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Speaker: Well, thank you
again then for being here.

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We're honored to do what we do as
pastors and we don't take lightly.

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But what's happening here, we don't
take lightly the fact that you're here

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dedicating time and that you are, uh,
doing this, besides doing almost anything

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else that you might do on a Saturday.

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We're enormously thankful for your
participation and your attention, and

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we think that this is gonna be one
of those messages, these sermons, at

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least this set of sermons can be some
of those messages that really make

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an impact on your life, not only this
week, but on the weekends to come,

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hopefully even when you go back home.

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One of the things that
I prayed for all of you.

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Though differently is that the
people that sent you on your way,

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the people that allowed you to come,
would notice that you are different.

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That you are improved and increased in
your love for God and your love for them,

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and that the way that you care about
them would look discernibly different.

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And I can assure you that if you
were to take these sermons and put

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them into work, you would in fact
find yourself operating differently.

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When we looked at the parable
of the soils, we recognize it.

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Uh, there's four different kinds of
hearts that the word of God lands on.

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And these four different kinds of
hearts, uh, are, are often hard for

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us to discern, at least in the moment.

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In session one, we talked about the
kind of path heart, the hard soil

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that rejects the word outright.

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This is the kind of person, uh, who
Satan snatches the word from their

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heart that never has a chance to even
make any changes because the word

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is immediately taken in session two.

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Uh, pastor PJ preached about
the rocky soil in Matthew 13.

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He warned us about the deception of
the shallow and untested faith that

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looks alive at first, but withers
under trials and persecutions.

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This kind of heart is gonna be the kind
of heart that everybody goes through, but

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this heart just doesn't have the stamina
or the will to survive to keep going.

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Um, actually, lemme
give you this one here.

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The third one that we looked at
from Pastor Mark this morning, he

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preached about the thorny soil.

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And, and Luke, which we're gonna look
at again, he warned about the worldly

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anxieties, riches, and pleasures that
can choke out the life that ha appears.

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And instead that we should give our
attention and energy to what is most

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important, most essential, and give
our hearts and, and minds to God so

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that we're not tempted to throw off
the hope that we have in Christ.

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And trust ourselves to the
father's faithful care rather than

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trying to care for ourselves by
building bigger and better barns.

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The last oil that we're gonna look
at now is the one that of course,

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we pray that is true of you.

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And in fact, what we're going to look
at is the qualities of a good heart.

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And of course, these are gonna be
the qualities that are gonna make

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manifest themselves in your lives.

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If in fact, your heart
is right with the Lord.

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Now it doesn't mean it's
gonna be an an incessant.

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Pro progression.

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We know as Christian men that there
are seasons of great growth and

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there are seasons of great famine and
sometimes it's, it's a bit of a mixture.

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However, by and large, much like the
stock market, you're gonna see that the

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progression is always gonna trend upward.

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Your growth in Christ is never static.

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It's always a dynamic hard progression
toward an increasing godliness.

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And this is what we're gonna see in
the third soil, rather the fourth soil.

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So turn with me back
to Luke chapter eight.

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We're going to look at Luke's accounts.

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In fact, I'm gonna read you Luke's
account because I think it's good for

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us to hear the whole thing so that
we can really feel the full effect

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of what Jesus is wanting us to hear.

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Luke chapter eight,
starting at verse four.

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We're gonna pay special attention to the
fourth soil, but let's just look at all

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of them as we make our way through here.

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Luke chapter eight,
starting at verse four.

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And when a great crowd was gathered
and people from town after town

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came to him, he said in a parable.

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A sower went out to sow his seed, and as
he sowed, some fell along the path and was

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trampled underfoot and the birds of the
air devoured it and some fell on the rock.

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And as it grew up, it withered
away because it had no moisture

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and some fell among the thorns.

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And the thorns grew up and with
it, uh, the thorns grew up rather,

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rather with it and choked it.

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And some fell into the good soil
and grew and yielded a hundred fold.

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Luke's accounts the only one
that says a hundred fold.

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The others will say 30, 60 or 90.

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Luke goes right for the jugular
and says a hundred fold.

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The good soil is
extraordinarily productive.

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We'll come back to that
as he said these things.

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He called out, he who has ears to
hear, let him hear, which tells

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us that even though they heard his
voice, not everybody understood it.

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Not everybody had the will to listen.

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Verse nine.

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When the disciples asked him what the
parable meant, he said to them, to

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you, it has been given to know the
secrets of the kingdom of God, but for

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others, they are in parables so that
he's again, quoting Isaiah chapter six

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here, so that seeing, they may not see
and hearing, they may not understand.

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Now the parable is this,
the seed is the word of God.

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The ones along the path are those who
have heard, and the devil comes and

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takes away the word from their hearts.

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So that they may not believe and be saved.

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And the ones on the rock are those
who, when they hear the word receive

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it with joy, but these have no root.

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They believe for a while, and in
a time of testing they fall away.

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And as for what fell among the
thorns, they are those who hear.

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But as they go on their way,
they are choked by the cares and

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riches and pleasures of life,
and their fruit does not mature.

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As for that in the good soil, they
are those who hearing the word hold

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it fast in an honest and good heart,
and they bear fruit with patience.

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In this final soil, you find that
the difference between the good

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soil and the others, that this
is the only one that bears fruit.

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This soil is receptive.

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It receives the seed, it implants the
seed, and because the soil has been

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prepared, it's able to produce a harvest.

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And as Luke says in verse eight,
here, it's a hundred fold.

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This soil is productive.

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The other gospel rider say that
every soil, every good soil has

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a variable productivity rate.

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Some 30, some 60, some 90, as I said,
which tells us that all Christians

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are fruitful, but to varying degrees.

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But at the time of this writing
here, something really fruitful

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would've been a tenfold crop harvest.

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They would've said, that's great.

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You get a tenfold return.

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You're doing really well.

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If you got 30 people would
be asking you for tips.

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What did you do differently?

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What kind of soil did you, a
manure, what have you, 60, 90.

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This is extraordinary fruitfulness.

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And Luke says about Jesus, when you're
in Christ, when your heart is right,

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there is a fruitfulness that allows
you to be extraordinarily fruitful.

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It's something that's remarkable,
something that humans cannot

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produce, you might say.

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And so Luke is pointing us to
a kind of person whose heart is

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receptive, whose heart is allowed.

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Uh, actually, I dunno if I
say yeah, whose heart is.

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His heart is so receptive
that it bears great fruit.

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Now, I chose Luke of the, of
the accounts and here's why.

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In Matthew 13, Jesus has described
as saying, this is the, the soil that

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hears, understands, and bears fruit.

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That's helpful.

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Uh, and so does Mark.

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Mark says much the same thing.

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It hears, accepts, and bears
fruit, but Luke gives us the

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most detail about the good soil.

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Luke says it this way, hears,
holds fast bears fruit and

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does it in a certain manner.

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This says, with patience.

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And so all three of the accounts are
helpful as they are, but we're gonna

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look at Luke's in particular because
it gives us the most to work with here.

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Now remember the thesis that I've
been working with this weekend, and

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it's that the condition of your heart
determines the fruitfulness of your

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response, as we said in session one,
this really puts a lot of pressure

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on you then to ensure that whenever
you encounter the word of God, that

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you're not just showing up haphazardly.

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That you're making certain, that you're
bringing to the table the heart that

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is prayed up and well prepared to
receive the meal, whether it's in the

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corporate setting with the church, or
whether it's just you and your Bible

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and the Lord, whatever situation it is.

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The difference between the fruitful
Christian is that the, the fruitful

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Christian has a heart that's
receptive, A heart that's ready, a

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heart that is humble before the Lord
earnestly desiring to be fruitful.

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The Lord honors that this sermon,
we're gonna look at the good fruit

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and the good fruit has three qualities
that can be described this way.

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It is tenaciously receptive.

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This good heart is not just a heart
that passively looks at the word.

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The good heart is tenacious
in its receptivity.

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We'll talk about that in a second.

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It is also sincere in the
consideration of the text.

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A heart that is good and receives the
word rightly, doesn't just hear it.

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There is an openness to it.

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There's a willingness to say, step on my
toes, do your worst, Lord, 'cause I do.

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I desire it for your sake.

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And finally, there is an enduring
fruitfulness to the good heart.

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The good heart is not content to just
show up one weekend or one Bible study.

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The good heart says, I will
keep going until Jesus takes

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my life with my last breath.

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I will praise his name.

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I'm gonna keep on serving, keep on
pursuing no matter what happens.

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This is the, this is the, the, the
way that the good heart functions.

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And I'm gonna get all of this.

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We're gonna look at all of this just
from verse 15, verse eight's gonna

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help frame for us the good, the,
the fruitfulness of the good heart.

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But verse 15, and Luke chapter eight
tells us what this good heart looks like.

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Look at this again.

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Here I highlighted the, the
words that we're gonna look at

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as for that in the good soil.

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They are those, these are the
people who they hear the word,

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that's what you're doing right now.

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And then their response
to it is threefold.

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They hold it fast in an honest and good
heart, and they bear fruit with patience.

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Let's talk about the first one, then.

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The first one, I'm gonna
add this one to it.

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Hearing the word is kind of the context,
but I think this is still helpful.

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Hearing the word they hold it fast.

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This idea here is carried on in scripture
to, to talk about a kind of person.

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Who, uh, in fact, you're gonna see
this word in other places in the Bible.

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Uh, the word can mean someone
who possesses something.

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Uh, if I were to think about this,
if M Smith in his heyday, he gets

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the, the football from Troy Aikman.

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That's right.

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Thank you.

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Troy.

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Aikman hands, m Ms.

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Smith a Football m Ms.

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Smith doesn't just hold the ball
gingerly and tenderly in his hands.

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He tucks that thing in there and
he runs like a truck through the

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defense all the way to the Red zone.

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End zone.

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The right place.

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He runs to the right place
and scores a touchdown.

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This is not my field of
expertise, but I'm trying.

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He doesn't just hold the ball.

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He, he holds that thing for dear life.

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This.

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He holds it like his baby.

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He's not letting it go.

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That's the idea, carried along
by someone who holds it fast.

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When God gives you his word,
he's not expecting you just

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to passively receive it.

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He's hap he's, he's hoping
that you'll hold it.

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And why is that important?

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Think about the first soil.

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The first soil has an attacker on
the pril who would love to swoop in

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and take that word from you, right
outta your right, outta your hands.

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But Jesus says here, the good
soil, he fights for that word.

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He doesn't just hold the word
gingerly, he doesn't just make

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sure that it lands in his hand.

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He treasures it, he values it.

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He understands what he has.

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In fact, speaking of value, think
about the way that the, the, the

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different soils express the values.

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The first soil does not
value the word at all.

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Hard heart.

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I have no receptivity.

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The second soil, remember the
second soil is the rocky soil.

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The second soil's values comfort over
the opposition that the word produces.

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00:11:16,650 --> 00:11:18,240
I'd rather be comfortable.

229
00:11:18,750 --> 00:11:20,430
I'd rather not have to fight the world.

230
00:11:20,430 --> 00:11:21,900
My boss, my wife, my kids.

231
00:11:21,900 --> 00:11:25,110
I'd rather not fight everyone
around me, so I'm going to let the

232
00:11:25,110 --> 00:11:26,939
word go because it costs too much.

233
00:11:26,939 --> 00:11:31,110
I prefer to be comfortable instead
of being right with my God.

234
00:11:31,260 --> 00:11:32,460
Think about the thorny soul.

235
00:11:32,460 --> 00:11:35,880
The thorny soul was distracted
by other offers, riches,

236
00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:37,950
pleasures, the things of life.

237
00:11:38,340 --> 00:11:41,430
You know, he, he values fine
dining and entertainments.

238
00:11:41,430 --> 00:11:43,350
He values the things that
the world has to offer.

239
00:11:43,350 --> 00:11:44,610
He likes the nice cars.

240
00:11:45,405 --> 00:11:47,805
He values pleasure over the word.

241
00:11:48,105 --> 00:11:53,115
It is only when you get to the fourth soil
that the fourth soil realizes what he has.

242
00:11:53,444 --> 00:11:55,875
He values the word more than he values.

243
00:11:55,875 --> 00:11:59,925
The other things, which will
include comfort, often include your

244
00:11:59,925 --> 00:12:01,365
comfort, often include the stuff.

245
00:12:01,814 --> 00:12:05,235
He holds it fast, he receives
it, he treasures it, he keeps it.

246
00:12:05,415 --> 00:12:07,125
And that's why I'm gonna put
the first point this way.

247
00:12:07,125 --> 00:12:08,564
It's the best thing I could come up with.

248
00:12:08,564 --> 00:12:11,235
I think if you're going to be
a good soil, one of the things

249
00:12:11,235 --> 00:12:14,355
that's gonna be true about you is
that you treasure the word highly.

250
00:12:15,314 --> 00:12:15,795
Highly.

251
00:12:17,385 --> 00:12:19,515
I, I've been trying to use
Facebook marketplace a lot more

252
00:12:19,515 --> 00:12:21,555
these days 'cause I think you can
find a lot of good deals there.

253
00:12:21,944 --> 00:12:25,095
Um, and I recognize that I'm always
wor fighting against other offers.

254
00:12:25,095 --> 00:12:26,115
And so I'll, you know, make an offer.

255
00:12:26,115 --> 00:12:27,435
Hey, I see you're selling this thing.

256
00:12:27,435 --> 00:12:28,995
Can, would you take this many dollars?

257
00:12:28,995 --> 00:12:31,725
And often you'll get a
pushback all to this many.

258
00:12:31,725 --> 00:12:32,655
Can you do that many?

259
00:12:32,985 --> 00:12:35,895
Now some people, I think they're
delusional, they don't understand

260
00:12:36,345 --> 00:12:38,955
you're selling a used good and you're
selling it on Facebook marketplace.

261
00:12:38,955 --> 00:12:41,085
You can't charge the same price
that you're gonna get it for retail.

262
00:12:41,444 --> 00:12:43,335
And they say, one guy
said, I know what I have.

263
00:12:43,335 --> 00:12:44,055
I know what it's worth.

264
00:12:44,445 --> 00:12:45,405
I don't think you do.

265
00:12:45,555 --> 00:12:46,185
I don't think you do.

266
00:12:47,175 --> 00:12:48,555
We gotta know what the word is worth.

267
00:12:49,335 --> 00:12:51,495
We gotta understand how
valuable the word is.

268
00:12:51,495 --> 00:12:54,315
And I think all of us here would probably
have good enough theology to say, man,

269
00:12:54,315 --> 00:12:57,915
the word is, you know, it's like honey,
and it's, it's rich and it's valuable.

270
00:12:58,155 --> 00:13:00,705
Uh, and that might be, we would
probably say that, but what's true

271
00:13:00,705 --> 00:13:03,585
about us is gonna be revealed by
the way that we actually treat it.

272
00:13:04,035 --> 00:13:06,705
One of the things that stood out to
me recently is that, uh, the, the

273
00:13:06,705 --> 00:13:10,815
tenaciously receptive heart, remember,
uh, the, the word possess is a good word,

274
00:13:10,815 --> 00:13:12,195
but also another word is restrained.

275
00:13:12,510 --> 00:13:15,180
He's not just content to interact
with the word, he's gotta put

276
00:13:15,180 --> 00:13:16,710
his hands around it to keep it.

277
00:13:17,190 --> 00:13:19,530
Now we're gonna talk about the
implications of this down the line, but

278
00:13:19,530 --> 00:13:21,030
you can already start conjuring up ideas.

279
00:13:21,030 --> 00:13:23,370
If I were to say, Hey, I want
you to possess this word.

280
00:13:23,700 --> 00:13:27,330
Uh, if I were to say, possess Luke 15,
I think you'd already start thinking,

281
00:13:27,330 --> 00:13:30,000
okay, probably means I'm gonna memorize
it, I'm gonna meditate upon it.

282
00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:33,390
I'm gonna make sure that it
permeates my life, restrain it.

283
00:13:33,660 --> 00:13:35,820
Put your arms around it so
that it's now your verse.

284
00:13:35,820 --> 00:13:39,090
This kind of tenacious receptivity
showcases a man who knows that

285
00:13:39,090 --> 00:13:40,650
the word is better than life.

286
00:13:41,355 --> 00:13:43,185
Scripture says about,
about the Lord's love.

287
00:13:43,185 --> 00:13:45,855
It's your love that's better than
life, but his love is revealed in the

288
00:13:45,855 --> 00:13:47,205
way that his word is given to you.

289
00:13:48,285 --> 00:13:49,755
You, you might know what this is.

290
00:13:49,815 --> 00:13:51,675
Um, actually, lemme skip it here.

291
00:13:51,825 --> 00:13:52,785
You might know what this is.

292
00:13:53,055 --> 00:13:56,745
If you're old enough to have
seen this in firsthand, uh, wow.

293
00:13:57,765 --> 00:13:59,295
This is the Gutenberg press.

294
00:13:59,295 --> 00:14:01,365
RR 2D two, R 2D two.

295
00:14:03,615 --> 00:14:04,275
They're really funny though.

296
00:14:05,175 --> 00:14:08,955
The Gutenberg press is, uh, produced in
the 14, some things, 1440s, give or take.

297
00:14:09,930 --> 00:14:11,610
That's the thing that
changed everything for us.

298
00:14:11,610 --> 00:14:14,400
Now, the reason you have a Bible
in your hands today, the reason you

299
00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:17,760
have, uh, the Bible on your, on your
iPad or whatever you're looking at,

300
00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:19,260
is because of this thing right here.

301
00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:23,700
Now, this is what allowed us to mass
produce with exceeding excellence

302
00:14:23,700 --> 00:14:26,730
in terms of its replication,
the Bible in all his pages.

303
00:14:27,090 --> 00:14:29,160
If you have a Gutenberg Bible,
those are worth thousands.

304
00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:31,170
Today I have a page of
the Gutenberg Bible.

305
00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:31,830
So cool.

306
00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:32,400
So cool.

307
00:14:32,400 --> 00:14:33,360
What a cool get to have.

308
00:14:33,660 --> 00:14:36,180
Uh, but if you have a Gutenberg
Bible, it was produced on something

309
00:14:36,180 --> 00:14:39,000
like this, and it's incredible,
incredibly rare and valuable.

310
00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:41,310
It still took a long time to
build, to, to build a Bible.

311
00:14:41,310 --> 00:14:42,360
Even with something like this.

312
00:14:42,570 --> 00:14:46,920
Before that, before that,
Christians had to, had to do what

313
00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:47,880
you and I are doing right now.

314
00:14:47,910 --> 00:14:50,370
They'd had to go to their local
church gathering where maybe

315
00:14:50,370 --> 00:14:52,110
they had a book of the Bible.

316
00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:56,430
Maybe they had a whole Bible,
but that was a rare breed.

317
00:14:56,925 --> 00:14:57,825
Christians before them.

318
00:14:57,825 --> 00:14:58,275
Think about that.

319
00:14:58,275 --> 00:15:01,305
Then for 14, for for 1500
years, give or take, so 1440.

320
00:15:01,725 --> 00:15:05,535
For 1400 years, Christians had
no daily personal access to the

321
00:15:05,535 --> 00:15:10,455
Bible except what they personally
possessed in their head and heart.

322
00:15:12,705 --> 00:15:13,365
Isn't that crazy?

323
00:15:14,055 --> 00:15:16,365
Today we're talking about,
Hey, read your Bible every day,

324
00:15:16,365 --> 00:15:17,565
you know, study your Bible.

325
00:15:17,685 --> 00:15:20,205
These guys didn't even have the option
to do that unless they had time.

326
00:15:20,205 --> 00:15:22,905
Maybe they took away time from their,
their farming and they went to the

327
00:15:22,905 --> 00:15:25,035
local synagogue, or they went to the
local church gather and say, Hey,

328
00:15:25,155 --> 00:15:27,105
can I read, can I read this scroll?

329
00:15:27,135 --> 00:15:30,165
If they were even literate,
which we didn't even talk about,

330
00:15:30,165 --> 00:15:30,975
they, they were even literate.

331
00:15:30,975 --> 00:15:31,905
They couldn't do that.

332
00:15:32,115 --> 00:15:35,745
So Christians for 1400 years did
not have what you and I now have.

333
00:15:36,540 --> 00:15:39,569
Fast forward 586 years,
you have it everywhere.

334
00:15:39,569 --> 00:15:40,770
It's ubiquitous.

335
00:15:40,770 --> 00:15:43,890
You can, you can close your eyes,
throw a dart in any direction, and

336
00:15:43,890 --> 00:15:47,100
you'll probably hit a Bible 'cause
you have full access to the Bible.

337
00:15:47,130 --> 00:15:51,270
Unlike Christians for 1400
years, 1500 years, amazing.

338
00:15:51,449 --> 00:15:54,089
And I thought to myself, what would
Christians of yesteryear think about

339
00:15:54,089 --> 00:15:57,300
is if I could take a Christian from
the year 1200 and fast forward him into

340
00:15:57,300 --> 00:15:58,890
today and say, just take a look around.

341
00:15:58,890 --> 00:15:58,980
Right.

342
00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:02,160
They would see Bibles everywhere and
they mu, they would probably assume

343
00:16:02,250 --> 00:16:05,970
you guys must be the most biblically
literate people ever to have existed.

344
00:16:06,449 --> 00:16:09,720
And then I'd say, Nope, not true.

345
00:16:10,380 --> 00:16:11,490
But we're working on it though.

346
00:16:11,550 --> 00:16:12,330
We're working on it.

347
00:16:12,330 --> 00:16:13,050
We're really trying.

348
00:16:14,130 --> 00:16:14,580
It's irony.

349
00:16:14,580 --> 00:16:15,780
We have an embarrassment of riches.

350
00:16:15,780 --> 00:16:18,750
Before this, again, people
had to copy the Bible by hand,

351
00:16:18,750 --> 00:16:20,189
and books like this were rare.

352
00:16:20,370 --> 00:16:23,730
Only wealthy families could afford to do
this because you had to hire somebody.

353
00:16:24,060 --> 00:16:27,360
To copy the Bible by hand, page by page.

354
00:16:27,390 --> 00:16:30,060
And then of course, because they're
paying for this, they would be able

355
00:16:30,060 --> 00:16:32,130
to do curly cues and different colors.

356
00:16:32,130 --> 00:16:35,790
They would draw pictures on the pages
to help it be a a little more beautiful.

357
00:16:36,030 --> 00:16:37,079
And then they were massive.

358
00:16:37,079 --> 00:16:39,719
If you've ever seen a a,
an old Bible, they're huge.

359
00:16:39,870 --> 00:16:41,069
They're the family bible.

360
00:16:41,849 --> 00:16:45,180
Today we have this and
we have it in spades.

361
00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:48,719
These guys would look at us
and say, you guys have it way

362
00:16:48,719 --> 00:16:50,310
better than we've ever had it.

363
00:16:50,910 --> 00:16:52,590
And I don't say that's your shame at all.

364
00:16:52,590 --> 00:16:54,510
I'm not trying to make you feel
bad that you're not reading your

365
00:16:54,510 --> 00:16:55,620
Bible enough to the country.

366
00:16:55,620 --> 00:16:58,860
I want to encourage you to think what
an incredible privilege that we have.

367
00:16:59,100 --> 00:17:03,630
The reason that the good heart holds it
fast is because he knows what he has.

368
00:17:04,108 --> 00:17:07,829
He knows how valuable it is to have
the word of God in his language.

369
00:17:08,730 --> 00:17:13,230
Spoken right to him where he's at, and in
our case, to have it between two beautiful

370
00:17:13,230 --> 00:17:18,060
leather covers gilded with gold on the
edges with 14 ribbons of all different

371
00:17:18,060 --> 00:17:22,079
sizes and shapes, and just to have this
most precious treasure in our hands.

372
00:17:22,260 --> 00:17:23,398
That's just material.

373
00:17:23,939 --> 00:17:26,970
When we start thinking about what it
actually is, we now recognize the word of

374
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:34,139
God is precious because it comes from God
and it's to us really quickly then what

375
00:17:34,139 --> 00:17:36,000
treasuring God's word might look like.

376
00:17:36,764 --> 00:17:39,314
First of all, if we're gonna treasure
it the way the good heart does, I

377
00:17:39,314 --> 00:17:42,584
think the, the hearing of the word
is part of the answer, isn't it?

378
00:17:42,975 --> 00:17:46,424
Uh, remember, the, the, the story
begins with the fourth soil hearing.

379
00:17:46,424 --> 00:17:47,985
The word of Gotti holds it fast.

380
00:17:48,134 --> 00:17:52,064
So at bare minimum, there has to be
some kind of constant nourishment,

381
00:17:52,064 --> 00:17:53,684
a constant exposure to the word.

382
00:17:53,745 --> 00:17:57,104
And again, before 1440,
having that access was weekly.

383
00:17:57,104 --> 00:17:59,999
For most families, they'd go to church,
but you now have access to this.

384
00:18:00,334 --> 00:18:01,204
Every day.

385
00:18:01,264 --> 00:18:04,864
In fact, you can drive home and in your
hour and a half listen to two sermons

386
00:18:04,864 --> 00:18:08,674
or listen to four or five different
books of the Bible read on audiobook.

387
00:18:08,764 --> 00:18:11,344
If you're familiar with Eddie's
YouTube channel, you can listen to

388
00:18:11,344 --> 00:18:13,235
dramatized versions of the Bible.

389
00:18:13,475 --> 00:18:18,364
You have access to all sorts of
options to taking God's word hearing.

390
00:18:18,364 --> 00:18:20,584
It is essential to treasuring it.

391
00:18:20,584 --> 00:18:21,725
That makes perfect sense, doesn't it?

392
00:18:22,425 --> 00:18:25,635
If you're investing money in the stock
market, you're not gonna make a profit.

393
00:18:25,635 --> 00:18:27,045
If you're not putting money into it.

394
00:18:27,345 --> 00:18:30,855
In a similar way, you're not gonna find
the value of God's word unless you're

395
00:18:31,005 --> 00:18:33,165
giving it ample time and attention.

396
00:18:33,765 --> 00:18:36,075
I, I, I cited for you
here, Deuteronomy 17.

397
00:18:36,315 --> 00:18:39,675
This is the section of scripture
where Moses writes a command that

398
00:18:39,675 --> 00:18:41,295
I think might be good for us to do.

399
00:18:41,295 --> 00:18:44,385
In fact, I think Pastor Pja
recently mentioned this, Moses

400
00:18:44,385 --> 00:18:46,545
tells the future king of Israel.

401
00:18:47,295 --> 00:18:51,015
I want you to write a copy
of God's word for yourself.

402
00:18:51,764 --> 00:18:54,614
So that you may do it all
the days of your life.

403
00:18:55,874 --> 00:19:00,434
The king was not permitted to say, Matt,
I want you to write my copy for me.

404
00:19:00,735 --> 00:19:04,064
He wanted that God wanted the king
himself to write the copy so that

405
00:19:04,064 --> 00:19:07,995
he would have direct access to God's
word, and then he was to have it all

406
00:19:07,995 --> 00:19:10,004
his days so that he could abide by it.

407
00:19:10,004 --> 00:19:13,544
All his days, he had to do this
because he was responsible for others.

408
00:19:14,084 --> 00:19:15,735
He had a charge to lead the people.

409
00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:18,990
Now, I, I understand brothers, I
could say that you guys are all

410
00:19:18,990 --> 00:19:20,639
kings and I I, that that's true.

411
00:19:20,669 --> 00:19:21,210
You're all kings.

412
00:19:21,215 --> 00:19:21,899
I, I get that.

413
00:19:22,230 --> 00:19:25,169
Uh, but you are, you're not kings
in the technical sense, but you

414
00:19:25,169 --> 00:19:30,690
are husbands and fathers, your
brothers, your sons, your employers.

415
00:19:30,750 --> 00:19:33,419
You have responsibility
that God has gifted to you.

416
00:19:33,570 --> 00:19:34,710
He's stewarded you.

417
00:19:34,950 --> 00:19:36,510
You're responsible for grandkids.

418
00:19:36,510 --> 00:19:40,500
Perhaps you have a responsibility
then, much like the kings to care for

419
00:19:40,500 --> 00:19:42,300
the people that are entrusted to you.

420
00:19:42,314 --> 00:19:48,794
And one of the ways that you do that is
you have an, an ever, ever going spring

421
00:19:48,824 --> 00:19:52,874
that allows you to feed and pour into
others your hearing of the word of God.

422
00:19:52,874 --> 00:19:55,874
Your intake of the word of God
allows you to be useful to the Lord.

423
00:19:56,384 --> 00:19:57,794
Regular and daily hearing.

424
00:19:58,485 --> 00:19:58,844
At least.

425
00:19:58,844 --> 00:20:01,124
A second thing that we can
think of here is retained.

426
00:20:01,485 --> 00:20:05,564
Uh, you notice here, um,
in fact, let me, okay.

427
00:20:05,564 --> 00:20:06,284
Recently.

428
00:20:07,469 --> 00:20:07,860
Speaker 2: Oh man.

429
00:20:07,889 --> 00:20:08,040
Speaker: Okay.

430
00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:08,729
Luke 22.

431
00:20:08,999 --> 00:20:11,520
I'm gonna have to summarize this for you,
but Luke chapter 22, if you wanna write

432
00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:13,620
the text down, Luke 22, 31 through 34.

433
00:20:15,479 --> 00:20:17,939
This is just, we're, I think we're gonna
get there soon if we're not there already.

434
00:20:18,030 --> 00:20:20,280
We're, uh, the pastors are ahead
of you in the daily Bible reading

435
00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:22,739
because of the podcast, but at
some point you'll read Luke 22.

436
00:20:23,489 --> 00:20:23,790
Soon.

437
00:20:24,300 --> 00:20:30,060
In Luke 22, Peter says to the Lord,
uh, Lord, I, I am, I'm a, I'm gonna

438
00:20:30,060 --> 00:20:32,219
be faithful to you even under death.

439
00:20:33,300 --> 00:20:36,030
I don't care what these other
knuckleheads do, I will serve you.

440
00:20:36,584 --> 00:20:39,405
I if they all abandon you, he
says, I will remain faithful.

441
00:20:40,094 --> 00:20:44,354
And of course, Jesus sets him straight
from this is the, the second or third

442
00:20:44,354 --> 00:20:47,354
time he's done this, he'll say, he says,
Peter, actually what's gonna happen

443
00:20:47,564 --> 00:20:51,465
is before the rooster crows, you'll
have denied me three separate times.

444
00:20:52,004 --> 00:20:53,024
Now, imagine you're Peter.

445
00:20:53,024 --> 00:20:56,475
In that moment you just said to the
Lord, look, if they, if they all deny

446
00:20:56,475 --> 00:20:58,034
you, I will remain faithful Lord.

447
00:20:58,965 --> 00:21:01,965
And then he says, but you're not
gonna do that, Peter, before the

448
00:21:01,965 --> 00:21:04,064
rooster crows, you'll deny me.

449
00:21:05,175 --> 00:21:05,445
Okay.

450
00:21:05,625 --> 00:21:07,455
It's gotta be definitive
moment in your life, right?

451
00:21:07,514 --> 00:21:10,274
Jesus is looking at you, the Son of
God, the Christ is looking at you

452
00:21:10,274 --> 00:21:11,595
saying, you are going to deny me.

453
00:21:12,825 --> 00:21:16,695
I don't know what Peter thought in that
moment, but it wasn't just 15 verses

454
00:21:16,695 --> 00:21:22,065
later, he totally forgets this because
he falls into exactly the right trap.

455
00:21:22,065 --> 00:21:26,805
He heard the words, but hours later,
Peter fulfilled exactly what Jesus said.

456
00:21:26,805 --> 00:21:28,754
He denies him three separate times.

457
00:21:28,905 --> 00:21:31,240
At least two of those times
were from the serving girl.

458
00:21:31,830 --> 00:21:34,889
In the courtyard who's saying,
alright, I understand your accent.

459
00:21:34,919 --> 00:21:35,970
Aren't you one of those people?

460
00:21:35,970 --> 00:21:36,750
You're a gile?

461
00:21:36,750 --> 00:21:39,240
And Peter's like, no, I, no, no,
don't know what you're talking about.

462
00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:40,290
You're outta your mind SISs.

463
00:21:40,679 --> 00:21:43,260
He just starts, he starts
calling down curses on himself.

464
00:21:44,340 --> 00:21:48,780
Here's what's fascinating to me
because in verse 61, Luke adds a detail

465
00:21:48,780 --> 00:21:50,940
that the other synoptics don't say.

466
00:21:51,419 --> 00:21:53,129
After Peter's third denial,
here's what it says.

467
00:21:53,370 --> 00:21:58,139
The Lord turned and looked at Peter, the
Lord Jesus turned and looked at Peter.

468
00:21:58,215 --> 00:21:58,245
Okay.

469
00:21:59,024 --> 00:22:02,385
And then Peter remembered
the saying of the Lord.

470
00:22:03,675 --> 00:22:08,054
Peter forgot within a span of
hours what Jesus said he forgot.

471
00:22:08,264 --> 00:22:10,754
And yet it was one of the most
definitive prophecies to be

472
00:22:10,754 --> 00:22:12,044
ever, to ever to be given to him.

473
00:22:12,435 --> 00:22:13,905
Peter, you're gonna deny,
deny me three times.

474
00:22:14,054 --> 00:22:19,784
Sure Lord sure he denies it or
he forgets it, whatever it says.

475
00:22:19,784 --> 00:22:20,264
Verse 61.

476
00:22:20,264 --> 00:22:22,304
He remembers after Jesus looks at him.

477
00:22:22,694 --> 00:22:25,184
Could you imagine that exchange
of, of, of eye contact?

478
00:22:25,454 --> 00:22:26,084
Peter denies him.

479
00:22:26,084 --> 00:22:30,704
I tell you, I do not know the man and
just in that moment, Jesus being bound

480
00:22:30,704 --> 00:22:34,784
by these, these thugs with him looks
directly at Peter, makes eye contact.

481
00:22:34,784 --> 00:22:36,374
Could you imagine what
Peter felt in that moment?

482
00:22:37,274 --> 00:22:37,965
Peter forgot.

483
00:22:38,594 --> 00:22:42,314
And if Peter could forget, surely
we can forget, which means then one

484
00:22:42,314 --> 00:22:45,704
of the ways that we show that we
value in treasure of the word is

485
00:22:45,704 --> 00:22:47,084
that we have to do whatever we can.

486
00:22:47,084 --> 00:22:48,614
We have to fight to remember this.

487
00:22:48,614 --> 00:22:50,114
We have to fight to hold it fast.

488
00:22:50,864 --> 00:22:51,314
Thirdly.

489
00:22:51,705 --> 00:22:57,345
A regular hearing retained, uh,
memorized, um, and reflected upon

490
00:22:57,435 --> 00:22:59,085
meditated the dwelling richly.

491
00:22:59,294 --> 00:23:01,814
Uh, Psalm chapter one, you wanna
know who the blessed man is.

492
00:23:01,814 --> 00:23:04,965
Psalm chapter one says, blessed is the man
who does not walk in the council of the

493
00:23:04,965 --> 00:23:08,685
wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but

494
00:23:08,685 --> 00:23:11,294
his delights is in the law of the Lord.

495
00:23:11,300 --> 00:23:11,895
I heard you say that.

496
00:23:11,895 --> 00:23:12,284
Good job.

497
00:23:12,405 --> 00:23:15,105
His delight is in the law
of the Lord and on his law.

498
00:23:15,435 --> 00:23:19,270
He wants, you know, this meditates day
and night, meditates day and night.

499
00:23:19,635 --> 00:23:21,165
That is an ongoing.

500
00:23:21,539 --> 00:23:25,110
Regurgitation and reflection
and interaction with the word.

501
00:23:25,169 --> 00:23:27,689
This is the man who is receptive soil.

502
00:23:28,829 --> 00:23:31,919
Whatever your interaction with the
word is today, I'm confident you

503
00:23:31,919 --> 00:23:33,600
would say there's room for more.

504
00:23:33,629 --> 00:23:35,039
There's room for better.

505
00:23:35,279 --> 00:23:37,139
I can get more contact with it.

506
00:23:37,169 --> 00:23:37,979
And the scripture's.

507
00:23:37,979 --> 00:23:40,229
The only thing where I
could say more is better.

508
00:23:40,709 --> 00:23:42,059
Some things more is not better.

509
00:23:42,689 --> 00:23:45,600
Some fasting, as I heard
this afternoon, is good.

510
00:23:45,659 --> 00:23:48,779
Five days of fasting is good,
maybe as much as 40 days, but a

511
00:23:48,779 --> 00:23:50,309
hundred days of fasting is not good.

512
00:23:50,354 --> 00:23:50,414
It.

513
00:23:51,044 --> 00:23:53,684
You start fasting for the rest of your
life, it's not gonna go well with you.

514
00:23:54,764 --> 00:23:55,874
Some fasting is good.

515
00:23:55,874 --> 00:23:58,214
More fasting is not better,
but that's not true.

516
00:23:58,214 --> 00:23:59,684
When it comes to the word of God.

517
00:24:00,044 --> 00:24:04,154
Some reading is good, some meditating
is good, some memorizing is good.

518
00:24:04,245 --> 00:24:05,924
More reading is better.

519
00:24:05,985 --> 00:24:07,485
More meditating is better.

520
00:24:07,485 --> 00:24:08,954
More memorization is better.

521
00:24:09,164 --> 00:24:11,294
The more you can get it
into your heart and mind.

522
00:24:11,354 --> 00:24:14,264
When your delight is in the
law of God, no one's gonna stop

523
00:24:14,264 --> 00:24:15,134
you from spending time with it.

524
00:24:15,134 --> 00:24:18,735
In fact, I think a lot of this reminds
me a lot like of a Rangers fan.

525
00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:20,610
Anyone have any Rangers,
fans in their lives?

526
00:24:20,610 --> 00:24:23,940
I don't wanna point anybody out, uh,
but let me tell you what they're like.

527
00:24:24,810 --> 00:24:27,870
What, let tell you what it's
like to live with or around,

528
00:24:27,870 --> 00:24:29,220
or to work for a Rangers fan.

529
00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:32,790
Not that I'm thinking of
anybody in particular.

530
00:24:34,125 --> 00:24:34,705
Speaker 2: No, gg?

531
00:24:36,655 --> 00:24:37,225
Yeah, no.

532
00:24:39,965 --> 00:24:43,620
Speaker: If you go to this, you know,
this generic Ranger fan, the avatar of

533
00:24:43,620 --> 00:24:44,585
a Ranger fan, you go to their office.

534
00:24:45,419 --> 00:24:51,090
You'll see ranger's, idolatry all
over the walls, shrines, literal

535
00:24:51,090 --> 00:24:54,689
shrines on the wall that celebrate
their glory and their grandeur.

536
00:24:55,649 --> 00:24:57,840
See hats with their, their logo on it.

537
00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:00,659
And, uh, you know, you, you, you
talk about anything related to

538
00:25:00,659 --> 00:25:03,899
the team, they could just spout
everything about them, their history

539
00:25:03,899 --> 00:25:06,239
and the stats and the prospects.

540
00:25:06,239 --> 00:25:09,870
And here's 14 things they could
do to improve their season.

541
00:25:10,485 --> 00:25:12,375
Here's all these guys
here that were looking at.

542
00:25:12,854 --> 00:25:15,524
I, you just, you cut them and
they could talk about them.

543
00:25:16,185 --> 00:25:17,415
That's what love does.

544
00:25:18,074 --> 00:25:21,044
Someone who delights in something,
like that's what happens.

545
00:25:21,044 --> 00:25:23,864
You naturally remember things
because you care about that.

546
00:25:24,165 --> 00:25:24,915
You value that.

547
00:25:24,915 --> 00:25:26,264
And I'm not knocking that at all.

548
00:25:26,264 --> 00:25:28,064
I'm just saying it's very similar.

549
00:25:28,064 --> 00:25:29,294
That's, that's, that's how it works.

550
00:25:29,294 --> 00:25:30,195
You say, I can't remember.

551
00:25:30,195 --> 00:25:30,945
I'm too old for that.

552
00:25:30,945 --> 00:25:32,745
I, I, when I was younger, I
could remember everything.

553
00:25:32,745 --> 00:25:33,794
It was like a lockbox in there.

554
00:25:33,794 --> 00:25:35,625
But now that I'm older, it's
so much harder to memorize.

555
00:25:35,834 --> 00:25:36,524
No, it's not.

556
00:25:36,794 --> 00:25:37,455
It really isn't.

557
00:25:37,455 --> 00:25:39,225
You just need to delight
in the law of God.

558
00:25:39,764 --> 00:25:43,215
This heart will memorize
because it's what I love.

559
00:25:43,215 --> 00:25:44,475
I I love this.

560
00:25:45,074 --> 00:25:46,874
I love I'm sure you love your wife.

561
00:25:46,874 --> 00:25:47,715
Sure you love your kids.

562
00:25:47,834 --> 00:25:50,985
No one has to remind you what your
kids' names are normally, right?

563
00:25:51,705 --> 00:25:53,985
Normally, you love them,
you care about them.

564
00:25:53,985 --> 00:25:55,485
No one has to remind you
what your wife's name is.

565
00:25:55,485 --> 00:25:55,935
You love her.

566
00:25:55,935 --> 00:25:56,534
You care about her.

567
00:25:56,534 --> 00:25:59,294
You probably remember your anniversary
by this one because you love her.

568
00:26:00,104 --> 00:26:03,975
Loving the word of God will help you
meditate on it and think about it

569
00:26:03,975 --> 00:26:05,955
to let it dwell within your richly.

570
00:26:05,955 --> 00:26:07,394
Colossians three 16 says.

571
00:26:08,145 --> 00:26:09,165
Okay, back to our text.

572
00:26:09,165 --> 00:26:10,365
Treasure it highly.

573
00:26:10,544 --> 00:26:12,375
So hearing the word, this is the context.

574
00:26:12,375 --> 00:26:13,245
This is the good heart.

575
00:26:13,395 --> 00:26:17,294
They hold it fast, they possess
it, they restrain it, and then they

576
00:26:17,294 --> 00:26:18,885
hold it fast in a certain manner.

577
00:26:19,004 --> 00:26:20,895
It is with an honest and good heart.

578
00:26:21,014 --> 00:26:24,855
What's fascinating about these, uh, these,
those two words, honest and good, is that

579
00:26:24,855 --> 00:26:26,835
they kind of say the same thing there.

580
00:26:26,835 --> 00:26:28,215
There's two Greek words and underline 'em.

581
00:26:28,215 --> 00:26:32,595
They're different words, but both of
those words, they're primary lexical form.

582
00:26:32,895 --> 00:26:34,035
Speaks to the same word.

583
00:26:34,095 --> 00:26:34,635
Good.

584
00:26:34,845 --> 00:26:37,935
So you could say the, the,
the, the good heart holds it

585
00:26:37,935 --> 00:26:39,555
fast and a good and good heart.

586
00:26:39,915 --> 00:26:41,355
But of course, that's
not gonna be as helpful.

587
00:26:41,355 --> 00:26:42,375
So here's a way to think about it.

588
00:26:42,375 --> 00:26:43,575
I'm gonna submit this to you.

589
00:26:43,575 --> 00:26:47,685
The first word that, that they,
that Luke uses is the word Carlos.

590
00:26:47,955 --> 00:26:50,835
And I'm gonna say to you, this
probably speaks to the honesty

591
00:26:50,835 --> 00:26:52,305
or the sincerity, the genuine.

592
00:26:53,039 --> 00:26:55,409
Of the, uh, the receptive heart.

593
00:26:55,949 --> 00:26:57,360
It is sincere, genuine.

594
00:26:57,360 --> 00:26:58,409
It is fitting.

595
00:26:58,439 --> 00:27:00,179
It functions the way it's supposed to.

596
00:27:00,360 --> 00:27:03,509
This is the way your relationship
with God is intended to work.

597
00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:07,919
The honest heart then is the one
that's honest with God about oneself.

598
00:27:08,279 --> 00:27:09,810
I don't put on airs with God.

599
00:27:09,929 --> 00:27:12,989
Remember when Nathaniel comes up
to the Lord Jesus, they introduced

600
00:27:12,989 --> 00:27:17,549
Nathaniel to him and he says, here's
a man in whom there is no guile.

601
00:27:18,614 --> 00:27:20,745
He's commending him
because he's not a phony.

602
00:27:20,745 --> 00:27:21,284
He's not a fake.

603
00:27:21,314 --> 00:27:22,364
What you see is what you get.

604
00:27:22,814 --> 00:27:25,784
This kind of person is
authentic toward God.

605
00:27:26,084 --> 00:27:27,524
He's got an honest heart toward the Lord.

606
00:27:27,524 --> 00:27:29,445
He doesn't try to pretend
he's something he's not.

607
00:27:29,685 --> 00:27:32,264
He's open about where he falls short.

608
00:27:32,264 --> 00:27:35,205
He's also open about the fact that God
has made him an object of his grace.

609
00:27:35,205 --> 00:27:36,914
He's grown and he praises God for that.

610
00:27:37,574 --> 00:27:39,975
His humility does not negate.

611
00:27:40,304 --> 00:27:41,205
His honesty.

612
00:27:41,564 --> 00:27:46,245
In fact, it works in it like a, like
a rich soil that flourishes the fruit.

613
00:27:46,485 --> 00:27:49,215
He's humble, his heart is humble
and rightly ordered toward God.

614
00:27:49,215 --> 00:27:51,074
The second word is a different word.

615
00:27:51,074 --> 00:27:51,975
It's agathas.

616
00:27:52,514 --> 00:27:55,544
This is also a word that means,
again, good primary lexical form.

617
00:27:55,544 --> 00:27:55,935
Good.

618
00:27:56,054 --> 00:27:58,604
This is the heart that is
rightly oriented toward others.

619
00:27:58,874 --> 00:28:02,894
Um, this is someone who's morally good,
who expresses a great love for people.

620
00:28:02,894 --> 00:28:06,524
Now, if, if my understanding of this
text is right, what we're seeing is

621
00:28:06,524 --> 00:28:08,955
a microcosm of the great commandment.

622
00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:14,550
Track with me, honest toward God,
honest and good, good toward others.

623
00:28:14,910 --> 00:28:15,990
What is the great commandment?

624
00:28:16,260 --> 00:28:19,800
You are to love the Lord your God with
your heart, soul minus strength, all

625
00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:22,920
your heart, soul minus strength, and
you're to love your neighbor as yourself.

626
00:28:22,950 --> 00:28:29,370
The good heart has, has really
adopted a, a life of love

627
00:28:29,370 --> 00:28:30,540
for God and love for people,

628
00:28:32,790 --> 00:28:35,910
but more specifically about the
way he interacts with the word he.

629
00:28:35,910 --> 00:28:37,920
Point number two, receives
the word sincerely.

630
00:28:38,594 --> 00:28:42,945
The good heart, the good soil
receives the word in a sincere way.

631
00:28:44,024 --> 00:28:47,864
He receives it with a sense of saying,
I, I long to do something with this.

632
00:28:48,164 --> 00:28:50,504
All of God's word is not
meant to educate you.

633
00:28:50,504 --> 00:28:51,644
It's meant to activate you.

634
00:28:52,215 --> 00:28:52,544
The God.

635
00:28:52,574 --> 00:28:55,034
The the Word of God is not
meant just to inform you.

636
00:28:55,154 --> 00:28:56,354
It's meant to transform you.

637
00:28:56,354 --> 00:28:59,414
The word of God is not meant to
simply give you more knowledge.

638
00:28:59,729 --> 00:29:02,789
But to give you more application, every
time you encounter the word of God,

639
00:29:02,819 --> 00:29:05,370
there's an opportunity for you to say,
okay, what do I need to do with this?

640
00:29:05,579 --> 00:29:06,809
How do I respond to this?

641
00:29:06,959 --> 00:29:09,959
That God doesn't want you to be like a
car collector who simply collects a lot of

642
00:29:09,959 --> 00:29:11,939
knowledge and then parks it in the garage.

643
00:29:12,689 --> 00:29:14,999
He doesn't want you to
be a Christian Jay Leno.

644
00:29:15,659 --> 00:29:18,899
He'd much rather you be the kind
of person who takes the car and

645
00:29:18,899 --> 00:29:22,649
drives it, puts it to use, makes
the car what it's meant to do, makes

646
00:29:22,649 --> 00:29:23,469
the car do what it's meant to do.

647
00:29:24,195 --> 00:29:25,815
These next two points
really focus on that.

648
00:29:25,965 --> 00:29:28,665
The reception of the word
shows that it's a sincerity.

649
00:29:28,725 --> 00:29:32,325
It's intended to make us responsive
to God, make us responsive to

650
00:29:32,325 --> 00:29:35,445
others, and this is a critical
ingredient to the good soil.

651
00:29:35,535 --> 00:29:39,135
The good soil does something with the
word always well, the second point

652
00:29:39,135 --> 00:29:42,195
will make, or the third point rather,
will make a, a, a better case for that.

653
00:29:42,675 --> 00:29:45,195
But let me point you to one guy in
the Bible who I think does a really

654
00:29:45,195 --> 00:29:46,815
good job of illustrating this.

655
00:29:46,935 --> 00:29:48,045
His name is King Josiah.

656
00:29:48,765 --> 00:29:48,975
King.

657
00:29:48,975 --> 00:29:51,465
Josiah is the 17th.

658
00:29:52,139 --> 00:29:56,370
I think he's a 16th king of Judah,
um, over the southern kingdom.

659
00:29:56,370 --> 00:29:57,870
Josiah is one of the highlights.

660
00:29:57,870 --> 00:29:59,219
He's one of the good kings.

661
00:29:59,699 --> 00:30:02,879
What happens in his affairs, his,
his father gets assassinated.

662
00:30:02,909 --> 00:30:06,570
And so King Josiah is installed at
the tender age of eight years old,

663
00:30:06,989 --> 00:30:08,580
which is terrifying for a nation.

664
00:30:08,580 --> 00:30:11,669
You got this 8-year-old king,
and yet God uses 8-year-old young

665
00:30:11,669 --> 00:30:13,290
man to transform the nation.

666
00:30:13,290 --> 00:30:15,659
He ruled for 55 years.

667
00:30:16,290 --> 00:30:18,389
Um, actually he ruled for.

668
00:30:19,215 --> 00:30:19,935
Uh, yeah.

669
00:30:19,965 --> 00:30:20,564
No, I think that's right.

670
00:30:20,564 --> 00:30:20,745
Yeah.

671
00:30:21,195 --> 00:30:21,435
Yes.

672
00:30:21,465 --> 00:30:21,644
Eight.

673
00:30:24,860 --> 00:30:25,799
He ruled a long time.

674
00:30:26,699 --> 00:30:27,560
He ruled a long time.

675
00:30:28,634 --> 00:30:29,654
I had in my notes here, I didn't.

676
00:30:29,685 --> 00:30:31,935
His grandfather Manasseh
ruled for 55 years.

677
00:30:31,935 --> 00:30:32,774
That's why I have in my notes here.

678
00:30:32,804 --> 00:30:33,735
He ruled a long time.

679
00:30:33,914 --> 00:30:36,764
Uh, king Josiah though, was a
blessing to the nation because he

680
00:30:36,764 --> 00:30:37,814
was responsive to the word of God.

681
00:30:37,814 --> 00:30:38,354
Here's what happened.

682
00:30:38,624 --> 00:30:44,864
Imagine this one of your chief officials
finds the Bible hidden in the temple.

683
00:30:45,300 --> 00:30:48,330
And the reason why is because King
Josiah initiated a temple renovation.

684
00:30:48,330 --> 00:30:51,179
He was trying to fix what had
been fallen and disrepute.

685
00:30:51,270 --> 00:30:54,720
And so he finds the Bible and
they say, king Josiah, we found

686
00:30:54,720 --> 00:30:56,250
a copy of the book of the law.

687
00:30:56,520 --> 00:31:02,220
Now imagine that the, the nation of Judah
loses the Bible and then they find it

688
00:31:02,820 --> 00:31:04,590
probably covered in dust in the temple.

689
00:31:04,590 --> 00:31:06,689
They bring it to King Josiah,
and King Josiah responds to

690
00:31:06,689 --> 00:31:08,220
God by ripping his clothes.

691
00:31:09,629 --> 00:31:10,379
He responds to this.

692
00:31:10,529 --> 00:31:12,179
Now he's probably a little
older by this point.

693
00:31:12,479 --> 00:31:17,100
He responds positively though this
young man understood that the word

694
00:31:17,100 --> 00:31:20,429
of God was so valuable and that it
was so binding on them that when he

695
00:31:20,429 --> 00:31:23,999
was responsive to it, when he saw it,
he recognized, we have done poorly.

696
00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:25,289
We have not honored God.

697
00:31:25,949 --> 00:31:26,159
King.

698
00:31:26,159 --> 00:31:27,745
Josiah tore his clothes.

699
00:31:28,019 --> 00:31:32,699
And then later on God's gonna say,
I will respond to you, king Josiah,

700
00:31:33,329 --> 00:31:35,279
because your heart was penitent.

701
00:31:35,850 --> 00:31:36,509
I have heard you.

702
00:31:37,245 --> 00:31:39,884
You responded the right way to my word.

703
00:31:40,634 --> 00:31:44,384
So often it is not true that we
respond with sincerity, and this

704
00:31:44,384 --> 00:31:47,804
is why I'm so concerned about our
sessions, uh, having the right heart.

705
00:31:48,404 --> 00:31:51,314
Uh, our job is to be much like
King Josiah to say, okay, I want

706
00:31:51,314 --> 00:31:53,144
to respond the way that I should.

707
00:31:53,534 --> 00:31:56,654
Let me identify four things about
the posture that Josiah had.

708
00:31:56,715 --> 00:31:57,945
The text will be underneath here.

709
00:31:58,935 --> 00:32:00,884
First of all, king Josiah
responds with humility.

710
00:32:01,424 --> 00:32:03,435
If you and I are gonna respond
the right way to God's word,

711
00:32:03,435 --> 00:32:04,424
there has to be humility.

712
00:32:05,654 --> 00:32:08,414
Pride will kill your
relationship with God and others.

713
00:32:08,774 --> 00:32:11,024
If you think you are better than the word.

714
00:32:11,114 --> 00:32:13,724
If you feel like, I already
know this, I already do this.

715
00:32:13,754 --> 00:32:15,164
Oh, this guy, this doesn't apply to me.

716
00:32:15,164 --> 00:32:16,754
I'm so much further along than this.

717
00:32:17,024 --> 00:32:19,604
This is gonna be one of the
most poisonous thoughts you can

718
00:32:19,604 --> 00:32:21,044
allow into your head and heart.

719
00:32:21,404 --> 00:32:23,534
Josiah doesn't say I, I don't need this.

720
00:32:23,534 --> 00:32:24,374
I don't need the word of God.

721
00:32:24,404 --> 00:32:28,574
His dad and a lot of his lineage
were men who did not honor the Lord.

722
00:32:28,724 --> 00:32:30,974
It would make perfect sense
if Josiah said, I, I got that.

723
00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:32,280
I don't, I don't need the word of God.

724
00:32:32,310 --> 00:32:33,450
We've been doing fine without it.

725
00:32:33,450 --> 00:32:34,440
We'll do fine in the future.

726
00:32:34,590 --> 00:32:37,770
King Josiah responds with
humility, rips his clothes and

727
00:32:37,770 --> 00:32:39,570
says, oh no, we are in trouble.

728
00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:40,620
He took God seriously.

729
00:32:40,620 --> 00:32:42,180
He humbled himself before God.

730
00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:46,320
This is the kind of person whose
heart is deeply sensitive, highly

731
00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:47,550
responsive to the word of God.

732
00:32:47,910 --> 00:32:52,560
Now, keep in mind here, this is not
because the sermons are amazing.

733
00:32:53,430 --> 00:32:54,750
We'd like to have amazing sermons.

734
00:32:54,750 --> 00:32:57,810
We work really hard for you
to do that, but even as I was

735
00:32:57,810 --> 00:32:58,705
sharing in the our small group.

736
00:32:59,820 --> 00:33:03,420
It's rare that you hear anything like
brand new and just remarkably insightful.

737
00:33:03,420 --> 00:33:05,490
It's like, wow, I never
thought of that before.

738
00:33:05,910 --> 00:33:08,190
Sometimes that happens and
I praise God for those.

739
00:33:08,190 --> 00:33:09,720
But a lot of times you're
gonna hear things that you

740
00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:11,010
already heard that I knew that.

741
00:33:11,220 --> 00:33:12,120
Okay, cool.

742
00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:15,030
This heart is easily edified.

743
00:33:15,810 --> 00:33:20,250
This heart is malleable to the word of
God, not because the orator is so skilled,

744
00:33:20,250 --> 00:33:24,179
and he weaves words together beautifully,
and he moves me with powerful emotions.

745
00:33:24,179 --> 00:33:26,010
No, it's the word of
God that he relies on.

746
00:33:26,010 --> 00:33:29,100
He's so in tune with God's word,
that whatever the preacher says,

747
00:33:29,250 --> 00:33:30,419
I'm gonna say, man, I want that.

748
00:33:30,419 --> 00:33:31,080
I need that.

749
00:33:31,409 --> 00:33:32,220
Teach me, Lord.

750
00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:36,750
If God can teach people through
a donkey, he can use your

751
00:33:36,750 --> 00:33:39,959
pastors humble responsiveness.

752
00:33:40,590 --> 00:33:42,899
Second, Josiah showed dependency.

753
00:33:43,620 --> 00:33:46,439
Josiah recognized that he could
not handle the word alone.

754
00:33:46,439 --> 00:33:50,009
So he sends for the, the prophet, he
calls for the local, local prophet

755
00:33:50,009 --> 00:33:51,539
who's actually a prophet test.

756
00:33:52,470 --> 00:33:57,899
He calls Holda and God and ask God,
what do you want us to do with this?

757
00:33:59,129 --> 00:34:02,459
Hold responds with this long
prophecy about how God's gonna

758
00:34:02,459 --> 00:34:03,780
respond, but he understands.

759
00:34:03,780 --> 00:34:04,349
He's dependent.

760
00:34:04,349 --> 00:34:07,499
He needs God to speak to him even
after receiving the word of God.

761
00:34:07,499 --> 00:34:08,670
He needs God to show him.

762
00:34:08,670 --> 00:34:09,600
What do I do with this?

763
00:34:09,750 --> 00:34:10,830
How do I respond to this?

764
00:34:10,980 --> 00:34:12,030
Do you ask God?

765
00:34:12,435 --> 00:34:14,715
When you receive a sermon, when you open
your book, God, help me to see this.

766
00:34:14,715 --> 00:34:15,915
Help me to understand
what to do with this.

767
00:34:16,094 --> 00:34:17,264
That's what Josiah does.

768
00:34:17,355 --> 00:34:19,725
Third, Josiah responds with gravity.

769
00:34:19,995 --> 00:34:21,585
He trembles out the word.

770
00:34:21,614 --> 00:34:24,945
He doesn't respond just with a,
a, a recognition that I'm low.

771
00:34:24,945 --> 00:34:25,695
God is high.

772
00:34:25,695 --> 00:34:26,985
He doesn't just respond
with the dependency.

773
00:34:26,985 --> 00:34:27,554
I need help.

774
00:34:27,614 --> 00:34:28,965
He responds with gravity.

775
00:34:29,235 --> 00:34:31,125
The word is heavy and weighty.

776
00:34:31,215 --> 00:34:32,985
And so he says, I understand that.

777
00:34:32,985 --> 00:34:36,045
My job is to know that
what God says is true.

778
00:34:36,135 --> 00:34:38,085
I take it seriously and so help me.

779
00:34:38,175 --> 00:34:39,735
I'm gonna respond the way that I should.

780
00:34:40,590 --> 00:34:41,280
So help me, God.

781
00:34:41,280 --> 00:34:42,719
I'm gonna do with the word what I should.

782
00:34:42,810 --> 00:34:45,300
In fact, this is what God
says is pleasing to him.

783
00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:49,380
Listen to what God says through
the lips of Isaiah, but this

784
00:34:49,380 --> 00:34:51,030
is the one to whom I will look.

785
00:34:51,060 --> 00:34:52,080
You want God's attention.

786
00:34:52,110 --> 00:34:52,889
Here's what he looks for.

787
00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:59,220
He who is humble and contrite in
spirit and trembles at my word.

788
00:34:59,220 --> 00:35:01,920
Do you tremble at the word of God?

789
00:35:02,490 --> 00:35:06,240
Do you feel a holy reverence for
what God says to you in his word?

790
00:35:07,305 --> 00:35:13,485
If so, this is the person that God
looks to, that humble hearted, receptive

791
00:35:13,485 --> 00:35:15,195
servant is the person that God says.

792
00:35:15,195 --> 00:35:17,355
That's the guy I'm gonna look at.

793
00:35:18,075 --> 00:35:21,735
When God's looking for a tool to use in
his tool chest, he's not gonna go for the

794
00:35:21,735 --> 00:35:24,135
greasy one that's dull and looking rusty.

795
00:35:24,165 --> 00:35:29,235
He's gonna go for the one that is strong,
ready to be useful, humble contract,

796
00:35:29,235 --> 00:35:32,865
trembling at his word, the tool that's
not gonna fight him when he uses it.

797
00:35:33,015 --> 00:35:35,175
He's looking for the tool that
says, I'm available, Lord.

798
00:35:35,505 --> 00:35:36,885
Use me as you please.

799
00:35:37,035 --> 00:35:39,375
If you want me to clean the
toilets in the church, so be it.

800
00:35:39,405 --> 00:35:42,165
You want me to serve my family
and sacrifice my time for

801
00:35:42,165 --> 00:35:43,575
the good of others, so be it.

802
00:35:43,815 --> 00:35:47,715
You want me to do some lowly job
and set up or tear down, so be it.

803
00:35:48,195 --> 00:35:50,025
You want me to be second
fiddle to someone else?

804
00:35:50,025 --> 00:35:51,045
So be it.

805
00:35:51,465 --> 00:35:52,395
Whatever you want.

806
00:35:52,395 --> 00:35:54,885
Lord, your word is the, your word is bond.

807
00:35:54,885 --> 00:35:55,515
Whatever you say.

808
00:35:55,515 --> 00:35:57,165
Ghost gravity.

809
00:35:57,885 --> 00:35:59,925
If God wants you to do
it, you say, he says jump.

810
00:35:59,925 --> 00:36:02,985
You say how high gravity
Josiah responds with.

811
00:36:03,780 --> 00:36:04,350
Attentiveness.

812
00:36:04,350 --> 00:36:05,640
He responds to the word of God.

813
00:36:06,180 --> 00:36:06,630
Lastly,

814
00:36:08,850 --> 00:36:10,680
Josiah responds with hopefulness.

815
00:36:11,310 --> 00:36:14,880
In fact, God responds to Josiah
because of these three things.

816
00:36:15,150 --> 00:36:16,890
God gives Josiah a positive word.

817
00:36:16,890 --> 00:36:20,009
He says, Josiah, things are going to
turn bad before they get any better.

818
00:36:20,430 --> 00:36:23,160
But I'm gonna spare you from this
because of the way you responded.

819
00:36:24,150 --> 00:36:28,380
God gave hope and grace to decide
because of how he responded to his word.

820
00:36:28,560 --> 00:36:29,970
Brothers, this is where it's at for us.

821
00:36:30,510 --> 00:36:33,240
We're gonna treasure God's word highly
and respond to it with sincerity.

822
00:36:33,330 --> 00:36:34,500
This is what we can expect.

823
00:36:34,500 --> 00:36:35,970
God will show us favor and grace.

824
00:36:36,060 --> 00:36:38,730
Things might be falling around,
uh, falling apart around us, but

825
00:36:38,730 --> 00:36:40,470
we can trust that God will care
for us through these things.

826
00:36:40,590 --> 00:36:45,600
Remember, this is the one that God looks
to humble contract trembles at my word.

827
00:36:46,410 --> 00:36:47,520
This is the receptive heart.

828
00:36:48,300 --> 00:36:50,580
Okay, finally, we hear the word.

829
00:36:51,510 --> 00:36:55,350
We hold it fast, we possess
it, we, we restrict it into us.

830
00:36:55,350 --> 00:36:56,730
We hold it the best we can.

831
00:36:56,880 --> 00:36:59,250
We do it with a certain attitude,
an honest and good heart.

832
00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:03,120
And now finally, this is
probably the hardest part, and

833
00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:06,030
this is what distinguishes the
good soil from all the others.

834
00:37:07,170 --> 00:37:08,820
Bears fruit with patience.

835
00:37:09,540 --> 00:37:15,060
This is the person who doesn't only just
do it, but he stays at it, he responds to

836
00:37:15,060 --> 00:37:17,640
it and he stays at it day in and day out.

837
00:37:18,900 --> 00:37:20,220
Brother, this is the hardest part.

838
00:37:20,655 --> 00:37:24,135
And I wish I could, I soften the
blow for you, but the truth of the

839
00:37:24,135 --> 00:37:29,355
matter is that there's going to be
1,000,001 things that make your walk

840
00:37:29,445 --> 00:37:32,265
impossible from a human perspective.

841
00:37:34,515 --> 00:37:35,055
You'll have.

842
00:37:36,105 --> 00:37:38,505
What we didn't talk about with
all the trials is that it's

843
00:37:38,505 --> 00:37:39,555
not that the trials happen.

844
00:37:39,645 --> 00:37:42,285
We all expect that everyone's gonna
go through trials and uh, I love

845
00:37:42,285 --> 00:37:43,395
the way that Pastor Peach said it.

846
00:37:43,395 --> 00:37:46,485
It's not whether you suffer,
but whether or not you.

847
00:37:46,924 --> 00:37:49,290
I, I should remember what
you said as I quote you.

848
00:37:50,670 --> 00:37:52,080
Just delete that from the thing, please.

849
00:37:52,920 --> 00:37:53,970
He said it really good.

850
00:37:53,970 --> 00:37:57,000
Trust me, what he said was so good.

851
00:37:59,340 --> 00:38:02,250
What's most challenging about this
is that the, the trials are tailored

852
00:38:02,250 --> 00:38:04,890
to you because God's not foolish.

853
00:38:04,890 --> 00:38:07,470
He's not just generally
sending you through difficulty.

854
00:38:07,650 --> 00:38:10,440
They're tailored to you and
to your weaknesses and to

855
00:38:10,440 --> 00:38:12,210
your specific picadillos.

856
00:38:12,615 --> 00:38:16,485
Your sinful tendencies, your I,
your, your, your subtle idolatries.

857
00:38:16,665 --> 00:38:20,625
God, God doesn't send trials on accident.

858
00:38:20,955 --> 00:38:22,605
They're purposeful
events that are meant to.

859
00:38:23,325 --> 00:38:28,515
Shape you, mold you do, you know, you guys
sing that old worship song, refiners Fire.

860
00:38:28,515 --> 00:38:29,325
My heart's.

861
00:38:29,325 --> 00:38:31,815
One desire is to be holy.

862
00:38:32,085 --> 00:38:32,925
Don't sing that song.

863
00:38:33,885 --> 00:38:36,945
That's a refiners fi burn me Lord.

864
00:38:37,485 --> 00:38:39,885
Burn off all the sins
You really want that.

865
00:38:39,945 --> 00:38:40,960
It's like the other song that we sing.

866
00:38:41,595 --> 00:38:45,680
Um, if, if All of You means
Less of Me, take everything.

867
00:38:47,175 --> 00:38:50,055
If more of you means less of
me, take everything I tremble

868
00:38:50,055 --> 00:38:51,525
at that song because I mean it.

869
00:38:51,675 --> 00:38:54,345
But I'm also trembling 'cause I
know what that I'm inviting the Lord

870
00:38:54,615 --> 00:38:57,285
to change everything in my life.

871
00:38:58,485 --> 00:38:59,895
And again, your trials are tailored.

872
00:39:00,435 --> 00:39:01,365
They're not accidents.

873
00:39:01,365 --> 00:39:02,625
God knows where you struggle.

874
00:39:02,625 --> 00:39:03,615
God knows where you sin.

875
00:39:03,645 --> 00:39:05,055
And so when he sends you through them.

876
00:39:05,475 --> 00:39:07,215
This is where you're gonna
feel the pain of this.

877
00:39:07,215 --> 00:39:08,715
I have to bear fruit with patients.

878
00:39:08,895 --> 00:39:11,445
I'm gonna go through this
really dark season of cancer.

879
00:39:11,565 --> 00:39:13,425
I'm gonna go through this
dark season of unemployment.

880
00:39:13,545 --> 00:39:15,525
I'm gonna go through this
dark season of loneliness.

881
00:39:15,525 --> 00:39:16,725
No one calls me back anymore.

882
00:39:16,725 --> 00:39:17,985
My grandkids don't wanna talk to me.

883
00:39:18,135 --> 00:39:20,325
I'm gonna go through this really
dark season where my wife and I

884
00:39:20,325 --> 00:39:22,095
are struggling to the nth degree.

885
00:39:22,215 --> 00:39:24,945
I'm gonna go through this really
hard season where it feels like

886
00:39:24,945 --> 00:39:26,565
the shadow of death encompasses me.

887
00:39:27,585 --> 00:39:31,245
Your trials are tailor made, and God knows
that because they're meant to grow you,

888
00:39:31,245 --> 00:39:33,465
and therefore, this is the hardest part.

889
00:39:33,465 --> 00:39:36,435
This is why this distinguishes
this heart from every other heart.

890
00:39:36,435 --> 00:39:39,915
It's soft, it's subtle, it's receptive,
but the barest fruit with patience, that

891
00:39:39,915 --> 00:39:41,235
means, here's what that means practically.

892
00:39:41,385 --> 00:39:44,985
You go through difficult seasons
and you're still fruitful.

893
00:39:46,095 --> 00:39:48,705
You're still bearing fruit
even in the dark of night.

894
00:39:50,115 --> 00:39:51,945
You can bear fruit in dry seasons.

895
00:39:51,945 --> 00:39:55,965
You can be more godly when everything
else around you is falling down.

896
00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:00,120
That's the uniqueness of this fruit.

897
00:40:00,240 --> 00:40:01,950
And as I said, humanly impossible.

898
00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:06,900
Humanly impossible, but by the spirit
unlocks the door to everything.

899
00:40:07,410 --> 00:40:11,190
The spirit's work in your life makes
all of these things make sense.

900
00:40:11,190 --> 00:40:12,300
He binds 'em all together.

901
00:40:13,110 --> 00:40:15,720
The fort soil doesn't
just employ the word.

902
00:40:15,779 --> 00:40:20,340
When there's good times, when
it's fair weather, uh, fort soil

903
00:40:20,550 --> 00:40:21,870
employs the word consistently.

904
00:40:23,370 --> 00:40:24,120
Fort soil is.

905
00:40:24,675 --> 00:40:29,745
Much like what Psalm chapter one says,
I, I only quoted to you verses one and

906
00:40:29,745 --> 00:40:34,035
two, but Psalm one verse three says
about that same blessed man who meditates

907
00:40:34,035 --> 00:40:40,695
day and night, he is like a tree that
is planted by what Streams of water.

908
00:40:40,695 --> 00:40:40,725
Streams of water.

909
00:40:41,295 --> 00:40:46,035
A tree planted by a stream now has
a source of life outside of the rain

910
00:40:46,845 --> 00:40:48,525
that's, that tree has access to.

911
00:40:49,170 --> 00:40:53,370
Living water that will supply that tree
with life no matter what the season is,

912
00:40:53,370 --> 00:40:57,120
no matter how dry he has planted like a
tree by streams of water that yields its

913
00:40:57,120 --> 00:41:03,120
fruit in its season and its leaf does not
wither, and all that he does, he prospers.

914
00:41:03,360 --> 00:41:06,990
This is the tree that always
produces fruit regardless of

915
00:41:06,990 --> 00:41:08,190
what's happening outside of it.

916
00:41:08,340 --> 00:41:10,170
This is the tree that's planted by God.

917
00:41:10,170 --> 00:41:12,270
This is the tree that
is the receptive heart.

918
00:41:12,450 --> 00:41:13,740
He responds to the word of God.

919
00:41:13,740 --> 00:41:15,060
He's humbled before the word of God.

920
00:41:15,150 --> 00:41:16,770
He produces fruit all year long.

921
00:41:16,890 --> 00:41:17,485
That is the heart.

922
00:41:18,210 --> 00:41:22,140
That God uses in the Christian life,
which is why it makes sense now that

923
00:41:22,140 --> 00:41:24,390
he's so extraordinarily productive.

924
00:41:24,630 --> 00:41:27,270
How can he produce 30, 60,
90, a hundred fold fruit?

925
00:41:27,330 --> 00:41:29,970
Because he's producing fruit all seasons.

926
00:41:30,150 --> 00:41:31,740
He's not just waiting for the harvest.

927
00:41:31,920 --> 00:41:33,960
The fruitful Christian is fruitful.

928
00:41:34,050 --> 00:41:35,280
Winter, summer, spring, fall.

929
00:41:35,310 --> 00:41:40,770
He's always fruitful, which
is why he's 30, 60, 90 fold.

930
00:41:42,030 --> 00:41:44,250
Now, I should qualify before
you get too far ahead here.

931
00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:44,610
This is.

932
00:41:45,510 --> 00:41:48,750
It doesn't mean that you're gonna
be equally fruitful every season.

933
00:41:49,380 --> 00:41:51,330
It's just that every season
you're making progress.

934
00:41:51,570 --> 00:41:54,180
Your relationship with God is
deepening your love for the Lord

935
00:41:54,180 --> 00:41:56,040
and your love for others increases.

936
00:41:56,610 --> 00:41:57,600
This is the whole idea,

937
00:42:00,150 --> 00:42:02,760
enduring fruitfulness hard necessary.

938
00:42:03,900 --> 00:42:06,000
This is the person that
God calls us to be.

939
00:42:07,260 --> 00:42:08,910
One of the challenges then is that.

940
00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:12,840
You might find yourself saying, but I'm
so often dry, I'm feeling I'm struggling.

941
00:42:13,110 --> 00:42:16,440
Uh, one of my favorite authors and one
of my favorite books is called Spiritual

942
00:42:16,440 --> 00:42:17,220
Disciplines for the Christian Life.

943
00:42:17,220 --> 00:42:20,820
Don Whitney says that one of the things
that we do as Christians is that we

944
00:42:20,820 --> 00:42:23,070
place ourselves in the path of grace.

945
00:42:23,550 --> 00:42:27,120
We put ourselves in the place
where God's grace is expected,

946
00:42:27,780 --> 00:42:30,210
which is, is almost child's play.

947
00:42:30,210 --> 00:42:33,240
I'm, I don't, I'm gonna insult
you, but that means then I want

948
00:42:33,240 --> 00:42:34,620
to constantly be in my word.

949
00:42:35,265 --> 00:42:38,595
Now, in fact, I was reading
part of a, is it Mueller's?

950
00:42:38,685 --> 00:42:40,485
Uh, uh, Hudson, uh, Mueller.

951
00:42:40,485 --> 00:42:42,015
It's Mueller Mueller's biography.

952
00:42:42,255 --> 00:42:44,835
George Mueller orphanages
Great man of faith.

953
00:42:45,015 --> 00:42:48,465
One of the things he said is, I, I found
the secret to, to Christian growth.

954
00:42:48,795 --> 00:42:53,355
He said, for years, I pray for a good
hour before I would read my Bible, and I

955
00:42:53,384 --> 00:42:54,675
tried to get my heart in the right place.

956
00:42:54,675 --> 00:42:58,575
He says, then I learned that it was
actually the reverse that made sense.

957
00:42:58,875 --> 00:43:01,275
I had to read my Bible meditatively.

958
00:43:02,190 --> 00:43:05,070
And then find myself naturally
moving into prayer and finding

959
00:43:05,070 --> 00:43:06,630
my heart happy in Christ.

960
00:43:06,750 --> 00:43:08,820
And that's what allowed
me to make progress.

961
00:43:09,090 --> 00:43:11,790
When I got the order wrong,
I found that I was famished.

962
00:43:11,850 --> 00:43:15,630
He says instead, I needed to feed
my soul in order to feed my prayers.

963
00:43:15,990 --> 00:43:18,630
It was him saying, I'm gonna put
myself in the path of God's grace.

964
00:43:18,630 --> 00:43:21,360
You need to feast on these
things that God gives you.

965
00:43:22,020 --> 00:43:24,870
We could talk about habits and, and,
and whether you should, you know,

966
00:43:25,320 --> 00:43:26,640
add these things to your schedule.

967
00:43:26,905 --> 00:43:29,070
I, I mean, I read something recently.

968
00:43:29,730 --> 00:43:30,180
And it stood out.

969
00:43:30,210 --> 00:43:31,110
'cause I thought, that's brilliant.

970
00:43:31,110 --> 00:43:32,160
I've been thinking that my whole life.

971
00:43:32,160 --> 00:43:32,910
I never put it this way.

972
00:43:33,210 --> 00:43:34,200
Here's what the author said.

973
00:43:34,260 --> 00:43:35,550
See if it, see how it lands on you.

974
00:43:36,120 --> 00:43:41,400
He says, behavior modification
is dangerously necessary.

975
00:43:42,510 --> 00:43:44,790
Behavior modification is
dangerously necessary.

976
00:43:45,570 --> 00:43:47,460
Everyone, if, if you know what
behavior modification is, you've

977
00:43:47,460 --> 00:43:48,270
been around the church a little bit.

978
00:43:48,270 --> 00:43:51,030
You understand behavior modification
is kind of a negative term.

979
00:43:51,390 --> 00:43:55,410
Um, it's used often to say, well, we don't
want to just, uh, behavior modification.

980
00:43:55,410 --> 00:43:57,150
Our kids, we don't want them
just to do the right thing.

981
00:43:57,675 --> 00:44:01,125
Now that's true as far as it goes,
but we do want them to do the

982
00:44:01,125 --> 00:44:02,895
right thing for the right reasons.

983
00:44:03,195 --> 00:44:06,225
So we train behavior, we teach
them the same thing is true for us.

984
00:44:06,225 --> 00:44:08,625
We need to put ourselves in
the path of God, grace and

985
00:44:08,625 --> 00:44:09,705
do it for the right reasons.

986
00:44:09,705 --> 00:44:10,695
That's the big Mo.

987
00:44:10,695 --> 00:44:11,565
That's the biggest difference.

988
00:44:11,685 --> 00:44:15,165
If I follow the Lord, if I'm doing
it just because I wanna look good

989
00:44:15,165 --> 00:44:17,295
in front of you guys and say, oh
look, I just quoted that scripture.

990
00:44:17,295 --> 00:44:19,154
Did you notice that I was so good at that?

991
00:44:20,445 --> 00:44:22,215
If I'm doing it though,
for the glory of God.

992
00:44:22,560 --> 00:44:24,570
If I'm doing it because I love
you and I love the Lord, and

993
00:44:24,690 --> 00:44:25,710
that's every, that's different.

994
00:44:25,890 --> 00:44:28,830
Now, my habit takes on a
whole new realm of importance.

995
00:44:28,980 --> 00:44:32,790
When I memorize my Bible, I'm doing it
not just as a begrudging discipline, but

996
00:44:32,790 --> 00:44:34,320
as a way to show my love for the Lord.

997
00:44:34,980 --> 00:44:37,380
But make no mistake, it
was behavior modification.

998
00:44:37,440 --> 00:44:38,430
I had to practice that.

999
00:44:38,880 --> 00:44:41,279
Reading my Bible every day has
become one of those things I

1000
00:44:41,279 --> 00:44:41,970
don't even have to think about.

1001
00:44:41,970 --> 00:44:42,600
I just do it.

1002
00:44:42,600 --> 00:44:45,300
I love that it's not an
automatic, I still pray.

1003
00:44:45,300 --> 00:44:48,750
I still interact with it, but it's such
a, I don't struggle with it anymore.

1004
00:44:48,840 --> 00:44:49,410
It's not a struggle.

1005
00:44:49,410 --> 00:44:50,070
I just do it.

1006
00:44:50,505 --> 00:44:51,135
Not boasting.

1007
00:44:51,165 --> 00:44:52,125
That's what God does.

1008
00:44:52,305 --> 00:44:53,475
I go in the path of God's grace.

1009
00:44:53,475 --> 00:44:56,475
I feast 'cause I'm hungry, I eat
it and the Lord uses those things.

1010
00:44:57,345 --> 00:45:00,165
One of the things that Pipe Piper
said, and I can't find the precise

1011
00:45:00,165 --> 00:45:02,595
quote, but it's exactly the,
what I'm gonna show you is him.

1012
00:45:02,985 --> 00:45:04,455
Don't look it up on the internet
'cause you can't find it.

1013
00:45:04,935 --> 00:45:07,695
I looked several different times
for this very thing, but here's

1014
00:45:07,695 --> 00:45:08,565
what he said, and it fits.

1015
00:45:08,565 --> 00:45:10,515
If you know Piper, it's gonna be
like, oh yeah, he sounds something

1016
00:45:10,515 --> 00:45:11,895
he would say, here's what he said.

1017
00:45:12,855 --> 00:45:15,915
My growth in Christ is frustratingly slow.

1018
00:45:16,065 --> 00:45:19,125
He was reflecting on his 70th year,
whatever it was, when he, when

1019
00:45:19,125 --> 00:45:22,065
he was doing the podcast and, and
he said, well, what's one of the

1020
00:45:22,065 --> 00:45:24,285
things that stands out to you, John,
after all these years of ministry?

1021
00:45:24,285 --> 00:45:27,404
And he says, my sanctification so slow.

1022
00:45:28,095 --> 00:45:32,295
I've made so little progress compared to
what I thought I was gonna be able to do.

1023
00:45:32,654 --> 00:45:34,815
I have not gone as far as I wanted to go.

1024
00:45:34,815 --> 00:45:37,424
I have not made as much spiritual
gains as I wanted to make.

1025
00:45:37,875 --> 00:45:40,815
And I thought that's yes, same.

1026
00:45:41,175 --> 00:45:42,045
Same bro.

1027
00:45:43,005 --> 00:45:44,415
John, Dr.

1028
00:45:44,415 --> 00:45:45,795
Piper, same thing.

1029
00:45:47,025 --> 00:45:50,445
I want, I want to encourage you
with that and suggest to you that's

1030
00:45:50,445 --> 00:45:54,105
probably gonna be the same for
you, but I, I'm okay with this.

1031
00:45:54,195 --> 00:45:58,245
I'd rather you be ambitious enough to say,
I'm gonna fight for everything I got and

1032
00:45:58,245 --> 00:46:01,485
I, I'm not gonna be satisfied with the
holiness that I've acquired to this point.

1033
00:46:02,985 --> 00:46:04,335
Your heart has to be.

1034
00:46:04,860 --> 00:46:08,850
Constantly vigilantly guarded
so that it constantly makes

1035
00:46:08,850 --> 00:46:10,230
progress in your sanctification.

1036
00:46:10,410 --> 00:46:11,549
It's not gonna be accidental.

1037
00:46:11,670 --> 00:46:13,830
You shift into neutral,
you're not making progress.

1038
00:46:13,980 --> 00:46:16,710
Sure, but you're actually
regressing because the Christian

1039
00:46:16,710 --> 00:46:18,150
life is driving uphill.

1040
00:46:19,170 --> 00:46:21,270
It's the, it's the whole of your C,
it's always gonna be driving uphill.

1041
00:46:21,270 --> 00:46:23,820
Sometimes it's better,
sometimes it's excruciating.

1042
00:46:24,509 --> 00:46:27,900
But you always gotta keep your gas,
your foot on the gas making progress,

1043
00:46:28,140 --> 00:46:30,000
which requires you to guard your heart.

1044
00:46:30,795 --> 00:46:32,835
Guarding your heart then means
that you're trying to cultivate

1045
00:46:32,835 --> 00:46:33,705
the right kind of heart.

1046
00:46:33,885 --> 00:46:35,475
A heart that treasures the word highly.

1047
00:46:35,625 --> 00:46:36,705
He holds faster.

1048
00:46:36,705 --> 00:46:38,955
The word, he receives it sincerely.

1049
00:46:38,985 --> 00:46:41,175
He receives it with an
honest and good heart.

1050
00:46:41,385 --> 00:46:43,425
It's a heart that's true
before God, before others.

1051
00:46:43,425 --> 00:46:44,505
He's trying to grow in this.

1052
00:46:44,505 --> 00:46:46,665
He's letting the word of God
do it's work in his life.

1053
00:46:46,665 --> 00:46:49,185
And thirdly, he puts the
word to work consistently.

1054
00:46:49,365 --> 00:46:50,895
He's not a fair weather Christian.

1055
00:46:50,895 --> 00:46:52,695
He's all day, every day at the same thing.

1056
00:46:52,905 --> 00:46:53,895
Days that he wants to do it.

1057
00:46:53,895 --> 00:46:56,565
He does it days that he doesn't
wanna do it, he does it.

1058
00:46:56,565 --> 00:46:58,365
He's as faithful as the rising sun.

1059
00:46:58,725 --> 00:46:59,130
This is.

1060
00:47:00,075 --> 00:47:03,615
The tender, receptive, responsive,
and consequently, the fruitful

1061
00:47:03,615 --> 00:47:05,625
heart fruit takes time.

1062
00:47:06,585 --> 00:47:09,045
A good heart then is distinguished
by tenacious receptivity.

1063
00:47:09,825 --> 00:47:13,005
It's by sincere consideration
and enduring faithfulness.

1064
00:47:13,875 --> 00:47:15,945
Well, remember we started this whole
thing with saying that the thesis

1065
00:47:15,945 --> 00:47:19,545
of this weekend is that it is the
receptivity of the heart or the

1066
00:47:19,545 --> 00:47:23,115
condition of the heart that determines
the receptivity of your response.

1067
00:47:23,775 --> 00:47:24,765
I said that wrong, didn't I?

1068
00:47:25,245 --> 00:47:27,645
It is the condition of your
heart that determines the

1069
00:47:27,645 --> 00:47:28,490
fruitfulness of your response.

1070
00:47:30,390 --> 00:47:34,080
Your heart matters more than you
might realize, and what I wanted

1071
00:47:34,080 --> 00:47:36,450
to do this weekend is put it on
your radar as one of the things

1072
00:47:36,450 --> 00:47:37,710
that you're constantly working on.

1073
00:47:38,220 --> 00:47:41,370
Going through the motions is important,
but going through the motions with

1074
00:47:41,430 --> 00:47:45,270
the right heart is more important
when you show up to church tomorrow.

1075
00:47:45,330 --> 00:47:48,660
I hope you've taken time to pray with
your family and as to prepare your own

1076
00:47:48,660 --> 00:47:51,540
heart, even maybe to read the Bible
ahead of time and say, Lord, help

1077
00:47:51,540 --> 00:47:56,790
me make this count that you're never
engaging with the word in a passe.

1078
00:47:57,150 --> 00:47:59,160
Kind of way, but you're
always working at it.

1079
00:48:00,480 --> 00:48:01,770
Yeah, man, this is hard.

1080
00:48:01,770 --> 00:48:02,610
This is hard work.

1081
00:48:02,640 --> 00:48:05,310
Hard work is hard work, but
this is the whole thing.

1082
00:48:05,490 --> 00:48:06,360
This is the whole enchilada.

1083
00:48:06,390 --> 00:48:07,050
This is what matters.

1084
00:48:07,050 --> 00:48:08,580
This is what God's gonna commend you for.

1085
00:48:09,090 --> 00:48:09,780
It's your heart.

1086
00:48:10,200 --> 00:48:12,570
Remember we started this whole
thing with one Corinthians 13.

1087
00:48:13,200 --> 00:48:14,940
There's a kind of person, I
don't know if actually I quoted

1088
00:48:14,940 --> 00:48:16,050
you now I think about it.

1089
00:48:16,500 --> 00:48:17,220
I missed it.

1090
00:48:18,960 --> 00:48:20,605
One Corinthians 13, Paul says,
there's the kind of person.

1091
00:48:21,990 --> 00:48:25,740
Who can give and serve
to the furthest degree.

1092
00:48:25,740 --> 00:48:30,390
He says it this way, he says, uh,
if I give up my body to be burned, I

1093
00:48:30,390 --> 00:48:33,390
sacrifice my life for you, but I have not.

1094
00:48:33,450 --> 00:48:35,520
Love is worthless.

1095
00:48:36,630 --> 00:48:40,110
It's the most expensive gift you
could give anybody, but it can

1096
00:48:40,110 --> 00:48:43,560
be spiritually profitless if it's
not done with the right heart.

1097
00:48:44,640 --> 00:48:45,425
That's what this is all about.

1098
00:48:46,590 --> 00:48:49,620
Helping you to serve with the right
heart, helping you to love your family

1099
00:48:49,620 --> 00:48:52,080
with the right heart, helping you to
open your Bible with the right heart,

1100
00:48:52,230 --> 00:48:55,530
helping you to engage in church life
with the right heart, even helping

1101
00:48:55,530 --> 00:48:58,410
you to go through small groups for
this next hour with the right heart.

1102
00:48:59,130 --> 00:49:01,110
Brothers, we're so grateful to spend
time with you and I hope this was

1103
00:49:01,110 --> 00:49:04,080
helpful, but we want you, and we've
been praying for you to have the right

1104
00:49:04,080 --> 00:49:07,380
heart to continue to make progress
in these things, and we are trusting

1105
00:49:07,380 --> 00:49:10,890
that this is exactly the kind of thing
that God does over retreats like this.

1106
00:49:10,890 --> 00:49:11,490
Only a day.

1107
00:49:11,520 --> 00:49:12,780
We've only been here 24 hours.

1108
00:49:13,200 --> 00:49:14,010
Little over that now.

1109
00:49:14,580 --> 00:49:17,250
But we're trusting that God will use
these things to bless you and benefit you.

1110
00:49:17,250 --> 00:49:20,580
And hopefully when you go home this
afternoon, this evening, um, you begin

1111
00:49:20,580 --> 00:49:23,730
to take a lot more notice about how
you love people with the right heart.

1112
00:49:24,390 --> 00:49:24,960
Let's pray.

1113
00:49:24,990 --> 00:49:25,920
We'll make you to your groups.

1114
00:49:26,490 --> 00:49:30,060
God thank you for this weekend and helping
us to go through four different sessions

1115
00:49:30,060 --> 00:49:31,920
and to listen to the best of our ability.

1116
00:49:32,130 --> 00:49:34,950
We now pray, Lord, as we enter into the
small group time, that we would do so

1117
00:49:35,190 --> 00:49:38,340
with awareness of what we're doing, that
it would matter that we would not take it

1118
00:49:38,340 --> 00:49:39,750
lightly, but that we would give our best.

1119
00:49:40,125 --> 00:49:42,165
Help us to read the text and
to think about them and to

1120
00:49:42,165 --> 00:49:43,305
respond to them accordingly.

1121
00:49:43,455 --> 00:49:48,465
Let us honor and serve you with how
we love, with how we love one another,

1122
00:49:48,915 --> 00:49:50,535
but also how we engage with this.

1123
00:49:51,075 --> 00:49:53,715
It's easy for us, Lord, to give
pat answers and to be superficial.

1124
00:49:54,345 --> 00:49:57,315
Um, and sometimes that's, that's,
it's helpful just to get into the

1125
00:49:57,315 --> 00:49:58,665
conversation, but let us not stay there.

1126
00:49:59,355 --> 00:50:01,635
Help us to be discontent with
just scratching the surface.

1127
00:50:01,965 --> 00:50:02,685
Let us dive deep.

1128
00:50:02,685 --> 00:50:03,225
Let us be real.

1129
00:50:03,225 --> 00:50:04,005
Let us be honest.

1130
00:50:04,245 --> 00:50:06,855
Let us make some Godly resolutions
as we leave this place, Lord,

1131
00:50:06,855 --> 00:50:07,845
that you might be glorified.

1132
00:50:08,430 --> 00:50:10,799
That our families and our
churches might be blessed.

1133
00:50:10,799 --> 00:50:13,650
The people who know us might be
blessed because of our lives.

1134
00:50:14,040 --> 00:50:15,330
We entrust this to you in Jesus name.

1135
00:50:15,630 --> 00:50:15,960
Amen.