Participants: John Lomacang, Pastor
Series Code: POF
Program Code: POF000009A
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00:26 Well, hello,
00:27 and welcome to Pillars of Faith, 00:29 coming to you from the 3ABN worship center, 00:32 right here in Southern Illinois. 00:34 It's a joy to have our 3ABN family 00:37 from all around the world, 00:39 as well as from right here in Southern Illinois. 00:42 Coming to us and receiving this beautiful message 00:47 that's coming forth this evening, 00:49 we have a beautiful sermon title tonight. 00:52 It's coming from the series 00:54 that our pastor John Lomacang is doing. 00:56 The series title is the Anatomy of the Crisis. 01:00 And tonight sermon is The Crisis in the Heart, 01:04 as Pastor Lomacang shares the wonderful words 01:08 that God that has imparted into his heart, 01:10 that are to go forth and to touch everyone of you. 01:13 You know, this is the fourth sermon 01:15 in his five part series. 01:16 Let me give you the titles of the other sermons. 01:19 It was The Crisis in Heaven, The Crisis in the Garden, 01:22 The Crisis in the Family, 01:24 and tonight, The Crisis in the Heart. 01:27 And the word declares that faith cometh by hearing, 01:30 and hearing by the word. 01:32 So we want to encourage you to get the CDs, 01:34 get the DVDs, listen to them over and over, 01:38 for what it will do for you is give you faith 01:40 and overcoming victorious hope through God's word. 01:44 Before we pray, 01:46 let me give you the scripture reading 01:48 for this evening. 01:49 The scripture reading is Psalms 26:2, 01:52 and the word declares, 01:54 "Examine me, O Lord, and prove me, 01:57 try my mind and heart." 01:59 And you know, the word declares in Psalms 139 02:03 that we ask the lord just search us, O' God 02:06 and know our hearts, try us, know our thoughts. 02:09 See if there be any evil way in us 02:12 and lead us in that path that is everlasting. 02:14 Tonight, we're looking at the way to search our hearts 02:18 for us to stand before God 02:19 with clean hands and a pure heart. 02:22 Let's pray. 02:23 Holy father, we come before you in the name of Jesus 02:26 and we ask, O God, 02:27 that as your word goes forth tonight, 02:30 it will touch everyone of our hearts. 02:32 Father, that our hearts will be purified and perfected 02:35 by the power of your word as it goes forth. 02:37 And Lord, we will be conform not to this world 02:40 but we will be conformed 02:41 to your image and your likeness, 02:43 so the powerful word that goes forth through Pastor Lomacang. 02:47 And I praise you and I thank you for it, 02:49 in Jesus name. 02:51 Now our pastor, Pastor John Lomacang is coming, 02:53 he is my pastor, 02:55 the pastor of the Thompsonville 02:56 Seventh-day Adventist church 02:58 that meets right here in the 3ABN worship center. 03:01 So I want to welcome him as he comes. 03:03 Thank you, Pastor Lomacang. 03:05 Thank you, Mollie. I appreciate it very well. 03:07 Thank you very much. 03:10 Well, welcome again, friends. 03:11 Thank you so much for joining us in this program 03:14 as we continue our trek through 03:17 the Anatomy of the Crisis. 03:19 You know, what's wonderful about the series is 03:21 it is reminding me again of how important it is 03:25 to have our lives in the hand of Lord. 03:28 And thank you so much, Mollie, 03:29 for such a wonderful introduction. 03:32 But as you know, we have so many hats here at 3ABN, 03:35 we just give the Lord the glory for whatever he can do 03:37 and in through our lives. 03:39 Now, she did pray for us 03:40 and so I'm gonna allow that to be sufficient. 03:43 And I want to revisit that the scripture one more time. 03:45 I like the translation that Mollie used, 03:48 but I want to repeat that one more time 03:51 from the Book of Psalms 139:23. 03:55 The Book of Psalms, but this is a Psalm 139:23. 04:02 Look at what the word of God says to us today. 04:05 "Search me, O God, and know my heart, 04:11 try me, and know my anxieties." 04:16 We want the Lord to search inside 04:20 and to show us what we may be missing. 04:23 We want the Lord to try us and know our anxieties. 04:28 You know, the Bible uses different phrases 04:31 depending on the translation that you use. 04:34 But I think of the heart today, 04:35 and the crisis in the heart is a, 04:38 is one of insurmountable proportions. 04:42 We often don't consider the power 04:45 that takes place in the heart, 04:47 the transactions that happen in the heart and in the mind, 04:51 both used into changeably, 04:53 until something of great proportion happens 04:56 and we are completely unaware or out of control. 05:00 The heart is the seed of great affections. 05:03 The heart is the place where we hold 05:05 our feelings most dearly. 05:08 Now, many of you might say, 05:09 well, Pastor John, the heart only pumps blood. 05:12 But one of the reasons why 05:13 polygraphing is so important today is because 05:17 we know that whatever affects the mind, 05:20 its registered in the heart. 05:22 Whatever is taking place in the mind, 05:24 the heart either speeds up or slows down to a normal pace. 05:28 But if you're sad sometimes, 05:30 the heart can just drag along thump, 05:32 thump, thump, thump. 05:34 The heart is the place that works 05:36 in harmony with the mind 05:38 to really prescribe, or I should say, 05:42 to allow us to know what our condition is. 05:45 So when a person is excited, the heart speeds up. 05:47 When the person is depressed, or sad, or down-hearted, 05:50 the heart just tends to just chug along at a constant pace. 05:54 And praise the Lord, because this is the place 05:56 that we're going to discover today 05:58 that the heart has many conditions. 06:01 There is a parable in the bible, 06:02 we'll talk about it in a moment, 06:04 that outlines the conditions of the human heart. 06:08 But on the phase of 'search me,' 06:11 I remember searching, and some times 06:13 we can search, and search, search. 06:15 But some times we search for things 06:17 in places that we've never put them. 06:20 Sometimes things are right before us 06:22 but we cannot see them 06:23 because we search with eyes 06:25 that have pre-conceived destinations. 06:27 I remember searching one day for my wallet, 06:31 and I was just so pushed back 06:35 that I could not find my wallet. 06:37 I put it, I thought I knew where I put my wallet, 06:41 and so I searched. 06:43 And you know, sometimes we get to the point 06:46 where we begin to search almost 06:49 without any sense connected to it. 06:51 I thought I'd placed my wallet on the dresser by my bed, 06:54 and I thought to myself, 06:55 now what if it fell off of my bed, 06:57 off of the dresser onto me bed. 06:59 And I began to tear the sheets apart. 07:01 I said, what is it fell on the foot of the bed, 07:02 I began to remove the little seat 07:06 that's in front of the bed, 07:07 and I just began tearing the place up. 07:09 And all the time my wallet was just sitting there, 07:12 saying, here I am. 07:13 But it could not respond to me, 07:15 it couldn't call me out, 07:17 it couldn't draw attention to itself. 07:21 And that's a kind of how our lives are sometimes. 07:23 We search for things that we think of one place 07:27 when in fact they are at other places. 07:29 Our emotions are that way, 07:31 we're continually searching 07:32 and try to find meaning and the emotions 07:34 that we have in our hearts and our lives. 07:38 The other thing we also discover about the heart, 07:40 the Bible says in Mathew 6:21, 07:43 and this is a powerful verse, a tremendous verse. 07:49 "For where your treasure is," the Bible says, 07:52 "there your heart will also be" 07:55 or "there will your heart be also." 07:58 I was raised on the King James version 08:00 and I'm reading the New King James version. 08:03 So sometimes I combine the two with the King James 08:06 and the New King James version, but the point is the same. 08:08 Wherever you find the things that are most important to you, 08:11 your treasures are there, your affections are there. 08:16 And I've discovered that the things 08:17 that we spend our time on the most 08:19 are the things that come out of our mouths the most. 08:22 The things that take up most of our attention, 08:24 if you like computers, 08:26 you read magazines about computers, 08:27 well, you talk about computers. 08:29 If you are a mechanic, you talk about cars, 08:31 you might like motorcycles, you talk about that. 08:34 Or you might like shoes, 08:35 as a women, you talk about that. 08:36 Now guys, some guys have a fixation for shoes also, 08:40 so I'm not gonna make that a gender exclusive category. 08:44 But there are those who may love crocheting and knitting, 08:47 and quilting, and they talk about those things. 08:50 Wherever your treasure is, 08:52 that's where your heart is going to also be. 08:54 Today, we want to focus in a very specific way 08:59 as to what the condition of your heart is, 09:02 because the difference between where we are 09:06 and where we can be really is 09:08 all about the condition of our hearts. 09:10 The place we find our self is often the place 09:13 where our heart longs for. 09:15 We have an affection in our hearts and in our minds 09:18 that often drive our daily agendas. 09:21 It drives the first thing we do in the morning. 09:24 If our heart is for the word of God, 09:26 we find ourselves reading the word of God. 09:28 If our hearts are thinking about our iPads and our phones, 09:31 we find ourselves, first thing in the morning, 09:34 looking at our phones, opening our iPads, 09:37 and our iPods, and our tablets, 09:40 whatever the device may be. 09:41 Wherever your treasure is, there is your heart also. 09:46 The other thing is, wherever your heart is, 09:49 that's where you spend your money. 09:50 One person once says, 09:52 if you want to know what a person's God is, 09:54 just look at their checkbook 09:57 and you will discover that the very item 09:58 that they worship the most. 10:00 But if this texture is very clear, 10:02 it is saying in a specific sense, 10:04 it speaks about money, in the general sense, 10:07 it speaks about the place of our affections. 10:09 The things that are dear to us are close to our hearts. 10:14 I spoke to a group of young people a few days ago 10:17 and I said, 10:18 whenever you are saying to somebody, I love you, 10:20 you don't draw a picture of your brain, 10:22 you don't say, I brain you, 10:23 you say, I heart you, to see to our affections. 10:26 Whenever we see a heart, we call it the heartland, 10:29 we are in the mid west, we call that the heartland, 10:31 we don't call that the brainland. 10:33 Because this is the place of the affection 10:35 of many of those that live 10:37 in the south central locations of the United States. 10:41 The heart and the mind, however, 10:43 are used interchangeably in scripture. 10:46 Matter fact, go to Hebrews 8:10, 10:48 and notice how this is used in a very interchangeable way. 10:52 Hebrews 8:10. 10:55 I will turn to my Bible, 10:56 and I wanna give you more of the text than 10:59 I actually have here in my notes. 11:01 So I'm gonna look at the text with you. 11:03 Hebrews 8:10, 11:05 notice the word of the Lord. 11:07 The Lord says, "For this is the covenant 11:10 that I will make with the house of Israel 11:13 after those days" says the Lord, 11:16 "I will put my laws in their mind 11:20 and write them on their hearts. 11:22 I will be their God and they shall be my people." 11:26 Notice, he will put his laws in our mind 11:31 and he will write them on our hearts. 11:33 As David in the Psalm says, 11:35 write them on the tablets of our hearts. 11:37 You'll also notice that 11:39 when a person is going through a struggle 11:41 as Paul the apostle talked about in Romans 7. 11:44 He said, what I want to do is not what I do, 11:49 and I what I don't wanna do is exactly what I do. 11:52 He says, I see, I know about the law of God 11:55 but there's another law in my members 11:58 warring against the law of my mind 12:01 and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin and death. 12:06 And sometimes people read about the law of sin and death 12:08 and they thinks that's the commandment. 12:10 No, that's not the commandments of God. 12:12 The law of sin and death is that property in nature, 12:15 kind of like the law of gravity, 12:17 the law of physics. 12:18 You know somebody once said, 12:20 you can defy the law of physics 12:22 if you fall, if you jump off of a hundred stores building, 12:24 you can defy the law of physics for 99 stories, 12:28 but on the very last one you will discover 12:30 that the law of physics cannot be denied. 12:32 Gravity is always in force, 12:35 the law of physics work the way 12:37 that God intended for them to work. 12:39 So God's law also has the same affect on us. 12:42 It cannot leave us to our own devices. 12:45 And so in this passage, 12:47 speaking about the crisis in the heart, 12:49 the Lord is saying, 12:50 the reason why some of us are battling, 12:52 the reason why some of us are in struggles 12:54 in our daily lives is because his law is in our minds, 12:58 reminding us of the things we should and should not do, 13:01 and then they have made their way to our hearts, 13:03 bringing convictions of the places 13:06 we should and should not go. 13:07 But the law that's in our members 13:09 that war against God's law 13:11 is that law of the nature of humanity. 13:14 That law that says that we're slaves to sin, 13:18 that law that was passed on to us from Adam, 13:21 as in Adam all die, 13:22 even so in Christ all shall me made alive. 13:24 That law that makes us pre-dispose to bad habits, 13:29 bad choices, bad deeds, awful sayings, 13:32 bad decisions, corrupt ideas, 13:35 that's the law that wars 13:36 constantly against the law of God. 13:40 It's in our hearts and it's in our minds. 13:43 Isaac Watson once said or Isaac Walton, 13:46 who lived during the 1600 said, 13:49 God has two dwelling places, 13:52 one in heaven and the other in a meek and thankful heart. 13:58 God has two dwelling places, one in heaven 14:00 and the other in meek thankful heart. 14:04 You know, there's a need for more people to thank God. 14:07 We often look at God as the grocery store. 14:09 "Lord, I need, Lord, I need, Lord, I need." 14:11 Whenever we have a difficulty in our families, 14:13 we call on God. 14:15 But sometimes we have to pause and thank God 14:17 in our times of prosperity, 14:19 not just call on God in our times of adversity. 14:22 When we have a need that has been met by God, 14:25 it does as well to sometimes pause and say, thank you Lord, 14:29 so that we can have a heart of gratitude 14:32 and a heart of thankfulness. 14:34 Another saying goes this way, 14:36 our trouble today is that we have 14:39 our heads filled with knowledge 14:42 but our hearts and our minds empty of God. 14:45 The trouble today is that we have our heads 14:47 filled with knowledge 14:48 but our hearts and minds are empty of God. 14:52 We've been fighting for world peace, 14:54 when the only peace that we can really have 14:57 is the peace found in our hearts, 15:00 the peace that Jesus gives. 15:01 And as a matter of fact, he says, 15:02 the peace that passes all understanding. 15:06 Matthew 22:37 15:09 shows us another important factor 15:11 about the heart and the mind together. 15:13 Jesus said, "You shall love the Lord, your God with..." 15:17 how much? 15:18 "All your heart, and with also all your soul 15:21 and with all your mind." 15:25 You know when the heart and the mind are divided, 15:28 when we say to God, 15:29 I'm gonna give you this portion of mind and heart, 15:32 and I'm gonna give my studies this portion, 15:34 and my entertainment this portion. 15:37 Our hearts are divided, our minds are divided, 15:40 but God's desire is that we give him our all of our heart, 15:45 all of our mind, 15:46 like the young man that's falling head over heels 15:49 in love with the young lady he met. 15:51 Or like the bay that takes the piece of candy 15:52 for the first time and just falls in love 15:55 with the sugary taste of that peppermint piece of candy 15:58 that they just had. 15:59 When we fall in love with God, 16:01 we discover that we make room for him. 16:03 Anything that we love, any one that we love, 16:05 we make room for them. 16:07 The Lord is saying, give me your whole heart, 16:09 give me your whole mind. 16:12 It is when the heart is not fixed on God 16:13 that the affections are in jeopardy. 16:16 And until we make up our minds 16:18 our hearts can constantly be in trouble. 16:21 But when hearts are trusted to God, 16:25 every area of our life is affected positively. 16:30 Think about that. 16:31 The reason why that's important is because 16:33 we live under the constant drama 16:34 of the Great Controversy. 16:36 There's never a time that God is not calling on our hearts. 16:40 There's never a time that God is not appealing to us. 16:44 And on the other side of that, there's never a time 16:46 that the devil is not seeking to interrupt the work 16:49 that God is trying to do in our hearts and in our lives. 16:53 And so if we stop for a moment 16:56 and consider what Satan has done to us, 16:59 only then do we realize 17:01 how much we are in constant need, 17:05 I'll say it again, in constant need of Jesus. 17:09 Not temporary need, not once a week. 17:12 That's why lives surrender to Jesus 17:15 will experience trouble but will always be delivered. 17:20 The Bible says, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous 17:23 but the Lord delivers him out of them all." 17:26 So let's pause for a moment 17:28 and consider why the heart and the mind 17:31 and are always under constant challenge. 17:33 Let's consider 17:35 four areas in the Bible that talks about 17:37 how important the heart is. 17:38 Four areas that God speaks to the decisions 17:42 of the heart and mind, four areas in the Bible. 17:45 Four conditions, I would say 17:47 that outline the condition of every man, 17:51 woman, boy, and girl on the planet. 17:54 Every corporate executive, every pastor, 17:57 every lay person, every preacher, 17:59 everyone making a decision has these four areas 18:02 that are in constant challenge with his heart and his mind. 18:06 Let's go to the Parable of the Sower 18:08 in Mathew 13. 18:10 Parable of the Sower in Mathew 13. 18:14 If you have your Bibles, turn here with me. 18:16 The Parable of the Sower. 18:18 Beginning in verse one and two, 18:20 notice this parabola, a beautiful parabola. 18:23 It brings towards, you know, this parabola, 18:25 if I could give it a different title, 18:26 this parabola is like a check, it's like a check. 18:29 It's like the dip-stick in our oil. 18:33 We see if we are low, or if we need new oil, 18:36 or if the oil is dirty, or if it's clean. 18:39 It's like checking our break-pads 18:41 to see in the next emergency 18:43 whether not we are prepared to stop 18:45 just before the tragedy. 18:47 It is like checking the kind of fuel we put it in our tanks, 18:51 is it low grade, is it the proper grade. 18:54 It's a check on the human condition 18:57 of the human life and the human heart. 18:59 Notice Mathew 13, beginning in verse 1 and 2. 19:04 "On the same day," 19:06 that the same day of the ministry of Jesus 19:08 with the great multitudes, 19:10 "Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 19:15 " And verse 2, " 19:16 And great multitudes were gathered together to him, 19:19 so that he got into a boat, and sat, 19:23 and the whole multitude stood on the shore." 19:28 Now when Jesus sat, 19:30 you'll discover this in the Bible, 19:32 this is very interesting comparison. 19:34 Whenever Jesus sat, HE taught, 19:38 when he stood up, he preached. 19:41 Often times he would stand up and preach in the synagogue. 19:44 But whenever he was in a more relaxed environment, 19:48 he would sit down and speak to the multitudes. 19:51 And then the other thing he did was 19:52 he would use his surroundings 19:54 as an object-lesson to the multitudes. 19:57 In other words, if there was a storm brewing, 20:00 Jesus would talk about the vehement power 20:02 of the waves and the wind 20:04 that will beat on the foundation of our houses. 20:06 In the approaching clouds 20:09 people will never forget the message of Jesus 20:12 when he talked about the storm. 20:13 If it was a family dispute, he'll say, 20:15 I have come not to bring peace but a sword 20:18 to set mother against daughter and father against son. 20:21 And they would never forget 20:22 as long as they are in the family circle. 20:23 But in this particular sense, 20:25 Jesus talked about the four conditions of the human heart. 20:29 Let's start with the first one, 20:31 Mathew chapter 13:3-4, 20:34 "Then he spoke many things to them in parables." 20:39 Now, parables are not obvious messages, 20:41 they are messages locked up in symbols, 20:43 and signs, and codes. 20:46 "Saying, 'Behold, a sower went out to sow. 20:52 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside, 20:56 and the birds came and devoured them. 20:59 Some seed fell by the wayside, 21:02 and the birds came and devoured them." 21:05 Now when you look at Mathew 13:3-4, 21:10 you go on further to understand the definition of this parable. 21:15 Let's just take a little time to break that down 21:18 before we get to the definition of what that meant 21:22 by seeds falling by the wayside 21:25 and birds coming and devoured them. 21:27 I call this the wayside hero, the wayside hero. 21:33 Let me make a few points. 21:34 The time that we need to be most cautious is 21:36 when we perceive that God is speaking to us 21:39 through his word. 21:42 At no time, does it bring greater concern to the enemy 21:46 than when God is trying to draw us to himself. 21:49 The wayside here is the person listening 21:51 to the word of God. 21:52 But that person, whether a male or female, 21:54 whether young man or young lady, 21:57 whether educated or undereducated, 21:59 whatever the case maybe, 22:01 that person listens to the sermon going forth. 22:04 But because they don't allow the seeds 22:07 to penetrate their hearts, think about that. 22:10 They don't allow the word of God 22:11 to find a the place to begin to put down roots, 22:15 to begin to grow. 22:17 And so they stay on the surface, 22:20 they stay on the surface, they never find any root. 22:23 And so the birds, 22:25 whose natural tendency is eat up 22:27 whatever is on the ground, 22:28 they come by and snatch away 22:30 the words that could've been sown, 22:33 and so they don't find any root. 22:35 Listen to the definition for that, 22:37 Mathew 13:18, it talks about, its gives the definition. 22:41 It explains the parable, 22:43 it explains the what happened in that person's life. 22:47 Verse 18, 22:49 "When any one hears the word of the kingdom, 22:52 and doesn't understand it, 22:55 then the wicked one comes, and snatches away 22:58 what was sown in the heart. 23:02 This is he who received seed by the wayside." 23:04 Now, you might think, that seems unfair, 23:07 but this person is victimized 23:09 because they dint understand it. 23:10 Well, there's a deeper context to this. 23:13 it's not that they didn't understand it, 23:15 it's that they hinder themselves 23:19 from understanding. 23:20 Let me give you an example. 23:22 When Jesus had a conversation with Nicodemus, 23:24 and Jesus said to Nicodemus, 23:26 "Nicodemus, you must be born again." 23:28 Nicodemus, very well educated, a Pharisee, 23:32 highly educated in the ways of the Jewish economy 23:36 as well as in the educational system. 23:37 Then he said to Christ something ridiculous. 23:39 "How can a man enter his mother's womb 23:42 when he's old?" 23:45 And you know, you think about, he almost wanna pause and say, 23:48 Nicodemus, I mean, give me a break. 23:50 You know that's not what Jesus meant. 23:52 He doesn't say, you have to go back and start 23:54 all over in this physical cycle of birth. 23:57 And Jesus said to him, 23:58 "Don't be surprise that I say to you, 24:01 you must be born again." 24:04 You know, there are things that we hear on the word of God 24:06 that we resist so much 24:10 that if we won't resist them, 24:12 if we don't resist these things, 24:14 then they would be able to take root in our lives 24:17 and begin to make a difference. 24:19 If we don't submit to them, we resist them, 24:22 we don't draw here to God, 24:23 we draw near to the opposite side 24:25 of what God is trying to say to us, 24:27 and so therefore, 24:28 the reason why they don't understand that is 24:30 because they don't want to understand it. 24:33 I had a Bibles study ones with a, 24:36 I won't tell you what denomination he was, 24:37 a young man. 24:39 And when I go to this very critical topic, 24:41 he said, "I don't wanna hear it 24:43 because if I wanna hear it, I'll be responsible for it." 24:46 And I thought to myself, that's ridiculous. 24:49 You can close your to the red light 24:50 and keep on driving, 24:52 you don't have to see it, but drive through it 24:53 and you will be responsible, 24:55 may be for your life and somebody else's. 24:57 There's this misconception that if I don't hear it 25:00 I'm not responsible for it. 25:02 Nothing could be further from the truth. 25:04 When you don't want to hear it 25:06 then you won't understand it, 25:08 but you will be accountable for the outcome, 25:11 you will pay the Piper's price. 25:14 You will be the victim of your own 25:17 orchestrated ignorance. 25:19 You cannot say, you didn't know 25:22 when God was clearly saying to you, "Listen." 25:25 That's why in Revelation, you find seven times at least. 25:27 The Bible says, "He who has ears to hear, 25:31 let them hear what the spirit is saying to the churches." 25:34 They're some people that don't want to hear it. 25:36 So what happens? 25:38 As the Bible says the 2 Timothy 3, 25:40 in the last days, one of the conditions. 25:42 There are people that they turn away from the truth 25:45 and they turn to fables because they find teachers, 25:48 because they have ears that are that are itching. 25:50 You know, you're saying that, 25:51 "Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy." 25:52 What? 25:54 What? 25:55 They keep on acting like they didn't hear. 25:57 So what they do is they look for preachers and teachers 26:00 that say to them exactly what they want to hear. 26:03 They look for the people that, so to speak, as we would say, 26:06 tickle their fancy. 26:07 They look for people that say exactly 26:10 what they want to understand. 26:12 And then they say, wow 26:14 that's your interpretation, that's another one. 26:16 That's your interpretation. 26:18 Well, how many ways can you interpret, 26:21 "If you love me, keep make a moments?" 26:23 Well, that's your interpretation, 26:25 those are your commitments. 26:27 I remember having a conversation 26:29 with a pastor once and he said to me, 26:31 I have my scriptures to back up my beliefs 26:34 and you have your scripture to backup your beliefs. 26:38 And I said let me stop you right there, pastor, 26:40 I don't have any scriptures and neither do you. 26:43 This is the word of God and the word of God 26:44 never supports to controversial views. 26:48 God's word never support two views 26:51 that are in conflict and fighting with each other. 26:56 And so the best thing to do is not to hesitate 26:59 when eternal issues are at hand, 27:01 not to drag your feet when God is bringing 27:03 conviction to your heart. 27:05 Don't assume that there will be a more favorable time. 27:09 James 4:7-8, 27:11 notice how James encourages us. 27:14 Notice what he says, 27:17 verse 7 of Chapter 4, James. 27:19 He said, "Therefore, submit to God." 27:22 What's that word again? Submit to God. 27:25 What's that word again? Submit to God. 27:26 Then he goes on to submit to God 27:29 you have to do the very next thing, 27:30 "Resist the devil." 27:32 Now, why should you resist the devil? 27:35 Get this in mind, 27:36 when the word of God is preached, 27:37 its just like in the garden of Eden, 27:39 when God spoke to Adam and Eve, 27:41 Satan came to twist what God had said, 27:43 and he said, "Hast God said," 27:44 And the very same way 27:46 when God is communicating a message 27:48 from his word, people will say, 27:50 I know what God's word says, but my pastors says, 27:53 but my denomination says, but this what I always start, 27:56 but this is what my parents tell me, 27:58 but this is how I was raised. 28:01 That's how you can tell the difference 28:03 between a sheep and a goat. 28:06 A sheep would follow the shepherded 28:07 but a goat will always have a but. 28:09 I know what the Bible says, but. 28:11 I know what God's word says, but. 28:13 They're always seeking to conflict 28:16 and to fight against 28:17 what the God is trying to communicate to them. 28:19 That's why the Bible says, submit to God. 28:21 Then you have to resist the devil, 28:23 and here's the promise, 28:25 and He will flee from you. 28:27 Verse 8, 28:28 "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." 28:35 You got to make a decision where you gonna stand. 28:37 You know, and I'm gonna finish the text in a moment, 28:39 but you know there is no center line 28:43 in the Great Controversy. 28:44 There is no yellow highway line in this Great Controversy 28:48 between light and darkness, God and evil. 28:52 There is no rest area, 28:54 you're either with God or you are against to God. 28:59 You are either making your decision to follow the light 29:02 or you are making the decision to follow the darkness. 29:05 There is no middle ground. 29:06 That's why the apostle says with such passion, 29:10 submit to God, the right, resist the devil, 29:13 to the left, and He will free from you. 29:15 Draw near to God, the right, and God will draw near to you. 29:18 But how you have to do it is the following words, 29:21 "Cleanse your hands, you sinners, 29:23 and purify your hearts, you double-minded." 29:28 In the river, on the bank, 29:30 in the river, on the bank, purify your hearts. 29:34 When there's controversy, 29:35 only God can purify your hearts, 29:38 because there was a man in the Bible, 29:40 a governor by the name of Felix. 29:43 Very interesting story and Book of Acts 24. 29:47 Under, during the trial of the apostle, 29:51 the Governor Felix listen to the impassion words 29:53 of the apostle as he preach his hart out. 29:56 And you find these in Acts 24:25. 29:59 And at the point where conviction was coming in, 30:03 listen to the words of Felix, the governor. 30:09 It says in verse 25 of Acts 24, 30:12 'Now, as he reasoned about righteousness, 30:16 self control and the judgment to come." 30:21 Felix was afraid and answered, 30:25 and then he said, "Go away for now. 30:29 When I have a convenient time I will call for you." 30:34 At the moment of conviction, 30:36 at the moment when Felix could have made a decision 30:40 to turn his life over to the control of God, 30:43 the conviction was there, fear came into his heart. 30:47 Because he knew 30:48 where he was standing was not of God had approved. 30:51 And, instead of saying, 30:53 ok, Lord, I yield, I yield cannot hold out. 30:56 What must I do to be saved? 30:58 He said, "Okay, okay, enough for now, 31:00 get out of here, go away for now. 31:03 When I have a convenient time I will call for you. 31:07 Reminds me of Agrippa. 31:09 Agrippa said to Paul, 31:11 "You almost persuade me to become a Christian, 31:14 you almost persuade me to get my life to through out you, 31:17 you almost persuade me to give in 31:21 to those things that are right, 31:22 you almost persuade me." 31:24 You know, friends, 31:25 to be almost safe is to be entirely lost. 31:28 To be almost convinced of right 31:30 is to be completely convinced of wrong. 31:33 To stand on the fence when there's devastation 31:37 and destruction all around you, 31:38 and not to give your life to Christ 31:39 is to assure that when destruction comes 31:42 you will be a personally responsible victim. 31:45 Don't make the mistake like Felix did, 31:48 looking for a convenient time. 31:50 There is no more convenient time 31:52 than the right time, than the present time, 31:55 as the Bible says today is the day of salvation, 31:58 today is the acceptable time. 32:00 You may not live to see tomorrow. 32:02 So make your decision to live for the right today. 32:06 There's another kind of hero in the Bible. 32:08 There's another kind of hero in the Bible, the stony hero. 32:12 Mathew 13:5-6, look at this one. 32:16 Mathew 13:5-6, 32:19 speaking about the seeds that Jesus sowed. 32:22 And by the way, this was during 32:23 the sowing season of the year. 32:26 In the background of the multitudes 32:28 there were farmers just, 32:30 would putting their hands in their pouches 32:32 and just scattering seeds everywhere, 32:34 sowing these seeds. 32:36 The Bible says, "Some fell on stony places, 32:41 where they did not have much earth. 32:44 And they immediately sprang up 32:46 because they had no depth of earth. 32:49 But when the sun was up they were scorched, 32:53 and because they had no root they withered away." 32:59 They withered because they had no root. 33:01 Now this is a very amazing category, 33:04 it says that when the seeds fell on stony places 33:09 they immediately sprang up. 33:12 You know, when I read this passage 33:13 I thought about people that you meet for the first time 33:16 and they're enthusiastic, 33:17 they're excited about the world. 33:19 But one of the reasons I give people time 33:21 to settle into the fellowship 33:23 is because when people are excited, 33:25 some times it's the most dangerous time in their walk, 33:29 even if it's the beginning of their walk 33:31 because excitement is not the right thermometer. 33:35 Excitement is not the test 33:37 of whether or not a person is going to commit himself 33:39 or herself to the Lord. 33:41 They get excited for the moment. 33:42 And the world that shown immediately, 33:45 it looks as though 33:47 it's producing results right away. 33:49 And you see, it springs up. 33:51 There's some evidences that what you said is taking roots, 33:54 and you get excited, and you say, 33:55 "Wow, I preach one sermon, 33:57 that person gave his life to the Lord, 33:58 that person asked for baptism, 34:00 that person wants to join our church." 34:02 I have learned as I've continued in pastoring 34:06 to give people time to see whether or not 34:09 there are any roots in their relationship. 34:13 Because something happens to test whether or not, 34:17 the word of God has found any roots. 34:20 Don't settle for surface relationship, this tell us. 34:23 Don't neglect Bible study 34:25 and deep searching of God's word. 34:27 Don't allow difficulty to dictate 34:29 your dedication to God. 34:31 Don't look for the sun to come up 34:33 as it shine from God that He is always with you. 34:36 Don't await for the trial to pass 34:39 before you commits yourself to Christ, 34:41 because I tell you what, 34:44 a faith that is not tried is not a reliable faith. 34:49 I think about that for a moment. 34:51 If you've not faced the trial, 34:52 if you've not gone through difficulty 34:54 and be sustained... 34:56 As one person once said, 34:57 "When you get some scars, come back and tell me 34:59 what and what not to do." 35:02 Some young preachers try to dictate to the conferences, 35:05 into the church into the leadership 35:06 what they ought to do, 35:07 one preacher of 45-years said, 35:09 "When you get some scars, 35:10 when you get some beatings from your church members, 35:13 when you find difficulty 35:14 in administration in your church 35:16 then you come back and tell me how to run the conference, 35:19 then you come back and tell me how to guide this church." 35:22 There're some people that are too quick 35:23 in their shallow relationships to give direction to God. 35:26 But be very careful, 35:28 because the interpretation of this passage is very clear. 35:30 Look at verse 20 and 21 in Mathew 13. 35:34 Its talking about the Christians 35:35 that does not endure when difficulty comes. 35:39 Verse 20 of Mathew 13, 35:41 "But he who received the seed on stony places, 35:46 this is he who hears the word 35:50 and immediately receives it with joy." 35:54 That's the kind of people that pastors like, 35:57 they get excited, "Good sermon, Preacher." 36:00 But that all of sudden, you can find them 36:02 and here's the reason why, verse 21, 36:04 "Yet he has no root in himself, 36:06 yet he has no root in himself 36:09 but endures only for a while". 36:13 You'll see him... 36:14 Whatever happen to Brother so and so? 36:16 Whatever happen to that family? 36:17 Whatever happen to that individuals that came last week 36:20 that was all excited about this new fellowship? 36:22 He endures only for a while and here's the reason why? 36:27 "For when tribulation and persecution arises," 36:32 wow, watch this 36:35 "because of the word, immediately he stumbles." 36:39 Some of the translations says, 36:41 "immediately he is offended, he stumbles." 36:43 You know why? 36:45 Because when preach and all... 36:47 When you preach a message 36:49 that is only saying, Jesus loves me, 36:51 this I know for the Bible tells me so, 36:53 that's a beautiful, that's an enduring message. 36:55 But the Lord didn't say stop there, he said, 36:58 preach or teach, baptize, 37:01 and continue to teach them to observe 37:03 all things that I had commanded you. 37:05 There are some people that accept 37:07 the elementary message of Christianity, 37:09 the milk of the word. 37:11 But when it comes down to meat of the word, 37:14 all of sudden they don't want to digest that. 37:17 It's too difficult, its too hard. 37:19 So we find preachers nowadays 37:21 that preach prosperity messages. 37:23 You can get yours, you can have a financial, 37:25 strong financial future, you can have a big house, 37:28 God can give you what have you asked for. 37:29 And then, some time they say, 37:31 you don't have what you asked for 37:32 because you don't have enough faith. 37:33 That's shallows Christianity. 37:36 The Christianity that endures persecution, 37:39 the Christianity that keeps you strong through temptation 37:42 is not a shallow Christianity. 37:45 It has roots that are way down deep 37:48 in the soul of God's word and in the trust of God's word. 37:52 So what is our need? 37:53 We need roots in the words. 37:55 Amen to that. 37:56 We need roots in the word. 37:58 If we are shallow we are in crises. 38:01 Some can't hang on amidst the stuff 38:04 that Christian development is made of. 38:07 I said to somebody just a few days ago, 38:10 and I've been to many weddings, 38:12 I've officiated in weddings, 38:14 I've been to wedding receptions. 38:16 We celebrated our 25th anniversary 38:18 a number of years ago 38:19 and I've walked into some of the reception halls 38:22 and I see this beautiful ice sculpture. 38:25 And sometimes it's a swan or a dove or something, 38:28 some symbol of a love, and ceremony, 38:31 and some symbol of the great passion, 38:33 the wonderful celebration of the event. 38:36 And people say, wow, how beautiful that is. 38:40 Who did that? 38:41 It's so smooth and sculpted. 38:43 And then they try to keep it on the bed of ice 38:46 so it doesn't melt away too quickly. 38:49 But I often say to people, you like the way that looks? 38:52 You should have seen it when it was just a block of ice. 38:55 Hear me carefully, 38:56 you should have seen it 38:58 when it was just a block of ice, 38:59 you would not have envisioned 39:00 that something so beautiful can come out of a block of ice. 39:04 Well, friends, here's the point, 39:05 when Jesus finds us, 39:07 when we are first introduced to the word of God, 39:09 we are nothing but a block of ice. 39:11 A big old square, heavy, tongs on the side, 39:15 carried around, dropped on the ground, 39:16 block of ice, that's what we are. 39:19 But God begins the process of chiseling, 39:22 of filing, of cutting away, of hammering away 39:27 all the things that do not resemble him. 39:32 And when the tribulation comes through trials, 39:34 when the chiseling comes through trials, 39:37 when the chiseling comes through illness, 39:39 or loss of job, or family falling apart. 39:42 Lot of people say that, you know what, 39:44 if God can't keep me through difficult time, 39:46 I don't want that kind of God. 39:48 You know, brothers and sisters, the Lord said, 39:50 in the world you will have tribulation. 39:52 As a matter of fact, Jesus went through tribulation 39:55 and he came out victorious 39:57 because He had the purpose, 39:59 He had the connection with his heavenly father. 40:01 The way that we can survive the tribulation 40:03 and the persecution of this life, 40:05 and come out on the other side as a beautiful swan 40:07 through the trials, not in the absence of trials. 40:11 In the furnace, impurities are taken away, 40:15 in the lion's den our faith is strengthened. 40:18 Not in the sunny days, 40:20 not in the warm beaches of life, 40:22 not in the smooth white sand places 40:25 of the path of Christianity 40:27 but on the rugged side of the mountain. 40:29 In the vehement rain that'll beat your faith, 40:32 don't be a shallow hearer of God's word. 40:37 If God were sending us, 40:39 he's only doing it to get rid of the rough places. 40:42 You know, I thought about the white shirt I have on, 40:45 and most of us wear a white shirt. 40:47 But if a white shirt can complain, 40:49 if the white shirt can tell a story, 40:51 just imagine if the shirt had feelings and experiences. 40:55 We would take this shirt off 40:56 after wearing it and after soiled 40:58 and throw it in a washer with hot water and detergent, 41:01 and the shirt would say, what have I done 41:05 to be thrown into such hot water, 41:07 and not only that, they put stuff in here 41:09 and my eyes are burning me. 41:11 And then it's their being agitated going through 41:14 the difficulty of its journey, 41:16 not even knowing for a moment 41:18 that that's the process of purification, 41:20 that's the process of cleansing. 41:22 Then all of a sudden the machine stops, 41:24 and then it begins another cycle, 41:26 the rinse cycle, 41:28 and then some more added into the washing machine, 41:30 then it gets into the spinning cycle. 41:32 It's pinned to the size of the washing machine 41:35 as the washer machine attempts to bring out 41:39 every drop of impure water contained in that shirt. 41:44 That's how the Christian life is, 41:45 sometimes we're pinned against the wall 41:47 and we're going through cycles that we cannot control. 41:49 But when it's done, I guarantee you, 41:51 if you hold onto the Lord when it's done, 41:53 every impurity of that present trial 41:56 will be removed from your life. 41:58 And then the shirt is taken from the washing machine 42:00 and then it says, I am so glad 42:03 that I'm out of there, 42:05 only to be thrown into the dryer. 42:07 The fire of trials and temptations, 42:10 the fires that separate us, the fires that try us. 42:14 And then finally, in the heat of the battle 42:16 he is taken out only to say, 42:18 wow, I thought I'd never survive that, 42:20 only to be pressed, 42:23 to be pressed on the ironing board. 42:25 You know friends, 42:27 that's just like the Christian life. 42:28 Because, when the Lord comes back, 42:30 he's coming back for not just to a purified church 42:32 but a church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. 42:36 Amen, somebody. 42:38 That's the kind of God, that's the kind of condition 42:40 that we must be in when the Lord comes back. 42:42 So, endure the trials, hang on, 42:46 Jesus is working a work in your life. 42:49 Proverbs 30:5 says, 42:51 "Every word of God is pure; 42:53 he is a shield to those who put their trust in him." 42:57 Just trust God, it's gonna be tough, 43:00 but just trust God. 43:01 And that's why if there is something 43:03 in the Bible that offends you, 43:05 what do you do? Do you slam the Bible shut? 43:08 No, you don't do that. 43:09 You got to pray and ask the Lord 43:11 to soften your heart that you can receive the word, 43:14 to soften your heart because if it's stony, 43:17 it is nothing wrong with the word, 43:19 there's nothing wrong with the God's word, 43:20 it's the condition of the human heart. 43:22 If there's some teaching that you know is true 43:25 but you are having a difficult time accepting it, 43:27 ask for the softening, presence, 43:30 and power of God's Holy Spirit. 43:34 Lot of people have to give up old things 43:36 to accept new things, 43:37 lot of people have to give up traditions 43:39 to accept the word of God as their authority. 43:41 A lot of people are called out of darkness of 20, 30, 40 years 43:46 into God's marvelous light 43:47 that they may only live in for five years 43:49 before they're laid to rest. 43:51 Do it, because you're salvation 43:53 is dependent on the decisions you make. 43:55 But you can't make those decisions, 43:57 except, you ask for the Lord to soften your heart. 44:01 If you are waiting for hard times to pass 44:03 before giving your life to the Lord, 44:05 I wanna tell you, friends, 44:06 don't wait for the hard times to pass 44:08 because the devil will make sure that 44:09 you never have a break. 44:11 There's some people that say, Pastor, 44:13 I went through difficulty this week, 44:15 I prayed, and that left, 44:16 and all of a sudden my kids began to act up, 44:18 my car broke down, my husband left me, 44:22 I got fired, I got bitten by a dog, 44:24 my roof fell in, my television stopped working, 44:27 my check bounced. 44:28 If the devil knows that you're waiting for difficulty to pass 44:32 before you serve God, it's not gonna pass. 44:34 Serve God in the storm, 44:36 only then can you discover he can calm the waves, 44:40 he can cause the sea to hush, and there'll be a great calm. 44:43 Trust God in your stony times. 44:46 Then there's a third condition, the thorny hero. 44:50 Mathew 13:7, the Bible says, 44:53 "And some fell among thorns, 44:57 and the thorns sprang up and choked them." 45:03 Thorns, what are thorns? 45:05 What on earth do thorns represent, 45:09 now let me use the rose as an example. 45:11 Some people say, I have roses with thorns, 45:14 some people say, I have thorns with roses. 45:16 You're interpretation determines what you look at. 45:18 You can receive roses from somebody and say, 45:21 you can receive roses from somebody and say, 45:24 why did you give me thorns? 45:27 That's the focus of the mind. 45:29 Or you can receive the roses and say, 45:31 I wish these beautiful roses didn't have so many thorns. 45:36 What is that saying? 45:37 In the midst of the successes of life, 45:39 they are going to be thorns. 45:40 In the midst of the thorns of life, 45:42 they're gonna be beautiful things 45:44 that you can focus on. 45:45 But it is all about your focus. 45:47 Sometimes, in the difficult places of our lives, 45:50 the challenges of our lives try us at our utmost 45:54 but what does the thorns represent? 45:56 What do they represent? 45:58 Mathew 13:22, look at this, 46:00 Mathew 13:22, 46:04 "Now he who received seed among the thorns 46:08 is he who hears the word," 46:11 he heard it but look what happens, 46:15 "and the cares of this world 46:18 and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, 46:23 and he becomes unfruitful." 46:26 The cares of this world, 46:29 the deceitfulness of riches choke the word. 46:33 The cares of this world, let me tell you, 46:35 let's talk about the cares of the world very quickly, 46:37 the cares of this world. 46:41 In the armor of God, the whole armor of God, 46:43 the helmet of salvation, 46:44 the breastplate of righteousness, 46:46 the feet shod with the gospel of peace. 46:48 All the elements of the armor of God, 46:50 the Christian armor are of our defensive. 46:54 The only one that's offensive is the word of God, 46:56 the only one that we can trust to be 46:57 our point of defense in the battle 46:59 is the word of God. 47:00 It's the two-edged sword. 47:02 The devil knows that you can have on the entire armor 47:05 but you don't submit, or study, or live by, 47:09 or imbibe, or digest, or spend time in God's word, 47:14 he knows that you are no match for him, 47:17 when the cares of this world 47:19 begin to knock on your door. 47:22 Somebody once said, I think my good pastor, 47:24 Pastor CA said, if you've never been through trials, 47:27 just wait, they're coming. 47:29 They'll never say, I don't have trials. 47:31 Matter of fact, another preacher said, 47:33 I'm always concerned about Christians 47:35 that say they don't have trials. 47:36 It may be that they're not with the kind of life 47:39 that is even a threat to the enemy, 47:41 because the Bible does say, 47:43 all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, 47:45 together with me shall suffer persecution. 47:49 But the reason why some people are not persecuted 47:50 is because there's no, they're no threat to the enemy. 47:54 The enemy is not afraid of them because they have nothing 47:57 to bring fear to his kingdom. 48:00 That's why you don't, 48:02 don't waste your time looking at successful people. 48:05 There's a young man in the Bible, 48:08 they had a difficult time at the success of the wicked, 48:10 he said, there is no pain in their death, 48:13 their eyes bulged with abundance. 48:15 Even in their sorrow, there is joy. 48:20 Young man's name was Esa. 48:23 He said, Lord, when I tried to comprehend 48:26 what they go through, I just could not understand it. 48:31 Why does it seem as though the wicked prosper 48:34 and the righteous struggle? 48:36 Well, that's not true. 48:37 The Bible says, David said, 48:40 I was young and now I am old. 48:43 I've never seen the righteous forsaken 48:46 nor his seed begging for bread. 48:48 So don't believe that idea that the righteous struggle, no. 48:51 we may not have a 35-acre property 48:55 or a house with nine rooms in it, 48:57 but we don't struggle, we won't struggle. 49:00 The Lord says, I will never allow my children 49:03 to go without provision. 49:05 That's why the Bible says, 49:06 if we ask for a fish, will the Lord give us a stone? 49:10 So if we being evil give good gifts to our children, 49:13 how much more will our heavenly father give to us, 49:16 the Holy Spirit, if we ask? 49:18 But there will be come thorny times in your life, 49:21 those thorny times will come. 49:23 That's why, friends, listen to my advice. 49:27 Don't serve God for what you think he'll give to you. 49:31 That's a supermarket relationship. 49:34 Don't serve God as your promoter, 49:38 you are his promoter. 49:40 God will not exalt you, you exalt him. 49:43 If you're humble, he'll exalt you 49:45 but not for your glory but for his. 49:47 Don't think of Christianity as a road to riches, 49:50 Christianity is a road to eternal life. 49:53 And the Bible says, 49:55 there's a broad road and there's a narrow road. 49:57 Some Christians get on the road of Christianity 50:01 but they're looking for a different destination. 50:03 And so they come to church to see what God can give them, 50:06 what the church can give them, 50:08 what kind of success they can have, 50:10 what kind of position they can have, 50:12 what kind of recognition they can have. 50:14 Don't serve God for personal gain. 50:17 And one more thing, though, 50:19 don't give the devil more press than he already has. 50:23 Somewhere along the way 50:25 in our difficult journeys of life, 50:27 the shallow ground, 50:28 the stony ground, the thorny ground, 50:30 somewhere along the way we've got to blame the devil 50:34 for what he really is responsible for. 50:36 Don't call God, the one blesses us 50:39 and don't turn on God and begin to curse Him 50:42 when things begin to turn. 50:44 He'll allow it just to test your faith 50:46 but God does not use evil to reveal his righteousness. 50:50 But there's one last condition, the good ground. 50:54 Mathew 13:8, the good ground, 50:58 "But others fell on good ground, 51:01 and yielded a crop, 51:02 some a hundred fold, some sixty, and some thirty." 51:07 Oh, I like this part. 51:09 You know, the beauty about this is amazing. 51:11 The beauty about this is, 51:13 when you let the word of God work in your life, 51:17 and I want to just say this, I'm a living, 51:19 breathing example of this passage. 51:21 When you allow the word of God to sink in to your heart, 51:25 you will never even begin to fathom 51:28 the things that God will bring forth in your life. 51:32 When I was back in New York city, 51:33 back in the '70s and '80s, disc jockeying, and partying, 51:36 I had no clue that God would bless me 51:39 in the way he did. 51:41 That God would give me this kind of platform, 51:43 praise his name for the glory that belongs to Him alone. 51:46 That God will say, John, I'm going to allow you 51:49 not to be locked into some dark room 51:51 somewhere in Broadway in New York city, 51:53 but I want you to stand on the stages of the world, 51:55 but I'll only put you there to exalt Jesus Christ, 51:59 thirty fold, sixty fold, a hundred fold. 52:02 And you know what, friends, 52:03 when you give your life to the Lord, 52:04 you will never know the impact of your ministry. 52:07 You'll never know how many people are blessed 52:09 until you make it to the kingdom on day, 52:11 sixty fold, thirty fold, a hundred fold. 52:14 You'll never know how many people 52:17 have found hope, and found courage, 52:18 and found grace. 52:20 That's why when you serve God, 52:23 don't make the mistake to wait for God to serve you. 52:26 Seek to give to the Lord, not just to take from the Lord. 52:30 Don't just seek to be added to the kingdom 52:33 but seek to add to the kingdom. 52:36 Understand that the seed that is planted is the seed 52:39 that will produce a harvest. 52:41 If you do what God has called you to do, 52:44 you won't be stony, you won't be shallow, 52:46 you won't be thorny, but you'll be good ground. 52:49 And what made the difference? 52:50 What made the difference? 52:53 The person that received the seed on good ground, 52:57 there was no difference in the seed. 52:59 You know, if you read the Bible today, 53:00 it's gonna say the same thing tomorrow. 53:02 If you put the Bible down for five years, 53:04 it's gonna say the same thing 53:05 when you pick it up five years later. 53:07 If you put the Bible on the shelf to collect dust, 53:09 when you take it off and dust it off, 53:11 it's gonna say the same thing. 53:12 What made the difference? 53:14 The condition of the heart, 53:16 the crisis is not in God's word, 53:18 the crisis is not in what God has written, 53:20 the crisis is not in the interpretation of the Bible, 53:23 the crisis is in the condition of the human heart. 53:27 You don't want to be stony, 53:28 you don't want to be shallow, 53:30 you don't want to have the thorns 53:31 because of the focus of your life, 53:32 riches, and materialism, and fame, and fortune. 53:35 You don't want those things to choke out 53:37 the life that God is trying to place within you. 53:40 You want to be good ground. 53:41 And good ground, don't miss this part, 53:44 good ground takes time to cultivate. 53:47 Good ground takes time to cultivate. 53:50 There's a season of planting, 53:51 then there's a season of harvest, 53:53 there's the rainy season, there's the dry season. 53:57 You'll never know how good the ground is 53:59 unless you allow the Lord to dig out all the thorns 54:03 that can prevent you from being a mature Christian, 54:06 to dig out all the circumstances 54:08 that can choke off the word, 54:09 to spare you from the desire for riches, 54:11 and wealth, and fame, and fortune. 54:13 If that's your focus, 54:14 you're going down the wrong road. 54:16 If that's your desire then the seed is not producing 54:20 what God knows it could, not because the seed is changed 54:23 but because your heart is not right. 54:25 You wanna be a good ground hero, 54:27 you wanna produce some good crop. 54:30 And the good crop is because the Lord is in there, working. 54:34 He's in there tilling the soil, 54:36 he's cutting away anything from your life 54:38 that may hinder your growth. 54:40 And sometimes you know that, sometimes you experience that, 54:43 sometimes you wonder, 54:44 why is it that the desire that I used have, 54:47 I no longer have. 54:48 You know why, friends, 54:50 because God took away the desire 54:51 because it hinders the growth of his word. 54:54 That's why Mathew 13:23 gives us a further 54:57 understanding of this beautiful, 54:59 final condition of the human heart, 55:02 "But he who received seed on the good ground 55:05 is he who hears the word and understands it, 55:10 who indeed bears fruit and produces, 55:14 some a hundredfold, some thirty, some sixty. " 55:20 Some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. 55:23 Here's the other point 55:24 I want to bring out very carefully, 55:26 is don't be concerned 55:27 if somebody's producing more than you, 55:30 because God will bring forth from your life 55:32 exactly what he knows 55:34 you are capable of yielding, the harvest. 55:37 You may have a humble position, 55:38 that's what God has placed you. 55:40 Grow there, produce fruit there, 55:43 allow your light to shine there. 55:45 Don't contend with those that may have more ground, 55:49 and more fertile soil, and more abilities. 55:52 God chooses what seed to sow, 55:54 God also determines the outcome of the harvest. 55:58 You may only be able to handle a thirty fold, 56:01 praise the Lord for the thirty fold. 56:03 So you to pray the prayer. 56:04 What's the prayer? 56:06 To make sure that your heart is in the right place. 56:07 What's the prayer? 56:08 To make sure that God has done for you 56:10 what he intend to do for you. 56:12 Pray the prayer of David, the Psalmist. 56:14 Psalm 51:10, to be good ground, 56:17 you got to pray the prayer and you gotta mean it, 56:19 "Create in me a clean heart, O God, 56:21 and renew a right spirit within me." 56:24 Pray that prayer, pray that prayer, 56:27 make sure that you are giving God 56:29 all that God desires. 56:31 I remember a story written by Robert C Shanon, 56:34 in a book entitled A Thousand Windows. 56:36 He said this, 56:37 "A French soldier who had served the Napoleon's army, 56:39 lay dying on the ground, wounded in the battle. 56:43 As they probed his shattered ribs 56:45 to find the fatal bullet, 56:47 he said, he said," this is powerful, 56:49 "'If you dig deeper, you'll find the emperor.' 56:54 " Friends, here's the point, if we dig deep enough, 56:57 would we find Christ in your heart? 57:00 That's the question I leave with you today. 57:03 If somebody digged into the depth of your heart, 57:05 would they find the emperor, the king, Christ Jesus? 57:09 Make that your desire, make that your aim. 57:12 Lord, I give you my entire life, 57:15 remove from it anything that hinders my growth 57:17 because my only desire is that Jesus Christ is seen 57:22 and the harvest you desire for me would be produced. 57:25 God will bless you 57:26 if you yield your life to the Lord. |
Revised 2016-08-15