1 00:00:03,136 --> 00:00:03,536 All right. 2 00:00:03,536 --> 00:00:04,871 Family. 3 00:00:04,871 --> 00:00:07,874 I've been debating all night. 4 00:00:08,141 --> 00:00:12,779 If I was going to tell you this, but I decided I'm going to tell you. 5 00:00:14,147 --> 00:00:15,315 See, there's this weird thing. 6 00:00:15,315 --> 00:00:18,585 And before I tell you, there's this weird thing. 7 00:00:18,585 --> 00:00:21,588 There's this dilemma I think that that adults deal with. 8 00:00:21,588 --> 00:00:24,591 So play with me here. 9 00:00:25,025 --> 00:00:29,195 Kids have no problem saying this, but adults, for whatever reason, we're 10 00:00:29,195 --> 00:00:32,465 secretive, and we try to make it a secret when we do these things. 11 00:00:32,999 --> 00:00:37,871 And so I'm just going to be a kid for a second because I'm excited. 12 00:00:38,438 --> 00:00:40,540 It was my birthday on Friday. 13 00:00:40,540 --> 00:00:41,775 Hey. That's it. Yeah. 14 00:00:41,775 --> 00:00:42,175 Come on. 15 00:00:42,175 --> 00:00:42,575 Clap. 16 00:00:42,575 --> 00:00:46,112 First service was like, first service was like, jump in. 17 00:00:46,112 --> 00:00:49,115 And you guys were like. 18 00:00:49,949 --> 00:00:50,817 What is it with kids? 19 00:00:50,817 --> 00:00:52,986 Like, kids can tell you, like, months. 20 00:00:52,986 --> 00:00:54,187 My birthday is coming up. 21 00:00:54,187 --> 00:00:55,855 You're like, when is it in? 22 00:00:55,855 --> 00:00:57,590 In January. 23 00:00:57,590 --> 00:00:59,626 And you're like, yeah, it's not coming up. 24 00:00:59,626 --> 00:01:02,295 But for whatever reason, adults. Right? Yes. 25 00:01:02,295 --> 00:01:04,130 When does this happen? 26 00:01:04,130 --> 00:01:08,101 When do adults we start, like keeping it secret. 27 00:01:08,201 --> 00:01:11,838 I was with a couple of friends on Friday, and I was sitting there. 28 00:01:11,838 --> 00:01:15,708 We were having some coffee, and I wanted to say it, but I didn't 29 00:01:16,910 --> 00:01:19,913 because I'm an adult. 30 00:01:19,979 --> 00:01:22,382 Kids are like, hey, it's my birthday, and they'll just say it. 31 00:01:22,382 --> 00:01:25,385 So anyway, it was my birthday on Friday. 32 00:01:25,952 --> 00:01:26,920 Thank you. 33 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:28,388 I celebrate all month. 34 00:01:28,388 --> 00:01:32,092 You guys got a couple more days to do that. 35 00:01:32,459 --> 00:01:33,493 I'm just kidding. 36 00:01:33,493 --> 00:01:37,230 Anyway, one of my favorite things I share that because on Friday, 37 00:01:37,263 --> 00:01:39,632 April 24th was my birthday. 38 00:01:39,632 --> 00:01:42,268 I work in an elementary school, like most of you guys know, and I'm 39 00:01:42,268 --> 00:01:45,271 walking around this little first grader, cutest little girl. 40 00:01:45,371 --> 00:01:49,442 Besides, my daughter walked up and she's like, hey Mr. 41 00:01:49,442 --> 00:01:51,478 White, I heard it was your birthday. 42 00:01:51,478 --> 00:01:54,514 And I'm like, you heard right. 43 00:01:54,781 --> 00:01:56,015 Now go tell everyone. 44 00:01:56,015 --> 00:01:58,985 All right. I want you to go. 45 00:01:58,985 --> 00:02:00,954 She's like, I got you this. And she. 46 00:02:00,954 --> 00:02:03,056 She hands me this rock. 47 00:02:03,056 --> 00:02:04,057 Cute, right? 48 00:02:04,057 --> 00:02:08,261 So I'm holding the rock, and I'm like, man, I've always wanted one. 49 00:02:08,294 --> 00:02:11,397 Like, this is a nice rock. It's great. 50 00:02:11,431 --> 00:02:12,899 It's like, that's not a rock. 51 00:02:14,667 --> 00:02:16,269 What is it? 52 00:02:16,269 --> 00:02:17,237 So I said, what is it? 53 00:02:17,237 --> 00:02:20,240 She's like as an egg. 54 00:02:21,541 --> 00:02:22,675 It's cool. 55 00:02:22,675 --> 00:02:24,344 What's good? So I say, what's going to hatch? 56 00:02:24,344 --> 00:02:26,880 You know what's going to hatch is chicken gum pop out of this thing? 57 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:28,214 She's like, no, no, no, no. 58 00:02:28,214 --> 00:02:31,584 And it was just like a classic mic drop moment. 59 00:02:31,618 --> 00:02:33,119 She looks at me and she says, Mr. 60 00:02:33,119 --> 00:02:35,822 White, 61 00:02:35,822 --> 00:02:38,958 anything you want will hatch from the big. 62 00:02:41,027 --> 00:02:41,494 It's cute. 63 00:02:41,494 --> 00:02:42,829 Right? 64 00:02:42,829 --> 00:02:45,798 I wish life was that easy, 65 00:02:45,798 --> 00:02:49,035 because $1 billion would have been hatching out of that thing. 66 00:02:50,236 --> 00:02:51,137 Anyway, it's a great day. 67 00:02:51,137 --> 00:02:52,238 It's a great weekend. 68 00:02:52,238 --> 00:02:56,242 We. I'm wearing my baptism shirt because we are going to celebrate. 69 00:02:56,276 --> 00:03:00,547 We're going to party for my birthday and for all the celebrations later today. 70 00:03:00,580 --> 00:03:05,552 There are 40 up to 40 people going into the pool with us later. 71 00:03:05,552 --> 00:03:06,719 And just by like, 72 00:03:06,719 --> 00:03:10,256 really quick, raise your hand if you're planning to get baptized today. 73 00:03:10,323 --> 00:03:11,891 Hey, real quick, praise God. 74 00:03:13,893 --> 00:03:15,295 Praise God. 75 00:03:15,295 --> 00:03:18,031 And just so you all know, if you're like, 76 00:03:18,031 --> 00:03:21,601 yeah, I said yes to Jesus, I follow Jesus, but I haven't been baptized. 77 00:03:21,601 --> 00:03:23,436 We don't cap it at 40. 78 00:03:23,436 --> 00:03:26,372 All right, so come on and join us. Party. 79 00:03:26,372 --> 00:03:29,242 Give me a hug for my birthday and get baptized if it's right. 80 00:03:29,242 --> 00:03:34,113 If it's the right time for y'all, it'll be at 1:00 at Pastor Carl's house. 81 00:03:34,113 --> 00:03:36,015 If you're not sure where he lives, come 82 00:03:36,015 --> 00:03:38,418 talk to me or one of us in between services. 83 00:03:38,418 --> 00:03:40,320 We will tell you his address. 84 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:42,188 All right, 1:00. 85 00:03:42,188 --> 00:03:44,657 Speaking of Pastor Carl, I am not Pastor Carl. 86 00:03:44,657 --> 00:03:46,492 If this is your first time here. 87 00:03:46,492 --> 00:03:49,162 Know that I'm not Pastor Carl. 88 00:03:49,162 --> 00:03:50,296 The main guy. 89 00:03:50,296 --> 00:03:53,099 Pastor Carl has a great opportunity today. 90 00:03:53,099 --> 00:03:55,134 He's in Fresno. 91 00:03:55,134 --> 00:03:57,303 He is at a church 92 00:03:57,303 --> 00:04:00,773 who is celebrating their one year anniversary today. 93 00:04:00,773 --> 00:04:02,308 So that's kind of cool, right? 94 00:04:03,776 --> 00:04:04,911 A church 95 00:04:04,911 --> 00:04:08,948 that we have been supporting and praying for. 96 00:04:08,982 --> 00:04:13,219 If many of you, some of you remember Pastor Sean Samuel. 97 00:04:13,753 --> 00:04:17,056 So Sean and his wife, he was the big Samoan guy. 98 00:04:17,757 --> 00:04:21,494 He started church in, in an area 99 00:04:21,494 --> 00:04:24,931 of Fresno that, that that needs some Jesus. 100 00:04:24,931 --> 00:04:28,468 And so one year in Pastor Carl is over there. 101 00:04:28,468 --> 00:04:29,602 He's encouraging them. 102 00:04:29,602 --> 00:04:33,906 He gets to represent us, a church that we have been supporting. 103 00:04:33,906 --> 00:04:35,942 So thank you all one year in. 104 00:04:35,942 --> 00:04:40,380 But hey, real quick, would you mind, father, we pray for that church 105 00:04:41,714 --> 00:04:44,717 remedy chapel. 106 00:04:45,218 --> 00:04:47,587 We thank you for what you're doing in that church. 107 00:04:47,587 --> 00:04:51,658 We thank you for what you're doing in Pastor Sean and Martha, 108 00:04:51,658 --> 00:04:57,297 his wife of the leaders of the people, and in that neighborhood. 109 00:04:59,799 --> 00:05:01,701 Now, God, we pray 110 00:05:01,701 --> 00:05:04,771 that you would continue to move mountains, 111 00:05:06,072 --> 00:05:09,575 that you would do miraculous things in that place. 112 00:05:10,476 --> 00:05:13,479 And we thank you for our pastor Carl. 113 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:16,683 May you give him words this morning of encouragement, 114 00:05:17,083 --> 00:05:20,053 but also 115 00:05:20,119 --> 00:05:21,321 words of pushing 116 00:05:21,321 --> 00:05:24,290 forward towards the kingdom. 117 00:05:24,290 --> 00:05:26,192 In the name of Jesus Christ. 118 00:05:26,192 --> 00:05:29,195 Amen. Amen. 119 00:05:29,629 --> 00:05:31,230 My name is David. 120 00:05:31,230 --> 00:05:34,067 It's my birthday on Friday. 121 00:05:34,067 --> 00:05:35,101 We haven't met yet. 122 00:05:35,101 --> 00:05:37,537 Let's meet today. 123 00:05:37,537 --> 00:05:40,540 We're in the series called Kingdom Now. 124 00:05:40,840 --> 00:05:43,843 We've been walking through this series for a long time. 125 00:05:44,544 --> 00:05:46,913 We've been reading 126 00:05:46,913 --> 00:05:51,317 verse by verse, chapter by chapter, the book of Matthew, calling the series 127 00:05:51,317 --> 00:05:55,321 Kingdom now and the reason we're calling it Kingdom. 128 00:05:55,521 --> 00:05:56,789 I guess I can start with this. 129 00:05:56,789 --> 00:06:01,794 A lot of people think, and many of us maybe think, but I know a lot of 130 00:06:01,861 --> 00:06:05,631 there's a lot of ideas that that you live life. 131 00:06:06,833 --> 00:06:07,800 You walk through life. 132 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:11,971 You do the best you can, and then one day you die. 133 00:06:13,239 --> 00:06:16,509 You either go to heaven or you go to the other place. 134 00:06:16,509 --> 00:06:16,943 Right? 135 00:06:16,943 --> 00:06:21,214 And and so when we when we think this and many of us do, 136 00:06:21,280 --> 00:06:25,385 we think when we hear the word kingdom, we think of the word heaven. 137 00:06:26,853 --> 00:06:29,522 But as we walk through Matthew, 138 00:06:29,522 --> 00:06:33,459 as we actually hear Jesus's teachings, 139 00:06:34,093 --> 00:06:37,697 he actually paints a very different picture than that. 140 00:06:38,598 --> 00:06:41,000 He invites us into this idea 141 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:45,438 that the kingdom is now like right 142 00:06:45,438 --> 00:06:48,508 now, and. 143 00:06:50,543 --> 00:06:53,546 I want to even pause right there 144 00:06:53,579 --> 00:06:57,750 before I even say another word and say like that is for you today. 145 00:06:58,451 --> 00:07:01,320 Like you are invited into a life 146 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:04,290 with the King, with God 147 00:07:04,290 --> 00:07:09,295 in your current reality, whatever craziness is happening. 148 00:07:11,297 --> 00:07:13,733 So the kingdom is now, and that's the name of this series. 149 00:07:13,733 --> 00:07:17,103 But but if I'm honest, and if I took a moment to be real, 150 00:07:18,171 --> 00:07:21,307 I hear these words Kingdom. 151 00:07:21,307 --> 00:07:23,676 Now I see. 152 00:07:23,676 --> 00:07:26,712 We see Jesus talking about the kingdom is now. 153 00:07:26,712 --> 00:07:32,051 And that this question pops into my brain. 154 00:07:32,418 --> 00:07:33,586 Then. 155 00:07:33,586 --> 00:07:36,589 Then why doesn't it look like it? 156 00:07:38,791 --> 00:07:40,092 If the kingdom is now, 157 00:07:40,092 --> 00:07:45,531 then why is there there pain and suffering? 158 00:07:45,898 --> 00:07:49,836 Why did I have to go through that? 159 00:07:50,336 --> 00:07:52,839 Why did I have to watch that 160 00:07:52,839 --> 00:07:55,842 happen to that innocent child? 161 00:07:56,175 --> 00:08:02,515 I know Tim and I have spoken a little bit about this idea of this question 162 00:08:02,515 --> 00:08:05,818 that many of us have wrestled with, but but really it boils down to 163 00:08:05,852 --> 00:08:09,222 if there is a loving God and if there is a kingdom, 164 00:08:09,222 --> 00:08:14,694 then why does this trash and why does this bad stuff happen? 165 00:08:17,864 --> 00:08:21,067 Most of us know we've been around long enough. 166 00:08:21,067 --> 00:08:25,505 We've lived long enough to know that when people walk away from church, 167 00:08:25,505 --> 00:08:31,310 when they walk away from their faith, or when they give up on their their belief 168 00:08:31,310 --> 00:08:35,982 in God, it's not because of some logical thing they came to. 169 00:08:36,015 --> 00:08:40,052 It's because of pain, right? 170 00:08:40,620 --> 00:08:43,623 We we know, we we know people. 171 00:08:43,756 --> 00:08:45,024 I've had friends. 172 00:08:45,024 --> 00:08:46,092 I've looked them dead in the eye. 173 00:08:46,092 --> 00:08:51,430 And they say there's there's zero chance you will ever see me worshiping a God. 174 00:08:51,664 --> 00:08:54,867 When I had to go through that. 175 00:08:57,503 --> 00:08:59,939 Today, 176 00:08:59,939 --> 00:09:02,942 I want to be sensitive to that. 177 00:09:03,109 --> 00:09:06,112 But I also know. 178 00:09:07,413 --> 00:09:07,947 That today 179 00:09:07,947 --> 00:09:10,950 we get to dive into the tension of that 180 00:09:11,183 --> 00:09:14,186 Jesus is actually going to talk about it. 181 00:09:14,620 --> 00:09:19,559 And so if you would, we're going to jump into a parable. 182 00:09:19,792 --> 00:09:23,496 We've been walking through Matthew and up until now, 183 00:09:23,563 --> 00:09:25,698 Jesus is walking around ancient Israel. 184 00:09:25,698 --> 00:09:27,133 He's healing people. 185 00:09:27,133 --> 00:09:29,068 He's doing crazy miracles. 186 00:09:29,068 --> 00:09:33,339 And there are some people who are like, yeah, Jesus, we love you. 187 00:09:33,372 --> 00:09:34,273 You're cool. 188 00:09:34,273 --> 00:09:36,909 There's other people there like that. Is Satan right there? 189 00:09:36,909 --> 00:09:39,378 So it's a mixed response. 190 00:09:39,378 --> 00:09:42,615 And so Jesus begins to teach 191 00:09:42,615 --> 00:09:45,918 these parables, their stories. 192 00:09:46,319 --> 00:09:50,456 A parable is a made up story in school. 193 00:09:50,456 --> 00:09:55,761 We call it fictional that teaches a spiritual truth. 194 00:09:55,895 --> 00:09:58,931 Last week, Carl, at the beginning of Matthew 13 195 00:09:58,998 --> 00:10:02,134 talked about a parable of seeds 196 00:10:02,134 --> 00:10:05,137 scattered on different types of soil. 197 00:10:05,338 --> 00:10:08,140 If you weren't here, it was at the beginning of Matthew 13. 198 00:10:08,140 --> 00:10:10,643 There was a rocky soil, there was a footpath, 199 00:10:10,643 --> 00:10:14,380 there was thorns, and then there was fertile soil. 200 00:10:14,747 --> 00:10:20,119 Today Jesus is going to tell a story or a parable about 201 00:10:20,653 --> 00:10:23,956 not the soil, but what's growing. 202 00:10:24,757 --> 00:10:25,625 All right. 203 00:10:25,625 --> 00:10:27,760 And I get to teach through that. 204 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:31,263 And then after that, he he Jesus talks about this other parable, 205 00:10:31,297 --> 00:10:35,601 a really famous parable about a mustard seed, how the kingdom of heaven 206 00:10:35,601 --> 00:10:36,869 is like a mustard seed. 207 00:10:36,869 --> 00:10:42,108 And then he shares how the kingdom of heaven is like yeast in a dough. 208 00:10:42,742 --> 00:10:47,113 And then Jesus comes back and explains the parable we're going to talk about today. 209 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:51,517 So today we have a gift not just to hear from me. 210 00:10:52,018 --> 00:10:53,719 We get to hear from Jesus. 211 00:10:54,987 --> 00:10:58,491 But I want to start with the end in mind. 212 00:10:59,258 --> 00:11:00,459 Jesus tells this parable. 213 00:11:00,459 --> 00:11:00,993 He's talking. 214 00:11:00,993 --> 00:11:04,397 He give him parables, and then all of a sudden he explains the parable. 215 00:11:04,397 --> 00:11:09,135 And he ends with this line, and just listen to this. 216 00:11:10,269 --> 00:11:11,871 He he explains it all. 217 00:11:11,871 --> 00:11:17,043 And at the very bottom of my part today, he says this 218 00:11:17,777 --> 00:11:21,180 whoever has ears, let them hear. 219 00:11:22,381 --> 00:11:24,617 He tells the story, he explains it. 220 00:11:24,617 --> 00:11:27,820 And then he says, if you have ears, 221 00:11:29,388 --> 00:11:31,624 may you hear that? 222 00:11:31,624 --> 00:11:33,292 Which is funny, right? 223 00:11:33,292 --> 00:11:34,493 He's speaking to a crowd. 224 00:11:34,493 --> 00:11:36,062 They all have ears. 225 00:11:36,062 --> 00:11:37,229 We all have ears. 226 00:11:37,229 --> 00:11:39,231 He's not saying, hey, hey, just hear me here. 227 00:11:39,231 --> 00:11:43,736 He's saying, hey, if you have ears, I want you to lean in a little bit. 228 00:11:44,837 --> 00:11:47,940 And so we're going to start with that. 229 00:11:50,443 --> 00:11:53,079 If you're willing 230 00:11:53,079 --> 00:11:56,716 to use your ears and let them hear. 231 00:11:56,949 --> 00:11:59,952 Now, I'm gonna ask you to slip your hand up right now. 232 00:12:00,953 --> 00:12:01,620 Cool. 233 00:12:01,620 --> 00:12:03,055 And it's okay if you don't want to go 234 00:12:03,055 --> 00:12:04,857 and keep your hands up, because I want to pray for you. 235 00:12:04,857 --> 00:12:06,425 Go and keep your hands up if you're willing. 236 00:12:06,425 --> 00:12:08,627 If you have ears and you're willing to let them hear. 237 00:12:08,627 --> 00:12:13,332 Because I think there's something very there's something very spiritual 238 00:12:13,332 --> 00:12:16,335 and there's something very special about actually saying, yes, God, I'm 239 00:12:16,335 --> 00:12:19,772 actually leaning in right now and it's okay if you're not ready. 240 00:12:20,172 --> 00:12:23,075 But father, over the hands that are raised right now, 241 00:12:23,075 --> 00:12:26,078 I pray that you would open our ears. 242 00:12:26,579 --> 00:12:27,747 I'm gonna raise both my hands. 243 00:12:27,747 --> 00:12:28,948 I need both ears right now. 244 00:12:28,948 --> 00:12:35,721 I pray that you would open our ears and let us hear you in a fresh way today. 245 00:12:35,921 --> 00:12:40,693 In a unique way today, in a way that we need it today. 246 00:12:42,294 --> 00:12:45,798 Help us focus in and listen to your words. 247 00:12:46,265 --> 00:12:48,134 In the name of Jesus Christ. 248 00:12:48,134 --> 00:12:51,137 Amen. Amen. Cool. 249 00:12:51,470 --> 00:12:54,473 Thanks for being willing. 250 00:12:54,774 --> 00:12:56,842 A little context we've been walking through Matthew. 251 00:12:56,842 --> 00:12:59,612 Jesus has been healing people. People are mixed there. 252 00:12:59,612 --> 00:13:02,181 They're wondering who this guy is. 253 00:13:02,181 --> 00:13:06,018 Is he this this savior type of guy that he says he is? 254 00:13:06,018 --> 00:13:08,721 Or this thing keeps messing me up, man? 255 00:13:08,721 --> 00:13:11,690 Or is he like, 256 00:13:11,690 --> 00:13:15,060 is he the Savior or is he like just this crazy guy? 257 00:13:15,060 --> 00:13:19,698 They're trying to figure this out, and he's at this point where he is 258 00:13:19,832 --> 00:13:22,902 speaking and a whole big crowd comes to him. 259 00:13:23,102 --> 00:13:26,539 So big, bigger than this, that he gets into a boat 260 00:13:26,539 --> 00:13:30,476 on the beach and the crowd surrounds him on the beach. 261 00:13:30,576 --> 00:13:32,378 And then it says he speaks. 262 00:13:32,378 --> 00:13:34,613 He serves teaching these parables. 263 00:13:34,613 --> 00:13:37,950 And so I want you not to read along with me right now. 264 00:13:38,350 --> 00:13:40,653 I want you to just listen. 265 00:13:40,653 --> 00:13:43,622 I want you to use those ears that we just said, yeah, we're open. 266 00:13:43,622 --> 00:13:46,425 I want you to use those ears and just listen, 267 00:13:46,425 --> 00:13:50,963 because this would have been what they would have done, 268 00:13:52,031 --> 00:13:54,867 all right? 269 00:13:54,867 --> 00:13:57,236 And then we're going to talk about it 270 00:13:57,236 --> 00:14:00,239 and you're going to talk about it. 271 00:14:01,340 --> 00:14:05,010 I actually want you to think as you're listening. 272 00:14:05,277 --> 00:14:09,348 What do you notice about this story? 273 00:14:09,481 --> 00:14:12,251 What do you wonder? 274 00:14:12,251 --> 00:14:13,953 What do you notice? 275 00:14:13,953 --> 00:14:16,956 What do you wonder? 276 00:14:17,656 --> 00:14:19,959 Sound good? 277 00:14:19,959 --> 00:14:22,962 So Jesus told them another parable. 278 00:14:24,396 --> 00:14:27,399 He said, the kingdom of heaven is like a man 279 00:14:27,533 --> 00:14:30,536 who sowed good seed in his field. 280 00:14:31,737 --> 00:14:34,340 But while everyone was sleeping, 281 00:14:34,340 --> 00:14:38,210 his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat. 282 00:14:39,278 --> 00:14:41,981 And then he went away. 283 00:14:41,981 --> 00:14:44,984 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, 284 00:14:44,984 --> 00:14:47,987 the weeds also appeared. 285 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:52,091 The owner's servant said to him and said, 286 00:14:52,091 --> 00:14:56,395 sir, didn't you plant so good seed in your field? 287 00:14:56,395 --> 00:14:59,398 Where did all these weeds come from? 288 00:15:00,132 --> 00:15:01,867 An enemy did this, 289 00:15:02,835 --> 00:15:04,703 he replied. 290 00:15:04,703 --> 00:15:09,375 The servants asked him, do you want us to go and pull them up now? 291 00:15:11,744 --> 00:15:14,813 He answered, because while you are pulling the weeds 292 00:15:15,147 --> 00:15:18,150 you may uproot the wheat with them. 293 00:15:19,952 --> 00:15:23,255 Let both grow together till the harvest. 294 00:15:24,056 --> 00:15:27,626 At that time I will tell the harvesters 295 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:31,163 first, collect the weeds, 296 00:15:31,230 --> 00:15:34,233 tie them in bundles to be burned, 297 00:15:34,333 --> 00:15:38,504 then gather the wheat and bring them into my barn. 298 00:15:42,374 --> 00:15:45,010 What do you notice? 299 00:15:45,010 --> 00:15:47,579 What do you wonder? 300 00:15:47,579 --> 00:15:49,815 Jesus told this story to a bunch of listeners, 301 00:15:49,815 --> 00:15:51,984 and I'm going to ask you right now, what do you notice? 302 00:15:51,984 --> 00:15:53,052 What do you wonder? 303 00:15:53,052 --> 00:15:54,987 Talk to the person next to you. 304 00:15:54,987 --> 00:15:57,823 Tell them. What did you notice in that story? 305 00:15:57,823 --> 00:15:58,757 What did you wonder? 306 00:15:58,757 --> 00:16:02,661 And then if you have no one to talk to or if you finish early, text me. 307 00:16:03,395 --> 00:16:06,265 Not an essay, just oh, phrase or a sentence. 308 00:16:06,265 --> 00:16:07,666 What did you notice? 309 00:16:07,666 --> 00:16:10,402 What did you wonder? Sound good? 310 00:16:10,402 --> 00:16:11,971 The guy like two minutes. Go. 311 00:17:07,393 --> 00:17:07,793 All right. 312 00:17:07,793 --> 00:17:10,095 I got some texts coming in. 313 00:17:10,095 --> 00:17:11,430 Got about one minute wrap. 314 00:17:11,430 --> 00:17:14,733 You can start wrapping things up and text me if you like. 315 00:17:29,314 --> 00:17:32,317 All right. 316 00:17:33,318 --> 00:17:35,254 Hey, thanks for participating in that. 317 00:17:35,254 --> 00:17:36,388 Sometimes we're so quick 318 00:17:36,388 --> 00:17:39,892 to try to explain everything without actually hearing it ourselves. 319 00:17:40,392 --> 00:17:44,997 Pretty much Jesus is telling this story and he's like, hey, there was a farmer. 320 00:17:45,464 --> 00:17:48,667 First of all, he says, the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven 321 00:17:48,667 --> 00:17:53,505 is like a farmer who's who's sowing seeds, good seeds. 322 00:17:53,505 --> 00:17:57,042 And then all of a sudden, when the workers are asleep, an enemy came 323 00:17:57,042 --> 00:18:00,546 and he planted weeds among the wheat. 324 00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:04,750 The servants, they say, hey, where are these weeds come from? 325 00:18:04,750 --> 00:18:08,053 And the the farmer says, an enemy did that. 326 00:18:08,587 --> 00:18:09,955 Do you want us to go pull them out? 327 00:18:09,955 --> 00:18:13,959 And no, no, no, no, at harvest time will separate them 328 00:18:14,193 --> 00:18:17,429 and will burn the weeds and or the tears. 329 00:18:17,429 --> 00:18:18,664 Some of your Bibles might say, 330 00:18:18,664 --> 00:18:22,468 tares will burn that, and we will put the wheat in the barn. 331 00:18:23,001 --> 00:18:24,470 I want to read a couple of these. 332 00:18:28,507 --> 00:18:30,676 This is the first one 333 00:18:30,676 --> 00:18:33,679 says the weeds are going to burn in hell like people who don't come to Christ. 334 00:18:33,679 --> 00:18:36,682 Happy birthday. 335 00:18:37,116 --> 00:18:39,051 Hey, if this is your first time to flip side. 336 00:18:39,051 --> 00:18:39,852 Hey, welcome. 337 00:18:39,852 --> 00:18:43,856 We're talking about people burning, but. 338 00:18:44,189 --> 00:18:45,991 Yeah, that's that's good. 339 00:18:45,991 --> 00:18:47,626 Yeah. 340 00:18:47,626 --> 00:18:50,596 Someone said 341 00:18:50,596 --> 00:18:53,599 I noticed he let them grow together. 342 00:18:54,700 --> 00:18:58,837 Oh, as a mother, I often want to take out all the bad I see in my children. 343 00:18:58,837 --> 00:19:02,941 I'm feeling convicted to leave some of the weeds till the proper time. 344 00:19:03,175 --> 00:19:04,877 That's cool. 345 00:19:04,877 --> 00:19:08,514 Someone said weeds do not change good seeds. 346 00:19:09,314 --> 00:19:12,317 We may not know who is evil. 347 00:19:14,419 --> 00:19:16,054 Someone just wrote happy birthday. 348 00:19:16,054 --> 00:19:19,057 That wasn't the assignment. 349 00:19:20,626 --> 00:19:23,195 Someone said Jesus will take care of the bad. 350 00:19:23,195 --> 00:19:26,231 We need to focus on his good to thrive. 351 00:19:29,301 --> 00:19:32,971 Good and evil together till the end. 352 00:19:32,971 --> 00:19:35,974 And then he allows us to choose. 353 00:19:38,277 --> 00:19:41,280 He did not want to lose any of the wheat. 354 00:19:41,980 --> 00:19:44,583 It's a good point. 355 00:19:44,583 --> 00:19:46,151 He didn't want to lose even one of them. 356 00:19:46,151 --> 00:19:49,154 He wanted to save all of the wheat. 357 00:19:51,757 --> 00:19:56,261 Let God separate the weeds from the good. 358 00:19:56,828 --> 00:19:58,330 Someone said good will prevail. 359 00:19:58,330 --> 00:20:00,132 And there's a bunch more coming in. 360 00:20:00,132 --> 00:20:03,135 I'm going to stop there. 361 00:20:04,102 --> 00:20:07,472 A really interesting parable story. 362 00:20:07,472 --> 00:20:10,542 And what we just did was we enacted we 363 00:20:10,576 --> 00:20:13,545 we participated in the story 364 00:20:13,545 --> 00:20:16,348 most of the and a little context. 365 00:20:16,348 --> 00:20:20,919 Jesus, at this point, he's on the beach of the Sea of Galilee, 366 00:20:21,153 --> 00:20:24,656 surrounded by agriculture. 367 00:20:24,856 --> 00:20:29,428 So he is speaking to people who know exactly what he's talking about. 368 00:20:30,362 --> 00:20:33,232 If he was on a baseball field, he would have said, the kingdom of God 369 00:20:33,232 --> 00:20:36,101 is like a baseball field, but he's not. He's in farmland. 370 00:20:36,101 --> 00:20:39,271 So he's saying, the kingdom of God is like a farmer. 371 00:20:39,338 --> 00:20:43,709 Now, a couple just to add on to some of those because they're so good. 372 00:20:43,742 --> 00:20:46,678 But he says, the kingdom of God is like, 373 00:20:47,980 --> 00:20:51,116 he doesn't say, the kingdom of God will be like one day, or 374 00:20:51,149 --> 00:20:54,419 the kingdom of God was like, the kingdom of God 375 00:20:54,419 --> 00:20:57,723 is like right now. 376 00:20:57,923 --> 00:21:00,892 Currently, 377 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:04,429 another weird little notice 378 00:21:04,429 --> 00:21:08,200 was that when the enemy planted the 379 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:11,203 the weeds, did you guys catch that? 380 00:21:11,203 --> 00:21:13,572 The farmer planted good seed. 381 00:21:13,572 --> 00:21:18,277 The the the evil or the enemy planted weeds? 382 00:21:18,543 --> 00:21:20,779 Two different complete different words. 383 00:21:20,779 --> 00:21:25,784 Actually, in the Greek the word seed is not used for the word weed. 384 00:21:25,784 --> 00:21:28,220 It's literally this word tzaneen. 385 00:21:28,220 --> 00:21:31,657 So when the the farmer plant seed, 386 00:21:31,657 --> 00:21:34,660 the enemy plants this lion. 387 00:21:35,093 --> 00:21:39,331 And it's not really used anywhere else in scripture except for that moment, 388 00:21:39,331 --> 00:21:44,236 and that Tzaneen is the word we get for tares. 389 00:21:44,269 --> 00:21:48,040 Some of your Bibles might say tears, some of it, but it's a type 390 00:21:48,040 --> 00:21:52,010 of weed called in the English word darnall. 391 00:21:53,178 --> 00:21:55,213 If your name is Darnell, I'm sorry man. 392 00:21:55,213 --> 00:21:57,316 But that's the way out. 393 00:21:57,316 --> 00:22:00,752 And what's kind of interesting about this is, is this. 394 00:22:00,752 --> 00:22:03,522 This is what wheat looks like when it's growing. 395 00:22:03,522 --> 00:22:04,556 I'm not a farmer. 396 00:22:04,556 --> 00:22:08,393 I just know what it looks like on the box of Cream of Wheat. And. 397 00:22:09,227 --> 00:22:10,896 But it doesn't look like that normally, right? 398 00:22:10,896 --> 00:22:12,631 Like, normally it's like golden, right? 399 00:22:12,631 --> 00:22:17,736 But when we or wheat is growing, it's green and it has stalks and it has these 400 00:22:17,736 --> 00:22:21,239 little heads in it, the weeds 401 00:22:21,239 --> 00:22:24,976 or the tears that is described in this parable 402 00:22:25,310 --> 00:22:31,750 looks like this as it grows so very similar, almost identical. 403 00:22:31,783 --> 00:22:36,188 So this is wheat and this is what we would call Darnall. 404 00:22:36,355 --> 00:22:38,190 Darnall. 405 00:22:38,190 --> 00:22:43,195 Now when Jesus is speaking to these farmers, they're all nodding their head. 406 00:22:43,228 --> 00:22:46,098 They're like, yeah, this is how fields work. 407 00:22:46,098 --> 00:22:49,501 And we've seen this happen, which is interesting. 408 00:22:50,402 --> 00:22:52,504 I wouldn't think anybody would do something like that. 409 00:22:52,504 --> 00:22:58,176 But this there was an actual Roman law that punished people 410 00:22:58,176 --> 00:23:01,947 who planted Tzaneen in somebody else's field. 411 00:23:02,714 --> 00:23:05,217 It was punishable by death. 412 00:23:06,385 --> 00:23:08,053 This was a well known thing. 413 00:23:08,053 --> 00:23:11,323 If you didn't like somebody, you just plant weeds in their field 414 00:23:11,323 --> 00:23:13,358 and you're not just trying to make their day bad, 415 00:23:13,358 --> 00:23:16,361 you're trying to ruin their field and harvest. 416 00:23:17,462 --> 00:23:20,399 As Jesus is telling this parable 417 00:23:20,399 --> 00:23:24,236 to these workers and farmers, they're all going, yeah, I get it. 418 00:23:24,269 --> 00:23:26,872 Yeah, yeah, I know, I hate when that happens. 419 00:23:26,872 --> 00:23:29,474 I saw Uncle Fred happened to him and it was terrible. 420 00:23:29,474 --> 00:23:30,308 It was. 421 00:23:30,308 --> 00:23:33,412 But then Jesus changes the story a little bit, right? 422 00:23:34,012 --> 00:23:36,548 Because. 423 00:23:36,548 --> 00:23:40,352 Because then he says, do you want to we want to go pull him up. 424 00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:43,255 He says, no, no, no. 425 00:23:43,255 --> 00:23:45,390 Harvest will do that later. 426 00:23:45,390 --> 00:23:47,058 Because this is the interesting part. 427 00:23:47,058 --> 00:23:50,395 As Darnell grows, it 428 00:23:50,395 --> 00:23:55,534 stays green and kind of grayish, and it actually produces 429 00:23:55,534 --> 00:24:01,139 these little heads that end up turning black, very different from wheat, 430 00:24:01,573 --> 00:24:06,378 the golden wheat, and so very identifiable. 431 00:24:06,978 --> 00:24:07,579 Okay. 432 00:24:08,580 --> 00:24:11,583 But it takes time. 433 00:24:11,583 --> 00:24:13,452 I just wanted to give you a little bit of context 434 00:24:13,452 --> 00:24:18,690 before we actually jump into Jesus's explanation, because because Jesus 435 00:24:18,690 --> 00:24:23,829 then tells a parable about a mustard seed, tells parable about a waste or a yeast. 436 00:24:23,829 --> 00:24:27,732 And then if you have your Bible, would you turn to Matthew chapter 13? 437 00:24:27,732 --> 00:24:30,802 We're going to read his explanation together. 438 00:24:30,802 --> 00:24:34,873 So Matthew chapter 13, and I'm going to start in verse 36. 439 00:24:41,780 --> 00:24:45,450 So all these people, they're listening, they're nodding their head. 440 00:24:45,517 --> 00:24:47,385 They're like, yeah, we get it. Jesus. 441 00:24:47,385 --> 00:24:49,187 We understand the field. 442 00:24:49,187 --> 00:24:53,592 But they're also thinking this, what's he talking about? 443 00:24:54,359 --> 00:24:56,628 Who is he talking about? 444 00:24:56,628 --> 00:24:59,631 Who am I in the story? 445 00:24:59,798 --> 00:25:02,801 But then they're left to wonder. 446 00:25:03,935 --> 00:25:05,070 Verse 36. 447 00:25:05,070 --> 00:25:07,639 You guys ready for this? This is I love this part, he says. 448 00:25:07,639 --> 00:25:08,974 Then he left the crowd. 449 00:25:08,974 --> 00:25:12,377 So Jesus gets off the boat and he leaves the crowd. 450 00:25:12,377 --> 00:25:14,112 And he he went into a house. 451 00:25:14,112 --> 00:25:18,016 It says his disciples came to him and said, 452 00:25:18,283 --> 00:25:21,553 explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field. 453 00:25:23,455 --> 00:25:24,990 This is kind of cool because 454 00:25:24,990 --> 00:25:27,192 Jesus speaking the disciples are sitting right here 455 00:25:27,192 --> 00:25:28,860 imagining like, you guys are the disciples. 456 00:25:28,860 --> 00:25:30,795 Jesus is telling the story. 457 00:25:30,795 --> 00:25:35,033 Jesus leaves, goes into the house, and then you come up to me and he's like, 458 00:25:35,066 --> 00:25:39,638 hey, hey, real quick, that one story told, can you explain it to us? 459 00:25:40,906 --> 00:25:43,675 Why? Because. 460 00:25:43,675 --> 00:25:46,144 Because we're we're wondering 461 00:25:46,144 --> 00:25:48,880 what is the weeds? 462 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:51,850 What are what are you talking about? 463 00:25:51,917 --> 00:25:54,619 So let's let Jesus explain. 464 00:25:54,619 --> 00:25:57,622 Verse 37 says, he answered, 465 00:25:58,023 --> 00:26:01,860 the one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 466 00:26:03,261 --> 00:26:05,530 The field is the world, 467 00:26:05,530 --> 00:26:08,900 and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom, 468 00:26:10,101 --> 00:26:13,505 the weeds, the people of the evil one, 469 00:26:14,239 --> 00:26:17,576 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. 470 00:26:18,610 --> 00:26:19,511 The harvest 471 00:26:19,511 --> 00:26:22,614 is the end of the age, and the harvesters 472 00:26:23,181 --> 00:26:25,817 their angels. 473 00:26:25,817 --> 00:26:27,552 Verse 40. 474 00:26:27,552 --> 00:26:30,589 As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, 475 00:26:30,589 --> 00:26:33,959 so it will be at the end of the age. 476 00:26:34,492 --> 00:26:39,497 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom 477 00:26:39,731 --> 00:26:44,336 everything that causes sin, and all who do evil. 478 00:26:45,704 --> 00:26:48,707 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, 479 00:26:48,707 --> 00:26:53,211 where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 480 00:26:54,512 --> 00:26:58,316 Then the righteous will shine like the sun 481 00:26:58,516 --> 00:27:01,519 in the kingdom of their father. 482 00:27:02,621 --> 00:27:05,824 Whoever has ears, let them hear. 483 00:27:09,194 --> 00:27:11,429 Disciples are like Jesus. 484 00:27:11,429 --> 00:27:15,700 You just describe this moment and these weeds are with the wheat. 485 00:27:15,700 --> 00:27:16,501 Explain it to us. 486 00:27:16,501 --> 00:27:19,337 And he he lays it out for them. 487 00:27:19,337 --> 00:27:20,538 So I don't need to give you 488 00:27:20,538 --> 00:27:24,275 any more clever explanation other than let's look at what Jesus said. 489 00:27:24,676 --> 00:27:27,212 So I have a couple of just observations. 490 00:27:27,212 --> 00:27:30,548 Observation one Jesus. 491 00:27:30,882 --> 00:27:37,355 He literally says, the one who sowed good seed is the Son of Man and the enemy. 492 00:27:37,355 --> 00:27:38,590 That's the devil. 493 00:27:38,590 --> 00:27:42,494 Right off the bat there is good and there is evil. 494 00:27:42,994 --> 00:27:45,997 Right off the bat, when Jesus says, 495 00:27:46,031 --> 00:27:48,833 The Son of Man is the one who sowed, sees, 496 00:27:48,833 --> 00:27:54,472 he is making a couple of major claims that everybody in the audience, 497 00:27:54,472 --> 00:27:57,942 his disciples, would have immediately known what he was talking about. 498 00:27:58,343 --> 00:28:01,513 The Son of Man was a title 499 00:28:01,813 --> 00:28:04,816 that's used all throughout the Old Testament 500 00:28:05,083 --> 00:28:10,422 to describe the coming Savior of the world. 501 00:28:12,290 --> 00:28:15,493 Jesus, very often, when he's 502 00:28:15,493 --> 00:28:19,698 referring to himself, would call himself the Son of Man. 503 00:28:20,131 --> 00:28:23,234 And so he's literally saying, I'm the farmer 504 00:28:24,803 --> 00:28:26,371 in that story I told. 505 00:28:26,371 --> 00:28:28,106 I'm the farmer guys. 506 00:28:28,106 --> 00:28:32,410 And if that's if that's true, if he's the farmer, he's 507 00:28:32,410 --> 00:28:36,147 pretty much saying that the kingdom is here because of me. 508 00:28:37,816 --> 00:28:41,186 And if the kingdom is here because of me, that means I'm the King. 509 00:28:41,853 --> 00:28:46,024 He is stating to his disciples, I am the king of this field. 510 00:28:46,791 --> 00:28:50,061 And then he says, I was planting good seeds. 511 00:28:50,061 --> 00:28:53,932 Everything good in the field was of Jesus, 512 00:28:54,265 --> 00:28:57,268 was of the farmer. 513 00:28:57,936 --> 00:28:59,838 The Bible says every good thing 514 00:28:59,838 --> 00:29:02,841 comes from the father. 515 00:29:03,308 --> 00:29:04,676 I also noticed this, that 516 00:29:04,676 --> 00:29:07,679 not everything growing in the kingdom 517 00:29:08,079 --> 00:29:11,082 is from Jesus, right? 518 00:29:12,917 --> 00:29:13,651 Not everything 519 00:29:13,651 --> 00:29:17,655 growing is from him, but the farmer. 520 00:29:17,655 --> 00:29:20,158 Jesus has final authority. 521 00:29:22,260 --> 00:29:23,294 He says, I will 522 00:29:23,294 --> 00:29:26,431 know which is which when the time is right. 523 00:29:27,298 --> 00:29:29,200 Not your time. My time, he says. 524 00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:32,971 So let me let me share this little idea with you from the beginning. 525 00:29:32,971 --> 00:29:34,439 From the very beginning. 526 00:29:34,439 --> 00:29:37,442 Let me say this the kingdom is now, 527 00:29:37,976 --> 00:29:40,578 but it's a little bit messy, 528 00:29:40,578 --> 00:29:43,414 and it doesn't look the way 529 00:29:43,414 --> 00:29:46,417 we hoped it would. 530 00:29:46,584 --> 00:29:49,154 The kingdom is now, and it definitely does not 531 00:29:49,154 --> 00:29:52,157 look like what the ancient Israelites would have thought it would. 532 00:29:52,490 --> 00:29:53,658 They would have hoped 533 00:29:53,658 --> 00:29:57,762 that the kingdom came and it was clean rows of beautiful wheat, 534 00:29:57,796 --> 00:30:02,033 not a weed in sight, because that's what they thought the Savior would do. 535 00:30:02,066 --> 00:30:04,903 He would come in with a sword and just wipe out the Romans, 536 00:30:04,903 --> 00:30:08,506 and it would just be beautiful fields of wheat. 537 00:30:08,973 --> 00:30:11,709 But Jesus saying, no, no, you got it wrong. 538 00:30:14,279 --> 00:30:17,415 The the title The Enemy is the devil. 539 00:30:18,349 --> 00:30:21,820 The Bible says that the devil prowls around 540 00:30:21,853 --> 00:30:26,424 like a roaring lion looking for souls to devour. 541 00:30:26,825 --> 00:30:29,427 It wasn't like the enemy 542 00:30:29,427 --> 00:30:32,430 was just going to work and was like, let me just throw some. 543 00:30:32,730 --> 00:30:35,733 There is intention. 544 00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:38,203 There was work, 545 00:30:38,203 --> 00:30:40,338 there was planning involved 546 00:30:40,338 --> 00:30:43,341 from the devil's part. 547 00:30:46,010 --> 00:30:49,347 The devil literally has it out not to destroy, 548 00:30:49,380 --> 00:30:53,818 not to just mess up the the farmers day, but to destroy the harvest. 549 00:30:54,953 --> 00:30:57,956 Okay. 550 00:30:58,957 --> 00:31:01,025 Simple observation. 551 00:31:01,025 --> 00:31:04,696 I have a big idea that I'm going to walk through as the next 15 minutes. 552 00:31:04,696 --> 00:31:07,699 The big idea is this. 553 00:31:11,736 --> 00:31:13,738 You can't always control 554 00:31:13,738 --> 00:31:16,474 what growing around you, 555 00:31:16,474 --> 00:31:19,744 but you can control what's growing in you. 556 00:31:21,312 --> 00:31:23,514 And let me unpack that for a second. 557 00:31:24,549 --> 00:31:28,119 As Jesus makes this claim, the the people are listening. 558 00:31:28,119 --> 00:31:29,721 They're wondering, who are we in the story? 559 00:31:29,721 --> 00:31:31,456 Who are we in the story? 560 00:31:31,456 --> 00:31:32,457 And they're going to 561 00:31:32,457 --> 00:31:36,761 they're going to come to find out that there are multiple people in the story. 562 00:31:37,195 --> 00:31:40,865 My second observation is is pretty simple, 563 00:31:41,199 --> 00:31:45,436 but he defines he goes down and he defines everybody in the story. 564 00:31:45,470 --> 00:31:45,737 Right? 565 00:31:45,737 --> 00:31:49,974 He says the farmer is the Son of Man, the enemy is the devil. 566 00:31:50,041 --> 00:31:55,113 He says, the good seed is a people of the kingdom. 567 00:31:55,280 --> 00:31:59,417 Some of your Bibles might say, children of the kingdom or sons of the kingdom. 568 00:31:59,651 --> 00:32:03,354 The weeds are people of evil or wickedness. 569 00:32:03,521 --> 00:32:06,491 He says, the enemy, 570 00:32:07,492 --> 00:32:08,760 the enemy is the devil. 571 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:12,730 He said, the harvest is the end of the age. 572 00:32:13,231 --> 00:32:17,869 And then he says, the harvesters are angels. 573 00:32:19,103 --> 00:32:20,305 They may notice he missed one. 574 00:32:20,305 --> 00:32:21,940 He missed one. 575 00:32:21,940 --> 00:32:25,743 He describes everything in the story except one thing 576 00:32:26,411 --> 00:32:29,347 the servants, the workers. 577 00:32:29,347 --> 00:32:30,949 It's a very different word. 578 00:32:30,949 --> 00:32:35,787 When he comes to Max and says the harvesters will harvest. 579 00:32:35,820 --> 00:32:38,523 The workers are very different. 580 00:32:38,523 --> 00:32:41,893 The people listening to the story would have been like, oh, that's me. 581 00:32:42,060 --> 00:32:45,029 I'm the I'm the worker. 582 00:32:45,029 --> 00:32:47,865 Do you remember what the workers wanted to do? 583 00:32:47,865 --> 00:32:49,400 Hey, there's weeds over there. 584 00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:53,938 Do you want us to go pull them out? No. 585 00:32:55,373 --> 00:32:58,376 Why is it that us humans. 586 00:32:58,376 --> 00:33:00,545 We want to fix everything. 587 00:33:00,545 --> 00:33:02,981 We put our Bob the builder hat on, and we. 588 00:33:02,981 --> 00:33:06,451 We start working on things, working on relationships. 589 00:33:06,451 --> 00:33:10,054 We start really trying to dig into our kids, how they grow up. 590 00:33:10,054 --> 00:33:11,589 We start trying to. 591 00:33:11,589 --> 00:33:13,291 I see this happening over here with my friends. 592 00:33:13,291 --> 00:33:15,393 I'm just going to try to solve this thing. 593 00:33:15,393 --> 00:33:18,696 Like, what is it about this idea 594 00:33:18,696 --> 00:33:22,266 of solving and fixing things that we have innate in us? 595 00:33:23,234 --> 00:33:26,237 They wanted to do it. 596 00:33:27,572 --> 00:33:30,375 I was looking at some studies. 597 00:33:30,375 --> 00:33:33,277 There's a there's a cognitive study that says 598 00:33:33,277 --> 00:33:36,280 one of the basic needs of human 599 00:33:36,514 --> 00:33:40,952 humanity is to be in control of things 600 00:33:41,819 --> 00:33:45,356 right there with water and air you need 601 00:33:45,556 --> 00:33:48,826 if you're in control of it, that feels like you're living. 602 00:33:50,261 --> 00:33:53,664 And so there's this idea that from the beginning, 603 00:33:53,664 --> 00:33:56,134 Jesus is saying, I'm the farmer. 604 00:33:56,134 --> 00:33:59,137 The workers want to fix it, 605 00:33:59,270 --> 00:34:02,273 but it's not their job. 606 00:34:02,974 --> 00:34:03,941 It's my job. 607 00:34:03,941 --> 00:34:06,944 He's saying, I will do that later. 608 00:34:07,178 --> 00:34:12,517 There are parents in this room that have been constantly on their kids, trying to 609 00:34:12,550 --> 00:34:16,387 form them and and get their hands and and I'm just telling you right now, 610 00:34:16,421 --> 00:34:20,625 Jesus is saying, I am going to fix that when the time is right. 611 00:34:20,658 --> 00:34:23,628 You do your best with the soil around it, 612 00:34:23,628 --> 00:34:26,831 but you worry about you. 613 00:34:28,032 --> 00:34:29,200 After that, the servants 614 00:34:29,200 --> 00:34:32,203 never show up again in the story. 615 00:34:33,037 --> 00:34:34,305 So really quick. 616 00:34:34,305 --> 00:34:38,643 Not everything that needs fixing needs fixing right now. 617 00:34:39,377 --> 00:34:42,113 Don't rush the process of what God 618 00:34:42,113 --> 00:34:46,584 is doing around your life and in your life. 619 00:34:48,152 --> 00:34:49,720 And then I felt led to say this. 620 00:34:49,720 --> 00:34:55,093 Karl and I were talking, and there's this idea that that God's patience 621 00:34:55,359 --> 00:34:59,030 is not permission for the weeds to go rampant. 622 00:34:59,530 --> 00:35:02,533 God's patience is mercy. 623 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:05,970 It's mercy because of this 624 00:35:07,438 --> 00:35:10,441 that can't really tell yet. 625 00:35:10,741 --> 00:35:14,745 Some things that start off really good, you find out later 626 00:35:14,745 --> 00:35:17,748 they weren't that good. 627 00:35:19,851 --> 00:35:22,787 I said the big idea earlier, you can't control 628 00:35:22,787 --> 00:35:26,624 what's growing around you, but you can control what's growing in you. 629 00:35:27,258 --> 00:35:29,160 I'm sure you say this all the time to your girls. 630 00:35:29,160 --> 00:35:31,095 I say this all the time to my boys. 631 00:35:31,095 --> 00:35:32,530 You can't control 632 00:35:34,065 --> 00:35:35,933 too much of the baseball field. 633 00:35:35,933 --> 00:35:38,069 That ball hits a rock, bumps over your shoulder. 634 00:35:38,069 --> 00:35:39,270 Hey, hit the rock! 635 00:35:39,270 --> 00:35:42,240 You don't swing. That umpire rings you up. 636 00:35:42,240 --> 00:35:43,374 You can't control the umpire. 637 00:35:43,374 --> 00:35:46,911 You throw, your first baseman hits the glove off, and the guy is safe. 638 00:35:46,911 --> 00:35:49,881 Or the girl safe. You can't control that. 639 00:35:49,881 --> 00:35:53,184 You can't control yourself, your attitude. 640 00:35:53,618 --> 00:35:56,587 And so there's this idea that you cannot control. 641 00:35:56,587 --> 00:36:00,224 I say control a whole lot because what is 642 00:36:01,058 --> 00:36:04,061 if there is a control freak, right? 643 00:36:04,061 --> 00:36:07,064 Some of us, no one, some of us are one. 644 00:36:08,199 --> 00:36:11,202 What's lacking trust? 645 00:36:12,970 --> 00:36:14,572 Some of us have been in 646 00:36:14,572 --> 00:36:17,575 or in marriages where it just feels like we're 647 00:36:18,176 --> 00:36:21,179 married to a controlling person. 648 00:36:22,513 --> 00:36:24,916 Do they not trust us with that? 649 00:36:24,916 --> 00:36:30,021 If I'm in trying to control everything, that means I'm not trusting the process 650 00:36:31,722 --> 00:36:32,323 at some point. 651 00:36:32,323 --> 00:36:34,559 Janet, you just got to let them go out there and swing it. 652 00:36:34,559 --> 00:36:37,762 You can't control the at bat 653 00:36:39,630 --> 00:36:43,067 control is this human thing. 654 00:36:43,067 --> 00:36:46,370 When we don't have trust, what Jesus is 655 00:36:46,370 --> 00:36:49,373 saying is, hey, you're just the worker. 656 00:36:49,473 --> 00:36:52,310 Trust me, 657 00:36:52,310 --> 00:36:53,211 trust me. 658 00:36:53,211 --> 00:36:56,380 You can't control what's growing around you, 659 00:36:56,380 --> 00:36:59,383 but you can control you. 660 00:37:01,452 --> 00:37:02,253 It's funny, 661 00:37:02,253 --> 00:37:06,290 I just thought this was kind of a funny little thing, but in Luke nine 662 00:37:06,290 --> 00:37:09,093 and I'll just read this, there's Jesus and his disciples 663 00:37:09,093 --> 00:37:12,730 are walking into a village and they weren't received well. 664 00:37:12,797 --> 00:37:14,498 They were like, hey, we're mean. 665 00:37:14,498 --> 00:37:18,135 We're you know, they were like being, you know, rude to Jesus. 666 00:37:18,135 --> 00:37:21,138 And it says this, 667 00:37:21,339 --> 00:37:25,142 but the people there did not welcome Jesus because he was heading for Jerusalem. 668 00:37:25,142 --> 00:37:29,914 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked Jesus. 669 00:37:29,914 --> 00:37:34,719 They said, Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy them? 670 00:37:36,787 --> 00:37:38,222 They wanted to fix it. 671 00:37:38,222 --> 00:37:42,293 Jesus, it says, but Jesus turned and rebuked them. 672 00:37:43,261 --> 00:37:45,396 There's another kind of a funny 673 00:37:45,396 --> 00:37:48,399 little moment to the night Jesus was betrayed. 674 00:37:48,399 --> 00:37:52,570 He's sitting there in this all of orchard with his disciples, 675 00:37:52,570 --> 00:37:55,640 and Judas walks up and gives him a kiss. 676 00:37:55,640 --> 00:37:55,940 Right. 677 00:37:55,940 --> 00:38:01,746 And that's the sign for the the guards to arrest Jesus. 678 00:38:01,946 --> 00:38:06,784 As one of the guards is coming up to arrest Jesus, Peter flings out his sword. 679 00:38:06,917 --> 00:38:11,656 Remember what he does, and he chops off his ear because he's trying to fix it. 680 00:38:11,822 --> 00:38:16,560 And Jesus, if you remember the story, Jesus picks up this ear 681 00:38:17,595 --> 00:38:21,098 and he heals the man, pretty much saying, Peter, stop it. 682 00:38:22,433 --> 00:38:23,534 This ain't for you to fix. 683 00:38:23,534 --> 00:38:27,038 This is I'm going to fix all of this, but it's in my time. 684 00:38:29,106 --> 00:38:31,776 Interesting connection about ears though, right? 685 00:38:31,776 --> 00:38:34,979 Only Jesus is the one who can heal ears. 686 00:38:35,179 --> 00:38:38,182 And he's the one who said, if you have ears, 687 00:38:39,083 --> 00:38:42,053 let them hear. 688 00:38:44,822 --> 00:38:47,825 Observation three 689 00:38:47,825 --> 00:38:50,861 pretty black and white at the end, right? 690 00:38:52,063 --> 00:38:55,866 There's this difference between the wheat and the weeds. 691 00:38:55,933 --> 00:38:58,302 There's really no gray area. 692 00:38:58,302 --> 00:39:01,305 There's no third option. 693 00:39:01,339 --> 00:39:04,542 It's I did this talk a while ago, 694 00:39:04,942 --> 00:39:08,746 and the title of the talk was Gray The Way Forward. 695 00:39:08,746 --> 00:39:11,549 And my argument was that hardly anywhere in life 696 00:39:11,549 --> 00:39:13,851 is that black and white, most things are gray. 697 00:39:13,851 --> 00:39:15,252 It's like somewhere in the middle. 698 00:39:15,252 --> 00:39:18,556 And but that's not what this part is. 699 00:39:18,856 --> 00:39:21,859 This is black and white. 700 00:39:22,026 --> 00:39:24,962 There is a harvest. 701 00:39:24,962 --> 00:39:28,833 There is real separation coming. 702 00:39:29,300 --> 00:39:32,303 And it sounds like it's irreversible. 703 00:39:33,471 --> 00:39:34,905 The weeds are thrown into the fire. 704 00:39:34,905 --> 00:39:36,874 It's not like, oh, well, let's jump out. 705 00:39:36,874 --> 00:39:40,911 No, they're thrown into the fire to be burned where there is, he explains. 706 00:39:40,911 --> 00:39:44,315 Where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, 707 00:39:45,750 --> 00:39:49,787 a description of hell that's used often in the Bible. 708 00:39:49,787 --> 00:39:52,156 Weeping. I'm so sorry. 709 00:39:52,156 --> 00:39:56,660 I lived my entire life, and I'm so in full of regret 710 00:39:56,660 --> 00:40:00,798 that I lived and I did not do something right. 711 00:40:01,298 --> 00:40:04,201 Or there's gnashing of teeth, which is 712 00:40:04,201 --> 00:40:08,305 I am so angry that I'm being burned. 713 00:40:08,906 --> 00:40:13,210 I'm so angry at God, I'm gnashing my teeth. 714 00:40:13,210 --> 00:40:16,313 And so that's hell, how he's describing it. 715 00:40:17,148 --> 00:40:20,117 And then do you remember what he says about the other side of the wheat? 716 00:40:20,117 --> 00:40:23,120 It says they will be put in the barn 717 00:40:23,821 --> 00:40:27,758 where the righteous will shine like the sun 718 00:40:29,293 --> 00:40:32,296 in the kingdom of their father. 719 00:40:34,398 --> 00:40:37,401 There is a clear difference 720 00:40:37,635 --> 00:40:41,839 between wheat and weeds, but it takes time, 721 00:40:43,174 --> 00:40:46,177 and there's a process to it. 722 00:40:49,480 --> 00:40:52,516 Really quick little thought distinction. 723 00:40:52,516 --> 00:40:57,788 Some of your Bibles, when Jesus describes it says the good seed is sons 724 00:40:58,656 --> 00:41:00,791 or people of the kingdom. 725 00:41:00,791 --> 00:41:03,360 The actual Greek word is children, 726 00:41:03,360 --> 00:41:06,864 children of of the heaven, and same word is used. 727 00:41:06,897 --> 00:41:10,234 The weeds are children of wickedness. 728 00:41:11,302 --> 00:41:14,438 And so as the listeners are hearing 729 00:41:14,438 --> 00:41:17,942 Jesus tell the parable, they immediately say, I'm one of the workers. 730 00:41:17,942 --> 00:41:21,345 But then Jesus leaves it with wheat and weeds 731 00:41:21,345 --> 00:41:24,915 being separated, just like sheep and goats are separated. 732 00:41:24,915 --> 00:41:28,052 And now everyone's wondering in the crowd, 733 00:41:29,153 --> 00:41:29,453 wait. 734 00:41:29,453 --> 00:41:32,456 Am I a wheat or am I a wheat? 735 00:41:34,391 --> 00:41:38,262 He says it's the sons, the children 736 00:41:39,730 --> 00:41:42,066 of heaven, who are the the, the wheat. 737 00:41:42,066 --> 00:41:46,170 And I just wanted to read this because I think it explains it beautifully. 738 00:41:46,170 --> 00:41:47,938 Just listen to this. 739 00:41:47,938 --> 00:41:50,941 This is all the way back in first John. 740 00:41:51,876 --> 00:41:55,746 It says, dear children, same exact Greek Greek word. 741 00:41:56,313 --> 00:41:59,783 Do not let anyone or anything lead you astray. 742 00:42:01,018 --> 00:42:05,856 The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 743 00:42:06,357 --> 00:42:09,460 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil. 744 00:42:09,760 --> 00:42:12,696 Because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. 745 00:42:14,131 --> 00:42:15,232 Then he says this. 746 00:42:15,232 --> 00:42:18,302 The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy 747 00:42:18,302 --> 00:42:21,305 the devil's work. 748 00:42:21,305 --> 00:42:24,575 The reason Jesus came was to confront 749 00:42:24,642 --> 00:42:28,078 evil in your life and the lives around you. 750 00:42:28,879 --> 00:42:32,182 Unfortunately, it's not on our timing, 751 00:42:33,517 --> 00:42:36,954 but Jesus came to confront it and he will. 752 00:42:38,522 --> 00:42:39,990 No one who is born of 753 00:42:39,990 --> 00:42:43,694 God will continue to sin, born of God like a child of God. 754 00:42:43,761 --> 00:42:48,198 No one who is born of God will continue to sin because God's seed. 755 00:42:48,232 --> 00:42:51,001 Same word from our parable. 756 00:42:51,001 --> 00:42:52,870 God's seed remains in them, 757 00:42:52,870 --> 00:42:56,840 and they cannot go on sinning because they have been born of God. 758 00:42:57,174 --> 00:43:01,879 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil. 759 00:43:01,879 --> 00:43:03,414 Are you guys ready? 760 00:43:03,414 --> 00:43:06,016 Anyone who does not do what is 761 00:43:06,016 --> 00:43:09,920 right is not God's child, nor 762 00:43:09,920 --> 00:43:14,625 anyone who does not love their brother and sister is God's child. 763 00:43:16,026 --> 00:43:17,261 Pretty black and white. 764 00:43:17,261 --> 00:43:21,198 In other words, Jesus says a little bit later he says, 765 00:43:21,198 --> 00:43:25,469 you will know them by their fruit. 766 00:43:27,071 --> 00:43:28,639 As they grow, the wheat 767 00:43:28,639 --> 00:43:32,543 becomes edible and you can make a bunch of things with it 768 00:43:32,543 --> 00:43:37,081 bread and cream of wheat and weeds and stuff. 769 00:43:37,481 --> 00:43:42,419 As that grows, as the heads begin to form, check this out. 770 00:43:42,453 --> 00:43:45,456 They become poisonous to humans, 771 00:43:46,156 --> 00:43:48,792 but you can't identify him because you have to wait for them 772 00:43:48,792 --> 00:43:51,795 to mature before you can separate them. 773 00:43:52,830 --> 00:43:55,833 You will know them by their fruit. 774 00:43:56,033 --> 00:43:57,668 And I want you to know this. 775 00:43:57,668 --> 00:44:03,107 We don't need to figure out who the weeds are around us or around him. 776 00:44:03,173 --> 00:44:07,478 We just got to settle with who we are because you can't control 777 00:44:07,478 --> 00:44:08,946 what growing around you. 778 00:44:08,946 --> 00:44:12,016 But you can control what's growing in you. 779 00:44:14,618 --> 00:44:17,621 In the end, God doesn't separate 780 00:44:17,755 --> 00:44:20,357 by who they're hanging out with 781 00:44:20,357 --> 00:44:22,626 or where they are in life. 782 00:44:22,626 --> 00:44:25,629 How does he separate them by what they look like? 783 00:44:25,829 --> 00:44:27,631 By their identification? 784 00:44:27,631 --> 00:44:30,668 And that only happens through transformation. 785 00:44:32,536 --> 00:44:36,073 Another moment, a church leader comes up to Jesus. 786 00:44:36,240 --> 00:44:39,043 How, how must how do I how do I get into heaven? 787 00:44:39,043 --> 00:44:41,779 He says, you must be born again. 788 00:44:41,779 --> 00:44:42,579 Weird, right? 789 00:44:42,579 --> 00:44:44,148 We hear we say this word in church a lot. 790 00:44:44,148 --> 00:44:45,549 Oh, was I were you born again? 791 00:44:45,549 --> 00:44:49,053 Born, born again means you become by transformation 792 00:44:49,053 --> 00:44:54,858 this supernatural miracle that you become a child of righteousness. 793 00:44:54,892 --> 00:44:59,163 Only one way, John says you become righteous 794 00:44:59,563 --> 00:45:03,500 by putting your faith in Jesus, by recognizing 795 00:45:03,500 --> 00:45:07,571 I'm not good enough in saying I need a Savior, I need a farmer. 796 00:45:10,874 --> 00:45:12,710 So if you haven't been listening this whole time, 797 00:45:12,710 --> 00:45:14,311 I want to wrap up with this real quick. 798 00:45:14,311 --> 00:45:17,314 I need you to listen to this. 799 00:45:18,782 --> 00:45:22,119 We can't control anything around us, but we can control a couple of things. 800 00:45:22,119 --> 00:45:25,055 We can control who we follow. 801 00:45:25,055 --> 00:45:28,358 We can control what we feed on, 802 00:45:28,358 --> 00:45:32,496 and we can control what we focus on. 803 00:45:34,264 --> 00:45:36,100 Who you follow. 804 00:45:36,100 --> 00:45:38,001 Jesus walks up to people. 805 00:45:38,001 --> 00:45:39,236 This is his story, right? 806 00:45:39,236 --> 00:45:41,271 And he literally says, hey, would you follow me? 807 00:45:41,271 --> 00:45:44,308 And they have either a yes or a no. 808 00:45:44,308 --> 00:45:48,212 Just like when the wheat becomes wheat and the weeds become weeds. 809 00:45:48,212 --> 00:45:54,051 If if you have not chosen Jesus to follow, then who are you following? 810 00:45:54,518 --> 00:45:57,654 Everybody and everything is following something, right? 811 00:45:57,855 --> 00:46:00,090 We tell this. I tell this to my kids all the time. 812 00:46:00,090 --> 00:46:04,394 If you're following or if you're a I mean, who in the world are you following 813 00:46:06,296 --> 00:46:07,064 following your friends? 814 00:46:07,064 --> 00:46:08,732 Are you following that podcaster? 815 00:46:08,732 --> 00:46:11,735 Are you following whatever 816 00:46:12,302 --> 00:46:13,470 Jesus is saying? Follow me. 817 00:46:13,470 --> 00:46:16,073 You can control that. 818 00:46:16,073 --> 00:46:21,011 If you haven't done that verbally in a long time, here's a moment right now. 819 00:46:21,078 --> 00:46:23,080 Say this in your head Jesus. 820 00:46:23,080 --> 00:46:26,083 I choose to follow you today. 821 00:46:28,018 --> 00:46:31,021 I choose to follow you. 822 00:46:31,522 --> 00:46:33,791 Help me not follow those things. 823 00:46:33,791 --> 00:46:34,825 And you know what? 824 00:46:34,825 --> 00:46:37,828 Those things are in your life. 825 00:46:38,295 --> 00:46:40,864 You can choose what you feed on. 826 00:46:40,864 --> 00:46:42,099 You can choose what you feed on. 827 00:46:42,099 --> 00:46:46,003 I love going to the pantry, and I can choose anything I want. 828 00:46:46,036 --> 00:46:50,174 As an adult with a birthday, I get anything I want, right? 829 00:46:50,574 --> 00:46:52,142 But you get to choose. 830 00:46:52,142 --> 00:46:56,079 And if you continue to feed on trash, 831 00:46:56,713 --> 00:46:59,183 your life will show it. 832 00:46:59,183 --> 00:46:59,750 You can. 833 00:46:59,750 --> 00:47:03,554 If you choose good food, your life will show it. 834 00:47:04,655 --> 00:47:07,658 What are you watching on TV? 835 00:47:07,658 --> 00:47:09,626 What are you listening to? 836 00:47:09,626 --> 00:47:13,497 Who are you hanging out with on a daily basis? 837 00:47:14,598 --> 00:47:15,933 I was listening to a podcast. 838 00:47:15,933 --> 00:47:17,601 I really liked this one podcast. 839 00:47:17,601 --> 00:47:17,868 Great. 840 00:47:17,868 --> 00:47:22,539 It's funny, it's insightful, but one day I was just like thinking, what am I? 841 00:47:22,573 --> 00:47:24,441 What am I filling my brain with? 842 00:47:24,441 --> 00:47:28,111 Because it's definitely not of of the kingdom. 843 00:47:28,478 --> 00:47:32,816 And I had to really think about what I was feeding on. 844 00:47:32,816 --> 00:47:35,352 In a minute we're going to have communion. 845 00:47:35,352 --> 00:47:40,357 And Jesus literally says, this is my body feed on me. 846 00:47:40,357 --> 00:47:44,862 If you are not feeding on the Holy Bible. 847 00:47:46,096 --> 00:47:48,532 It sounded really old school how I said that. 848 00:47:48,532 --> 00:47:51,468 But if you're literally not in the Bible 849 00:47:51,468 --> 00:47:54,471 on a daily basis, you are starving yourself. 850 00:47:54,905 --> 00:47:59,076 And there's if after you fast, there's a couple of things you could do, 851 00:47:59,109 --> 00:48:00,911 Dave, you can just go straight to the junk food 852 00:48:00,911 --> 00:48:04,414 because it's I'm craving it, or you can hold off and wait for the good food. 853 00:48:04,414 --> 00:48:07,417 I'm telling you, if you're not reading this daily, 854 00:48:07,417 --> 00:48:11,221 you are feeding on something other than what's good. 855 00:48:12,155 --> 00:48:13,757 Read the Bible every day. 856 00:48:13,757 --> 00:48:17,394 We have flip journals in the little room over there that will help guide you. 857 00:48:18,028 --> 00:48:23,066 But feed on this feed on joining us on a on a regular basis. 858 00:48:23,066 --> 00:48:28,305 This is a family feed on each other of like, hey, I need to talk through this. 859 00:48:28,338 --> 00:48:32,175 Would you pray for me feed on worship as Jeff and the family leads like 860 00:48:32,175 --> 00:48:35,879 this is what we need to be feeding on and you have a choice. 861 00:48:37,481 --> 00:48:39,316 The last one was focus. 862 00:48:39,316 --> 00:48:41,251 What are you focus on? 863 00:48:41,251 --> 00:48:42,920 I saw this painting. 864 00:48:42,920 --> 00:48:45,255 I thought it was kind of interesting. 865 00:48:45,255 --> 00:48:48,792 It was painted by a guy named Lucas Van Gasol. 866 00:48:48,825 --> 00:48:51,495 He painted our parable that we just talked about. 867 00:48:51,495 --> 00:48:53,263 He painted it in the 1600s. 868 00:48:53,263 --> 00:48:54,865 He's from Europe. 869 00:48:54,865 --> 00:48:59,903 And his style was unique because this is called a world, world landscape 870 00:49:00,570 --> 00:49:01,438 if you look. 871 00:49:01,438 --> 00:49:03,740 Most paintings are just like one image. 872 00:49:03,740 --> 00:49:08,211 But his was he painted the entire world. 873 00:49:08,211 --> 00:49:14,017 In the one painting, you can see the farm, you can see trees, you can see 874 00:49:14,017 --> 00:49:18,455 buildings, you can see people over here, you can see this little animal. 875 00:49:18,522 --> 00:49:20,223 You can see it all. But. 876 00:49:20,223 --> 00:49:24,561 But he painted it really uniquely because most viewers. 877 00:49:24,561 --> 00:49:28,799 Will you like, immediately focus on one thing right front and center. 878 00:49:29,199 --> 00:49:30,600 The evil one. 879 00:49:30,600 --> 00:49:32,069 This represents the evil one. 880 00:49:32,069 --> 00:49:34,371 Joe, you can come on up here. 881 00:49:34,371 --> 00:49:35,339 This is the evil one. 882 00:49:35,339 --> 00:49:38,942 And our eyes immediately go there because it's really easy to see 883 00:49:38,942 --> 00:49:41,945 everything around us that isn't going right. 884 00:49:42,112 --> 00:49:44,548 What did the disciples say to Jesus? 885 00:49:44,548 --> 00:49:48,618 They say, Hey, Jesus, would you tell us about the the weeds in the field? 886 00:49:49,353 --> 00:49:50,554 Would you explain the weeds? 887 00:49:50,554 --> 00:49:52,556 They didn't say the wheat. 888 00:49:52,556 --> 00:49:55,559 They immediately thought about the weeds. 889 00:49:55,692 --> 00:50:00,263 And how often are we so quick to look at the weeds all around us? 890 00:50:01,064 --> 00:50:04,334 Sometimes my wife and I will go on a walk and we'll look at our house and be like, 891 00:50:04,334 --> 00:50:06,336 there's a weed, there's a weed, there's a weed, right? 892 00:50:06,336 --> 00:50:10,307 We see a field and sometimes we see only weeds. 893 00:50:10,340 --> 00:50:15,579 You have a decision what you can focus on, because you could focus on this field 894 00:50:15,579 --> 00:50:18,582 that you can't see anything yet because it takes time. 895 00:50:18,815 --> 00:50:22,019 You can focus on these buildings, the barns over here 896 00:50:22,019 --> 00:50:23,787 that the wheat will get into. 897 00:50:23,787 --> 00:50:27,290 You can see the fire that this painter 898 00:50:27,290 --> 00:50:30,961 painted, this bonfire that they're burning the weeds in. 899 00:50:31,094 --> 00:50:33,663 You can see there's actually work happening over here. 900 00:50:33,663 --> 00:50:35,232 There are people working. 901 00:50:37,300 --> 00:50:39,403 But instead we often focus here. 902 00:50:39,403 --> 00:50:43,640 And I want to challenge you today to focus on the good, 903 00:50:44,174 --> 00:50:47,110 to focus on 904 00:50:47,110 --> 00:50:50,147 the Savior, to focus on your target. 905 00:50:51,481 --> 00:50:54,718 Seek first the kingdom of heaven 906 00:50:55,318 --> 00:50:58,321 and the rest will be given to you. 907 00:51:00,624 --> 00:51:01,491 I'm going to let Joe. 908 00:51:01,491 --> 00:51:05,028 We're going to do communion right now, but I want to I want to close 909 00:51:05,028 --> 00:51:09,833 with this phrase, this this thing that Jesus said in John 15. 910 00:51:09,833 --> 00:51:11,802 Jesus said this. 911 00:51:11,802 --> 00:51:14,337 He said, I am the true vine. 912 00:51:14,337 --> 00:51:17,340 My father is the gardener. 913 00:51:17,674 --> 00:51:19,843 He cuts in me anything that doesn't 914 00:51:19,843 --> 00:51:22,813 bear fruit, 915 00:51:22,813 --> 00:51:24,581 he he prunes 916 00:51:24,581 --> 00:51:27,584 what does so that it would be even more fruitful. 917 00:51:28,418 --> 00:51:32,722 Then he said this you are already clean because of the words I have spoken to you. 918 00:51:33,657 --> 00:51:37,060 Remain in me as I remain in you. 919 00:51:37,527 --> 00:51:40,664 For no branch can produce fruit by itself. 920 00:51:40,897 --> 00:51:43,700 It must remain in the vine. 921 00:51:43,700 --> 00:51:47,471 Neither will you bear fruit, and less 922 00:51:47,504 --> 00:51:50,507 you remain in me. 923 00:51:51,541 --> 00:51:53,810 You will know them by their fruit. 924 00:51:53,810 --> 00:51:57,681 You will know the weeds between the wheat based on what they produce. 925 00:51:59,116 --> 00:52:02,119 Joe, would you like to lead us in communion? 926 00:52:02,452 --> 00:52:03,620 Good morning everybody. 927 00:52:03,620 --> 00:52:06,890 So now we're going to transition into this time of communion, and 928 00:52:07,023 --> 00:52:10,227 we are reminded that God is sovereign, 929 00:52:10,961 --> 00:52:14,131 in full control and above all things. 930 00:52:15,832 --> 00:52:18,835 He reigns in authority and power. 931 00:52:19,136 --> 00:52:21,638 And yet 932 00:52:21,638 --> 00:52:24,708 in our in our time, 933 00:52:24,841 --> 00:52:27,811 we often grow complacent. 934 00:52:30,080 --> 00:52:32,082 And we treat this moment, 935 00:52:32,082 --> 00:52:35,185 and even at times God himself as familiar 936 00:52:35,218 --> 00:52:38,221 instead of holy. 937 00:52:39,923 --> 00:52:43,593 God is not. 938 00:52:47,130 --> 00:52:48,532 God is not 939 00:52:50,000 --> 00:52:52,903 somebody that will treat us familiar. 940 00:52:52,903 --> 00:52:55,839 He is worthy to be praised, 941 00:52:55,839 --> 00:52:59,109 and he is to be feared 942 00:52:59,643 --> 00:53:02,612 not in terror and but in all. 943 00:53:04,114 --> 00:53:07,117 He is to be revered, honored, 944 00:53:08,051 --> 00:53:11,354 and approached with our full reverence. 945 00:53:11,721 --> 00:53:14,858 So I want you to each take a moment 946 00:53:14,858 --> 00:53:18,828 to yourselves and reflect, confess, 947 00:53:18,828 --> 00:53:21,831 and realign your hearts before him. 948 00:53:22,866 --> 00:53:25,869 So I'll give you a few seconds to do that 949 00:53:26,536 --> 00:53:30,440 into the one here, or some of you 950 00:53:30,440 --> 00:53:34,978 that have not yet made the decision to follow Jesus, this this moment for you. 951 00:53:34,978 --> 00:53:38,014 Also, I invite you into this time 952 00:53:38,815 --> 00:53:43,320 to remember what Jesus did for us on the cross and through his resurrection. 953 00:53:43,353 --> 00:53:48,959 And in your own words, come before him and say something along the lines of, 954 00:53:49,092 --> 00:53:52,796 Lord Jesus, I come before you, admitting that I have sinned, 955 00:53:52,796 --> 00:53:56,833 that I have lived a life of my own for far too long. 956 00:53:57,100 --> 00:54:02,439 It is now before you I surrender and accept your gift of grace. 957 00:54:02,439 --> 00:54:07,143 I believe that you died for me on the cross, that you rose from the grave 958 00:54:07,143 --> 00:54:10,814 on the third day, and are now alive and well at the right hand of the father. 959 00:54:11,781 --> 00:54:13,717 I completely surrender my life to you. 960 00:54:13,717 --> 00:54:18,154 And if you've prayed that prayer, I welcome you into the family 961 00:54:18,188 --> 00:54:20,156 you are born again. 962 00:54:20,156 --> 00:54:22,959 So it was on the night that Jesus was betrayed, 963 00:54:22,959 --> 00:54:26,363 that he had a meal with his disciples, that he took the bread, 964 00:54:26,463 --> 00:54:30,133 gave thanks, and said, this is my body which has been given for you. 965 00:54:30,200 --> 00:54:31,534 Do this in remembrance of me. 966 00:54:31,534 --> 00:54:34,537 So let us take a breath. 967 00:54:39,042 --> 00:54:40,477 In the same way 968 00:54:40,477 --> 00:54:43,546 Jesus took the cup, saying, this cup is a new covenant 969 00:54:43,546 --> 00:54:46,549 in my blood which has been shed for the remission of sin. 970 00:54:46,683 --> 00:54:49,219 As often as you do this, do this in remembrance of me. 971 00:54:49,219 --> 00:54:52,222 Let us take of the cup. 972 00:54:54,958 --> 00:54:57,427 Go ahead and bow your heads with me, and let's pray. 973 00:54:57,427 --> 00:55:01,097 Heavenly father, we give you thanks and praise for this day, for the life 974 00:55:01,131 --> 00:55:04,634 you have given us, for sending us your one and only son. 975 00:55:05,468 --> 00:55:08,738 And we pray that we will honor you 976 00:55:08,738 --> 00:55:14,177 in our week, that we will be intentional in everything that we do, 977 00:55:14,210 --> 00:55:16,680 that we won't only live for Sunday, but that we will live 978 00:55:16,680 --> 00:55:20,216 for you every single day, putting you above all else. 979 00:55:20,617 --> 00:55:25,055 Lord Jesus, we give you thanks and praise that you died for us, that you obediently 980 00:55:25,055 --> 00:55:30,293 walked this earth and followed what your father commanded. 981 00:55:30,760 --> 00:55:32,295 And we thank you for dying 982 00:55:32,295 --> 00:55:35,632 on the cross for our sins and raising from the grave on the third day. 983 00:55:36,199 --> 00:55:39,235 Holy Spirit, be our guide and direct our path, 984 00:55:39,502 --> 00:55:44,240 that we will honor God and His Kingdom every day of our life. 985 00:55:44,240 --> 00:55:48,945 Clothe us in your power and strength, all glory, forever and ever. 986 00:55:48,945 --> 00:55:50,413 In Jesus name, Amen.