Who is He?
Series: Mark
Speaker: Chris Jones
Date: 22nd March 2014
Passage: Mark 4:1-41
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Three men walked into a bar, one ducked.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:07 Holly got it.
00:00:13 --> 00:00:15 Three men walked into a bar, one ducked.
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 There's a dawning around the room, people are slowly getting it.
00:00:23 --> 00:00:24 Who hasn't got it yet?
00:00:24 --> 00:00:25 Don't embarrass yourself, it's okay.
00:00:25 --> 00:00:28 I never got it the first time I heard it.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:33 Your dad tells it too, oh well.
00:00:37 --> 00:00:40 I know where I got it but I didn't get it from your dad.
00:00:45 --> 00:00:47 It's great actually because you say something like that
00:00:47 --> 00:00:50 and you just get this laugh and nobody else is laughing
00:00:50 --> 00:00:51 because nobody else gets it.
00:00:52 --> 00:00:55 And then you say it again and maybe a few more get it
00:00:55 --> 00:00:58 and if you haven't got it yet, somebody can explain it to you
00:00:58 --> 00:00:59 after church tonight.
00:00:59 --> 00:01:05 But you heard the same words, everybody heard the same words
00:01:05 --> 00:01:10 and some of you understood them, some of you didn't
00:01:10 --> 00:01:15 and those on the inside, sorry, some of you,
00:01:15 --> 00:01:18 I'm going to adjust that because I can't see.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:21 That's my glasses.
00:01:21 --> 00:01:22 Brian Rose not hidden, is he?
00:01:28 --> 00:01:31 Some of you heard those words in a totally wrong way
00:01:31 --> 00:01:32 and others got the secret.
00:01:33 --> 00:01:36 The way parables work, Jesus says something
00:01:36 --> 00:01:39 and some people get it and there are those on the inside
00:01:39 --> 00:01:43 so they get what he says and everybody else is on the outside
00:01:43 --> 00:01:45 in a sense they're excluded from what he says
00:01:45 --> 00:01:47 because they don't just get what he's trying to say.
00:01:48 --> 00:01:51 We're working through Mark's gospel at present.
00:01:51 --> 00:01:52 We've been there the last few weeks.
00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 It's not really a biography of Jesus.
00:01:54 --> 00:01:57 Sometimes we talk about the gospels being a biography
00:01:57 --> 00:01:59 but the more we've done Mark's gospel the last few weeks,
00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 I've seen and for me that this is fast-paced preaching.
00:02:03 --> 00:02:06 This is Mark telling us about Jesus quite rapidly
00:02:06 --> 00:02:09 and making a whole number of points as he goes along.
00:02:09 --> 00:02:12 It's a gospel that can be read in an hour.
00:02:13 --> 00:02:13 Mark's a preacher.
00:02:14 --> 00:02:14 He's on about Jesus.
00:02:15 --> 00:02:18 He's throwing out a life-saving message that anyone can hear
00:02:18 --> 00:02:22 and he knows that telling people about Jesus is going to get a response.
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 It will be heard or it will be not heard.
00:02:25 --> 00:02:26 It will be accepted or it will be rejected
00:02:26 --> 00:02:31 and you don't have to be clever, hate him or love him.
00:02:31 --> 00:02:35 These words are powerful enough to bring people to a real faith
00:02:35 --> 00:02:36 in the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:02:38 --> 00:02:39 One of you took up my challenge the other week.
00:02:40 --> 00:02:41 I was terribly encouraged by this
00:02:41 --> 00:02:44 but one of you took the Mark's gospel from Morning Church the other week,
00:02:44 --> 00:02:48 took it home and offered it to somebody in your family
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 and said, would you think about reading this
00:02:50 --> 00:02:54 and writing any questions you've got in it as you go
00:02:54 --> 00:02:59 and would you meet with me again sometime after you've done it
00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 and we'll talk about whatever questions you've got coming out of it.
00:03:02 --> 00:03:04 Now, I haven't heard the end of that story yet
00:03:04 --> 00:03:06 but I'm really interested to hear the end of that story.
00:03:08 --> 00:03:11 Today we come to a brand new area in this Sermon of Jesus
00:03:11 --> 00:03:14 and it begins at chapter 4, verse 1
00:03:14 --> 00:03:18 and I'd really like you to have your Bibles open as I speak.
00:03:18 --> 00:03:21 Jesus began to teach by the lake
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 and the crowd that gathered around him was so large
00:03:24 --> 00:03:29 that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake.
00:03:30 --> 00:03:33 While all the people were along the shore at the water's edge,
00:03:33 --> 00:03:35 he taught them many things by parable.
00:03:36 --> 00:03:38 So what Mark's actually saying to us
00:03:38 --> 00:03:41 is he's introducing this new idea
00:03:41 --> 00:03:44 that Jesus used stories as a way of communicating.
00:03:45 --> 00:03:45 He used parables.
00:03:45 --> 00:03:49 He spoke in a way, he told a story to make a point.
00:03:50 --> 00:03:52 Stories that draw us in emotionally
00:03:52 --> 00:03:54 and then catch us unexpectedly
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 with a sledgehammer between the eyes.
00:03:57 --> 00:04:00 Jesus uses stories which get under our guard.
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 We listen to a good story with delight.
00:04:03 --> 00:04:05 The story gets past our defences,
00:04:05 --> 00:04:06 it plays with our emotions
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 and then it drives the point home.
00:04:10 --> 00:04:14 One of the most famous examples of a story like this in the Bible
00:04:14 --> 00:04:17 is in the Old Testament in 2 Samuel chapter 12.
00:04:18 --> 00:04:20 David is God's king
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 and David has angered God
00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 by sleeping with Uriah's wife Bathsheba.
00:04:27 --> 00:04:30 She is a drop-dead gorgeous woman
00:04:30 --> 00:04:31 that he has drooled over
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 as he looked down from his roof
00:04:33 --> 00:04:34 and saw her taking a bath.
00:04:34 --> 00:04:38 She was straight out of a Jerusalem men's magazine.
00:04:40 --> 00:04:41 She got pregnant
00:04:41 --> 00:04:44 and David stepped in
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 and he didn't do the modern thing and kill the baby,
00:04:46 --> 00:04:48 he killed the husband instead.
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 It's a really sordid tale
00:04:52 --> 00:04:56 and the king who is described as a man after God's own heart
00:04:56 --> 00:04:59 sins in a high-handed way
00:04:59 --> 00:05:02 that he really seems to have got away with
00:05:02 --> 00:05:04 and he can even look pretty cocky
00:05:04 --> 00:05:06 because he can look like the man
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 who's taken this beautiful woman into his own family
00:05:09 --> 00:05:12 after her husband's been unfortunately killed on the battlefield.
00:05:13 --> 00:05:13 What a man.
00:05:16 --> 00:05:19 Not many people know the secret
00:05:19 --> 00:05:20 but God does
00:05:20 --> 00:05:21 and he confronts him.
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 And he sends his prophet, Nathan,
00:05:25 --> 00:05:27 to tell the king that he's under judgment.
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 It's a really dangerous thing
00:05:30 --> 00:05:31 bringing the word of God to people
00:05:31 --> 00:05:33 who might not want to hear it.
00:05:35 --> 00:05:37 And Nathan tells David a story.
00:05:37 --> 00:05:39 He tells him a parable.
00:05:40 --> 00:05:40 He says,
00:05:41 --> 00:05:42 there's two men in a town, king.
00:05:42 --> 00:05:42 He says,
00:05:43 --> 00:05:43 one of them's rich
00:05:43 --> 00:05:44 and one of them's poor
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 and the rich man,
00:05:46 --> 00:05:48 well, he had a vast herd of animals
00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 and the poor man,
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 well, he had one little lamb
00:05:52 --> 00:05:53 that he nurtured
00:05:53 --> 00:05:54 and he cared for
00:05:54 --> 00:05:55 like one of his own family.
00:05:55 --> 00:06:00 The rich man had unexpected visitors
00:06:00 --> 00:06:02 and instead of using his own sheep to feed them,
00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 he kills the poor man's lamb to feed them.
00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 And David hears the story
00:06:09 --> 00:06:11 and he's absolutely fired up by the injustice of it
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 and so in 2 Samuel 12,
00:06:13 --> 00:06:13 it says,
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 David burned with anger against the man
00:06:16 --> 00:06:16 and he said to Nathan,
00:06:17 --> 00:06:18 as surely as the Lord lives,
00:06:18 --> 00:06:21 the man who did this deserves to die
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 and he must pay for that lamb
00:06:23 --> 00:06:24 four times over
00:06:24 --> 00:06:26 because he did such a thing
00:06:26 --> 00:06:27 and had no pity.
00:06:29 --> 00:06:32 So David's anger and his passion
00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 is aroused at a story of terrible injustice
00:06:34 --> 00:06:37 and Nathan plunges the sword in
00:06:37 --> 00:06:39 at home with the words,
00:06:39 --> 00:06:40 you are the man.
00:06:45 --> 00:06:46 Now, I don't know if you realise it,
00:06:46 --> 00:06:47 I see it with older people,
00:06:48 --> 00:06:50 but we have this amazing capacity
00:06:50 --> 00:06:52 for seeing injustice and failure
00:06:52 --> 00:06:53 in the lives of other people,
00:06:53 --> 00:06:54 not us,
00:06:54 --> 00:06:56 and being completely blind to ourselves.
00:06:58 --> 00:07:00 We see everything else that's wrong
00:07:00 --> 00:07:01 in the world except us.
00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 And it's a great story
00:07:05 --> 00:07:06 because this is a story
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 that gets past our defences,
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 it captures our emotions
00:07:10 --> 00:07:12 and it makes us hunger for what is right
00:07:12 --> 00:07:14 and it drives its point home.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:15 That's what a parable does.
00:07:15 --> 00:07:18 So Mark 4,
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 Jesus tells a story,
00:07:21 --> 00:07:21 a parable,
00:07:21 --> 00:07:22 verse 3,
00:07:22 --> 00:07:22 it begins,
00:07:22 --> 00:07:23 listen,
00:07:24 --> 00:07:26 a farmer went out to sow his seed
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 and as he was scattering the seed,
00:07:29 --> 00:07:30 some fell along the path
00:07:30 --> 00:07:31 and the birds came and ate it up,
00:07:32 --> 00:07:33 some fell on rocky places
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 where it did not have much soil,
00:07:35 --> 00:07:36 it sprang up quickly
00:07:36 --> 00:07:38 because the soil was shallow,
00:07:39 --> 00:07:40 but when the sun came up,
00:07:40 --> 00:07:41 the plants were scorched
00:07:41 --> 00:07:42 and they withered
00:07:42 --> 00:07:43 because they had no root.
00:07:43 --> 00:07:46 Other seed fell among the thorns
00:07:46 --> 00:07:47 which grew up
00:07:47 --> 00:07:48 and choked the plants
00:07:48 --> 00:07:49 so that they did not bear grain
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 and still other seed
00:07:51 --> 00:07:52 fell on good soil,
00:07:52 --> 00:07:53 it came up,
00:07:53 --> 00:07:54 it grew and produced the crop
00:07:54 --> 00:07:56 multiplying 30,
00:07:56 --> 00:07:58 60 or even 100 times.
00:08:00 --> 00:08:01 So there's a farmer
00:08:01 --> 00:08:03 and the farmer goes out
00:08:03 --> 00:08:04 to plant a crop.
00:08:06 --> 00:08:07 I used to live in
00:08:07 --> 00:08:08 north-western New South Wales
00:08:08 --> 00:08:12 and that is big crop growing country,
00:08:12 --> 00:08:13 flat ground,
00:08:13 --> 00:08:14 big crop growing country.
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 And when it comes close to planting,
00:08:17 --> 00:08:18 the farmers start to get really edgy
00:08:18 --> 00:08:19 and excited
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 because they really want to get going
00:08:21 --> 00:08:22 but they've got to wait
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 for the timing to be just right
00:08:24 --> 00:08:25 when they plant their seeds
00:08:25 --> 00:08:27 because they want to give themselves
00:08:27 --> 00:08:28 the very best opportunity
00:08:28 --> 00:08:30 of growing the very best crop
00:08:30 --> 00:08:31 that they can.
00:08:33 --> 00:08:34 They're looking for results.
00:08:35 --> 00:08:37 So when a farmer puts a seed
00:08:37 --> 00:08:38 in the ground today or tomorrow,
00:08:39 --> 00:08:40 he's not just thinking
00:08:40 --> 00:08:41 today or tomorrow,
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 he is thinking five months
00:08:43 --> 00:08:44 into the future
00:08:44 --> 00:08:45 when he's going to be bringing
00:08:45 --> 00:08:45 in his harvest
00:08:45 --> 00:08:46 from what he's planted.
00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 One of the funny things I saw
00:08:53 --> 00:08:55 in the country
00:08:55 --> 00:08:56 was the competitiveness
00:08:56 --> 00:08:57 of farmers.
00:08:58 --> 00:09:00 The farmers would be watching
00:09:00 --> 00:09:01 one another
00:09:01 --> 00:09:02 to see who'd go first.
00:09:03 --> 00:09:04 When's the time right?
00:09:04 --> 00:09:05 Who's going to start planting?
00:09:05 --> 00:09:08 And I knew one bloke
00:09:08 --> 00:09:11 who lived in this farm.
00:09:11 --> 00:09:12 They're huge farms,
00:09:12 --> 00:09:13 5 acres
00:09:13 --> 00:09:14 and this bit of a laneway
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 that ran between them.
00:09:17 --> 00:09:19 And just before planting time
00:09:19 --> 00:09:20 was really ready,
00:09:20 --> 00:09:21 he'd go into his shed
00:09:21 --> 00:09:22 and he'd pull out
00:09:22 --> 00:09:23 his planting machine
00:09:23 --> 00:09:24 behind a giant tractor,
00:09:25 --> 00:09:26 fire it up
00:09:26 --> 00:09:27 and he'd drive the tractor
00:09:27 --> 00:09:27 up and down
00:09:27 --> 00:09:28 through his whole field
00:09:28 --> 00:09:29 without any seed in it.
00:09:29 --> 00:09:31 Because he'd look
00:09:31 --> 00:09:32 into trick his neighbours
00:09:32 --> 00:09:33 because his neighbours
00:09:33 --> 00:09:34 would see what he was doing
00:09:34 --> 00:09:35 and they'd go into their sheds
00:09:35 --> 00:09:36 and get their planters
00:09:36 --> 00:09:37 and come out and plant too.
00:09:38 --> 00:09:39 He thought it was a great joke
00:09:39 --> 00:09:40 and I think it was.
00:09:42 --> 00:09:43 In Jesus' day,
00:09:43 --> 00:09:44 farming was a lot lower tech.
00:09:45 --> 00:09:46 The farmer worked
00:09:46 --> 00:09:46 through the fields
00:09:46 --> 00:09:47 throwing out handfuls
00:09:47 --> 00:09:48 of grain
00:09:48 --> 00:09:49 and it spread around.
00:09:49 --> 00:09:50 The seeds seemed good.
00:09:51 --> 00:09:52 Nothing wrong with the seed
00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 but where it lands
00:09:54 --> 00:09:55 determines how it grows.
00:09:55 --> 00:09:57 That's what this parable's about.
00:09:58 --> 00:09:59 And he tells us
00:09:59 --> 00:10:00 that some of the seed
00:10:00 --> 00:10:01 lands on a path,
00:10:01 --> 00:10:02 never gets a chance
00:10:02 --> 00:10:03 to put down its roots.
00:10:04 --> 00:10:05 The birds fly in
00:10:05 --> 00:10:06 and they have a feed.
00:10:07 --> 00:10:08 Some lands on rocky soil.
00:10:09 --> 00:10:10 It starts to grow
00:10:10 --> 00:10:11 but as soon as the sun gets hot
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 it dries the roots,
00:10:13 --> 00:10:14 they wither and they die
00:10:14 --> 00:10:15 because they haven't gone down
00:10:15 --> 00:10:16 deep into moisture.
00:10:18 --> 00:10:19 There's other seed
00:10:19 --> 00:10:20 which grew with weeds
00:10:20 --> 00:10:21 that choked the plant
00:10:21 --> 00:10:22 and stopped it
00:10:22 --> 00:10:23 bearing any fruit at all.
00:10:24 --> 00:10:25 But the other seed
00:10:25 --> 00:10:27 landed in good soil.
00:10:27 --> 00:10:28 It grew and multiplied
00:10:28 --> 00:10:30 even as much as 100 times
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 which was a great return.
00:10:32 --> 00:10:33 Now I need you
00:10:33 --> 00:10:34 to help me out with this.
00:10:34 --> 00:10:35 I think Andrew's going to
00:10:35 --> 00:10:36 push a button
00:10:36 --> 00:10:37 on that PowerPoint.
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 I want you to have
00:10:39 --> 00:10:40 your Bibles open
00:10:40 --> 00:10:40 and tell me
00:10:40 --> 00:10:42 what the responses are
00:10:42 --> 00:10:42 when you read
00:10:42 --> 00:10:43 through this parable
00:10:43 --> 00:10:44 especially in the
00:10:44 --> 00:10:45 second half of it.
00:10:46 --> 00:10:47 So when Jesus explains it
00:10:47 --> 00:10:49 he says there's some seed
00:10:49 --> 00:10:51 that lands on a path
00:10:51 --> 00:10:52 and I want to know
00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 from the text
00:10:54 --> 00:10:55 do they hear?
00:10:56 --> 00:10:57 The seed that goes out
00:10:57 --> 00:10:58 to the path
00:10:58 --> 00:10:59 is the message heard?
00:10:59 --> 00:11:00 If the seed is the word of God
00:11:00 --> 00:11:01 is it heard?
00:11:04 --> 00:11:04 Yes.
00:11:05 --> 00:11:06 Is it received?
00:11:08 --> 00:11:09 Help me out faster.
00:11:09 --> 00:11:09 No.
00:11:10 --> 00:11:11 Is there joy?
00:11:11 --> 00:11:12 No.
00:11:12 --> 00:11:13 Does it get roots?
00:11:14 --> 00:11:14 No.
00:11:15 --> 00:11:16 Is there fruit?
00:11:16 --> 00:11:16 No.
00:11:17 --> 00:11:18 The second one's
00:11:18 --> 00:11:19 the rocky place
00:11:19 --> 00:11:20 the short root type stuff
00:11:20 --> 00:11:21 it withers and dies
00:11:21 --> 00:11:22 but is it heard?
00:11:22 --> 00:11:23 Yes.
00:11:23 --> 00:11:24 Is it received?
00:11:25 --> 00:11:26 Yes.
00:11:26 --> 00:11:27 Is there joy?
00:11:28 --> 00:11:29 Is that in the text?
00:11:30 --> 00:11:31 It is.
00:11:31 --> 00:11:31 You're right.
00:11:32 --> 00:11:33 Does it get roots?
00:11:34 --> 00:11:34 No.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:35 It doesn't get roots
00:11:35 --> 00:11:36 and is there fruit?
00:11:37 --> 00:11:37 No.
00:11:38 --> 00:11:38 Fourth,
00:11:38 --> 00:11:39 the third one
00:11:39 --> 00:11:40 the thorns
00:11:40 --> 00:11:41 does it
00:11:41 --> 00:11:42 is the word heard?
00:11:43 --> 00:11:44 Yes.
00:11:44 --> 00:11:45 Is it received?
00:11:46 --> 00:11:46 Yes.
00:11:47 --> 00:11:48 Is it with joy?
00:11:51 --> 00:11:52 Come on.
00:11:54 --> 00:11:55 What's in the Bible?
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 No.
00:11:59 --> 00:12:01 No, there's no joy.
00:12:02 --> 00:12:03 Does it get roots?
00:12:06 --> 00:12:08 Come on, be brave.
00:12:08 --> 00:12:10 Yes, it does get roots
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 and is there fruit?
00:12:12 --> 00:12:12 No.
00:12:13 --> 00:12:14 Last one
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 is it heard?
00:12:16 --> 00:12:16 Yes.
00:12:16 --> 00:12:17 Is it received?
00:12:18 --> 00:12:18 Yes.
00:12:18 --> 00:12:19 Is it with joy?
00:12:20 --> 00:12:21 We presume so.
00:12:21 --> 00:12:22 Does it get roots?
00:12:22 --> 00:12:23 Yes.
00:12:23 --> 00:12:24 And is there fruit?
00:12:24 --> 00:12:25 Yes.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:26 See what it shows us?
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 There's only one of these settings
00:12:29 --> 00:12:31 where there is a result
00:12:31 --> 00:12:32 where there is fruit
00:12:32 --> 00:12:34 where the word of God goes out
00:12:34 --> 00:12:35 and there is fruit.
00:12:35 --> 00:12:36 Now it's a great story
00:12:36 --> 00:12:37 you've got to ask
00:12:37 --> 00:12:37 what does it mean?
00:12:38 --> 00:12:39 And at first telling
00:12:39 --> 00:12:40 no one gets it
00:12:40 --> 00:12:41 not even Jesus' disciples.
00:12:42 --> 00:12:43 So in verse 10
00:12:43 --> 00:12:44 it says,
00:12:44 --> 00:12:44 when he was alone
00:12:44 --> 00:12:45 the twelve and the others
00:12:45 --> 00:12:47 around him asked about the parables
00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 and he told them
00:12:49 --> 00:12:50 the secret of the kingdom of God
00:12:50 --> 00:12:51 has been given to you
00:12:51 --> 00:12:53 but to those on the outside
00:12:53 --> 00:12:55 everything is said in parables
00:12:55 --> 00:12:57 so that they may be ever seeing
00:12:57 --> 00:12:58 but never perceiving
00:12:58 --> 00:13:00 ever hearing
00:13:00 --> 00:13:01 but never understanding
00:13:01 --> 00:13:04 otherwise they might turn
00:13:04 --> 00:13:04 and be forgiven.
00:13:06 --> 00:13:07 And then Jesus said to them
00:13:07 --> 00:13:09 don't you understand this parable?
00:13:09 --> 00:13:10 How then will you understand
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 any parable?
00:13:13 --> 00:13:15 So Jesus very clearly says
00:13:15 --> 00:13:16 some people get it
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17 and some people won't.
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20 And he says
00:13:20 --> 00:13:21 you guys will get it
00:13:21 --> 00:13:24 because God has made you one.
00:13:26 --> 00:13:27 I'm going to do something.
00:13:31 --> 00:13:31 My fault.
00:13:31 --> 00:13:32 Guess what I did tonight?
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 I turned the fans up to full bore
00:13:35 --> 00:13:36 and guess what's happening here?
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 My paper's blowing everywhere.
00:13:38 --> 00:13:39 Now I can use both my hands
00:13:39 --> 00:13:40 and I can look properly.
00:13:42 --> 00:13:43 Jesus says
00:13:43 --> 00:13:44 you guys will get it
00:13:44 --> 00:13:46 because the secret of the kingdom of God
00:13:46 --> 00:13:48 has been given to you.
00:13:48 --> 00:13:50 The disciples are not smart enough
00:13:50 --> 00:13:52 to work it out for themselves.
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 They become insiders
00:13:53 --> 00:13:54 because God gives them
00:13:54 --> 00:13:56 what they need to become insiders.
00:13:57 --> 00:13:59 So if you're a Christian
00:13:59 --> 00:14:02 it is because God has made you one.
00:14:02 --> 00:14:04 Faith is God's gift to you.
00:14:04 --> 00:14:07 There are no self-made men or women
00:14:07 --> 00:14:08 in the kingdom of heaven.
00:14:08 --> 00:14:09 We don't get ourselves there.
00:14:09 --> 00:14:11 God brings us into his family
00:14:11 --> 00:14:12 and into his kingdom
00:14:12 --> 00:14:13 and we are there
00:14:13 --> 00:14:15 because of his incredibly gracious
00:14:15 --> 00:14:16 kindness and love.
00:14:19 --> 00:14:21 Jesus quotes Isaiah 6
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 from the Old Testament
00:14:22 --> 00:14:25 and Isaiah is being commissioned by God
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 to tell people about God
00:14:27 --> 00:14:28 and his coming judgment.
00:14:29 --> 00:14:31 And it's a really interesting passage
00:14:31 --> 00:14:33 because God knows most people
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 will not respond to the prophet's message.
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 He knows in advance
00:14:37 --> 00:14:38 that most will come to judgment
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39 and nevertheless
00:14:39 --> 00:14:41 he sends his prophet out
00:14:41 --> 00:14:44 in a very unpopular role
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45 to a group of people
00:14:45 --> 00:14:47 who mostly won't listen.
00:14:48 --> 00:14:51 The word of God will be veiled to them.
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 They may be ever seeing
00:14:53 --> 00:14:54 but never perceiving
00:14:54 --> 00:14:56 and ever hearing
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 but never understanding
00:14:57 --> 00:14:59 otherwise they might turn
00:14:59 --> 00:14:59 and be forgiven.
00:15:01 --> 00:15:02 They see,
00:15:02 --> 00:15:03 they hear,
00:15:04 --> 00:15:05 they don't understand.
00:15:07 --> 00:15:07 So you can be sitting
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 in church tonight
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 and see and hear
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 and not understand.
00:15:14 --> 00:15:16 But the point is
00:15:16 --> 00:15:17 if they listen properly
00:15:17 --> 00:15:19 to the word of God
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 they might turn around
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 and repent
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 and be saved.
00:15:22 --> 00:15:26 So in the parable of the sower
00:15:26 --> 00:15:28 the very first word
00:15:28 --> 00:15:29 in this parable
00:15:29 --> 00:15:31 is probably the most important.
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 Listen.
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 It's Jesus speaking.
00:15:36 --> 00:15:36 Listen.
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 It's very emphatic.
00:15:40 --> 00:15:40 Listen.
00:15:42 --> 00:15:44 He's saying hear this right.
00:15:44 --> 00:15:45 Jesus is not mincing word.
00:15:45 --> 00:15:46 He is saying
00:15:46 --> 00:15:47 it is imperative to listen.
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 You've got to hear
00:15:49 --> 00:15:50 and understand
00:15:50 --> 00:15:51 what I am about to say.
00:15:52 --> 00:15:55 Now the disciples
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56 do not understand it all
00:15:56 --> 00:15:57 and Jesus needs
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 to explain it to them.
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 So Jesus takes
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 his disciples aside
00:16:00 --> 00:16:01 and gives them
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 a ball by ball
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 description
00:16:03 --> 00:16:05 of what this parable means.
00:16:05 --> 00:16:06 He unpacks it
00:16:06 --> 00:16:07 for his followers
00:16:07 --> 00:16:08 who want to understand.
00:16:10 --> 00:16:11 So verse 14
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 the farmer
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 sows the word.
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 The seed
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 is the word of God.
00:16:18 --> 00:16:18 And so
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 in a story
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 which begins
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 with this really
00:16:21 --> 00:16:21 urgent appeal
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22 to listen
00:16:22 --> 00:16:24 Jesus now explains
00:16:24 --> 00:16:24 that they must
00:16:24 --> 00:16:25 listen to him.
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 He is the word of God.
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 And once you've been
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 shown the secret
00:16:30 --> 00:16:30 it's like
00:16:30 --> 00:16:31 aha now I see
00:16:31 --> 00:16:32 I understand
00:16:32 --> 00:16:32 what this parable
00:16:32 --> 00:16:33 is about.
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 And the story
00:16:36 --> 00:16:36 is about
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38 four different ways
00:16:38 --> 00:16:38 that people
00:16:38 --> 00:16:41 listen to Jesus.
00:16:41 --> 00:16:41 It describes
00:16:41 --> 00:16:43 how his word
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 impacts us.
00:16:45 --> 00:16:45 And so
00:16:45 --> 00:16:47 this is a parable
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 this is a story
00:16:48 --> 00:16:48 which is about
00:16:48 --> 00:16:49 us.
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 The parable
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 explains
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 where every
00:16:53 --> 00:16:53 person
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54 sitting here
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 in church
00:16:55 --> 00:16:55 tonight
00:16:55 --> 00:16:58 it explains
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 where we sit
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 with regard
00:17:00 --> 00:17:00 to Jesus.
00:17:01 --> 00:17:02 No exception
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 I'm in this
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 parable
00:17:04 --> 00:17:04 and you're
00:17:04 --> 00:17:04 in this
00:17:04 --> 00:17:05 parable.
00:17:07 --> 00:17:08 The seed
00:17:08 --> 00:17:08 is good
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 Jesus
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 is good
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 his word
00:17:11 --> 00:17:11 is good
00:17:11 --> 00:17:13 it's powerful
00:17:13 --> 00:17:14 in its own
00:17:14 --> 00:17:14 right.
00:17:14 --> 00:17:16 John tells
00:17:16 --> 00:17:16 us that
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17 the word
00:17:17 --> 00:17:17 became flesh
00:17:17 --> 00:17:18 and camped
00:17:18 --> 00:17:19 amongst us.
00:17:19 --> 00:17:19 The writer
00:17:19 --> 00:17:20 of Hebrews
00:17:20 --> 00:17:20 says the
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 word of God
00:17:21 --> 00:17:21 is living
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 and active
00:17:22 --> 00:17:23 stronger than
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 any double
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 edged sword
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 it penetrates
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 even to
00:17:27 --> 00:17:28 dividing soul
00:17:28 --> 00:17:28 and spirit
00:17:28 --> 00:17:29 joints and
00:17:29 --> 00:17:29 marrow
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 it judges
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 the thoughts
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 and attitudes
00:17:32 --> 00:17:32 of the heart.
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 And so
00:17:35 --> 00:17:35 Jesus says
00:17:35 --> 00:17:35 to us
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 we've got to
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 listen to him
00:17:37 --> 00:17:38 and he's
00:17:38 --> 00:17:38 really saying
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 to us
00:17:39 --> 00:17:39 we must pay
00:17:39 --> 00:17:40 very careful
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 attention to him
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 and what he
00:17:42 --> 00:17:42 has to say.
00:17:44 --> 00:17:46 And he's
00:17:46 --> 00:17:46 saying that
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 how we
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 respond to
00:17:48 --> 00:17:49 him is
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 how God
00:17:50 --> 00:17:50 will determine
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 how fruitful
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 your life
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 is from
00:17:53 --> 00:17:53 God's
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 point of
00:17:54 --> 00:17:54 view.
00:17:56 --> 00:17:56 See
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57 God
00:17:57 --> 00:17:57 views
00:17:57 --> 00:17:57 success
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 and
00:17:58 --> 00:17:58 fruitfulness
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 in a
00:17:59 --> 00:17:59 very
00:17:59 --> 00:17:59 different
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 way
00:18:00 --> 00:18:00 than
00:18:00 --> 00:18:00 the
00:18:00 --> 00:18:00 world.
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 He's
00:18:01 --> 00:18:01 not
00:18:01 --> 00:18:01 looking
00:18:01 --> 00:18:01 for
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 long
00:18:02 --> 00:18:02 and
00:18:02 --> 00:18:02 impressive
00:18:02 --> 00:18:03 CVs
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 and
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 PhDs
00:18:05 --> 00:18:07 and big
00:18:07 --> 00:18:07 bank
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 balances
00:18:08 --> 00:18:08 and property
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 portfolios
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 and
00:18:10 --> 00:18:10 legacies.
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 God
00:18:12 --> 00:18:12 might
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 allow us
00:18:13 --> 00:18:13 to have
00:18:13 --> 00:18:13 some of
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 those things
00:18:14 --> 00:18:14 as we
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 age and
00:18:15 --> 00:18:15 mature
00:18:15 --> 00:18:15 or whatever
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 it is
00:18:16 --> 00:18:16 but
00:18:16 --> 00:18:19 fruitfulness
00:18:19 --> 00:18:19 will be
00:18:19 --> 00:18:19 seen
00:18:19 --> 00:18:20 in a
00:18:20 --> 00:18:21 life
00:18:21 --> 00:18:21 which is
00:18:21 --> 00:18:21 rich
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 in walking
00:18:22 --> 00:18:22 with Jesus
00:18:22 --> 00:18:24 and trusting
00:18:24 --> 00:18:24 him.
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 A life
00:18:26 --> 00:18:26 of faith
00:18:26 --> 00:18:27 a life
00:18:27 --> 00:18:27 where he
00:18:27 --> 00:18:28 impacts
00:18:28 --> 00:18:28 who we
00:18:28 --> 00:18:28 are
00:18:28 --> 00:18:29 and
00:18:29 --> 00:18:29 everything
00:18:29 --> 00:18:29 we
00:18:29 --> 00:18:30 do.
00:18:31 --> 00:18:32 People
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 who are
00:18:33 --> 00:18:33 impacted
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 by Jesus
00:18:34 --> 00:18:34 Christ
00:18:34 --> 00:18:35 to our
00:18:35 --> 00:18:35 core.
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 So what
00:18:39 --> 00:18:39 are the
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40 four responses
00:18:40 --> 00:18:40 to the
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 spoken
00:18:41 --> 00:18:41 word of
00:18:41 --> 00:18:41 God?
00:18:42 --> 00:18:42 Verse
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 15
00:18:43 --> 00:18:45 some
00:18:45 --> 00:18:45 people
00:18:45 --> 00:18:46 are like
00:18:46 --> 00:18:46 seed
00:18:46 --> 00:18:46 along
00:18:46 --> 00:18:47 the
00:18:47 --> 00:18:47 path
00:18:47 --> 00:18:47 where
00:18:47 --> 00:18:47 the
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 word
00:18:48 --> 00:18:48 is
00:18:48 --> 00:18:48 sown
00:18:48 --> 00:18:50 and
00:18:50 --> 00:18:50 as
00:18:50 --> 00:18:50 soon
00:18:50 --> 00:18:50 as
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 they
00:18:51 --> 00:18:51 hear
00:18:51 --> 00:18:51 it
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 Satan
00:18:52 --> 00:18:52 comes
00:18:52 --> 00:18:52 and
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 takes
00:18:53 --> 00:18:53 away
00:18:53 --> 00:18:53 the
00:18:53 --> 00:18:53 word
00:18:53 --> 00:18:53 that
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 was
00:18:54 --> 00:18:54 sown
00:18:54 --> 00:18:54 in
00:18:54 --> 00:18:54 them.
00:18:56 --> 00:18:56 He's
00:18:56 --> 00:18:56 really
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 saying
00:18:57 --> 00:18:57 to us
00:18:57 --> 00:18:57 that
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 some
00:18:58 --> 00:18:58 people
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 are
00:18:59 --> 00:18:59 hard
00:18:59 --> 00:19:00 paths
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01 with
00:19:01 --> 00:19:01 hard
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 hearts.
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 They
00:19:04 --> 00:19:04 hear
00:19:04 --> 00:19:04 the
00:19:04 --> 00:19:04 word.
00:19:06 --> 00:19:06 There's
00:19:06 --> 00:19:06 no
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 response.
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 There's
00:19:08 --> 00:19:08 no
00:19:08 --> 00:19:08 interest.
00:19:10 --> 00:19:10 It's
00:19:10 --> 00:19:10 like a
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 male in
00:19:11 --> 00:19:11 our
00:19:11 --> 00:19:11 family.
00:19:11 --> 00:19:11 You
00:19:11 --> 00:19:11 know,
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 me or
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 my son
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 or one
00:19:15 --> 00:19:15 of us
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 sitting in
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 the lounge
00:19:17 --> 00:19:17 room with
00:19:17 --> 00:19:17 the remote
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 control in
00:19:18 --> 00:19:18 our hand
00:19:18 --> 00:19:20 and Kerry's
00:19:20 --> 00:19:20 calling us
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 to dinner
00:19:21 --> 00:19:23 and the
00:19:23 --> 00:19:23 word goes
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 out and
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 nothing
00:19:25 --> 00:19:25 happens in
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 response.
00:19:29 --> 00:19:29 It's
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 ignored.
00:19:32 --> 00:19:32 And it's
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 saying to
00:19:33 --> 00:19:33 us that
00:19:33 --> 00:19:33 people like
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 that have
00:19:34 --> 00:19:34 no reason
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 to even
00:19:35 --> 00:19:35 think that
00:19:35 --> 00:19:35 there's a
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 God that
00:19:36 --> 00:19:36 they need
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 to respond
00:19:37 --> 00:19:37 to.
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 There
00:19:38 --> 00:19:38 can be
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 people
00:19:39 --> 00:19:39 talking
00:19:39 --> 00:19:39 around
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 them all
00:19:40 --> 00:19:40 the time
00:19:40 --> 00:19:40 about
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 God and
00:19:41 --> 00:19:41 who he
00:19:41 --> 00:19:41 is and
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 what they
00:19:42 --> 00:19:42 believe about
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 him but
00:19:43 --> 00:19:43 they don't
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 even notice
00:19:44 --> 00:19:44 because they
00:19:44 --> 00:19:44 are not
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 even prepared
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 to go to
00:19:46 --> 00:19:47 first base.
00:19:49 --> 00:19:49 And
00:19:49 --> 00:19:49 Jesus
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 describes them
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 as the
00:19:51 --> 00:19:51 ones from
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 whom Satan
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 comes and
00:19:53 --> 00:19:53 snatches it
00:19:53 --> 00:19:55 away and
00:19:55 --> 00:19:55 God's
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 judgment day
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 will come and
00:19:57 --> 00:19:57 they will be
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 like,
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 oh did you
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 say something?
00:20:01 --> 00:20:01 Why didn't
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 you warn
00:20:02 --> 00:20:02 me?
00:20:05 --> 00:20:05 In
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 2 Corinthians
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 chapter 4
00:20:07 --> 00:20:07 it says
00:20:07 --> 00:20:07 the God
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 of this
00:20:08 --> 00:20:08 age has
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 blinded the
00:20:09 --> 00:20:09 minds of
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 unbelievers
00:20:10 --> 00:20:10 so that
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 they cannot
00:20:11 --> 00:20:11 see the
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 light of
00:20:12 --> 00:20:12 the gospel
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 of the
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 glory of
00:20:14 --> 00:20:14 Christ who
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 is the
00:20:15 --> 00:20:15 image of
00:20:15 --> 00:20:15 God.
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 They are
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 deaf and
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 blind to
00:20:19 --> 00:20:19 God's
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 saving
00:20:20 --> 00:20:20 truth.
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 The
00:20:24 --> 00:20:24 second
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 group of
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 verse 16
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 others like
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 seeds sown on
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 rocky places
00:20:29 --> 00:20:29 hear the
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 word and at
00:20:30 --> 00:20:30 once receive
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 it with
00:20:31 --> 00:20:33 joy but
00:20:33 --> 00:20:33 since they
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 have no
00:20:34 --> 00:20:34 root they
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 only last a
00:20:35 --> 00:20:36 short time and
00:20:36 --> 00:20:36 when trouble
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 or persecution
00:20:37 --> 00:20:39 comes because
00:20:39 --> 00:20:39 of the word
00:20:39 --> 00:20:41 they quickly
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 fall away.
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 These are
00:20:44 --> 00:20:44 people they
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 make a great
00:20:45 --> 00:20:45 beginning but
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 they don't go
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 anywhere.
00:20:49 --> 00:20:49 They come to
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 church, they
00:20:50 --> 00:20:50 come to youth
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 group, they
00:20:51 --> 00:20:51 get involved in
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 a group or
00:20:52 --> 00:20:52 a small group
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 or a bible
00:20:53 --> 00:20:53 study, something
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 like that and
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 they say oh
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 how fantastic
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 everything is and
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 they are even
00:20:58 --> 00:20:58 joyful about
00:20:58 --> 00:21:00 what they have
00:21:00 --> 00:21:00 begun to
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 experience.
00:21:01 --> 00:21:03 they seem
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 like they
00:21:04 --> 00:21:04 want to get
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 involved and
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 then they're
00:21:06 --> 00:21:06 just gone.
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 And it's
00:21:09 --> 00:21:09 almost as
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 though they
00:21:10 --> 00:21:10 were never
00:21:10 --> 00:21:10 here.
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 It worked
00:21:11 --> 00:21:11 for a
00:21:11 --> 00:21:11 while, it
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 was a
00:21:12 --> 00:21:12 great
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 experience for
00:21:13 --> 00:21:13 a time and
00:21:13 --> 00:21:13 then they
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 just moved
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 on.
00:21:18 --> 00:21:18 People
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 encounter
00:21:19 --> 00:21:19 Jesus, they
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 hear his
00:21:20 --> 00:21:20 word, they
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 become convinced
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 of the truth
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 of it, they
00:21:23 --> 00:21:23 want to
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 respond and
00:21:24 --> 00:21:24 then the
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 implications
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 start to
00:21:26 --> 00:21:26 weigh really
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 heavily.
00:21:27 --> 00:21:27 it might
00:21:27 --> 00:21:27 make a
00:21:27 --> 00:21:29 difference to
00:21:29 --> 00:21:29 my living
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 arrangements or
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 my relationships.
00:21:33 --> 00:21:33 They can
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 see that it
00:21:34 --> 00:21:34 might impact
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 Sunday or
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 discretionary
00:21:36 --> 00:21:36 time it
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 has.
00:21:38 --> 00:21:38 In some
00:21:38 --> 00:21:40 places they
00:21:40 --> 00:21:40 might think
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 it's going to
00:21:41 --> 00:21:41 lead me into
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 persecution, I'm
00:21:42 --> 00:21:42 going to be in
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 strife at work,
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 I'm going to
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 lose opportunity
00:21:45 --> 00:21:45 for advancement.
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 And what they
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 start to see is
00:21:49 --> 00:21:49 that God is
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 getting in the
00:21:50 --> 00:21:50 way of the
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 life that they
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 have mapped out
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 for themselves
00:21:53 --> 00:21:55 and they just
00:21:55 --> 00:21:55 fizzle.
00:21:57 --> 00:21:57 They are not
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 prepared to
00:21:58 --> 00:21:58 bear the
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 cost.
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 But the
00:22:01 --> 00:22:01 third group of
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 hearers are the
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 most disturbing
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 from a local
00:22:04 --> 00:22:04 church point of
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 view and I
00:22:05 --> 00:22:05 guess for us
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 tonight.
00:22:10 --> 00:22:10 It says in
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 verse 18,
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 still others
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 like seeds
00:22:13 --> 00:22:13 sown among
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 thorns hear
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 the word but
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 the worries of
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 this life, the
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 deceitfulness of
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 wealth and the
00:22:18 --> 00:22:20 desires for other
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 things come in
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 and choke the
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 word making it
00:22:23 --> 00:22:23 unfruitful.
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 And this is the
00:22:26 --> 00:22:26 really sad one
00:22:26 --> 00:22:28 because if you
00:22:28 --> 00:22:28 could just strip
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 away the weeds
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 and strip away
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 the thorn plants,
00:22:32 --> 00:22:32 these plants look
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 pretty good.
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 I said this
00:22:34 --> 00:22:34 morning they
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 look really good
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 and they're quite
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 magnificent but I
00:22:37 --> 00:22:37 actually think I'm
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 probably wrong.
00:22:39 --> 00:22:39 They look pretty
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 green and they
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 look okay but
00:22:41 --> 00:22:41 they're not as
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 good as what
00:22:42 --> 00:22:42 they could be.
00:22:44 --> 00:22:44 They're lush,
00:22:45 --> 00:22:45 they're well
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 cultivated, they're
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 fed, they're very
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 fine botanical
00:22:48 --> 00:22:48 specimens.
00:22:50 --> 00:22:50 And whether it's
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 an individual or
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 whether it's a
00:22:52 --> 00:22:52 whole church,
00:22:53 --> 00:22:53 these people can
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 look pretty good.
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 This church can
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 look pretty good if
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 it's full of
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 people like this.
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 But they're
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 massively flawed.
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 They don't
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 reproduce.
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 There is no
00:23:09 --> 00:23:09 fruit.
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 These people
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 grew, they
00:23:15 --> 00:23:17 choked, they
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 don't come to
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 fruitful maturity
00:23:19 --> 00:23:19 because they're
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 choked out by
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 weeds and
00:23:21 --> 00:23:21 thorns.
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 Get this, they
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 understood the
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 word of Jesus,
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 it began to
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 change them,
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 other things
00:23:29 --> 00:23:29 took over,
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 look at what
00:23:30 --> 00:23:30 they got
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 choked by,
00:23:31 --> 00:23:31 they got
00:23:31 --> 00:23:31 choked by
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 worries of
00:23:32 --> 00:23:34 life, deceitfulness
00:23:34 --> 00:23:34 of wealth,
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 desire for
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 other things.
00:23:37 --> 00:23:37 And they
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 didn't suddenly
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 get choked,
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 weeds and
00:23:40 --> 00:23:40 thorns grew
00:23:40 --> 00:23:42 amongst the
00:23:42 --> 00:23:42 good plants.
00:23:44 --> 00:23:44 In another
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 place Jesus
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 told a different
00:23:46 --> 00:23:46 parable where
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 an enemy of
00:23:47 --> 00:23:47 the farmer
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 came along and
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 he sowed weeds
00:23:49 --> 00:23:49 into a good
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 crop, he
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 intentionally
00:23:51 --> 00:23:51 tried to
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 ruin it.
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 I don't
00:23:56 --> 00:23:56 think most
00:23:56 --> 00:23:56 of us
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 intentionally
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 try to
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 ruin our
00:23:59 --> 00:23:59 response to
00:23:59 --> 00:23:59 Jesus'
00:24:00 --> 00:24:00 command to
00:24:00 --> 00:24:00 listen.
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 We just
00:24:03 --> 00:24:03 try to
00:24:03 --> 00:24:03 listen to
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 too many
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 different
00:24:05 --> 00:24:05 voices at
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 the same
00:24:06 --> 00:24:06 time.
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 We want
00:24:09 --> 00:24:09 to prosper
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 in our
00:24:10 --> 00:24:10 work, that's
00:24:10 --> 00:24:10 a good
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 thing, we'd
00:24:11 --> 00:24:11 like to be
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 successful in
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 business, that's
00:24:13 --> 00:24:13 a good thing,
00:24:14 --> 00:24:14 we want our
00:24:14 --> 00:24:14 kids to
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 achieve at
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 school, that's
00:24:16 --> 00:24:16 a good thing,
00:24:17 --> 00:24:17 but it
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 becomes a
00:24:18 --> 00:24:18 two masters
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 sort of thing
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 because, and
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 Jesus says to
00:24:21 --> 00:24:21 us things like
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 no one can
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 serve two
00:24:23 --> 00:24:23 masters, he'll
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 love one and
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 hate the other
00:24:25 --> 00:24:25 or vice versa.
00:24:28 --> 00:24:28 And so we
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 tell kids, some
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 of us as
00:24:30 --> 00:24:30 parents have
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 told our kids
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 things like,
00:24:32 --> 00:24:32 well you've
00:24:32 --> 00:24:32 got to listen
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 to that voice
00:24:33 --> 00:24:33 at school
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 because school
00:24:34 --> 00:24:34 is what's
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 going to open
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 up opportunity
00:24:36 --> 00:24:36 into the
00:24:36 --> 00:24:38 future and
00:24:38 --> 00:24:38 that will
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 unlock the
00:24:39 --> 00:24:39 keys to
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 career and
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 therefore income
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 and wealth
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 and wellbeing.
00:24:44 --> 00:24:44 And if you
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 do the thing
00:24:45 --> 00:24:45 properly at
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 school through
00:24:46 --> 00:24:46 the week, then
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 I just might
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 let you go to
00:24:48 --> 00:24:48 youth group on
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 Friday night.
00:24:49 --> 00:24:54 I have a
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 wealthy friend
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 really interested
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 in Jesus as
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 a young adult.
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 His dad always
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 had great
00:24:59 --> 00:24:59 ambition for
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 him.
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 He lived to
00:25:02 --> 00:25:02 please his
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 earthly father
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 and himself.
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 He went
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 after money,
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 he got it,
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 he's felt its
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 power and he's
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 used its power
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 to intimidate
00:25:11 --> 00:25:11 other people.
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 He went
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 after sex,
00:25:14 --> 00:25:14 he got it,
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 had choked
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 his relationship
00:25:17 --> 00:25:17 with the Lord
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 Jesus and
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 he has been
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 fruitless in
00:25:20 --> 00:25:20 terms of
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 God's kingdom
00:25:21 --> 00:25:21 and its
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 values ever
00:25:22 --> 00:25:22 since.
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 Churches can
00:25:26 --> 00:25:26 be full of
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 people who
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 have choked,
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 churches are
00:25:29 --> 00:25:29 full of people
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 who profess
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 faith in
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 Christ and
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 bear very
00:25:33 --> 00:25:33 little fruit
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 for it.
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 I had quite a
00:25:37 --> 00:25:37 wonderful
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 conversation after
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 church this
00:25:39 --> 00:25:39 morning, a
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 man came to
00:25:40 --> 00:25:40 me and he
00:25:40 --> 00:25:42 said, don't
00:25:42 --> 00:25:42 just tell people
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 the negatives,
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 tell people the
00:25:44 --> 00:25:44 positives about
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 this, he
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 said, I was
00:25:46 --> 00:25:46 a man who
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 had choked.
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 He came from
00:25:49 --> 00:25:49 a church up
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 the north shore
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 of Sydney, he
00:25:51 --> 00:25:53 said, I was
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 wealthy, I was
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 successful in my
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 business, I was
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 starting to think
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 about the Audi
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 that I deserved
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 to drive.
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 He said, I'd
00:26:01 --> 00:26:01 walk down the
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 street and look
00:26:02 --> 00:26:02 in the real
00:26:02 --> 00:26:04 estate agent's
00:26:04 --> 00:26:04 windows at the
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 next house that
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 I might move
00:26:06 --> 00:26:06 to.
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 I had a
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 Christian heart,
00:26:09 --> 00:26:09 my Christian
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 heart I wanted
00:26:10 --> 00:26:10 to be a
00:26:10 --> 00:26:10 Christian
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 philanthropist,
00:26:11 --> 00:26:11 you know,
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 that means
00:26:12 --> 00:26:12 somebody who
00:26:12 --> 00:26:12 gives away
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 lots of money.
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 And he
00:26:14 --> 00:26:14 said, my
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 plan was to
00:26:15 --> 00:26:15 make the
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 first two or
00:26:16 --> 00:26:16 three million
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 for myself to
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 set myself up
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 and then
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 everything else
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 that came in
00:26:20 --> 00:26:20 later I'd just
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 give to the
00:26:21 --> 00:26:21 Lord.
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 And he
00:26:24 --> 00:26:24 said, I
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 had no
00:26:25 --> 00:26:28 joy in
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 the thorns,
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 no joy.
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 And he
00:26:32 --> 00:26:32 said, God
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 brought me to
00:26:33 --> 00:26:33 a point where
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 I had to
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 acknowledge that
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 I was living
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 for me and
00:26:37 --> 00:26:37 not for him
00:26:37 --> 00:26:39 and I had to
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 relinquish some
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 of my dreams
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 and ambitions.
00:26:41 --> 00:26:41 And he
00:26:41 --> 00:26:41 said, guess
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 what I got?
00:26:42 --> 00:26:42 joy.
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 I got joy
00:26:43 --> 00:26:45 and my life
00:26:45 --> 00:26:45 started to
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 become fruitful
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 for the Lord
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 Jesus.
00:26:48 --> 00:26:48 And he told me
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 this morning that
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 he now works as
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 a lay minister in
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 his church, not
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 that everybody's
00:26:52 --> 00:26:52 got to do
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 that.
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 But he said,
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 to say to
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 people, if I
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 preach this again,
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 to say that
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 when we give up,
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 we give up our
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 idols because God
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 gives us something
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 much better.
00:27:06 --> 00:27:06 That's the
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 motivator.
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 God gives us
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 joy when we
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 submit to him
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 and yield to
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 him in terms
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 of his
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 purposes.
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 I went to a
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 conference the
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 other day and
00:27:16 --> 00:27:18 the speaker said
00:27:18 --> 00:27:18 that we have
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 churches full of
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 consumers.
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 And I don't
00:27:21 --> 00:27:21 think I'm talking
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 to you like that
00:27:22 --> 00:27:24 tonight, but I'm
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 using it as an
00:27:25 --> 00:27:25 example.
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 He said,
00:27:27 --> 00:27:27 sometimes in
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 churches people
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 are like Russian
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 ice skating
00:27:30 --> 00:27:30 judges.
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 They hold up
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 scorecards.
00:27:33 --> 00:27:37 So let's
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 give Nick and
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 the Musos an
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 eight for the
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 music tonight.
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 But if it
00:27:43 --> 00:27:43 drops below
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 five or six,
00:27:45 --> 00:27:45 we're out of
00:27:45 --> 00:27:45 here.
00:27:46 --> 00:27:46 We're going to
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 another church.
00:27:49 --> 00:27:49 Maybe the
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 preaching's a
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 7.5, but we
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 really expect
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 nine in this
00:27:53 --> 00:27:53 church.
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 Our preaching's
00:27:55 --> 00:27:55 good preaching.
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 And the
00:27:59 --> 00:27:59 speaker was
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 urging us to
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 listen to the
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 voice of the
00:28:02 --> 00:28:02 Lord Jesus and
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 to act on what
00:28:03 --> 00:28:03 he said to
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 us and to
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 move us into
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 mission mode and
00:28:06 --> 00:28:06 to bear fruit.
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 The last word
00:28:09 --> 00:28:09 that the Lord
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 Jesus spoke to
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 his disciples
00:28:11 --> 00:28:11 before he went
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 back into
00:28:12 --> 00:28:12 heaven, he
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 said, all
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 authority in
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 heaven on
00:28:15 --> 00:28:15 earth has been
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 given to me.
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 Go into all
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 the world and
00:28:18 --> 00:28:18 make disciples,
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 baptising them
00:28:20 --> 00:28:20 in the name of
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 the Father and
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 the Son and
00:28:22 --> 00:28:22 of the Holy
00:28:22 --> 00:28:24 Spirit, and I
00:28:24 --> 00:28:24 am with you
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 always to the
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 very end of
00:28:26 --> 00:28:26 the age.
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 Now the man
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 speaking to us
00:28:29 --> 00:28:29 the other day
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 was not a
00:28:30 --> 00:28:30 young man or
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 a hot gun or
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31 anything like
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 that.
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 He was 70
00:28:33 --> 00:28:33 years old,
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 and he
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 said to us
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 very plainly
00:28:36 --> 00:28:36 that he is,
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 and I quote,
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 this is his
00:28:38 --> 00:28:38 quote,
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 damned angry
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 with people
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 and churches
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 that do not
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 give a damn
00:28:43 --> 00:28:43 about people
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 who are
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 currently damned
00:28:45 --> 00:28:45 by God.
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 He said that
00:28:49 --> 00:28:49 with some
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 feeling.
00:28:50 --> 00:28:55 The last place
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 the word is
00:28:56 --> 00:28:56 planted is in
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 good soil.
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 Verse 20,
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 others like
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 seed sown on
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 good soil hear
00:29:01 --> 00:29:01 the word,
00:29:02 --> 00:29:02 accept it,
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 and produce a
00:29:03 --> 00:29:03 crop 30,
00:29:04 --> 00:29:04 60, or even
00:29:04 --> 00:29:06 100 times what
00:29:06 --> 00:29:06 was sown.
00:29:08 --> 00:29:08 Jesus is
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 fruitful in the
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 lives of people
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 who don't just
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 hear his word,
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 but also take it
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 to heart and
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 accept it.
00:29:14 --> 00:29:14 And I think
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 when I think
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 about fruitfulness,
00:29:16 --> 00:29:16 I'm thinking
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 broad acceptance,
00:29:18 --> 00:29:18 broad change,
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 broad fruitfulness,
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 lives which
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 overflow with
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 the fruit of
00:29:22 --> 00:29:22 God's spirit,
00:29:23 --> 00:29:23 love, joy,
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 peace, patience,
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 kindness,
00:29:26 --> 00:29:26 gentleness,
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 self-control,
00:29:28 --> 00:29:28 lives which
00:29:28 --> 00:29:31 have mission-hearted
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 care and concern
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 for people that
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 we know who
00:29:34 --> 00:29:34 don't know the
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 Lord Jesus.
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 People who are
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 unashamed to
00:29:38 --> 00:29:38 go to school or
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 to go to uni or
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 to go to work and
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 say, yes, I
00:29:41 --> 00:29:41 believe in Jesus
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 Christ as Lord.
00:29:43 --> 00:29:43 Not necessarily
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 like that, but
00:29:44 --> 00:29:44 however is
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 appropriate in a
00:29:45 --> 00:29:45 place that you
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 find yourself.
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 Churches full of
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 people who are
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 impacting others
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 with the very
00:29:50 --> 00:29:50 good word of
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 the very good
00:29:51 --> 00:29:51 Lord Jesus
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 Christ.
00:29:55 --> 00:29:55 I'm not sure
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 how you judge
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 yourself tonight,
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 where you fit in
00:29:59 --> 00:29:59 this spectrum of
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 responses to
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 Jesus' word,
00:30:01 --> 00:30:03 and I want you to
00:30:03 --> 00:30:03 judge yourself,
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 I don't want you
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 to judge others,
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 because in telling
00:30:07 --> 00:30:07 this story,
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 Jesus makes it
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 very clear that
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 there is only one
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 response that he's
00:30:11 --> 00:30:11 looking for,
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 and it's the
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 response which
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 bears lots of
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 fruit joyfully.
00:30:15 --> 00:30:17 And he says,
00:30:17 --> 00:30:19 listen intently
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 to him.
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 And I think I
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 want to say to
00:30:23 --> 00:30:23 you tonight that
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 if you haven't
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 been listening or
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26 you haven't known
00:30:26 --> 00:30:26 how to listen,
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 you can change.
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 You can move from
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 a wrong response to
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 the right one very
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 simply, really.
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 Haven't been
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 listening at all,
00:30:38 --> 00:30:40 been excited, but
00:30:40 --> 00:30:40 that was a long
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 time ago.
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 Got stale in
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44 church with too
00:30:44 --> 00:30:45 many competing
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 voices, too
00:30:46 --> 00:30:46 many masters.
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 Jesus invites us
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 to begin again
00:30:50 --> 00:30:53 today to listen
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 very intently to
00:30:54 --> 00:30:56 his voice, to
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 seek after his
00:30:57 --> 00:30:59 kingdom, to
00:30:59 --> 00:30:59 pursue his
00:30:59 --> 00:31:01 righteousness, to
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 become very
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 fruitful in God's
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 hands in a way
00:31:04 --> 00:31:04 which will bring
00:31:04 --> 00:31:05 him much glory
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 and bring you
00:31:06 --> 00:31:08 much joy.
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 If that's
00:31:10 --> 00:31:10 something that
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 you would like to
00:31:11 --> 00:31:13 begin afresh today,
00:31:13 --> 00:31:15 tonight, then I'm
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16 saying to you I'm
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 going to stay down
00:31:17 --> 00:31:17 here with one or
00:31:17 --> 00:31:18 two others at the
00:31:18 --> 00:31:19 end of the service
00:31:19 --> 00:31:20 and I would love to
00:31:20 --> 00:31:22 pray with you in
00:31:22 --> 00:31:23 making that sort of
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 commitment and
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 beginning again with
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 the Lord Jesus.
00:31:27 --> 00:31:27 Amen.