The Parable of the Soils

The scripture reading comes from the book of Matthew, chapter 13.

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

Please follow along on the bulletin or your own Bible.

Starting in verse 1, we read,

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.

And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down.

And the whole crowd stood on the beach.

And he told them many things in parables, saying,

A sower went out to sow, and as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path.

And the birds came and devoured them.

Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil.

And immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil.

But when the sun rose, they were scorched.

And since they had no root, they withered away.

Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.

Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain.

Some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

He who has ears, let him hear.

Then the disciples came and said to him,

Why do you speak to them in parables?

And he answered them,

To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.

But to them it has not been given.

For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance.

But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

This is why I speak to them in parables.

Because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

Indeed, in their case, the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says,

You will indeed hear, but never understand.

And you will indeed see, but never perceive.

For the people's heart has grown dull.

And with their ears, they can barely hear.

And their eyes they have closed.

Lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears.

And understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.

But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.

For truly I say to you, many prophets and righteous people long to see what you see,

and did not see it.

And to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Hear then the parable of the sower.

When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it,

the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.

This is what was sown along the path.

As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word,

and immediately receives it with joy.

Yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while,

and then tribulation or persecution arises.

On account of the word, immediately he falls away.

As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word,

but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word,

and it proves unfruitful.

As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word,

and understands it.

He indeed bears fruit and yields,

in one case a hundredfold,

in another sixty,

and in another thirty.

This is the word of God.

Thank you so much, Betty.

Let me just again say,

what an exciting thing to be eleven years in.

You know, this is the first day where we've actually had ten, ten,

in the date,

and we started on ten, ten, ten.

So if you want to know how old watermark is,

just always remember it's ten, ten, ten.

So it's just a great thing,

and as great as we're going to be looking at the parable of the sower,

which is a lot about the faithfulness of God,

just to say God has been so faithful to us.

Actually, who was here,

was anyone here right like 2010?

Is it any?

Okay, let's have a round of applause.

Woo!

That's great.

Well, those of us who are newer,

you can go and actually chat to the old veterans

and find out what it was like back in the old days.

But let me just pray for us,

and as we get into God's word now.

Father, you are faithful.

Lord, I thank you even as we look back over 11 years of our time as watermark,

you've taken us through many seasons,

many journeys,

many ups,

many downs,

and yet you have been faithful.

You have been faithful.

Because you are always faithful.

And your word is true,

and your word is powerful.

Lord, I just thank you for the way that the gospel is at work in so many of our hearts

and so many of our lives,

and I just see the fruitfulness in people over this time.

Lord, we want to give you all the glory,

because that's nothing to do with us.

And so, Father, I pray even this morning,

as we come and speak your word,

and Lord, we pray that actually we would continue to be people who have hearts which are soft to you,

where we are a church of good soil,

where we're a church that really bears fruit,

because your word is going so deep into our lives,

Lord,

whatever season we're in.

And I pray for those of us here right now who are just in a tough season,

I pray, Lord,

that your word would come and comfort and strengthen them.

I pray for those of us who are in a wandering season,

I pray that your word would come and challenge us,

and would draw us back to yourself.

And I pray for those of us who are just in a good season,

Lord,

I pray that we would be filled with thankfulness

for your gracious goodness and kindness to us,

both individually and as a church.

So, Lord,

please speak to us this morning,

we pray,

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Great.

So,

we've been looking at the book of Matthew,

and talking a lot about some of the responses to Jesus

that have been coming through this book.

And I was chatting to a cafe owner just this last week,

and she said to me,

I think Jesus just kind of appears to people in different ways.

She said,

I think in China,

it's like he appears in Ganyam.

I think in India,

it's maybe like Shiva.

She said,

as long as he makes you feel better,

and he makes you like a good person,

Jesus can be who you want him to be.

And I thought,

that's really interesting.

Because,

if you said that to your boss,

like,

hey,

I'll just take you how I want to take you,

and what you say how I want to take it,

I think you're going to get fired pretty quickly.

Because even though it's trying to sound very tolerant,

what she's actually saying is,

I don't want to take Jesus for who he says he is.

I don't want to live under his authority.

And so,

the book of Matthew is actually calling us to responses,

and not just to kind of go,

oh,

let me just kind of park you on one side.

But actually,

it's saying Jesus is the authoritative king,

who is bringing in his kingdom,

and he's calling people to follow him,

as the only way to God.

And he's saying,

through his miracles,

through his healings,

and even through the way that he loves people,

and cares for people,

he's saying,

listen,

come to me,

but you don't,

but take me for who I say I am.

Because you can reject the claims of who I am,

or you can accept them,

but you can't say,

I accept Jesus,

but I want to take you on my terms.

That's not an option.

And this is what Matthew has been bringing to us,

all over these number of weeks.

And we've come now to chapter 13,

which is actually a shift in the book of Matthew.

And it's,

Jesus tells seven parables,

in the chapter 13.

And we don't tend to use parables a lot these days,

but a parable is a story,

or illustration,

or illustration,

which is providing a mirror on reality.

Okay?

It's using everyday imagery to bring a window into your heart,

and what God and his purposes are like.

You know,

I had someone recently ask me,

why didn't all the first century Jews follow Jesus?

It's a good question,

if he was so great.

And in this chapter,

Jesus is using the parables,

and he's going to use this first parable,

the parable of the sower,

to begin to explain

why people are not all responding to him

and following him.

He's using this parable

to interpret every,

actually,

other parable that he's going to tell us.

Okay?

Coming up.

Because this parable both explains people's responses,

but it also predicts

how Jesus will continue to polarize people

between those who,

all the way to the cross,

to the early church,

and even today,

to what are you going to do with him?

Because you can't just park him on the side.

You can accept him or reject him,

but take him for who he is.

And so,

we're going to look today,

and if you've got your bulletin,

please kind of follow through with the parable.

This is a very famous one.

And we're going to look at three different things.

We're going to look at varieties of soil.

We're going to look at testing the soil.

And then we're going to look at

how are we responding to this.

Okay?

So that's where we're going.

And so,

the parable

is an agricultural one.

Okay?

Very fitting for Hong Kong.

You know,

it's about four soils.

The path,

the rocky soil,

the thorny soil,

the good soil,

where this farmer is going out,

scattering his seed.

And the fact that

only one of these soils,

the good soils,

in the end,

bears long-term fruit.

And because this parable,

I think actually,

many of us are familiar with it,

but in Hong Kong,

if Jesus was here,

I don't think he'd say

exactly the same today.

I think he might use something like this.

I think he might say,

there was an investor

who was putting seed capital

into a series of startups.

And the first set of companies

he invested in

went bankrupt

within a short time.

And then the second

started really well

until COVID hit.

And then they collapsed

as the owners

just kind of cut their losses

and ran.

And then the third

seemed a good investment

for a while,

but there were underlying

structural issues,

mismanagement,

poor investments,

which eventually surfaced

and the cash reserves

just drained away

until it collapsed.

But the final set of startups

had good management.

They persevered

through several economic crises

and eventually produced

a healthy profit.

Even the weakest performer

was far more profitable

than the market

could have predicted.

That's the parable

of the sower.

And what is Jesus

actually talking about?

Okay,

these companies,

these soils,

and I'll use soils

from now on,

but you get the picture.

He's talking about

the soils,

he's talking about

the hearts of people.

And into which

the seed of the gospel

is sown,

the message of Jesus

is put into our hearts

and he's talking about

what is the key issue?

When you see

friends and family

who are not responding

to the gospel,

the issue,

just like with Jesus,

the issue isn't

the sower

because he's generous,

generously scattering

his seed.

The issue isn't

the seed

because the seed,

the gospel message,

is powerful.

It's always powerful.

He's saying

the issue

is the soil

of people's hearts.

And you know,

this parable

actually shouldn't be called

the parable of the sower.

It should be called

the parable

of the soils

because that's what

Jesus is talking about.

And so Jesus'

explanation for this

in verses 18 to 23

actually in context

matches on

to the very people

he has been engaging with

over this time.

So let's kind of

walk through these

just a little bit.

You see,

the first soil

is like the Pharisees

who have grown hostile

to Jesus.

so hostile to him

that Jesus can't

any longer

preach in their

synagogues.

He's actually got to

go out to the seaside

in the open air

because the hostility

is so great.

These were the

religious people.

And the point is

that they,

like we,

can hear sermon

after sermon.

They can be engaging

in God's word.

You can even tell us

the main points back

verbatim

from what was said.

But actually in your mind

be thinking,

I hope my spouse

hears this.

Or this is for

somebody else.

And somewhere between

the benediction

and the car park,

Satan comes and

snatches the word

away from you.

And it's just kind of

bounced off your heart

like a hard path.

That's the first soil.

The second soil

really are like the crowds

who are around Jesus.

You know,

a couple of chapters

earlier in Matthew,

some of these,

the crowd have come up

to Jesus and says,

Jesus,

we really want to

follow you.

And it sounds amazing.

It looks great.

But Jesus says to them,

foxes have holes,

the birds of the air

have nests,

but the Son of Man

has nowhere to lay

his head.

In other words,

are you prepared

for the cost

of what's coming up?

Because in other words,

Jesus has thousands

of people coming to him,

crowds of people,

and we would get dazzled

by the numbers.

We'd think his ministry

was super successful,

but Jesus doesn't

get dazzled by them.

In fact,

in John 2,

he says this,

he says,

many believed in him,

but he didn't entrust

himself to them,

for he knew

what was in a man.

You see,

what he's saying

is actually,

the people who are

coming to him

in the crowds

are coming just

to get something

from him.

It's kind of

Santa Claus Jesus.

They want some

inspiration from him.

They want him

to fix a problem

in their lives.

They want a healing.

They want something

from him,

but they don't

actually want him.

And I hear many people

actually go,

you know,

we had this amazing

Alpha Course

Christianity Explored,

and a hundred people

came to faith,

and it was amazing,

or some others say,

hey,

this person,

they prayed the sinner's prayer,

and now they're a believer,

and it's amazing.

And I want to go,

when I hear that,

I want to go,

yes,

let's celebrate.

There's more joy

in heaven

over one sinner

who repents

than over a hundred

righteous.

That's true.

But I also want to go,

let's see.

Let's pray that actually

they get rooted

in deep soil,

not just superficial soil.

Let's pray they're not

users of Jesus,

but they're lovers

of Jesus.

Let's pray they love

Jesus in the long haul,

because that's what

Jesus is talking about

with the second soil.

That's the rocky soil.

Then the third soil,

the thorny soil,

actually,

by the way,

the rocky soil,

what happens is then

when things just,

the pressure starts hitting,

the things that they

really wanted

start getting on the line

because you're following

Jesus.

What they choose to do

is say,

hey,

I prefer my career

rather than actually

really the cost

of following Jesus.

I prefer actually

just to have a

comfortable life

rather than actually

really facing the

challenges of following

him.

And so they back down

because they've got

no roots.

That's the second soil.

The third soil,

the thorny soil,

are people like Judas,

who is actually

one of the disciples.

He's right there.

He's super involved

in church.

He's doing all the stuff.

He's doing mission trips

with Jesus.

He even gets personally

served communion

by Jesus.

That's so close

to Jesus.

But his heart

is thorny,

gripped

by money

and greed

or by worries

or by ambition

for his own self.

You know,

he steals from

the communal purse

of Jesus

and he betrays Jesus

because of greed.

And the point is

that actually

the idols

in our hearts

which in one sense

are always there

can take time

for them to come up

and the thorns

can just choke them

in time

and choke the seed.

They're a dangerous group.

But then the fourth,

the fourth ones

are the true disciples.

They're actually

not just the twelve.

There are a whole load

of followers

who are around Jesus

as well

that Mark 4 tells us.

And they are not

perfect superstar Christians.

Okay?

Jesus has to go to them.

How is it

that you don't understand

what I'm talking about?

He goes,

oh you guys

of little faith

at times.

Jesus does get

a little frustrated

with them.

But even though

they haven't got it

all together,

they are those

who actually

do respond to Jesus.

They do want Jesus.

They want to be with him.

They keep coming back

in repentance

to him again

and again

and again.

And he says,

in the long haul

what happens?

There is this harvest

that is born

in their lives.

There's a harvest

that's born

in their lives.

And so the point

of this

is quite simple.

Just as the skin

of an apple

may look beautiful

on the outside

but it be rotten

on the inside.

So a Christian

is not one

who simply professes

faith in Christ.

That's not someone

who's simply active

in church.

It's not someone

who simply accepts

the doctrine.

It's one who

in their hearts

wants Christ

above all

and who will

need to persevere

in faith

in the long haul.

That's what a Christian

is.

And that's the point.

That's the varieties

of soil

that Jesus says

every single one

of us

will fit into.

How are we doing?

Good.

Second point.

Testing of the soil.

Because right in between

this parable

and then the explanation

Matthew puts

this little bit

in between

where he kind of

steps back

and has the disciples

asking a question

to Jesus

of why do you

actually speak

in parables?

And what he's doing

is he's actually

coming to show us

and like

how do you know

given this parable

how do you know

what kind of soil

you are?

That's the point

of this.

And the disciples

are going

hey can't you

just kind of

speak to us

like really directly

we're a bit dumb

okay we're a bit stupid

but like

give it to us

clearly please

and we need

to kind of

figure this out

and come and ask you.

And some people

have argued

well Jesus tells parables

because he just likes

to kind of

illustrate things

just like

you know

like a stand up comedian

takes everyday life

to kind of

make it kind of

relevant

but that's not

why Jesus says

he's bringing

these parables

not making it

totally easy

spoon feeding them

in terms of

giving them

the main point.

Here's what he says

he says

to you

the disciples

has been given

to know the secrets

of the kingdom of heaven

that's God's

deepest heart

and God's ways

in the gospel

but to them

the Pharisees

the crowds

the others

it has not been

given to them

to the one

who has

like you disciples

who've understood

something about me

and my kingdom

more will be given

you're going to get

to know me even more

it's not just head knowledge

it's heart knowledge

and my ways

and you'll have

an abundance

of knowing me

but from he

who does not have

those who don't want me

those who are not

willing to

engage me

even what he has

will be taken away

that is why

I speak to them

in parables

what's he talking

about

here's a couple

of things

that Jesus is doing

in his teaching

technique here

the first thing

he's doing

is that parables

are ways

to reveal

your heart

okay

Michael Green

says this

parables

revealed

truth

to those

who are hungry

and concealed

it

from those

who are too

lazy to look

for it

or too

blinded

by hatred

and prejudice

to discern it

in other words

what he's saying

is they're a filter

system

giving you

enough

information

to draw you

to Jesus

if you're interested

but not

passively

spoon feeding

you

so you can

just sit

on your sofa

and go

oh that's

great

you see

it's a bit

like this

it's a bit

like if I go

listen

I know

the key

to your

entire future

so meet me

a cafe

at 8pm

and I'll tell you

if your heart

is hungry

and you're opening

yeah I want

that

what are you

going to do

you'll be there

you'll cancel

your appointments

you'll say

I've got to be there

tell me

like that

and as you go

there

and then

you hear

the message

so you'll be

satisfied

and you'll keep

coming back

for more

that's a good

soil

coming to

Jesus

but if you

just kind of

you want

Jesus on your

own terms

like the

rocky soil

you'll go

oh that

sounds great

I want to

go

I'll be there

but then it's

like raining

outside

and there's a lot

of traffic

on the roads

and you're like

oh

and you'll

kind of die

you'll just

back out

at the last

minute

that's the

rocky soil

but then

the thorny

soil

will go

okay

now just

tell me

right now

what it is

because I've

got a job

interview later

and I'm super

busy at the

moment

so could you

just kind of

fit me in

like right

now

and the

path will

say hey

I know

what I'm

doing with

my life

thanks

I actually

I don't

need

from you

right now

and so

just like

the airport

immigration

you know

filters you

into different

lanes

when you

hear the

word

your own

response

and your

heart

will filter

you into

where your

heart really

lies in

relation to

Jesus

they reveal

your heart

the second

thing they do

is they reveal

your destiny

because

here

Jesus quotes

Isaiah 6

this is

verse 14

and 15

and he

quotes

Isaiah 6

where God

commissions

Isaiah to

keep calling

the people

to repent

but he

says

every time

that you

hear

you'll hear

but you'll

never

understand

you'll see

but you'll

never

perceive

they're so

deaf

that actually

you'll say

stuff to

them but

it just

kind of

goes in

one ear

and out

the other

and actually

it says

here

this

people's

heart

has grown

dull

literally

the words

are in

Greek

their hearts

have grown

fat

and their

ears

listen

heavily

and their

eyes

are closing

like husbands

with their

wives

sometimes

you know

actually

the image

is of a

doctor

who knows

that his

long term

patient

let's call

him Frank

doesn't

listen to

him

but for

the 20th

time

he tells

him

listen

Frank

your

cholesterol

level

is so

high

that unless

you stop

eating

three Big

Macs a

day

you're

going to

have a

heart

attack

listen

to me

and the

guy's

going

yeah

yeah

yeah

yeah

anything

else

doctor

and he

just kind

of carries

on

and the

doctor

knows

because he

cares for

him

that he's

going to

keep

telling

him

but every

single

time that

he speaks

to him

Frank's

heart

is both

literally

and

metaphorically

hardening

you see

and as

he does

it

his fate

is being

sealed

you see

the doctor

knows

one day

he's

going to

get a

call

Frank's

in

hospital

this time

I don't

think he's

going to

make it

that's what

verse 15

is all

about

lest they

should see

with their

ears

eyes

hear

with their

ears

understand

with their

heart

and turn

and I

would heal

them

that is

God's

desire

because

Jesus

is the

great

physician

of our

hearts

who

every

time

he

speaks

to

us

is

sowing

seed

into

our

lives

of

the

gospel

he's

offering

it

to

you

and

he's

saying

listen

I

want

you

to

turn

back

to

me

why

because

I

want

to

heal

you

I

want

to

bring

you

life

this

is

what

I'm

about

and

Jesus

could

just

go

hey

you

guys

you

just

such

a

waste

of

time

let

me

not

even

have

an

appointment

with

you

not

even

speak

to

you

but

he

doesn't

because

he's

so

gracious

he's

so

patient

that

he

keeps

coming

again

and

again

to

each

one

of

us

saying

will

you

hear

me

you

know

Jesus

can

soften

the

hardest

of

hearts

he's

sovereign

in

salvation

but

we

also

have

to

choose

how

to

respond

to

him

and

God's

sovereignty

doesn't

override

our

responsibility

to

respond

I

don't

get

how

it

works

but

that's

what

scripture

teaches

us

so

Jesus

is

not

just

actually

speaking

a

parable

to

us

that's

what

he

spoke

to

them

but

actually

he's

speaking

his

word

to

us

today

and

you

know

his

word

always

requires

active

reflection

to

take

it

from

here

down

to

here

you

can't

just

actually

say

oh

I've

just

heard

it

now

I

can

just

go

off

and

carry

on

with

my

life

it

always

requires

some

kind

of

action

to

respond

to

it

you

see

every

time

you

hear

a

sermon

about

Jesus

every

time

you

read

your

Bible

every

time

a

believer

speaks

God's

word

into

your

life

in

some

way

it's

actually

a

sorting

a

filtering

moment

like

in

the

immigration

lanes

because

here

Jesus

says

blessed

are

you

who

hear

if

you're

a

Christian

when you

hear

the gospel

message

when you

hear

God's

word

I don't

know

do you

see that

as a

privilege

the longer

you're in

church

you can

just get

so familiar

with it

that you

miss the

privilege

because he

says it's

this grace

because even

the greatest

prophets

like Moses

and Isaiah

and Jeremiah

they didn't

hear what

you guys

hear

they didn't

know the

full extent

of the

mercies of

God that

are found

in Christ

because they

didn't know

Jesus at

that point

but we

do

and so

every

Sunday

during the

week

we get a

chance to

hear of the

incredible

love of

God for

us who

takes

stubborn

deaf

unrepentant

unteachable

people

and he

keeps chasing

you and

me down

every single

day

to the

point that

he would

even bring

his ultimate

word which

is Jesus

to us

because that's

how much he

wants us to

get the

message of

his love

for us

his death

for us

speaks the

loudest

message of

his grace

of his

good purposes

to draw

you to

himself

he's not

a kill

joy

he's not

there to

ruin your

life

he's there

to heal

us and

restore us

and it's

grace

but you know

it's also

not just a

privilege and

grace to

hear God's

word

it's also

dangerous

I don't

know if

you've

thought of

this

because if

you've been

in church

for a

while

and this

is challenging

I find this

challenging

you can

actually end

up going

yeah

yeah

I know

that Jesus

stuff

eyes glaze

over let

me just

check my

Instagram

or you

hear God

say hey

you need

to forgive

that person

or stop

sleeping with

your girlfriend

or apologize

to your

spouse

or cut

out all

of that

activity

and spend

time with

me

and we

do nothing

and we

just carry

on busily

chasing after

our own

desires

and we

go hey

it's just

a season

I'm in

once I

get through

this

then you

know

then I'll

listen

but you

know

every day

that you

refuse to

turn to

Christ

and allow

him to

heal you

your

altar

is a

hardening

that's

challenging

isn't

that

it's a

responsibility

to hear

God's

word

well

and so

then with

the varieties

of soil

we've

looked at

and the

testing of

soil that

God brings

as he

speaks his

word to

you

the final

thing is

how do

we respond

to this

how should

we respond

and I've

got two

things that

I think

we should

respond with

the first

is we

need to

take a

hearing test

Jesus

says he

who has

ears let

him hear

like what

is actually

God saying

to you at

the moment

in your

life and

how are you

responding to

him you

know when I

was young I

had to have

I had the

hearing test and

my ears were

blocked and

I had to

have like a

special like

operation to

help my

ears come

unblocked

some of us

are in that

situation

some of us

you don't

realize the

danger you're

in you know

God is calling

you to surrender

in an area of

your life but

you're going

yeah yeah just

another day

you come to

church regularly

but you actually

don't want to

hear and God

says he appeals

to you today

if you hear my

voice don't

harden your

hearts don't

tune out of

my voice today

because do you

know what if

you tune out

today tomorrow

you will be so

deaf that you

won't even hear

me so repent

whatever I'm

calling you to

do like stop

right now and

you've got to

take it seriously

because you don't

want to get a

heart attack

some of us you

may be seekers

maybe you

wouldn't call

yourself a

Christian and

the message

that Jesus

wants to speak

to you today

is not that

Jesus is here

just to give

you a bit of

peace just to

give you a bit

of wisdom just

to give you a

few things to

kind of fix

your life he

can do all of

that

Jesus doesn't

want you to

take him on

your terms

because he's

the one who

loves you the

most but he's

also the one

who demands the

highest allegiance

in your heart

and that's how

you'll enjoy

him so that my

encouragement to

you is to look

into the claims

of Christ

let him be the

God of your

life I encourage

you to join the

explore course on

the 25th of

October to

actually ask

questions and

actually take the

opportunity as

someone who's

hungry for more

to go and seek

to satisfy your

hunger with who

Jesus really is

but for some

of us the

danger isn't

just that we're

the first soil

or maybe even

the second soil

the danger is

the third soil

that many of us

get choked and

distracted

you know in

in in Mark

six it says

even Jesus

closest disciples

so people who

are actually the

fourth soil

at one point

they didn't

understand him

because their

hearts were

hardened

in other words

what it's saying

is it's possible

for someone to be

a true follower

of Jesus but

have seasons where

actually you may be

more like the

path or more like

the rocky soil or

more like the

thorny soil than

the good soil

and so you may

have worries about

your work you

may have worries

about your kids

about whether

you're going to

be single all of

your life you

may have desires

in your heart

for promotion

for getting into

that school

for financial

security to be

light to be in

control to be

whatever it is

that you're

chasing after

they can be

really good

things but if

they begin to

choke you

what you'll see

is when you

come to church

on Sunday

when you come

to your CG

when you spend

time with your

other believers

you should be

thinking what is

it that I really

want at this

moment

like this morning

what do you

want

do you

actually want

Jesus for who

Jesus says he

is or do you

want to just go

through the motions

so you can get

back to doing the

things that you're

actually really

interested in

you know

his challenges

me

like do we

make space

to hear Jesus

maybe coming a

few minutes early

on Sunday

I know Kevin

mentioned that

before

or even just

every day in

your week

or is your

heart so busy

and so crowded

so rushing from

one thing to the

next thing to build

your own empire

that actually you

just love Jesus

just to tweet his

word to you

because that'd be so

much like amidst

your busy schedule

that's all you can

cope with

but actually he

comes to you and

says take a

hearing test

how are you

hearing me

do you want

me

that's the first

thing

this is challenging

right

it's challenging

but the second

thing

of actually

how should we

respond

is this

don't just

take a hearing

test

also aim

and have a

vision for the

long haul

you know

grain

was sown

in the autumn

and then it

was harvested

in the early

summer of the

next year

in other words

in between

there would be

these seasons

of plowing

there would be

rains

there would be

storms

there would be

waiting

there would be

all kinds of

seasons that went

in between

before the harvest

arrived

you know

I listened to a