Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #20240501 - What Is The Posture Of Your Heart? - Matthew 13:1-23
Transcript
- 0:05Welcome to the Study of God's Word, recorded live at Calvary
- 0:09Church in Aurora, Co To learn more about the many resources
- 0:13available through Abounding Grace Media or to tune into our
- 0:16live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church
- 0:21or download our free Calvary Church app.
- 0:25Now let's open our Bibles and study God's Word.
- 0:30And everyone said Amen, all right, So in life we all go
- 0:39through trials and struggles and temptations.
- 0:43Some of you are going through really hard and difficult things
- 0:46right now. In these hard and difficult
- 0:49times, those are often often influenced by the choices we
- 0:52make and the people that are that are surrounded around us
- 0:56and life circumstances as a result.
- 0:59Our hearts they get beat up and they get bruised.
- 1:04There are also others here tonight that are going through
- 1:07times of rest, times of peace, times of joy, and we all find
- 1:13ourselves in a season, entering the season or leaving the season
- 1:18through it all. God uses every bit of it,
- 1:20molding us and fashioning us to come and to know him better,
- 1:26Romans 828 says. And we know all things work
- 1:30together for God, or for together for good.
- 1:33To those who love God, to those who are called according to his
- 1:37purpose, the word heart appears in the Bible more than 800
- 1:42times. I want you to see tonight that
- 1:45our hearts can be seen through the parable of the sower.
- 1:49I titled tonight's message. What is the posture of your
- 1:52heart? Luke 645 says a good man out of
- 1:57the good treasure of his heart brings forth good, and an evil
- 2:02man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.
- 2:06For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
- 2:10So what does that mean for me? What does that mean for you?
- 2:13It means that whatever our heart is full with, whatever our
- 2:17mouths are full with, that represents or or even our lives
- 2:21represent such things that are in our heart.
- 2:24Some of you have been walking with the Lord for a while now.
- 2:27Some of you guys are brand new believers, and for some of you,
- 2:31you, you, you're here and you don't know our Lord Jesus
- 2:36Christ. So my hope and prayer tonight is
- 2:40that we would not let the posture of our heart be troubled
- 2:43with life circumstances, trials and persecution and the cares of
- 2:48this world, but in turn be transformed and fashion that we
- 2:53indeed would bear much fruit for God.
- 2:56So turn your Bibles to Matthew, chapter 13.
- 2:59That's where we'll be tonight. As you're flipping through, I
- 3:02just wanted to touch on a few things that if you haven't spent
- 3:05some time in Matthew chapter 13, Jesus is speaking to us in
- 3:09parables and six of those parables they speak about the
- 3:14Kingdom of heaven and what a Kingdom citizen would look like
- 3:18and and but for for our case tonight we'll be just spending
- 3:22time on the first one. And so read with me, pick up
- 3:26with me in verse one of Matthew, chapter 13, verse one.
- 3:30It says On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by
- 3:34the sea and great multitudes were gathered together to him so
- 3:38that he got into a boat and SAT and the whole multitude stood on
- 3:44the shore. Then he spoke many things to
- 3:47them in parables. I draw your attention to what
- 3:50Jesus is saying about the parables, that he's going to
- 3:52speak to them in a parable. So let's talk about what a
- 3:56parable looks like or what a parable is.
- 3:59Parables are only found 48 times in the Gospels.
- 4:02They're only seen in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
- 4:04But John makes no mention of this.
- 4:07But the Greek word parable, or the Greek word is parabola.
- 4:10And what that means is it's a earthly story with a heavenly
- 4:14meaning. So in other words, it's a
- 4:16comparison or use of an illustration that often is taken
- 4:20from everyday life, thrown alongside a lesson to express a
- 4:24moral truth. So in this time, right, Jesus
- 4:29would be speaking to them in, in this moment of of what
- 4:34agriculture looks like, right. And so they're, they're tilling
- 4:37the ground. They're they're working the
- 4:38field. And so, you know, Jesus often
- 4:40meets us where we're at. And so let's set the stage right
- 4:43now, right. So verse one says that in the
- 4:46beginning or so in the beginning, they're they're at
- 4:49the Sea of Galilee. The multitudes are gathered
- 4:51there to hear from Jesus. Jesus was never worried about
- 4:56the crowds or drawing people. His presence alone would do
- 4:59that. And so as this, as the stage is
- 5:02set right, he's on this boat, The multitudes are coming.
- 5:06So he gets on the boat, starts moving back.
- 5:08And so he's using this boat boat as a pulpit.
- 5:11And one of the cool things, you know, if you have an experience
- 5:13to go to Israel with the church, man, the church does an amazing
- 5:17job my wife and I were able to go and and even just spending
- 5:22time in the Sea of Galilee, it's a it's a really just beautiful
- 5:26time. It's it's really beautiful and
- 5:28and we've seen, you know, it's it almost just makes the Bible
- 5:30come to life. And so in that Jesus is teaching
- 5:36well what suited his purpose, right because Jesus was always
- 5:39doing something new and unique right.
- 5:42Often the the Pharisees or the Sadducees or the religious
- 5:46leaders right that the they would give opposition that they
- 5:49would close down the synagogues it would all you know they would
- 5:52do this. But Jesus says you know what I'm
- 5:54just going to do things my way. And so, as we continue to read
- 5:58here in verse three of Matthew chapter or 13 verse three, it
- 6:02says Then he spoke many things to them in parables, saying,
- 6:06behold, A sower went out to sow, and as he sowed some feet some
- 6:11seed fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured
- 6:15them. Some fell on Stony places where
- 6:18they did not have much earth, and they immediately sprang up
- 6:21because they had no depth of earth.
- 6:24But when the sun was up, they were scorched, and because they
- 6:27had no root, they withered away, And some fell among the thorns,
- 6:31and the thorns sprang up and choked them, but others fell on
- 6:34good ground, and yielded A crop, some of a hundredfold, some 60
- 6:38and some 30. He who has ears let him hear so
- 6:43notice the seed fell among the thorns, fell among the Stony
- 6:47places, fell among the wayside, and fell among the good ground.
- 6:52But before we get to the four types of soils that will
- 6:54represent the four postures in our heart, continue to die with
- 6:58me just a little bit more as Jesus is accomplishing something
- 7:01really cool that he's fulfilling scripture in verse 10 it says
- 7:06and the disciples came to him and said to him, why do you
- 7:10speak to them in parables? Could you imagine the disciples
- 7:13standing there? They're like, yeah, yeah, you
- 7:16tell him, Jesus, yeah, preacher brother, you know, but they're
- 7:20really scratching their head saying what is he saying, you
- 7:23know, and so and so and so I appreciate this because the
- 7:28character disciples are often, you know what?
- 7:31What I experience sometimes when I'm reading scripture that the
- 7:34Lord would just, you know, meet me where I'm at and he says, you
- 7:36know, hey, this is, this is really what's going on.
- 7:38And and so he brings clarity. And so Jesus answers in verse
- 7:4311. He says, because it has been
- 7:46given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of
- 7:49heaven. But to them it is not.
- 7:52It has not been given, For whoever has to him more will be
- 7:57given, and he will have abundance, But whoever does not
- 8:01have even what he has, will be taken away from him.
- 8:06Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do
- 8:08not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
- 8:13And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says,
- 8:16hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you
- 8:20will see and not perceive. For the hearts of this people
- 8:24have grown dull, their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes
- 8:28have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear
- 8:34with their ears, lest they should understand with their
- 8:38hearts and turn so that I should heal them.
- 8:42So Jesus is fulfilling Bible prophecy right here.
- 8:45You know He references the book of Isaiah.
- 8:47He mentions that he mentions that you will have you have been
- 8:52given the mysteries and So what does that mean?
- 8:55And so mysteries that Jesus is talking about is just that it is
- 8:59something that's been hidden but now Jesus has revealed it and so
- 9:03these are the Kingdom characteristics that kind of
- 9:05lead towards you know all of chapter Matthew or Matthew
- 9:08chapter 13. So some scholars mentioned that
- 9:11Jesus fulfilled 300 plus scriptures of Bible prophecy and
- 9:16more to come and so I draw your attention.
- 9:19But but what did he say in verse 15?
- 9:21He said lest they should understand with their hearts and
- 9:25turn so that I Jesus should heal them.
- 9:28So Jesus shows his compassion towards the people, the
- 9:32multitudes, and he used parables so that the hearts of those
- 9:36rejecting him would not harden even further.
- 9:40So Jesus also reveals his heart so that he would bring healing
- 9:44to those, and they were that they were ready to let him hear,
- 9:49to let them hear, and to hear the power of God.
- 9:52So in verse 16 we're getting ready to to head into Jesus is
- 9:58closing this out, he says, But blessed are your eyes so they
- 10:03for they hear or sorry, but blessed are your eyes so they
- 10:07see and your ears for they hear. For I assuredly I say to you
- 10:11that many prophets and righteous men desire to see what you see,
- 10:16and did not see it, and to hear what you hear and did not hear
- 10:19it. And so second Peter, chapter 3,
- 10:23verse nine says the Lord is not slacking concerning his promise
- 10:28and some count slackness, but is long-suffering towards us, not
- 10:33willing that anyone should perish, but that all should be
- 10:36led to repentance. So now we read that Jesus will
- 10:41explain the parable. And so if you're taking notes
- 10:44tonight, this is something that will give you give you help with
- 10:48with what it is. So the seed is the word of God,
- 10:52the sower is Jesus by extension the disciples and by further
- 10:56extension us that are following Christ.
- 10:59The wicked one is Satan and the field is the world and the
- 11:04forest soils were will represent our hearts.
- 11:08So each soil in my mind tonight will be representing the posture
- 11:12of our hearts. If you're taking notes, the four
- 11:15postures are the hardened heart, the shallow heart, the crowded
- 11:19heart, and the healthy heart. The parable of the sower allows
- 11:24us to speak in or take a peek inside the human heart.
- 11:28The parable is typically towards salvation, but it goes to show
- 11:32us why some Christians are stronger than others by the
- 11:35posture of their heart. In Matthew 1319, this is where
- 11:40Jesus starts to explain the parable, the sower, He says when
- 11:44anyone hears the word of the Kingdom and does not understand,
- 11:48then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in
- 11:52his heart. This is he who received the seed
- 11:55by the wayside. Every time the Word is taught,
- 11:59the seed is casted. God's Word will accomplish
- 12:02whatever it is set out to do. Isaiah 5511 reminds us, so shall
- 12:07my Word be that goes forth from my mouth.
- 12:10It shall not return to me void, but it shall, it shall
- 12:14accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for
- 12:18which I sent it. You may think right now, which
- 12:21posture am I? You know, am I the posture of
- 12:27the wayside? Well, let's go ahead and dive in
- 12:29what that looks like. So this is the example of the
- 12:32heart and heart. The wicked one quickly snatches
- 12:36the the word away. Our human sinful nature is of a
- 12:40fallen state. We remember this in Genesis 3
- 12:42with Adam and Eve and the serpent.
- 12:45This is where Satan is trying to influence and twist the the
- 12:48truth and the word of God and and so then you know he quickly
- 12:54tries to influence that. But this is this is also a
- 12:57person that has tried to figure out things and try to figure out
- 13:01things with their own intelligence.
- 13:03And so then Jesus, you know, Jesus would tell us to to walk
- 13:07of faith but not of sight, Second Corinthians chapter 4
- 13:11three through 4 says. But even if our gospel is
- 13:13veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing those minds
- 13:19whose minds the God little G of this age has blinded, who did
- 13:24not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of
- 13:27Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
- 13:31This is the idea that Satan wants to blindfold us.
- 13:35He wants to keep us away. Of those things of God, Satan
- 13:38will try to discourage you, Satan will try tempting you,
- 13:42Satan will try accusing you, and Satan will also try lying to
- 13:46you. The Bible tells us that that
- 13:49Satan is the tempter in Matthew 4.
- 13:52The Bible tells us that he is the accuser in Revelation 12/10.
- 13:56He is the murderer, the liar, and the father of lies.
- 13:59In John 844 Satan is an enemy, and he is the adversary of the
- 14:04word of God. But not only do we know the
- 14:07course of the enemy, but we also struggle with life
- 14:09circumstances. The hard heart develops from
- 14:12pain and suffering. It develops from difficult
- 14:16seasons in our lives. It develops from mental health
- 14:19that separate us in those things that the Lord has called us
- 14:23into. You know, you fill in the blank.
- 14:26Let me show you in the Bible of a young man with a heart and
- 14:29heart, you don't have to turn there, but I can read it.
- 14:32We see an example in Scripture of Zedekiah.
- 14:35Zedekiah in the Bible, in second Chronicles, chapter 36, verse 13
- 14:40was those people that we often meet.
- 14:42You don't have to raise your hand, but they they come into
- 14:44the door, write the music, the music dies down, the lights dim
- 14:49and the plants die, right. And that's that's how hard his
- 14:52heart was. But let's go ahead and let's go
- 14:54ahead and jump in. So Zedekiah was king at the age
- 14:59of 21, and I think it is reminds me of me at the age of 21.
- 15:03I thought that I had the world and everything figured out.
- 15:06And so here and so here it talks about that Jerusalem was going
- 15:09through a harsh and difficult time, through famine and siege.
- 15:13Babylon was bringing complete destruction to the city.
- 15:17Jeremiah the prophet would counsel Zedekiah to bring this
- 15:21all to the Lord and repent of his wicked ways.
- 15:24It got so bad that the famine was so bad that there was
- 15:30families and and it breaks my heart that there was families
- 15:33that were killing their children and even cooking their children
- 15:37to to stay alive and so and so you can already kind of
- 15:41understand and see that this was something that you know only the
- 15:44Lord can intervene. Zedekiah was relying on his own
- 15:49wisdom and his own strength to try and intervene for Jerusalem,
- 15:53but Jeremiah was trying to encourage him.
- 15:55And you can say that Zedekiah is like us sometimes when we deal
- 15:59with pride and often our sin only hurts those around us.
- 16:05God can use and will use all these things to get our
- 16:09attention and know that only he could intervene.
- 16:13Someone once said the hard heart refuses to hear God, refuses to
- 16:17turn to God in repentance, Zedekiah says in the verse,
- 16:22stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the
- 16:26Lord. In other words, he felt no
- 16:29compelling desire to repent and turn to the Lord, knowing
- 16:32Jerusalem was in a very difficult place.
- 16:36So Satan sits back and he gets a kick of things like this.
- 16:39He's only good, as the Bible tells us, to kill, steal, and
- 16:42destroy. God wants you to.
- 16:44God wants you to be better, but Satan wants you to be bitter
- 16:48towards God. Sin in our lives is like Satan,
- 16:51the scavenger, like the birds taking away what God has given
- 16:55you. We have to make the choice to
- 16:58let God in or keep in our wicked ways.
- 17:01Psalm 119 tells us your word. I have hidden in my heart that I
- 17:06might not sin against you. My encouragement to you with the
- 17:09heart and heart is to pray that God would give you the desire
- 17:13for the desire to allow him to do the work in your life.
- 17:17The Lord can't heal what's not in the light.
- 17:20There's those things that we're holding in our heart that only
- 17:22God can, can heal. And so even though Jerusalem was
- 17:27going through this really hard time, we see in scripture in the
- 17:30book of Ezekiel that this undeserved grace that he gives
- 17:34us like a loving Father that he is in in in the long-suffering
- 17:38that the Father gives us. He wants to renew our heart just
- 17:42like he wanted to renew Jerusalem, It says in Ezekiel
- 17:4636, verse 25 through 28. It says, Then I will sprinkle
- 17:51clean water on you and you shall be clean.
- 17:54I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your
- 17:58idols. I will give you a new heart and
- 18:01put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone
- 18:04out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
- 18:07I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my
- 18:10statutes, and you will keep my judgments and do them, and so
- 18:15pick up with me as we keep going.
- 18:17In verse 20 it talks about the Stony places.
- 18:20In Matthew 20 it says, or in Matthew in verse 20 it says.
- 18:24But he who received the seed on the Stony places, this is he who
- 18:28hears the Word and immediately receives it with joy.
- 18:32Yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while.
- 18:37For when tribulation or persecution arise because of the
- 18:40Word arises because of the Word, immediately he stumbles.
- 18:45So some responded to the Word with immediate enthusiasm, and
- 18:49it soon withered away. This is a person that has one
- 18:52foot in the Church and one foot in the world.
- 18:56This is a person that is a professional compromiser.
- 19:00They receive the Word with joy and endure only for a little
- 19:03bit. It's the constant battle of the
- 19:05Spirit in the flesh. This is a person that may say,
- 19:09nobody told me that tribulation and persecution was coming as
- 19:13I'm following Christ. This is the same person that was
- 19:17sold on the health, wealth, prosperity, gospel, right?
- 19:20This is the person that, that would come to know and
- 19:23understand that, you know, hey, they're coming to Bible studies.
- 19:26Hey, they're coming to, you know, to church and they're
- 19:29reading and they're trying to get involved.
- 19:31But they're also the same person that, you know, hey, let's go
- 19:34downtown, let's go grab a drink, let's go, you know, do something
- 19:37that was against, you know, having a sober mind.
- 19:41And so a person like this has a shallow heart.
- 19:46And so a person like this that has a shallow heart reminds me
- 19:49of what the Great American philosopher Mike Tyson once
- 19:53said. He said everyone has a plan
- 19:57until you get hit in the mouth. And it's not if difficulties
- 20:01come, but it's when they come, right?
- 20:04But Jesus one UPS that Jesus talks about building the house
- 20:07on the rock. He says, Therefore whoever hears
- 20:10these sayings of mine and does them.
- 20:12I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock,
- 20:16and the rain descended, The floods came, and the winds blew
- 20:19and beat on the House, and it did not fall, for it was founded
- 20:23on the rock. But everyone who hears these
- 20:25sayings of mine and does and does not do them, they will be
- 20:29like the foolish man who built his house on the sand.
- 20:33And so again, it's when it's not if right.
- 20:36But the Bible tells us when those waves and winds come, that
- 20:39we would be founded on the rock. So my encouragement to you is
- 20:43don't throw in the towel as much as you want to.
- 20:46God cares about you and he wants to go deep.
- 20:49He wants to go deep in your heart.
- 20:51You may be experiencing the hard truth in life right now.
- 20:54You may be feeling like you're rejected at home for your faith.
- 20:57You may be feeling like you're rejected at work because of your
- 21:00faith. You may be feeling that you're
- 21:02rejected at school because of your faith.
- 21:06And you're also praying for friends, Co workers, family
- 21:09members to come to the faith. Our timing is now, but God's
- 21:14timing is always perfect. Persecution of following Christ
- 21:19happens, but as Christ reminds us, right, He says, but take
- 21:23courage. I have overcome the world so
- 21:26Jesus knew what being the feeling empty felt like.
- 21:29Jesus knew what being deprived felt like Jesus knew what being
- 21:33rejected felt like The world will hate you.
- 21:36But again, take courage. I have overcome the world, says
- 21:39Jesus pick up with me in verse 22.
- 21:43And so this is the seed that was casted among the thorns.
- 21:48Now he who receives seed among the thorns is he who hears the
- 21:51Word and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches
- 21:56that choke the Word, and he becomes unfruitful.
- 22:00So some respond to the Word and grow for a little while, but are
- 22:05choked and stopped in their spiritual growth by competition
- 22:09of in spiritual things and the deceitfulness of riches starting
- 22:14off in the spirit. But they're trying to perfect in
- 22:17the flesh. I'm not saying that riches are
- 22:20bad, right? You know the Lord has blessed
- 22:23you know many of you guys with with some riches.
- 22:25But the Bible also tells us that too much is given, much is
- 22:29expected. The crowded heart that is life's
- 22:34constant battle in thorns and weeds.
- 22:37It's the horizontal versus the vertical.
- 22:40It's been a month now since Resurrection Sunday, right?
- 22:45It's been a month now, or sorry, it's been the first quarter of
- 22:47the year. You know, if you haven't done
- 22:49your taxes, go ahead and do them.
- 22:51Presidential race and the politics, all that's going on in
- 22:54the news, right? Those are those things that are
- 22:57trying to keep our focus off. But how much do you trust in
- 23:00God? When my eyes see the shiny
- 23:03things or the slick things in this world, I become laser focus
- 23:08to make my life more shiny, if that makes sense.
- 23:11Justification comes to our minds.
- 23:15It can be a possession, it can be a person, or it can be a
- 23:19position. And so things that take our eyes
- 23:23off of Jesus are things like sex and pornography, things like
- 23:28jealousy, things like envy. Things like relationships and
- 23:32partners, Things like friends. Things like video games, social
- 23:36media, TV, music, drugs, sports. But what I'm saying is, God is
- 23:42saying that the human capacity, the mind and the heart can only
- 23:46contain to give our thoughts to a limited number of things.
- 23:51So if we fill up our capacity with the things in this world,
- 23:55the cares and riches of this life, then it chokes out the
- 23:58word of God because there is not enough room, right?
- 24:01Not enough room to to continue and grow.
- 24:05So my encouragement to you for those that have a crowded heart,
- 24:08don't have your heart crowded so much that you can't receive from
- 24:11the Lord. Devout, devoting time and other
- 24:15things can harm you, especially if it takes your eyes off of
- 24:18Jesus. A pastor once said The first
- 24:22three hours, the first three hours from when you wake up are
- 24:25to God, and if not, the enemy wins.
- 24:29If Satan can't make you bad, he'll make you busy.
- 24:33What are those things that keep us unnecessarily busy in our
- 24:36lives? You fill in the blank.
- 24:38If things start to become more important than God, then your
- 24:41priorities are not right, Matthew 633 says.
- 24:45Seek his Kingdom, and all these things will be added unto you.
- 24:49Cast your cares on to him first. Peter 57 says.
- 24:53The Lord will strengthen you and help you when you're helpless.
- 24:57And so now this is where my hope and prayer is for each and
- 25:01everyone here tonight. Is that when we get to the good
- 25:04ground? Right?
- 25:05Here's the good news. Here's the healthy heart.
- 25:07So Matthew 1323 says, But he who receives seed on the good ground
- 25:12is he who hears the Word and understands it, who indeed bears
- 25:18fruit and produces some 100, some 60, and some 30.
- 25:26This soil represents those who receive the word, and and they
- 25:30bear fruit and but it's in differing proportions.
- 25:36But if we fill our hearts and our lives with the truth and the
- 25:38word of God, the good news of salvation that God has provided
- 25:41for us, our hearts will be in the fertile soil that receives
- 25:45the seed and you will grow. And so a healthy heart, what
- 25:49does that look like? Get as much as God's word in
- 25:52you. It's like a buffet.
- 25:54I remember as a kid that you know I was born into to
- 25:58tradition and and and we would go to to church and I remember
- 26:05the priest. I always knew we were close to
- 26:07being done when he started praying the Our Father prayer.
- 26:10But me as this little chubby little kid, you know, wanted to
- 26:13go to the buffet right after church.
- 26:16But Mike, but but you know, but we take that, but we know that
- 26:19God's word, right. It's like a buffet.
- 26:21Take it all in. So the word can bring life and
- 26:25end death. It can bring healing.
- 26:28God's word only works powerfully when we engage it.
- 26:32Devotional study, bibles, Bible plans, those are often great
- 26:36tools. But the Word of God is what
- 26:38changes lives. Be very purposeful.
- 26:41We don't give up, but we press in to the things of the Lord.
- 26:44When the storms come, you will be ready, 2nd Corinthians 9
- 26:50through 10 says Now may he who supplies seed to the sower, the
- 26:53bread for food supply and multiply the seed you have sown
- 26:58and increase the fruits of your righteousness.
- 27:02And so not only do we know that, you know, that's what the
- 27:04healthy heart looks like, but the Bible is full of Scripture
- 27:09that just show us what other fruit looks like in our lives.
- 27:13The the one that I wanted, there's a few that I want to
- 27:16speak to you about. And one of them is the fruit of
- 27:19repentance. And it says in Matthew 38,
- 27:23therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance.
- 27:28So what are those things that you're holding on to tightly?
- 27:31I love what Pastor Eric Cartier said last weekend.
- 27:34He said, man, we come to church, we give those things to God.
- 27:38But as soon as we get home and the garage door opens up, we
- 27:41quickly take it back. And So what are those things
- 27:45that you can be repenting of? What are those things that
- 27:48you're you're able to to to give forgiveness but also receive
- 27:52forgiveness? And so the next verse I want to
- 27:56talk to you about is the Fruit of good works in Colossians 110.
- 28:00It says in or sorry, in verse nine.
- 28:03It says for this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do
- 28:07not cease to pray for you and to ask you that you may be filled
- 28:11with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual
- 28:14understanding, that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully
- 28:18pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing
- 28:22in the knowledge of God. And So what that speaks to us
- 28:25tonight is that, you know, Pastor Ed always reminds us,
- 28:29we're not saved. We're not saved by good works,
- 28:32but we're saved for good works. And what sticks out here?
- 28:35It says that you know, filled with the knowledge, filled with
- 28:39the wisdom and the spiritual understanding, that when we do
- 28:42that we walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being
- 28:47fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of
- 28:50God. The next one is the fruit of
- 28:52praise. Hebrews 1315 tells us Therefore
- 28:56by him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God,
- 29:00that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
- 29:04This also reminds me of a verse in Ephesians that talks about
- 29:07that our our mouths are are pretty powerful right?
- 29:10Our mouths could also build up but our mouths could also
- 29:13destroy. But you choose what you want to
- 29:16do and my encouragement would be that we would you know, edify
- 29:19the church, edify each other and that we would come into to
- 29:22praise the Lord. You know as it says here that
- 29:25that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
- 29:30Fruit of righteousness and peace.
- 29:32Philippians 111 and James 3/17. It says, being filled with the
- 29:37fruits of righteousness, which are let, which are by Jesus
- 29:40Christ to the glory and praise of God.
- 29:44But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then
- 29:47peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good
- 29:52fruits, with part, without partiality and without
- 29:54hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness
- 29:57is sown in peace by those who make peace.
- 30:00And what a beautiful thing to understand is that you know
- 30:03that's the Lord's heart for us, that we would have this peace
- 30:06that surpasses all understanding that only he can provide.
- 30:10And so the next one is the goodness and justice and truth.
- 30:13Ephesians 5/8 through nine it says, For you were once
- 30:17darkness, but now you were light in the world, or light You are
- 30:21now light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light
- 30:25for the fruit of the Spirit. It is in all goodness,
- 30:28righteousness and truth. And so just picturing that
- 30:33having that picture of of coming from death to life, right, we
- 30:37were walking around. But now, you know, it's the Lord
- 30:40that you know breathes life into us.
- 30:41And you know, as we trust in him, you know, it allows us to
- 30:45to walk in the things that he has called us to.
- 30:48And so the last one you're very familiar with it is the fruit of
- 30:51the spirit. Galatians 522 Lovejoy.
- 30:54Peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
- 30:56gentleness, and self-control. Good fruit is less about
- 31:00external behaviors and more about the qualities that
- 31:03demonstrate inner joy and peace and God as a result of a close
- 31:08personal relationship with God. He's transformative.
- 31:11He's making the change. He's doing all these things.
- 31:14But we we have to make the choice to accept those things.
- 31:18So what are the takeaways and reminders tonight?
- 31:21Like the wayside, sometimes we allow the word NO ROOM in our
- 31:24lives. Like the Stony places, we
- 31:27sometimes have flashes of enthusiasm, the Word that
- 31:31quickly burns out like the soil among among the thorns.
- 31:35The cares of this world and the deceitfulness and of riches are
- 31:38constantly threatening to choke out God's Word and our
- 31:42fruitfulness. Like the good ground, the Word
- 31:45bears fruit in our lives. Again, my hope and prayer
- 31:49tonight is that we would not let the posture of our heart be
- 31:51troubled with life, circumstances, trials and
- 31:55persecution and the cares of this world, but in turn be
- 31:58transformed and fashioned that we need, that we need to bear
- 32:04much fruit for God. And so as I invite the worship
- 32:09team back up, there's a there's another group here tonight that
- 32:13I'm speaking to that may not have a relationship with the
- 32:17Lord. You may be wrestling with a lot
- 32:19of things inside, thinking about how can I clean myself up, clean
- 32:24myself up before I get right with God.
- 32:26And God says come as you are, even tonight, right now in the
- 32:31sanctuary or listening on the radio or those watching online.
- 32:35I don't know what it is that is holding you back, but you do.
- 32:40The Lord is ready to receive you like a loving father with open
- 32:44arms. Why do you resist God's love for
- 32:46you? Sometimes we look for love in
- 32:49the wrong places, but there is no one that will love you as
- 32:52much as God will. The Bible talks about today is
- 32:56the day of salvation. You shouldn't wait any longer
- 32:59hearing the message of the gospel, the good news of Jesus
- 33:01Christ that he he who knew no sin became sin so that we would
- 33:05have eternal life taking the penalty of death and standing in
- 33:09the gap for us paying it all in full.
- 33:13The Bible says in Luke 15 seven. In the same way there is more
- 33:18joy in heaven over 1 lost Sinner then he who A1 lost Sinner who
- 33:24repents and returns to God, then over 99 others who are righteous
- 33:28in heaven straight away. So I tell you tonight, if you
- 33:32want to receive that free gift, don't allow your heart and
- 33:35heart. Don't allow your shallow heart.
- 33:38Don't allow your crowded heart to keep you of the things that
- 33:41God wants for you. If that's you tonight and you're
- 33:45saying that's me I invite. I want to invite Jesus into my
- 33:49life. I want to confess my sins to
- 33:51him. It's not me.
- 33:54It's not a pastor or a priest. But only you and Jesus can do
- 33:58that business tonight. I ask you to please stand to
- 34:01your feet if that is you, and I'd like to lead you in a
- 34:04prayer. The Bible talks about not
- 34:14leaning on your own understanding, but acknowledging
- 34:16God in all our ways and He will direct our paths again.
- 34:21If that's you tonight, please stand to your feet.
- 34:23I'd like to lead you in a prayer.
- 34:26It's a never ending process that God is pouring in, pouring out
- 34:30His spirit towards you, helping us to understand these things
- 34:34that are in the Bible for you. And if you're online, if you're
- 34:40hearing on the radio, I just want to lead you in a prayer and
- 34:44you can say something like this. Dear God, I admit that I'm a
- 34:48Sinner. I acknowledge my sin before you,
- 34:51a holy and righteous God. I ask you to forgive me of my
- 34:55sin. I accept the free gift of
- 34:58salvation through your Son, Jesus Christ, and I believe in
- 35:01my heart. I confess with my mouth that
- 35:04you, Jesus, lived. You died on the cross, and you
- 35:08rose again to save me. Save me of my sin and give me
- 35:13life this day forward. By the Lord's grace through
- 35:18faith you have been saved and so I thank you for tonight for
- 35:22allowing me to to to teach the word.
- 35:25And and so let me let me go ahead and close in prayer and
- 35:29then we'll we'll go ahead and worship again.
- 35:31So Father God, I I thank you for for just what a privilege, Lord,
- 35:36it is to to dive into your word. And what a reminder it is, Lord,
- 35:39that that a lot of things affect our hearts.
- 35:42But Lord, we pray and we give you all the things.
- 35:44Lord, as Matthew 1128 says, Lord, that that us that are
- 35:48carrying these heavy burdens, Lord, that we would find rest
- 35:51for our souls in you. And so we pray God that that
- 35:55you're doing a work. Lord, I know for me as I'm come,
- 35:58as I came into this church, Lord, that I was wrestling with
- 36:00many things but God, but you, it reminds me of what a pastor once
- 36:05said. He said I I did a great job of
- 36:08breaking my life. But Jesus, you did a great job
- 36:10of fixing it. And so I thank you God, for the
- 36:13lives here tonight. Lord, that that if they need
- 36:16prayer or if they need just someone to come alongside them,
- 36:19encourage them may have a question, whatever it is, Lord,
- 36:22that you would be in the details and that we would always have
- 36:25that healthy heart towards you, Lord Jesus.
- 36:27So we thank you and we praise you in Jesus mighty name.
- 36:30Amen. We pray that you've been
- 36:32encouraged by this Bible study delivered live from the
- 36:35sanctuary of Calvary Church for prayer.
- 36:38Call us at 87730 Grace. That's 877-304-7223.
- 36:47To listen to this message in its entirety or to join us for our
- 36:50live stream services, visit us online at Calvary, Co dot Church
- 36:56or download our free Calvary Church app.
- 36:58Be blessed as You Worship Jesus this week.