Latest / truthunedited / The Parables of Jesus Explained Like Never Before
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Why did Jesus use stories? When Jesus spoke, he looked
- 0:03Speaker 1: at people who knew scripture but missed God. They could
- 0:07Speaker 1: quote Isaiah, but couldn't recognize Emmanuel standing in front of them.
- 0:10Speaker 1: So he told parables, truth disguised as tale, each one
- 0:15Speaker 1: a doorway, each one saying, if you really want me,
- 0:17Speaker 1: step closer, he said in Matthew thirteen. Though seeing they
- 0:22Speaker 1: do not see, though hearing they do not understand. Parables
- 0:27Speaker 1: divide the crowd. Those seeking comfort walk away confused, But
- 0:31Speaker 1: those hungry for truth lean in deeper. That's what you're
- 0:34Speaker 1: doing right now. You're leaning in because somewhere inside you
- 0:38Speaker 1: know these stories aren't ancient, They're alive. By the end
- 0:42Speaker 1: of this journey, you'll see that every parable is really
- 0:45Speaker 1: about one thing, your heart meeting His voice. The sour,
- 0:50Speaker 1: the prodigal, the pearl, all whisper the same invitation. Will
- 0:55Speaker 1: you let truth take root in you? If you've joined
- 0:59Speaker 1: us for Roe, Woman's Ephesians or Isiah, you know we
- 1:02Speaker 1: go deep because God still speaks through every word. You
- 1:06Speaker 1: can explore our ad free library and ebooks on our website,
- 1:10Speaker 1: created to help you grow even if YouTube ever silences faith.
- 1:14Speaker 1: This isn't just information, it's transformation. If this speaks to you,
- 1:19Speaker 1: like share and walk this path with us. Now, let's
- 1:22Speaker 1: sit together a little longer and hear what the first
- 1:25Speaker 1: story the sour is really trying to tell your soul.
- 1:29Speaker 1: What is the sour showing me? Let's talk about the sower.
- 1:32Speaker 1: You've probably heard it before, seed falling on the path,
- 1:35Speaker 1: on rocky ground, among thorns, and finally on good soil.
- 1:40Speaker 1: But what if I told you the sower's story isn't
- 1:42Speaker 1: really about soil, It's about you. Imagine Jesus sitting by
- 1:47Speaker 1: the lake, the crowd pressing close. He tells this simple
- 1:50Speaker 1: farming story, no names, no drama, just a man throwing seed.
- 1:55Speaker 1: The people nod. They know dirt, they know crops, but
- 2:00Speaker 1: they don't know his talking about their hearts. He ends
- 2:03Speaker 1: with he who has ears, let him hear. Then he
- 2:06Speaker 1: walks away, no explanation, and the disciples like us are
- 2:11Speaker 1: left thinking, wait what. Later in private, he explains the
- 2:16Speaker 1: seed is the word of God Luke eight eleven. And
- 2:20Speaker 1: that's when it hits you. God himself is still sowing
- 2:23Speaker 1: truth into human hearts. Every time you read scripture, listen
- 2:28Speaker 1: to a sermon or feel conviction. He's scattering seed again,
- 2:32Speaker 1: and the question is not whether the seed works, it's
- 2:35Speaker 1: whether the soil will let it live. The path is hard,
- 2:39Speaker 1: trampled by life, wounded by disappointment, paved over by pride.
- 2:43Speaker 1: The word lands but never sinks. The enemy doesn't have
- 2:48Speaker 1: to destroy truth. He only has to distract you before
- 2:51Speaker 1: it roots. How many times has God whispered something beautiful
- 2:56Speaker 1: to you, but before it could grow, something louder, work, worry,
- 3:01Speaker 1: scrolling swept it away. That's the path. Then there's the
- 3:06Speaker 1: rocky soil. You receive truth with joy, but it doesn't
- 3:10Speaker 1: last because roots can't grow in shallow faith. You love
- 3:14Speaker 1: God until life hurts, until the prayer doesn't get answered
- 3:17Speaker 1: the way you wanted, until obedience costs something. Jesus wasn't
- 3:23Speaker 1: describing strangers here, he was describing us on our inconsistent days.
- 3:29Speaker 1: And then come the thorns. That's the soil where many
- 3:32Speaker 1: believers live without realizing it. The seed does grow, but
- 3:36Speaker 1: so do the weeds. The cares of this life, the
- 3:39Speaker 1: deceitfulness of riches, and the desire for other things choke
- 3:43Speaker 1: the word Mark four nineteen. You can love God sincerely
- 3:49Speaker 1: but still be strangled by distractions. The devil doesn't need
- 3:53Speaker 1: you to worship idols, He just needs you too busy
- 3:56Speaker 1: to notice you've planted them. But then there's the good soil.
- 4:00Speaker 1: Notice Jesus doesn't say it's perfect soil, just good, soft
- 4:04Speaker 1: enough to receive, deep enough to hold, and patient enough
- 4:08Speaker 1: to endure. The word grows there not because the person
- 4:12Speaker 1: is flawless, but because they're teachable. They listen, repent, persevere.
- 4:17Speaker 1: They let God dig up the stones, pull up the weeds,
- 4:20Speaker 1: and soften the hard paths. That's what the sour is
- 4:23Speaker 1: really showing you. He doesn't give up after one throw.
- 4:27Speaker 1: He keeps scattering again and again, believing one seed will
- 4:31Speaker 1: finally find good ground in you think about it. This
- 4:34Speaker 1: same parable runs through all scripture. In Jeremiah four to three,
- 4:38Speaker 1: God says, break up your unplowed ground, and do not
- 4:41Speaker 1: sow among thorns. James one twenty one echoes it receive
- 4:46Speaker 1: with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save
- 4:49Speaker 1: your souls. Even Psalm one says the blessed man is
- 4:53Speaker 1: like a tree planted by streams of water whose leaf
- 4:56Speaker 1: doesn't wither. From Genesis to Revelation, God keeps saying the
- 5:00Speaker 1: same thing, let my word take root. Sometimes that means
- 5:05Speaker 1: letting him plow the soil of your heart, and plowing
- 5:08Speaker 1: isn't gentle, it's painful. He'll press through your pride, your
- 5:12Speaker 1: comfort zones, your excuses. But he's not punishing you. He's
- 5:16Speaker 1: preparing you. Every hardship you've endured may be the breaking
- 5:20Speaker 1: of hard ground so his word can finely grow deeper
- 5:23Speaker 1: than before. Maybe lately you've been wondering, why do I
- 5:27Speaker 1: feel like God's repeating lessons in my life? Because he's patient.
- 5:31Speaker 1: He keeps sewing until something takes root, and the miracle.
- 5:36Speaker 1: Once the word finds soil that listens, it multiplies thirty
- 5:40Speaker 1: sixty a hundredfold, Meaning what he plants in you won't
- 5:45Speaker 1: just bless you, it'll feed others. So what's the sour
- 5:48Speaker 1: showing you to night? Maybe he's not asking you to
- 5:51Speaker 1: produce fruit yet. Maybe he's asking, will you let me
- 5:55Speaker 1: dig again? Let me reach the places you've protected, the
- 5:58Speaker 1: wounds you've covered, the hardness you've justified. Because he's not
- 6:03Speaker 1: after a crop, he's after communion. He doesn't just want
- 6:06Speaker 1: your life productive. He wants your heart receptive when you
- 6:11Speaker 1: hear his word. Don't just nod, Let it hit deep
- 6:13Speaker 1: when you pray, don't rush to talk. Let him plant
- 6:16Speaker 1: when he convicts, don't defend, let him dig. Because freedom
- 6:22Speaker 1: doesn't start when you bear fruit. It starts when you
- 6:24Speaker 1: stop resisting the plow. So to night, before we move on,
- 6:28Speaker 1: ask him quietly, Lord, make my heart good, soil, break
- 6:32Speaker 1: what needs breaking, heal what needs healing, so whatever brings
- 6:36Speaker 1: you glory, And then just wait. Because the sour never
- 6:40Speaker 1: misses his mark. Why would God leave the ninety nine?
- 6:43Speaker 1: Let me ask you something. Have you ever felt like
- 6:45Speaker 1: you're the one sheep too far gone? You can see
- 6:49Speaker 1: the rest of the flock in the distance, worshiping, smiling,
- 6:52Speaker 1: posting verses, and you wonder, why can't I just stay
- 6:56Speaker 1: where they are? Maybe you've wandered so long you don't
- 6:59Speaker 1: even remember which step took you off the path. Jesus
- 7:02Speaker 1: told this story for you. He said, suppose one of
- 7:06Speaker 1: you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them,
- 7:10Speaker 1: doesn't he leave the ninety nine in the open country
- 7:12Speaker 1: and go after the one until he finds it Luke
- 7:16Speaker 1: fifteen four. The crowd probably laughed when they heard that
- 7:19Speaker 1: no shepherd would risk ninety nine for one. But that's
- 7:22Speaker 1: the point. He's not a regular shepherd. He's the shepherd,
- 7:26Speaker 1: the one who values presents over performance, hearts over head counts.
- 7:30Speaker 1: This parable isn't about live stock. It's about love that
- 7:33Speaker 1: doesn't calculate. It's about a God who leaves comfort to
- 7:37Speaker 1: find chaos, who steps into your wilderness while every one
- 7:40Speaker 1: else stays safe in the field. You see, the ninety
- 7:44Speaker 1: nine represents security, religion, reputation, the ones who stayed close
- 7:49Speaker 1: to the rules, but the lost one, that's every person
- 7:53Speaker 1: who let shame rewrite their story. Ezekiel thirty four says
- 7:57Speaker 1: God himself will search for his sheep. And when Jesus
- 8:00Speaker 1: told this parable, he was fulfilling that promise in real time.
- 8:05Speaker 1: He wasn't just describing salvation, he was demonstrating it. He
- 8:09Speaker 1: left Heaven's glory for your broken ground. He didn't shout
- 8:12Speaker 1: your name from safety. He walked through your wilderness to
- 8:15Speaker 1: whisper I'm here. Picture this. The shepherd finds the sheep
- 8:19Speaker 1: tangled in thorns. It's trembling, weak, maybe even fighting him
- 8:23Speaker 1: out of fear. But he doesn't scold it. He doesn't
- 8:26Speaker 1: say you should have known better. He lifts it on
- 8:30Speaker 1: to his shoulders. That's how he carries you on his strength,
- 8:34Speaker 1: not yours. Isaiah fifty three six says, we all, like sheep,
- 8:39Speaker 1: have gone astray. Each of us has turned to our
- 8:41Speaker 1: own way. But the Lord has laid on him the
- 8:44Speaker 1: iniquity of us all. Did you catch that? The shepherd
- 8:48Speaker 1: doesn't just find you, He becomes the lamb for you.
- 8:52Speaker 1: The story turns inside out. The rescuer becomes the sacrifice.
- 8:58Speaker 1: The one who searched the hills for your soul lets
- 9:01Speaker 1: himself be nailed to a hill for your salvation. That's
- 9:05Speaker 1: why he leaves the ninety nine Because love that stays
- 9:08Speaker 1: convenient isn't love at all. The Father doesn't measure distance,
- 9:14Speaker 1: He measures desire, and his desire is you. But this
- 9:18Speaker 1: story isn't just about being found once. It's about staying found.
- 9:23Speaker 1: The same shepherd who carries you back doesn't drop you
- 9:25Speaker 1: at the gate and walk away. He guards you. John
- 9:29Speaker 1: ten twenty seven says, my sheep hear my voice. I
- 9:33Speaker 1: know them, and they follow me. The closer you walk
- 9:36Speaker 1: with him, the clearer his voice becomes, and the quieter
- 9:40Speaker 1: every counterfeit grows. Sometimes, though we wander again, not into scandal.
- 9:45Speaker 1: But into distraction. We forget the sound of his steps
- 9:48Speaker 1: because we've tuned into the noise of the world. When
- 9:51Speaker 1: that happens, the shepherd doesn't panic. He calls, and his
- 9:56Speaker 1: call isn't angry. It's familiar, like a melody. Your hut
- 10:00Speaker 1: can't forget. He'll draw you back through scripture, conviction, even
- 10:04Speaker 1: hardship if he must, because he loves you too much
- 10:07Speaker 1: to leave you lost. Maybe to night, you feel like
- 10:10Speaker 1: that sheep, stuck in habits, far from peace, wondering if
- 10:14Speaker 1: God's still looking. He is, and the fact that you're
- 10:18Speaker 1: hearing this right now proves it. You didn't wander into
- 10:21Speaker 1: this video by accident. You are found on purpose. He's
- 10:25Speaker 1: still carrying you home, one word at a time. When
- 10:29Speaker 1: the shepherd returned, Jesus said he called his friends and
- 10:32Speaker 1: neighbors and said, rejoice with me. I have found my
- 10:36Speaker 1: lost sheep. Heaven doesn't roll its eyes when you repent,
- 10:40Speaker 1: It throws a party. The angels don't sigh when you
- 10:43Speaker 1: pray again, They sing. Every return is a celebration. You see.
- 10:48Speaker 1: The gospel isn't about a God who tolerates your weakness.
- 10:51Speaker 1: It's about a God who chases you through it. You
- 10:53Speaker 1: can run out of breath, but he'll never run out
- 10:56Speaker 1: of mercy. You can lose your footing, but he'll never
- 11:00Speaker 1: lose your location. So if you're tired, stop running. Just listen.
- 11:04Speaker 1: Somewhere beneath the noise of guilt, there's a voice calling
- 11:07Speaker 1: your name. It's gentle, steady and near. That's him. He's
- 11:12Speaker 1: not asking you to crawl back, He's offering to carry you,
- 11:15Speaker 1: because that's what love does. It leaves the ninety nine
- 11:19Speaker 1: for one and never once regrets the journey. What is
- 11:23Speaker 1: my true worth? If you could ask Jesus one question,
- 11:26Speaker 1: right now, just one, would it be this? What am
- 11:30Speaker 1: I worth to you? He already answered it, not with
- 11:34Speaker 1: a speech, but with a story. The Kingdom of Heaven,
- 11:38Speaker 1: he said, is like treasure hidden in a field. When
- 11:42Speaker 1: a man found it, he hid it again, and in
- 11:45Speaker 1: his joy, went and sold all he had and bought
- 11:48Speaker 1: that field Matthew, thirteen forty four. And right after that
- 11:52Speaker 1: he added another. The Kingdom of Heaven is like a
- 11:55Speaker 1: merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of
- 11:58Speaker 1: great value, he went away and sold everything he had
- 12:02Speaker 1: and bought it Matthew thirteen forty five to forty six.
- 12:07Speaker 1: You may have heard these parables explained before, how the
- 12:10Speaker 1: treasure or the pearl represents Jesus and we're the ones
- 12:14Speaker 1: who must give everything to gain him. And that's true
- 12:17Speaker 1: in one sense. But look closer, deeper, because what if
- 12:23Speaker 1: in the story you're the treasure. What if the field
- 12:26Speaker 1: is the world and Jesus is the man who gave
- 12:28Speaker 1: up everything to buy it. What if he's the merchant
- 12:31Speaker 1: who saw you buried under dirt, guilt and shame, but
- 12:34Speaker 1: still said you're worth my life. That changes everything. When
- 12:39Speaker 1: he found you, he didn't stumble by accident. He searched intentionally.
- 12:44Speaker 1: Luke nineteen ten says the son of Man came to
- 12:48Speaker 1: seek and to save the lost. He didn't come because
- 12:52Speaker 1: you were easy to find. He came because you were
- 12:55Speaker 1: impossible to replace. You were hidden, buried beneath fear, mistakes, habits, regards, threat.
- 13:00Speaker 1: But he saw through all of it. The world saw
- 13:03Speaker 1: a field of dirt, he saw a diamond underneath. And
- 13:07Speaker 1: he didn't just dig you out. He bought the entire
- 13:10Speaker 1: field to make sure no one else could claim ownership
- 13:13Speaker 1: over you. Again, that's redemption, you see. The price he
- 13:16Speaker 1: paid wasn't gold or silver. It was blood. One Peter
- 13:21Speaker 1: one eighteen to nineteen says you were not redeemed with
- 13:24Speaker 1: perishable things, but with the precious blood of Christ, a
- 13:28Speaker 1: lamb without blemish or defect. When Jesus died, he wasn't
- 13:33Speaker 1: buying forgiveness in bulk. He was buying you personally. Think
- 13:38Speaker 1: about that. The creator of the universe saw everything you
- 13:41Speaker 1: would ever do, every sin, every secret, every stumble, and
- 13:46Speaker 1: still said I'll take that one. Sometimes you struggle to
- 13:51Speaker 1: believe you have value because you're measuring yourself by performance.
- 13:56Speaker 1: But God doesn't appraise you by production. He appraises you
- 13:59Speaker 1: by possession. You're valuable because you belong to him. Your
- 14:04Speaker 1: worth isn't earned, it's declared. Isaiah forty three four says
- 14:09Speaker 1: you are precious and honored in my sight because I
- 14:12Speaker 1: love you, not because you prayed enough, gave enough, or
- 14:16Speaker 1: stayed strong enough, but because His love defines your value.
- 14:20Speaker 1: When you start seeing yourself that way, shame loses its voice.
- 14:24Speaker 1: Imagine it like this. A pearl forms when an irritant
- 14:27Speaker 1: a wound gets trapped inside an oyster. Layer by layer,
- 14:31Speaker 1: the creature covers the wound with beauty until the pain
- 14:35Speaker 1: itself becomes priceless. That's what God does with your scars.
- 14:39Speaker 1: He covers them in grace until they shine. Your worth
- 14:43Speaker 1: isn't in what you avoided, it's in what he redeemed.
- 14:47Speaker 1: Maybe you've been walking through a field you think is worthless,
- 14:50Speaker 1: a job, a season, a family, a struggle. But sometimes
- 14:54Speaker 1: the treasure's not missing, it's just buried. Maybe God has
- 14:58Speaker 1: hidden something wholly in the very, very soil you've been cursing.
- 15:02Speaker 1: Don't walk away from the field too soon. Jesus didn't.
- 15:05Speaker 1: He paid for all of it, thorns, rocks and all,
- 15:09Speaker 1: because you were worth every inch of pain. If you've
- 15:13Speaker 1: ever wondered what you mean to him, look at the cross.
- 15:16Speaker 1: That's the receipt, the price tag of your soul reads
- 15:19Speaker 1: paid in full. And when you realize that everything changes.
- 15:23Speaker 1: You stop begging for approval and start living from acceptance.
- 15:27Speaker 1: You stop performing for love and start resting in it.
- 15:30Speaker 1: You stop asking am I enough? And start declaring he is? So.
- 15:35Speaker 1: What is your true worth? It's not measured in dollars, followers,
- 15:38Speaker 1: or success. It's measured in nails, scars, and blood. It's
- 15:43Speaker 1: measured in a shepherd who left heaven to find one
- 15:46Speaker 1: lost sheep in, a father who ran to embrace a
- 15:49Speaker 1: runaway son, in a savior who saw a treasure under
- 15:53Speaker 1: all your dust and refused to leave it buried. That's
- 15:56Speaker 1: your worth, not who you've been, not what you've done,
- 15:59Speaker 1: but who he decided you are. You the treasure he
- 16:03Speaker 1: sold everything to find? Who really is my neighbor? Let
- 16:07Speaker 1: me ask you something, When was the last time you
- 16:09Speaker 1: walked past someone who was hurting because it was easier
- 16:12Speaker 1: not to stop. Maybe it was a stranger on the street,
- 16:16Speaker 1: maybe it was someone in your own house. Pain is
- 16:19Speaker 1: everywhere now, scrolling through our feeds, sitting beside us in church,
- 16:23Speaker 1: staring back in the mirror, and yet love seems rarer
- 16:27Speaker 1: than ever. And that's exactly why Jesus told the story
- 16:31Speaker 1: of the Good Samaritan. It began when a religious expert
- 16:35Speaker 1: asked him what must I do to inherit eternal life.
- 16:38Speaker 1: Jesus replied, love the Lord your God, and love your
- 16:42Speaker 1: neighbor as yourself. The man wanted a loophole, and who
- 16:47Speaker 1: is my neighbor? Luke ten twenty five to twenty nine.
- 16:51Speaker 1: So Jesus told a story. A man was traveling from
- 16:54Speaker 1: Jerusalem to Jericho. A steep, dangerous road known for robberies.
- 16:58Speaker 1: He was beaten, stripped, and left half dead. Then came
- 17:02Speaker 1: the priest, the man of God, walking by. He saw
- 17:05Speaker 1: the victim and crossed to the other side. Next to Levite,
- 17:09Speaker 1: someone who worked in the temple, did the same. Both saw,
- 17:13Speaker 1: but neither stopped. Then came the Samaritan, the one nobody expected.
- 17:17Speaker 1: Jews and Samaritans hated each other. Centuries of prejudice divided them,
- 17:22Speaker 1: but compassion doesn't check credentials, it crosses lines. The Samaritan stopped,
- 17:28Speaker 1: bandaged the wounds, carried the man on his own donkey,
- 17:32Speaker 1: paid for his care, and promised to return. When Jesus finished,
- 17:37Speaker 1: he asked which of these was a neighbor. The man
- 17:42Speaker 1: answered the one who had mercy. Jesus said, go and
- 17:46Speaker 1: do likewise. That last sentence wasn't a suggestion, It was
- 17:49Speaker 1: an assignment. Jesus wasn't redefining who counts as a neighbor.
- 17:54Speaker 1: He was redefining what love looks like. See the priest
- 17:57Speaker 1: and Levite represent religion with other compassion, faith without fruit.
- 18:03Speaker 1: They knew scripture but didn't know mercy. Their robes were clean,
- 18:08Speaker 1: but their hearts were closed and Jesus was talking straight
- 18:11Speaker 1: to us, the modern believers who know all the verses
- 18:15Speaker 1: but sometimes step over the wounded because helping feels inconvenient.
- 18:20Speaker 1: One John four twenty says, whoever claims to love God
- 18:23Speaker 1: yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. That's
- 18:27Speaker 1: not harsh, it's honest. You can't love the invisible God
- 18:31Speaker 1: if you ignore the visible pain around you. So who's
- 18:35Speaker 1: your neighbor? The addict you avoid, the family member you've
- 18:38Speaker 1: stopped calling, the co worker who mocks your faith, the
- 18:41Speaker 1: stranger whose life doesn't fit your comfort zone. The neighbor
- 18:45Speaker 1: isn't the person who looks like you. It's the person
- 18:48Speaker 1: God puts in front of you. And loving them doesn't
- 18:50Speaker 1: mean agreeing with everything they do. It means seeing them
- 18:54Speaker 1: the way Jesus saw you, broken but worth rescuing, Because
- 18:59Speaker 1: you were that trap. Once sin robbed you, Shame left
- 19:03Speaker 1: you half dead, and religion couldn't save you. But the
- 19:06Speaker 1: outcast from Nazareth, the one every one despised, crossed the road,
- 19:10Speaker 1: came down your path and carried you to safety on
- 19:13Speaker 1: his own back. That's the gospel hidden inside the parable.
- 19:17Speaker 1: Jesus is the good Samaritan he found you bleeding. He
- 19:21Speaker 1: poured oil symbol of the spirit, and wine, symbol of
- 19:24Speaker 1: his blood, into your wounds. He carried you to the
- 19:28Speaker 1: inn the church, and paid your debt in full. He
- 19:31Speaker 1: told the innkeeper take care of him until I return.
- 19:36Speaker 1: That's his promise. He's coming back. But until then, he's
- 19:41Speaker 1: left us with the same command, go and do likewise.
- 19:46Speaker 1: The truth is the world doesn't need louder preachers, it
- 19:49Speaker 1: needs kinder neighbors. Sometimes the most powerful sermon is a bandage.
- 19:54Speaker 1: Sometimes it's sitting with someone in silence and saying you're
- 19:58Speaker 1: not alone. You and I can quote parables all day,
- 20:01Speaker 1: but if we walk past the broken on our way
- 20:05Speaker 1: to church, we've missed the point of the story. Love
- 20:08Speaker 1: is inconvenient. Compassion costs something, but if it didn't cost,
- 20:12Speaker 1: it wouldn't be christ Like. Maybe to day God's placing
- 20:16Speaker 1: someone on your heart, someone you've avoided because it's messy.
- 20:19Speaker 1: Don't wait for a sign, you already have one, Jesus said, go.
- 20:25Speaker 1: The world doesn't change through theories, It changes through touch.
- 20:30Speaker 1: Love your neighbor, not for what they can give, but
- 20:33Speaker 1: because of what He gave. Love until it hurts, and
- 20:37Speaker 1: then love again. Because every time you choose mercy over indifference,
- 20:42Speaker 1: you retell the story of the Good Samaritan. We have
- 20:46Speaker 1: ebooks available on our website to help guide your deep
- 20:49Speaker 1: Bible studies. You'll find resources on compassion, discipleship, and practical
- 20:54Speaker 1: faith tools to help you live the truths Jesus taught,
- 20:59Speaker 1: not just hear them. Visit our website and explore how
- 21:02Speaker 1: to grow in love that transforms communities, families, and hearts,
- 21:08Speaker 1: because that's what it means to follow the Good Samaritan,
- 21:11Speaker 1: to love the broken, to cross the road, to go
- 21:15Speaker 1: and do likewise? Why do we run from home? Let
- 21:18Speaker 1: me ask you something real. Have you ever looked around
- 21:21Speaker 1: and realized you were far from where you started? Not
- 21:25Speaker 1: because you planned to rebel, but because one small compromise
- 21:29Speaker 1: led to another until home felt like a memory. You
- 21:32Speaker 1: didn't mean to drift, you just stop looking back. That's
- 21:38Speaker 1: the story Jesus told about a son who had everything
- 21:41Speaker 1: but didn't see it's worth. Luke fifteen says a man
- 21:45Speaker 1: had two sons. The younger said, father, give me my
- 21:48Speaker 1: share of the estate. In that culture, that request was
- 21:52Speaker 1: like saying I wish you were dead. The father doesn't
- 21:56Speaker 1: argue he divides his wealth, watches his son leave and
- 22:00Speaker 1: lets him go. Why because love never locks the door.
- 22:05Speaker 1: The sun runs to a far country. He spends his
- 22:08Speaker 1: inheritance on pleasure, on people who love what he has
- 22:11Speaker 1: but not who he is. It feels like freedom until
- 22:14Speaker 1: it doesn't. When the money runs out, so do the friends.
- 22:18Speaker 1: A famine hits, and suddenly the same man who once
- 22:22Speaker 1: lived like royalty is feeding pigs just to survive. And
- 22:26Speaker 1: then Jesus says he came to himself. That phrase always
- 22:30Speaker 1: catches me. It means he remembered who he was before
- 22:33Speaker 1: shame rewrote his identity. He said, how many of my
- 22:37Speaker 1: father's servants have food to spare, and here I am starving.
- 22:41Speaker 1: Have you ever had that moment sitting in a mess
- 22:44Speaker 1: you made, thinking how did I get here? You see,
- 22:47Speaker 1: sin doesn't feel like rebellion at first. It feels like relief,
- 22:52Speaker 1: like freedom from rules, distance from disappointment, space to define yourself.
- 22:57Speaker 1: But soon that space becomes isolation, and isolation always ends
- 23:02Speaker 1: in emptiness. From the garden of Eden to the pig pen,
- 23:05Speaker 1: humanity keeps running from the only one who calls us home.
- 23:09Speaker 1: Adam hid behind trees, Jonah hid behind the sea. We
- 23:12Speaker 1: hide behind screens, but it's all the same story. Hearts
- 23:16Speaker 1: trying to escape the very love that created them, and
- 23:20Speaker 1: still the father waits. Jesus says, while the sun was
- 23:25Speaker 1: still a long way off his father saw him. That
- 23:28Speaker 1: means he'd been watching the road every sunrise, scanning the
- 23:32Speaker 1: horizon every sunset, wondering if to day was the day.
- 23:36Speaker 1: When he finally sees that broken silhouette limping home, he
- 23:40Speaker 1: doesn't wait for an apology. He runs, no robe, no sandals,
- 23:44Speaker 1: no dignity, just love. Sprinting down the road, he embraces
- 23:48Speaker 1: his son before the sun can even finish the speech
- 23:50Speaker 1: he rehearsed, and that hug rewrites everything. We run from
- 23:55Speaker 1: home because we confuse rules for relationship. We think the
- 23:58Speaker 1: father's house is about control, not closeness. We think obedience
- 24:02Speaker 1: kills joy, But the truth sin promises freedom while it's
- 24:07Speaker 1: building cages. The Father's love feels restrictive only until you
- 24:12Speaker 1: remember it's the fence around a garden, not the bars
- 24:15Speaker 1: of a prison. Psalm sixteen eleven says, in your presence
- 24:20Speaker 1: is fullness of joy, not half way joy, not temporary pleasure. Fullness.
- 24:27Speaker 1: That's what we keep searching for in far countries what
- 24:29Speaker 1: we already had at home. Maybe to night you're realizing
- 24:33Speaker 1: you've been drifting, not through scandal, but through distraction. You've
- 24:38Speaker 1: been busy, numb, exhausted, religious but far. You still love God,
- 24:46Speaker 1: but you miss him. The Father's not angry, he's waiting.
- 24:49Speaker 1: He's not pacing the porch with arms crossed. He's watching
- 24:52Speaker 1: the road, ready to run the moment you turn. He
- 24:56Speaker 1: doesn't need perfect repentance, he just needs your direction. Sometimes
- 25:00Speaker 1: we imagine returning home means humiliation, punishment, earning back trust,
- 25:06Speaker 1: But the father's house doesn't operate on human terms. When
- 25:10Speaker 1: the son came back, the father didn't lecture him. He
- 25:12Speaker 1: clothed him. The robe replaced his shame. The ring restored
- 25:17Speaker 1: his authority. The sandals gave him back his purpose. That's
- 25:21Speaker 1: what happens. Every time you come home to God. He
- 25:23Speaker 1: doesn't remind you of where you've been. He reminds you
- 25:26Speaker 1: of who you are. So why do we run from home?
- 25:30Speaker 1: Because we forget how loved we were before we left,
- 25:33Speaker 1: Because we confuse the noise of the world for the
- 25:36Speaker 1: music of heaven. Because we chase belonging in places that
- 25:40Speaker 1: can't recognize our name. But even when you run, he
- 25:43Speaker 1: doesn't revoke your identity. You may leave the house, but
- 25:48Speaker 1: you never leave his heart and to night. Maybe this
- 25:52Speaker 1: is your came to yourself moment. Maybe it's time to
- 25:55Speaker 1: stop feeding what's starving you and start walking home. You
- 25:58Speaker 1: don't have to have all the work word's ready, Just
- 26:01Speaker 1: start moving, because the father already sees you, and he's
- 26:05Speaker 1: already running. What happens when I come back? Picture this?
- 26:09Speaker 1: You're walking home. Your clothes are torn, your confidence's gone,
- 26:14Speaker 1: your heart rehearsing the apology you hope will be enough.
- 26:17Speaker 1: Every step feels heavier than the last. You don't know
- 26:21Speaker 1: what waits for you, a door locked or arms open.
- 26:24Speaker 1: But then through the haze you see him, the Father,
- 26:28Speaker 1: standing at the gate, scanning the horizon, like he's been
- 26:31Speaker 1: waiting for this exact moment. Before you can blink, he's running,
- 26:36Speaker 1: not walking, running, no words, no hesitation, just the thunder
- 26:42Speaker 1: of mercy pounding the dirt. When he reaches you, he
- 26:45Speaker 1: doesn't check your condition, he doesn't say I told you so.
- 26:49Speaker 1: He falls on your neck and kisses your face, still
- 26:52Speaker 1: wet with shame, and in that embrace the smell of
- 26:56Speaker 1: pigs is swallowed by the scent of grace. This is
- 26:59Speaker 1: why happens when you come back to God. Luke fifteen says,
- 27:03Speaker 1: the son started his speech, Father, I've sinned against Heaven
- 27:07Speaker 1: and against you. I'm no longer worthy to be called
- 27:10Speaker 1: your son. But the father interrupts him. He doesn't let
- 27:14Speaker 1: him finish. Grace always interrupts guilt. He calls to the servants,
- 27:18Speaker 1: bring the best robe, put a ring on his finger,
- 27:21Speaker 1: and sandals on his feet. Kill the fatted calf. Let's celebrate.
- 27:26Speaker 1: My son was dead and is alive again. That robe
- 27:30Speaker 1: wasn't random, It was the father's own robe, symbol of
- 27:33Speaker 1: restored honor. The ring represented authority, The sandals freedom. Slaves
- 27:40Speaker 1: went barefoot, sons wore shoes. In one moment, the father
- 27:44Speaker 1: didn't just forgive the boy, He reinstated him. Do you
- 27:48Speaker 1: see it. God doesn't just welcome you back. He restores
- 27:51Speaker 1: you as if you never left. Isaiah sixty one ten
- 27:55Speaker 1: says he has clothed me with garments of salvation and
- 27:59Speaker 1: arrayed me in a robe of righteousness. That's what happens
- 28:02Speaker 1: every time you return to him. He covers the smell
- 28:04Speaker 1: of the far country with the fragrance of home. He
- 28:08Speaker 1: doesn't hide your scars, he redeems them. The Father never
- 28:11Speaker 1: stop being your father while you were gone. The distance
- 28:14Speaker 1: didn't dissolve your DNA. Sin can distort your story, but
- 28:19Speaker 1: it cannot delete your sonship. Romans eight fifteen says you
- 28:23Speaker 1: did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave
- 28:27Speaker 1: again to fear, but the spirit of adoption, by whom
- 28:30Speaker 1: we cry Abbah Father. That's what happens when you come back.
- 28:35Speaker 1: You stop being a slave to shame and start remembering
- 28:39Speaker 1: you're a child of grace. The elder brother didn't understand that.
- 28:43Speaker 1: He heard music, saw dancing and refused to join. He said,
- 28:47Speaker 1: I've been here all along, and you never threw me
- 28:49Speaker 1: a party. But the Father said, everything I have is yours.
- 28:56Speaker 1: The elder brother represents every believer who stays home physically
- 29:00Speaker 1: but leaves emotionally. Those who serve without intimacy, obey without love,
- 29:05Speaker 1: live in the house but not in the heart. And
- 29:08Speaker 1: the Father's invitation extends to him too. Come in. The
- 29:13Speaker 1: joy of grace is for every one. You see, when
- 29:17Speaker 1: one child comes home, Heaven celebrates, Jesus said, the Angel's
- 29:21Speaker 1: rejoice over one sinner who repents. The father's joy isn't polite,
- 29:26Speaker 1: it's extravagant. He throws a feast in your honor because
- 29:30Speaker 1: your return proves his love works. Maybe to night you're
- 29:35Speaker 1: wondering if you're still welcome. You've come back before and
- 29:38Speaker 1: drifted again. But the story doesn't end with the son's return.
- 29:42Speaker 1: It ends with the father's feast. That's the picture of eternity.
- 29:47Speaker 1: One day there will be another home coming, another celebration,
- 29:51Speaker 1: the marriage supper of the lamb, every believer gathered, every
- 29:55Speaker 1: prodigal turned preacher, every scar turns story. You're not too
- 29:59Speaker 1: late for them that table. Coming back doesn't mean erasing
- 30:02Speaker 1: the past. It means giving the past to the one
- 30:05Speaker 1: who can redeem it. The father doesn't send you back
- 30:08Speaker 1: to the field of shame. He invites you to the
- 30:12Speaker 1: table of belonging. That's why the son didn't return to
- 30:16Speaker 1: the servants quarters. He went straight to the feast. Grace
- 30:20Speaker 1: doesn't demote, it restores. So what happens when you come back?
- 30:24Speaker 1: You get a robe for your shame, a ring for
- 30:27Speaker 1: your rejections, sandals for your surrender, and a seat at
- 30:30Speaker 1: the table you thought you'd lost forever. Maybe this is
- 30:34Speaker 1: your moment You've been wandering, weary, afraid of his reaction.
- 30:39Speaker 1: But to night you've seen it. The Father isn't waiting
- 30:43Speaker 1: to lecture you. He's waiting to lift you. He's already
- 30:46Speaker 1: running toward you. You don't have to fix yourself first.
- 30:49Speaker 1: You just have to turn round, and when you do,
- 30:52Speaker 1: you'll find that the home you feared was closed has
- 30:56Speaker 1: been open all along. What should I do with my gifts?
- 31:00Speaker 1: Can I ask you something? Honest? Do you ever wonder
- 31:02Speaker 1: if you're wasting your potential? Like? Deep down you know
- 31:06Speaker 1: God gave you something, a gift, a purpose, a spark,
- 31:09Speaker 1: But fear keeps whispering. Don't risk it, don't try, You'll fail.
- 31:16Speaker 1: Jesus told the story for people who feel that way.
- 31:19Speaker 1: He said, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man
- 31:21Speaker 1: going on a journey. He called his servants and intrusted
- 31:25Speaker 1: his wealth to them. Matthew twenty five fourteen to one.
- 31:29Speaker 1: He gave five talents to another, two to another, one
- 31:36Speaker 1: each according to his ability. Then he left. The one
- 31:42Speaker 1: with five doubled his, the one with two doubled his,
- 31:47Speaker 1: but the one with one he buried it. When the
- 31:51Speaker 1: master returned, he rewarded the first two well done, good
- 31:55Speaker 1: and faithful servant. But to the one who hid his gift,
- 31:58Speaker 1: he said, you wicked, lazy servant. That feels harsh, doesn't it.
- 32:02Speaker 1: But here's why that servant didn't lose his gift. He
- 32:05Speaker 1: refused to use it. And in the Kingdom of God,
- 32:09Speaker 1: unused purpose is wasted worship. The tragedy of the parable
- 32:14Speaker 1: isn't the man who failed, it's the man who never tried.
- 32:18Speaker 1: The Master wasn't angry because he made no profit. He
- 32:21Speaker 1: was grieved because fear buried faith. Maybe you're that servant
- 32:25Speaker 1: right now. You've buried your calling under insecurity. You're sitting
- 32:29Speaker 1: on potential because you're scared it's not enough. But listen,
- 32:33Speaker 1: God doesn't ask for perfection, He asks for participation. He
- 32:37Speaker 1: won't judge you by what he gave some one else.
- 32:39Speaker 1: He'll ask what did you do with yours? Romans twelve
- 32:43Speaker 1: six says we have different gifts according to the grace
- 32:46Speaker 1: given to each of us. That means your gift doesn't
- 32:50Speaker 1: look like mine, and that's the beauty of it. The
- 32:53Speaker 1: Master isn't comparing returns, he's celebrating obedience. Maybe you're waiting
- 32:58Speaker 1: until life feels stable to start serving until you're holy
- 33:02Speaker 1: enough to lead or ready enough to speak. But if
- 33:06Speaker 1: the enemy can't stop your salvation, he'll try to silence
- 33:10Speaker 1: your contribution. He'll convince you that hiding your light is humility.
- 33:14Speaker 1: It's not. It's fear disguised as wisdom. Paul told Timothy,
- 33:19Speaker 1: fan into flame the gift of God within you, tewod
- 33:23Speaker 1: Timothy won six fire dies without air. The Holy Spirit
- 33:27Speaker 1: lit something inside you. He's waiting for you to breathe again.
- 33:31Speaker 1: If you're an encourager, speak life. If you're a giver,
- 33:34Speaker 1: be generous. If you're an artist, create beauty that points
- 33:37Speaker 1: to heaven. If you're an intercessor, pray until walls fall.
- 33:42Speaker 1: If you're a teacher, teach truth even when it's unpopular.
- 33:45Speaker 1: Don't bury what God intended to build, the kingdom. The
- 33:48Speaker 1: man with one talent buried it in the ground, thinking
- 33:51Speaker 1: he was keeping it safe. But fear doesn't protect it paralyzes.
- 33:57Speaker 1: He said, I knew you were a hard man, reaping
- 34:00Speaker 1: where you didn't sow. That line reveals his heart. He
- 34:04Speaker 1: misunderstood his master. He thought God was cruel, when in reality,
- 34:08Speaker 1: God was generous. Every act of disobedience begins with a
- 34:12Speaker 1: distorted view of God. When you believe he's harsh, you'll hide,
- 34:16Speaker 1: But when you realize he's gracious, you'll grow. Your gift
- 34:20Speaker 1: is more than a skill, it's a trust. God places
- 34:24Speaker 1: pieces of his kingdom in your hands, expecting you to
- 34:28Speaker 1: multiply them, not for applause, but for impact, And when
- 34:33Speaker 1: you do, he promises reward. You have been faithful over
- 34:37Speaker 1: a few things, I will make you ruler over many
- 34:41Speaker 1: Matthew twenty five twenty three. Don't miss that. The master's
- 34:45Speaker 1: joy isn't in the numbers, it's in the faithfulness. The
- 34:48Speaker 1: same words spoken over the five talent servant were spoken
- 34:51Speaker 1: over the two talent servant. Heaven measures obedience, not output.
- 34:56Speaker 1: Maybe right now you feel like your gift is small,
- 35:00Speaker 1: your thinking what can I really do for God? But
- 35:03Speaker 1: Zechariah four ten says, do not despise the day of
- 35:06Speaker 1: small beginnings. Every great move of God starts with something
- 35:10Speaker 1: that looked insignificant to every one else. David's stone, moss
- 35:15Speaker 1: staff as the widow's oil, the child's lunch. God doesn't
- 35:18Speaker 1: need your greatness, he needs your yes. And if you've
- 35:22Speaker 1: buried your talent, it's not too late. Dig it up
- 35:24Speaker 1: dust it off, present it back to him, say God,
- 35:29Speaker 1: use this, whatever it is, for your glory. You'll be
- 35:32Speaker 1: amazed how Heaven multiplies obedience that feels small, because one
- 35:37Speaker 1: day you'll stand before the same Master, not to be condemned,
- 35:42Speaker 1: but to be asked, what did you do with what
- 35:44Speaker 1: I gave you? And when you can lift your eyes
- 35:47Speaker 1: and say I gave it all back to you, you'll
- 35:50Speaker 1: hear the words every heart longs for, well done. That's
- 35:55Speaker 1: what happens when you stop burying your purpose. The kingdom grows, that,
- 35:59Speaker 1: the world changes, and heavens smiles. What's hidden in small faith?
- 36:04Speaker 1: Can I be honest with you? Most people think faith
- 36:06Speaker 1: has to feel big to work. They picture thunder fire
- 36:10Speaker 1: shouting prayers that shake the walls. But Jesus said the opposite.
- 36:14Speaker 1: He looked at his disciples and whispered, if you have
- 36:17Speaker 1: faith as small as a mustard seed Matthew seventeen twenty, small,
- 36:23Speaker 1: almost invisible. You can hold it between two fingers and
- 36:27Speaker 1: barely see it. And yet Jesus said, that's enough to
- 36:30Speaker 1: move mountains. Why would he use a mustard seed because
- 36:34Speaker 1: it's one of the tiniest seeds on earth, But once planted,
- 36:37Speaker 1: it becomes one of the largest garden trees in Mark
- 36:41Speaker 1: four thirty one to thirty two. He said it grows
- 36:44Speaker 1: and becomes greater than all herbs and birds of the
- 36:47Speaker 1: air nest in its branches. That's not just acute illustration,
- 36:51Speaker 1: it's revelation. Jesus wasn't talking about gardening. He was describing
- 36:57Speaker 1: how the kingdom works. The kingdom doesn't stock with noise.
- 37:01Speaker 1: It starts with something almost unseen, one prayer, one step,
- 37:05Speaker 1: one act of obedience, and grows into something that shelters others.
- 37:10Speaker 1: You might feel like your faith is too small right now.
- 37:13Speaker 1: You want to believe for healing, for freedom, for restoration,
- 37:17Speaker 1: but your hands are shaking. You pray, but it feels weak.
- 37:22Speaker 1: Let me tell you something small faith is still faith.
- 37:27Speaker 1: God doesn't measure volume, He measures trust. A whisper that
- 37:31Speaker 1: says I still believe in the middle of pain roars
- 37:35Speaker 1: louder in heaven than a thousand loud declarations spoken from comfort.
- 37:39Speaker 1: The mustard seed teaches you this growth begins underground before
- 37:45Speaker 1: it rises, It roots before it's seen. It's hidden, and
- 37:50Speaker 1: sometimes God buries your faith in dark seasons, not to
- 37:54Speaker 1: kill it, but to protect it. While it's developing depth.
- 37:58Speaker 1: That's what Abraham learned, and God promised him a son,
- 38:02Speaker 1: but then made him wait decades. That waiting didn't weaken
- 38:05Speaker 1: his faith, it deepened it. Romans four twenty says he
- 38:10Speaker 1: did not waver through unbelief, but was strengthened in his faith.
- 38:15Speaker 1: Faith that grows fast fades fast, but faith that grows
- 38:19Speaker 1: slow can stand storms. Think of Noah building an arc
- 38:22Speaker 1: in dry land. Of Joseph sitting in prison with a
- 38:25Speaker 1: dream still alive. Of Mary, a teenage girl saying yes
- 38:29Speaker 1: to the impossible, of Peter stepping out onto water that
- 38:33Speaker 1: shouldn't hold him. None of them felt strong, but they
- 38:36Speaker 1: planted the seed anyway, and the seed always works. You see,
- 38:40Speaker 1: mustard seeds don't grow because they're powerful. They grow because
- 38:44Speaker 1: the soil is faithful. You don't need to muster up
- 38:47Speaker 1: faith that feels huge. You need to place small faith
- 38:50Speaker 1: in a huge God. Jesus never said move the mountain yourself.
- 38:54Speaker 1: He said speak to it. Your job is to believe.
- 38:57Speaker 1: His job is to move. Maybe right now, you're praying
- 39:00Speaker 1: for something that seems impossible. A family member's salvation, freedom
- 39:04Speaker 1: from addiction, healing for your body, hope in your heart.
- 39:07Speaker 1: And maybe the voice of doubt says that's too small,
- 39:12Speaker 1: that's not enough, But Heaven hears differently. God never ignores
- 39:19Speaker 1: small prayers from sincere hearts. He multiplies them. Zechariah fourten says,
- 39:26Speaker 1: do not despise the day of small beginnings, because that's
- 39:31Speaker 1: where God hides his biggest miracles. The cross looked like defeat,
- 39:35Speaker 1: it was redemption. A baby in a manger looked insignificant.
- 39:39Speaker 1: It was God stepping into flesh. Small beginnings are how
- 39:44Speaker 1: Heaven disguises glory. Maybe your faith right now feels buried
- 39:48Speaker 1: under disappointment. You've prayed, believed, and waited, but nothing sprouted yet.
- 39:53Speaker 1: Don't dig up what God is growing. Roots are forming
- 39:57Speaker 1: where you can't see. Every no you've in endured might
- 40:01Speaker 1: just be the ground cracking before the breakthrough. And when
- 40:03Speaker 1: it finally grows, others will find rest in what your
- 40:07Speaker 1: faith produced. That's the other secret of the mustard seed.
- 40:11Speaker 1: It doesn't just grow tall, it grows wide. It becomes
- 40:14Speaker 1: a shelter. Birds make nests in it. Your faith isn't
- 40:18Speaker 1: just for you. When you stand, Others find shade when
- 40:21Speaker 1: you believe. Others find courage when you keep going. Others
- 40:24Speaker 1: see God through you. So to night. If you feel
- 40:27Speaker 1: like you've got nothing left but a mustard seed, hold
- 40:29Speaker 1: it close. God can do more with that than the
- 40:32Speaker 1: world can do with empires. Don't wait for faith to
- 40:36Speaker 1: feel big. Just plant what you have, because inside that
- 40:40Speaker 1: small seed is the same power that raised Jesus from
- 40:43Speaker 1: the grave. Inside that whisper is the roar of heaven.
- 40:47Speaker 1: Inside that surrender is a kingdom waiting to grow. Faith
- 40:51Speaker 1: doesn't have to move mountains to be miraculous. It just
- 40:54Speaker 1: has to move you to trust. Plant it, water it, wait,
- 40:58Speaker 1: and one day you'll look back and realize the thing
- 41:01Speaker 1: that started small became the shelter you and others needed
- 41:05Speaker 1: all along. How do I stay ready? Let me ask
- 41:08Speaker 1: you something. If Jesus returned to night, would he find
- 41:11Speaker 1: your lamp burning? Not your reputation, not your ministry, your
- 41:15Speaker 1: lamp that secret flame in your heart that no one
- 41:18Speaker 1: else sees. Jesus told this story because he knew we'd
- 41:24Speaker 1: forget how to wait. He said, the kingdom of Heaven
- 41:29Speaker 1: will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and
- 41:32Speaker 1: went out to meet the bridegroom. Matthew twenty five one.
- 41:36Speaker 1: Five were wise, five were foolish. The wise carried extra oil,
- 41:41Speaker 1: the foolish didn't. The bridegroom took longer than expected, and
- 41:45Speaker 1: all ten grew drowsy. But at midnight, the darkest hour,
- 41:51Speaker 1: came a cry, behold, the bridegroom is coming. They all
- 41:56Speaker 1: woke up to trim their lamps, but the foolish realized
- 41:59Speaker 1: there were going out. They begged the wise, give us
- 42:02Speaker 1: some of your oil, but the Wise said, there may
- 42:05Speaker 1: not be enough for both of us, Go buy some
- 42:08Speaker 1: for yourselves. While they were gone, the bridegroom came. The
- 42:13Speaker 1: ready ones entered the wedding feast, and the door was shut.
- 42:16Speaker 1: Later the others came knocking, crying, Lord open for us,
- 42:21Speaker 1: But he answered, truly, I tell you, I do not
- 42:24Speaker 1: know you. That parable isn't about wedding customs. It's about readiness,
- 42:29Speaker 1: and not the kind that looks spiritual. It's about inner devotion,
- 42:34Speaker 1: sustained intimacy with God, and the kind of faith that
- 42:38Speaker 1: endures delay. Every virgin had a lamp, every believer has faith,
- 42:42Speaker 1: but oil represents something deeper. The Holy Spirit's presence cultivated
- 42:47Speaker 1: through relationship, not borrowed through religion. You can't share it,
- 42:51Speaker 1: fake it, or download it, you can only receive it
- 42:54Speaker 1: from him. That's why the foolish were unprepared. They wanted
- 42:58Speaker 1: the benefits of the bridegroom without the daily investment of oil.
- 43:02Speaker 1: They had lamps, but no intimacy. Light without fuel, religion
- 43:07Speaker 1: without relationship. We live in a midnight our world. Morality
- 43:11Speaker 1: is dimming, truth is being traded for comfort, and still
- 43:15Speaker 1: the cry rings out. Behold the bridegroom comes. The question
- 43:20Speaker 1: isn't whether he's coming, it's whether we're ready when he does.
- 43:24Speaker 1: Maybe you've noticed your flame flickering. You still believe, but
- 43:28Speaker 1: your heart's tired. Prayer feels heavy, worship feels routine, Waiting
- 43:33Speaker 1: feels endless. But this parable isn't meant to shame you.
- 43:37Speaker 1: It's meant to awaken you. Jesus isn't scolding sleepy saints.
- 43:42Speaker 1: He's calling them to refill their oil before it's too late.
- 43:46Speaker 1: The good news you don't have to buy oil with performance.
- 43:50Speaker 1: You receive it through presence. Time with God is where
- 43:54Speaker 1: oil flows. Every whispered prayer, every tear of repentance, every
- 43:59Speaker 1: act of obedience, each one fills your lamp again. Psalm
- 44:03Speaker 1: eighteen twenty eight says you, Lord, keep my lamp burning.
- 44:07Speaker 1: My God turns my darkness into light. You don't maintain
- 44:11Speaker 1: the flame alone. The same spirit who ignited it sustains it.
- 44:15Speaker 1: But here's the sobering truth. There's coming a moment when
- 44:18Speaker 1: the cry will sound for real, the trumpet will blow,
- 44:21Speaker 1: the king will step through Eternity's veil, and there will
- 44:24Speaker 1: be no time left to borrow oil, no time to
- 44:27Speaker 1: scramble for intimacy that takes a lifetime to build. That's
- 44:31Speaker 1: why he said watch, for you do not know the
- 44:34Speaker 1: day or the hour. Staying ready doesn't mean living in fear.
- 44:38Speaker 1: It means living in love. Love keeps you watching. Love
- 44:42Speaker 1: keeps you faithful when others fall asleep. Love keeps you
- 44:45Speaker 1: full when the world runs dry. Think about Noah. Everyone
- 44:49Speaker 1: thought he was crazy building an ark in clear weather,
- 44:52Speaker 1: but when the first rain drop fell, obedience suddenly made sense.
- 44:57Speaker 1: Faithfulness is always misunderstood and till it's rewarded. The oil
- 45:01Speaker 1: in your lamp isn't just for you, it's your light
- 45:04Speaker 1: for others in the darkness. When you carry oil, people
- 45:09Speaker 1: can see Jesus through you. Your faith becomes the lamp
- 45:13Speaker 1: that guides others home. So how do you stay ready.
- 45:17Speaker 1: You stay close, You stay full, You stay awake. You
- 45:20Speaker 1: guard your oil like your life depends on it, because
- 45:23Speaker 1: it does. You turn off distractions that drain you. You forgive quickly.
- 45:27Speaker 1: You worship when no one's watching. You study the word
- 45:30Speaker 1: like it's your daily bread. You stay sensitive to the
- 45:34Speaker 1: whisper of the spirit. Don't wait until midnight to look
- 45:37Speaker 1: for oil. Seek him now while he may be found,
- 45:41Speaker 1: because when that door closes, it won't matter who you followed,
- 45:44Speaker 1: who you quoted, or what you built. The only thing
- 45:47Speaker 1: that will matter is whether your heart still burned for
- 45:50Speaker 1: him to night. Let's be honest, has your flame dimmed?
- 45:54Speaker 1: If it has, you can relight it. You can whisper
- 45:57Speaker 1: right now, Lord, fill my lamp again, and he will
- 46:01Speaker 1: because he still longs for you as deeply as he
- 46:03Speaker 1: did on the first day you met him. The bridegroom
- 46:07Speaker 1: hasn't changed his mind. The feast hasn't been canceled, the
- 46:11Speaker 1: cry hasn't stopped echoing. So trim your lamp, guard your oil,
- 46:15Speaker 1: and keep watching it. Because at midnight, when the world
- 46:18Speaker 1: grows darkest, he's coming. How do I live the Kingdom? Now,
- 46:22Speaker 1: let me ask you something that most people never do.
- 46:25Speaker 1: What if the Kingdom of Heaven isn't just a destination
- 46:29Speaker 1: but a way of living. Right now, we pray Thy
- 46:33Speaker 1: Kingdom Come, Thy will be done on earth as it
- 46:38Speaker 1: is in heaven. But have you ever stopped to wonder
- 46:42Speaker 1: what that actually means. Jesus didn't describe the Kingdom as
- 46:46Speaker 1: a palace in the clouds. He described it as something
- 46:49Speaker 1: that starts small, grows quietly, and changes everything it touches.
- 46:54Speaker 1: He said, the Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that
- 46:57Speaker 1: a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of
- 47:00Speaker 1: flour until it worked all through the dough Matthew thirteen
- 47:04Speaker 1: thirty three. Yeast isn't flashy. You don't see it working.
- 47:08Speaker 1: It disappears into the mix, but over time it transforms
- 47:12Speaker 1: the whole batch from the inside out. That's what the
- 47:14Speaker 1: Kingdom is supposed to look like in you, not something
- 47:17Speaker 1: loud or showy, but something quietly powerful. When the Spirit
- 47:22Speaker 1: lives in you, he doesn't just visit on Sundays. He
- 47:25Speaker 1: changes your nature every day. Maybe you've wondered why does
- 47:29Speaker 1: God move so slowly in my life? Because Kingdom growth
- 47:32Speaker 1: isn't microwave, it's organic. Yeast takes time seeds takes seasons.
- 47:38Speaker 1: God's transformation always happens at the speed of relationship. You
- 47:42Speaker 1: don't have to force spiritual growth. You just have to
- 47:45Speaker 1: stay in his hands long enough for it to rise.
- 47:49Speaker 1: Jesus said. The Kingdom is also like a net let
- 47:52Speaker 1: down into the sea, gathering fish of every kind. When
- 47:56Speaker 1: it was full, the fisherman pulled it up on the
- 47:59Speaker 1: shore and sorted the fish, the good into baskets, the
- 48:03Speaker 1: bad thrown away Matthew thirteen forty seven to forty eight.
- 48:08Speaker 1: That's a picture of the world right now. The net
- 48:11Speaker 1: is the gospel. It's wide enough for everyone. God is
- 48:14Speaker 1: gathering souls from every background, every language, every story. But
- 48:18Speaker 1: one day that net will be pulled in. Judgment will come,
- 48:22Speaker 1: and the question won't be how long you swam in
- 48:25Speaker 1: the net. It'll be whether you were truly transformed inside it.
- 48:30Speaker 1: Living the Kingdom now means living ready. It means loving
- 48:33Speaker 1: people enough to tell them truth even when it's uncomfortable,
- 48:37Speaker 1: because love without truth isn't compassion, its compromise. The Kingdom
- 48:42Speaker 1: doesn't just save its sorts. And part of your calling
- 48:46Speaker 1: is to live so authentically that others see what real
- 48:49Speaker 1: discipleship looks like before the sorting ever happens. But here's
- 48:54Speaker 1: the beauty of it. Every moment of your ordinary life
- 48:57Speaker 1: can become sacred when you live kingdom first. Every word
- 49:01Speaker 1: of kindness is a seed. Every act of generosity is leaven.
- 49:05Speaker 1: Every prayer you whisper is another net cast into someone's heart.
- 49:10Speaker 1: That's what Jesus meant when he said the Kingdom is
- 49:12Speaker 1: like a mustard seed that becomes a tree. It's small decisions,
- 49:17Speaker 1: daily obedience, hidden faithfulness, until one day it becomes something
- 49:22Speaker 1: that gives life to others. You live the Kingdom by
- 49:25Speaker 1: bringing heaven into earthly spaces. When you forgive someone who
- 49:29Speaker 1: doesn't deserve it, you're living the Kingdom. When you choose
- 49:33Speaker 1: purity in a world that worships pleasure, you're living the Kingdom.
- 49:38Speaker 1: When you love your enemies, you're living the Kingdom. When
- 49:41Speaker 1: you stay faithful even when no one's watching, you're living
- 49:45Speaker 1: the Kingdom. The Kingdom is not waiting for the sky
- 49:48Speaker 1: to split, it's waiting for believers to wake up. Romans
- 49:52Speaker 1: fourteen seventeen says the Kingdom of God is not eating
- 49:56Speaker 1: and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the holy space.
- 50:00Speaker 1: That's what Heaven's atmosphere feels like and it can live
- 50:03Speaker 1: in you right now. Peace that doesn't depend on circumstances,
- 50:08Speaker 1: Joy that doesn't depend on outcomes, Righteousness that isn't earned,
- 50:12Speaker 1: it's received. That's the Kingdom, not one day today. You
- 50:16Speaker 1: don't have to preach to thousands to carry it. You
- 50:19Speaker 1: just have to be faithful in your corner of the world.
- 50:22Speaker 1: The yeast doesn't take over all at once. It spreads
- 50:25Speaker 1: quietly from one person to another. A word here, a
- 50:29Speaker 1: prayer there, a seed planted today that blooms next year
- 50:34Speaker 1: in someone else's life. Don't underestimate what daily faithfulness can do.
- 50:39Speaker 1: The Kingdom advances through quiet revolutions, one heart transformed at
- 50:45Speaker 1: a time. You may not see the results yet, but
- 50:48Speaker 1: God does. The bread is rising, the net is filling,
- 50:51Speaker 1: the harvest is coming. So how do you live the
- 50:54Speaker 1: Kingdom now? By remembering this, you are not waiting for
- 50:58Speaker 1: Heaven to arrive. Heaven is waiting for you to arise.
- 51:03Speaker 1: You are the leaven in the world's dough, the net
- 51:06Speaker 1: in the water, the seed in the soil. And every
- 51:09Speaker 1: day you live surrendered to Christ, the invisible Kingdom becomes visible.
- 51:13Speaker 1: One act of love, one word of truth, one soul
- 51:16Speaker 1: at a time. That's not some day faith, that's right
- 51:19Speaker 1: now faith. If you've walked through all these parables with me,
- 51:23Speaker 1: if you've listened, cried, and let truth sink deep, then
- 51:25Speaker 1: maybe you've realized something. Every story Jesus told wasn't really
- 51:30Speaker 1: about some one else, It was about you. The Sour
- 51:34Speaker 1: showed the soil of your heart. The Lost Sheep revealed
- 51:37Speaker 1: how far grace will chase you. The Hidden Treasure whispered
- 51:40Speaker 1: your worth. The Good Samaritan exposed how much love still costs.
- 51:44Speaker 1: The prodigal Sun reminded you where home is. The talents
- 51:48Speaker 1: challenged you to stop hiding what God placed in you.
- 51:51Speaker 1: The mustard seed taught you that small faith still moves heaven.
- 51:55Speaker 1: The ten Virgins warned you that delay is dangerous, and
- 51:59Speaker 1: the Yeaster and showed you that Heaven begins right now.
- 52:03Speaker 1: Each one was a mirror, a window into your soul.
- 52:06Speaker 1: A gentle, unrelenting question from God. Do you just know
- 52:10Speaker 1: these stories or do you live them? Because if you've
- 52:13Speaker 1: really heard them, like really heard, you'll never read scripture
- 52:17Speaker 1: the same way again. You'll start seeing yourself everywhere. You'll
- 52:21Speaker 1: see your doubts in Thomas, your passion in Peter, your
- 52:25Speaker 1: brokenness in the Woman at the Well. You'll realize the
- 52:28Speaker 1: Bible isn't a record of perfect people finding God. It's
- 52:32Speaker 1: the story of a perfect God refusing to give up
- 52:34Speaker 1: on imperfect people. So what do these stories reveal about you?
- 52:39Speaker 1: That you were lost and he came running, that you
- 52:41Speaker 1: were hidden, and he saw treasure, That you were wounded,
- 52:45Speaker 1: and he became the Samaritan. That you were distant, and
- 52:48Speaker 1: he became the father who ran. That you were faithless,
- 52:51Speaker 1: and he planted a seed anyway, that you were empty,
- 52:54Speaker 1: and he filled your lamp again. All the parables, every
- 52:57Speaker 1: one of them were love letters in disguise. Jesus didn't
- 53:01Speaker 1: tell them to entertain crowds. He told them to invite
- 53:04Speaker 1: you back to Eden, to remind you that the Kingdom
- 53:06Speaker 1: is not far off. It's within reach. Luke seventeen twenty
- 53:10Speaker 1: one says, the Kingdom of God is within you. It's
- 53:14Speaker 1: in your surrender, your worship, your choices, your love. You
- 53:19Speaker 1: don't have to wait for Heaven to start living like heaven.
- 53:22Speaker 1: The kingdom lives in any one who lets the king reign.
- 53:26Speaker 1: Maybe to night, you're realizing that the parables were never
- 53:29Speaker 1: about information, They were about transformation. They don't demand more knowledge,
- 53:34Speaker 1: they demand a response. What will yours be? Will you
- 53:38Speaker 1: stay a listener? Or will you become the living story?
- 53:42Speaker 1: Because the moment you say yes, every parable becomes prophecy
- 53:45Speaker 1: fulfilled in your life. You become the soil that bears fruit,
- 53:50Speaker 1: the sheep found and carried, the light that keeps burning,
- 53:54Speaker 1: the seed that grows, the heart that loves like the
- 53:57Speaker 1: good Samaritan. That's what happens when still borries turn into surrender.
- 54:01Speaker 1: And right now, right where you are, you can whisper Jesus,
- 54:05Speaker 1: make my life your parable, and he will. Father, Thank
- 54:09Speaker 1: you for the stories that never grow old. Thank you
- 54:12Speaker 1: that every parable still breathes, still cuts, still heals. We
- 54:16Speaker 1: confess we've been every character, distracted, soil, wandering sheep, fearful servants,
- 54:21Speaker 1: sleeping virgins. But tonight we remember who the real hero
- 54:25Speaker 1: of every story is. It's you, So Lord, make our
- 54:29Speaker 1: hearts good ground, make our faith mustard sized but mountain strong.
- 54:33Speaker 1: Make our lamps full again, and make our lives echo
- 54:36Speaker 1: the kingdom you described, one of mercy, justice, and relentless love.
- 54:41Speaker 1: We don't just want to read the stories any more.
- 54:44Speaker 1: We want to be the story you're still writing in
- 54:47Speaker 1: Jesus name. Amen. If you made it to the end
- 54:50Speaker 1: of this teaching on the Parables of Jesus, thank you.
- 54:52Speaker 1: It means you're not just curious, you're hungry for the truth,
- 54:56Speaker 1: and that's rare. Our hope is that this didn't just
- 54:59Speaker 1: in form you, but awaken something inside you, a reminder,
- 55:04Speaker 1: a warning, or maybe even an invitation back to God.
- 55:08Speaker 1: If this blessed you know, there's more waiting add free
- 55:12Speaker 1: distraction free on our website. Every book of the Bible,
- 55:16Speaker 1: every prophecy, every parable organized to walk you deeper into
- 55:20Speaker 1: the Word. And if you prefer to study offline, our
- 55:23Speaker 1: e books were made for that. Some of our most
- 55:26Speaker 1: powerful videos are now helping people go deeper in written form.
- 55:32Speaker 1: We're here to help you grow closer to God by
- 55:34Speaker 1: explaining the Bible in a simple, heartfelt way. And if
- 55:38Speaker 1: that's your heart too, your already family, you can support
- 55:42Speaker 1: what we're doing by sharing this video. All links, donations, ebooks,
- 55:46Speaker 1: Bible courses, and playlists are in the description below. Every
- 55:50Speaker 1: clique helps keep the Word alive and help someone else
- 55:53Speaker 1: find what you just did. May God speak to you
- 55:56Speaker 1: even after this video ends. May you carry what you've
- 55:59Speaker 1: learned into you, your home, your family, your world, And
- 56:03Speaker 1: may you never forget he's still speaking, You're still called.
- 56:08Speaker 1: The story isn't over. Stay blest,