Latest / Adventures: Bible Truths in Action / Secret of God's Kingdom Pt 1

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Secret of God's Kingdom Pt 1 · Adventures: Bible Truths in Action

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Ron, what do you think about secrets?
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Sometimes secrets are not good, and you should never keep a
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secret about something that's hurting you or hurting someone
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else. I agree, but the secret we're
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going to talk about today is definitely good if Jesus didn't
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want the secret to be kept a mystery from kids, especially if
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those kids are born again children of God.
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Did you say mystery? I love a good mystery.
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Sherlock Holmes, Hardy Boys, I love those stories.
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I used to search all over the house trying to find where my
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parents hid my birthday presents.
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I tried to get them to give me clues but they always answered
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it's a secret. I'm not going to tell you Jesus.
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Didn't hide this secret from us. He hid the secret for us to
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discover. In Mark 424 through 26, Jesus
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explained that how much we think about and study God's Word will
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determine how much we understand it.
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And Jesus said to them. Be careful what you are hearing.
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The measure of thought and study you give to the truth you hear
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will be the measure of virtue and knowledge that comes back to
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you, and more besides will be given to you who hear.
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Mark 4/24. I hope our friends will pay
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close attention so the Holy Spirit can help them understand
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the secret of God's Kingdom. You know, Sherlock Holmes and
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the Hardy Boys spent a lot of time looking for clues.
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Can I give our friends the first clue to discovering the secret
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of God's Kingdom? Absolutely.
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Let's get right to it. Here goes clue number one.
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Get your Bible and look up Mark chapter 4 beginning in verse
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one. You can read along with us.
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Verse One. Once again Jesus began teaching
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by the Lakeshore. A very large crowd soon gathered
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around him, so he got into a boat.
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Then he sat in the boat while all the people remained on the
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shore. He taught them by telling many
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stories in the form of parables such as this one.
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Listen. A farmer went out to plant some
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seed. As he scattered it across the
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field, some of the seed fell on a footpath.
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The birds came and ate it. Verse 9 then Jesus.
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Said. Anyone with ears to hear should
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listen and understand. I wonder what our friend Paco
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understands about this parable. One day Jesus told this story
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about a dude that liked to sow Bibles.
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Wait, he sowed Bibles? How do you sew Bibles?
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I don't know man with a needle and thread.
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It was Jesus story not mine. I guess in Bible times people
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sewed bibles. They were called Sowers.
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That doesn't sound right. It's right if Jesus told it so.
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This dude was sewing Bibles and some Bible seeds fell on the
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sidewalk. What's a Bible seed?
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I don't know. I guess when you sew Bibles
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together, seeds fall on the ground.
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That's all I know. That doesn't sound right.
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Anyways, the birds came and ate the seeds because Bible seeds
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are bird seeds. Is this story in Mark 4?
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Yeah, you know this story. It's the story of the Sower
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sowing the Word of God. Yeah, he sowed Bibles.
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The Word of God is the Bible. Yes, but the sower is like a
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farmer A. Farmer sowed Bibles.
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No, he planted seed in the ground.
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That's what the word sow means Sow So.
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What happened to his needle and thread?
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That's sew. That's what I'm trying to tell
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you. Jesus is talking about a farmer,
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that kind of and the seed that he plants in the ground is the
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word of God. So why is the farmer trying to
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plant seed in a sidewalk? The sidewalk represents
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different people's hearts. Jesus talked about four
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different kinds of hearts. Some people's hearts are hard
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ground that doesn't receive God's Word, and some people's
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hearts are good ground because they think about God's Word and
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it causes their faith to grow. I'm going to have to read that
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story again, man. It's.
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Our job to make sure our hearts are tender so that when we hear
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God's word, we believe it and do what it says.
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That's our word for today. Tender hearted.
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Tender hearted. People with a hard heart are too
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busy to listen to the word of God, or they don't care what the
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word of God says. But a tender hearted person
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loves the word of God and wants to listen so he can learn what
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it says. Is your heart tender, Paco?
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Oh yeah, it is. Now.
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It wasn't always tender. When I was 9 my heart was niner.
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But then I had a birthday and now my heart is tender.
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I'm tender hearted but what happens when I turn 11?
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Will it stop being tender? Never mind.
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I guess it'll be a lavender. Thankfully, Jesus explained his
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parable in Mark chapter 4, verse 10.
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Later, when Jesus was alone with the 12 disciples and with the
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others who were gathered around, they asked him what the parables
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meant. He replied.
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You are permitted to understand the secret of the.
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Kingdom of God. Verse 13.
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Then Jesus said to them. If you can't understand the
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meaning of this parable, how will you understand all the
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other parables? So let's interrupt right here
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for just a minute. Ron, did you catch what Jesus
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said about understanding the secret of the Kingdom of God?
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I did. Jesus said that we're permitted
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to understand the secret of God's Kingdom.
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God wants us to know and understand the meaning of this
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parable, which by the way, a parable is a story that Jesus
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used with familiar characters like a farmer and familiar
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objects like seed to help us learn principles about his
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Kingdom. Right.
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Jesus also said that understanding this parable would
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help us unlock the meaning of all the other parables, so this
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secret is super important. Let's continue with verse 14
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where Jesus explains the meaning of his parable.
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The farmer plants seed by taking God's Word to others.
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The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who
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hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it
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away. Shoe go away bird, get out of
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here. How did you get in here in the
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first place? Damon, it's me.
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Master, why are you wearing a bird costume?
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Wait, is it Halloween already? No.
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It's not Halloween. Okay, so why are you wearing a
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bird costume? I'm going to go eat some seed.
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Seed. Why seed?
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We have deviled ham. Deviled eggs.
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Devil's food cake. I'm not going to eat the seed.
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I just want people to think I'm eating the seed.
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What are you talking about? The Word of God is like a seed
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that when planted in people's hearts, will produce fruit in
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their lives. I still don't know what you're
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talking about. The word of God makes people's
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lives better. That I understand.
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We don't want people's lives to get better.
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So when you know who plants the word in people's hearts, I'm
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going to swoop in and steal it. Do you mean Jesus?
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Don't say that name. Sorry master.
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Wish me luck. Master, you can't just swoop
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into people's hearts. Why not?
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For the same reason God can't swoop into people's hearts.
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People have to open their heart and let them in.
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And I don't know how many people will let you in.
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Or a bird for that matter. So if people don't let God's
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word in their heart, then I could steal it, right?
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I suppose so. So we just have to figure out
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ways to get people not to let the word of God in their hearts.
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How are we going to do? That.
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We'll put blinders on their minds so they don't understand
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it. What's a blinder?
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Don't worry about it, it keeps them from understanding.
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What if they did understand it but didn't want to obey?
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Like loving your enemies? Who wants to do that?
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Oh yeah, that's good. That will keep their heart hard.
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Oh, and we could distract people so they don't.
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Hear God. 'S word when it's being.
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Taught Oh, you're on a roll today, Damon.
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You're starting to think like a real demon.
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Does this mean I can get a promotion?
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I doubt it. Promotion comes from the Lord.
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Oh yeah, I forgot. That's another way I could steal
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the word, get people to forget. OK, Damon, you work on getting
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people to forget the word. I know.
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And get people to ignore the word.
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I know. And get people to reject the
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word. I know.
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Oh, and get people to think they already know the word of God.
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That will keep their hearts hard too.
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It seems like I'm doing all the work.
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What are you going to do? I'll pass out blinders and swoop
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in and steal the word that's laying on people's hard hearts.
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I want to swoop. How come you get this Swoop?
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Let me swoop. Swoop this.
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Ow. Never mind, I don't want to
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swoop anymore. We're back with Detective Clue
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Finder. He's going to help us uncover
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the secret to God's Kingdom. He looks for clues by asking
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questions. Listen closely so you can test
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your knowledge and make sure you understand.
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In this parable, who? Plants seed.
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A farmer plants the seed. That's.
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Right. Now who?
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Is the farmer. The scripture doesn't say
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exactly. I think we'll come back to that
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question after we figure out some of these other clues.
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What does the? Seed represent the seed
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represents God's word. Where does the farmer plant the
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seed? A farmer plants the seed in
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soil. What does the?
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Soil represent. The soil represents people's
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hearts. What kind of soil or heart did
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the seed land in first? The path so hard that the seed
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can't sink in. Oh, that sounds like a problem.
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If the seed doesn't sink into the soil, something very bad can
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happen to the seed. Does anyone know what that could
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be? The birds.
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Can come and steal the seed. How do you suppose the soil on
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the path became hardened from? Walking on it.
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That's a very important point right there.
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We need to make sure that our hearts do not become hardened.
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You know, like when we get a callus on our finger from
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writing so much. We need to make sure that our
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hearts are tender, open and ready to receive God's Word,
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ready to do what it says right away so we don't forget about
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it. Now this one is tricky.
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I'll give you another clue. The answer to this question is
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found in Mark chapter 4, verses 3 and 4.
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What happened to the seed that was planted on their hardened
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path? Birds came and ate the seed.
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Excellent. You are more than a junior
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detective, you're moving on up to a master detective.
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Who do the birds represent in this story?
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The Devil. So what does the devil want to
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steal from people's hearts? The devil wants to steal God's
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word from people's hearts. I think we're going to have to
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go back to that tough question, who is the farmer?
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Our parents. Our teachers.
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Both of those answers are correct.
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I think we can also say that we are farmers planting seeds of
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God's Word in our own hearts. That's right, detective clue
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Finder. In First Corinthians 3, six
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through 9, Paul writes to Christians saying, I planted the
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seed in your hearts and Apollos watered it, but it was God who
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made it grow. It's not important who does the
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planting or who does the watering.
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What's important is that God makes the seed grow.
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When we sow God's Word in our own hearts, we must make sure
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our hearts are tender or receptive to believe what the
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Bible says and be ready to do what the Bible says.
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Help. Help.
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I've been attacked by birds. Help.
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Hey, what's going on here? Oh, please, Mr. Farmer, you got
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to help me. Please help me.
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What are you? I'm a scarecrow A.
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Scarecrow that talks, What will they think of next?
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Didn't. You just say you were being
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attacked by birds. Well yeah, that's why I need
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help. How do I keep the birds away?
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You don't know how to scare the birds away.
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Oh, now don't go making fun of me.
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I know it's my job to scare birds away, but I can't.
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Besides, I don't want to scare them away.
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I want to keep them away so I won't have to scare them I hate.
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Birds. Well, are you a hearer or a
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doer? Say what?
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Do you obey the word of God? Obey the word of God.
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Are you kidding? I don't even understand it.
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How can I obey what? I don't understand what.
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Don't you understand? Well, like the Bible says to be
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born again, right? Well, yeah, that's right.
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God wants us all to be born again.
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How do I get back inside my mom's stomach?
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You think being born again means that you have to get back in
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your mom's stomach and come out again.
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Yeah. And my mom wasn't really excited
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about the idea. I'm bigger than she is, you
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know. Look, being born again does not
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mean you get in your mom's stomach and come out again.
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Well, she'll be glad to hear that.
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So how do I get born? Again, well, you ask Jesus into
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your heart. Romans 10/9 says that if you
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confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in in your
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heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be
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saved. Well, why didn't they say that
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in the 1st place? Hey, what's all this got to do
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with keeping the birds away? God's Word is like a seed that
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is planted in our hearts. If you listen carefully to the
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seed of God's Word so that you understand it well, then you can
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obey it. And if you obey the word of God,
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there won't be any seed laying around for the birds, and
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they'll go somewhere else to eat.
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What if I don't want to obey the word of God?
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Why wouldn't you want to obey God's word?
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Luke 1128 says Blessed are those who hear the word of God and
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keep it. Besides, without God's word in
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your heart, you're nothing but a bird brain.
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What? There's a bird on my brain.
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No, there's no bird on your brain.
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Besides, I'm not even sure you have a brain, you know?
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I've never seen you around here before.
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I'm too busy hiding from birds. Hey, where are the birds?
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Well, that's what I've been trying to tell you.
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We help you understand the Bible so you can do what it says.
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That way the birds can't eat the seed of God's Word and they have
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to go somewhere else. You're welcome to stick around
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here. Well, why didn't you say that in
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the 1st place? I can't stand birds.
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King David prayed this prayer in Psalm 2711.
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Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth path because
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of my enemies. King David had enemies, problems
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that he had to face and overcome, but he didn't try to
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handle those enemies or problems by himself.
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King David needed God to lead him.
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He knew that learning God's ways would make his life better.
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King Davidde heart was good ground.
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Have you thought about your heart?
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Do you want it to be good ground?
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What can you do to make sure your heart is good ground?
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When we hear or read God's Word, we should take time to think
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about it and make sure that we understand what it means.
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Understanding is a big deal. Jesus said that understanding
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this parable is the key to understanding all of his
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teaching. Proverbs 226 For the Lord gives
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wisdom from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
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Jesus gave us this parable so we can understand.
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Understand how the Word of God causes us to bring forth good
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fruit when we, number one, receive it in our hearts #2 take
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time to understand it. And three, do what it says.
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That's how the seeds of God's Word grow and cause our faith in
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Jesus to grow. Church is not over yet.
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I can only hide in the bathroom for so long.
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If anyone ever finds out and tells my mom, I'll be in big
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trouble. Nobody knows you were.
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Hiding. In the bathroom Now that we're
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here, Brittany, let's pay attention to what the.
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Teacher is saying she's teaching the word of.
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God and I really need to hear it.
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I'm your heart and I'm in bad. Shape.
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I don't know why my parents make me come to church.
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I know all these stories. I've heard this one 100 times.
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Last week I was talking during church, so the teacher told my
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mom I'd better be quiet. Today, great, it's.
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Easier to pay attention when you're quiet.
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Maybe today you'll decide to do what God's Word says, hey?
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Bratney's here. Her name is Brittany.
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I just call him the way I see him.
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She's definitely a brat. I'm just in time to eat a little
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seed. How do you like my bird costume?
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Why are you dressed like a? Bird and what?
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Are you doing here? At church.
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I like to steal the seed before it gets into kids hearts.
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I get some of my best meals at church just.
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Leave us alone. Go pack on someone.
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Else. Not a chance.
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I love to steal God's word from kids like Bratney.
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Do you know why? Yeah.
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Because God's word is like seed that is planted in hearts like
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me. If I get God's word inside me,
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it'll. Grow and produce.
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Fruit in Brittanys life and you'll be finished.
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Kapoot over hell done for. You won't be able to steal the
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word of God from us anymore because Brittany will be a doer
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of God. 'S word.
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Well, that'll never happen, not with Bratney.
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She thinks she knows it all, so she doesn't pay attention to the
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teacher. Besides, Bratney does everything
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I say. Watch this.
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Hey Bratney, why don't you get out of here for a little while
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and get yourself a drink of water?
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I got to go get a drink of water.
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That kid drinks more water at church than she does all week
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because I tell her to. Give us a break, why don't you?
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Bother someone else? Look at me.
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Check out. All these bandages.
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That's because I'm always pecking on you.
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Get it? I'm pecking on you.
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Pack. Ouch, pack.
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Ouch pack. Ouch.
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Bratney's back. Her name is Brittany.
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Let's pay attention, Brittany. You'll learn something if you'll
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just pay attention. Hey Bratney, what's for lunch
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today? Don't listen to what your
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teacher says. Lunch is more important.
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Do you want to go to Chuck E Cheese or Golden Corral?
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Olive Garden, Applebee's. Or maybe you can think of
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something better? Boy, I'm hungry.
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I hope we go to McDonald's today.
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They have happy meals. I wonder if my dad will take us
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there. Beck.
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Ouch. Beck.
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Ouch. She's not paying attention.
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This is my chance to steal the Word again.
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Hey, where's Brittany going now? Oh well, who cares?
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As long as she doesn't listen to God's Word, that's all that
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matters. Her.
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Name is Brittany. Where's that heart going?
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I must have hurt his feelings. He probably doesn't want me to
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pack on him. I'll get him when Brittany comes
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back. I hope she doesn't stay out
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there too long. I'm hungry for some more seed.
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Hey, hurry up Brittany, and bring your heart back in here.
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I'm going to pay attention from now on.
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I'm not going to let the devil steal God's word from me
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anymore. What?
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Wait, what happened out there in the hall?
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Hey there, bird beak. Who are you?
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You don't recognize me anymore. Do you?
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I'm Brittany's heart. You're Brittany's heart.
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Whoa, whoa, What happened out in the?
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Hall Somebody talked to Brittany.
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About how you distract. Her so that she won't grow.
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Spiritually. Brittany prayed and repented.
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From now on. She's going to listen to the
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teacher and I'm going to get even stronger.
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I I'm, I'm, I'm I'm getting out of here.
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What's my dad doing here? Oh, is church over already?
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I was just starting to have fun. Life is going to get better now
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that Brittany's listening to the.
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Word of God. Did you know that this parable
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is recorded in three different books of the Bible?
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I do know that Matthew, Mark and Luke.
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That's right, here's what Luke's version says.
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The seeds that. Fell on the footpath represent.
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Those who hear the message only to have the devil come and take
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it away from their hearts. And prevent them from.
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Believing in being saved. Jesus warned us that the devil
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wants people to forget what they hear, so they won't believe it
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and act on it. This is especially true about
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believing on Jesus and receiving salvation.
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Let's stop right now and make sure that our friends who are
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listening are good ground. Have you received Jesus as your
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Lord and Savior? If not, you can pray with me
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now. Jesus, I believe you are the Son
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of God. You died on the cross for my
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sins. You rose from the dead and you
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are alive today. Jesus, I receive you as my Lord
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and Savior. Thank you for making me your
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child in Jesus name, Amen. Hey Ron, can you think of
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something that is so important to you that you hide it in your
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memory so that no one else can find it?
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I hide the password to my bank accounts and I hide A key to my
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house just in case I get locked out.
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Some things are so valuable that we have to hide them for
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safekeeping. I hide something even more
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important than passwords and keys.
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Do you know what it is, Carrie? I think so, but why don't you
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tell all of us? I hide God's word in my heart so
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that I don't sin against God. Psalm 1/19/11.
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When you plant God's Word in your heart, it's because it's
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valuable and by planting a seed, you expect it to grow and
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produce God fruit in your life. It's kind of like hiding
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treasure that you know will grow and produce good things in your
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heart. What was that for?
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It's time to make sure our friends know today's secret.
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God's Word is seed that we plant in our hearts.
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And we plant it in our hearts to make sure we understand it and
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do it.