MID WEEK MOTIVATION - November 5, 2025 (David Burgess)

You're listening to the Midweek Motivation Podcast from DeSoto Hills Baptist Church in South Haven, Mississippi.

Here's your host, Mark Lewis, David Burgess, Laura Ulrich, and Pastor Grant Diegel.

Welcome to the Midweek Motivation Podcast for Wednesday, November the 5th here at DeSoto Hills Baptist Church.

I'm Mark Lewis sitting here with David Burgess.

Yes, yes.

We hope this programming, we hope this programming can encourage folks throughout DeSoto County and beyond.

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Now, the main topic we're going to talk about between the two of us today is definitely the fact that you are right now about how many miles is Germany from here?

A zillion?

And there's like a whole ocean between us.

So Because of the magic of radio, Dave and I actually pre-recorded this podcast a week ago.

So he is actually not live on the podcast right now.

This was set up.

Yep.

Yeah.

So it's not live.

Yes.

Explain to us why you are currently in Germany right now.

So we are looking for partnership international partners.

All right.

So uh, you know, considering the gospel, considering the Great Commission to go to make disciples of all nations, um, our goal is to seek out uh possible partners, both here in the United States and uh abroad.

And so we have a connection with a uh missionary couple in Germany.

Okay.

So what's that what's that connection?

The connection is um through a friend uh and like I don't want to be vague, but uh and Germany is not like a closed country.

Right.

Uh but I have not talked to them before.

So you don't want to say anything else?

Yeah, so I can't mention names right now.

Um I mean if I would have thought about about this podcast and mentioned it on there, I would have I would have approached them as but for anonymity's sake, uh, you met them through somebody else.

I've known these people for several years.

Okay.

Probably since college.

So I met these people in college, grew a relationship, uh I they have a son who's I'm really good friends with.

They uh moved here from Russia years and years ago.

Okay.

All right, so and they have two two children, and they raised their kids here in the United States.

Uh they went to school here, uh college, and after their kids got out of college, they pretty much hit the mission field.

They went, they became United States citizens and then left and went to uh where they are now.

Okay, awesome.

And you said we are trying to do more strategic partnerships, and obviously we're not talking about right down here down the road because we are doing a lot of that locally, but we're trying to do some strategic partnerships overseas as well.

Exactly.

And how did those how do have those conversations come up just between you and Grant and staff and stuff?

Like how did this happen?

There are a couple churches in the area that uh do missions conferences.

And so I've been attending these missions conferences, uh meeting people, kind of networking uh with IMB missionaries.

And so I we've got a partnership in Africa.

Um actually a student of ours who who came through our youth ministry um is is actually in Africa working um as a missionary there.

They're actually move, they either just moved or they're about to move um to begin their uh their work uh as missionaries in Africa.

So they're out there, um which we we're working on that partnership.

We we actually started supporting them.

Um we're working on that partnership.

In a couple of years, hopefully we they'll be primed and ready, they'll know the landscape, they'll be trained, they're they'll be they'll have the language mostly down.

Um and so in a couple of years, hopefully the door will open for us to take teams to Africa.

Right now, uh uh Germany is a wide open door with the relationship that we have, the partnership that's already there, they're established, they've been there for a couple years, and they're working on um doing uh helping Ukrainian refugees.

Okay.

So that's that's their main focus right now, I think.

Awesome.

So uh what are you looking forward to the most, you think, on the trip?

Um to hear the stories, man, to see the history, to see, you know, uh to engage with the history in Germany, um, and to hear the stories of the pastors who are helping uh to you know to fight this postmodernism um that's you know sweeping the world.

Um, you know, but but presenting it with the ancient gospel, the gospel that's true, the gospel that's steadfast, the gospel that gives hope.

That's all they have.

Like and you know, they're a lot like us, you know, we don't need the gospel, so therefore we don't run to the gospel.

And so Germany's uh, you know, a lot like that, the culture.

Um that's what I'm expecting.

But as you and I both know, like the only thing that's a break the walls of postmodernism and uh people who have much don't need the gospel, like the gospel can break down that stone, that stone wall as well.

So that's what I'm interested to see is how we can reach to these reach out to these pastors, these church planners who who are engaging in a lost culture and say, How can we help?

How can we pray for you?

And how can we send a team out to to continue the work?

And that was gonna be my next question.

Have you had enough conversations with them yet to understand what possibly a team from DeSota Hills could assist with?

That's what this trip is for.

Okay.

So it's really a vision trip.

Right.

Um, we're gonna go over there, catch their vision, see um if their strategy, their gospel focus, if their gospel focus and if their strategy aligns with ours as far as uh reaching the nations.

And so um that's the plan is to gather the information to bring back and say, all right, I believe uh the Lord is opening a door for ministry for us to to partner with with the people of Germany, with the missionaries there, and say, all right, what's our role?

All right, let's hit a quick table topics, real quick.

Uh I asked Grant a few weeks ago what his favorite podcast to listen to was.

Are you a podcast guy?

I feel like I've talked to you before.

Uh yes, I am.

I am uh I love podcast man.

So what's what's your favorite podcast, you think?

Or name a few that you've that you've enjoyed.

I like a good murder, murder mystery podcast.

Um I like a uh like I'm kind of like a sucker for uh conspiracy theories.

Not that I believe them, but it's so interesting to see what people think and like like especially like government conspiracy theories.

Like I'm if you throw a government conspiracy theory podcast in front of my in my ears, like I'm gonna be hooked.

Yeah.

Uh and you know, I gotta temper that with truth, obviously.

Like I don't g go on and tell everybody, hey, you should listen to this.

But you enjoy the entertainment about me.

It's very entertaining.

Um But there's like, as far as like Christian news goes, like there's a podcast called Um The World and Everything in It.

I haven't heard of that one.

Okay, The World and Everything In It.

They um they do segments each day of the week.

Uh Monday they talk about money and uh they talk about the Supreme Court on Tuesday or something, you know.

So small bites.

Yeah, small bites, and it's 30 minutes long.

It's 30 minutes long, so it's not uh it's not like a three-hour podcast.

Right.

Which I can get lost in a three-hour podcast, like murder mystery or 48 hours or whatever.

Like I can get lost in those.

But as far as news goes, uh the briefing album or the briefing, which Grant likes.

Yeah, I liked, I like that.

Uh theological podcasts, uh John Piper has uh one called Ask Pastor John.

I love it.

I love it, I love it.

It's so good, it's so insightful.

Uh people write in their questions about they engage scripture, they write in questions and they're tough questions, or they like they write in their struggles, uh, cultural issues, they write in and he directly engages it with scripture.

So, as far as the theological podcast, that one is awesome.

Uh there's all also one called Preacher's Talk.

Um, it's good, it's like a part of the nine marks of a healthy church.

Um they uh those guys, they're great.

Um, and then there's one more.

Oh, it's the the the Bible Project podcast.

I've been listening to that steady, every day.

Like, um, and it's just these the this theologian um Tim Mackey uh he engages scripture um and then you talk he talks it out.

Uh it's a great podcast, the Bible Project.

Okay.

Any uh TV shows that you've been hitting up lately or documentaries.

With the boys and how the boys are the Toy Story one through four right now.

You've told me with the what the boys you've got at the house and obviously the age that they're at right now, it's hard to watch TV, which it just is.

Because even clean shows aren't clean anymore.

Yeah, and it's weird.

We've kind of rolled into this like we our news source is so is on our phones.

Like we don't watch the news.

So you've become the younger generation, really, is as far as far as like my intake of news.

Mobile.

Yeah, it's mobile news.

I mean, I don't we I mean So are you even paying are you even paying for any TV services or anything?

Just streaming stuff like a Netflix account or whatever.

Netflix, Disney, whatever.

We have that stuff, but no, we don't have it.

We haven't had a TV subscription in I don't know how long.

I love it, man.

We're now gonna shift to our devotion portion of the podcast that we call the midweek moment.

Okay, so uh as we are hitting this midweek moment, I've been in the Gospel of Mark uh just looking at uh, you know, my personal devotional.

Um I've been reading through Mark.

I'm you know sitting through uh some Bible studies here and there with some guys, and uh we've been gauging the Gospel of Mark.

And in uh chapter four, uh Jesus tells the parable of the sower.

Now we know, you know, the the parable of the sower, Jesus talks about um the seeds.

You know, you sow the seeds and it lands on this type of soil, this is what happens, this type of soil uh to the seed.

Uh when it hits this type of soil, it either gets taken away, the devil takes it away, the world and the worries take it away, or it lands on the good soil and it grows 30, 60, 100fold.

Um, that, you know, that is an awesome parable.

But then you start rolling into the next passage, and and Jesus explains the parable and starting verse 14.

But where we're gonna be is these are these three verses nestled between the sower, the parable of the sower, and Jesus' explanation of the parable.

Okay, that's where we're gonna be nestled in.

It's gonna be um Mark 4, 10 through uh 12.

And this is what it says.

It's right after Jesus speaks the parable, and it says this and when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.

Verse 11, and he said to them, To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parable, so that, and he quotes, um, I believe it's Isaiah uh chapter six, he quotes, they may they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.

All right, so when I see a pat when I come across a passage like that, it sounds like Jesus is being harsh.

It sounds like Jesus is being harsh, like, man, I'm telling this as a secret so that people won't repent.

Like it sounds very harsh.

But when you think about who Jesus is, Jesus has already like established his authority, uh, who he is, healing people, um, you know, calling the disciples, forgiving people of sin, engaging, I mean, he healed a paralytic for crying out loud.

Like Jesus is all powerful, he's already displayed his authority.

So here's the thing: Jesus knows who's going to seek him.

Jesus knows the heart of man.

And so when Jesus is saying that he's it's it's a mystery, this secret of the gospel.

And so you see these types of people, there are more people around as Jesus gave the parable, and it then it says, and when he was alone with those those around him and with the twelve, so there was less people in this section.

And so they go to him and ask, Jesus, I need you to explain this to me.

I want to know the truth.

I'm hungry for the truth.

You gave this story, and it's a great story, but I have no idea what you're talking about.

They didn't have the internet back then, they didn't have Google, they didn't have Grok, they didn't have Chat GPT, right?

Um, and so they are uh wanting to know the secret, and Jesus says, you know, you know, he Jesus does not say, you know, that's my secret, dude.

Like that is a mystery for me.

Like, if you want to know so bad, figure it out.

No, he didn't say that.

He freely gave the truth to those who wanted it.

The people earlier they got what they wanted.

They got to hear a cool story and they got to utilize that story in their own context, I'm sure, but they left and they didn't seek the truth, they didn't seek it deeper.

But those who did got it.

And so this is not necessarily the section of scripture that people would focus on, but it just struck me because how many times or how often in my life do I find myself going through the motions saying, all right, I'm gonna check this list off, I'm gonna read my Bible so I can tell the people in my life, yeah, I've been reading scripture, this is what the Lord's been teaching me, yeah, yeah, yeah.

No, like man, this truth and these mysteries of the gospel take time to chew on, to digest, to understand.

And there are days where I don't understand it.

But then those days I find myself, those are my we days where I beg the Lord, like, Lord, what is it here?

What do you want for my life?

Like, what is the truth that I can glean?

How can your word change my life and heart today?

Change me from being sinful, self-seeking, self-righteous David to being a person who loves you more, who who is grateful for the truth, who needs wisdom and wants to engage the world with the gospel.

Like that is life-changing.

And so, a couple of things that I want to leave us with today.

As we go from this passage of scripture, the questions that we need to be asking, are we engaging the word?

And why are we engaging the word?

Is it is it to check off a list or is it are you hungry for Jesus?

Are we hungry for the truth?

Are we hungry for wisdom?

Are we hungry for the Lord?

Um so ask yourself those questions.

Um and going back to the disciples and the people around Jesus, they went to the source.

Instead of coming up with their own conclusions and walking away and starting their next the next Monday, like go to Jesus.

Go to the source, ask him for wisdom, pray, say, God, give me understanding as I as I engage your word, give me understanding.

I want it to change my life.

Thanks for listening.

If you don't have a church home, we'd love to see you here Sunday morning.

You can catch our services online at Desotahills.com, our YouTube channel at DeSota Hills Baptist Church.

For all of our church family, we love you.

We'll see you back here next Wednesday, bright and early.

God bless.

This has been your midweek motivation.

We'd love to have you join us in person on Sunday mornings.

Our services are at 9 and 10 30 a.m.