Willow Ridge Sermons

July 26th, 2026 • "But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear." – Matthew 13:16

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Creators and Guests

Host

Beau Bradberry

Senior Pastor

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Good morning.

It is so good to have you guys here.

If you have your Bible, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join us in Matthew

chapter 13, which is where we will be today.

In just a moment, we will get there.

A couple things that I want to emphasize, maybe give you guys some updates on.

I want to echo what Pastor Dave said about our Sunday nights in August.

Really want to encourage you to be there.

They're going to be a little bit different than how we've done them before.

You can see on here, it's got the menu.

It's got everything, it's got the time.

Five o'clock, we'll be back here.

I want to kind of explain a little bit of how the night is going to work.

Number one, this is an event, this is a gathering time for those of all ages.

And so, we want you to bring your family.

We'll gather together.

We'll have a meal together.

And then after the meal time is over with, one of the things that's been kind of neat in

our senior adult luncheons is a few weeks ago, I guess a few months ago now, Micah Hood

came to talk about going on mission and what that looked like.

And me and Micah just sat there on the stage and kind of had a conversation, a little interview

back and forth.

And got a lot of feedback about how people enjoyed that in there.

And so, that's what we're going to have here on the stage.

We're going to talk each night about an aspect of living out our faith that if we're being

open and honest with each other can be difficult and hard to do in that initial faith step.

But when you do it, you see how God responds in faithfulness over and over and over again.

So, I'm going to have some people up here on stage that are walking in that road right

now and we're going to talk to them about what that looks like in their life.

And hopefully, that'll be encouraging for you to take that step if you haven't as well.

Then after the interview is over with, the kids will dismiss.

Aaron and I will take the elementary age kids and go do some fun activities with them.

And then Dawn has got coordinated for the younger ones and we'll have things taken care of for

them.

And then you guys will have an opportunity to sit around the table and we'll have a few

questions for you guys to discuss right there about what we have talked about from that morning

and from that evening.

And then the night will end in a very spirit-filled way as we will partake in desserts together.

All right.

And so, if you're curious, will the kids be in here for desserts?

Yes, they will because I will be with the kids and I want to be in here for the banana

pudding.

All right.

So, we want you to come and we want you to be a part of that.

Well, as you guys know, I wasn't here last week.

I want to thank Josh for preaching last week.

We had Black Mountain Week.

I think there were 60 middle school, high school, and adults who journeyed up there.

And Aaron and I had the wonderful privilege to be a part of that team and to go up there

and to serve.

It was wonderful.

It was a great week.

It was filled with games.

It was filled with laughter.

It was filled with tubing down a river.

But it was also filled with worship services and word from God's word.

And your kids and your adults worked so, so hard.

As you, I was part of a team that worked in the kitchen.

But the rest of them went out there.

They painted.

They stained.

They cut down trees.

They weed-eated.

They ran weed eaters.

They cleaned.

They deep-cleaned, folks.

So, moms and dads, when you're like, why is your room so dirty?

We need you to do like you did in Black Mountain, all right?

They can go up there.

They can get that done.

They organized things.

Just a wonderful, wonderful, absolutely exhausting week.

Yesterday, Aaron fixed us a wonderful dinner of stuffed peppers.

And it was ready about 5.30.

And we went and we ate dinner together.

And when we were done, I looked and said, and now I am heading to bed.

And at 6 o'clock, I tucked myself in.

And I went to sleep.

About 8.30, woke up with two extremely difficult, hard, painful leg cramps.

So, I sent Emma a text message, because, I mean, it's 2026, right?

I was like, hey, could you bring your dad a banana and some water?

So, she responded.

She brought him up there.

And, guys, she looks at me.

I don't know if you tell.

I've got, like, some allergy stuff that's going on.

I'd been in bed early, and now there's theirs.

She looked at me.

She's like, she parented me.

She said, how much water did you drink this week?

Not a lot, sweetie.

Not a lot at all.

And then she looked at me, and she said, do you think you're going to be able to preach tomorrow?

I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, we can.

We'll get through this.

Power of the Holy Spirit and sleep.

So, there we go.

But, yeah, so, great week.

Great week.

Thank you guys for being a church that sends.

Thank you for being a church that funds.

Thank you for being a church that disciples.

And I want to thank, you know, publicly also Joel Van Ham for the time and the effort and the energy that he puts into 52 weeks out of the year with pouring and investing into these students.

And we don't have to look to the church of tomorrow to see that it's in good hands.

We can look at the church today and see these young people who are discipling others and investing in others and on mission for others.

And it's just wonderful to see all that God is doing in their life.

So, thank you for allowing us to be a part of that.

And Aaron and I love being a part.

And even though it was our kids, Emma and Grayson's last one as seniors, we hopefully, we pray that they'll keep us around for a few more years to do some cooking.

All right.

We are in Matthew 13 as we continue on in our study of Matthew.

Now, I'm going to give some academic pieces for this section to help us understand what God is teaching and what Jesus is doing here in Matthew 13.

Matthew 13 starts the third of Jesus' major teaching sessions that we see in the Gospel of Matthew.

Now, chronologically, what we find in Matthew 13, most scholars believe, is about 18 months or halfway through Jesus' public ministry.

So, this is, as scholars kind of look through, it's a point for them to look and see.

As Jesus is working toward the work that he will do on the cross, that this is that halfway point, this is that halfway mark in Jesus' public ministry.

Now, as you read through, and we've been doing this together, right?

We haven't looked at every section in Matthew, but most of them in Matthew.

And what you notice is that people have flocked to Jesus.

There are people who have flocked to Jesus, who have followed Jesus, who have put their faith, their hope, their trust in him, that have taken on his teaching, like we heard a couple weeks ago, right?

Like they're experiencing that yoke that he offers, the rest that he and he alone can offer.

But then there are some who are flocking to Jesus, right, because they kind of view him as this circus sideshow who can do some really cool things.

And then there are those who are flocking to Jesus, because they've heard the things he's teaching, and it's different.

So, they're curious, or they're skeptical, or they're flat out enraged that he would say the things that he's saying.

So, what we find is people are flocking to Jesus, and then a majority of them are returning right back where they came, both physically and spiritually.

That they've had a physical encounter with Jesus, but their hearts have not encountered Jesus.

And so, they come one way, and they leave again.

We've seen already in Matthew chapter 12, I think it's in verse 14, where because of the teachings and because of the things that Jesus is seeing,

there's even the religious elites who have been praying for and waiting for the Messiah.

But even though he is here, they have rejected him and even are planning on how they can kill him.

And this is where we find in Jesus' halfway point in ministry.

So, in Matthew 13, Jesus begins to teach, and he's going to teach in this third section, his third major block of teaching that we see in the life of Christ.

He's going to teach, but he's going to do so through the forms and through the means of parables.

Now, I want us to understand what a parable is.

A parable is a practical story, oftentimes framed in a simile that is going to illustrate a spiritual truth.

And this is what Jesus is going to do.

Now, there can be difficulty in interpreting and understanding parables, especially for audiences today.

So, kind of three quick things.

This is really good.

If you want to jot those down, it's going to help us track through as we see not just the parables this morning,

but it'll help you in parables as you read them in the future.

So, how are we, or how do we understand, how should we read and study parables?

The first thing we should do is this, is we should listen from the original hearer's perspective.

We should listen from the original hearer's perspective, right?

Jesus is not in Lexington in 2026 speaking to a bunch of people like you and like me.

What we see is we see Jesus speaking in a context of first century Roman occupied Jewish people

who feel beaten down and feel oppressed.

They're largely rural and largely agricultural in their setting.

These are people who believe that they are part of the kingdom of God,

regardless if they are a follower of Jesus or not.

This is the audience that Jesus is teaching.

This will largely be the audience that Jesus performs the miracles.

The second thing, not only should we listen from the original hearer's perspective,

but we should look for the main point.

We should look for the main point.

Jesus will tell stories to teach spiritual truths.

Jesus is teaching in a figurative way and not in a literal way.

The danger that you and I can have as we read through these

is we can try to make everything a point

instead of trying to figure out what is the main point.

What is Jesus trying to communicate to this audience?

So once we look and we see and we understand and we're listening from the context of the original hearer,

once we look for the main point of what Jesus is driving toward in that setting,

then it is the responsibility of you and I through the power of the Holy Spirit

to let that truth change our perception.

Maybe it's a teaching of Christ, about Christ.

Maybe it's a teaching about us.

Maybe it's a teaching about the world.

Maybe it's a teaching about sin.

Maybe it's a teaching about the gospel.

Maybe it's a teaching like we'll find this morning overall about the kingdom of heaven.

And then we apply this.

Now there's an interesting little dialogue that happens.

That why does Jesus do this this way?

Like why not just come out and say what it means?

Why not just come out and say and be very direct?

Why use parables in this manner?

I want you to look back, look at Matthew 13.

We're going to start here in verse 10.

It says,

Then the disciples came and said to him,

Why do you speak to them in parables?

And he answered them,

To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.

But to them it has not been given.

For to the one who has, more will be given.

And he will have an abundance.

But from the one who has not,

even what he has will be taken away.

This is why I speak to them in parables.

Because seeing they do not see.

In hearing they do not hear.

Nor do they understand.

Indeed, in their case,

the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled.

That says,

You will indeed hear, but never understand.

You will indeed see, but never perceive.

For this people's heart has grown dull.

And with their ears they can barely hear.

And their eyes, they have been closed.

Lest they should see with their eyes,

and hear with their ears,

and understand with their heart,

and turn,

and I would heal them.

But blessed are your eyes,

but blessed are your eyes,

for they see,

and your ears,

for they hear.

For truly I say to you,

many prophets and righteous people

long to see what you see,

and did not see it,

and to hear what you hear,

and did not hear it.

So what we find here

is that there's the purpose,

and there's a reason

for why Jesus

is even teaching

in the way that he does.

He says that in the teaching

that there's two groups of people.

There are a group of people

who are going to get it.

There are a group of people

who aren't.

And this comes back to

not intellect.

This is going to come back

not to training.

This is going to come back

not to education,

but that what we see in this

is the work and the move of God.

And so that when we look

at the parables,

what we see in the parables

woven through each

and every one of them,

whether it's a one-verse parable

or a full-chapter parable

that we find in our Bible,

there's evidence of God's mercy.

That in our simplicity

and the plainness of who we are,

that there are secrets

of the kingdom

and that God delivers them over to us

and we can hear them

and we can trust them

and we can believe them

and we can know them.

And so as a result,

that within this,

there's a stirring up

that we know

that this isn't from me,

that this is from God.

And we praise God.

Folks, that when we look

at God's word,

that it's not an interaction

of intellect.

It's an interaction

of the spirit of God

with the heart of man.

And that you and I

praise the Lord,

look at these words

and they're not dead,

but they're alive.

Because we're alive in God.

Alive in Christ.

But then the second part of that,

the second part is that

there's evidence

of God's judgment.

And folks,

we will see this

this morning clearly.

Folks,

Jesus is not passive.

Jesus draws hard lines.

Jesus says that there are those

who cannot hear.

There are those

who cannot see.

There are those

who cannot accept.

There are those

who cannot trust.

And we can't explain it

to the heart.

And that's

what Jesus

is about.

That's what Jesus

is about.

So this morning,

we're going to look

at two

different parables

that Jesus

tells

in this

setting.

Both of these

parables

dealing

with the kingdom

and the kingdom

of God.

The rule

and reign

of Christ.

The rule

and reign

of Christ

that he

in this setting

that he is here

and the kingdom

is advancing

and you and I

live in the world

today

that our king

has come

our king

has gone

the kingdom

is advancing

but that the second

part of the kingdom

of what we will see

is that the king

will return

and when the king

returns

the kingdom

is complete.

And so you and I

live

in the advancing

part of that.

So Jesus

is going to teach

these parables

to a group

where what

he is pursuing

after

is not

an explanation

of the mind

but a change

of the heart.

So let's look at

the first one.

Jump back

with me.

Matthew 13

verse 3

with the parable

of the sower.

It says,

And he told them

many things

in parables

saying a sower

went out to sow

and as he sowed

some seeds

fell along the path

and the birds

came and

devoured them.

Other seeds

fell on

rocky ground

where they did not

have much soil

and immediately

they sprang up

since they had

no depth

of soil

but when the sun

rose

they were

scorched

and since they

had no root

they withered

away.

Other seeds

Jesus says

fell among

the thorns

and the thorns

grew up

and choked

them.

The other seeds

fell on good

soil

and produced

grain

some

a hundredfold

some sixty

some thirty

who has

ears

let him

hear.

So some things

about this

we've got

four main

aspects

that you and I

need to see

four main

characters

of what we're

going to find

in the parable

of the sower.

The first

is the

sower

so let's

identify

who is

the

sower.

You and I

often times

when we read

this and we

begin to think

through this

we can have

a tendency

I know

that I

have before

to put us

at the center

of this

and that we

are the

sower

and that this

is a call

to missions

and I'm not

going to say

that we can't

look at this

and apply

this

but what we

see is the

sower

and Jesus

is the

sower

of all

that he's

talked about

of all

that he's

pointed

through

of all

that we're

going to

find

that we're

going to

see

as he

the gospel

in the

context

we find

Jesus

himself

is the

sower

so you

ask them

well what

about us

well that's

fine

we are

we can

and do

the work

that the

sower

has called

us to

ambassadors

is what

the Bible

calls us

and as

ambassadors

right

we are

carry

from the

king

who has

sent

so as

sow

seed

where

God

has

called

and God

has placed

and this

is important

that we

are sowing

the seed

as the

reflection

of the

one

who's

saved

who's

called

who's

sent

why does

that matter

because it's

not the

work that

I do

it's the

work that

Jesus

does

through

and so

we see

that

Jesus

the

sower

the

second

thing

in this

that we

see

is that

the

seed

is the

gospel

message

the

seed

is the

gospel

message

it's

not

works

it's

not

behaviors

it's

not

religious

attitudes

it's

not

government

it's

not

mindset

it's

not

mind

shift

it's

not

positive

vibes

it's

not

good

works

it's

not

any

things

that

want

label

that

we can

impact

the

world

around

the

seed

the

gospel

message

the

sower

speaking

the

importance

taking

the

seed

Jesus

says

here's

how

the

gospel

message

going

are

going

Jesus

says

we're

going

carry

the

gospel

message

when

the

seed

going

fall

onto

the

soil

during

that

day

the

farmer

would

have

gone

and

scattered

the

seed

would

have

done

manner

this

when

wife

goes

out

and

she

plants

green

beans

the

yard

right

she

goes

out

into

our

neat

little

beds

that

built

and

that

we've

constructed

and

that

we've

nourished

over

years

because

all

have

sand

and

we've

got

some

good

fertile

black

and

then

she

drops

another

seed

and

covers

and

she

drops

another

seed

and

covers

and

that

works

really

good

when

you're

trying

plant

green

bean

plants

but

when

you've

got

several

acres

wheat

field

the

sower

goes

reaches

into

the

bag

some

seed

falls

goes

and

scatters

and

scatters

and

scatters

and

scatters

and

it's

beautiful

picture

the

measure

which

carry

the

gospel

it's

the

ministry

that

Jesus

has

been

doing

Jesus

walks

town

after

town

after

town

interaction

after

interaction

grab

scoop

and

grab

scoop

and

grab

and

scoop

the

beautiful

wonderful

life

giving

message

the

gospel

but

then

there's

four

soils

there's

four

soils

and

it's

important

for us

as we

get

through

this

remember

this

isn't

intellectual

debate

that we're

getting

into

this

dealing

with

the

sinful

condition

the

human

heart

and

the

soil

the

soil

the

human

heart

and

here's

what

important

about

this

live

in a

world

you and

live in

culture

that is

getting

and more

godless

by the

day

lived

one

point

time

where

were the

predominant

culture

the

United

States

and

that's

not

the

case

any

longer

when

went

the

mission

trip

for

the

high

schoolers

was

remarkable

there

were

these

people

and

it was

very

evident

that

they

were

Asian

and

had

opportunity

have

conversation

with

one

them

and

asking

them

what

they

were

doing

because

they

were

standing

out

having

conversations

with

people

and

that

New

Yorkers

are

New

Yorkers

and

New

Yorker

things

right

and

see

people

pulling

people

aside

and

having

conversations

with

them

anyway

come

find

out

they

were

South

Koreans

who

had

come

the

U.S.

mission

trip

the

gospel

right

America

as we

think

ourselves

the

Christian

context

sending

missionaries

and

sending

missionaries

and

sending

missionaries

that

there's

churches

all

over

the

world

who

probably

see

our

culture

realistic

than

the way

you

and I

want

see

Jesus

here

the

importance

for

what

have

hold

what

have

cling

when

dangerous

words

relevant

begin

thrown

around

the

ultimate

standard

that

have

understand

that

the

sower

and

the

seed

cannot

change

the

problem

in this

parable

is not

the

sower

the

problem

in this

parable

is not

the

seed

the

problem

this

parable

the

soil

the

problem

this

world

the

heart

man

and

Jesus

describes

Jesus

describes

four

soils

four soils

that would

have been

common

that people

would have

understand

they reached

in and

grabbed

down

and

scooped

and

scattered

would have

been

the

common

acceptance

rate

of growth

of a

crop

in that

area

he says

some of

fell along

the path

the hard

path

the path

that would

be worn

down

and beat

down

as you

walked

over

and over

again

through the

rows

as you

scattered

the path

on the

sides

where people

would use

to pass

and this

path

is the

hard

heart

folks

what we

see

scripture

we should

take this

as a

warning

we should

take this

as a

warning

for

ourselves

and for

where we

live

and the

people

around

that the

hardening

of the

heart

is real

the

hardening

of the

heart

is real

that there

are people

no matter

how persuasive

you and

try to

that there

are people

no matter

how

influential

we try

to be

that there

will be

people

no matter

how

sacrificial

that we

try to

that they've

given

in to

a hardening

of their

heart

and the

seed

of the

gospel

will not

penetrate

and will

not take

root

what we see

from this

is what

Jesus

will tell

his disciples

in the

explanation

of this

is that

the birds

that come

and pick

that seed

that's

Satan

who

comes

and who

picks

it up

the

spiritual

warfare

and the

spiritual

work

that's

happening

here

we see

the hard

heart

but then

we also

see the

superficial

heart

the rocky

soil

heart

the

superficial

heart

it's the

immature

the

lacking

depth

the

commentator

that I

read

yesterday

about this

referred to

this as

the easy

believism

mindset

it's a

heart

that's

there

for the

good

time

it's a

heart

that's

there

for the

emotional

time

but that

within

there

is no

depth

relationship

true

life

change

that

has

happened

and with

that

is a

heart

with no

endurance

when it

comes

to the

difficult

times

that will

be in

this

world

and so

people

will

come

Jesus

says

people

will

respond

and then

when the

heat

begins

to be

turned

just a

little

they'll

all

scatter

away

that's

not a

failure

of the

church

if it

were a

failure

of the

church

it would

be a

failure

Jesus

but it's

the reality

of what

will happen

and take

place

the

fourth

that we

see

is the

divided

heart

the

divided

heart

the

thorny

soil

that while

this

heart

says

it wants

one

thing

it's

consumed

by the

ways

of the

world

and then

over time

the plant

that once

began to

grow

will be

choked

out

not

immediately

but

eventually

well it

will see

it's a

heart

that gives

in to

the

idols

and the

pursuits

it's

the heart

that says

it's not

just

Jesus

and with

him

is my

life

with him

is my

hope

with him

is my

future

that I

find

satisfaction

I find

my joy

I find

my purpose

in him

and him

alone

but it's

the heart

that tries

to allow

everything

else

to mesh

and come

together

and Jesus

says

that in

that heart

that there's

no growth

there's no

sustainability

and so

then Jesus

talks about

the fruitful

heart

the fruitful

heart

the good

soil

the good

soil

here's

what's

remarkable

about the

seed

that is

planted

in the

good soil

the seed

that's

planted

in good

soil

will

always

produce

fruit

Jesus

says

sometimes

it's

a hundred

fold

sometimes

it's

sometimes

it's

the fruit

based off

of the

season

of life

sometimes

may

increase

sometimes

we may

see

less

but that

there's

evidence

of the

working

of the

hand

of God

in the

heart

of that

individual

so Jesus

says

there's

these

four

soils

folks

the

hard

heart

doesn't

need

logic

and

reason

the

hard

heart

needs

Jesus

the

superficial

heart

doesn't

just need

encouragement

and a

step of

growth

the

superficial

heart

needs

Jesus

the

divided

heart

doesn't

need

a new

spreadsheet

with new

sets of

priorities

the

hard

heart

needs

Jesus

folks

the

question

I have

for you

Jesus

stands

here

and tells

this

parable

to a

group

people

who

believe

that

they

are a

part

of the

kingdom

of God

the

question

I have

for you

this

morning

which

soil

are you

which

soil

are you

your

heart

hardened

and you're

here

for the

appeasement

of those

around you

folks

just

turn to

Jesus

is your

heart

superficial

lacking

of depth

easy

believism

like man

God

I will

you

as long

as you're

doing all

the things

that I

need

and you're

giving me

all that I

want

and all

that I

desire

and as

long as

life is

good

then praise

God

sign me

for

another

but the

moment

that life

begins

to be

difficult

you begin

to feel

that you

disengage

you don't

just need

things to

start going

well

folks

you need

Jesus

is your

heart

divided

and you've

got a lot

of categories

of priorities

in your

life

and in

the calendar

that is

your world

Jesus

finds his

spot

folks

you don't

need better

time management

you need

Jesus

are you

seeing

the fruit

of the work

of Christ

your

life

drop down

with me

to verse

parable

of the

sower

common

known

but now

we see

the parable

of the

weeds

warning

the

Bible

says

that he

put another

parable

before them

saying

the kingdom

of heaven

may be

compared

to a

man

who

sowed

good

seed

in his

field

but while

his men

were

sleeping

his

enemy

came

and

sowed

weeds

among

the

wheat

and

went

away

when

the

plants

came

and

bore

grain

then

the

weeds

appeared

also

and

the

servants

of the

master

of the

house

came

and

said

him

master

did

you

not

sow

good

seed

your

field

how

then

does

have

weeds

and

said

them

enemy

has

done

this

the

servants

said

him

then

you

want

and

gather

them

but

said

lest

gathering

the

weeds

you

root

all

the

wheat

along

with

them

let

both

grow

together

until

the

harvest

and

harvest

time

will

tell

the

reapers

gather

the

weeds

first

bind

them

bundles

burned

but

gather

the

wheat

into

barn

what's

been

planted

here

what's

been

planted

seeds

for the

wheat

and

weeds

now

here's

the hard

part

about

having

garden

and

being

ignorant

about

plants

which

sometimes

you

and

you

see

weed

and

you

think

that's

weed

and

you

reach

down

and

you

pull

out

the

weed

and

then

you

hear

from

someone

who's

intelligent

about

the

plants

that

want

know

why

you

have

just

pulled

out

all

their

squash

plants

right

there's

early

unless

you're

educated

the

plant

world

they

can

look

the

same

imagine

again

acres

and

acres

and

acres

you

can't

walk

through

one

after

the

other

but

boy

you

can

tell

the

seeds

grow

what's

happened

the

good

has

been

planted

and

it's

growing

the

bad

has

been

planted

and

it's

growing

and

they

come

and

they

say

now

that

it's

here

should

and

pull

out

the

bad

that

can

set

the

good

free

master

says

can't

that

there's

a very

practical

reason

of why

can't

that

the

practical

reason

the

roots

will

grow

together

I've

done

this

before

well

and

you

grab

the

weed

and

you

pull

the

weed

out

and

then

the

plant

that's

supposed

the

ground

the

good

plant

comes

out

with

and

you

tear

the

garden

space

that's

been

worked

hard

what

you

have

even

though

it's

not

ideal

you've

got

let

the

weeds

grow

with

the

good

plants

and

then

what

can

happen

when

it's

harvesting

season

they'll

separated

folks

this is

the

warning

this

the

warning

in this

world

there's

the plants

of Christ

that are

growing

and in

this

world

there's

the weeds

of this

world

that are

growing

there's

the

hard

hearts

that are

growing

right

along

there's

the

soil

there's

the

good

there's

the

bad

it's

all

there

and

Jesus

gives

warning

that

right

now

they

may

all

this

garden

this

world

together

but

one

day

when

the

king

who

came

the

kingdom

that

growing

and

that

working

and

that

moving

one

day

the

king

will

return

and

he'll

complete

the

kingdom

and

when

the

king

comes

and

completes

the

kingdom

he's

going to

separate

the

weeds

from

the

plants

the

kingdom

one's

going

to be

put

for

destruction

one's

going to

be put

for

glory

heard

Dr.

James

Merritt

say

this

past

week

pastors

church

Atlanta

Georgia

said

the

greatest

lie

that

you

could

believe

that

you're

saved

when

you're

not

I'm

not

the

Holy

Spirit

but

concern

for

you

this

morning

that

your

heart

hard

your

heart

hard

and

right

now

this

moment

you're

suppressing

the truth

of the

gospel

that

right

now

your

heart

filled

with

the

thorns

and

you're

suppressing

the

truth

of the

gospel

that

right

now

your

heart

rocky

and

you're

suppressing

the

truth

of the

gospel

one

day

it's

all

going

taken

and

it's

going

separated

and

there's

one

worship

service

where

can

get

right

there's

one

moment

it's

either

come

and

receive

away

from

I'm

gonna

ask

the

band

come

the

stage

worship

team

ask

the

prayer

and

courage

get

place

one

parable

this

one's

for

free

didn't

plan

doing

this

it's

not

the

screen

apologize

but

look

with

now

Matthew

verse

the

kingdom

heaven

treasure

hidden

field

which

man

found

and

covered

then

his

joy

goes

and

sells

all

that

has

and

buys

that

field

when

were

Black

Mountain

they

got a

thrift

store

there

you've

sent

your

youth

there

you've

been

there

for

one

our

trips

you know

they

got

this

thrift

store

and

the

thrift

store

great

family

loves

thrift

store

shopping

I'm

not

crazy

about

don't

know

about

you

but

wife

will

into

outfit

after

outfit

after

outfit

after

outfit

every

time

into

thrift

store

I'm

wouldn't

wear

that

wouldn't

wear

that

wouldn't

wear

that

wouldn't

wear

that

wouldn't

wear

that

and

then

she

finds

five

shirts

for

don't

know

where

they

were

hiding

think

they

put

them

back

corner

that

for

the

ladies

only

buy

for

their

husbands

right

but

when

into

thrift

store

will

find

the

golf

clubs

and

will

try

see

did

someone

give

away

their

brand

new

ping

driver

and

now

it's

for sale

for

five

dollars

because

you're

bad

golfer

what

you

need

not

lessons

what

you

need

new

clubs

because

that's

what

fixes

your

game

or at least

that's

what I'm

convinced

and that's

why I'm

bad

because

I've

got

old

clubs

right

I'm

back

there

and I

see

this

putter

I see

this

putter

and you

can tell

this

putter

old

it's

really

old

putter

grab

this

putter

and I'm

looking

out

and this

cool

looking

1960s

I said

really

old

might

have

offended

some

you

apologize

putter

years

it's

old

all right

people

years

it's

young

and

fresh

and

full

energy

and

it's

valued

$90

and

it's

for sale

for

three

and

was

won

the

lottery

that

moment

and

carried

that

butter

took

the

counter

and

bought

that

made

that

three

dollar

investment

and

all

the

happiness

that

there

because

it's

valued

$90

now

what

will

with

that

putter

I'll

tell you

what

with

that

putter

will

sit

the

corner

garage

until

the

yard

sale

and

then

will

get

rid

that

putter

for

right

the

silly

things

this

world

that

think

matter

and

that

bring

joy

Jesus

says

there's

a man

and he

finds a

treasure

and folks

the treasure

is the

kingdom

of heaven

and it's

priceless

it's

priceless

it's

worth

than

anything

that he

could

ever

save

for

it's

not

comparable

anything

this

world

has

offer

and so

goes

and he

leaves

from

there

and he

sells

everything

sells

his

house

sells

his

animals

cashes

out

all

his

retirement

every

bit

that

has

and he

buys

the

entire

field

because

of the

priceless

treasure

that's

found

in it

here's

what I

want to

say

to you

this

morning

the

kingdom

heaven

Jesus

Christ

worth

losing

everything

for

everything

don't

settle

don't

settle

the

treasure

worth

than

the

field

Jesus

worth

than

any

simple

pursuit

that

you

and I

could

have

Jesus

worth

than

any

wait

for

tomorrow

wait

till

understand

wait

till

I've

got

figured

out

Jesus

says

the

faith

that

calls

the

faith

child

who

does

nothing

than

hold up

their

hands

their

heavenly

father

can

embrace

them

prayer

for you

this

morning

where's

your

heart

where's

your

heart

what's

the

gospel

done

and would

you get

rid of

it all

would you

get rid

of it

all

for the

king of

kings

Lord

lords

would you

pray with

God we

thank you

for today

we thank you

for the

truth of

your word

God I

pray that

in the

ramblings

of a

simple

man

that the

power

of your

holy

spirit

would

work

and move

in the

lives

of the

individuals

who are

here

today

God could

you take

hard hearts

and make

them soft

would you

take

thorny

hearts

and make

them receptive

would you

take rocky

hearts

Lord and

smooth them

out

so that

they would

receive

the gospel

of Jesus

Christ

Jesus that

you died

for us

making a

way

for us

that all

who put

their faith

hope

and trust

in you

would have

eternal life

and on

that day

of separation

Lord what

we will

hear

is well

done

my good

and faithful

servant

we ask all

these things

in Jesus

name

amen

that's it

for this

week's

message

be sure

to check

back

next week

for a

new episode

and in

the meantime

you can

visit us

online at

willowridgechurch.org

or by searching

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Church on

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