,100 --> 00:12:26,925 his blood, his disciples said, Jesus, this is really hard. 251 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:28,150 Who can understand it? 252 00:12:29,020 --> 00:12:29,350 Who? 253 00:12:29,350 --> 00:12:30,490 Who can listen to this? 254 00:12:31,405 --> 00:12:33,865 You might remember this, and the, and the point is Jesus saying, if, 255 00:12:33,865 --> 00:12:36,655 if that's what you're stumbling over, man, there's, there's more. 256 00:12:36,895 --> 00:12:38,185 You hadn't heard nothing yet. 257 00:12:38,814 --> 00:12:39,385 Scripture. 258 00:12:39,385 --> 00:12:44,125 If you're engaging with it, rightly with a whole heart, will put you in a position 259 00:12:44,125 --> 00:12:46,704 where you feel the difficulty of the word. 260 00:12:47,545 --> 00:12:48,954 It's scripture never challenges you. 261 00:12:48,954 --> 00:12:51,685 It's because you're not reading scripture, you're reading you in the scripture. 262 00:12:52,435 --> 00:12:55,584 If you're reading scripture appropriately, you should recognize that the 263 00:12:55,584 --> 00:13:00,100 revelation of what it shows you will often feel foreign and uncomfortable. 264 00:13:02,155 --> 00:13:05,814 And it's largely dependent upon whether or not you have the heart to pursue it. 265 00:13:06,474 --> 00:13:08,365 Every one of you will face this at some point. 266 00:13:08,724 --> 00:13:11,935 The parables are a great picture of the word, confronting someone and saying, 267 00:13:12,084 --> 00:13:14,214 do you have the will to listen to this? 268 00:13:14,485 --> 00:13:16,735 Will you listen to the word and submit to it? 269 00:13:16,735 --> 00:13:17,844 It's one thing to hear it. 270 00:13:18,444 --> 00:13:22,015 We'll see that hearing is only one component and it's a shaky one at best. 271 00:13:22,675 --> 00:13:27,355 The real work is the heart work of saying I, I will allow the Lord to challenge me. 272 00:13:28,224 --> 00:13:30,265 I want the Lord to step on my toes. 273 00:13:32,350 --> 00:13:35,980 In fact, one of the things that you can expect from scripture because 274 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:39,640 it both reveals and conceals, is that God will reward your patient. 275 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:40,390 Persistence. 276 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:44,170 One of the things that Pastor Paul says to his protege, Timothy, 277 00:13:44,410 --> 00:13:47,290 he, he says, you know, the, the farmer who works hard, he'll be 278 00:13:47,290 --> 00:13:48,670 the first one to receive the crops. 279 00:13:48,670 --> 00:13:54,430 A soldier doesn't get, uh, get, get, uh, distracted by, uh, by civilian issues. 280 00:13:54,850 --> 00:13:58,480 And then he closes off saying, think over what I say. 281 00:13:58,780 --> 00:14:03,040 Think about what I'm saying, and the Lord will give you understanding in everything. 282 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:06,790 In other words, Timothy, just because he was a first entry 283 00:14:06,790 --> 00:14:09,490 pastor didn't mean he understood everything that Pastor Paul said. 284 00:14:09,699 --> 00:14:10,569 Isn't that comforting? 285 00:14:11,230 --> 00:14:12,459 Paul's still confusing to me. 286 00:14:12,819 --> 00:14:15,849 I still struggle with Paul and he told his own protege, Timothy, Hey, 287 00:14:15,849 --> 00:14:16,839 just think about what I'm saying. 288 00:14:16,839 --> 00:14:18,490 I know this is hard, but you'll get it eventually. 289 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:22,900 One of Paul's associates by the name of Peter said some things that 290 00:14:22,900 --> 00:14:24,459 Paul writes are hard to understand. 291 00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:29,079 So we should take comfort in the fact that scripture isn't supposed to be simple by 292 00:14:29,079 --> 00:14:30,910 nature, and it is simple to understand. 293 00:14:30,910 --> 00:14:33,640 There's, you know, there's layered, there's, there's a layeredness to 294 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:37,540 this, but I want you to recognize that approaching God rightly with 295 00:14:37,540 --> 00:14:41,560 the right heart is going to mean I let him challenge me and I'm, I'm 296 00:14:41,560 --> 00:14:43,449 expecting him to reward my patient. 297 00:14:43,449 --> 00:14:46,990 Persistence, that word persistence is gonna come back to us in session 298 00:14:46,990 --> 00:14:49,569 four, but for now, let's just be content with the fact that when. 299 00:14:49,735 --> 00:14:52,165 We approach scripture and we recognize that this is both 300 00:14:52,165 --> 00:14:53,635 a revealing and concealing. 301 00:14:53,875 --> 00:14:57,715 This is gonna require more from me and not less becoming a Christian. 302 00:14:57,715 --> 00:15:01,135 Submitting your life to Christ is just step one, opening your life to 303 00:15:01,135 --> 00:15:05,695 the journey, and the excitement of being a Christian is wrought with 304 00:15:05,695 --> 00:15:09,055 ups and downs and lefts and rights, and all sorts of unpredictable 305 00:15:09,055 --> 00:15:10,900 nature unpredictability in your life. 306 00:15:11,755 --> 00:15:14,125 The word's gonna challenge you and God will reward your patient. 307 00:15:14,125 --> 00:15:14,665 Persistence. 308 00:15:14,725 --> 00:15:17,635 The purpose of the parable then is to reveal and conceal truth, 309 00:15:18,175 --> 00:15:21,025 and the most critical factor is the condition of your heart. 310 00:15:22,735 --> 00:15:23,095 Okay. 311 00:15:23,155 --> 00:15:26,425 With that said, then I want to take us to the first soil. 312 00:15:27,085 --> 00:15:31,135 Um, and in fact, let's, uh, let's turn to Mark chapter four. 313 00:15:31,405 --> 00:15:32,065 Go back there. 314 00:15:32,065 --> 00:15:33,595 We're gonna look at verses three and four. 315 00:15:33,835 --> 00:15:35,665 I'm gonna briefly cover their first soil. 316 00:15:35,665 --> 00:15:36,925 And this one's the scariest one. 317 00:15:36,985 --> 00:15:38,545 Well, I, I, I, I'm trying to make my case here. 318 00:15:38,545 --> 00:15:40,605 They're all scary for different reasons, but take a look at this one. 319 00:15:40,885 --> 00:15:40,944 It. 320 00:15:42,175 --> 00:15:43,735 Mark chapter four, verses three and four. 321 00:15:43,735 --> 00:15:47,005 He says, listen, behold, in fact, let me just point this out. 322 00:15:47,155 --> 00:15:50,005 This is the only, so the, the parable of the sower is contained 323 00:15:50,005 --> 00:15:55,225 in all three gospels, Matthew, mark, and Luke, I, there's four gospels. 324 00:15:55,225 --> 00:15:57,685 But the three synoptics is what I mean by that. 325 00:15:57,685 --> 00:16:01,045 Synoptics mean they all cover the same information, though in different ways. 326 00:16:01,615 --> 00:16:07,165 Mark's account is the only one where he records Jesus saying, listen, behold. 327 00:16:07,675 --> 00:16:08,964 Pay attention to this. 328 00:16:09,324 --> 00:16:12,655 I chose Mark for this first session because Mark's approach to 329 00:16:12,655 --> 00:16:14,005 this, I think is really helpful. 330 00:16:14,214 --> 00:16:17,814 He's saying before he even says a word, Hey, pay close attention. 331 00:16:17,845 --> 00:16:18,954 It's like saying, amen. 332 00:16:18,954 --> 00:16:19,285 Amen. 333 00:16:19,285 --> 00:16:21,714 Or it's like saying, Hey, I need you to pay really close 334 00:16:21,714 --> 00:16:22,824 attention to what I'm about to say. 335 00:16:22,915 --> 00:16:24,475 So he says, listen, behold. 336 00:16:25,015 --> 00:16:27,010 And then he says, A sower went out to sow. 337 00:16:27,865 --> 00:16:33,564 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path and the birds came and devoured it. 338 00:16:33,925 --> 00:16:38,245 So Jesus now is covering this, this first, the first soil that we're gonna look at. 339 00:16:38,245 --> 00:16:40,555 The first soil is called the path. 340 00:16:40,945 --> 00:16:43,975 It's a hard soil, and as you might imagine, it's the kind of soil 341 00:16:43,975 --> 00:16:47,995 that's trampled by human fes and by moving vehicles so that what 342 00:16:47,995 --> 00:16:49,555 you have is a compacted soil. 343 00:16:49,555 --> 00:16:53,664 It's really almost impossible to, to penetrate it with anything. 344 00:16:54,009 --> 00:16:55,719 Safer, accept some, some weeds. 345 00:16:56,229 --> 00:16:59,289 So Jesus is describing this kind of land right here. 346 00:16:59,620 --> 00:17:03,459 The seed is tossed by the sower, and the sower is likely going to be here. 347 00:17:03,459 --> 00:17:06,790 A reference to Jesus sowing the word of God to the people at the time. 348 00:17:07,179 --> 00:17:09,519 Uh, it could refer to more than that, but the idea is that 349 00:17:09,519 --> 00:17:10,749 the word is being sent out. 350 00:17:10,749 --> 00:17:11,829 The word is being given. 351 00:17:12,009 --> 00:17:14,169 And there's all different kinds of people who are gonna hear it. 352 00:17:14,169 --> 00:17:18,098 And the first kind of people to hear it, the first kind of heart is the path. 353 00:17:18,309 --> 00:17:21,368 Compacted hard, unreceptive. 354 00:17:22,284 --> 00:17:27,204 He then says that this is the kind of soil where the birds of the air, the 355 00:17:27,204 --> 00:17:30,325 birds of the air come and they devour it. 356 00:17:30,895 --> 00:17:34,254 Um, that's interesting because Matthew also says the birds came 357 00:17:34,254 --> 00:17:36,235 and devoured them as Matthew 13. 358 00:17:36,655 --> 00:17:40,795 Um, the soil is so hard that the, the seeds can't go anywhere, which again, 359 00:17:40,795 --> 00:17:44,395 if the seed is the word of God, the birds swoop down, come and steal it. 360 00:17:44,395 --> 00:17:47,845 As soon as that there's an opportunity, one of the challenges 361 00:17:47,845 --> 00:17:49,675 forward, the first soil. 362 00:17:50,409 --> 00:17:52,810 Is that the soil has no place to land. 363 00:17:53,620 --> 00:17:54,909 They're exposed to the word. 364 00:17:54,909 --> 00:17:56,290 And remember, Jesus is the sower. 365 00:17:56,320 --> 00:17:58,000 He's giving out the quality word. 366 00:17:58,000 --> 00:17:59,949 This is the best preaching you're ever gonna hear. 367 00:18:00,250 --> 00:18:02,620 And Jesus sends it out and some hearts are just so hard. 368 00:18:02,620 --> 00:18:03,820 They're like, I don't want anything to do with that. 369 00:18:05,110 --> 00:18:08,620 One of your challenges then is not to be the kind of person who 370 00:18:08,620 --> 00:18:11,169 only haphazardly hears the word. 371 00:18:11,890 --> 00:18:15,250 Uh, the right heart before God is not defined by someone who's 372 00:18:15,250 --> 00:18:17,770 resistant to God's movements, but someone who welcomes it. 373 00:18:17,860 --> 00:18:21,430 And that kind of person is gonna be a person who gives careful, 374 00:18:21,550 --> 00:18:26,590 considered close, thorough, engaged attention to the word. 375 00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:29,830 In fact, I'll make the case that it's even a little, it's more than that. 376 00:18:30,010 --> 00:18:31,690 But let's just do that for point number two here. 377 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:34,360 If you're going to have the right heart before God, it's 378 00:18:34,360 --> 00:18:35,560 gotta be defined this way. 379 00:18:35,950 --> 00:18:39,160 You gotta give the best attention, your best attention to the word. 380 00:18:39,910 --> 00:18:41,170 You gotta give it your best. 381 00:18:41,229 --> 00:18:41,289 It. 382 00:18:42,159 --> 00:18:48,159 Anything short of that can cause you to spiritually drift and disengage, and 383 00:18:48,159 --> 00:18:50,559 this is one of our greatest temptations. 384 00:18:50,769 --> 00:18:51,999 We all know what this is like. 385 00:18:51,999 --> 00:18:55,899 We know what it feels like to have the word go one in one ear and out the other, 386 00:18:55,899 --> 00:18:59,769 or to feel like we're just so elsewhere that we're not present at The word 387 00:18:59,769 --> 00:19:01,959 loses its flavor, loses its punchiness. 388 00:19:03,175 --> 00:19:05,004 Uh, maybe you're familiar with this idea here. 389 00:19:05,215 --> 00:19:07,165 Uh, we live in a digital age of distraction. 390 00:19:07,165 --> 00:19:10,195 You've heard this before, uh, but maybe you've noticed that it's 391 00:19:10,195 --> 00:19:11,635 getting harder and not easier. 392 00:19:11,905 --> 00:19:14,935 And in fact, there are studies, recent studies that are showing that even within 393 00:19:14,935 --> 00:19:20,485 the context of a marriage, that husbands or wives are struggling to communicate 394 00:19:20,485 --> 00:19:23,695 better because their phones are presenting a persistent threat to their marriage. 395 00:19:24,054 --> 00:19:27,955 Uh, one study that came out of the University of Chicago, uh, 396 00:19:27,955 --> 00:19:30,145 in 2025, no, this one isn't 25. 397 00:19:30,504 --> 00:19:31,794 Recently, within the last five years. 398 00:19:32,289 --> 00:19:36,489 The University of Chicago found that even the mere presence of a cell phone of a, 399 00:19:36,489 --> 00:19:42,609 of a smart device, face down, turned off, reduces available cognitive capacity. 400 00:19:43,299 --> 00:19:47,049 The presence of your phone in front of you makes it harder for you to pay attention. 401 00:19:47,739 --> 00:19:49,209 Have you figured this out for yourself? 402 00:19:49,299 --> 00:19:50,589 I find that to be true. 403 00:19:50,649 --> 00:19:54,999 I, I'm, I'm, I'm a, I'm a Bible notes taker on my, my iPad, on my phone, 404 00:19:54,999 --> 00:19:58,749 on my, on my computer, but it's really hard to resist a notification. 405 00:19:59,020 --> 00:20:01,540 Especially during preaching when I'm like, oh, I'm taking notes and I see 406 00:20:01,540 --> 00:20:03,310 things, oh, look what's Danny want. 407 00:20:03,310 --> 00:20:04,450 I'll look at what Danny's want. 408 00:20:04,450 --> 00:20:07,330 I'll find, oh, I got a notification about this other thing. 409 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:12,040 Our attention is being threatened all the time, and it's becoming so difficult 410 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:15,070 for us that we're atrophying the very muscles that give us the ability 411 00:20:15,070 --> 00:20:16,510 to really connect with the truth. 412 00:20:17,110 --> 00:20:20,500 Um, there's another study that was done in 2025 that said that our 413 00:20:20,500 --> 00:20:24,580 culture is developing something called online vigilance, which 414 00:20:24,585 --> 00:20:28,010 is a cog, a constant cognitive preoccupation with the online world. 415 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:32,199 We're no longer able to be present because we're vigilant 416 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:33,909 about what's happening out there. 417 00:20:34,090 --> 00:20:36,460 We're thinking about all the other things and about, you know, this 418 00:20:36,460 --> 00:20:37,720 person tweeted at this person. 419 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:39,610 Why is Justin Peters mad at this guy? 420 00:20:39,820 --> 00:20:43,659 We have all of these things that accost us, that take us away 421 00:20:43,659 --> 00:20:44,770 from what we're called to do. 422 00:20:46,060 --> 00:20:51,429 This habit of living has dramatic implications for the way that we 423 00:20:51,429 --> 00:20:53,620 engage with the word of God, because you can't just turn that off. 424 00:20:54,445 --> 00:20:56,965 We think we can, we think we're good at just saying, well, I'm just gonna 425 00:20:56,965 --> 00:20:58,465 practice being distracted by these things. 426 00:20:58,465 --> 00:21:00,264 And then when I come to the word of God or when I come to preaching, 427 00:21:00,475 --> 00:21:03,715 I'm gonna be so locked in and we really struggle with this. 428 00:21:03,715 --> 00:21:04,554 We, we really struggle. 429 00:21:05,514 --> 00:21:08,395 In fact, scripture knows that this is a problem even before the advent 430 00:21:08,395 --> 00:21:12,205 of these things, which is why it says keep your heart with all vigilance. 431 00:21:12,205 --> 00:21:16,524 This is Proverbs 4 23 for from it flows the springs of life. 432 00:21:16,584 --> 00:21:19,225 I told you at the beginning of the sermon that the thing that's going 433 00:21:19,225 --> 00:21:22,915 to affect every aspect of your life that's gonna determine the 434 00:21:22,915 --> 00:21:24,895 fruitfulness of your life is your heart. 435 00:21:25,885 --> 00:21:28,615 In fact, I don't have enough time to go through this, but let me just tell you 436 00:21:29,094 --> 00:21:32,905 progress 4 23 is, is probably one of the best texts, but scripture is replete. 437 00:21:33,580 --> 00:21:36,729 With over a thousand references, well, maybe just under, actually, 438 00:21:37,269 --> 00:21:40,330 uh, let's just call it a thousand references to your heart. 439 00:21:41,169 --> 00:21:43,389 Scripture is very concerned about your heart. 440 00:21:43,899 --> 00:21:45,009 Keep a close watch on it. 441 00:21:45,249 --> 00:21:49,120 You're to guarded, you're to instruct your heart, you're to have your heart lean 442 00:21:49,120 --> 00:21:51,129 or, or inclined toward the Lord's word. 443 00:21:51,134 --> 00:21:54,819 The, the scripture screams at you to make sure that your heart 444 00:21:54,850 --> 00:21:56,409 is locked in with the Lord. 445 00:21:56,469 --> 00:21:57,759 So, Proverbs 4 23. 446 00:21:57,819 --> 00:22:00,039 Here's three quick takeaways in from this little, this little text. 447 00:22:01,209 --> 00:22:01,719 Do I have it here? 448 00:22:01,719 --> 00:22:02,049 I do. 449 00:22:02,319 --> 00:22:02,739 Okay. 450 00:22:02,769 --> 00:22:04,299 First of all, notice the what. 451 00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:05,709 Keep your heart. 452 00:22:06,759 --> 00:22:09,399 If you're going to give God your best attention, there's no way 453 00:22:09,399 --> 00:22:11,829 you're gonna do it without keeping a close watch on your heart. 454 00:22:11,979 --> 00:22:15,370 You're to guard, you're to protect, you're to give careful attention to it. 455 00:22:16,089 --> 00:22:18,100 Your heart has to be guarded. 456 00:22:18,129 --> 00:22:19,539 It will not do itself. 457 00:22:19,569 --> 00:22:22,689 Your sinful nature still inclines you to do the wrong thing, and therefore, 458 00:22:22,839 --> 00:22:26,439 if you let the foot off the gas, you're gonna find that your heart drifts. 459 00:22:26,769 --> 00:22:28,840 This is the natural human tendency. 460 00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:31,659 Even as a Christian, the spirit will convict you and call you 461 00:22:31,659 --> 00:22:35,080 back, but it's our job to keep our hearts with all vigilance. 462 00:22:35,499 --> 00:22:37,570 You must keep your hearts all right. 463 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:40,059 You must point your heart at the truth. 464 00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:44,529 This is why we're called Compass Bible Church, where we want the compass of God's 465 00:22:44,529 --> 00:22:48,039 word to incline us to the right direction, and it's our job to follow that. 466 00:22:48,219 --> 00:22:50,199 Secondly, notice from this text the how. 467 00:22:50,950 --> 00:22:53,680 How are you gonna keep your heart all vigilance? 468 00:22:53,890 --> 00:22:56,380 That's the kind of terminology that makes you think this is 469 00:22:56,380 --> 00:22:58,930 not a haphazard casual affair. 470 00:22:59,260 --> 00:23:02,200 This is the kind of thing where scripture's saying, gear up, get ready. 471 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:07,150 Make sure that your vigilance over your heart is diligent. 472 00:23:07,330 --> 00:23:09,670 It's careful, it is clear-eyed. 473 00:23:10,449 --> 00:23:14,110 It is the kind of vigilance that that makes you say, I'm gonna get up early. 474 00:23:14,110 --> 00:23:16,629 If I need you to spend time with the word of God, I'm gonna go to bed 475 00:23:16,629 --> 00:23:20,589 later if I need to, so I can pray and intervene and intercede from my family. 476 00:23:20,889 --> 00:23:23,709 It's the kind of vigilance that says, I don't care what happens this weekend. 477 00:23:23,739 --> 00:23:27,069 I'm going to men's retreat 'cause I want to be with the brothers and help them. 478 00:23:27,189 --> 00:23:28,329 Help me guard my heart. 479 00:23:28,329 --> 00:23:29,019 I need help. 480 00:23:29,019 --> 00:23:30,279 That's a community process. 481 00:23:31,059 --> 00:23:31,659 The what? 482 00:23:31,689 --> 00:23:35,529 Keep your heart the how with all vigilance, which means I'm diligent. 483 00:23:35,620 --> 00:23:38,559 Thirdly, the why from your heart. 484 00:23:39,204 --> 00:23:43,284 From the heart, from that source, everything else comes. 485 00:23:43,584 --> 00:23:48,444 Your heart is the source of your whole life, which bears an explanation. 486 00:23:48,834 --> 00:23:52,674 The heart as a singular idea in scripture covers the whole of you. 487 00:23:53,034 --> 00:23:57,204 A heart can be a synonym for saying you the real you, your real person, 488 00:23:57,384 --> 00:23:58,674 the engine, the vehicle of your. 489 00:23:59,544 --> 00:24:03,445 But practically, scripture speaks about your heart in three overlapping ways. 490 00:24:03,475 --> 00:24:05,995 Okay, I'm just gonna be quick on this three overlapping ways. 491 00:24:05,995 --> 00:24:07,074 Scripture talks about your heart. 492 00:24:07,435 --> 00:24:12,355 It is a thinking heart that is, your heart is not merely a feeling component. 493 00:24:12,655 --> 00:24:14,784 It is actually the way that you think. 494 00:24:15,205 --> 00:24:20,064 Your heart thinks your heart reasons, and therefore scripture then calls you 495 00:24:20,064 --> 00:24:24,114 to inform or instruct your heart with the scriptures with the word of God. 496 00:24:24,475 --> 00:24:28,195 The second component is one that you would expect if the first one is thinking. 497 00:24:28,195 --> 00:24:30,114 The second one is the feeling. 498 00:24:30,429 --> 00:24:33,909 Or the affection where you set your heart's Love. 499 00:24:34,389 --> 00:24:36,100 Love is a choice on your part. 500 00:24:36,310 --> 00:24:39,310 You can choose to stoke a fire for your favorite baseball team. 501 00:24:39,310 --> 00:24:42,820 Maybe you're a Cubs fan and you're really admin adamant about loving and 502 00:24:42,820 --> 00:24:46,810 stoking the fire for the Cubs or the Cowboys or whatever else you're into. 503 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:50,350 You choose your affections and you make your affections the 504 00:24:50,350 --> 00:24:51,610 vehicle that drives your life. 505 00:24:52,419 --> 00:24:54,010 In many ways it's a chosen vehicle. 506 00:24:54,010 --> 00:24:58,179 So thinking, feeling, and then finally, the deciding or the choosing. 507 00:24:58,330 --> 00:24:59,590 Your heart does all three. 508 00:24:59,590 --> 00:25:01,209 It chooses what to do. 509 00:25:01,209 --> 00:25:02,260 It's called your will. 510 00:25:02,409 --> 00:25:05,139 You choose what time to wake up, you choose what clothes to wear, 511 00:25:05,350 --> 00:25:07,060 you choose how to spend your money. 512 00:25:07,060 --> 00:25:09,969 In all of those activities, the thinking, feeling, and choosing 513 00:25:10,149 --> 00:25:12,040 make up the inner person. 514 00:25:12,399 --> 00:25:13,480 The totality of it. 515 00:25:13,870 --> 00:25:18,639 So when scripture says to keep your heart, it's really saying guard your character. 516 00:25:18,639 --> 00:25:19,540 Guard your person. 517 00:25:19,719 --> 00:25:23,500 Make sure you do this because you want to be vigilant, because everything else 518 00:25:23,500 --> 00:25:29,709 about you will stem from the quality of your heart and how receptive it is 519 00:25:29,740 --> 00:25:31,719 to God's promptings, to God's movings. 520 00:25:32,290 --> 00:25:34,990 So you have the, the whats, the how and the why. 521 00:25:35,379 --> 00:25:39,610 Uh, our, our job is to make sure that we are giving our best attention to the word. 522 00:25:40,195 --> 00:25:44,065 Because the word is what's going to inform us, instruct us, and change us. 523 00:25:44,365 --> 00:25:48,715 This weekend, you have an opportunity to do exactly that, to approach 524 00:25:48,715 --> 00:25:50,455 God and say, Lord, how's my heart? 525 00:25:50,754 --> 00:25:51,565 How am I doing? 526 00:25:52,105 --> 00:25:53,245 How's my walk with you? 527 00:25:53,245 --> 00:25:54,024 How's my marriage? 528 00:25:54,024 --> 00:25:54,835 How's my parenting? 529 00:25:54,835 --> 00:25:55,825 How's my working? 530 00:25:56,274 --> 00:25:58,165 Is my, is my serving my employer? 531 00:25:58,165 --> 00:25:58,735 Am I doing that? 532 00:25:58,735 --> 00:26:01,825 As a Christian, would you have the opportunity to examine 533 00:26:01,825 --> 00:26:03,565 yourself in terms of your own sin? 534 00:26:03,565 --> 00:26:05,274 Is there a sin that I've, I think, confessed. 535 00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:09,909 Is there an area where I perpetually and continually fall short, and 536 00:26:09,909 --> 00:26:13,090 maybe there's an explanation for that, that God wants me to see? 537 00:26:13,450 --> 00:26:16,450 Is there, uh, something that's weighing me down or distracting me? 538 00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:20,710 Is there a part of my life that consumes me and causes me to yearn for other things 539 00:26:20,710 --> 00:26:22,030 that, that God would not approve of? 540 00:26:22,540 --> 00:26:24,790 Here's another one I've dealt with in youth ministry all the time. 541 00:26:25,120 --> 00:26:26,200 Am I apathetic at all? 542 00:26:26,860 --> 00:26:30,280 Do I have a blase attitude toward the things of God? 543 00:26:30,970 --> 00:26:34,030 Am I growing colder instead of hotter? 544 00:26:34,030 --> 00:26:35,199 We've all had seasons of this. 545 00:26:35,199 --> 00:26:38,830 Even Christians can go through seasons where we experience a dulling or 546 00:26:38,919 --> 00:26:41,919 a diminishing of our passion and our, and our yearning for the Lord. 547 00:26:42,850 --> 00:26:43,840 Maybe you're in that season. 548 00:26:44,709 --> 00:26:46,000 There's ways to go out of that. 549 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:47,169 In fact, ways to go through that. 550 00:26:48,399 --> 00:26:49,600 Give your best attention to the word. 551 00:26:49,629 --> 00:26:51,340 Your heart needs this, it demands this. 552 00:26:52,540 --> 00:26:53,500 That being the case, then. 553 00:26:54,024 --> 00:26:57,985 As we look at this, uh, let me just encourage you from Acts chapter 17, 554 00:26:57,985 --> 00:27:01,344 verse 11, if we're gonna give scripture our best attention, if we're gonna 555 00:27:01,344 --> 00:27:05,034 give God our best attention, uh, notice how the Bereans act in verse. 556 00:27:06,054 --> 00:27:09,534 11 of chapter 17, they received the word from the, from the 557 00:27:09,534 --> 00:27:10,914 Apostle Paul as he was preaching. 558 00:27:10,914 --> 00:27:12,714 He was, uh, going on his missionary journeys. 559 00:27:13,044 --> 00:27:14,754 They received the word with all eagerness. 560 00:27:14,844 --> 00:27:17,664 They examine the scriptures daily to see if these things that he's saying 561 00:27:17,664 --> 00:27:19,404 were so, there was too easy here. 562 00:27:19,404 --> 00:27:21,624 Notice this eagerness and examination. 563 00:27:22,104 --> 00:27:25,314 There's an eagerness of receptivity to the word that says, yes, I need this. 564 00:27:25,314 --> 00:27:26,154 Give me this. 565 00:27:26,544 --> 00:27:28,614 And then once they got it, they didn't just swallow it 566 00:27:28,614 --> 00:27:30,294 wholesale, they examined it. 567 00:27:30,954 --> 00:27:32,094 They meditated upon it. 568 00:27:32,094 --> 00:27:33,834 They thought about it, they engaged with it. 569 00:27:34,044 --> 00:27:36,294 They looked at the scriptures, they looked at the cross references. 570 00:27:36,294 --> 00:27:39,114 They opened up their Bible and says, let me make sure that this is true. 571 00:27:39,235 --> 00:27:41,304 Let me give, let me give God my attention here. 572 00:27:41,964 --> 00:27:45,054 And so we see things from these guys that are really helpful. 573 00:27:47,034 --> 00:27:49,344 We see things from them that help us to understand. 574 00:27:50,439 --> 00:27:51,759 No, that's not, that shouldn't be there. 575 00:27:51,850 --> 00:27:52,090 Okay? 576 00:27:52,239 --> 00:27:54,909 We see from them things that we, we should, we should examine 577 00:27:54,939 --> 00:27:56,110 because we want to be the same. 578 00:27:56,499 --> 00:27:59,259 So at the very minimum, now, when we think about the way that we approach 579 00:27:59,259 --> 00:28:02,289 the word, whether it's in privates, in your own Bible time, or whether it's 580 00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:05,979 corporate gatherings like this, this means that when you approach the word, it's 581 00:28:05,979 --> 00:28:07,509 really important that you come hungry. 582 00:28:07,870 --> 00:28:10,779 It's really important that you get yourself ready, that you prepare 583 00:28:10,779 --> 00:28:12,129 your heart to receive the word. 584 00:28:12,580 --> 00:28:16,509 Remember the path, the word bounces off and the birds come 585 00:28:16,509 --> 00:28:17,529 down and just take it away. 586 00:28:18,999 --> 00:28:23,559 The path is a hard heart that's practiced at being resistant. 587 00:28:24,039 --> 00:28:24,879 Think about that. 588 00:28:24,939 --> 00:28:27,699 The path has had practice at being resistant. 589 00:28:27,699 --> 00:28:28,659 It's pushed down. 590 00:28:28,749 --> 00:28:33,639 It's given repeated attempts to respond, and yet because of the foot traffic and 591 00:28:33,639 --> 00:28:37,899 because of the constant pressing down, the path grows hard, it's practiced. 592 00:28:38,679 --> 00:28:41,349 The same thing can be true for the way that the tender 593 00:28:41,349 --> 00:28:42,699 heart responds to God's word. 594 00:28:42,699 --> 00:28:44,799 It is a practiced receptivity. 595 00:28:45,969 --> 00:28:47,559 It's practice, it's habitual. 596 00:28:47,889 --> 00:28:51,309 It is a choice on your part to receive the word with tenderness, 597 00:28:51,370 --> 00:28:54,639 with reception, and to say, God, I want to be changed by your word. 598 00:28:54,639 --> 00:28:55,299 Challenge me. 599 00:28:56,019 --> 00:28:59,289 So when you open up your Bible in the morning, maybe half the battle is you 600 00:28:59,289 --> 00:29:02,409 just taking your heart to prayer and saying, Lord, I'm gonna open your word. 601 00:29:02,409 --> 00:29:03,279 I want to feed from it. 602 00:29:03,699 --> 00:29:06,909 Change me, challenge me, confront me. 603 00:29:07,899 --> 00:29:11,649 Open my heart, Lord, if I need heart surgery, get in there 604 00:29:11,649 --> 00:29:12,999 and do whatever you need to do. 605 00:29:13,044 --> 00:29:13,104 You. 606 00:29:13,914 --> 00:29:18,054 I need you more than I need my next paycheck, more than I need the next 607 00:29:18,054 --> 00:29:19,344 breath that comes into my lungs. 608 00:29:19,344 --> 00:29:20,215 I need you, Lord. 609 00:29:20,215 --> 00:29:21,324 Please open my eyes. 610 00:29:21,955 --> 00:29:22,975 I'm reading through Leviticus. 611 00:29:22,975 --> 00:29:24,685 Lord, I don't understand half of what I'm reading. 612 00:29:24,745 --> 00:29:28,374 Please help me open my heart to receive what I need to get from your word. 613 00:29:29,004 --> 00:29:30,414 Show up to the Lord. 614 00:29:31,104 --> 00:29:31,675 Pray it up. 615 00:29:32,094 --> 00:29:35,544 Show up to the Lord whenever you have opportunity in the word, give 616 00:29:35,544 --> 00:29:37,104 your best energy, not your leftovers. 617 00:29:37,284 --> 00:29:38,124 This is so critical. 618 00:29:38,394 --> 00:29:40,289 One of the things I learned about marriage is that when I get home. 619 00:29:41,254 --> 00:29:42,100 I'm, I'm tired. 620 00:29:42,459 --> 00:29:45,189 Um, and especially if I've had counseling appointments and I've talked to, you 621 00:29:45,189 --> 00:29:48,550 know, this person for this thing and this person, I'm just emotionally exhausted. 622 00:29:48,850 --> 00:29:50,979 Um, I'm physically just kind of antsy 'cause I've been sitting 623 00:29:50,979 --> 00:29:52,600 down for hours when I get home. 624 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:55,989 I'm just not ready to engage with my wife or my kids. 625 00:29:56,199 --> 00:29:58,810 You know, I'm, I get there, I'm kind, I'm still on work mode. 626 00:29:58,810 --> 00:30:00,850 I put my stuff down on the counter on the How's the day? 627 00:30:00,850 --> 00:30:01,330 Oh, is good. 628 00:30:01,330 --> 00:30:03,399 You know, we're working on things and, and then I'm just kind of 629 00:30:03,399 --> 00:30:06,129 in this strange mode where Chris is like, are you, are you okay? 630 00:30:06,129 --> 00:30:06,729 Is everything around? 631 00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:07,419 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 632 00:30:07,419 --> 00:30:08,590 Yes, yes, yes. 633 00:30:08,590 --> 00:30:08,949 I'm here. 634 00:30:08,979 --> 00:30:09,580 I'm here now. 635 00:30:10,135 --> 00:30:11,365 I'm just not ready for that. 636 00:30:11,485 --> 00:30:14,004 So I've learned that one of the things I have to do when I get home is I have 637 00:30:14,004 --> 00:30:17,845 to stay in my garage and just pray for just a, a few minutes at most to say, 638 00:30:17,845 --> 00:30:19,945 Lord, I, I, I need to put on my dad hat. 639 00:30:20,575 --> 00:30:21,865 I'm, I'm wearing my pastor hat. 640 00:30:21,865 --> 00:30:25,764 I'm thinking about the problems, you know, for Bob and for Jim and for Susie. 641 00:30:25,764 --> 00:30:28,165 And I'm thinking about their issues and what's that's gonna, what that's 642 00:30:28,165 --> 00:30:30,925 gonna apply for us, and whether or not this thing needs to be changed. 643 00:30:31,675 --> 00:30:32,935 I need to commit that to the Lord. 644 00:30:33,579 --> 00:30:36,969 And I need to give God my best energy in the same way that I come home 645 00:30:36,969 --> 00:30:39,729 and I wanna give my family my best energy, at least for what I have. 646 00:30:40,719 --> 00:30:44,349 God is a person and he relates to you in much the same way. 647 00:30:44,349 --> 00:30:46,479 It's, it's often you who are fluctuating. 648 00:30:46,569 --> 00:30:49,389 You're the one who's, uh, who's going up and down, left and right. 649 00:30:50,604 --> 00:30:51,519 I want you to show up. 650 00:30:51,579 --> 00:30:52,239 I want you to be there. 651 00:30:52,239 --> 00:30:55,089 I want you to come hungry, and I want you to put pride away. 652 00:30:55,089 --> 00:30:56,919 Let the word do its work so often. 653 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:00,040 It's our own resistance to God. 654 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:01,000 It's our own distraction. 655 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:01,689 It's our own pride. 656 00:31:01,689 --> 00:31:02,830 I don't want you to change my life. 657 00:31:02,830 --> 00:31:03,909 God, I like my life the way it is. 658 00:31:03,909 --> 00:31:05,379 I like the amount of money that I make. 659 00:31:05,379 --> 00:31:06,520 I like the job that I have. 660 00:31:06,699 --> 00:31:08,050 I like the number of kids that I have. 661 00:31:08,169 --> 00:31:09,850 I like the way I spend my free time. 662 00:31:09,969 --> 00:31:12,250 I don't want you to, and, and crouch upon that Lord. 663 00:31:13,090 --> 00:31:19,689 Um, the, the right heart before God is the kind of heart that says, do do damage. 664 00:31:19,689 --> 00:31:23,770 Lord do, do some holy violence on my life. 665 00:31:24,594 --> 00:31:27,024 And brothers, I, I, I know this kind of mentality. 666 00:31:27,024 --> 00:31:28,074 This is not natural. 667 00:31:28,495 --> 00:31:31,735 Even for a lot of Christians, we, we like sermons that they're 668 00:31:31,735 --> 00:31:32,904 edifying, they're encouraging. 669 00:31:32,904 --> 00:31:35,634 Maybe I know the Bible a little better, but we really don't want a whole lot of 670 00:31:35,634 --> 00:31:37,945 stepping on our toes and God is gracious. 671 00:31:37,945 --> 00:31:39,144 And then he doesn't do this all at once. 672 00:31:39,144 --> 00:31:42,624 But I would love for you to see that your heart has to be prayed up or 673 00:31:42,624 --> 00:31:45,354 ready to engage with this word and to say, Lord, do your worst to me. 674 00:31:46,495 --> 00:31:50,455 Do your whatever is necessary for you to be glorified and for me to love people 675 00:31:50,455 --> 00:31:52,434 the way I'm supposed to do whatever. 676 00:31:52,824 --> 00:31:53,604 It's all on the table. 677 00:31:54,310 --> 00:31:56,110 Dangerous thing to pray, but the right thing to pray. 678 00:31:56,469 --> 00:31:57,969 The path doesn't do this. 679 00:31:57,969 --> 00:31:59,169 The path is proud. 680 00:31:59,259 --> 00:32:00,310 The path was resistant. 681 00:32:00,370 --> 00:32:01,659 The path is practiced. 682 00:32:01,659 --> 00:32:03,009 Unre receptivity you. 683 00:32:03,009 --> 00:32:05,199 On the other hand, you show up with your best. 684 00:32:05,259 --> 00:32:07,719 You're giving God your heart, your soul, your mind. 685 00:32:07,719 --> 00:32:09,820 You're saying, God, I want you to do whatever you want to do to 686 00:32:09,820 --> 00:32:11,739 me, so help me, please change me. 687 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:14,560 I want to be like Christ, whatever the cost. 688 00:32:17,949 --> 00:32:21,249 Man, if only it were so easy just to open your Bible and say, man, I'm changed. 689 00:32:21,249 --> 00:32:22,120 Things are just happening. 690 00:32:22,479 --> 00:32:24,039 But we know that it's more than that. 691 00:32:24,879 --> 00:32:27,489 Here's the challenging part, and this is the part that I didn't 692 00:32:27,489 --> 00:32:29,860 cover for you yet, but this is why I think it's one of the scariest. 693 00:32:30,009 --> 00:32:30,729 Verse 15. 694 00:32:31,989 --> 00:32:37,330 When the path hears, this is the, the, the, the first heart compressed. 695 00:32:37,330 --> 00:32:38,889 Compacted resistant. 696 00:32:39,100 --> 00:32:44,560 When they hear someone steps in and immediately comes and takes away the word. 697 00:32:47,725 --> 00:32:51,534 The devil is participating in the act of your hearing. 698 00:32:52,465 --> 00:32:55,794 Now, whether it's him personally or whether it's his minions, I don't 699 00:32:55,794 --> 00:32:57,384 think we need to argue much about that. 700 00:32:57,804 --> 00:33:01,044 Satan could be personally responsible for some of you, sure. 701 00:33:01,344 --> 00:33:05,424 But it's probably more likely that he's simply utilizing his resources, 702 00:33:05,544 --> 00:33:08,394 his demonic hordes, along with the distraction that the world offers. 703 00:33:08,394 --> 00:33:09,564 Remember the world, the flesh, and the devil. 704 00:33:09,564 --> 00:33:10,854 Those are all three working against you. 705 00:33:10,914 --> 00:33:12,624 Here we highlight the devil's activity. 706 00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:18,370 Which tells us here that what's happening when you hear the word is more than simply 707 00:33:18,370 --> 00:33:22,570 your, the, the follicles in your ears or the little hairs in your ears wiggling as 708 00:33:22,570 --> 00:33:24,100 my voice is transmitted through the air. 709 00:33:24,219 --> 00:33:26,709 No, there's actually things happening all around us right 710 00:33:26,709 --> 00:33:27,850 now that we can't even see. 711 00:33:27,999 --> 00:33:31,570 It's kind of like Elisha, as he prays for his servant to have eyes, to see 712 00:33:31,659 --> 00:33:35,110 his eyes are open, he sees, oh man, there's hordes of people around us and 713 00:33:35,110 --> 00:33:38,949 there's an angelic army even further beyond them who are here to protect us. 714 00:33:39,834 --> 00:33:42,294 There is spiritual warfare happening, and that's why point number three is 715 00:33:42,294 --> 00:33:45,594 that you need to recognize that the act of listening is spiritual warfare. 716 00:33:45,924 --> 00:33:49,134 Your hearing, your reading, your intaking of the word of 717 00:33:49,134 --> 00:33:51,414 God is not a neutral activity. 718 00:33:52,584 --> 00:33:54,834 Therefore, you gotta be ready. 719 00:33:55,824 --> 00:33:59,245 The enemy wants to interrupt your reception. 720 00:34:00,714 --> 00:34:03,234 There's this thing called a, a jamer, a jamming device. 721 00:34:03,609 --> 00:34:06,879 Where you can plug it into the, I mean these raspberry pies and all these 722 00:34:06,879 --> 00:34:11,168 cool devices, you can plug in a jamer and it can jam different signals, 723 00:34:11,168 --> 00:34:13,120 cell phone signals, Bluetooth signals. 724 00:34:13,418 --> 00:34:16,509 I kind of want one just for the office when I'm getting, when I'm being irritated 725 00:34:16,509 --> 00:34:18,279 by people's music is turn it off. 726 00:34:18,609 --> 00:34:22,120 If I don't like what's happening is turn the computer off someday, maybe. 727 00:34:22,748 --> 00:34:24,489 Um, but now I let them know my strategy. 728 00:34:24,489 --> 00:34:24,969 I don't wanna do that. 729 00:34:26,049 --> 00:34:29,708 Listening, hearing has all kinds of potential interruptions. 730 00:34:30,188 --> 00:34:34,478 And if we're not aware, we can find ourselves quickly, un unaware that 731 00:34:34,478 --> 00:34:36,129 we're being accosted by the enemy. 732 00:34:36,339 --> 00:34:37,089 None the wiser. 733 00:34:38,199 --> 00:34:38,859 Even right now. 734 00:34:38,918 --> 00:34:40,629 Even right now, and I'm, this is not self-serving. 735 00:34:40,629 --> 00:34:43,149 I'm not trying to make you listen to me better, but even right now, some of 736 00:34:43,149 --> 00:34:47,379 you are being tempted just to, to think about anything else, because the act of 737 00:34:47,379 --> 00:34:49,719 your listening is spiritually engaged. 738 00:34:50,498 --> 00:34:51,819 It is spiritually charged. 739 00:34:52,089 --> 00:34:56,409 You have an opposition of foe that wants to steal the, the word 740 00:34:56,409 --> 00:34:59,140 that was sown in you so that you walk away from this unchanged. 741 00:34:59,259 --> 00:35:01,180 You go back home and your wife is like, you're the same. 742 00:35:01,629 --> 00:35:04,509 Your kids don't find you any more like Christ, your wife finds you. 743 00:35:04,509 --> 00:35:07,720 No more self-sacrificing or no more authentic in your leadership. 744 00:35:07,899 --> 00:35:12,999 Your church finds you no less godly, no less mature in your faith, and that's 745 00:35:12,999 --> 00:35:15,009 the devil taking the word out of you. 746 00:35:15,220 --> 00:35:16,779 He's really good at this guys. 747 00:35:17,170 --> 00:35:19,540 We know this because we've heard countless sermons. 748 00:35:19,540 --> 00:35:22,660 We've read the Bible and can't we all say, man, this is, I should 749 00:35:22,660 --> 00:35:23,770 be further along than I am. 750 00:35:24,460 --> 00:35:26,049 I should be godlier than I am right now. 751 00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:29,020 This, the act of listening is spiritual warfare. 752 00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:30,279 We gotta be aware of that. 753 00:35:31,540 --> 00:35:35,290 People who receive the word Satan intervenes doesn't take root. 754 00:35:35,799 --> 00:35:37,570 The compaction makes it really hard. 755 00:35:40,509 --> 00:35:44,230 I just, you gotta anticipate demonic distraction when you engage with the word. 756 00:35:44,920 --> 00:35:48,190 When you're interacting with the word of God, anytime you need to 757 00:35:48,190 --> 00:35:50,800 recognize it's not neutral ground, um, 758 00:35:52,900 --> 00:35:57,370 you really would do well to learn from the tactics that have worked on you. 759 00:35:58,180 --> 00:36:00,970 One of the tactics, I I suspect that for a lot of you, especially on a Sunday 760 00:36:00,970 --> 00:36:02,980 afternoon, is, Hey, aren't you hungry Now? 761 00:36:03,279 --> 00:36:05,259 Your stomach gurgling is probably not an accident. 762 00:36:05,350 --> 00:36:07,540 Your accident, the devil knows that you're hungry. 763 00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:10,360 He would love to distract you from that third point that Pastor Pete is making. 764 00:36:10,930 --> 00:36:12,220 Maybe it's his most important point. 765 00:36:12,714 --> 00:36:14,544 And it's the point that he's like, Hey, I need you to hear this. 766 00:36:14,544 --> 00:36:15,984 And, and then your stomach's gurgling. 767 00:36:15,984 --> 00:36:17,874 You're like, you know what, Hutchins does sound good today. 768 00:36:20,154 --> 00:36:22,944 For some of you, it might be like myself. 769 00:36:22,944 --> 00:36:25,734 Maybe your notifications, you not learn to turn them off yet, so you get 770 00:36:25,734 --> 00:36:29,154 something from the boss or you something else about the, you know, the, the team 771 00:36:29,154 --> 00:36:33,475 that's playing later on, there's all sorts of things the devil could use. 772 00:36:34,734 --> 00:36:37,615 You need to be prepared and to anticipate demonic distraction 773 00:36:37,615 --> 00:36:39,024 into actively resist it. 774 00:36:39,024 --> 00:36:41,725 And speaking of by that, by the way, uh, one of the things that we need 775 00:36:41,725 --> 00:36:46,705 to do is aggressively focus, um, fighting for paying attention to God 776 00:36:46,705 --> 00:36:47,845 and paying attention to his word. 777 00:36:48,955 --> 00:36:51,595 As Angelo said, this could be one of the most important weekends of your 778 00:36:51,595 --> 00:36:53,995 life, but I could say that whenever you open your Bible, it could be 779 00:36:53,995 --> 00:36:56,395 one of the most important mornings or afternoons, or evenings of your 780 00:36:56,395 --> 00:36:58,944 life whenever you open it, because God has something to say to you. 781 00:37:00,144 --> 00:37:02,754 But it's often because we're tired, we're distracted, we're hungry, 782 00:37:02,754 --> 00:37:05,424 we're we're, whatever else we find ourselves drifting and not giving 783 00:37:05,424 --> 00:37:06,475 it the attention it deserves. 784 00:37:07,914 --> 00:37:09,924 We need to aggressively give our best to the Lord. 785 00:37:10,495 --> 00:37:12,564 Do aggressively focus on what, what's happening. 786 00:37:13,975 --> 00:37:16,825 One of the things I miss about California is that there was this particular place 787 00:37:16,825 --> 00:37:18,115 that my family and I used to like hiking. 788 00:37:18,115 --> 00:37:19,254 It was called Whiting Ranch. 789 00:37:19,734 --> 00:37:20,995 Uh, Whiting Ranch is beautiful. 790 00:37:21,504 --> 00:37:22,404 Um, picturesque. 791 00:37:22,434 --> 00:37:23,484 I mean, it's some of the best. 792 00:37:24,115 --> 00:37:26,455 Scenery that California has to offer, uh, at least that 793 00:37:26,905 --> 00:37:28,075 part, part, part of California. 794 00:37:28,525 --> 00:37:32,155 Uh, but we got used to these regular reportings of mountain lion sightings. 795 00:37:32,695 --> 00:37:35,125 Um, there was one that used to live in that area, so he was constantly 796 00:37:35,125 --> 00:37:37,345 kind of around, but I never knew. 797 00:37:37,345 --> 00:37:39,595 I, I would always see like, oh man, there's a mountain lion. 798 00:37:39,595 --> 00:37:41,545 And so Kristen and the kids would hike all the time and I would 799 00:37:41,545 --> 00:37:44,695 tell 'em, Hey, be very careful, please, or maybe don't go today. 800 00:37:44,695 --> 00:37:46,675 You know, I heard there's a mountain lion siding there, please. 801 00:37:47,334 --> 00:37:48,384 You know, be beware. 802 00:37:48,774 --> 00:37:54,444 On a few occasions we went together and as dad, I, I'm, I'm on high alert, I 803 00:37:54,444 --> 00:37:56,995 can enjoy the scenery and I can enjoy, you know, oh, this is a great trail. 804 00:37:56,995 --> 00:37:58,825 But now every twig cracking. 805 00:37:58,825 --> 00:38:01,345 I'm looking, you know, I'm taking my least favorite kid. 806 00:38:01,345 --> 00:38:02,035 I say, go look. 807 00:38:03,265 --> 00:38:03,624 Just kidding. 808 00:38:03,714 --> 00:38:04,044 Just kidding. 809 00:38:04,555 --> 00:38:05,154 Never did that. 810 00:38:07,490 --> 00:38:10,345 I don't know what I'm paying attention. 811 00:38:10,524 --> 00:38:13,674 If I, if I hear movement, if I see a shadow, I'm looking, I'm careful. 812 00:38:13,674 --> 00:38:14,754 I want to know what's happening. 813 00:38:15,445 --> 00:38:18,475 We're still having a good time, but I was also man, kids, stay close. 814 00:38:18,505 --> 00:38:19,045 Stay close. 815 00:38:19,045 --> 00:38:20,395 I don't want you to get too far ahead of me. 816 00:38:20,395 --> 00:38:21,685 I don't want you to be too far up behind me. 817 00:38:21,955 --> 00:38:24,835 I remember this awful story where one kid actually did get taken by a mountain 818 00:38:24,835 --> 00:38:26,605 lion, so, oh, I'm on my A game here. 819 00:38:28,285 --> 00:38:33,265 When you realize that the path that you're on, that an actual legitimate 820 00:38:33,265 --> 00:38:36,805 threat against your life and the life of those you love, you take notice. 821 00:38:37,345 --> 00:38:41,064 You stand up straighter, you go on high alert and you walk that path with a, 822 00:38:41,095 --> 00:38:44,754 with a cute awareness, man, I gotta be on my A game, not only for me, but for the 823 00:38:44,754 --> 00:38:47,274 people that depend upon me to lead them. 824 00:38:48,024 --> 00:38:48,504 You know what I'm saying? 825 00:38:48,504 --> 00:38:52,524 Brothers, you got people in your life who are depending on you to lead 826 00:38:52,524 --> 00:38:57,115 them, to care for them to provide a covering for them spiritually. 827 00:38:57,714 --> 00:38:59,785 And sometimes we're walking the path like, oh, it's just a, it is 828 00:38:59,785 --> 00:39:01,165 just a walk in in Whiting Ranch. 829 00:39:01,165 --> 00:39:02,004 It's a beautiful day. 830 00:39:02,214 --> 00:39:04,314 I know there's mountain Lions, but hey, they're probably fine. 831 00:39:04,314 --> 00:39:05,245 They don't have anything to do with us. 832 00:39:05,259 --> 00:39:06,970 And we gotta be on our A game. 833 00:39:06,970 --> 00:39:08,259 We gotta pay close attention. 834 00:39:08,680 --> 00:39:11,740 We gotta make sure that we are not the path, we're not the hard heart 835 00:39:11,740 --> 00:39:12,910 resisting to what God's doing. 836 00:39:13,120 --> 00:39:17,259 We need to be more sensitive and more engaged with the word because 837 00:39:17,259 --> 00:39:18,999 people depend upon us to lead them. 838 00:39:19,749 --> 00:39:24,069 Your church needs you to step up your game to be spiritually aware and 839 00:39:24,069 --> 00:39:26,620 sensitive, not hardhearted, not compact. 840 00:39:27,339 --> 00:39:31,089 To be easily edified by the word, to be receptive, to be welcoming 841 00:39:31,089 --> 00:39:33,609 of the word, to do its damage and to say, yes, Lord, please help me. 842 00:39:34,285 --> 00:39:38,875 Because I need this and my people, whoever they are, my people, they need this. 843 00:39:39,385 --> 00:39:43,435 And so the, the, the park ranger, when he says, Hey, mountain lion alert, 844 00:39:43,435 --> 00:39:44,695 he's not saying don't walk the path. 845 00:39:45,265 --> 00:39:46,705 He's saying, walk with awareness. 846 00:39:47,095 --> 00:39:49,105 Be aware of what the dangers are. 847 00:39:49,345 --> 00:39:52,075 And men, the dangers, when you open your Bible, when you listen 848 00:39:52,075 --> 00:39:53,935 to a sermon, they're not neutral. 849 00:39:54,715 --> 00:39:56,335 They're actively at war against you. 850 00:39:57,310 --> 00:40:01,029 Session one's about you being aware and making sure that you know the parable. 851 00:40:01,120 --> 00:40:02,110 It has two functions. 852 00:40:02,115 --> 00:40:04,240 It reveals against, in fact, let me, let me, my summary. 853 00:40:04,569 --> 00:40:06,115 The parable has two functions, reveals and conceals. 854 00:40:06,819 --> 00:40:08,709 And then our job then is to expect the word, we're gonna 855 00:40:08,709 --> 00:40:09,669 be challenged by the word. 856 00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:11,919 And when God does that, he's not saying Don't come near. 857 00:40:11,919 --> 00:40:12,939 He's saying Lean in. 858 00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:13,390 Lean in. 859 00:40:13,390 --> 00:40:14,830 Draw near push. 860 00:40:14,859 --> 00:40:15,850 Don't give up. 861 00:40:16,180 --> 00:40:17,680 You gotta guard your heart and come hungry. 862 00:40:17,770 --> 00:40:18,910 You're gonna be exposed to the word. 863 00:40:18,910 --> 00:40:22,629 The word is spread to everybody, but exposure's not the same thing as reception 864 00:40:22,750 --> 00:40:26,529 is not the same thing as examining and eagerly saying, give me more of the word. 865 00:40:26,649 --> 00:40:30,580 And then finally, we gotta recognize that when we hear we have an active opposition 866 00:40:30,580 --> 00:40:34,810 in our, in our mutual enemy, the devil and his minions, who would love for us. 867 00:40:34,884 --> 00:40:38,995 To hear the word in a walkaway unchanged, what a victory that would be for him. 868 00:40:39,084 --> 00:40:41,964 You get to feel good because he went to church, and yet at the same time, 869 00:40:41,964 --> 00:40:43,374 he's like, Nope, you're not doing that. 870 00:40:43,374 --> 00:40:44,305 I'm taking that away. 871 00:40:45,294 --> 00:40:46,285 We gotta be on our A game. 872 00:40:47,575 --> 00:40:47,845 Why? 873 00:40:47,845 --> 00:40:49,825 Because the condition of your heart determines the fruitfulness 874 00:40:49,825 --> 00:40:53,154 of your, your response and your heart's response to the word of God. 875 00:40:53,634 --> 00:40:57,384 It's so easily drifted and resistant to him. 876 00:40:57,984 --> 00:41:01,345 Even as Christians, we gotta work at being soft, supple. 877 00:41:01,584 --> 00:41:04,285 To the word of God this weekend, I pray that you would do exactly that. 878 00:41:04,584 --> 00:41:08,004 You're gonna hear three more sermons, and again, in its span about 24 hours, it's 879 00:41:08,004 --> 00:41:09,234 gonna get easier for you to check out. 880 00:41:09,234 --> 00:41:10,044 Don't want you to do that. 881 00:41:10,375 --> 00:41:11,634 Your pastors have been praying for you. 882 00:41:11,634 --> 00:41:13,765 We think this is the right series at the right time for you. 883 00:41:13,765 --> 00:41:16,584 We love you guys and we're really looking forward to exploring 884 00:41:16,584 --> 00:41:18,265 these next three soils with you. 885 00:41:18,564 --> 00:41:21,115 Come ready, uh, I'm gonna pray for us and then I'll give you the 886 00:41:21,115 --> 00:41:22,075 instructions for the next thing. 887 00:41:22,075 --> 00:41:23,935 We got dinner next, and then we're gonna come back soon 888 00:41:23,935 --> 00:41:25,915 after that for our next session. 889 00:41:26,004 --> 00:41:26,424 Let's pray. 890 00:41:27,714 --> 00:41:30,774 God, we do ask that you would help us now to respond the right way. 891 00:41:33,309 --> 00:41:38,169 Lord, it's easy for us and even for more easy, easier because we're training 892 00:41:38,169 --> 00:41:42,249 ourselves to be easily distracted, to find ourselves drifting from the 893 00:41:42,249 --> 00:41:45,970 most important thing in our life, which is our relationship with you. 894 00:41:46,809 --> 00:41:50,410 Your word says that we're to love you with our heart, our soul, our 895 00:41:50,410 --> 00:41:52,930 mind, and our strength, which is to say, to love you with everything. 896 00:41:54,009 --> 00:41:58,359 And sometimes God, if we're honest, maybe even many times, we only give 897 00:41:58,359 --> 00:42:00,609 you a fraction of those things. 898 00:42:02,350 --> 00:42:04,060 Lord, you, you, you need to help us. 899 00:42:04,330 --> 00:42:07,629 Please give us awareness of why this matters. 900 00:42:07,629 --> 00:42:10,900 Give us awareness that our hearts have to be protected and guarded so that 901 00:42:10,900 --> 00:42:12,520 they respond to you the way they should. 902 00:42:13,900 --> 00:42:15,069 We can't take it for granted. 903 00:42:15,580 --> 00:42:18,430 We can't export it to somebody else to make it their responsibility. 904 00:42:19,210 --> 00:42:24,129 We have to take ownership and responsibility to draw near to you 905 00:42:24,129 --> 00:42:28,690 with tender hearts, to have the kind of receptivity and the responsiveness. 906 00:42:29,049 --> 00:42:29,980 That would please you Lord. 907 00:42:29,980 --> 00:42:32,470 And, and to the degree that we do this, we will grow. 908 00:42:33,009 --> 00:42:34,990 We will see a harvest of fruitfulness. 909 00:42:36,100 --> 00:42:39,549 Lord, help us to not be path like hearts hard. 910 00:42:40,629 --> 00:42:42,129 Rejecting the word that you give. 911 00:42:43,450 --> 00:42:49,120 Standing over it, judging it, criticizing it, Lord, make us humble and hungry. 912 00:42:49,120 --> 00:42:51,609 Men who love your word, ready to receive it. 913 00:42:52,089 --> 00:42:55,180 Lord, help our hearts to be conditioned to be soft and tender 914 00:42:55,180 --> 00:42:56,980 before you tender before the word. 915 00:42:58,015 --> 00:43:01,164 And in that way, Lord, grow us so that we might bring you great glory. 916 00:43:02,124 --> 00:43:02,964 We thank you for this. 917 00:43:03,174 --> 00:43:05,064 In Jesus' name, amen. 918 00:43:06,265 --> 00:43:06,805 Okay, amen. 919 00:43:06,805 --> 00:43:07,944 Next up we have dinner. 920 00:43:07,944 --> 00:43:09,504 Dinner's gonna be at the building right behind.