053: David Jennings - Exhortation: The Sower

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   Welcome to the good Christian talks podcast. I’m Levi and I’m Chris. Thank you so much for joining us this week on this podcast. We select one taco week to help each one of us get the Bible in our daily news feed. We post at the start of each week for you to listen.

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   With a short intro before hand to kind of set the stage for the talk. You’re about to hear and now let’s hear more about this week’s talk.

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   I talked this week is an excitation that was given by Brother David Jennings back in 2015 at the Verdugo Hills Ecclesia and is actually a suggestion that was given to me by my wife who remembered the exportation and kind of gave me the challenge to go into the Verdugo Hills website and go spelunking back to find when exactly this expectation was given and I remember it live as well when I when I heard it and it was it was a really really awesome one and without giving away too many of the secrets that Brother David gave in his Rotation, he takes the parable of the sower for his expectation and kind of goes that next level on it really kind of digs into it and finds a way to take it from Beyond being something where you look at it preaching about the the ground and the seed something that is much more applicable to us in our in our walk. This is an example of one of my favorite types of Bible study where the the brother takes a topic or something that we all know super well, you know, the the parable of the sower is something that we have heard many times that we studied when we were in Sunday school.

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   Most of us almost could recite the essential like the cliff notes of the parable by heart, but he takes it one level deeper and finds a whole bunch of new meaning that is just is really really cool to listen to and really really good to hear really excited to share this one with you.

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   Thank you for all the positive feedback. We got from our 52nd episode the mark one year was super exciting to hear everybody. It’s been Incredible for the response that we’ve gotten in, you know to God for blessing this effort. It’s been it’s been amazing. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to continue to send it in. We actually had somebody reach out to us with specific expectations and giving us the information for their occlusal websites.

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   We could find even more expectations and talks that were given that that we could share with everyone. So it’s very much appreciated. If you’re enjoying this podcast. Please make sure to to listen to the other Crystal from podcast that are out there the new Good morning, and the Discerning daughters podcasts that are by sisters for sisters, which is something that is that is awesome that is out there for any of the women out there that want to hear a different perspective. And then also the essential Bible talks for outreach as well as the positive consider podcast by Sam Taylor if you’re looking for something just quick to listen to and kind of refocus you for the day.

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   So with that we’ll turn it over to Brother David Jennings for his excitation on the sower. Today, I’m going to try to talk about something that well, I suppose many of us probably have felt that we’ve understood for many years, which is a parable of the sower. Well we do but there’s all kinds of levels to the parable of the sower.

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   And so we’re going to take a look at that in a few moments one of the beauties of this part of Jesus’s life. Things are occurring, you know back in the Jerusalem area John the Baptist pretty soon here will be put in prison. A lot of the freedom that Jesus is feeling right now here in Galilee is allowing him not only to heal people and we have this beautiful picture of people coming from all lands because they hear that there is a teacher who has the ability to heal and they come from all over.

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   From I do Mia from from Jerusalem from Jordan Tyre sidon great multitudes and they came with the idea that they could be healed. But of course the principle I suppose we should all remember. Is that really what heals us is in fact the word of God and when we get to chapter 4, this is exactly what Jesus is going to do.

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    He’s going to begin to heal not the maladies that they have that were associated with perhaps skin. Ceases and perhaps limbs that weren’t working as they showed or ears that didn’t hear or tongues of couldn’t speak or Isaac couldn’t see he was going to heal minds and the way he was going to do that was with his words.

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    Another thing that’s kind of important for us to state is that I think it’s got important impact for us today. Jesus was preaching the kingdom of God in the gospel of Matthew that we completed. There is a phrase that only occurs in the in the gospel of Matthew. Matthew and that’s the Kingdom of Heaven Jesus said the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand pray that ye enter into the Kingdom of Heaven and the message was and still is not only that there is a kingdom to come where Jesus is going to Reign on the earth and set up a world light white Kingdom that is going to fundamentally change this world. That’s what we look forward to and frankly. That’s what we preach right, but there’s another message which is the kingdom of heaven and that it is a kingdom that we can participate in right now.

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    I have fuel at times looking back in times that I’ve talked to people about the truth. I probably have it emphasized that as much as I should the fact is is that we’re called right now to be in the Kingdom of Heaven to be under the laws to be under the precepts that control of the Lord in heaven.

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    We are called ambassadors for Christ by the Apostle Paul. What does that mean? Well, it means that we’re in it. We’re in a country. Where in a And wherever Nation we might be but the laws that we represent and the King that we represent isn’t the one that were in the middle of something.

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    We should all remember when we get confused about whether we should be involved in the political structure of the world. We’re not part of that. We are ambassadors for Christ. And that was the message that Jesus was preaching to these people is that look it’s not only that there will be a kingdom of God on Earth which will fundamentally change things.

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    Where Jesus will be king over the Earth. You can be part of this Kingdom right now. Your life can be changed your heart can be healed. You can experience and participate in something that you never would have before and this is what John the Baptist talked about. Isn’t it that they’re in darkness. There was a great light that he was bringing about and that great light was the opening up of the hope of the Gospel the ability for people to now walk in. Light and not in darkness and I suppose sometimes in our own preaching we ought to remember this that you know, people are looking for a kingdom of God on Earth with Jesus coming back. Well, they’re not really looking for because they don’t know about it enough, but we preach that to them and that’s a wonderful thing.

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    It’s the thing that transcends everything. But a big message is that lives are changed right now. Right now the we can be changed that the heart that we have which sometimes might be impenetrable can open up. That it can sink into our hearts when we hear it and then it can bring forth. You can bring forth fruit.

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    And that’s the message of the parable of the sower. So let’s take a look at what he says in Mark chapter 4 beginning at verse 1. He began again to teach by the wayside and there was gathered unto him a great multitude so that he entered into a ship and sat in the sea and the whole multitude was buy the land on the seeds kind of a when you think about this picture. It was such a throng that was happening against him that they actually had to launch out on a boat to keep a barrier between them and the preaching and Jesus from this boat is now going to teach them and it says, In verse 2. He taught them many things by Parables and said unto them his and said unto them in his Doctrine. So Jesus mission was not just to come and to heal physical maladies.

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    His mission was to bring to them Doctrine which allowed them to enter into the kingdom of heaven and to be able to change their lives right now. So that’s the entry now we have into the parable of the sower. Jesus says in verse 3 Harkin behold there went out A sower to so and it came to pass as he sowed some fell by the way side and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up and some fell on Stony ground where I had not much Earth and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of Earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched and because it had no root it withered away and some fell among thorns and the Thorns grew up and choked it and you and it yielded no fruit and other fell on good ground and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased and brought forth some 30 some 60 and some and hundred.

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    He that hath ears to hear Let Him hear now brothers and sisters the Lord in this particular Parable describes to his disciples what the parable is about. But let’s just for a moment kind of do a little bit of a dissection of what’s being said here and see if it perhaps helps us a little bit to understand what’s being said because undoubtedly and the way I suppose I spent my first 60 years thinking about this was this is talking about groups of of people groups of people. Some of them are like, you know, the hard pan dirt and some of them are perhaps like, you know, the rocky ground and some have good ground, but you know, whenever things get tough what happens is what we see that the world chokes them and they can’t produce fruit and then finally the good ground that’s four categories of people.

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    That’s the way I used to always think about it. But then I realized here that Jesus is talking to his disciples whenever he is talking to those who had here ears to hear and he says that it’s given to them to understand the mystery. So I would suggest to you that while that may be the case. There are people where the word just bounces off of them and there are those who perhaps it has a small germination but goes narrow nowhere and others who it appears. It is a Full-fledged plant, but doesn’t have any fruit and then finally good ground that those are four categories we could see in people but because it’s really spoken to us. I’d like to suggest it’s really about our own Hearts every one of us.

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    Unfortunately can relate to these four conditions. Now before we jump into that. Let’s talk about the sower. Now if this was a parable to talk about good sewing you would say this is not a very good sower. Is it indiscriminate throwing of seed everywhere? You know, if you’ve ever had to put seed in your yard, there’s places. You don’t want the grass to grow and you don’t put seed there right you Carefully Mark those things out and when you get to those edges, you’re very careful when you put the seat down to make sure that it doesn’t spill over into the other area. So what’s wrong with this sword?

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    Well, I think the message here is important for us. The seed is indiscriminately being sown. And the reason it’s being sown that way is because the message is to get the gospel message out to everybody all places at all times and it also means that in our lives we’re going to see that the message is going to be hitting us and it’s all about how we are going to receive it. Now you can make a whole exhortation about this issue about preaching.

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    I suppose that you could say you could make a case that christadelphians historically we like to preach to people just like ourselves people from the same socio-economic groups that have the same level of Education Etc. But that’s not the message of the solar the message of the sower is don’t go around trying to figure out who’s going to respond. Don’t go saying.

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    Well, I’m going to go to this area they’re poor and their have a difficult time with life. Listen at the expense of going to somebody else. The message is distribute the seed everywhere. We don’t know where the good soil is. So this parable about these this the parable of the sower undoubtedly applies to groups of people but we ourselves and the disciples that he speak into our never asked to judge. We’re never asked to put a group of people and say oh He’s from the Stony ground or that person over there. We preach the truth from there.

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    They must be like the Wayside or there is a person over here all their life. They’re in the Ecclesia and they never bore fruit never changed. Now, that must be the one that had the Throne of the Thorns. Of course, we put ourselves in that good ground, right, you know, we’re never asked to do that and the disciples were never asked to do that.

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    So it must Have to do with something that we are asked to do and that is to judge our own Hearts. So sadly we can see people in these categories and they can alert us to the threats but the real message is to those who hear What are my personal vulnerabilities in what ways is the word of God coming to me, but it’s not penetrating or it’s not thriving or it’s not bearing fruit.

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    And where is my faith fainting with and without root? And how is this world’s influence? Possibly choking me and keeping me from bearing fruit. And if I am the good ground, can I examine my own heart and begin to see change so that instead of bearing The Works of the flesh? I can see that in my life. I’m beginning to think with a different mind and the natural things that are emitting from my my life. The things that are my behaviors indeed are the fruit of the spirit.

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    So let’s talk about this first group where we have the idea of the sower. He’s sewing by the wayside in verse 4 and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. So what do we have to say about the first of all there’s absolutely zero germination in other words the seeds there, but the soil is so hard, you know, the Wayside the word Wayside is used in the NIV and the ESV. The JB Phillips says the the roadside and I think that gives you an idea, you know.

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    If you go to a path that’s constantly being walked on it is so hard that water doesn’t even penetrate on it. It just kind of runs off of it and I suppose that a hardened surface like this which is beaten down. There is no porosity what happens to the seed gets there and it sits on it, but it just sits there and goes nowhere.

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    Just doesn’t go anywhere. In fact, it says the fouls come and they devoured or maybe the elapse of time takes it away and the soil it just looks the same Sunday after Sunday exhortation after exhortation. It doesn’t penetrate. maybe I

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    maybe I have a problem in my heart with a brother. And I hear the exhortation encouraging me to forgive. I read the word of God encouraging me and exhorting me that love is the It’s it is what exudes from the the fruit of the spirit it is how we can tell if indeed we are disciples and yet.

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    I have a hard in penetrate heart or maybe there’s please for further engagement in the Ecclesia. We need to go and do more. We need more helpers. We need more hands and it seems like it just lays on that surface and the birds come and take it away. What happens when we have hard impenetrable surfaces when the seed lands on it, but it doesn’t penetrate is that self-examination is broken. I’m not looking inside my heart.

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    I’m not I’m not thinking about what do I need to do with this word? I’m not challenging my behavior in the way that I think and when that happens, what I would liken myself to is the Wayside the words hitting but it’s running right off. It’s not going anywhere. That’s a threat. Let’s go on to the next one, which is Stony ground. Now Stony ground is when we hear the message. And we see the need to change and maybe we even begin to change and we might even see some growth. But unfortunately, the soil is shallow and the nutrients just aren’t sufficient.

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    We don’t keep feeding it. We don’t keep going back to the word or going back to the fellowship that we drawn to be able to get strength and fundamentally what the biggest problem is for me. Anyway, when I think of my mind and the Stony ground, it’s when I think I can do it all by myself. It’s what I think I have the nutrients myself to make this plant grow up and do everything it needs to do. What I do that.

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    I have insufficient focus on my need. And that in itself is the problem. It’s muscular Christianity if you want to use that idea and when we fail to nurture ourselves and to recognize the need that we have with the word with with our participation and fellowship, what happens is when we’re under strain whenever things are difficult, we wither just like that plant does.

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    The pressure is there on it and it reverts back to the thinking of the flesh we choose to put the Lord first, but then something comes that we really want and we realize we didn’t have the depth that we really needed to have maybe in some ways you’ve experienced that also. Now the next two both have good soil.

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    If you notice that before, there’s the one that’s choked by thorns and there’s the good soil, but they both have good soil see in the case where it’s choked by Thorns the seed had everything it needed. It had perfect Scott soil, right all the nutrients have been given to it all the watering the feeding it was there everything was there.

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    But the problem was in this particular case Thorns come up next to the plant and the Thorns by the way, they don’t kill the plant which is very interesting is similar in a way to the parable of the tares, isn’t it? Jesus is don’t pull the tears up that’ll be done when the Angels separate them out at the Judgment. But the idea here, is that the Thorns they don’t kill the plant.

39. 20:56

    But what is it that they cause non productivity So here’s a challenge for us what this is saying is that I can actually be a fully developed plant. I could look like everything is perfect. I grow up. I’ve got my you know, what a plants have they have they have arms will say they have branches that come off of them and everything is there you look for to bear fruit and it doesn’t bear fruit and why doesn’t it bear fruit well because it’s choked by the world choked by thorns and this one maybe perhaps a bit useful for us. We’ll look at this in a moment.

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    Everything looks okay, but there’s just no change going on inside and the fruit of the spirit just as in being produced in the world’s cares and the lusts of riches and other things they secretly Rule and they prevent that mind from being changed from a mind of the flesh to a mind of the spirit and because of that there’s no production of fruit.

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    And finally, there’s the last one that’s mentioned to us. And that’s the good soil. That’s what we all judged ourselves to be right good soil. And I believe all of us have good soil within us. All the seed is that it’s in good soil is seed that can either be encumbered by the things of the world or they can be productive.

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    See in verse 20 we see what causes those to be productive the difference is this and verse 20 the good soil says these are they which are sown on good ground such as hear the word. So there’s the hearing of the word the receiving of it and bringing forth fruit some 30 some 60 and some 100.

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    So what happens here is the word goes beyond an academic. Knowledge to a real spiritual change and brothers and sisters in my years in the truth. If I had to boil it down to what I thirst for the most it’s for being able to realize that realize in my life more spiritual thinking it’s to be able to have a mind that thinks more like the Lord Jesus Christ now certainly our academic of in knowledge of the truth is important and it helps us to get there.

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    But what I want to have Is what maybe you don’t see and that’s what’s really happening inside my mind the way that I think and the way I react those were the good soil. I believe you’re aware of the change that’s going on within you aren’t you? Don’t you feel it? Don’t you know this something you unusual something unique is happening within you you don’t see things the way the rest of the world does and you don’t even see things the way you used to see him before in your life you’ve changed and that change is sometimes thirtyfold sixtyfold or a hundredfold.

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    Now, we have a lot of examples a lot of examples of good soil may just take a couple looks here in scripture Philippians chapter 4

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    Philippians chapter 4 beginning at verse 9. This sounds to me like good soil. After concluding all the things that we should be focusing on the things that are honest and just and pure and verse 8 verse 9. He says those things which ye have both learned. So you’ve heard them and received and heard and see in me do so.

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    It’s not good enough just to hear it not good enough just to receive it you have to do it. And when you do those things he says he says then the God of Peace shall be with you. But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again, where any were also careful but she lacked opportunity.

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    Not that I speak in respect of want for have learned in whatsoever State I am therewith to be content. So what is it the Apostle Paul’s changed thinking is how is he gone from the thinking of the flesh to the thinking of the spirit? How is he gone from hearing the word to receiving the To bearing fruit.

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    Well, here it is. I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound everywhere and in all things. I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry both to abound and to suffer need I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me now that is the mind of the spirit the one that I want to have more of and that is an example of one who had Had a change in his life a change in the way.

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    He thought the the seed entered in and it was able to bring forth fruit. We can look at so many other examples of good soil and how that good Soul brings about a different way of thinking remember even Jesus were told in Hebrews chapter in chapter 5, it says that he learned obedience by the things that he suffered good soil allows us to learn things that we We wouldn’t otherwise.

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    Now there is an additional narrative in Mark’s gospel that doesn’t happen to Matthew’s gospel about the parable of the sower. And if you’ll turn with me it’s over in verse 26 and I think is an important one on this idea of understanding these different aspects that we have in our life are there places where I am be in penetrant and I’m not listening. I’m not willing to change are there. Are there places where you know, I start to do these things, but I just don’t seem to have the faith to follow through and are there times where the world actually is choking me and keeping me from bearing fruit.

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    Those are things we need to be involved with as we examine ourselves. But look what he has here in verse 26. He said so is the kingdom of God. As if a man should cast seed into the ground. Now look at what the solar does. All he does is cast the seed verse 27 and should sleep and Rise night and day and the seed should spring and grow up.

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    He knoweth not how for the Earth bringeth forth fruit of its of herself. First the blade that was the word. I was looking for then the year after that the full after that the full corn in the ear and when the fruit is brought forth immediately. He put it in the sickle because the Harvest is come.

54. 28:15

    So some important addition to the parable of the sower here in Mark’s gospel because the sower doesn’t control the germination and the growth as time passes the seed grows in the soil without the Sowers power. And the sower doesn’t bring about this transformation and the sower doesn’t bring about fruit in anybody else. Well, we know that to be a principal of Paul talked about how he had planted but Apollo said watered but God granted the increase and we can also know that in our own personal experience.

55. 28:57

    We are very poor at being able to judge what’s going to germinate and bear fruit. I can think back over the snappin 21 years since the first seminar that I was involved with and I remember that because I broke my leg and Christian had to do the seminar in Pomona for us 21 years have passed and I remember from all the people all the years how certain I would be at times. That one’s the good ground.

56. 29:27

    There is a person who’s going to this is going this person’s going to grab onto the gospel. They were christadelphians didn’t even know it and how many times I was wrong. In fact, I’d have to say almost maybe every time I was wrong. It was the person who challenged everything. We said one person who tape-recorded it transcribed everything and came back and said you said this and I think it’s wrong. That was the one that got baptized. You know the fact is we don’t know how this process all happens and we don’t necessarily know how it happens in us. The power to transform us is not our power. It’s the power of our heavenly father and we have to be open to the word when we’re open to the word. It can penetrate into us and he will make a germinate and he will give us the power to bring forth fruit, you know parents. parents can plant and parents can water But our children they have to decide for themselves, whether they want to hear and receive and bear fruit.

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    And when we see personal transformation in our own lives, we see our minds changing. We shouldn’t view this as being Our Own Strength at our own capability. The transformational process in our lives is not by us. Or by the person who preached to us. We are without strength. But the power of the master who feeds us he nourishes us and he brings about the Harvest.

58. 31:11

    So we really don’t know why sometimes or how I should say our minds are changed. How does the brother who irritated me become a person who didn’t really change but becomes a brother that I love. Forgive myself for now. That’s a pretty abnormal process. But that is an example of how our lives change and we bear fruit. How does the lust of the flesh that earlier in my life might have been something that penetrated me and seemed insurmountable becomes something. That’s no longer the force that it was it’s unattractive. It’s diffused not important to me any longer. So brothers and sisters, what do we need to do? Well, just a few last comments like to turn over to First Peter chapter 2 First Peter chapter 2 just one quick verse or two quick versus will look at verse 11 and 12 First Peter chapter 2 verses 11 and 12 dearly beloved.

59. 32:21

    I beseech you I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts. Now, that sounds like a comment that sounds like a commandment. Just don’t do that. Well, there’s a reason we don’t Don’t do that. Why because they war against the soul. So let’s go back to our parable of the sower.

60. 32:46

    Do you think it’s possible for you and me to be involved in the things of the flesh to have an activity in those things and to expect that we’re going to be bearing fruit. There is a war going on in the mind of a person who’s participating in the lust of the flesh.

61. 33:04

    So one of the first things that we can do is choose Holiness choose not to be having mines which are corrupted by the Things of the flesh. The next thing of course is self-examination. I would suggest that’s probably the first thing that we see breaks down when we go off when we become impenetrable when we have Stony ground in our heart.

62. 33:29

    It’s because we stopped examining ourselves and looking inside. We need to work to remove the thorns. You know Solomon in the fourth chapter of proverbs he was talking about how we are to look at Temptation. He says when you’re walking down the road, he says avoid it pass it by walk on the other side.

63. 33:54

    That kind of doesn’t tend to be the way we do it sometimes right we kind of get as close as we can. But we’re we have enough strength to stay away from that. The message is avoided pass it by that’s what we need to do. Don’t let the Thorns grow in your good ground and finally give glory to God not to yourself for the changes that he’s bringing about so like to conclude then with he With a fission is chapter 3 and I wonder if the Apostle Paul.

64. 34:28

    In fact, I’m almost convinced that the Apostle Paul must have had the parable of the sower on his mind when he wrote these words. Remember it’s about being rooted and grafted. It’s about being having depth of soil and bearing fruit. Well this look at what he says beginning at verse 13 wherefore I desire that you faint not at my tribulations for you. which is your glory for this cause I bow my knees under the father of our Lord Jesus Christ of whom the whole family in Heaven and Earth is named that he would Grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the Inner Man look at verse 17 That Christ May dwell in your hearts by faith that ye being rooted and grounded in love may be able to a comprehend with All Saints. What is the breadth and the length and the depth and the height and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him that is able to do all exceedingly exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in US unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages World Without End. So brothers and sisters, that’s the process. The process is to allow the word to dwell in us to strip away the thorns in our lives and when we do this, we will be rooted and grounded in love and we will be able to participate with all the saints in the Kingdom of Heaven

65. 36:26

    understanding what it means now to know the fullness of God to be Filled with the fullness of God and to be able to do exceedingly abundantly whether it be thirtyfold sixtyfold or a hundredfold that we would be able to bring fruit to our master who does all things and it’s through him and his power that works in us. And so of course we see the Lord Jesus Christ that were now here to remember the perfect soil of which there were no Thorns no rockiness in that soil.

66. 37:01

    Oil, he brought forth fruit abundantly without measure and now we remember him and we ask him for strength and our lives to be able to allow us to indeed bear him fruit.

67. 37:22

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68. 37:57

    If you know of a great talk, we want to know about it to send a suggestion to good Christie delphian talks at gmail.com or message us on any of our social media platforms. Thank you for listening. God bless and talk to you next week.