WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:22.260 Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:00:22.780 --> 00:00:25.880 This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons. 00:00:26.100 --> 00:00:30.420 We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear 00:00:30.420 --> 00:00:31.260 the latest message. 00:00:31.680 --> 00:00:32.460 Thanks for listening. 00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:47.680 Hey, well, good morning. 00:00:48.600 --> 00:00:53.120 Hey, whether you're here with us on campus at our church, whether you're joining us online, 00:00:53.120 --> 00:00:57.260 we're so grateful that each and every one of you are here as we dive into God's Word 00:00:57.260 --> 00:00:57.700 this morning. 00:00:57.800 --> 00:00:59.520 So let's just go ahead and get there. 00:00:59.580 --> 00:01:03.200 If you've got your Bibles, open up to Matthew chapter 13. 00:01:03.660 --> 00:01:08.640 As we continue on in week two of our series on the parables, in this series, looking at 00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:13.820 the stories that Jesus told, it's the series that we're going to be working ourselves through 00:01:13.820 --> 00:01:16.540 over the course of this summer. 00:01:16.960 --> 00:01:21.580 Last week was week one, and we talked about the parable of the talents. 00:01:21.580 --> 00:01:28.280 And it's an important, for me, it was an important foundation one for us to begin with as Jesus 00:01:28.280 --> 00:01:33.360 goes and he tells the story about a man who is over a kingdom. 00:01:33.860 --> 00:01:39.400 And what this began to lay in our hearts and in our minds was this basic understanding that 00:01:39.400 --> 00:01:43.120 claiming to be a part of the kingdom wasn't enough. 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:50.620 That there's an aspect that what you and I, once we receive the gospel, what we do with 00:01:50.620 --> 00:01:52.000 our lives, it matters. 00:01:52.180 --> 00:01:53.040 It counts. 00:01:53.180 --> 00:01:54.340 It means something. 00:01:54.760 --> 00:01:59.640 And so what we saw was the understanding of the importance of the full embracement of 00:01:59.640 --> 00:02:00.200 the gospel. 00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:05.760 So it's not just the gospel that saves us, but it's the gospel that drives every single 00:02:05.760 --> 00:02:08.100 aspect of our living. 00:02:08.260 --> 00:02:13.940 It's where we found our life, our hope, and our eternity all in that. 00:02:14.420 --> 00:02:18.460 And so this morning, what I want us to look at, as we talk about the parable of the sower, 00:02:18.740 --> 00:02:20.100 is we're going to talk about believing. 00:02:20.700 --> 00:02:25.580 But we're going to try to dive in a little bit deeper than just believing. 00:02:25.960 --> 00:02:30.760 And what I want us all to understand this morning, what I want us to be able to draw from the 00:02:30.760 --> 00:02:36.060 heart of Jesus as he tells this story, is what is faithful believing? 00:02:36.640 --> 00:02:40.340 What does faithful believing look like? 00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:46.220 Now, over the course of the last several months, if things have gone crazy, one of the things 00:02:46.220 --> 00:02:51.360 that has happened is a lot of TV programs, especially through the streaming networks, have 00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:56.560 released TV shows and documentaries for people to watch earlier than they planned. 00:02:56.700 --> 00:02:59.740 Like Disney's even done this with several movies that they've put out. 00:03:00.100 --> 00:03:04.180 And one of the ones that's been released that there's been a lot of chatter about that a 00:03:04.180 --> 00:03:08.360 lot of people from a lot of different backgrounds, a lot of different passions, a lot of different 00:03:08.360 --> 00:03:13.380 life experience has watched is this documentary called The Last Dance. 00:03:13.900 --> 00:03:16.900 How many of y'all have watched The Last Dance already? 00:03:17.100 --> 00:03:19.580 So we've got a handful of us that have watched it. 00:03:20.020 --> 00:03:21.380 I just got a woo from Ben Wood. 00:03:21.440 --> 00:03:22.900 He has definitely watched this. 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:23.980 Natalie watched it as well. 00:03:24.060 --> 00:03:24.480 Good job. 00:03:25.200 --> 00:03:26.320 I haven't watched it yet. 00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:28.400 I'm looking forward to sitting down and watching it. 00:03:28.420 --> 00:03:34.420 But if you're not familiar with the documentary, The Last Dance, it's about the basketball player, 00:03:34.720 --> 00:03:35.360 Michael Jordan. 00:03:35.820 --> 00:03:40.940 And here's what's kind of been profound about this documentary, is you would expect people 00:03:40.940 --> 00:03:45.800 who like basketball to watch it, but there's been where so many people, whether you like 00:03:45.800 --> 00:03:51.580 basketball or not, have tuned in to watch this as they begin to understand a lot about the 00:03:51.580 --> 00:03:56.100 background of this man, Michael Jordan, who's a basketball player. 00:03:56.240 --> 00:04:01.220 Whether that's your passion or not, it's consumed so many people. 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:05.700 What I find interesting about Michael Jordan is this. 00:04:05.860 --> 00:04:12.240 My 94-year-old grandmother, who's watching right now at her home in North Augusta, she knows who 00:04:12.240 --> 00:04:13.200 Michael Jordan is. 00:04:14.180 --> 00:04:17.740 My dad knows who Michael Jordan is. 00:04:18.260 --> 00:04:25.380 I grew up watching Michael Jordan and honestly pulling for whatever team was playing Jordan and 00:04:25.380 --> 00:04:26.000 his Bulls, right? 00:04:26.040 --> 00:04:27.220 That's who I wanted to win. 00:04:27.220 --> 00:04:35.200 But my son, who has never seen Michael Jordan, who never watched Michael Jordan play a single 00:04:35.200 --> 00:04:38.220 game, knows who Michael Jordan is. 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:40.380 But what in the world are you talking about? 00:04:40.920 --> 00:04:47.860 The whole world believes in the fact that Michael Jordan was a real person. 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:55.860 The whole world believes in the accomplishments that Michael Jordan accomplished as they're documented, 00:04:55.980 --> 00:04:57.720 whether you saw them or you didn't. 00:04:58.080 --> 00:05:03.080 The whole world knows the work of Michael Jordan. 00:05:03.640 --> 00:05:10.860 But just being honest with you, I don't know of a single person in my life who woke up this 00:05:10.860 --> 00:05:20.500 morning, and their belief in the existence of the person of Michael Jordan changed anything about 00:05:20.500 --> 00:05:21.480 their life. 00:05:22.420 --> 00:05:30.020 Short of owning some shoes or a jersey or watching a game, the simple belief in him as a man has 00:05:30.020 --> 00:05:32.200 done nothing to change us. 00:05:32.880 --> 00:05:33.980 And here's where we're going with this. 00:05:34.700 --> 00:05:39.420 What I've found exists in so many people's lives is this. 00:05:40.300 --> 00:05:41.500 Yeah, I believe in Jesus. 00:05:42.420 --> 00:05:49.800 But when you begin to dig in what that statement means for them, is the simple belief in Jesus 00:05:49.800 --> 00:05:54.640 Christ has changed nothing about their lives. 00:05:55.340 --> 00:05:59.520 And what we're going to see in the parable of the sower, what we're really going to wrestle 00:05:59.520 --> 00:06:09.020 with is this, there is a difference in believing in Jesus and faithfully believing in Jesus. 00:06:09.340 --> 00:06:16.880 Because to faithfully believe in Jesus means that not only do we acknowledge who he is, that 00:06:16.880 --> 00:06:23.380 we acknowledge what he's done, that we acknowledge the sacrifice in which he's made, but believing 00:06:23.380 --> 00:06:32.220 in Jesus causes us to be different as a result of that, of what we faithfully believe in Jesus. 00:06:33.160 --> 00:06:38.740 So James, in James chapter 2, into speaking to what a faithful life that has been saved by God 00:06:38.740 --> 00:06:40.360 looks like, he says this. 00:06:40.880 --> 00:06:44.980 He says in James 2 verse 19, you believe that God is one, you do well. 00:06:45.320 --> 00:06:48.160 Even the demons believe and shudder. 00:06:49.300 --> 00:06:54.940 Heard a pastor at a youth camp say one time to us, and this resonated in my head and has stuck 00:06:54.940 --> 00:07:00.540 with me ever since, do you have the faith of a demon or do you have more? 00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:04.300 You know, it says right here, demons believe. 00:07:05.640 --> 00:07:06.980 Demons believe. 00:07:07.860 --> 00:07:13.420 So is there a difference between us and our belief in the demons? 00:07:14.200 --> 00:07:15.460 So Jesus talks about this. 00:07:15.460 --> 00:07:18.220 Matthew 13, let's start reading in verse 1. 00:07:19.300 --> 00:07:20.000 It says, 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:25.260 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea, and the great crowds 00:07:25.260 --> 00:07:29.420 gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:35.160 And the whole crowd stood on the beach, and he told them many things and parables, saying, 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:40.840 A sower went to sow, and as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came 00:07:40.840 --> 00:07:41.700 and devoured them. 00:07:42.180 --> 00:07:47.300 Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil, and immediately they 00:07:47.300 --> 00:07:50.060 sprang up since they had no depth of soil. 00:07:50.060 --> 00:07:55.620 But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away. 00:07:56.260 --> 00:08:00.340 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 00:08:01.080 --> 00:08:08.240 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 00:08:08.600 --> 00:08:11.860 He who has ears, let him hear. 00:08:12.300 --> 00:08:17.640 So here's the setting of what happens and what takes place, is that Jesus on his day-to-day 00:08:17.640 --> 00:08:21.920 journey with the disciples, and they're moving through on their journey. 00:08:22.640 --> 00:08:26.320 And sometimes, as in the case in the life of Christ, people would hear about the things 00:08:26.320 --> 00:08:26.860 that he would do. 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:30.700 They would hear about the teachings that he would give, and they would begin to migrate 00:08:30.700 --> 00:08:31.920 themselves toward Jesus. 00:08:32.260 --> 00:08:35.180 And so Jesus looks around, and he sees that there's a crowd. 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:40.400 And so he gets into a boat, and everyone's there on the beach, and he creates this beautiful 00:08:40.400 --> 00:08:44.440 amphitheater effect to where they will be able to hear the words that he says. 00:08:44.900 --> 00:08:50.060 And then, in so many cases, he goes into these great teachings of Scripture, of understanding. 00:08:50.060 --> 00:08:54.920 But in this moment, Jesus begins to tell a story. 00:08:55.580 --> 00:08:58.060 And here's what's significant about this story. 00:08:58.640 --> 00:09:03.780 Jesus gets done, and the crowds were there, and everybody's kind of confused. 00:09:04.560 --> 00:09:05.700 What did that mean? 00:09:06.360 --> 00:09:10.880 I don't understand the point of the story of what you just said. 00:09:10.940 --> 00:09:15.340 In fact, the Bible even tells us that the disciples, those who had heard more teachings 00:09:15.340 --> 00:09:19.940 of Christ than anyone else, they come back to him and say, Jesus, you have to explain to 00:09:19.940 --> 00:09:23.140 us what this parable is talking about. 00:09:23.780 --> 00:09:30.920 And so Jesus, not to the masses, but to the few, he gathers them up, and he begins to explain 00:09:30.920 --> 00:09:39.900 why he began to tell a story about a farmer, why it's important to know the details of what 00:09:39.900 --> 00:09:46.820 seems to be a day-by-day, routine, mundane task that is happening. 00:09:47.620 --> 00:09:54.060 And he begins to tell about the work that a farmer is doing, that a seed that is common 00:09:54.060 --> 00:09:58.420 to all, but where it begins to fall, and what that means. 00:09:59.340 --> 00:10:04.240 He talks about four soils, but what we want to look at this morning is not four soils, but 00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:05.280 four hearts. 00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:10.440 And as we look through this, there's going to be the opportunity for us to see where's 00:10:10.440 --> 00:10:11.720 our heart in this. 00:10:12.120 --> 00:10:16.760 Where's the heart of those that we care for and that we love, and what does this tell us 00:10:16.760 --> 00:10:20.640 about the character and nature of God as we go through? 00:10:21.220 --> 00:10:26.440 The first heart that Jesus speaks about is the hardened heart. 00:10:27.740 --> 00:10:34.060 You know, when it comes to matters of faith, there are people in this world who do not care. 00:10:34.760 --> 00:10:35.940 That's a hard truth. 00:10:36.440 --> 00:10:41.800 But when it comes to faith, when it comes to spiritual matters, when it comes to dealing 00:10:41.800 --> 00:10:48.760 with talking about Christ or any other religion, there are people whose hearts are hardened and 00:10:48.760 --> 00:10:49.820 they simply don't care. 00:10:50.420 --> 00:10:55.800 Jesus describes in the parable of the sower that as the seeds are cast, that some of them 00:10:55.800 --> 00:11:01.440 actually fall onto the path, the path that many people would have walked on, a path that 00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:04.620 would have been beaten down, would have become hard as concrete. 00:11:04.620 --> 00:11:10.560 And as the seed that would penetrate in other areas would fall on there, that seed wouldn't 00:11:10.560 --> 00:11:14.180 even begin to penetrate the soil that it was under. 00:11:14.640 --> 00:11:16.800 And so when Jesus explains, he says this. 00:11:17.300 --> 00:11:17.600 He says, 00:11:17.680 --> 00:11:33.520 This is what was sown along the path. 00:11:33.860 --> 00:11:40.160 As we go out into this world, as we interact with the people that we interact with, some 00:11:40.160 --> 00:11:46.680 of them that we deeply, we know, we love, and we care about, we have to begin with understanding 00:11:46.680 --> 00:11:49.020 the harsh words of what Christ says. 00:11:49.300 --> 00:11:56.220 There's simply people in this world who do not know, nor do they care to talk about the 00:11:56.220 --> 00:11:57.800 things that matter to us. 00:11:58.840 --> 00:12:00.380 And you've been with them and you've seen them. 00:12:01.400 --> 00:12:03.680 And the more we talk, the more they reject. 00:12:04.680 --> 00:12:09.820 The more we plead with them to understand, the more they're unwilling to do so. 00:12:10.680 --> 00:12:14.660 This isn't all those who are lost, but it is definitely some. 00:12:15.660 --> 00:12:20.480 And when we think about the people that God puts in our life, we find that so many times 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:23.660 it's people that we dearly love and that we care about. 00:12:24.340 --> 00:12:28.720 This is probably the group of people that I've had more conversations with Christians 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:29.460 about. 00:12:30.040 --> 00:12:34.460 The people that they battle with, whether it be one of their children, that even though 00:12:34.460 --> 00:12:39.140 they were raised a certain way, have run from that and their hearts appear to be hardened. 00:12:39.740 --> 00:12:44.400 I've dealt with spouses who are dealing with this with their own spouse or people who are dealing 00:12:44.400 --> 00:12:47.240 with this with their friends that they love that God has brought them to. 00:12:47.240 --> 00:12:51.300 And it brings them to a point of frustration of, I've done it all. 00:12:51.560 --> 00:12:52.580 I've gone through with them all. 00:12:52.760 --> 00:12:58.420 And it's like everything that I say never penetrates the hardness of their heart. 00:12:58.680 --> 00:13:04.940 And so then in desperation, men and women of faith say, God, what do I do? 00:13:05.660 --> 00:13:07.640 How can I change them? 00:13:08.360 --> 00:13:11.860 How can I soften their heart to hear the gospel? 00:13:12.060 --> 00:13:18.900 And here's the harshness of this scripture, but the truth of the scripture, these people 00:13:18.900 --> 00:13:22.720 exist and the gospel still has to be scattered. 00:13:23.640 --> 00:13:24.760 So what do we do? 00:13:25.460 --> 00:13:26.420 How do we penetrate? 00:13:26.840 --> 00:13:29.120 How do we move forward from that? 00:13:30.020 --> 00:13:36.260 I think two simple ways that we see in dealing with a matter of the spirit, we have to understand 00:13:36.260 --> 00:13:39.840 that salvation and the sharing of the gospel in and of itself is spiritual. 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:42.140 And so we've got to begin by praying. 00:13:42.840 --> 00:13:48.860 We've got to begin by getting on our knees and pleading before the Lord that only he can 00:13:48.860 --> 00:13:51.340 soften the heart that has been hardened. 00:13:52.120 --> 00:13:58.660 And then the second thing, the thing that is oftentimes so difficult, but we see time and 00:13:58.660 --> 00:14:01.020 time again in scripture, we wait. 00:14:01.680 --> 00:14:02.440 We wait. 00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:04.540 We wait for our moment. 00:14:04.700 --> 00:14:06.140 We wait for the opportunity. 00:14:06.640 --> 00:14:12.340 We wait and we plead for the plan of God to be made known to us to deal with a hardened 00:14:12.340 --> 00:14:12.700 heart. 00:14:13.460 --> 00:14:18.100 The next heart that we see in the scripture is what we'll call a shallow heart. 00:14:19.300 --> 00:14:24.020 Scripture tells us that some seeds fell here on the shallow ground that was rocky, but had 00:14:24.020 --> 00:14:25.900 a thin layer of soil. 00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:32.080 And so what began to happen is the seed landed in a shallow layer of soil and it grew quickly. 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:36.720 But because there was no root system, it died when the sun rose. 00:14:37.160 --> 00:14:38.840 Jesus tells us this in verse 20. 00:14:39.800 --> 00:14:45.340 As for what was sown on the rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately, 00:14:45.640 --> 00:14:48.800 I want you to notice that word, immediately receives it with joy. 00:14:49.460 --> 00:14:53.240 Yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. 00:14:53.560 --> 00:15:00.380 And when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, notice it again, immediately 00:15:00.380 --> 00:15:02.600 he falls away. 00:15:03.200 --> 00:15:05.820 Jesus talks about a person that hears the gospel. 00:15:06.460 --> 00:15:07.720 They don't count the cost. 00:15:08.060 --> 00:15:12.000 They don't walk through, they don't process within them, and immediately they respond. 00:15:12.220 --> 00:15:15.240 And that's something for us to praise and be excited about. 00:15:15.480 --> 00:15:20.500 But as quickly as they come, as quickly as they fall away, and what begins to happen in 00:15:20.500 --> 00:15:27.260 these moments is the heart is exposed because there's no root of what exists to ground them 00:15:27.260 --> 00:15:27.840 in the gospel. 00:15:29.040 --> 00:15:33.620 And it's a devastating moment of what so many churches are going through. 00:15:34.200 --> 00:15:39.700 And I believe is one of the greatest problems in those who claim to be believers in America. 00:15:40.460 --> 00:15:42.100 That there is no counting the cost. 00:15:42.640 --> 00:15:44.460 There is no perseverance through. 00:15:44.760 --> 00:15:47.660 There is no willingness to dig down in. 00:15:47.800 --> 00:15:54.020 And what we see is that what I want from Jesus is the promise that I'm always going to get with 00:15:54.020 --> 00:15:57.480 what's good because that's what I deserve. 00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:01.160 And that's what is owed to me. 00:16:01.980 --> 00:16:07.560 And in that, Jesus is not our Savior, but he's a genie in the bottle that we try to control 00:16:07.560 --> 00:16:09.940 to just give me what I want. 00:16:10.180 --> 00:16:18.240 You see, the shallow heart lives a life that God owes them something based off of their merit 00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:22.860 and not that they receive things because of God's. 00:16:24.040 --> 00:16:27.460 And so our establishment before him is, well, God, I'm a good person. 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:28.760 Well, God, I go to church. 00:16:28.920 --> 00:16:30.180 Well, God, I give some money. 00:16:30.300 --> 00:16:31.540 Well, God, I do some stuff. 00:16:31.820 --> 00:16:33.220 Well, God, I'm better than most. 00:16:34.180 --> 00:16:37.700 So you should just give me what I want. 00:16:38.040 --> 00:16:43.440 And the moment that we begin to not live in the good things that we feel like we deserve 00:16:43.440 --> 00:16:47.720 is immediately when we begin to fade away. 00:16:48.700 --> 00:16:52.480 And the trouble with this is that when we approach Scripture, 00:16:53.200 --> 00:16:59.120 that we as Christians should never be surprised by persecution or difficulty. 00:16:59.860 --> 00:17:02.160 I mean, when we see, when we look through the Bible, 00:17:02.880 --> 00:17:06.660 there's very few cases of men and women of faith 00:17:06.660 --> 00:17:09.960 whose testimonies are recorded in Scripture. 00:17:10.560 --> 00:17:12.460 And then as they go through their life, 00:17:12.520 --> 00:17:13.920 they walk in faith with God. 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:15.540 Everything goes wonderful. 00:17:15.880 --> 00:17:17.760 They die in their sleep at a ripe old age. 00:17:17.820 --> 00:17:18.660 We don't see that. 00:17:19.400 --> 00:17:23.120 That's not the narrative of the story of what we find in Scripture. 00:17:23.120 --> 00:17:27.700 But for so many men and women of faith, 00:17:27.820 --> 00:17:30.640 it is their perseverance through their persecution. 00:17:31.140 --> 00:17:36.700 It is the perseverance through their difficulty that tells the wonderful character and nature of God. 00:17:37.760 --> 00:17:39.200 And so we see Moses. 00:17:40.140 --> 00:17:41.280 Moses obeyed God. 00:17:42.340 --> 00:17:46.600 Moses went back and ended up wandering in the desert for 40 years 00:17:46.600 --> 00:17:48.980 with a bunch of people who complained, 00:17:49.240 --> 00:17:51.560 and then he didn't even get to enter the promised land. 00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:54.020 We see Jeremiah, God's prophet, 00:17:54.680 --> 00:17:59.640 who was obedient to God's call on his life to call God's people to repentance. 00:17:59.860 --> 00:18:03.100 He did exactly what God told him to do and told them, 00:18:03.320 --> 00:18:04.620 this is what would happen if you don't. 00:18:05.260 --> 00:18:07.560 He did what he was called to do. 00:18:07.800 --> 00:18:12.100 And as the people refused to repent and entered into exile, 00:18:12.520 --> 00:18:15.000 so did Jeremiah. 00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:16.960 John the Baptist, 00:18:17.540 --> 00:18:21.560 who Jesus talked about the greatness of John the Baptist, right? 00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:22.540 That's a big deal. 00:18:24.200 --> 00:18:27.480 His life of faithfulness caused him to be beheaded. 00:18:28.940 --> 00:18:31.900 And Paul, when he got saved, 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:37.140 the words of Jesus about Paul would be this, 00:18:37.640 --> 00:18:44.880 that Jesus would show Paul how much he would suffer for the sake of the gospel. 00:18:45.620 --> 00:18:49.640 And we could keep going and keep going and we keep going. 00:18:50.580 --> 00:18:51.880 The Bible says, 00:18:52.760 --> 00:18:54.800 not that we as Christians are set free from it, 00:18:55.620 --> 00:18:58.620 not that we as Christians won't walk through this, 00:18:59.160 --> 00:19:00.520 but the Bible says, 00:19:01.040 --> 00:19:02.940 don't be surprised when persecution comes. 00:19:03.360 --> 00:19:06.220 Don't be surprised when difficulty comes. 00:19:06.900 --> 00:19:08.040 I heard a pastor this week, 00:19:08.060 --> 00:19:10.420 and here's what he said about suffering and difficulty. 00:19:11.240 --> 00:19:12.360 Let it shake you, 00:19:13.120 --> 00:19:14.440 but don't let it rob you. 00:19:15.380 --> 00:19:16.420 Let it shake you, 00:19:17.080 --> 00:19:18.380 but don't let it rob you. 00:19:18.700 --> 00:19:19.660 And here's what he was getting to, 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:21.480 and I love the picture of this. 00:19:22.060 --> 00:19:22.480 Church, 00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:25.020 when persecution and difficulty come, 00:19:25.700 --> 00:19:26.720 and we've been through it, 00:19:27.820 --> 00:19:29.100 let it shake you. 00:19:29.660 --> 00:19:30.840 Let it make you better. 00:19:31.620 --> 00:19:32.540 Because think about it. 00:19:32.840 --> 00:19:33.980 If your foundation, 00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:35.100 if where you're standing, 00:19:35.240 --> 00:19:37.800 if you feel like it begins to wobble back and forth, 00:19:37.880 --> 00:19:38.540 what do you do? 00:19:38.940 --> 00:19:40.420 You plant down even more. 00:19:41.280 --> 00:19:42.660 And that this is where we're going to be. 00:19:43.040 --> 00:19:44.060 And this is who we are. 00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:46.200 That you can shake all that I have, 00:19:46.480 --> 00:19:49.760 but my foundation remains true. 00:19:50.860 --> 00:19:51.920 But if we're shallow, 00:19:52.920 --> 00:19:54.100 if we're shallow, 00:19:54.800 --> 00:19:56.000 when it comes, 00:19:56.480 --> 00:19:58.980 we just burn away with it. 00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:02.440 The next that Jesus speaks to is the distracted heart. 00:20:03.080 --> 00:20:05.060 So there was another seed that came and it grew, 00:20:05.600 --> 00:20:09.160 but what grew around it consumed it. 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:10.620 Verse 22, 00:20:10.800 --> 00:20:11.340 Jesus says, 00:20:12.060 --> 00:20:13.880 As for what was sown among the thorns, 00:20:14.300 --> 00:20:16.440 this is the one who hears the word, 00:20:17.020 --> 00:20:22.300 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the world, 00:20:22.380 --> 00:20:24.960 and it proves unfruitful. 00:20:25.160 --> 00:20:26.720 This is the more of the gradual. 00:20:27.260 --> 00:20:28.440 The shallow was immediate, 00:20:29.020 --> 00:20:31.120 but this one is gradually over time. 00:20:31.580 --> 00:20:32.980 Of what begins to happen, 00:20:33.140 --> 00:20:34.540 as more and more we say, 00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:34.880 Jesus, 00:20:35.140 --> 00:20:36.460 I'll take that. 00:20:37.160 --> 00:20:41.040 But then as the cares of the world begin to grow, 00:20:41.300 --> 00:20:45.340 what begins to happen is in the heart and faith of that individual, 00:20:45.760 --> 00:20:50.220 what is around them consumes them more than what is in them. 00:20:51.100 --> 00:20:53.560 And what begins to happen is not immediate, 00:20:53.980 --> 00:20:57.260 but slowly and slowly over time, 00:20:57.260 --> 00:21:02.600 what begins to happen is it is choked away and choked away and choked away. 00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:05.800 And what we find is there was that initial belief, 00:21:05.940 --> 00:21:08.660 but the faithful believing never existed. 00:21:09.560 --> 00:21:09.840 Church, 00:21:09.880 --> 00:21:10.520 I'm going to ask you, 00:21:11.160 --> 00:21:12.480 what consumes you? 00:21:13.100 --> 00:21:14.580 What fills your thoughts? 00:21:14.700 --> 00:21:16.180 What fills your calendar? 00:21:16.400 --> 00:21:17.800 What drives your spending? 00:21:18.340 --> 00:21:20.960 What is the desire of your heart? 00:21:21.180 --> 00:21:26.220 And are we sitting there trying to be the plant that is growing forth the fruit of the gospel, 00:21:26.220 --> 00:21:30.380 but yet everything else that we allow to grow around us 00:21:30.380 --> 00:21:34.940 is so much stronger in our mind and in our heart than the gospel is? 00:21:35.060 --> 00:21:41.460 And then why are we surprised when one day we walk away to chase after something else? 00:21:42.800 --> 00:21:47.380 But then the last one that Jesus gives us is he gives us the fruitful heart. 00:21:48.380 --> 00:21:52.280 So important that we understand what the fruitful heart is. 00:21:52.940 --> 00:21:53.800 Verse 23, 00:21:54.720 --> 00:21:55.460 Jesus says, 00:21:55.460 --> 00:21:58.140 As for what was sown on good soil, 00:21:58.980 --> 00:22:03.020 this is the one who hears the word and understands it. 00:22:04.100 --> 00:22:07.060 He indeed bears fruit and yields, 00:22:07.880 --> 00:22:09.700 in one case a hundredfold, 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:11.300 in another sixty, 00:22:11.940 --> 00:22:13.820 and in another thirty. 00:22:14.500 --> 00:22:15.300 Jesus says, 00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:17.560 This is the one that gets it. 00:22:18.580 --> 00:22:21.120 This is the one that has to battle through. 00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:24.340 This is the one that has to grow deep. 00:22:25.060 --> 00:22:28.680 This is the one that has to persevere from what could come around it. 00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:34.320 But that the fruitful heart will always be the one that bears fruit. 00:22:35.060 --> 00:22:38.380 And then in very similar language as Jesus talked about last week, 00:22:38.560 --> 00:22:40.300 with the parable of the talents, 00:22:40.520 --> 00:22:41.400 what does it do? 00:22:41.400 --> 00:22:45.100 It reproduces and reproduces and reproduces. 00:22:45.880 --> 00:22:47.260 Church, when it comes to faith, 00:22:48.140 --> 00:22:49.740 when it comes to faithful believing, 00:22:50.380 --> 00:22:56.140 we have to understand that faith is always designed to be tangible. 00:22:56.880 --> 00:22:58.640 It's always designed to be tangible. 00:22:59.100 --> 00:23:00.200 It should be seen. 00:23:00.320 --> 00:23:01.160 It should be known. 00:23:01.280 --> 00:23:05.140 It should be experienced in the life of the believer. 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:09.000 And so Paul writes in Galatians 5, 22 through 23, 00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:14.480 but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, 00:23:14.820 --> 00:23:18.160 faithfulness, gentleness, self-control against such things. 00:23:18.320 --> 00:23:20.820 There is no law. 00:23:21.420 --> 00:23:24.460 Church, what do people see in you? 00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:26.240 What are you known for? 00:23:26.940 --> 00:23:30.060 This past week, one of our elders, Tim Scholl and I, 00:23:30.100 --> 00:23:30.940 we went out for lunch. 00:23:31.820 --> 00:23:33.720 And I love talking with Tim 00:23:33.720 --> 00:23:37.000 because Tim and I have very similar come-to-faith stories. 00:23:37.480 --> 00:23:39.400 And we were sitting there, we were heading out, 00:23:39.480 --> 00:23:41.300 trying to find a restaurant that we could sit down in, 00:23:41.340 --> 00:23:43.600 and we ran short, so we grabbed food 00:23:43.600 --> 00:23:44.660 and brought it back here to the church. 00:23:44.800 --> 00:23:46.000 But we were sitting there and we were talking. 00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:48.320 And we were talking about who we were 00:23:48.320 --> 00:23:50.900 before we were in Christ. 00:23:51.500 --> 00:23:53.440 Who we were before we were saved. 00:23:53.980 --> 00:23:55.360 And we talked about those moments 00:23:55.360 --> 00:23:57.100 kind of when you bump into somebody 00:23:57.100 --> 00:23:58.660 who knew you from those days, 00:23:58.680 --> 00:24:00.080 but don't know you from now. 00:24:00.500 --> 00:24:01.740 Y'all ever have that experience, right? 00:24:02.540 --> 00:24:04.720 And we said for the people who have known us in both, 00:24:05.860 --> 00:24:10.380 the hope is that even though you knew who I was, 00:24:11.140 --> 00:24:12.760 now, not because I've said it, 00:24:13.420 --> 00:24:15.100 now, not because I go to church, 00:24:15.580 --> 00:24:17.820 now, not because I'm a pastor or I'm an elder 00:24:17.820 --> 00:24:20.240 or I'm a small group leader or I'm whatever else, 00:24:21.240 --> 00:24:23.160 not because what I say I am, 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:25.660 because of what you see in me, 00:24:26.340 --> 00:24:28.520 you know this is who I am. 00:24:29.300 --> 00:24:30.140 See the difference? 00:24:30.880 --> 00:24:32.040 Our faith is tangible. 00:24:32.520 --> 00:24:35.420 It's meant to be seen in you. 00:24:36.280 --> 00:24:36.980 But then also, 00:24:38.060 --> 00:24:41.160 the part before James 2.19 00:24:41.160 --> 00:24:42.220 that we read at the beginning 00:24:42.220 --> 00:24:43.880 is verse 18. 00:24:45.100 --> 00:24:46.400 It says, show me your faith 00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:48.500 apart from your works. 00:24:49.260 --> 00:24:50.020 I love this. 00:24:50.020 --> 00:24:52.260 And I will show you my faith 00:24:52.260 --> 00:24:53.880 by my works. 00:24:54.120 --> 00:24:55.980 You believe that God is one, 00:24:56.340 --> 00:24:57.140 you do well. 00:24:57.500 --> 00:25:00.580 Even the demons believe and shudder. 00:25:01.580 --> 00:25:02.860 And so we come away with it, 00:25:03.360 --> 00:25:05.880 that it's an inside transformation 00:25:05.880 --> 00:25:08.300 that manifests itself 00:25:08.300 --> 00:25:11.540 into who we are and what we do. 00:25:12.380 --> 00:25:13.940 So what do people see from you? 00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:16.060 What does your life look like? 00:25:16.800 --> 00:25:19.220 Not, do you believe in Jesus? 00:25:20.460 --> 00:25:22.120 But do you faithfully believe 00:25:22.120 --> 00:25:24.520 in a way that's transformed, 00:25:25.240 --> 00:25:26.920 in a way that's molded you 00:25:26.920 --> 00:25:28.240 and shaped you 00:25:28.240 --> 00:25:31.660 into being more and more like Christ? 00:25:32.900 --> 00:25:34.960 You see, demons believe. 00:25:36.260 --> 00:25:37.940 But is that your level of belief? 00:25:39.060 --> 00:25:39.580 Let's pray. 00:25:41.580 --> 00:25:42.940 Lord, I thank you so much 00:25:42.940 --> 00:25:43.640 for this morning. 00:25:44.680 --> 00:25:45.460 God, for this time 00:25:45.460 --> 00:25:46.900 that we could be here together 00:25:46.900 --> 00:25:48.080 in your word. 00:25:49.280 --> 00:25:50.720 Lord, I thank you for those of us 00:25:50.720 --> 00:25:52.220 that are joining online 00:25:52.220 --> 00:25:54.320 in services before 00:25:54.320 --> 00:25:56.000 and in services that will come after. 00:25:57.620 --> 00:25:59.620 Lord, I ask that in this moment, 00:26:00.820 --> 00:26:01.820 that as we're there 00:26:01.820 --> 00:26:04.300 processing through 00:26:04.300 --> 00:26:06.120 with your word, 00:26:07.460 --> 00:26:08.600 Lord, that you would expose 00:26:08.600 --> 00:26:09.660 to ourselves 00:26:09.660 --> 00:26:10.960 the character 00:26:10.960 --> 00:26:12.180 and the nature of our heart. 00:26:13.160 --> 00:26:14.600 Lord, that we would examine 00:26:14.600 --> 00:26:15.960 our belief. 00:26:17.380 --> 00:26:18.680 Lord, are we just simply believing 00:26:18.680 --> 00:26:19.520 in a factual, 00:26:20.740 --> 00:26:21.360 intellectual, 00:26:22.660 --> 00:26:23.540 religious Jesus? 00:26:25.120 --> 00:26:26.620 Or are we faithfully 00:26:26.620 --> 00:26:28.440 believing in Jesus 00:26:28.440 --> 00:26:30.940 that changes who we are, 00:26:31.500 --> 00:26:33.520 that brings us to submission, 00:26:34.380 --> 00:26:36.680 that causes us to desire 00:26:36.680 --> 00:26:38.640 above all things 00:26:38.640 --> 00:26:41.580 a deep-rooted obedience 00:26:41.580 --> 00:26:42.340 to you? 00:26:44.160 --> 00:26:45.280 Lord, I pray 00:26:45.280 --> 00:26:47.500 as we go from here 00:26:47.500 --> 00:26:49.600 where that we would find 00:26:49.600 --> 00:26:50.480 our hearts 00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:52.680 would be the fruitful heart. 00:26:53.660 --> 00:26:54.920 Lord, but if not, 00:26:55.840 --> 00:26:56.840 Lord, we would be willing 00:26:56.840 --> 00:26:58.280 to examine, 00:26:58.800 --> 00:27:00.320 to cry out to you 00:27:00.320 --> 00:27:03.460 where that we may find ourselves 00:27:03.460 --> 00:27:05.380 loved, saved, 00:27:05.540 --> 00:27:06.620 and obedient to you. 00:27:07.100 --> 00:27:08.260 Jesus, we love you, 00:27:08.600 --> 00:27:09.440 we praise you, 00:27:09.780 --> 00:27:10.720 and it's in your name we pray. 00:27:11.120 --> 00:27:11.420 Amen. 00:27:11.420 --> 00:27:26.460 Thanks again for listening 00:27:26.460 --> 00:27:27.600 to the Willow Ridge Church 00:27:27.600 --> 00:27:28.380 weekly podcast. 00:27:28.900 --> 00:27:29.920 We hope that you enjoyed 00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:31.200 listening to this week's message. 00:27:31.480 --> 00:27:32.760 If you'd like to learn more 00:27:32.760 --> 00:27:33.600 about who we are 00:27:33.600 --> 00:27:35.200 or explore additional resources, 00:27:35.800 --> 00:27:36.700 visit us online 00:27:36.700 --> 00:27:40.260 at www.willowridgechurch.com 00:27:40.260 --> 00:27:41.480 or by searching 00:27:41.480 --> 00:27:42.480 for Willow Ridge Church 00:27:42.480 --> 00:27:43.820 on Facebook and Instagram.