00:00:00.240 Everyone. Let's see this thing is on. There we go. Check, check, check.
00:00:04.290 One, two, three. One, two, three. I can scream too.
00:00:06.510 Don't worry, I got some lungs on me. Good morning, everyone.
00:00:09.420 It's a privilege and a pleasure to be with all of you guys today and those of you
00:00:13.740 watching online. Happy Labor Day weekend.
00:00:15.810 I hope you guys have the opportunity to Sabbath and rest, just as that video
00:00:19.380 described. Really soak and enjoy the moments that matter most on this Labor Day
00:00:24.300 weekend. Just want to say, wish you the best, and pray it be a refreshing one, and
00:00:29.460 have an opportunity to really connect with family, with loved ones, to connect with
00:00:32.520 God here as well. And so, without further ado, we're going to jump into
00:00:38.220 today's message. And if you haven't been here with us the month of August, or the
00:00:42.840 last several weeks, Pastor Eric had taken us through a series, leading us through
00:00:47.550 the importance and the significance for us as followers of Jesus in sharing the
00:00:52.590 good news. In sharing our faith with those around us, and the power and the purpose
00:00:58.231 that we have as Christians, as followers of Jesus, to have the privilege to share
00:01:03.930 our faith, to share the good news of who Jesus is with the world around us.
00:01:09.120 In your world, with your family, your coworkers, your neighbors, your friends.
00:01:13.245 And I'm actually going to do my best this morning to communicate and bridge the gap
00:01:17.940 of where we were in August to where we're going to be in September, as we bridge
00:01:22.110 the importance of sharing the good news and also cultivating our own personal
00:01:26.461 relationship with Jesus and really tending to our hearts.
00:01:30.255 And so we're going to discuss this morning a parable that Jesus had shared
00:01:36.630 and communicated with his early followers.
00:01:39.540 And Jesus, whenever he was sharing parables throughout the Gospels, what he's doing
00:01:45.360 is really sharing a story or an illustration that really points to a
00:01:50.880 underlying reality or truth of how God's kingdom interacts with us, even how the
00:01:56.700 kingdom of darkness interacts with us as well.
00:01:59.910 So as he's speaking and as he shares any parable, we get to have that in forefront
00:02:04.830 of our mind and our heart. Like, okay, Jesus is communicating something deeply
00:02:09.301 spiritual, something that maybe is more than meets the eye, but also it has the
00:02:14.400 power to transform our hearts, to transform our lives in a real and radical way.
00:02:19.351 And so we're going to talk about this morning, "The Parable of the Sower."
00:02:23.700 The Parable of the Sower, and what's really interesting about this parable that
00:02:27.510 Jesus had shared is that it actually appears in three of the four Gospels.
00:02:32.220 So the Gospels consist of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
00:02:35.760 These were first century Christians, first century followers of Jesus, most of
00:02:40.200 whom had spent time with him, seeing the miracles, seeing the life that he
00:02:44.280 lived, and experienced his resurrection as well.
00:02:48.030 And what's so interesting to me as we unpack this this morning is the fact that
00:02:52.770 three of the four gospel writers thought it was so significant and so important, as
00:02:57.810 to reference this parable in three of the four synoptic gospels.
00:03:01.530 So we're actually going to be reading out of Luke, chapter eight.
00:03:06.391 Again, in Luke, chapter eight: "The Parable of the Sower."
00:03:09.930 And so again, just keeping in mind that this is Jesus really leveling with many,
00:03:14.130 many followers that were there with him at that time.
00:03:16.139 He had just previously, right before this, gone about the different villages and
00:03:19.680 towns proclaiming the good news of God's kingdom coming to Earth, of his love and
00:03:24.930 his mercy, and he's going around healing people, setting people free, and teaching.
00:03:30.031 So this is on the precipice of that.
00:03:31.500 Leading on the coattails of this, Jesus begins to talk about this parable at this
00:03:36.810 exact moment. So Jesus goes on to explain.
00:03:40.215 It says, "One day, Jesus told a story in the form of a parable to a large crowd
00:03:45.900 that had gathered from many towns to hear him." He went on to say, "A farmer went
00:03:50.580 out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a
00:03:55.680 footpath where it was stepped on and the birds ate it. Other seed fell among rocks.
00:04:02.160 As it began to grow, the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture.
00:04:08.190 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants.
00:04:13.740 Still other seed fell on fertile soil, and this seed grew and produced a crop that
00:04:18.810 was 100 times as much as had been planted.
00:04:22.710 When Jesus finished saying this, he called out, 'Anyone with ears to hear should
00:04:28.110 listen and understand.'" What's so amazing is for people like me, I love when Jesus
00:04:32.940 explains exactly what he's talking about, and he happens to do this in this
00:04:36.360 parable. He explains exactly what it is that he means when he's talking about
00:04:41.250 sowing seed in a different ground, in different soils that the seed had fallen on.
00:04:45.990 So he goes on to explain. He says, "This is the meaning of the parable." Doesn't
00:04:50.070 keep us guessing. Jesus said, "The seed is God's word.
00:04:54.824 The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to
00:04:59.160 have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from
00:05:03.390 believing and being saved.
00:05:06.150 The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it
00:05:10.591 with joy. But since they don't have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they
00:05:16.591 fall away when they face temptation.
00:05:19.650 The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all
00:05:24.451 too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of
00:05:29.940 this life, and so they never grow into maturity.
00:05:34.125 And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who
00:05:39.240 hear God's word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge
00:05:45.510 harvest." Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I thank you so much, Lord, for the
00:05:49.500 opportunity to unpack your word here this morning.
00:05:52.440 I thank you, Jesus, that the parables and the truths that you shared to your early
00:05:56.970 followers apply all the more to us today, God.
00:06:00.150 And I ask, Holy Spirit, would you open up the eyes of our heart, that we would see
00:06:05.281 where we are in this parable, that we would see perhaps what soil that we have
00:06:10.080 currently or where we've been, and we thank you for taking us on this journey and
00:06:14.341 transforming our hearts. But Lord, I ask that you'd also put in our hearts and
00:06:18.451 souls afresh a zeal and a desire to be a part of sowing
00:06:24.091 seed, just as this farmer did, Lord God, the seed of your word, that you would
00:06:28.680 receive all the honor, all the praise, and all the glory.
00:06:32.130 In your mighty name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen.
00:06:37.170 So there's quite a bit of scripture here, folks.
00:06:39.420 There's a lot that Jesus is really unpacking and beginning to describe to the
00:06:44.190 followers that are there with him at this time.
00:06:46.710 And he's talking to them in a language that they would really understand.
00:06:49.680 At that time, 2,000 years ago, it was a very agriculturally based society.
00:06:54.480 There were plenty of farmers, if not farmers as an occupation, they would often be
00:06:59.401 planting and growing their own food there altogether.
00:07:02.520 How many farmers do we have in here? Any farmers here with us this morning?
00:07:05.701 I was hoping I'd... Wait. Yeah. You say, "Yeah, we're doing it.
00:07:08.790 We're doing the farming thing." That's awesome. It takes a lot of patience.
00:07:12.990 A lot of sweat equity, a lot of time, a lot of effort, and it's so amazing that
00:07:18.420 Jesus knew exactly how to communicate, exactly how to connect with the folks that
00:07:23.850 he was ministering to at this time.
00:07:25.680 And what I love about it is maybe you're a do-it-yourself farmer. You're learning.
00:07:29.520 Maybe you just like having plants and harvesting plants, and maybe growing some of
00:07:32.880 your own food. There's so many rich principles that Jesus begins to unpack here in
00:07:38.070 this parable, and really, there's two main points of view.
00:07:41.401 There's two main points of view that we're going to focus on this morning, that
00:07:45.000 we're going to highlight. Point of view first and foremost would be the sower.
00:07:49.470 The farmer who scattered seed and was throwing seed just about everywhere.
00:07:53.850 And Jesus goes on to tell us that the seed represents the word.
00:07:57.841 So we're going to unpack the point of view of the sower of the word, but we're also
00:08:02.401 going to unpack the point of view of the receiver or the hearer of the word, and
00:08:07.561 really the different soils. The different conditions of hearts where the word was
00:08:12.841 received. And so we're going to unpack both points of view this morning.
00:08:15.720 We're actually going to start with the receiver or hearer of the word, or in other
00:08:19.470 words, the different kinds of soils that lie in people's hearts.
00:08:24.360 And so a question that I want to ask us this morning, and something I think that we
00:08:27.120 can really continuously ask ourselves as we follow Jesus, is for us as
00:08:32.850 receivers of the word, what is the soil of my heart?
00:08:38.970 What is the soil of my heart?
00:08:42.030 Because it seemed pretty important that the farmer would go out of his way to sow
00:08:46.290 seed just about everywhere, in all different kinds of soils.
00:08:49.380 And our heart is fertile ground potentially to receive the full blessing and
00:08:54.360 benefit that we may receive from God's word, from his promises, from the fullness
00:08:59.190 of who he is, or maybe lack thereof.
00:09:01.200 Maybe there's some things we need to work through that we're sifting through here
00:09:05.190 this morning. Nevertheless, what is the soil of my
00:09:11.010 heart?
00:09:13.728 And so we're going to actually break down the different soils very practically.
00:09:16.368 There's a table that kind of breaks down the different kinds of soils, the
00:09:19.278 different kind of ground that the farmer had been sowing seed for, and we're going
00:09:24.078 to unpack just about all of them, and I really pray that it lands just practically
00:09:27.768 what that might look like in your life here today based on the different soils,
00:09:31.668 whether it be your own soil, perhaps soils of your friends, family, those that
00:09:36.558 you're wanting to see come to Jesus.
00:09:38.719 And really when I encountered this parable about 10 years ago, it completely
00:09:43.023 shifted my paradigm and the context in which I view life, knowing that there's so
00:09:48.138 much more that's going on behind the scenes in my heart and in people's hearts, and
00:09:52.518 Jesus really does, as only he could do, the most magnificent job at showing us what
00:09:57.678 is going on in the hearts of men.
00:10:00.378 So starting off here, the first soil type we have to unpack is the pathway, the
00:10:04.908 path that somebody would walk on, or in other words, as some translations would
00:10:09.078 say, it would be along the road. So the sower sows along the pathway, along the
00:10:13.638 road, and what ends up happening to this seed is it was ultimately trampled on,
00:10:17.868 stepped on, and eaten by birds.
00:10:21.469 Kind of sad, right? Trampled on and eaten by birds.
00:10:25.099 What this, though, represents is people who hear the message, right?
00:10:28.398 They hear God's word being shared, perhaps they're reading God's word.
00:10:32.268 I believe it applies in various ways just because the seed is God's word, whether
00:10:35.538 we're hearing or reading or whatever the case may be.
00:10:39.138 But they hear the message, but the devil takes it away before they can believe.
00:10:44.778 Right? So the enemy's playbook from the get-go is to immediately, as fast as
00:10:49.099 possible, early on in development, rob that seed away from the pathway.
00:10:54.018 He wants to snatch that away. So really what this shows us, actually, as followers
00:10:59.118 of Jesus, is that whenever we're here, maybe hearing a message on a Sunday morning,
00:11:03.198 maybe we're in a Bible study throughout the week, maybe we're reading in our
00:11:07.428 devotion time, spending time with Jesus and diving into his word, one of the
00:11:11.208 tactics that the devil and the kingdom of darkness will use is to immediately try
00:11:15.333 to rob that seed, because that's the greatest threat to him and his kingdom, is
00:11:19.338 that seed. The power lies in the seed. So he's after it.
00:11:23.028 He's after God's word becoming effective and being received in your heart.
00:11:26.658 So if he can, he will go as fast as possible to snatch that away from ever
00:11:31.128 beginning to grow and take root.
00:11:33.708 Those
00:11:35.448 who don't believe because the devil steals the seed of God's word.
00:11:38.658 The next soil type we have is the rocky soil.
00:11:42.318 What happens to this seed is that it grew quickly, right?
00:11:45.408 It was off to a good start. It grew up quickly, but then it withered because it had
00:11:49.308 no moisture.
00:11:52.099 What this represents is people who would receive the message with joy.
00:11:55.548 So maybe you hear the gospel for the first time, you come to church or maybe get
00:11:58.668 your first Bible and you're reading the Bible, and you're really excited.
00:12:01.308 You receive it with joy, like, "Man, this journey with Jesus is awesome.
00:12:04.219 This is exciting. I'm excited to give my life to him and to follow him," the fresh
00:12:08.628 zeal and joy of following him. But unfortunately and sadly,
00:12:15.768 because there were no deep roots, this individual falls away during time of
00:12:20.898 temptation or testing.
00:12:23.958 Right? So when the going gets tough, there's no root system underneath to really
00:12:29.118 hold them solid, to really keep them grounded.
00:12:31.998 You may ask, well, okay, so if the success of that was predicated on the root
00:12:36.438 system, what would the roots maybe be practically? What would that look like?
00:12:41.748 I would like to kind of pin it into a four-tiered root system with four main roots.
00:12:48.078 First and foremost would be reading God's Word, right? So just very simple.
00:12:52.219 On your own time, your daily devotional, or whatever the case may be, you're
00:12:56.028 spending time in God's Word. That's a part of the root.
00:12:59.808 I would also say prayer and worship, huge part of the root.
00:13:02.538 Time where you can openly and honestly and vulnerably come to God, relate to him,
00:13:07.668 tell him what's going on in your life, and also give him an opportunity to speak
00:13:11.868 back to you, to comfort you, to counsel you, to lead you, to strengthen you.
00:13:15.648 So in the Word, in prayer. I'd say Bible study, perhaps with other believers,
00:13:20.628 right? Fellowship and community, right?
00:13:23.388 Going with your tribe and sharing God's word with one another because the power of
00:13:27.198 his word, along with the Holy Spirit in us and believers, gives a divine
00:13:32.508 interaction to take place whenever we spend time with one another.
00:13:35.268 And I would argue it's one of the most pivotal parts in establishing your root
00:13:38.118 system in Christ, is to have that fellowship of believers, maybe a Bible study.
00:13:42.798 Fourth,
00:13:44.778 we have corporate worship, so Sunday morning gatherings.
00:13:47.298 A time like this where we can sit under the word, hear the word, worship with one
00:13:50.448 another, and just enjoy that in a bigger setting.
00:13:52.668 So we've got the four-tier root system, but what's really sad, perhaps this is
00:13:55.758 somebody who heard the good news about Jesus, of his life, his death, his
00:14:00.439 resurrection, but kind of for various reasons, didn't really get plugged in.
00:14:07.308 Maybe not even didn't want to, but didn't have an opportunity to really connect
00:14:11.628 with other believers. And it's because those roots weren't there, they end up
00:14:16.668 falling away during times of trial or temptation.
00:14:21.032 And then we have the thorny soil.
00:14:23.748 What ends up happening is it's ultimately choked out by the thorns that grew up with it.
00:14:29.298 And what it represents is people who hear, but they are distracted by life's
00:14:33.738 worries, riches, and pleasures,
00:14:37.159 so they never mature.
00:14:40.548 How many of you guys know that in 2026 American Christianity, I would argue one of
00:14:45.318 the devil's, maybe even the top tactic that he uses is distraction?
00:14:50.028 The devil is a master distractor,
00:14:56.719 and we have so many opportunities to be distracted throughout the day.
00:14:58.998 I mean, we've got the satanic gadget at our fingertips. I'm just kidding.
00:15:02.508 It can be used for good and glory, too.
00:15:04.578 We got this cell phone where we can spend, I mean, at least this is just maybe my
00:15:09.018 own weakness. I'm being vulnerable. Spend time scrolling, wasting time.
00:15:13.398 Maybe even some of the distraction comes with different stories that are out there
00:15:17.178 online, and so you're kind of caught up in it, and your heart gets all pulled in
00:15:20.238 different directions. Or TV, Netflix, whatever the case may be.
00:15:25.488 Here in America, yes, we are very blessed and we're very privileged, but we also, I
00:15:29.028 think in many ways, have some of the most opportunities to be distracted, right?
00:15:34.909 So that comes in various shapes and forms.
00:15:38.147 Pleasures and riches, just overall being distracted.
00:15:41.807 Again, the devil's — one of his greatest tactics.
00:15:45.647 One of the greatest ways the devil will try to get you off your destiny in Christ
00:15:49.159 will be to distract you. Easily. At least for me.
00:15:54.318 He'll try to distract you. He'll get you off course.
00:15:57.589 Then last but certainly not least, we have the good soil, the fertile ground, that
00:16:01.818 grew well and produced a crop 100 times what was sown.
00:16:06.918 Representing people with good and honest hearts who hear the message.
00:16:10.534 I want you to catch this. They hear it, so they hear and believe, right?
00:16:13.909 Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God.
00:16:15.528 They hear, they believe, but they hold onto it. They grasp it.
00:16:18.979 They make it their own. This is mine. This is my personal relationship with Jesus.
00:16:23.089 Jesus is my savior. He's my Lord. He's my leader.
00:16:27.888 Your words to me are words to me personally. They're life, and I'm holding onto it.
00:16:33.918 They hold onto it, and then it says that with patience.
00:16:39.738 How many of you guys — I pray for pa-- I need patience so much.
00:16:42.768 I can be a very impatient person.
00:16:45.498 So they hold onto it. They patiently produce fruit.
00:16:49.758 See, it takes holding onto and it takes patience to ultimately grow into who you're
00:16:53.418 meant to be in Christ, to fulfill the destinies and the purposes that God has for
00:16:58.818 you. It takes holding on and it takes patience.
00:17:02.808 Holding onto the seed of his word.
00:17:05.988 Patiently practicing his word.
00:17:14.418 Vulnerably speaking,
00:17:17.149 I have absolutely, if you're — maybe you have this question.
00:17:20.358 I had this question when I first read this 10 years ago, and it added a whole lot
00:17:23.538 of context to what I was going through in life at that time and where I had been.
00:17:28.443 But if you're anything like me, you can easily drift in and out of any
00:17:34.488 of these soils, I would argue. Right?
00:17:37.368 The soil of our heart, the condition of our heart, our thoughts, our feelings, our
00:17:42.138 will. What makes us tick, what motivates us.
00:17:46.488 The core of our heart and who we are.
00:17:50.268 If we're not careful, if I'm not careful, I've been here plenty of times, drift in
00:17:55.038 and out of different soils. And that's what the kingdom of darkness would want.
00:18:00.888 The kingdom of darkness is like, "I'm going to make you super unsteady.
00:18:04.218 I'm going to do everything I can to attack the soil of your heart."
00:18:10.128 You see, your heart, our heart, is the devil's greatest
00:18:18.918 How it says. The devil covets it the most.
00:18:23.298 He covets your heart's affections.
00:18:25.339 Anything that he can do to get your heart off of Jesus, off of your relationship
00:18:29.868 with Him, anything he can do to poison our hearts with — whether it be bitterness,
00:18:34.638 unforgiveness, disappointment, he'll do whatever he can.
00:18:39.048 It's his greatest battleground. He's after it.
00:18:42.498 But it's also Jesus' greatest treasure, I would argue.
00:18:47.538 It's His greatest treasure.
00:18:50.118 God bled on a tree
00:18:52.728 and died an unimaginably slow and painful death, agonizing death,
00:18:58.638 physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually.
00:19:01.399 He bled slowly on a tree,
00:19:04.339 took no shortcuts, somehow did it with joy in His heart for you.
00:19:08.478 Probably because the joy in His heart was to see your heart good and healthy,
00:19:12.258 right? But He's sitting there dying,
00:19:16.008 saying your heart's worth it, and this is how much your heart is worth.
00:19:19.638 The value of something is what someone's willing to pay for it.
00:19:23.328 The value of your heart is Jesus' life laid down.
00:19:27.138 I'm so happy we got to celebrate communion and remember that, get grounded back in
00:19:31.098 that reality because the value of your heart to God is His Son
00:19:36.738 crucified.
00:19:40.278 Incredibly valuable. Incredibly valuable.
00:19:43.488 And what's so cool is that at the same time, God gives us a responsibility, God
00:19:48.409 gives us the authority and the power to actually steward our own heart, to watch
00:19:53.089 after our own heart. Right? I love, there's a verse in Proverbs
00:19:57.438 4:20. I'm a very simple guy. I like clear and simple instructions, to the
00:20:03.348 point, tell me what I need to know. Jesus speaks my language all the time.
00:20:07.968 He was always speaking simply to folk like me.
00:20:11.238 Proverbs 4:23, "Guard your heart above all else."
00:20:16.518 Why? Because it determines the course of your life.
00:20:19.788 You've ever heard the saying, "Show me your friends, I'll show you your future"?
00:20:24.168 I would argue by this verse, show me your life, and I'll show you a little bit
00:20:26.988 about your heart.
00:20:30.528 It's so interesting. Guard your heart above all else.
00:20:35.238 Put all the eggs in the basket of guarding your heart.
00:20:39.708 Buy all the stock of guarding your heart. Above all else.
00:20:45.138 I really,
00:20:46.938 man, I can't express to you guys just how passionate and how
00:20:53.149 loving
00:20:55.159 and still serious God is about your heart.
00:20:58.159 And He asks you, "Hey, please guard your heart." It's so valuable.
00:21:01.218 It's not worth just putting it out there for just anybody to have.
00:21:05.238 It's not worth putting it in situations and circumstances or in relationships that
00:21:09.409 are going to
00:21:11.418 taint it. That are going to cause it to go off course.
00:21:15.198 Guard your heart above all else. I love in Matthew 6:33, Jesus says this, and I
00:21:20.328 think when you marry these two verses together,
00:21:24.589 I think we have a very clear blueprint of how we're going to live our Christian
00:21:27.918 life. Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
00:21:31.458 Jesus says in Matthew 6:33, "Seek first the kingdom of God." Above all else, same
00:21:37.008 wording. "Seek first the kingdom of God above all else,
00:21:41.899 and all things will be added to you."
00:21:44.778 So all things will be added to you in your life if you seek Him first.
00:21:47.298 But also, if you guard your heart above all else, you're going to have a much
00:21:50.778 better life, at least a life fulfilling God's plans and purposes for you, living a
00:21:54.918 life full of meaning and purpose and freedom and joy. Right? Marry the two verses.
00:22:01.202 And this is so great, this scripture is actually just in a couple of verses before
00:22:04.818 verse 23. Proverbs 4:23 — verse 23 says it like this.
00:22:08.448 I want you to listen to this language, how God is really speaking to us here.
00:22:13.159 He said, "My child, pay attention to what I say.
00:22:19.278 Listen carefully to my words. Do not lose sight of them."
00:22:27.378 Do not lose sight of them. "Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring
00:22:33.108 life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body." And then it goes on
00:22:38.403 to say it again, "Guard your heart above all else,
00:22:41.808 for it determines the course of your life." You see, God's intention for us is for
00:22:46.173 us to live a life full of meaning and purpose, living a life that He paid for on
00:22:49.848 the cross for us, for us to experience the healing and freedom that He purchased by
00:22:54.378 His body broken, His blood shed on the cross.
00:22:57.708 And the devil would love to saturate the seed of his words and to completely
00:23:03.409 squander the life that God laid down for us, the life that's available to us, and
00:23:07.714 the healing and transformation that is available to us who are willing to submit
00:23:12.498 our lives and surrender our lives to Jesus, and to take in His word.
00:23:16.878 Really, when we're taking in His words, we're actually taking in Him.
00:23:19.938 In John 1, it says that Jesus was the Word made flesh.
00:23:24.768 He is His word. He's contained in His word.
00:23:30.738 You could almost say, listen carefully to Jesus. Don't lose sight of Him.
00:23:34.788 Let Him penetrate deep into your heart. He will bring life to you who find Him.
00:23:38.778 He'll bring healing to your whole body. Guard your heart above all else.
00:23:43.788 It's amazing. There's some beautiful promises, beautiful things that God has on the
00:23:48.108 table for us here. It's amazing.
00:23:51.723 But it comes with a responsibility of guarding our heart above all else.
00:23:55.668 Going back to the parable. Again, the question, God, what's the soil of my heart?
00:24:00.738 What has it been like? Maybe it's been a combination of the four of them.
00:24:04.818 The pathway, where it gets snatched, your word gets snatched, different seasons.
00:24:08.928 I've been there, by the way, guys. I'll just be very transparent.
00:24:12.018 The last three years for me, my heart, the condition of my heart, the devil's been
00:24:16.608 trying to wreck me for the last three years.
00:24:20.508 He's been going after my heart harder than he ever has for the last three years.
00:24:24.138 He's been pretty relentless. And I'm not here to give the devil glory, because the
00:24:29.208 greater news is that Jesus has been faithful to protect my heart and to prevent me
00:24:34.698 from going totally off track or making — just really settling for less than God's
00:24:39.258 best for me, to put it simply. Jesus has been a faithful shepherd, the lover of my
00:24:43.548 soul, the tender of my heart, and He is that way for you here this morning.
00:24:47.807 So the question I would ask, again, what's the soil of my heart like?
00:24:50.868 There's a verse in Psalms, I don't know if I said this already or not, but there's
00:24:53.238 a verse in Psalms. I love this prayer.
00:24:56.748 The psalmist writes, he says, "God, test me and know my heart.
00:25:00.589 Know my anxious thoughts. Show me if there's a wicked way within me and lead me in
00:25:05.028 the way of the everlasting."
00:25:07.548 The kind of prayer that God wants from us in this hour is prayer like that.
00:25:13.278 Because the enemy's after our hearts, and Jesus paid it all for our hearts for us
00:25:17.508 to live in it. It is our responsibility to steward that relationship and to guard
00:25:21.649 it at the same time.
00:25:24.228 I have been in and out of all these soils, so
00:25:28.938 I just want you to know that there's no super Christians.
00:25:33.978 I think that command, that commission is for every single Christian.
00:25:37.098 Guard your heart above all else. God has so much life and healing for
00:25:40.488 us. Also an encouragement to you, just
00:25:46.488 like the soil of my heart has changed quite a bit throughout my life, and even in
00:25:50.268 different seasons not that long ago, I would say, if I'm being honest,
00:25:55.908 your loved ones, your friends, your family members, your coworkers, your neighbors,
00:26:01.308 their heart is not too far gone for God. Their heart is not lost.
00:26:06.529 Not a lost cause. You know what's really cool?
00:26:08.448 In fact, we experienced it this week.
00:26:10.068 How many guys got hit really bad with those storms that we had this week?
00:26:12.529 Anybody pretty rough?
00:26:15.828 Isn't it interesting how much
00:26:19.339 damage, but even how effective wind can be?
00:26:23.358 Wind can mess up all kinds of ground, can move ground around and change landscapes.
00:26:29.658 Right?
00:26:31.188 What's really cool is that Jesus describes His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, as a wind.
00:26:38.598 And what I'm getting at here is that wind can change the soil of hearts.
00:26:42.978 The presence of the Holy Spirit can change the nature
00:26:47.748 of someone's heart.
00:26:49.998 So don't stop praying. Don't stop believing.
00:26:52.339 Don't stop asking God to move on someone's heart.
00:26:54.798 They might be, whether it be thorny, rocky, or a footpath.
00:26:58.248 Do not give up praying because God's Spirit will erode and soften the soil of their
00:27:04.098 heart and will give — amen — He will give an opportunity for them to receive Him if
00:27:09.768 we don't stop believing and don't stop praying. My mom did for me.
00:27:14.598 Plenty of family members, my church, they kept praying for me and for God to change
00:27:19.368 the soil of my heart. I used to be an adamant enemy of Christians.
00:27:21.978 I would make fun of them. I would ridicule them.
00:27:24.228 I was an atheist for a period of time.
00:27:25.818 I was the farthest from God, as you can imagine somebody would be.
00:27:29.553 And God's — the Spirit — worked on my heart. Slowly but surely, it worked on my heart.
00:27:34.722 Do not give up praying.
00:27:38.652 Point of view of the soils. We also have a point of view of the sower, right?
00:27:43.033 There's two main points of view we have to focus on.
00:27:46.033 We're going to look at the sower now, the farmer.
00:27:49.152 Now we have some aspiring farmers in the room.
00:27:51.402 We got some folks who maybe like to grow plants.
00:27:53.802 You guys could probably communicate this a lot better than I can.
00:27:57.972 But maybe I'm just a simple guy, but when I look at this parable, practically, why
00:28:01.453 is the farmer just throwing seed out carelessly?
00:28:04.063 You would think it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to be dropping seed on thorny
00:28:08.203 soil, on rocky soil.
00:28:11.143 On good soil, of course, now that makes sense.
00:28:12.703 Yeah, but thorny, rock, and a pathway, seems a little careless, right?
00:28:16.783 Doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I think a better question God challenges me with
00:28:21.732 is really, what does this actually reveal to me about the heart of Jesus?
00:28:27.462 Instead of me judging the farmer's decision to sow to all kinds of ground, what is
00:28:32.742 Jesus really showing me here? That he's throwing seed indiscriminately to
00:28:38.772 all ground.
00:28:40.632 What does that mean? What does that show us?
00:28:46.962 I think it shows us evidently, as we see throughout the rest of the gospels, that
00:28:49.992 he shared God's word with everyone, did not discriminate.
00:28:54.522 There's not a single person who's unqualified to hear his word.
00:29:01.302 What's really cool, too, just a side footnote,
00:29:05.502 is that certain translations of this parable talk about it as grain.
00:29:10.992 You would tie seed more closely to grain and grain growing as a result.
00:29:15.072 So Jesus being the original sower, the original farmer, what's really cool within
00:29:18.882 that is that grain actually grows with seed and then reproduces after itself, and
00:29:24.313 it grows and grows and grows and grows and grows.
00:29:26.982 But it falls on all different kinds of paths, and he sowed very, very
00:29:32.232 liberally or generously. What does this reveal to us about the heart of Jesus?
00:29:37.872 It reveals to us that Jesus is looking to share his word with all people.
00:29:43.752 If you're anything like me, I judge on appearances sometimes.
00:29:45.972 I'm guilty of it, I'm just going to be honest. Like, ah, I don't know.
00:29:49.152 That person looks like they might not want to hear what I have to say.
00:29:51.882 Like, that per-- ah,
00:29:54.162 would they really want to come to church with me?
00:29:57.432 Oh, man. Should I really share my testimony with that?
00:30:01.212 And I find, I'll be honest, I wrestle through excuses a lot for myself on who is
00:30:06.972 qualified to hear the word of God. But Jesus has been gracious and patient with me,
00:30:12.417 and he's revealed to me that this joy, this journey, the responsibility of sowing
00:30:16.752 is not only left up to the pastor or the evangelist, but the reality is
00:30:22.692 that we are all called to sow.
00:30:25.393 We are all called to sow. What does it reveal to us about the heart of Jesus when
00:30:28.557 we see the sower throwing seed everywhere?
00:30:30.522 It reveals that Jesus said, "Hey, guys, remember he said follow me?
00:30:33.552 Follow me in the sowing seed to every single person you can come in contact with."
00:30:37.872 I know it sounds like a tall task. We got to start somewhere.
00:30:41.112 We're going to start somewhere. That's okay. God knows that.
00:30:43.332 We're going to start somewhere. But he wants us to partake in his mission, the
00:30:48.552 Great Commission. The Great Commission he shared wasn't just to the apostles, it
00:30:52.422 was to all his followers. "Therefore, go to all the world and share the good news.
00:30:57.582 Share my word. Tell the whole world about who I am and what I've done for you."
00:31:04.152 And I've been privileged just to have some opportunity, some memorable moments in
00:31:07.962 my life where God set up divine moments where I had opportunities to share a little
00:31:12.552 bit of his word, to partake and participate in the sowing of his word.
00:31:18.582 First thing that comes to mind, actually, so I used to work down at Dunkin' Donuts
00:31:21.672 here on Route 22, and throughout high school into my early college years.
00:31:26.067 And I gave my life to Jesus my junior year of high school, was radically
00:31:30.372 transformed by him. If you guys haven't heard my testimony, I'd be happy to tell
00:31:33.222 you it in depth at some point. But it was amazing.
00:31:36.462 Jesus totally, totally flipped the script and saved somebody you would not believe
00:31:41.982 would potentially be possible of saving, in me. And so I was on fire for him.
00:31:47.052 I wanted to tell as many people as I could about what he had done for me, but I was
00:31:50.203 very nervous. I was inexperienced. I didn't feel like I knew enough of the Bible.
00:31:54.822 But I knew enough for God to use me. So what happened was I was working a shift on
00:31:58.992 one Saturday morning. I was a runner.
00:32:01.033 There was a cashier, he was doing the transaction.
00:32:03.792 I'm running around making coffee, grabbing donuts and bagels, the whole nine yards.
00:32:07.768 And what happens is it's a Saturday morning rush.
00:32:09.522 This lady comes to the counter, and the interaction that she was having with the
00:32:14.472 cashier was kind of short, was kind of brief. She didn't look too happy, honestly.
00:32:19.182 She didn't look like she really wanted to be talking to somebody at that time.
00:32:23.472 And so politely, respectfully, running around, grabbing her stuff.
00:32:26.982 And then it was almost like the entire store just zoned out, and it was zoned in on
00:32:29.742 this woman. And I got this conviction in my heart, and God just kind of simply
00:32:33.372 like, "I want you to tell this woman that I love her."
00:32:37.662 And that's it.
00:32:40.033 And as you can imagine, the heart starts beating. Oh.
00:32:45.252 I'm a young, awkward kid. I'm still awkward. Not as young anymore.
00:32:49.932 And so
00:32:51.763 I have this moment where I'm like, "Ah, God." So like a minute and a half goes by,
00:32:55.513 I'm like, "Ah." You know, I'm wrestling through, "God, really?
00:32:57.763 Are you sure?" I'm like, "Well, Satan's not telling you to do that, silly, so
00:33:00.372 obviously just do it."
00:33:02.352 And so finally I muster up the courage, and I just — I hand her her bag of food.
00:33:06.283 And I kind of lean over the counter, because I'm not trying to yell this in front
00:33:08.592 of all these people, but I'm like, "Hey, this is going to sound really weird, and I
00:33:12.283 don't say this to everybody, but I really feel like God wanted you to know that he
00:33:16.063 loves you."
00:33:18.582 And
00:33:21.252 I had never, I mean, to this day, probably, I had not seen anybody's countenance
00:33:26.592 and the evident joy in someone's heart expressed as much as I did in that
00:33:30.522 interaction. You would've thought I handed this lady the winning lottery ticket.
00:33:35.352 Just from a simple, "God loves you." Her face lit up with joy, smiling.
00:33:40.872 And she literally was like, "Are you serious, really?" Like she almost couldn't
00:33:44.292 believe it, it sounded like. And I'm like, "Yeah. Yeah. Yeah." And I'm so awkward.
00:33:48.552 I'm like, "I can't really bear much more of this conversation." Be like, "God loves
00:33:52.063 you." You know?
00:33:54.222 And yeah, it was crazy. That sticks with me to this day.
00:33:57.072 I have no idea where she is. I haven't seen her since.
00:33:59.802 But what I do know for sure is that God was working on the soil of her heart that
00:34:02.622 day and took a simple, awkward kid to say something simple like, "God loves you."
00:34:07.092 And that was it. That's all it took.
00:34:10.513 I was a teen. Where are my young people in the room?
00:34:12.462 There, I see some younger folks. I was an awkward young teenager.
00:34:16.783 Just say God loves you to your classmates.
00:34:18.432 I promise you, they're not going to beat you up.
00:34:20.967 Well, I shouldn't say promise, maybe, but they probably won't beat you up.
00:34:24.552 And if they do, that's glory to God, and you'll get a better reward in heaven, so
00:34:27.882 side note. Just say God loves you. It's awesome. It's a lot of fun.
00:34:32.562 There was a second interaction I had just two, three years ago.
00:34:35.368 My wife and I were actually at Shop & Save with a couple youth students.
00:34:39.013 We're getting some ice cream late at night, some goodies, some snacks down the road
00:34:42.192 by our house, and we're walking around inside having a good time, goofing around.
00:34:46.243 And I'm walking through the aisles, and I end up seeing this younger guy, looked
00:34:50.592 like he was high school age, down the one aisle.
00:34:53.337 And it was like similar kind of thing, where it's like the whole store faded out,
00:34:56.368 and it was like me and this one kid standing there.
00:34:58.242 And this conviction sets in like, "Tell this kid, tell this young man what I did
00:35:02.922 for you. Tell him your testimony, where you were before you met Jesus, what
00:35:07.722 happened when you met Jesus, and what life is like now.
00:35:09.612 Just tell him that."
00:35:11.592 And again, I'm kind of wrestling through the excuses in my head, like, "I don't
00:35:14.232 know." And I realize I really have no excuse. We're not in a rush.
00:35:17.442 We're like the only people in the store right now.
00:35:19.482 And so I end up going up to my wife, I say, "Hey, just go to the car.
00:35:22.572 I'll be out in a second." She's very patient. She's a very good wife.
00:35:24.882 I inconvenience her all the time, different interactions.
00:35:30.402 So her and the girls go to the car, and I walk up to this young man, and I just
00:35:34.212 introduce myself. "Oh, hi, my name's Jared. I don't know if I've met you.
00:35:36.462 I've seen you around here," kind of thing. Trying to be normal, right?
00:35:38.682 Because what I'm about to say is going to sound not as normal.
00:35:42.342 And so he just tells me a little bit about him.
00:35:45.432 I'll be honest, kind of feel like he was weirded out that I'm talking to him.
00:35:48.643 I can tell he's a little uncomfortable.
00:35:49.902 I'm like, great, this is off to a good start.
00:35:51.672 But so I say, "Hey, man, this is going to sound really weird, I know." I'm like,
00:35:55.182 "I'm a Christian. I believe that God likes to speak to people sometimes, and I
00:35:58.812 really had the sense in my heart that God wants me to tell you about what Jesus did
00:36:03.312 for me in my life." And I kind of took him through where I was at in high school.
00:36:07.722 I really felt like God highlighted in my heart of the testimony of me being free
00:36:11.232 from severe anger and just frustration and bitterness, being free from that, and
00:36:16.123 that Jesus encountered me in my mom's basement and completely transformed my life,
00:36:20.292 and that he gave me meaning and purpose, and that that was available to him.
00:36:24.357 And he stops, and I could tell, it's almost like a light bulb went off, and he
00:36:27.942 looked at me, he's like, "This is so weird.
00:36:29.112 This is so weird."
00:36:31.123 And I'm like, "Yeah, I didn't say this, but it is kind of weird." "Why do you say
00:36:35.772 that, though?" I asked him, "Why do you say that's weird?" And he said, "You know
00:36:40.152 what? You're the second person today-
00:36:43.638 To say
00:36:45.618 about how Jesus transformed their life. Second one that day.
00:36:49.968 He told me he was down at the creek not far from our house actually fishing, and
00:36:52.728 this older gentleman came up to him and said something very similar.
00:36:55.998 Second guy that day. Crazy. And so I'm like, 'That is crazy.'
00:37:00.558 "What on earth?" I've never heard anything like that before personally.
00:37:02.718 I'm like, "That is insane." So, that's awesome.
00:37:05.808 Obviously, God wants to speak to you. He wants to get a hold of you. He cares.
00:37:09.768 So I asked him, "Well, do you want to give your life to Jesus?
00:37:11.508 He'll do the same thing for you that he did for me." And he said, "I don't know.
00:37:15.753 I don't know if I'm ready. I don't know." And I didn't feel like it was my
00:37:18.498 responsibility to wrestle him to make that decision. So, "Hey, man, that's okay.
00:37:23.178 Can I pray for you?" So I had the opportunity to pray for him, and the presence of
00:37:27.288 God just flooded the aisle in Shop & Save.
00:37:29.388 You could really tell that God was reaching out to this person.
00:37:32.027 God was working on the soil of his heart.
00:37:34.728 Seed was being sown, and God showed up, and he was working, and I got to see him a
00:37:38.868 handful of times after. I think since then he probably graduated into vocational
00:37:42.768 school, because I haven't seen him in a little while. But be praying for that guy.
00:37:45.648 I forget his name. I'm bad with names. It's terrible.
00:37:48.228 But pray for the guy at Shop & Save. Pray for the lady at Dunkin'.
00:37:51.138 Last but not least, I
00:37:54.798 was at Subway just early this past August on my lunch break.
00:37:59.148 I sit down, go into the store, and I'm walking up, and I look at the menu, and I
00:38:02.838 don't know what I want. And maybe five seconds goes by, this young lady's behind
00:38:07.338 the counter, and she shouts, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.
00:38:11.178 I didn't see you." And I hadn't been there long. I said, "Oh, no, it's fine.
00:38:13.338 Don't worry about it." And she says, "I'm sorry, I'm still in vacation brain,"
00:38:19.279 and begins to tell me about this vacation she had taken.
00:38:22.368 So I asked her a little bit more about it.
00:38:24.199 She had just been to Texas, around Houston, Austin, these different big cities.
00:38:28.938 I asked her, "Oh, are you there for travel, for fun, for school?" And she goes on
00:38:33.348 to tell me that she was touring these different Hindu temples that were in these
00:38:38.088 different big cities. So she was looking and touring these temples.
00:38:41.808 And I was just like, "Oh, wow. Well, Texas seems cool. I've never been there.
00:38:45.618 That sounds like it could've been a fun trip for you." And so I get my sandwich, I
00:38:51.318 sit down, and I'm eating there. I'm the only one in the store.
00:38:55.098 About 20 minutes go by, and I had this resting conviction.
00:38:59.958 And it's not always a conviction. You don't need a conviction to share your faith,
00:39:02.748 by the way. But in this setting and this scene, I had conviction hit my heart that
00:39:06.978 I need to tell this girl about my testimony.
00:39:10.848 From the outside looking in, I'm like, wait a minute, she just told me that she
00:39:14.178 follows some other religion. So in my heart, I'm like, "God, is the soil really
00:39:18.498 ready? Are you sure?"
00:39:21.378 And so finally, I finish my sandwich. I muster up the courage.
00:39:23.568 I'm like, 'All right, I'm just going to go back up to the counter.' But what am I
00:39:25.518 going to say to her? I have nothing else to say.
00:39:28.158 And it was just like, just ask her to see photos of maybe these temples that she
00:39:32.088 took photos of. So I ask her, I'm like, "Hey, you told me you checked out these
00:39:36.199 temples. I'd be interested to see what they look like." She pulls out her phone,
00:39:39.678 leans over the counter, starts kind of showing me these different temples that she
00:39:43.458 had toured.
00:39:46.728 And as she's leaning over the counter,
00:39:49.788 I'm now able to see the scars on her wrist and on her arm
00:39:56.268 from where she had been cutting herself.
00:40:00.588 And I'm now aware, in that moment, of why I'm sharing my testimony with this young
00:40:05.449 lady.
00:40:09.498 As this is happening, a couple actually comes through the door at Subway, and I'm
00:40:12.618 like, "Oh, great, I may have, like, 30 seconds before she has to wait on these
00:40:16.218 people."
00:40:18.288 So, last thing she shows me on her phone was this statue of some Hindu god.
00:40:22.998 She's like, "This is a very powerful god. Very powerful god," she's telling me.
00:40:26.658 And I'm seeing the scars,
00:40:30.048 and I'm taken back. And so I quickly, I'm like, I've got 30 seconds.
00:40:33.888 I quickly, I was like, "Oh, hey," — in the order of this, I said it,
00:40:40.083 "you strike me as somebody who's searching for meaning and purpose." And I began to
00:40:43.758 tell her my testimony about how Jesus encountered me in my mom's basement, and it
00:40:47.779 really felt highlighted. Tell her that you are free from depression and from the
00:40:53.628 mental and emotional anguish that you suffered as a teenager.
00:40:56.868 Tell her that Jesus set you free. So I began to tell her.
00:41:01.158 I told her this exact thing. I struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts, and
00:41:06.738 Jesus encountered me in a real way when I was 16 in my mom's basement, completely
00:41:12.168 gave me a fresh and a new start and healed my heart.
00:41:14.328 And I know it's kind of random. I know I feel like I needed to tell you that.
00:41:19.248 And
00:41:21.108 I said, "Thank you so much for serving me. Have a nice day." It was that simple.
00:41:24.348 Just there and gone. And she's probably still at Subway, so maybe I'll send my wife
00:41:29.898 in because I don't want to seem like I'm stalking her or nothing.
00:41:33.018 But
00:41:36.438 those moments, just ordinary moments, day to day, and quite honestly,
00:41:42.738 my own at times bad judgment, I almost disqualified all three of them from
00:41:48.738 receiving the word, from receiving the good news.
00:41:52.548 But God was patient with me and enabled me an opportunity to do that.
00:41:57.048 I'm not some super Christian. I've chickened out way more times than I'd like to
00:42:00.708 admit. But I want to encourage us and stir us up afresh this morning that the field
00:42:06.408 and the soils are more ripe than you think.
00:42:09.408 And even if you sow, and if they don't give their life to Christ right away, pray
00:42:13.458 and watch God change their heart. You guys, please stand to your feet.
00:42:18.678 We're just going to pray, and we're going to pray about the condition of soil in
00:42:21.828 our own heart, first and foremost, but then also pray for opportunities to sow and
00:42:27.378 to share our faith. Lord, I thank you so much, Jesus.
00:42:30.348 Thank you, God, that you are that faithful farmer, that even when it didn't look
00:42:34.938 right, you sow to all kinds of ground, Father.
00:42:37.788 We thank you, Jesus, that you left the 99 for the one, the one that wandered away,
00:42:42.798 the one that many had counted out, the one that the rest of the world
00:42:48.828 may have overlooked, Jesus, you didn't overlook.
00:42:51.498 Lord God, I thank you that you see the soils of our hearts, the needs of our heart,
00:42:55.308 and that you tend and faithfully tend and protect our hearts, even when we don't
00:42:58.983 know how to guard our own heart or protect our own hearts, God.
00:43:02.688 I thank you that you're faithful and that you're loving and that you watch after
00:43:06.858 us, Lord. Give us, Lord, that same heart to love and tend to other people's hearts,
00:43:12.647 Lord God. Give us the courage to sow seed generously and liberally without
00:43:17.598 discrimination, Lord God. Lord God, I thank you that you invite us into the joy and
00:43:21.648 the journey of sharing the good news of who you are, Lord God.
00:43:25.818 And I thank you, Lord God, that you would help us cultivate and tend to the soil of
00:43:29.868 our own hearts, Jesus. That we would be that of the good soil, Lord God, that would
00:43:35.029 produce a hundredfold, God. That as a result, many more grains would rise up from
00:43:39.978 the seeds that are planted, the seeds of your word, of the love, power, and truth
00:43:44.058 of who you are, Lord God, would go forth.
00:43:48.498 Maybe you're here this morning, and you say, "Jared,
00:43:52.908 I may be like that lady at Dunkin'. I might have been that lady who was going
00:43:57.708 through a rough time and was in a rough season and looked very sad and looked like
00:44:01.458 they could barely even function and interact.
00:44:04.699 And Jared, I want Jesus to heal my heart." I would encourage you to lift your hands
00:44:09.258 to heaven. Lift your hands to the King who sees, to the God who sees.
00:44:14.779 And Jesus, I pray you would heal their heart right now.
00:44:18.529 Maybe it's you watching online. Lord, heal their heart right now.
00:44:23.358 Just as you're faithful, by your Holy Spirit, to transform my heart, that you would
00:44:28.398 do the same for them. Maybe you're like the young man who's wrestling through some
00:44:32.058 bitterness, some betrayal,
00:44:35.298 even unforgiveness.
00:44:38.808 One moment in the presence of the Holy Spirit can completely soften and heal those
00:44:43.699 parts of your heart that were betrayed.
00:44:46.279 Lord, I pray for healing in their heart this morning.
00:44:49.218 Jesus, that you would reach them where they're at.
00:44:51.438 You would reveal your great love and value on their life, your mercy and your
00:44:54.408 forgiveness, that you extend it to them, they can extend to others.
00:45:00.048 Lord, I lift up maybe a heart of one who's searching, who's seeking for meaning and
00:45:04.428 purpose,
00:45:06.348 but is also going through immense pain in their life.
00:45:09.949 Lord, I thank you, Holy Spirit, for healing their heart right now in Jesus' name,
00:45:14.388 for revealing their value to you, for revealing in greater measure what
00:45:20.388 your sacrifice on the cross accomplished and established for their life.
00:45:24.843 Lord, we thank you that your words are life and healing to us. Lord, help us.
00:45:29.029 Holy Spirit, guard and tend to the soil of our hearts.
00:45:32.508 Last but certainly not least, maybe you're here this morning, you say, "Jared, this
00:45:36.483 is the first time I'm hearing this. I don't know where my soil is at.
00:45:39.498 I don't even know if I have a relationship with Jesus, if I trusted in his work on
00:45:43.878 the cross. I don't know if I have that, Jared, but I want to have it this morning.
00:45:47.928 I want to receive the power of his word in my heart.
00:45:51.318 I want to begin that relationship with Jesus." You say, "Jared, I don't know where
00:45:55.668 I'm at, but I want that." I just ask you to slip up your hand.
00:45:57.828 I'll pray a special prayer for you right where you are,
00:46:02.058 where God and all of Heaven will see.
00:46:04.788 Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Heavenly Father, I thank you, Lord, for people
00:46:08.478 making that decision. Jesus said there's not a single ground that's too hard and
00:46:14.208 too far gone for you, Lord God, that everything that we've ever said or done can be
00:46:20.058 forgiven, and everything that's ever been said or done against us does not define
00:46:23.568 us. Lord Jesus, we thank you for the immense value you've given us. We love you.
00:46:28.338 We honor you. And it's in your precious name we pray. Amen. Amen.
00:46:31.758 Thank you, guys, so much. You've been awesome. You may be seated.
00:46:34.279 Thank you very much.
>> Pastor Eric
00:46:35.268 Let's give Jared a great big hand. Second Sunday ever preaching, so great job.
00:46:40.863 And I just want to say, I'm so proud, and I just want to honor you for being bold enough
00:46:46.128 to share the word today. But also, I like the way that you shared the gospel with
00:46:50.718 people more than most of us don't share the gospel.
00:46:52.968 Can we be honest with ourselves, right?
00:46:55.008 Even if it's a little awkward, feels a little forced, I'd much rather share, "God
00:46:58.518 loves you," or be a little awkward, go up to someone and say, "Look, I know this
00:47:01.578 sounds crazy," and obey God, than not share it at all.
00:47:05.029 So I commend you for that and honor you for that.
00:47:07.668 Hey, we're going to be transitioning to a time of receiving our regular giving, our
00:47:11.748 tithes and offering. And I want to let you know, last Sunday, if you weren't here
00:47:15.078 last Sunday, we had five people make the decision to follow Jesus and to take their
00:47:19.608 next step to be water baptized. Will you celebrate those people? Yes.
00:47:23.178 Let's give God a great big hand.
00:47:25.488 Dozens of people so far since we've launched Freedom Church have given their lives
00:47:29.418 to Jesus. We've been able to do some serve days in the community, working with
00:47:33.048 other local businesses and organizations as well.
00:47:36.393 And I want to let you know, that's something you're a part of when you're a part of
00:47:39.378 Freedom Church. So I want to encourage you, too, as taking this message and
00:47:43.458 applying it to our hearts, applying it to our lives, not just hearing the word, but
00:47:47.718 now what do we do with the word? How do we sow? How do we invest?
00:47:51.738 How do we partner and contribute to what God is doing through Freedom Church?
00:47:56.688 One of the ways you can do that is through your generous giving.
00:47:59.688 When you give financially to the church, it allows us to have a space for more
00:48:03.798 people to hear the gospel, more people to get connected, to build relationships, to
00:48:08.628 be water baptized, and so many other benefits that people receive.
00:48:12.378 And we want to encourage you to be involved with that.
00:48:14.748 So there's several ways you can give.
00:48:16.878 There's a giving station in the back of the room for any check or cash.
00:48:21.288 You can give online, or you can take your phone out, scan that tap card or the QR
00:48:26.418 code on the seat back in front of you, and you can give through our Church Center
00:48:30.199 app as well. Whatever way you choose to give, I want to invite you, encourage you
00:48:34.068 to give generously. At this point, I want everyone to pull your phone out.
00:48:37.878 I want you to do an exercise real quick so we can get to lunch.
00:48:41.088 All right, pull out your phone. Now, some of you can hold your phone right to the
00:48:44.268 tap card in front of you. If you've never done this, or even if you have before, I
00:48:48.108 want you to do it just so you see what it's like.
00:48:50.523 You can also scan the QR code on that tap card.
00:48:53.643 It pulls up a landing page where there's several things on here.
00:48:56.883 If you're new with us, we'd love for you to fill out your information to stay
00:49:00.168 connected. We want to keep you informed of things happening.
00:49:02.733 If you want to give your life to Jesus, there's a way to click that link right on
00:49:06.318 that landing page, fill that out. There's prayer requests, anything, any needs you
00:49:10.488 have. If you're still out of power, if you need something going on in your life
00:49:14.148 right now, there's a spot for you to fill out prayer requests.
00:49:17.058 There's also an upcoming events tab on there as well.
00:49:20.418 For all the events, things that you don't want to miss out on, there's a way for
00:49:25.008 you to find out about them. One of those events coming up in the next two Sundays,
00:49:29.178 we have our next round of Next Steps.
00:49:32.178 What Next Steps is, you only have to come to one, but we give two times a month for
00:49:36.288 you to be able to come stay with us after the 11:00 a.m.
00:49:39.078 service next Sunday and the following Sunday.
00:49:41.658 You're going to learn more about Freedom Church, how we got started, how we're
00:49:45.798 structured. We have gift assessments and personality assessments for you to take so
00:49:50.538 you can learn more about you. You can discover your purpose and see how you can
00:49:54.468 make an impact here at Freedom Church as well as outside of the church.
00:49:58.788 So if you know you can come one of the next two Sundays, please RSVP because we do
00:50:03.678 have food, and we also have to set up childcare if you have kids, so we need to
00:50:07.818 know that in advance. Also, next weekend is our women's and men's events.
00:50:12.708 Saturday is the women's event from 9:00 to 11:00.
00:50:16.052 Again, going to be a great time of just informal fellowship, building
00:50:19.818 relationships. My wife Rachel is going to be sharing about being rooted in Christ.
00:50:23.868 A short message, really just a time to gather together, build some relationships,
00:50:28.338 meet some other ladies in the church. It's completely free.
00:50:32.088 Guys, you need to stay home and watch the kids. I'm just going to say it how it is.
00:50:35.568 I'm going to be watching all of my kids so she can be here.
00:50:39.408 But then the men, our turn is on Monday night, Monday evening, September 14th.
00:50:44.058 This is just a week away. We're having pulled pork nachos and cornhole.
00:50:48.648 Do I need to say anything else, right? But guys, same thing.
00:50:51.798 Come, as a time for us to gather together, eat some food, build some relationships,
00:50:56.238 meet some new guys in the church. We do need you ladies and men to RSVP so we don't
00:51:02.118 run out of food, right? We don't want to have that.
00:51:04.382 That's no good, no fun if we run out of pulled pork nachos.
00:51:07.158 So get signed up so we know how much food to prepare, how many tables to set up,
00:51:11.508 and seating for that. And I want to say, invite as many ladies, friends, sisters,
00:51:15.873 guys, invite your neighbor, invite some coworkers.
00:51:19.068 Say, "Hey, there's nachos and cornhole." Who would say no to that, right?
00:51:22.278 So invite other people. This isn't just a church event.
00:51:25.518 This is meant to be sowing and investing and inviting other people to come as well.
00:51:31.489 And last but not least, child dedications at the end of this month.
00:51:35.163 We believe it's the parents' job to primarily raise their children in the ways of
00:51:39.079 God. So we have child dedications.
00:51:40.848 As a parent, you can say, "I'm dedicating my child, that we're going to do
00:51:45.108 everything we can to raise them up in the ways of God, to point them to God." They
00:51:49.489 have to make their own choice, their own decision of faith.
00:51:52.429 But as parents, we need to do everything we can to point them to God.
00:51:55.878 So we have child dedications. It's a special time.
00:51:58.308 You can invite friends and family to come join you for that special occasion.
00:52:02.028 We just need you to sign up. So again, we have everything ready, prepared for you.
00:52:05.824 And then we'll have a conversation about what does that mean and making sure you're
00:52:09.709 ready to dedicate. We're dedicating our newest baby, Brielle, that Sunday morning
00:52:14.239 as well. So get signed up. You can pick which time you want to come to, 9:00 or
00:52:18.468 11:00. And last but not least, if you could stand to your feet, I'm going to pray,
00:52:22.788 and then we'll be dismissed. Next week, I invite you to come back.
00:52:25.398 We're kicking off this new series, really about healthy rhythms, titled "Morning,
00:52:29.778 Noon, & Night." You're not going to want to miss all of September. So let's pray.
00:52:33.603 Heavenly Father, thank you, God, for your Word.
00:52:36.378 God, I thank you that we get to sow. We get to invest.
00:52:39.588 We get to be used by you, God, to help other people know you, to find freedom, to
00:52:44.838 discover their purpose, and to make an impact. God, use us today.
00:52:49.038 God, send us today that we, this week, would share Jesus with one person.
00:52:53.989 We tell one person that you love them. We'd share our testimony with one person.
00:52:58.398 We'd invite one person to come with us next Sunday.
00:53:01.218 God, use us this week as we intentionally look to be used by you to sow your Word
00:53:07.008 to as many people as we can. It's in Jesus' name I pray, amen. You are dismissed.
00:53:11.778 Have a great and safe Labor Day weekend.