Participants:
Series Code: PME
Program Code: PME240316S
|
00:01 ♪
00:14 >> Good morning, church. 00:18 Guests, visitors, 00:20 you're as welcome as 00:20 the sunshine outside. 00:22 We're really glad you're here. 00:24 Thank you for coming. 00:26 And if you are joining us via 00:27 media, we really welcome you. 00:30 Isn't it a gorgeous day outside? 00:33 It really is. 00:34 And we trust that our service 00:36 today will be a blessing 00:37 to each of us, as well as our 00:39 Heavenly Father 00:40 and all His hosts. 00:45 Would you stand with me 00:48 for the call to worship? 00:50 It's either in your bulletin 00:52 or on the screen, and we're 00:54 going to read responsively. 00:56 All right? 01:26 I can't think of a better way 01:27 of living than that. 01:29 Shall we pray? 01:31 Heavenly Father, 01:32 we lift our hearts 01:33 and eyes to You this morning. 01:37 Would you empower us, please, 01:39 to worship You in spirit 01:41 and in truth? 01:44 We come to You through Jesus, 01:47 Your Son, our Savior and Lord, 01:50 and we ask in His name. 01:53 Amen. 01:57 [ "Come, Thou Almighty King" 01:58 begins ] 04:58 [ "Give Me the Bible" begins ] 07:04 [ "Wonderful Words of Life" 07:06 begins ] 08:48 [ "Standing on the Promises" 08:49 begins ] 10:34 >> Good day. 10:36 Our Scripture reading today 10:37 is found in Hosea 10:12. 10:43 Hosea 10:12. 10:51 "Sow righteousness for 10:53 yourselves, reap the fruit 10:55 of unfailing love, 10:58 and break up your unplowed 10:59 ground, 11:01 for it is time to seek the Lord 11:04 until He comes and showers 11:07 His righteousness on you." 11:09 Amen. 11:27 [ Organ plays ] 11:38 >> ♪ Open my eyes 11:40 that I may see ♪ 11:44 ♪ Glimpses of truth 11:46 You have for me ♪ 11:50 ♪ Place in my hands 11:53 the wonderful key ♪ 11:56 ♪ That shall unclasp 11:59 to set me free ♪ 12:04 >> ♪ Silently now 12:06 I wait for You ♪ 12:10 ♪ Ready, my God, 12:13 Your will to see ♪ 12:16 ♪ Open my eyes 12:18 ♪ Illumine me 12:23 ♪ Spirit divine 12:44 >> ♪ Open my ears 12:46 that I may hear ♪ 12:50 ♪ Voices of truth 12:53 You sent me clear ♪ 12:56 ♪ And while the wave notes 12:59 fall on my ear ♪ 13:02 ♪ Everything false 13:05 will disappear ♪ 13:17 >> ♪ Silently now 13:19 I wait for You ♪ 13:27 >> ♪ Ready, my God, 13:29 Your will to see ♪ 13:34 >> ♪ Open my eyes 13:39 ♪ Illumine me 13:47 ♪ Spirit divine 13:59 >> ♪ Open my ears 14:09 >> ♪ Open my eyes 14:22 [ Applause ] 14:33 [ Organ plays ] 15:34 >> We are blessed with 15:35 great music here at Pioneer. 15:36 Are we not? 15:38 Amen and amen. 15:38 Thank you, 15:39 musicians and singers, 15:40 for leading us in worship. 15:47 Let's jump right in. 15:49 If you have a Bible, 15:50 would you take a look, please, 15:51 at Matthew 13:1. 15:55 If you don't 15:55 have a Bible with you, 15:57 there is one in a pew somewhere 15:58 nearby, a red Bible there. 15:59 And chances are, 16:00 if you look on page 658, 16:02 you will find Matthew 13:1. 16:05 Page 658. 16:07 We're going 16:07 to look at Matthew 13, 16:08 and then we're going to jump 16:09 over to Luke chapter eight, 16:12 just so you can be ready 16:13 to flip over to that part, 16:14 beginning Matthew 13:1. 16:18 Those of you 16:19 that have experience 16:20 with this portion of Matthew, 16:21 you know that it is significant 16:22 because Matthew 13 begins 16:24 a series of parables 16:27 that Jesus is going 16:28 to share with His disciples and 16:29 the surrounding crowds there. 16:31 Now, a parable, as I 16:32 mentioned a couple of weeks ago, 16:33 it's not an actual factual 16:35 recounting of 16:36 an historical event. 16:38 It may be rooted 16:39 in an historical event, 16:40 but as was common in the day, 16:41 Jesus here molds and shapes 16:43 it into an object-lesson story. 16:46 The facts of the story 16:47 may not have happened that way, 16:49 but the spiritual point 16:51 is absolutely true. 16:54 Jesus was a master at telling 16:56 these kinds of stories. 16:57 Let's see what happens here. 16:58 Matthew 13:1 16:59 says, "That same day 17:01 Jesus went out of the house 17:02 and sat by the lake." 17:04 This is the Sea of Galilee. 17:05 "Such large crowds 17:06 gathered around Him 17:07 that he got into a boat 17:09 and sat in it, while all 17:10 the people stood on the shore." 17:12 Isn't that interesting? 17:13 Jesus sat while preaching. 17:14 Huh. 17:16 [ Laughter ] 17:20 Verse three. "Then He told them 17:22 many things in parables, 17:23 saying, 'A farmer 17:25 went out to sow his seed. 17:28 As he was scattering the seed, 17:29 some fell along the path, and 17:31 the birds came and ate it up. 17:33 Some fell on rocky places, 17:36 where it did not have much soil. 17:38 It sprang up quickly 17:39 because the soil was shallow. 17:42 But when the sun came up, 17:42 the plants were scorched, 17:44 and they withered because 17:45 they had no root. 17:47 Other seed fell among thorns, 17:48 which grew up 17:49 and choked the plants. 17:50 Still other seed 17:52 fell on good soil, 17:54 where it produced a crop 100, 17:56 60, or 30 times what was sown.'" 18:00 And then just to make sure 18:01 that we all know this is for us, 18:03 Jesus says, "He who has ears, 18:05 let him hear." 18:08 Flip over, please, to Luke 18:09 chapter eight. 18:10 It's on page 696. 18:12 Luke chapter eight, 18:12 beginning with verse 11. 18:15 When Jesus finishes the parable, 18:16 the disciples immediately begin 18:17 to ask, "Help us to understand 18:19 what this parable is." 18:20 They probably could guess 18:21 about some of it because, again, 18:22 this was part of Jewish 18:24 culture at that time. 18:25 But they wanted to be sure 18:26 that they had it. 18:27 Well, the explanation 18:28 for this parable 18:29 actually comes most succinctly 18:31 and distinctly in Luke 8. 18:33 Jesus told this parable 18:34 on more than one occasion. 18:36 And here we have here 18:37 the interpretation Luke 8:11. 18:39 Jesus said, "This is the meaning 18:42 of the parable. 18:43 The seed is the Word of God. 18:47 Those along the path 18:48 are the ones who hear. 18:50 And then the devil comes 18:51 and takes away 18:52 the Word from their hearts, 18:53 so that they may not believe 18:54 and be saved. 18:55 Those on the rock are the ones 18:57 who receive the word with joy 18:58 when they hear it, 18:59 but they have no root. 19:01 They believe for a while, 19:02 but in the time of testing, 19:03 they fall away. 19:06 The seed that fell among thorns 19:08 stands for those who hear, 19:10 but as they go on their way, 19:11 they are choked by life's 19:12 worries, riches, and pleasures, 19:14 and they do not mature. 19:16 But the seed on good soil 19:19 stands for those with a noble 19:21 and good heart 19:23 who hear the word, retain it, 19:25 and, by persevering, 19:26 produce a crop." 19:29 Now, one of the things that you 19:32 will quickly discover if you 19:33 study the parables of Jesus 19:34 is that there is layer 19:36 upon layer of meaning. 19:37 This is part of the genius 19:39 of Jesus, because when He 19:41 tells this story, I mean, 19:42 you could spend a very long time 19:44 still unearthing these gems. 19:46 You know, when Ellen White 19:47 comments on this, Ellen White, 19:48 one of the founders of the 19:49 Seventh-day Adventist Church, 19:50 a prophet of God, 19:52 when she writes about this 19:53 in "Christ's Object Lessons," 19:54 it's one of the longer chapters 19:54 in the book 19:56 because there's so much here. 19:58 Let's see if we can at least 20:00 scratch the surface. 20:02 Back to verse 11, Luke 8. 20:04 "This is the meaning 20:05 of the parable," Jesus says. 20:06 The seed is the what? 20:08 What is it? 20:09 Okay, the Word of God. 20:10 So, this right here, the Bible. 20:11 The Bible's referred to as 20:12 the Word of God, and rightly so. 20:13 God inspired this. 20:15 He breathed it by 20:15 His Holy Spirit, inspired people 20:17 to write this down. 20:18 It also refers generally 20:19 to the Word of God, 20:20 which is, to say 20:22 the least, powerful. 20:24 If you go back to Genesis 20:25 chapter one, God speaks, and 20:27 the world appears essentially. 20:29 That's power. 20:30 That's great power. 20:31 And here the seed is not Jesus. 20:35 The seed is not, 20:36 you know, generally, 20:37 the kingdom of heaven. 20:38 The seed, very interestingly, 20:39 is the Word of God. 20:41 This is how the kingdom 20:43 is seeded. 20:45 And if it germinates, 20:47 the kingdom of God will grow 20:49 in the person in which 20:51 the seed has been planted -- 20:53 powerful stuff here. 20:55 Now, this is one reason 20:56 why the Bible throughout ages 20:57 has been 20:59 so often denied to the people. 21:00 The enemies of truth, 21:01 the devil himself would like 21:03 nothing better than to keep 21:04 this book out of people's hands, 21:06 and even if they have it 21:07 in their hands, 21:08 his next-best thing is to either 21:09 have them misinterpret it 21:11 or not read it. 21:13 Which category does America fall 21:14 into these days? 21:17 And who knows, maybe much 21:19 of the rest of the world, too. 21:19 We just don't read 21:20 it very often. 21:21 And yet God here, 21:23 Jesus Himself, is saying, "This 21:24 is the seed of the kingdom." 21:29 Verse 12. 21:31 "Those along the path" -- so the 21:33 seed that falls along the path 21:34 here -- "are the ones who hear. 21:36 And then the devil comes 21:37 and takes away the Word 21:39 from their hearts, 21:40 so that they may not believe 21:41 and be saved." 21:42 Now, you tell me. 21:44 What kind of soil would one find 21:45 along the path? 21:50 Okay. Hard. Yeah. Hard-packed. 21:51 Why would it be hard-packed? 21:54 Yeah, because people walk there. 21:55 I mean, it's simple questions, 21:56 right? 21:57 But it's important. 21:58 You have to ask these questions. 21:59 It would be hard-packed 22:00 because people made it that way. 22:06 And here we have 22:07 a key foundational principle 22:09 for understanding 22:11 and rightly interpreting 22:12 the rest of the parable. 22:14 Follow me carefully. 22:15 The Bible 22:17 tells us in Isaiah 1:18 -- 22:18 some of you have probably 22:19 memorized this -- that God 22:21 offers us this invitation. 22:22 He says, "Come now. 22:23 Let us reason together." 22:26 Exactly. God invites us 22:27 to sit down with Him in essence, 22:29 and to use our minds, to use 22:30 our reasoning ability, 22:31 our cognition. 22:33 We are to be people who think 22:36 and sit down and reason 22:38 when we make our decisions. 22:39 And Joshua 24:15. 22:40 You may recall Joshua 22:42 there is talking 22:44 to the people there as they 22:45 contemplate the promised land. 22:46 And he says to them, 22:47 "Choose you this day 22:50 whom you will serve." 22:50 Choose. 22:51 In other words, 22:52 I'm not going to force you. 22:54 God is not going to force you. 22:55 No one can force you. 22:56 You are made in the image of God 22:58 and therefore you are 22:59 a free, moral agent. 23:03 Do you see what that means? 23:05 It means 23:07 that the quality of the "soil" 23:11 in our lives, and, therefore, 23:14 to a great extent, 23:15 the quality of the "harvest" 23:17 that Jesus reaps in our lives 23:19 is up to us. 23:24 We choose. 23:27 Now, let's be clear. 23:28 That's not 23:29 real popular these days. 23:30 You know, Western culture 23:32 sometimes today specializes 23:34 in being a victim. 23:36 And as we talked 23:36 a few weeks back, it is true. 23:37 Sometimes there are things 23:39 that happen in our lives 23:40 over which we have no control, 23:41 and they have adverse effect 23:42 on us, no doubt about it. 23:44 Blessedly, probably, 23:45 for most of you listening, 23:47 that is a tiny minority 23:49 of your life. 23:51 The rest of the time 23:52 you can choose. 23:56 And, moreover, 23:58 if you wish to thrive in Christ 24:00 in the kingdom, you must choose. 24:05 So, really, perhaps this 24:06 parable is misnamed. 24:10 Most of the time, 24:11 this is called the parable 24:12 of the...? 24:13 Of the sower. 24:15 Maybe it would be better 24:16 if it was called the parable 24:17 of the soil, 24:21 because, really, the sower here 24:22 is already on solid ground. 24:24 It's the soil, as we will see 24:27 where the question lies. 24:30 I say again, the quality 24:32 of the soil in our lives 24:34 is largely up to us. 24:39 That said, what decisions 24:42 might we be called to make? 24:46 Verse 13, Luke 8:13. 24:51 "Those on the rock," so, the 24:52 seed that falls on the rocky 24:53 ground, "are the ones who 24:55 receive the word with joy 24:56 when they hear it, 24:57 but they have no root. 24:59 They believe for a while, 25:01 but in the time of testing, 25:03 they fall away." 25:05 Huh. 25:06 Now you tell me. 25:06 Is it good to receive the Word 25:07 of God quickly and with joy? 25:09 Yes or no? Yes. All right. 25:11 That seems fairly obvious. 25:12 Ask any traveling evangelist 25:14 if it's good for people 25:15 to quickly and with joy 25:16 accept the Word of God. 25:17 They will say, "Yes, 25:18 two thumbs up, absolutely." 25:19 And, indeed, there are 25:21 biblical examples of this. 25:22 Tax collector Matthew 25:24 becomes disciple Matthew. 25:26 Jesus walks up to the tax 25:27 collector's booth, 25:28 utters just two words -- 25:30 "Follow me." 25:31 And what does Matthew do? 25:32 Stands up, follows Him. 25:34 And how do we know that that was 25:36 not just quick, but joyful? 25:37 Because a few hours later, 25:38 they're all having a big party 25:39 at Matthew's house, okay? 25:41 So, Matthew accepts quickly 25:43 and joyfully the kingdom of God, 25:44 the Word of God here. 25:45 So, the parable is not trying 25:48 to say something against quick, 25:50 happy reception of Jesus 25:51 or the kingdom. 25:52 No. 25:56 And as soon as we acknowledge 25:57 that, if we're really tracking 26:00 with what Jesus is doing here, 26:02 we might get 26:03 a little bit nervous, 26:06 because it could be, 26:07 it could be that as we 26:09 have moved now to the second 26:10 phase of this parable, 26:13 Jesus is now talking firmly 26:16 about us. 26:19 You say, "What do you mean?" 26:20 Well, in the first phase 26:21 of the parable, 26:22 the seed falls along the path. 26:23 Hard-packed ground, 26:24 never gets into the dirt. 26:26 The seed never germinates. 26:27 Birds come, take it away. 26:28 No kingdom of God grows 26:29 within these people, right? 26:30 So, spiritually speaking, 26:32 these are people 26:33 that have some exposure 26:35 to the Word. 26:36 Maybe they watch 26:37 a broadcast like this one. 26:38 Maybe somebody gives them 26:39 a Bible study. 26:40 Maybe they see a tract on the 26:41 ground, and they read it. 26:42 Some seed of the Word, 26:44 because that's what it is, 26:45 is somehow attempted 26:47 to be planted in their lives. 26:49 But because they're on the 26:50 hard-packed path, there's so 26:51 much going on in their lives -- 26:53 they're busy, busy, 26:54 busy going to and fro -- 26:55 off they go, 26:57 and they leave the seed behind. 26:58 The devil swoops in 26:59 and essentially says, "Phew! 27:01 That was a close call. 27:04 It almost stuck and germinated. 27:06 Glad we took care of that one." 27:08 That's phase one of the parable. 27:09 Now we come to phase two, 27:11 and things have changed 27:12 a little bit here, 27:13 because here the seed is 27:16 planted, and it germinates 27:19 and begins to grow. 27:22 In fact, if we were to make 27:25 a comparison in this rocky-soil 27:28 phase two, the Word of God 27:30 has been planted. 27:30 The kingdom of God has begun 27:31 in this person. 27:32 The plants of these people 27:35 at this stage of development 27:36 look like most 27:38 every other plant in the field. 27:42 They have made a start 27:43 in Jesus Christ, 27:44 and they look a great deal like 27:46 they are spiritually healthy. 27:48 The real thing, 27:52 but they're not. 27:54 They're not. 27:58 A story... 28:00 Within the last 28:01 30 years at a church 28:03 within 10,000 miles of here, 28:05 I was pastoring, 28:06 and one of my members 28:07 had a construction accident. 28:09 They worked 28:11 as a construction worker, 28:12 and in the accident he ended up 28:14 face down in fresh cement 28:17 for an inordinately 28:18 long amount of time. 28:21 It was quite serious, and when 28:23 they finally got him out, 28:24 of course he was rushed 28:25 to a trauma-care center. 28:27 I got in my car, I raced down 28:29 there, and I go into the 28:30 hospital, and there's the man's 28:33 wife there in the lobby. 28:34 Say, "How's it going? 28:36 What's what's going on? 28:36 How are things with him?" 28:37 And she said, "Well, 28:39 they've got him stabilized. 28:40 He's in a room in ICU, 28:42 but they are refusing to 28:44 clean off the cement." 28:48 Now, those of you 28:50 who have ever worked with cement 28:51 know that you don't do it 28:52 in your bare feet, 28:53 generally speaking, okay? 28:54 Most of time you got boots, 28:55 you got protective clothing 28:56 because there are chemicals in 29:00 concrete that will quite truly 29:03 and lastingly burn your skin 29:05 if you are in it. 29:06 And here, this man had 29:08 already been face down in it, 29:09 some of it even gone 29:10 down his lungs. 29:13 And he was apparently 29:14 still sitting in the room, 29:15 still caked with the concrete. 29:17 They had stabilized him 29:18 and then left. 29:20 Now, this is not my first rodeo 29:22 at a hospital, 29:23 and we're all okay here 29:25 in Michigan and Indiana. 29:27 This would not happen here, but 29:28 in other places in the country, 29:29 in the American medical-care 29:30 system, 29:31 sometimes you have to be 29:32 your own advocate. 29:33 And so, I opened my bag, 29:35 and I reached in, 29:36 and I got my chaplain's badge 29:40 from a different hospital. 29:44 And that different hospital, 29:45 I remember 29:46 when they issued me that badge. 29:47 You know, if you're a chaplain 29:48 or a pastor, and you're going to 29:49 do visits at the hospital, 29:50 they printed up these badges. 29:52 And when I got it, I thought, 29:52 "Wow, that's 29:53 impressive-looking." 29:54 And when I got on an elevator 29:56 with my new badge, 29:57 there were two other doctors 29:58 in the elevator. 29:58 We're going up. 29:59 And I looked at their badges. 30:00 I thought, "Man, 30:01 these are mighty close together. 30:02 Look at that, right?" 30:05 So, come back now to this other 30:06 hospital. 30:07 I reached into my bag. 30:07 I pull out my badge. 30:08 I put it on my shirt 30:10 with my jacket kind of halfway 30:11 covering it, okay? 30:14 And I marched straight 30:15 to the nurses' station, 30:16 and I said, "Excuse me, ma'am. 30:17 We need assistance right away 30:18 in room 30:19 such-and-such for Mr. So-and-So. 30:20 He is still covered in cement, 30:22 and it is burning his skin. 30:24 Can we get that taken care of 30:24 right away?" 30:28 And you could see the nurse's 30:30 wheels turning. 30:32 "Who do you think you are?" 30:36 And her eyes scanned down 30:37 to my badge, 30:38 which she could not fully see, 30:42 and she apparently decided 30:44 that discretion 30:45 was the better part of valor. 30:46 And she said, "Right away, sir. 30:49 We'll get some nurses in there 30:49 right now." 30:51 And they did. 30:51 Within 30 seconds, there's a 30:53 couple nurses in there, 30:54 and the saline solution 30:55 is flying, 30:56 and they're dabbing this down. 30:57 They get them all cleaned up. 30:58 And he is doing much, 31:00 much better now that he's not 31:02 just simmering there in his bed, 31:03 okay? 31:09 But what if 31:15 I step out of that room? 31:17 Let's just imagine this. 31:18 I step out of that room. 31:20 The procedure for cleaning is 31:21 successfully completed, 31:23 and a gurney comes rushing by, 31:24 being pushed by two nurses. 31:26 They look at me and they say, 31:27 "Doctor, stat! 31:28 We need you down and room 31:28 so-and-so. 31:29 The patient has coded!" 31:30 [ Laughter ] 31:31 "Uh...uh...uh...uh...hmm. 31:36 Uh..." You know. 31:38 Because, in reality, 31:41 while my badge 31:42 had proved useful, 31:44 the truth of the matter was, 31:46 is that it was a baseless badge. 31:49 Or, if I can put it this way, 31:50 it was a rootless badge. 31:52 It was not rooted in reality 31:54 when it came to medical care. 31:57 And any test, any real emergency 32:00 that had come along that needed 32:01 real doctor skill, 32:03 I would have been shown 32:05 for the fraud that I was 32:08 because my badge could not have 32:09 helped me past any genuine 32:11 medical doctor test. 32:15 I may have looked like one. 32:17 But I wasn't. 32:23 But we're talking about 32:24 spiritual things, aren't we? 32:26 This is the parable. 32:28 So, let's just play this out. 32:30 Why do plants need roots? 32:34 Simple question. How come? Why? 32:37 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 32:37 Water, nutrients 32:38 so they can soak it up, 32:40 get nourishment from the soil. 32:41 That's what they're for. 32:42 And -- and plants need roots 32:44 so that they can be protected 32:46 in storms, not from them -- 32:51 in storms, but not from them. 32:53 And spiritually speaking, 32:54 let's just bring this down here. 32:55 Who is our nourishment? 32:57 Jesus Christ -- right? -- and 32:58 His Word, right? 32:59 We're to feed 33:00 on the Word of God, right? 33:01 So, who protects us during 33:04 storms, during difficult times? 33:05 Who is it? Jesus. 33:07 Yes. 33:08 Easy question, easy answer -- 33:09 often through the promises 33:10 of His word. 33:11 We sang about that earlier. 33:12 This is how we are protected 33:14 during these storms. 33:16 And right here is one of the 33:17 greatest challenges that I think 33:19 Christianity faces today. 33:21 Too many people 33:22 have joined up with Jesus 33:23 because they think He's the way 33:25 to escape from suffering 33:26 rather than from sin. 33:30 Too many people 33:31 have joined up with Jesus 33:33 because they think He's the way 33:34 to escape from suffering 33:35 rather than from sin. 33:38 And so, when, 33:39 as the parable says, 33:41 they believe for a while, 33:44 but then the time of testing 33:46 comes, and the Greek there is 33:47 interesting -- time of testing. 33:48 It can mean an array of things. 33:49 When the winds 33:51 of strife and difficulties 33:52 and even sinful temptations, 33:54 when you feel like you're just 33:54 being bombarded with temptation, 33:56 life's challenges, etcetera. 33:58 When that time of testing comes 34:00 to these kinds of believers, 34:02 they fall away because that's 34:07 not what they signed up for. 34:09 They signed up 34:10 for the gravy train 34:12 not for the work of discipleship 34:14 and knowing Jesus. 34:18 Surely, there are at least 34:19 two lessons for us 34:21 in this phase of the parable. 34:23 Number one, trouble 34:26 or temptations in your life 34:27 do not necessarily mean 34:29 that you've lost your connection 34:30 with Jesus. 34:32 It may instead simply mean 34:33 that you are in a normal part 34:34 of a normal growth phase. 34:38 That's good news, isn't it? 34:40 You know, rare indeed 34:41 is the farmer 34:43 who does not expect 34:44 that storms will come 34:46 during the time that his crops 34:47 are out in the field, okay? 34:49 They expect it. They plan it. 34:50 Most farmers -- and I think 34:51 I can safely say this -- 34:52 for most parts of the world, 34:54 they actually plan on this. 34:55 I mean, they'll have drainage 34:56 ditches made just especially 34:58 so that the rain won't 34:59 take away their crops, etcetera, 35:00 so that their plants can 35:02 withstand the inevitable storms. 35:05 And what is true for 35:07 earthly farmers is also true 35:08 for the Heavenly One. 35:10 He knows that we will experience 35:11 storms, 35:13 and we should therefore not be 35:14 surprised when they happen. 35:17 Lesson number two... 35:19 To thrive in testing times -- 35:22 follow the math carefully here. 35:24 To thrive in testing times, 35:26 we must have deep roots. 35:28 In other words, we must be 35:29 firmly planted in Jesus Christ. 35:31 Deep roots only come 35:34 when the Word runs deep in us. 35:38 So, let us remove the rocks that 35:41 stand in the way of the roots. 35:45 Now, again, this is not 35:46 this is not difficult. 35:47 Again, this is part 35:48 of the genius of Jesus. 35:48 Jesus is laying out 35:50 the spiritual heavenly 35:51 math here for us. 35:52 One plus one equals two. 35:53 If you wish to have 35:54 deep roots in Jesus, 35:56 you need to remove the rocks. 35:59 You know, in Christ, 36:00 if we are in Christ, 36:03 growth is going to come. 36:06 Good things are going to happen. 36:08 But if there are rocks 36:09 in the way that stop that Word 36:12 from running deep into us, 36:13 then we will not experience 36:14 the growth that 36:16 He is looking for us to have. 36:17 So, let me just ask you, in the 36:18 quietness of your own mind, 36:20 what rocks are there in the soil 36:22 of your life that need to go? 36:26 What are these things? 36:28 For instance, if there is known 36:31 and condoned sin in your life... 36:34 I'm not talking about, you know, 36:35 the layers of the onion, 36:36 as God grows and shapes us, 36:36 you know, 36:38 and things are revealed to us. 36:39 I'm talking about right now, 36:41 if the record of your life 36:42 were laid out for 36:43 you to see clearly, 36:46 are there sins in your life 36:47 that are there, you know it, 36:49 and you're okay with it? 36:52 Ladies and gentlemen, 36:53 that's a rock. 36:54 That's a boulder. 36:56 It can keep the Word of God 36:58 from taking root. 37:00 So, by God's strength and power, 37:01 get rid of it. 37:02 Take it out of your garden. 37:03 Take it out of your soil. 37:04 Get rid. 37:05 Do whatever it takes in there. 37:06 The payoff will be more than 37:08 worth whatever pain it is 37:08 that you suffer 37:10 as you seek to take that out, 37:11 by God's grace, to take 37:12 that rock out of the soil. 37:13 Maybe the rock in your 37:15 spiritual soil is just that 37:16 there are parts of your life 37:16 that Jesus 37:17 does not have access to. 37:18 You know, you've still got 37:20 the key to that particular door 37:21 in your mind and your life. 37:23 You know, maybe you come here 37:24 or some other religious space, 37:26 and you're there, 37:27 and you participate, 37:28 and then you go do your thing 37:29 for the rest of the time. 37:30 And you're kind of this cyclic 37:32 on again, off again thing. 37:33 Jesus doesn't have access 37:34 to that part of your life. 37:35 Ladies and gentlemen, 37:36 that's a rock. 37:38 That's a rock. It's got to go. 37:41 By the grace and power 37:42 of Jesus Christ, 37:43 take it out of your garden. 37:44 Take it out of your soil. 37:47 No sin is worth it. 37:48 No part of you is worth keeping 37:50 off-limits from the Savior. 37:51 Ultimately, it will hurt you 37:53 and His heart, as well. 37:55 By the strength of Jesus, 37:56 get the rocks out of the soil 37:56 of your life. 37:58 Spend time in the Word of God 37:59 regularly each day. 38:00 Drink it in. 38:01 By God's grace, obey it. 38:03 And then when the time 38:04 of testing comes, 38:06 those roots will keep you 38:08 standing firm for Christ. 38:15 Verse 14. 38:18 Phase three. 38:21 "The seed that fell among thorns 38:24 stands for those who hear, 38:26 but as they go on their way, 38:27 they are choked by life's 38:29 worries, riches, and pleasures, 38:32 and they do not mature." 38:35 Hmm. Do you see 38:37 what's happening here? 38:38 Jesus now is progressing. 38:40 We started with 38:40 the hard-packed soil. 38:42 Seed went there, bounced off 38:43 essentially. 38:44 The birds took it. 38:45 No kingdom progress. 38:46 Next phase, phase two, 38:47 the rocky soil. 38:48 There is some progress here. 38:50 There's a seed. It germinates. 38:51 There's something that grows up. 38:52 Looks like every other plant 38:53 for a little while. 38:54 But when the time 38:55 of testing comes, it goes away. 38:56 In phase three, 38:58 with the thorny soil, 39:01 Jesus is now looking at people 39:04 that are followers of Him. 39:06 These are people that are in the 39:07 church. 39:09 We have progressed spiritually. 39:11 And did you notice something odd 39:13 about the impediments 39:14 that Jesus says will 39:16 be present for this third phase? 39:17 He said, "Life's worries, 39:19 riches, and pleasures." 39:22 But how could all three of them 39:23 be thorns? 39:24 I mean, 39:25 how often have we thought that 39:26 if we had riches and pleasures, 39:28 we would not have worries? 39:30 Right? You know, kind of 39:31 the American dream writ large. 39:32 You have money and time 39:34 for leisure. 39:34 And how could you possibly have, 39:36 you know, 39:36 worries from life, right? 39:39 And yet here Jesus very clearly 39:40 lumps all three together as 39:42 things that can keep us from... 39:45 What's the goal at the end 39:46 of the verse that we just read? 39:48 Starts with an "m." 39:49 What's the goal? 39:50 Maturity. 39:59 Show of hands. 40:02 How many of you have ever 40:04 started a garden 40:05 out of virgin territory, 40:07 out of wilderness? 40:08 Show of hands. 40:10 Okay, we should 40:11 meet up front afterwards 40:12 so that we can commiserate 40:13 and comfort one another 40:15 for the trauma that we have 40:16 experienced 40:17 in that gardening journey, okay? 40:19 And why do I say that? 40:21 Because if you have ever tried 40:22 to carve a garden 40:23 out of virgin territory, 40:26 it is painful. 40:27 It will take you years 40:29 to get that thing right. 40:30 What do I mean? 40:31 Well, so, years ago, 40:33 when my wife and I, 40:34 my daughters were living 40:36 in Virginia, on our back 40 -- 40:37 we didn't have 80 acres, 40:39 but we called it the back 40. 40:41 And it was it was wilderness. 40:43 There were trees growing there. 40:44 At one point, 40:45 it had been an orchard 40:45 many years past, 40:46 but those days were long gone. 40:47 There was real tall grass 40:48 and bracket and thorns, 40:50 of course, all kinds of weeds. 40:51 And this is where 40:53 we wanted to put the garden. 40:56 So, Darlene comes out there, 40:57 and we look at it, 40:58 and she points, and says, "Oh, 40:59 you know, maybe about this area. 41:00 Could we do that? 41:01 And we could take care 41:01 of these trees, 41:02 get some more sun down here," 41:03 this kind of thing. 41:04 I'm like, "Okay, break." 41:05 Off we go. 41:06 I get my chainsaw, 41:07 I cut down the trees. 41:09 Then I go for the roots 41:10 and, you know, digging those 41:10 things out and pulling them out. 41:11 And then I go for 41:13 the big thorn bushes. 41:14 Now, in Michigan, we would 41:16 never have these, I'm sure, but 41:17 in Virginia, some of 41:19 the thorn bushes there, 41:20 they got stalks that big, 41:22 and they are not coming out of 41:23 the ground just by pulling them. 41:23 I mean, if you have a truck 41:24 or something like that, 41:25 you might be able to rip it 41:26 out of there. 41:27 They're deep! 41:27 And so, I'm hacking away 41:28 at these things, and I'm digging 41:29 them up day after day, 41:30 getting everything all done. 41:32 And, finally, I think 41:33 I have it ready for rototilling. 41:35 And I get my rototiller out 41:36 and fire it up and, you know, 41:38 run into a root that I missed. 41:40 Right? 41:41 And that happens many times -- 41:42 and rocks that I missed. 41:43 And so, these things 41:44 are picked out. 41:45 And finally I make a final pass 41:48 with the rototiller. 41:50 And it looks perfect. 41:53 I get on the phone and say, 41:53 "Hey, hon, 41:54 you got to come and see this." 41:55 So, she comes up and looks 41:57 at this, and oh, I mean, 41:58 it is just picture-perfect 42:00 having reclaimed 42:02 from the wilderness 42:04 our garden paradise. 42:08 And 15 seconds later, 42:10 weeds begin to grow again. 42:11 [ Laughter ] 42:13 I mean, that is 42:14 barely an exaggeration. 42:16 I mean, the next day, like, 42:17 "Wait a second. 42:17 I took you out of there. 42:19 How dare you come back 42:20 like this?" 42:20 Bloom, di-di-bloom, bloom. 42:22 Like, for the next ten years -- 42:24 no joke -- we spent pulling 42:26 these weeds out of this because 42:27 you can't quite get them all, 42:28 it seemed. 42:29 Roots that you thought 42:31 you got are still there. 42:32 Two feet down, 42:33 they're still growing stuff up 42:34 through the top like this. 42:35 And, indeed, there were times 42:38 when those thorn bushes 42:39 and those weeds kept the plants 42:42 we wanted from growing. 42:47 Simple question -- how did 42:48 they do that? 42:51 Those of you that are gardeners, 42:52 I'm sure you know. 42:53 What process did they use? 42:54 Well, it's actually quite 42:55 simple. 42:56 The thorns -- the weeds -- 42:59 they sucked up needed resources 43:03 in that garden for themselves 43:06 so that they were not available 43:08 for the plants that we wanted. 43:11 Let's just picture this here. 43:12 They sucked up needed resources, 43:13 for instance, such as sunlight. 43:14 I mean, a lot of these weeds, 43:15 they grow really fast. 43:16 They got these big, broad 43:17 leaves. 43:18 And so, quite literally, 43:19 the sunlight could not get 43:20 to the little plants 43:21 that we wanted in the garden. 43:22 Right? 43:23 And the roots, 43:24 sometimes these root systems, 43:25 the weeds are growing 43:27 so fast, they're sucking up 43:28 nutrients and water in the soil 43:29 so that, again, the little 43:31 plants that we wanted to grow 43:33 can't get what they needed. 43:35 This is the "choking" that Jesus 43:39 referred to in His parable. 43:41 It's not that the thorns in the 43:43 garden necessarily reached over 43:45 and wrung the necks of the other 43:46 plants. 43:48 But functionally speaking, 43:49 they soaked up the needed 43:50 nourishment themselves, 43:52 figuratively choking 43:53 the other plants. 43:58 And, remember, we're talking 43:59 about spiritual things here. 44:01 What does Jesus mean? 44:07 You know, the first thing 44:08 that Jesus mentions in this 44:09 verse as being a thorn, 44:11 we can probably understand it, 44:12 the "worries" of this life. 44:14 I mean, 44:15 we can kind of intuitively 44:16 get that one, can't we? 44:17 We can easily see how this could 44:18 choke off spiritual blessings 44:20 that could otherwise be ours. 44:23 But "riches and pleasures," 44:26 how could those be thorns 44:27 that would choke us off? 44:28 I mean, assuming the pleasures 44:30 are not overtly sinful ones, 44:31 what could possibly 44:32 be the problem? 44:37 The answer is sadly simple. 44:40 Three things -- time, energy, 44:42 and focus. 44:44 Time, energy, and focus. 44:48 In other words, if we are not 44:50 careful, riches and pleasures, 44:52 and in reality most 44:53 anything else can become 44:55 so absorbing of our time, 44:57 our energy, and our focus 44:59 that they will soak up resources 45:02 that should have been spent 45:03 on the Word of God 45:04 and growing to 45:04 be more like Jesus. 45:07 And if we do this long enough, 45:08 we will spiritually die. 45:12 Not because I say so, 45:13 but because this is what Jesus 45:14 is telling us in this parable. 45:17 I mean, remember, this is phase 45:19 three now of this parable. 45:21 The Christians under discussion 45:22 here, they have some growth 45:25 under their belt. 45:26 These are Christians 45:27 that are in church, 45:28 like us here. 45:30 These are not Christians that 45:31 are robbing banks or, you know, 45:33 shooting people on the highway. 45:34 They're not doing those 45:35 high-handed sins. 45:37 But by now they may be 45:39 engaging in activities 45:40 which by themselves 45:41 may be harmless, 45:43 but they are investing 45:45 too much in them. 45:48 And those activities begin to 45:50 choke off their spiritual life. 45:54 So, again, in the quietness 45:55 of your own cranium, 45:57 ask yourself the question, 45:59 "Have I allowed the worries 46:01 of this life or wealth 46:03 or pleasures of whatever sort, 46:05 to take away from me 46:07 time and energy and focus 46:09 that should be invested 46:10 in growing in Christ?" 46:17 You know, our purpose 46:18 in this life is to know Jesus. 46:21 That's why we're here, 46:24 for fellowship with God Himself. 46:27 And it's not just 46:28 the surface knowledge 46:30 that Jesus is longing for 46:31 for each of us. 46:32 It's this intimate knowing of 46:34 Him, this deep knowing of Him. 46:35 The Bible often uses 46:36 the phrase "mature." 46:39 This is our calling in life, 46:40 our privilege in life to become 46:41 mature in Jesus Christ, 46:44 not ones that, you know, 46:45 when trouble comes, 46:45 we float away. 46:47 We don't stay in the kingdom. 46:48 No, Jesus wants us 46:50 to know Him deeply 46:51 and closely, as deep 46:53 as we possibly can to grow up 46:55 into the fullness of 46:57 Jesus Christ. 46:58 This is the essence 46:58 of Christianity. 46:59 It's the essence of the 47:00 Seventh-day Adventist Church. 47:01 This is why we are here. 47:05 And yet so often we settle 47:09 for something less. 47:11 We end up doing, you know, 47:13 maybe good things. 47:14 On the surface, 47:15 they're good things, 47:16 maybe harmless as it were. 47:17 But we put so much time 47:19 and energy and focus into them 47:21 that gradually we drift away 47:24 from the knowledge of Jesus 47:25 and His Word. 47:30 How is it with you? 47:32 Are there 47:34 some thorns that need to go? 47:37 To be clear, 47:39 I have met, for instance, 47:40 many wealthy people who were 47:41 deeply committed to God. 47:42 They knew Jesus. 47:43 And I have met many wealthy 47:44 people whose wealth owned them. 47:48 Money is not the issue. 47:49 Pleasure is not the issue. 47:51 It is, instead, what you're 47:52 asking those things to do for 47:53 you and what you're allowing 47:55 them to do in you. 47:57 Are they a reminder of 47:59 and a tool for extending God's 48:01 kingdom in you and in others, 48:02 or are they tools 48:03 for extending your kingdom 48:05 further in your world? 48:09 Ask and answer honestly 48:11 the right questions. 48:12 And if you find some thorns 48:14 along the way, 48:15 please, I plead with you, 48:17 pull them out by the roots. 48:21 Call a time-out, refocus, 48:24 bring your energies back, 48:26 and do whatever is necessary 48:27 by the grace and power 48:29 and discernment of Jesus Christ, 48:30 and pull those thorns 48:32 out of your life by the roots. 48:37 You do that, and maturity, 48:39 sooner or later, can be yours. 48:44 And then, phase four, 48:47 the final phase of the parable. 48:49 Verse 15. 48:53 "But the seed on good soil 48:57 stands for those with a noble 48:59 and good heart 49:00 who hear the word, retain it, 49:01 and by persevering, 49:03 produce a crop." 49:05 You see what He said there? 49:06 "Those with a noble 49:07 and good heart" -- 49:08 this is what this seed in this 49:09 particular phase represents -- 49:10 "who hear the word, retain it, 49:12 and by persevering 49:14 produce a crop." 49:16 Now, there's so much 49:17 that can be said about this, 49:17 but let me just pull out 49:18 just two things here. 49:20 Number one, remember again, 49:21 who determines the quality 49:23 of the soil in your heart? 49:26 Okay. You do. We do. 49:27 It's our decision. 49:28 Generally speaking, 49:29 this is nearly always true. 49:30 We are the ones who decide 49:31 the quality of the soil. 49:32 Number two, that being the case, 49:36 let us be clear as to how 49:38 we can become people 49:39 that truly know Jesus 49:40 and produce a fruitful crop 49:42 with and for Him. 49:46 Story... 49:51 My father was heavily 49:52 into a brand of car 49:55 called Austin-Healey. 49:57 Let me just put a picture 49:58 up here for you. 50:00 This is a 1955 50:01 Austin-Healey 104. 50:03 He bought it in 1961, 50:05 and he began to race it 50:06 almost immediately. 50:07 And it stayed in the family for, 50:08 what, the next 55, 60 years? 50:12 It's a British car. 50:14 It was made for a number of 50:14 decades there. 50:15 They don't make them anymore. 50:17 Dad was really into those. 50:19 And when Dad died, 50:21 he left thousands of pounds' 50:24 worth of cars and parts to me. 50:28 I can still remember it. 50:29 The funeral was done. 50:30 It was the next day and went to 50:32 the garage there at his house. 50:34 And I opened up the door, 50:36 and I thought to myself, 50:37 "I can't imagine what 50:38 anybody else would be thinking 50:39 if they saw this," 50:41 because my dad collected stuff. 50:43 So, British workmanship today, 50:45 if you're listening from England 50:46 right now, British workmanship 50:48 is of the highest quality today. 50:51 Not so much in the 1950s. 50:52 There were a few holes 50:53 in their armor at that time, 50:54 and so my dad 50:55 collected other Healeys. 50:56 He probably owned about a dozen 50:57 of them during his lifetime, 50:58 and all the parts 51:00 he never threw away. 51:02 And as I opened 51:03 that garage door, 51:04 this sea of nuts and bolts 51:07 and acorn nuts and parts 51:09 and differentials and engine 51:10 blocks and cylinder heads 51:11 and valve springs and tappets 51:13 and all of these things 51:14 were lying before there. 51:15 And anybody else would have 51:16 looked at it and said, 51:17 "Just call the recycling truck 51:19 and throw the stuff in." 51:22 But here's the thing. 51:23 I could have told you 51:27 what 99% of those parts were, 51:31 down to the smallest nut 51:32 and bolt, because they're 51:33 fairly unique on a Healey. 51:35 And the reason 51:36 why I could do that 51:38 is because for the first two 51:39 decades of my life, 51:41 I lived Austin-Healeys. 51:45 I lived them. 51:46 I didn't just read about them. 51:47 I mean, 51:48 Dad had all kinds of books 51:49 about Austin-Healeys and, sure, 51:50 I did indeed read them, 51:51 but I lived them 51:52 far more than just, you know, 51:54 watching them from afar. 51:55 I had Austin-Healey shirts. 51:57 I had Austin Healey hats. 51:58 We would travel thousands 51:59 of miles to go 51:59 to Austin-Healey events. 52:01 We would go to races together. 52:02 I fixed Healeys. 52:03 I repaired them. 52:05 I ordered parts for them. 52:05 I made parts for them. 52:06 I painted them. 52:07 I did all kinds of things. 52:09 I lived Austin-Healeys. 52:11 This is actually 52:12 a picture of the car early on. 52:15 This precedes me, all right? 52:16 So, the Healey was there 52:17 when I came into the world, 52:18 and I grew up working with my 52:20 dad on this particular car. 52:21 I even spent many times 52:23 racing this particular car. 52:25 It even, one of these Healeys 52:26 appeared at my wedding as the 52:27 getaway car. 52:29 I'm putting here -- 52:30 this is a 1953. 52:31 This is Darlene, and I'm gently 52:33 placing her there. 52:34 My dad is standing there 52:35 with an umbrella 52:36 with the Austin-Healey 52:38 logo on it, emblazoned, right? 52:40 We lived, ate, and slept 52:42 Austin-Healeys. 52:44 No wonder I could tell you 52:46 what almost every last 52:48 one of those parts were 52:51 because I had lived them. 52:53 And, consequently, when I went 52:54 to a race with a Healey, 52:55 there was a pretty good chance 52:56 I could win. 52:58 If there was a Healey problem, 52:59 there was a pretty good chance 52:59 I could fix it. 53:00 If someone needed to know 53:01 something about 53:02 how to make their own Healey 53:03 run better or go faster, 53:05 there was a pretty good chance 53:06 I could tell them what they 53:07 needed to know, all because 53:09 I had lived Austin-Healeys. 53:15 Now, I must point out 53:17 that that kind of devotion 53:18 to automotive things 53:20 is, generally speaking, 53:21 inappropriate for a Christian. 53:24 I did not live that time 53:25 of my life those first 53:26 two decades correctly 53:28 in that regard, 53:29 and since my college days, 53:30 I have had to very intentionally 53:32 place cars in my life 53:33 in their proper place. 53:37 But...but... 53:41 that kind of devotion 53:44 is completely appropriate 53:47 when it comes to Jesus Christ 53:49 and His Word. 53:50 I mean, the Word of God. 53:52 You saw what Jesus said 53:53 in there, the Word of God. 53:54 We are to hear it. 53:54 We are to retain it. 53:55 We are to persevere in it, 53:57 hearing the Word of God. 53:58 This means we spend time in it, 53:59 that every day we're spending 54:01 some time in the Word of God, 54:02 that we're reading it. 54:03 If we have some way to listen 54:04 to it, that we listen to it. 54:05 As we're driving in our cars 54:07 there, riding on our bicycles, 54:08 or jogging or whatever, 54:09 we can have the Bible playing 54:10 in our ears so that we are 54:11 indeed hearing it. 54:12 Retain it. 54:14 I tell you what, in the Greek, 54:14 this is a fascinating word. 54:15 It's almost a fighting word. 54:17 You know, 54:18 "You cannot take it away, devil. 54:19 This is mine. 54:21 I'm not going to take it away." 54:22 We make it a part of us. 54:23 It goes deep inside. 54:25 We marinate in it so that even 54:27 when we are in other places, 54:29 and we've committed the Word 54:30 to memory, 54:32 we may not have a Bible 54:33 in our hand, but we have 54:34 a Bible in our heart. 54:36 And because of that, 54:37 we walk with this, we retain it, 54:38 and the old devil cannot take it 54:40 away, no matter what he tries. 54:41 And if we persevere, 54:44 if we keep at it, 54:45 if we keep this relationship 54:47 with the seed, 54:48 the Word of God, well... 54:51 Well, 54:52 let's just put it this way. 54:54 There's an entire planet 54:56 out there that is inviting us 54:57 to plant all the wrong kinds 54:59 of seed -- the seeds of pride 55:01 and of arrogance, 55:02 of immoral pleasures, lust of 55:04 the eyes and of the flesh, 55:05 etcetera, etcetera. 55:06 "So what?" the world says. 55:08 "Plant whatever seed you want." 55:13 But when we see the cross 55:15 and what Jesus did there, 55:17 when we learn 55:18 of the resurrection, 55:20 and we see what Jesus did there, 55:22 and when we learn 55:23 that even to this day, 55:23 to this very second, 55:25 Jesus Christ is our 55:26 High Priest interceding for us 55:28 in the heavenly sanctuary, 55:29 pushing back 55:30 the devil's accusations, 55:31 when we see all of that, we ask 55:34 a very different question. 55:36 Not "So what?" -- S-O. 55:37 But "Sow what?" -- S-O-W what? 55:42 "Sow what?" we say. 55:45 "What kind of seed is the best 55:47 to have planted in my life? 55:48 Not the easiest, but the 55:49 best one," we ask ourselves. 55:50 "And under what conditions 55:51 do I want the growth of that 55:52 seed to take place?" 55:54 And when we choose to let Christ 55:55 plant the seed of His Word, 55:57 of His kingdom in our lives, 55:58 we can blessedly also choose 56:00 what kind of soil our lives 56:01 will be for that seed. 56:03 We do not need to be soil 56:05 that is hard or rocky or thorny. 56:08 We can instead be good soil by 56:10 living -- living the Word of 56:13 God, letting it become deeply 56:15 rooted in our lives. 56:17 And when, by God's grace, 56:18 we persevere in doing this, 56:21 a great harvest 56:23 cannot help but come. 56:26 Amen. 56:29 [ Applause ] 56:39 >> Before you go, let me take 56:41 just a moment to share with you 56:42 an opportunity to get into 56:43 the Bible in a fresh, new way. 56:46 All across the world, 56:47 more and more people are hearing 56:48 the call to examine 56:49 the Scriptures for themselves. 56:52 If you've felt drawn to learn 56:53 more about God's Word, 56:54 but you don't know 56:54 where to start 56:56 or you're just looking for 56:57 a more in-depth examination 56:58 of Bible truths, 57:00 then I have something right here 57:01 that I believe 57:02 you're going to enjoy. 57:04 I would like to send you 57:05 a series of Bible-study guides. 57:07 Each of these study guides asks 57:08 and answers very important 57:10 questions, such as these 57:11 examples right here. 57:13 Why does God allow suffering? 57:15 Can God be trusted? 57:17 Each of the initial five guides 57:19 begins with a story 57:20 to introduce the subject. 57:22 Then, through a series 57:23 of focused questions, 57:25 you'll soon be learning portions 57:26 of the Bible 57:27 you may never have known before. 57:29 And when you're through, 57:30 you'll be able to share 57:31 with others these inspiring 57:32 truths from God's Word. 57:35 Just call our toll-free number. 57:36 It's on your screen now. 57:38 877, the two words HIS-WILL. 57:41 Friendly operators are standing 57:43 by to send you these guides. 57:45 Once again, that's 877-HIS-WILL. 57:47 Call that number. 57:48 And don't forget to join me 57:50 next week right here 57:52 at this same time. 57:59 ♪ 58:02 ♪ 58:12 ♪ 58:22 ♪ |
Revised 2024-04-09