Participants: David Sherwood
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000789
|
01:00 Hello, my name is David Sherwood.
01:02 And it's a privilege for me to be here. 01:05 I work for a small mission training school 01:07 in Troy, Michigan called the Arise Institute. 01:10 And as I said it's just a privilege for me 01:12 to be here to share with you, 01:13 what the Lord has laid up on my heart. 01:19 It was a Native American who was walking in Downtown, 01:23 New York City with a friend of his, 01:24 who was a resident of the city. 01:28 And as they were walking, 01:30 amidst the hustle and the bustle of Manhattan, 01:32 he grabbed his friend by the arm. 01:34 And this Native American said, 01:35 "Did you hear that?" His friend said, 01:38 "I hear lots of things, what are you talking about?" 01:41 He said, "I hear a cricket?" 01:44 And his friend looked at him and he says, "What?" 01:47 He says, "You don't hear a cricket?" 01:49 He says, "No, I hear a cricket." 01:53 He said, "How on earth do you hear a cricket 01:55 in the middle of Downtown in New York? 01:59 The subway is underneath us, it's roaring by. 02:02 I hear cash registers clanging, 02:04 there's people screaming at each other over there, 02:07 there's 1,000 people on this block alone, 02:09 there's car honking. 02:11 And you tell me you hear a cricket." 02:14 And the Native American said, "I can hear a cricket." 02:17 He said, "Come with me." 02:19 Grabbed him by the arm, he pulled him over 02:20 and ran down the street a little ways. 02:22 And he stopped, he cocked his head. No. 02:25 He brought his friend back the other way, 02:26 crossed the street, gets down in his knees, 02:28 he's looking in cracks and crevices in the sidewalk 02:31 and he still doesn't find it and he says, "Come with me." 02:34 Run to a big cement pot where a tree was growing. 02:39 He said, "I think I hear it." 02:41 He started digging through the mulch and through the dirt. 02:42 And finally, he pulls out a cricket. 02:48 He said, "See I told you. I heard a cricket." 02:52 And his friend looking at him and said just flabbergasted. 02:56 "How on earth did you hear a cricket 02:59 in Downtown, Manhattan?" 03:01 And the Native American said to his friend, 03:03 "Well, my ears are just different than yours." 03:06 He said, "Come here, I'll show you." 03:08 So he brought his friend over 03:10 and had some change in his pocket. 03:12 He pulled out the change. 03:14 He held it up like this, he says, I'll show you, 03:18 my ears, they're just different than yours. 03:21 So he held the change about this high, still on the midst 03:24 of just thousands of people on the block there. 03:27 Held the change about this high 03:32 and every head on the block turned 03:35 and looked at that Native American. 03:38 And he looked at his friend and he said, "See, 03:41 it's all in what you're listening for." 03:45 So that's the question of the day for us. 03:48 As we search through God's word, 03:50 is to ask ourselves the question. 03:53 What is it that we are listening for 03:56 in our experience with God? 04:00 Let's have a word of prayer. 04:04 Father in heaven, 04:08 we come and we sit here before You, Lord. 04:11 And we pray that You would come here and be with us. 04:15 Lord, we pray that we would hear You. 04:20 And we pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. 04:26 So the question of the day is what are you listening for 04:30 in your experience with God? 04:33 I'd like you to go with me in your Bibles 04:36 to a parable in Matthew Chapter 13. 04:43 Matthew 13: 9, we're going to start. 04:47 Matthew 13: 9, we're going to see an exhortation 04:51 that Jesus used in the gospels more than 15 times. 04:56 He gives this exhortation to people 04:58 when He's just made a significant spiritual point. 05:02 Here's what it says, Matthew 13:9, it says, 05:07 "He who has ears to hear, let him," what? "Hear." 05:13 "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." 05:19 Now we can deduce just through logical reasoning 05:25 that if Jesus is talking to these people 05:28 and saying if you have ears to hear, let them hear. 05:32 He who has ears to hear, let them hear. 05:34 So we can reason in our minds that if people have ears to hear 05:39 that must be that some people have ears that don't hear. 05:46 Today, we're going to go through this parable 05:47 Matthew 13 and also the parallel account on Luke Chapter 8. 05:51 And we're going to use these two parables 05:53 as a means to evaluate our ears. 05:57 As a means to evaluate our hearing. 06:01 Do we have ears to hear? 06:04 Or do we have ears that don't hear? 06:06 Now when Jesus was using this exhortation, 06:09 is He calling on the people who have the ability 06:13 or whose eardrums have the ability to perceive 06:17 sound vibrations from His vocal cords? 06:21 Of course, not that's not what He's talking about. 06:24 He is exhorting those who have ears to hear 06:26 the spiritual crickets above the noise of their lives. 06:33 So again we are going to use this opportunity 06:38 to evaluate our ears. 06:39 What is it we're listening for? 06:42 So we'll get right into the parable, 06:44 Matthew Chapter 13 starting in verse 1. 06:47 It says, "On the same day, 06:49 Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 06:52 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, 06:55 so that He got into a boat and sat, 06:57 and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 07:01 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying 07:04 'Behold, a sower went out to sow. 07:07 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside, 07:10 and the birds came and devoured them. 07:14 Some fell on stony places, 07:15 where they did not have much earth, 07:17 and they immediately sprang up 07:19 because they had no depth of earth. 07:22 But when the Sun was up they were scorched, 07:24 and because they had no root they withered away. 07:28 And some fell among the thorns, 07:30 and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 07:33 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop, 07:37 some one hundred, some sixty, some thirty. 07:40 He, who has ears to hear, let him hear." 07:49 So we don't have to wonder 07:51 what Jesus is talking about here. 07:52 He is speaking in a parable. 07:53 And a parable is a story 07:55 that is used to illustrate a broader spiritual truth. 07:59 We don't have to guess 08:01 what this parable by Jesus means. 08:03 Because He explains it 08:04 a little further down in the chapter. 08:06 So if you go with me now to Matthew 13:18, 08:11 it says this, "Therefore hear the parable of the sower, 08:14 when anyone hears the word of the kingdom, 08:16 and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes 08:19 and snatches away what was sown in his heart. 08:22 This is he who received the seed by the wayside." 08:27 So we see the first soil mentioned. 08:30 There's four soils mentioned in this parable. 08:33 The wayside, the stony ground, you could say, 08:37 the thorny ground and the good ground. 08:43 We see this first soil called the wayside. 08:51 If you can picture where Jesus was, 08:53 He was out in a boat 08:55 because the crowd around Him was so great 08:57 that He pushed off into the sea a bit, 08:58 so He could speak to the entire crowd. 09:01 In the back of the crowd, 09:02 He was looking out on the plain of Gennesaret. 09:04 In the plain of Gennesaret, 09:06 they were actually farmers out sowing their seeds. 09:10 So when Jesus said, "Behold a sower goes to sow." 09:13 He was looking out over this beautiful plain, 09:15 actually, seeing the parable play out. 09:19 And as Jesus was looking out, He saw four types of soil, 09:22 the wayside, the stony places, 09:24 the thorny ground and the good ground. 09:27 Now what was this wayside, that's not a word 09:29 that we use in everyday language today, 09:31 the wayside? What the wayside was? 09:35 If you can picture a field where someone is farming, 09:38 there are paths in the middle of each row and paths 09:40 that go around the outside of the fields. 09:44 This is that wayside path. 09:47 Now the characteristics of the wayside path. 09:49 What are the characteristics of a path in a field? 09:53 Are they very soft and ground up? 09:56 No, of course not. 09:58 They're hard and they're packed down. 10:01 The Bible here tells us that because of the wayside, 10:05 the condition of this wayside path 10:06 it's hard and packed down. 10:08 That it's those who don't understand 10:12 the seed that is being tried, 10:14 is trying to be sowed into their heart. 10:20 Now we can see a very good example 10:23 of this wayside soil in a story, 10:29 also in this same Book of Matthew. 10:33 If we go to Matthew 9:43, 10:38 Matthew 9: 43, we're going to look at an example 10:42 of how it could be 10:43 that someone wouldn't understand the message of the kingdom? 10:48 Or how someone could read 10:49 and have a seed sown in their heart 10:52 but that they couldn't understand it, 10:53 how can that happen? 10:55 We'll see a perfect example here 10:58 of this wayside soil of the heart 11:01 in Matthew Chapter 9 beginning in verse 43. 11:10 Go back to Luke, I am sorry. 11:13 Luke 9: 43, Luke 9: 43, 11:21 this is just after the parallel account from Matthew 11:24 of where Christ was giving this parable 11:27 and we see not to long after that, 11:29 here's a situation that the disciples 11:30 find themselves in with Christ. 11:32 Luke 9: 43, it says this, 11:37 "And they were all amazed at the majesty of God. 11:40 But while everyone marveled at all the things 11:41 which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, 11:45 'Let these words sink down into your ears.'" 11:49 So similar language, I love this language. 11:51 "Let these words sink down into your ears." 11:56 Christ was looking at the people reading their hearts 11:59 and He knew that they weren't getting it. 12:03 So He's saying please 12:04 let these words sink down into your ears, 12:06 hear me have ears to hear. 12:09 He goes on, He says, 12:11 "For the Son of Man is about to be betrayed 12:14 into the hands of men." 12:17 The parallel account in Matthew also includes that 12:20 it says that He will be betrayed into the hands men, 12:23 that he would be killed 12:25 and that He would rise the third day. 12:27 So Jesus Christ just sat down His disciples, 12:29 He says, listen guys, 12:31 there's something very important to tell you 12:33 because you're not getting it. 12:35 I'm about to be betrayed 12:36 into the hands of men and be killed. 12:39 Now let me ask you something, is this confusing language? 12:44 Is Jesus speaking in a parable here? 12:47 Of course, He's not. 12:49 This is not confusing language. 12:51 And by the way, should this have been 12:54 new information to the disciples? 12:58 Should have been new information that Jesus was going be betrayed 13:00 in the hands of men and killed and rise the third day? 13:04 No, this shouldn't have been new information 13:06 for many reasons. 13:08 Number 1, for the past 1,000 years 13:14 the entire Jewish economy was based on a sanctuary system 13:19 that pointed forward to exactly 13:21 what Christ is saying in these verses. 13:24 These Jews who weren't receiving this 13:28 should have known about this. 13:32 Their entire economy was based in signs and symbols 13:35 pointing forward to the death and crucifixion 13:38 and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 13:40 This should not have been new information. 13:43 With that in mind this is not confusing information. 13:46 This is not a confusing statement. 13:47 It shouldn't even be new information. 13:49 So we go on to see, what is the disciples' reaction 13:53 to Christ's statements here? 13:55 We pick up in verse 45. 13:59 Immediately after the statement, 14:00 He tells them, listen guys, 14:02 let this sink down into your ears, 14:03 you have to understand this. I'm going to be killed. 14:08 Verse 45 says, "But they did not understand this saying, 14:15 and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it 14:17 and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying." 14:23 So we're asking ourselves, 14:24 okay, how could it be that someone could not understand 14:27 the plain language of Christ? 14:30 And we see in verse 45, 14:31 we get the first glimpse as to how this happens. 14:35 It says, "And they were afraid to ask Him about this saying." 14:41 You see the state of mind these Jews at this time. 14:47 They were under severe oppression by the Romans. 14:51 It had been for sometime. 14:53 And do you think that they appreciated this? No. 14:59 So all the talks of the Messiah coming, 15:03 had never entered their minds 15:05 that He was to set up a spiritual kingdom 15:09 to free them from sin rather than our earthly kingdom 15:13 to free them from the Romans. 15:15 It never entered their mind and Christ knew this. 15:17 That's why He said, "Let this sink down into your ears, 15:19 you have to understand this." 15:22 And it's says, "They did not understand." 15:24 And then it says they did not understand 15:25 because they were afraid. 15:28 And if you go to Matthew in a parallel account 15:30 it says they were very sorrowful, 15:32 after Christ said this. 15:34 So we see two things, we see that fear, 15:36 the Bible is telling here that fear and sorrow 15:41 can cause us not to understand the plain teaching of Christ. 15:52 Now sometimes we're tempted to think 15:55 like these godly men in the Bible like 16:00 we see the ridiculous things that they seam to be doing. 16:03 And we're tempted to think, 16:04 man, how on earth could they not understand 16:06 what Christ was saying? 16:08 We think, I mean, it's like they're just stupid 16:13 but are they truly stupid? 16:17 And the answer is, no. If we you go to Hebrews 3:13. 16:24 Hebrews 3: 13, says this, "But exhort one another daily, 16:29 while it is called 'Today,' lest any of you be hardened 16:34 through the deceitfulness of sin." 16:40 The wayside path is the hardened soil of our heart. 16:46 So we ask how do our hearts get that way 16:49 and we find in Hebrews 3: 13, 16:50 that's through the deceitfulness of sin. 16:55 So you see the disciples weren't stupid 16:58 but they were deceived by the deceitfulness of sin. 17:03 An inspired writer once said that 17:05 all sin is selfishness, all sin is selfishness. 17:11 And if you go through each of the Ten Commandments, 17:13 we know that sin is the transgression of the law. 17:16 If you go through each of the Ten Commandments 17:18 and think about what would cause 17:19 someone to break any one of those commandments 17:21 and it will always boil down to selfishness. 17:27 The disciples were not stupid. They were deceived. 17:31 They were deceived by their own selfish ambitions 17:36 for their positions in the new earthly kingdom 17:39 that they thought the Messiah had come to set up. 17:43 If you go with me we're going to continue reading 17:45 in Luke 9: 46. 17:51 So right after they said they didn't understand, 17:54 here is what the gospel records. 17:56 It says, "Then a dispute arose among them 17:59 as to which of them would be the greatest." 18:03 So picture this, Jesus Christ. This is how I picture it. 18:07 The disciples are following Christ 18:09 and they are talking amongst one another 18:11 and they're saying, "Can you believe it? 18:12 We are alive in the time of the Messiah. 18:15 How many of our ancestors would have loved to be here 18:18 at this time in earth's history and we are here. 18:21 You know, who do you think is going to be the greatest 18:24 in the kingdom? I think it will be me. 18:27 I've been following Him the longest. 18:29 You know, it should be me. No, no, no, it should be me. 18:32 I've been the most attentive. 18:35 Jesus Christ reads their hearts and He goes to these men 18:37 and He says, listen guys, sit down, 18:40 let this sink down into your ears, 18:42 I'm about to be betrayed into the hands of men 18:44 and I'm going to be killed but I'll rise the third day. 18:49 So I pictured these disciples are all excited 18:52 and dreaming about what they are going to do 18:53 when they are rulers of the known world, 18:57 under the Messiah. 18:59 They hear this message from Jesus 19:00 and scratch their heads. 19:06 They heard the message. 19:08 They didn't like where it was going. 19:14 So I picture them, scratching their heads 19:16 and saying, "Hmm, so what kind of crown 19:19 do you think I should wear? 19:21 And let's go look at robes. 19:23 You know, I'm going to need a nice regal robe for when, 19:24 you know, the Messiah ushers in this new kingdom. 19:27 They didn't get it. 19:28 Just like when the sower throws the seed on the wayside, 19:30 the seed bounces. 19:33 The spiritual truth, Christ was trying to preach to these men 19:35 bounced off of their heart. 19:38 They didn't get it. 19:44 Has there ever been a time 19:47 when you have read something in the Word 19:49 or heard something in a sermon that you didn't understand 19:55 because you didn't want to understand it, 20:00 or because you were sorrowful about 20:02 what it would mean to your life if it was truth? 20:08 We need to come to the Word of God. 20:09 We need to come to God Himself. 20:12 Ready to give up all of our preconceived notions 20:15 about His will for our life. 20:24 Moving on, to the stony ground 20:28 we will pick it up in Matthew 13:5. 20:34 Matthew 13:5 says this, 20:40 "Some fell on stony places, 20:42 where they did not have much earth, 20:44 and they immediately sprang up 20:46 because they had no depth of earth. 20:48 But when the sun was up they were scorched, 20:51 and because they had no root they withered away." 20:57 Do you know that plants grow downward 20:59 before they grow up? Why do you thing that is? 21:06 Because God programmed them 21:08 to grow down as far as they could 21:10 to establish a firm foundation of roots, 21:14 not only is this going to help them 21:15 have the structural support that the blade will need 21:17 when it penetrates the soil. 21:19 But also it enables them to get down deep 21:21 where the moisture is, 21:25 so establishes its firm foundation of roots. 21:29 In Matthew 13, the parallel account of this parable, 21:33 it says that the seed fell on stony ground 21:35 sprang up immediately and it was scorched by the sun. 21:39 And because it had no root it withered away. 21:43 Now a question for you, do plants needs the sun? 21:46 Of course, plants need the sun. 21:48 They need the photons of light from the sun, 21:52 they react with the chlorophyll in the leaves of the plant 21:55 and the chlorophyll along with the carbon dioxide 21:58 from the air and the water that it's gets from the roots, 22:01 all reacts together to initiate the process of photosynthesis, 22:04 which enables it to produce cellulose 22:06 which becomes food for the plant. 22:10 So plants need the sun to live. 22:12 Is that a true statement? 22:13 Absolutely, it's so interesting to know it, 22:16 that the same sun that is necessary for life 22:21 is able to kill seemingly identical plants. 22:31 So we ask ourselves what's the difference? 22:33 The difference is the root system. 22:38 You see the sun or trials in our life 22:44 reveal the depth of the soil in our hearts. 22:49 Trials in our life, the sun in this parable 22:51 reveals the depth of the soil in our hearts. 22:58 Just as the plant with a deep root system 23:02 is able to use the sun to sustain itself and to grow, 23:06 those who have a spiritual root system 23:09 are able to use trials in their life 23:13 to be moulded more into the likeness of Christ. 23:18 But those that don't have the spiritual, 23:19 the deep root system will wither away, 23:22 when trials come just as this plant did. 23:29 Many who profess to be followers of Christ in reality 23:33 are these stony ground hearers mentioned in the parable. 23:37 And you think about it, it says that 23:38 the plant sprung immediately. 23:41 Like the appearance of a plant 23:44 with shallow roots in the beginning 23:47 and the appearance of a plant with deep roots 23:49 in the beginning is very similar. 23:53 So too of those with people like us 23:55 who don't have the deep spiritual root system, 23:58 we can spring up immediately 23:59 and appear to be consistent Christians. 24:03 But when the sun comes out, 24:05 when the trials in our life begin to happen, 24:12 we wither away if we don't have that 24:14 deep spiritual root system. 24:15 Now what prevents this deep spiritual root system? 24:19 It's the stones. 24:21 It's those stones of selfishness in our life. 24:32 Many people unfortunately, 24:35 they see religion and Christianity 24:37 as a way to avoid trials and a way to avoid adversity. 24:44 And so when everything is going fine 24:46 these Christians are fine going with the flow, 24:49 appear to be consistent Christians. 24:54 But you know when the Word of God points out 24:58 some cherished sin 25:00 or requires some kind of sacrifice 25:02 that would mean a radical change in their life, 25:05 instead of, having the deep root system 25:07 to be able to use that to grow, 25:10 they're offended by it and they wither. 25:16 It would cost them too much effort 25:17 to make a radical change in their life. 25:20 They look at the present inconvenience of their trial 25:23 and they forget about the eternal realities 25:26 that has been sown in their heart already. 25:28 They are unable to keep that seed and they wither. 25:37 There was a 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo 25:40 despite the fact that he was in a terrible car accident 25:43 and he lost his left arm. 25:46 So he enrolled in a judo class 25:48 that was thought by a Japanese judo master. 25:53 And after the first class, 25:55 the Japanese judo master came to him he says, 25:56 "Listen, if you continue to train with me 26:01 I can make you a champion." 26:05 The boy was excited about this, 26:07 so he started training with his judo master 26:08 and a month went by and the boy was surprised 26:12 because he was doing quite well 26:14 but the judo master was only teaching him one move. 26:17 So he finally mustered up enough courage 26:18 to ask the judo master, 26:21 "Sensai, shouldn't I be learning more moves?" 26:25 and the judo master said, 26:26 "Listen this is the only move that you know 26:28 but it's the only move that you'll need know. 26:31 If you trust me I can make you a champion." 26:35 So he continued to train for a couple more months 26:37 and then the judo master enrolled his student 26:38 in a tournament. 26:40 So this 10-year-old boy who has one arm enters this tournament 26:44 and to his surprise he won his first two matches easily. 26:49 And he is excited. 26:51 He is like what's going on, you know? 26:53 How am I winning these matches? 26:55 The third match comes it's a little bit different. 26:58 His opponent is a little bit bigger, 27:00 a little bit stronger, more experienced. 27:03 The fight lasted a little bit longer than the others 27:07 but this opponent got impatient 27:10 and he made a mistake and the boy was able to pin him 27:13 and he won the third match. 27:15 Excited, he moved on to the championship round. 27:18 The boy with one arm stepped into the ring 27:21 and then the goliath of his opponent steps in. 27:25 Was much bigger, much stronger, much more experienced, 27:28 he had been studying judo for years. 27:29 The referee comes into the ring sees the discrepancy in size, 27:32 he says, whoa, wait a minute. 27:35 He's about to call the fight. 27:37 The judo master comes out and talks to the referee. 27:39 He says, "You have to let this fight continue. 27:40 Trust me, everything will be fine." 27:43 Something in what the judo master said 27:45 convinced the referee. He said, "Okay, let's do it." 27:49 The match continues. 27:51 Begins and it was a very tough fight. 27:54 The boy was knocked around 27:57 and the fight dragged on and on and on 27:58 but this goliath this opponent couldn't pin him. 28:01 And he is getting frustrated. 28:03 He is like how can this boy, this little boy with one arm, 28:05 how can I not pin this kid? 28:08 So he got impatient and he made a mistake. 28:11 And the boy was able to pin him with the only move that he knew 28:15 and he was a champion. 28:19 Walking out of the door, joy, carrying the trophy, 28:22 they get in the car, they are driving home 28:24 and he gets up, the boy has to muster up courage 28:26 again to ask the Sensei. 28:28 "Sensei, how did I win this tournament? 28:31 I only know one move." 28:35 The wise sensei looks at him, 28:36 he says, "You won for two reasons. 28:39 Number 1, you have almost completed mastered 28:43 the most difficult throw in all of judo. 28:47 And number 2, the only defense for that move 28:51 is if your opponent were to grab your left arm." 28:57 You see, Jesus Christ wants to use the trials in our life 29:03 to give us victory over the sin in our lives. 29:23 Just as the plant cannot be benefited 29:29 from the sun without a deep root system, 29:34 we cannot benefit from the trials in our life 29:36 if we don't get out the stones of selfishness that are there. 29:40 The stones that are preventing the seed from going deep, 29:45 from giving us that deep conviction of the Holy Spirit, 29:48 we cannot have that if we have these stones of selfishness 29:51 under the thin layer of soil 29:52 that is able to receive that seed. 29:57 I think if plants were conscious 29:59 they sure would appreciate the sun, wouldn't they? 30:04 How much do we appreciate the trials in our life? 30:10 This is precisely why James says in his epistle 30:13 in the first chapter starting in verse 2, 30:15 "Brethren, count it all to joy 30:17 when you fall into various trials, 30:19 for the testing of your faith produces patience. 30:24 And let patience have its perfect work, 30:25 that you might be perfect, lacking nothing." 30:29 We need to see these trials as a joy because know that, 30:32 that is God's chosen tool for developing us 30:35 into the likeness of His Son. 30:42 Brothers and sisters, I don't necessarily need to tell 30:45 this congregation this but there is going to come a time, 30:49 I think very soon. 30:51 We are bible believing Christians. 30:57 We have to choose between following of thus saith the Lord 31:00 in the principles that are taught in the Bible, 31:03 or the prerogative to buy and sell. 31:08 And you can read all about it in Revelation 13:16, 17. 31:13 This is going to happen before Christ returns. 31:17 I just had my first son, my first child three months ago. 31:23 And from what I understand, 31:25 there could come point in my lifetime 31:28 where I have to choose between following 31:29 the principles of God's Word or buying food my son. 31:37 Now I can't think of a more intense trial than that. 31:45 If I don't get the stones of selfishness out of my heart now 31:50 that are preventing my deep spiritual root system. 31:53 If I don't get out those stones now, 31:58 there is no way that I'm going to stand 32:01 in the face of that kind of trial in the future. 32:06 People might say listen I know what the end time scenario is, 32:10 I know how Christ is going to return, 32:11 I know who the Antichrist is, 32:13 I know what the mark of the beast is going to be, 32:16 so when all of this stuff starts to go down I will just avoid it, 32:19 and I'll do the right thing. 32:23 It doesn't work that way. 32:25 No mere intellectual ascent to 32:27 what the truth is is going to save anyone. 32:31 It is only having that deep spiritual root system 32:38 to have access to the moisture, 32:40 the Holy Sprit that we will be able to stand 32:44 in the face of a trial like that. 32:49 The stones of selfishness need to go. 32:59 Moving on, Matthew 13:22, says this 33:04 "Now he who received seed among the thorns 33:06 is he who hears the word, 33:08 and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches 33:12 choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful." 33:17 In a parallel account in Luke, 33:18 it also mentions the pleasures of this life so the pleasures, 33:23 the riches and the cares of this world 33:25 can choke out our experience with God. 33:33 Many people start to hear the spiritual crickets 33:38 but then they just turn up the volume on the world. 33:47 Many people have simply cut off the tops 33:51 of the pleasure weeds in their lives. 33:56 I just recently bought my first house. 33:58 You know I feel like a real adult. 34:01 Now I have my own mower 34:02 and I have my own lawn, I have to mow. 34:05 So this past summer, you know, 34:07 it started to get weeds in the sod that I just laid. 34:09 I was like, okay. 34:11 When I was in high school, I just motor ride 34:12 over those things and that was it. 34:16 But now that it's my own lawn, you know, 34:18 I kind of take extra care in, you know, what it looks like. 34:23 And so what I noticed is that 34:24 when I just mow over those weeds, what happens? 34:28 They come back and usually they bring some friends. 34:33 See it's not just enough to just chop off the tops of the weeds 34:39 or to just chop off the appearance of the weeds. 34:46 We have to sincerely ask ourselves, 34:49 are we uprooting these weeds so they don't come back? 34:57 Riches, money is a tricky thing. 35:02 In our society, we need money to live 35:05 to buy the necessities of life. 35:09 The Bible says that, 35:11 "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle 35:14 than for a rich man to inherit the kingdom of heaven." 35:18 Praise the Lord, then he says after that 35:19 all things are possible through Christ. 35:25 And by the way, I heard a statistic not too long ago 35:29 that if you have an outfit of clothes, 35:35 enough food to eat everyday and a roof over your head, 35:39 then you are richer than 75% of the entire world. 35:45 So when you think riches don't think palaces and fancy cars. 35:54 Chances are if you live in North America, you are rich. 35:59 So these riches can choke out our experience with God 36:02 and it's very interesting that the pleasures of life especially 36:08 in North America here are usually 36:10 what casus the deceitfulness of riches. 36:14 Hollywood tells us that the American dream is to 36:17 work really hard to get a good paying job, 36:19 so that you can give your kids everything that you didn't have 36:21 and then you can provide yourself with everything 36:23 you didn't have, when you were young. 36:24 It's all about more and more and more, 36:26 getting stuff, getting stuff and getting stuff, 36:31 so the two play off one another the deceitfulness of riches 36:34 and the pleasures of this life. 36:40 A wise man once said that the standard of wealth 36:44 is not how much money someone has, 36:47 but how much one can live without. 36:51 How much can we live without? 36:58 The cares of this world, in the NASB 37:03 that word cares is translated as worry. 37:07 Worry can choke out our experience with God as well. 37:11 A family member of mine gave her heart to the Lord 37:15 through the witness of my mother. 37:18 She started coming to church, she's eventually baptized, 37:21 she came to church every week 37:23 and brought her children every week to church 37:26 and she was thrilled about the things 37:27 that she was learning and the changes 37:28 that were occurring in her life. 37:31 Her husband on the other was not so thrilled. 37:34 Even though this man didn't attend a church himself, 37:37 he didn't like that she wasn't going to a main stream church. 37:41 He had issues with her giving 10% of her paycheck away. 37:48 And this caused significant worry in her life. 37:54 In her eyes, there was either save her marriage 37:58 or do what the Bible says. 38:02 She didn't realize there's always the third option 38:04 and that's do what Christ would have you to do. 38:08 Eventually, she succumbed to the harassment of her husband. 38:15 She slowly stopped coming to church 38:16 until she didn't come at all. 38:21 And it wasn't much longer after that, 38:26 that she began to feel a hole in her. 38:28 You all know here today I don't need to tell 38:30 before you come to Christ or if you fall away from Christ, 38:33 there's a hole inside of your heart. 38:37 The famous mathematician and Christian apologist, 38:39 Blaise Pascal said, 38:41 "There is a God-shaped hole in the heart of every man 38:45 that can be only be filled 38:46 through the knowledge of Jesus Christ." 38:49 So when this family member of mine went away 38:51 from the church that hole started to open up 38:53 and it's started to get bigger and it started to ache. 38:57 And her marriage and her family 38:59 wasn't even going to be able to fill it. 39:03 So she started looking for other things to fill it 39:06 and she went to another man. 39:12 To show you how deceitful the devil is. 39:17 Her husband started to know what was going on, 39:21 he called my mother and he asked my mother 39:25 if she thought she would be able 39:28 to get his wife to go back to church. 39:32 But it was too late. 39:35 The worry of this life can choke out our experience with God. 39:43 There's people in your life that are close to you, 39:50 that are trying to take you away 39:52 from what you know to be true from God's Word. 39:55 Do them a favor and stick to what God's Word says. 40:06 The good ground says this in verse 15, 40:10 it said in Luke 8:15. 40:13 It says, "But the ones that fell 40:14 on the good ground are those who, 40:16 having heard the word with a noble and good heart, 40:20 keep it and bear fruit with patience." 40:26 They keep it and bear that seed to fruit with patience. 40:34 Did anyone see a problem with this verse? 40:38 It says, "Having heard the word with a noble and good heart." 40:42 Go with me to Jeremiah 17:9. 40:45 and I'll see if you can see the problem with this verse. 40:50 Jeremiah 17:9. 40:55 Jeremiah 17:9 says this, 40:57 "The heart is deceitful above all things, 41:00 and desperately wicked, who can know it?" 41:04 Problem, this verse here the good ground, 41:07 we get to the good ground. 41:08 Praise the Lord, there's people with hearts 41:10 that are ready to receive the word. 41:13 The good soil, but it says that those 41:17 who having heard the word with a noble and good heart, 41:20 keep it and bear fruit with patience. 41:23 What's the problem? 41:26 It says that those with a noble and good heart. 41:27 But we see in Jeremiah that our hearts are far from that. 41:33 So what is our solution to this problem? 41:37 We don't have the heart that is noble 41:39 and good to receive the seed. 41:44 So what's the solution? 41:48 Can soil change itself? 41:52 No, can it water itself or fertilize itself? 41:57 No. 41:59 Just as the soil cannot change itself, 42:03 we cannot make our hearts soft like soil. 42:09 We need to pray a prayer like David did. 42:13 In Psalm 51:10 when he said, 42:14 "Create in me a clean heart, Oh, God, 42:18 and renew a right spirit within me." 42:24 Only then will the work of the tilling 42:27 and the throwing out of the stones 42:29 and the weeding be able to start to begin. 42:37 So we have a problem. 42:40 You know I can sit up here and appeal to you 42:46 about all of the individual stones, 42:50 the individual weeds in your life. 42:53 There are specific individual stones and weeds 42:56 and I hope you're thinking about those things right now. 43:02 But the wayside hearers, the stony ground hearers, 43:06 the thorny ground hearers, 43:09 all have a variation of the same problem. 43:15 As I mentioned before, all sin is, what? 43:19 Selfishness. All sin is selfishness. 43:32 The wayside hearer is completely egocentric, 43:37 totally focused on his or her circumstances. 43:42 Shutting out all spiritual messages 43:46 like the disciples who heard the message 43:51 but didn't want to understand it. 43:57 Ask yourself today, is God trying to tell you something? 44:02 Does He sit you down on a regular basis 44:04 and plead with you, let these words sink down into your ears? 44:12 There might be something in your life today 44:17 that you've heard about, 44:19 that your conscious has been pricked about, 44:22 but that you've hardened your heart too. 44:23 Because you don't like where it's going, 44:26 you don't like the changes 44:28 that you know you would have to make, 44:29 if you went there and really understood 44:32 the message that God is trying to plant in your heart. 44:43 The stony ground here, 44:46 we talked it before has a thin layer of soil on top of stones. 44:54 So this thin layer of soil, it's able to receive the seed. 44:59 The Bible says that, that seed springs up immediately. 45:04 And for our all intents and purposes, 45:05 it looks just like another plant, 45:08 one that has the deep root system. 45:12 But when that blazing hot trial 45:14 of the sun comes, it withers away. 45:27 There's stones in lots of our lives, 45:30 stones of selfishness. 45:32 Things that are preventing us 45:34 from having a deeper relationship with Christ, 45:39 that thin layer of the soil 45:41 on top of those stones of selfishness 45:44 are our good intentions to follow the Lord. 45:51 So that seed if it's in the optimal environment 45:56 is able to grow in that thin layer of good intentions. 46:01 When there's no trials and nothing going on 46:03 in the immediate vicinity of that seed, 46:07 no storms of the life, no blazing hot sun, 46:10 that seed is able to germinate. 46:11 Even though, it doesn't go in deep 46:13 into the soil and it shoots up. 46:23 If we don't take out these stones 46:25 that are preventing the roots from going deep down 46:29 to the moisture of the Holy Spirit, 46:34 you can guarantee that you will wither away, 46:36 when the trials come. 46:39 Whether it's a more minor trial sometime this week 46:45 or whether it's somewhat major trial just before Jesus returns. 46:50 We cannot withstand trials 46:55 if we don't have a firm established 46:59 root system with God. 47:08 And finally these thorny ground hearers, 47:15 while they receive the seed 47:20 they refuse toallow pet sins to be uprooted. 47:30 And they allow the thorns and the weeds to choke out 47:34 their experience with God. 47:46 So what's the solution? 47:50 As I said before, we all have specific weeds 47:52 and stones in our life. 47:55 But every single one of those stones, 47:56 every single one of those weeds has an underlying cause 48:00 and that cause is selfishness. 48:06 "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." 48:10 Every one of us has had selfishness, 48:12 or has selfishness in our lives that needs to be taken out, 48:19 before we can have a true deep relationship with Christ. 48:29 So there is a solution. 48:30 It's a very practical solution to this problem of selfishness. 48:35 This problem that is ensnaring almost everyone on this planet, 48:39 everyone on this planet has some hint of selfishness 48:43 to varying degrees, that's keeping us from a further 48:45 and deeper relationship with God. 48:51 I'm going to read a quote from the very powerful book 48:55 called "Christ's Object Lessons." 49:00 And if you listen very carefully, 49:04 if you have ears to hear, 49:08 if you let these things sink down into your ears, 49:15 you'll be able to see the inspired prescription 49:21 for the cure of selfishness. 49:27 I'm not going to leave you hanging today. 49:30 I'm not just going to point out the problems 49:35 and simply say, oh, we just need to pray about it, which is true. 49:38 We do need to pray about, that's where we need to start. 49:43 We need to start for the willingness, 49:45 pray for the willingness to chuck out the stones. 49:49 Pray for the willingness 49:51 to uproot not just hack off the weeds. 49:57 But there's something even more practical that we can do, 50:00 we have a part to play. 50:08 I'm going to read this quote. Listen very carefully. 50:11 Let these words sink down into ears, 50:13 and be listening for this inspired 50:15 prescription for selfishness. 50:20 It says this, 50:23 "At the very outset, of the Christian life 50:26 every believer should be taught its foundational principles. 50:33 He should be taught that he is not merely 50:35 to be saved by Christ's sacrifice, 50:37 but that he is to make the life of Christ his 50:41 and the character of Christ his character. 50:48 Let all be taught that they are to bear burdens 50:52 and to deny natural inclination. 50:57 Let them learn the blessedness of working for Christ, 51:00 following Him in self-denial, 51:03 and enduring hardness as good soldiers. 51:08 Let them learn to trust His love and to cast on Him their cares. 51:16 Let them taste the joy of winning souls for Him. 51:22 In their love and interest for the lost, 51:27 they will lose sight of self. 51:33 The pleasures of the world will lose their power to attract 51:36 and its burdens to dishearten. 51:40 The plowshare of truth will do its work. 51:43 It will break up the fallow ground. 51:47 It will not merely cut off the tops of the thorns, 51:51 but will take them out by the roots." 51:57 Did you hear the prescription? 52:03 What is the prescription for selfishness? 52:08 I'll read it you one more time. 52:14 It says, "In their love and interest for the lost, 52:21 they will lose sight of self." 52:26 There it is. 52:27 The practical prescription for eradicating the selfishness 52:31 that's choking out our experience with God, 52:34 the inspired prescription 52:37 for taking out the shovel of faith, 52:40 and digging out those stones that are preventing us 52:42 from having the spiritual root system that we need. 52:45 The divine prescription for eradicating selfishness 52:51 is our interest and our love for the lost. 53:01 You see 53:09 there is nothing we can do in and of ourselves 53:18 to change our hearts. 53:24 It is only by reaching out to those around you. 53:30 How many of you have had ears to hear 53:32 the invitations that God has been giving you 53:36 to reach out to your neighbor? 53:41 How many of you have heard 53:44 that still small voice like a cricket 53:50 over the noise of your life? 53:54 That still small voice is calling out to each person here 53:57 and calling out to me 54:02 to pray that we could have the love 54:04 and interest for the lost that we need in our lives, 54:13 if we are to have that spiritual root system, 54:16 if we are not to be choked out by the weeds in our life. 54:34 It's been said that Plato 54:40 had a student ask him, 54:43 "Teacher, how is it that I can obtain 54:46 the knowledge that you have? 54:48 How is it that I can attain 54:50 the enlightenment that you have?" 54:54 Then Plato said, "Well, come with me." 54:58 And he brings him down to the river 54:59 and Plato wades out into the river 55:01 and he says, "Come down to me." 55:04 So the student thought, this is kind of strange, 55:06 but he wades down into the river and he says, okay. 55:11 Plato says, put your self under the water. 55:16 So he thought it was an interesting 55:18 answer to his question. 55:19 So he put himself under the water. 55:23 Plato, then put his hand on top of his student's head 55:26 and held him there. 55:29 After 30 seconds or so, the student started to struggle. 55:35 And he's trying to get up, 55:36 but he could not escape his teacher's grip. 55:41 Just as the student started to stop struggling, 55:47 started to go limp, Plato took his hand off. 55:52 The student jumped out of the water 55:54 and was breathing very heavily. 55:57 And Plato looked at his student and he said, 56:01 "The moment that you desire knowledge and enlightenment 56:08 as much as you did to breathe the air you just breathed, 56:13 that is when you will receive it. 56:18 Jesus said a very similar thing, He said in Matthew 5, 56:22 "Blessed are those who hunger 56:23 and thirst for righteousness sake, for they will be filled." 56:32 There's problems in your life. 56:37 There's things that you know are keeping you 56:38 from a deeper relationship with God. 56:44 We've seen the prescription for taking those things away. 56:55 Let's pray. 56:57 Father in heaven, I just pray tonight 56:59 that You would give us ears to hear. 57:02 Let this seed fall on good ground, Lord. 57:07 Let us hear your message and realize 57:09 that we all have a variation of the same problem. 57:12 That problem is selfishness. |
Revised 2014-12-17