Check your Soil

We're going to read out of Psalm 1. This series

is going to be going through the book of Psalm

Psalms 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1. And so what I would like is for all

of us, members and friends, everyone is welcome

to meditate on this psalm, to study it, to let

it speak to you. Amen. And over the course of

the next few Sundays, we're going to go. verse

by verse, and just see what God is wanting us

to understand about his ways in our life. And

so this is all about being planted. So I'm inviting

each and every one of you, make this your prayer.

Amen. You know what would be great is if you

were to meditate on this psalm throughout this

series and even memorize it. Amen. Amen. Memorize

it. We have lost the art of memorizing scripture.

And we need to reclaim that. Amen, somebody.

I know we're living in the AI generation and

we're living in, you know, Bible apps and audio

books and all that. And those are great tools,

but I encourage us to get back to memorizing

scripture. It's not that long, this chapter.

If you dedicate yourself to it, you might be

able to memorize it before this series is over.

Amen. But we're going to begin reading verses

1 through verse 3, just the first part of verse

3. It says, meditates day and night. He shall

be like a tree. Someone say, like a tree. He

shall be like a tree planted by the rivers. Amen.

I'm going to begin this series today with this

thought, talking about soil. And I'm going to

entitle this message, Check Your Soil. Amen.

Turn to somebody and tell them, check your soil.

Amen. You may be seated once you have done that

in God's presence. Amen. Somebody say amen today.

Check your soil. Agriculture is a prominent metaphor

in Scripture, often used to explain or illustrate

how God grows his people. And it's powerful.

It really is when you consider. all of the nuance

and the interesting facets involved in cultivation,

that process. When we talk about growth, however,

we typically start at the surface level, looking

at fruit, looking at branches, leaves, all that

the eye can see when we talk about growth. Perhaps

that's because we live in a very results -oriented

world. Amen? We live in a very productivity -driven

world. We live in a world that says, you know,

show me something, right? And certainly there

is a place, there is a time where we ought to

see some visible display of growth. But in the

Word of God, what we find is that the outward

is not where growth begins, but it actually grows

behind the scenes. And so this is going to require

some of us today to rethink how we measure our

lives, our spiritual lives and how we grow. Because

today I'm not going to talk about fruit. That's

coming at a later time in this series. So we

have to keep coming back to hear what God's going

to say about that. But we're going to go deeper.

We're going to go deeper because true and lasting

growth does not begin on the surface. It begins

beneath the surface. Amen. You know, before there

are trees, there are roots. And before there

are roots, there is soil. Somebody say soil.

Soil is the ground where roots take hold, where

life begins. And if you have ever, just in a

very amateurish way, like probably all of us,

looked at soil and ground and have had anything

grow around your home or the places where you...

where you visit the parks, or if you've ever

been out in the fields, you'll notice that that

ground plays an important part in what you see

on the outside. And that ground is there to provide

the nourishment, to provide the stability, to

give the right environment for that plant or

that tree to grow. And if the ground is good,

if the soil is good ground, then you can expect

the roots to grow deep. And if the roots grow

deep, then it will support great light. It will

support strong and vibrant trees. And I think

this is some basic knowledge for all of us here

today about how trees grow. And you probably

have learned this in a biology class or seen

this just with your own eyes. If a tree is not

growing, I want to tell you that the problem

is not with the seed. If a tree doesn't grow,

it's not the seed's fault. It's the soil. No

matter the type of seed, whether it's an orange

seed or a redwood, sequoia tree seed, no matter

the type of seed, its growth is determined by

the soil it's planted in. Amen. Jesus illustrated

this truth in the parable of the sower or sometimes

called the... Parable of the four soils where

growth depended on the quality of the soil, the

quality of the ground. And he talked about the

thorny ground and the stony ground and the hard

ground and then the good ground. So that in itself

is a great illustration Jesus taught about the

kingdom of God and how a seed, no matter how

much potential it has, no matter how great it

can become, no matter what is locked inside that

seed, It will only produce based on the soil

that it's in. Good soil is going to contribute

to a good tree. Bad soil or unhealthy soil is

going to limit or stump the growth of that seed.

So soil is, in Scripture, very important. What

does it signify? It signifies the condition of

your heart or your environment. This is what

soil signifies. So when we talk about soil today,

we're not talking just about the ground that

is outside these doors, maybe out here where

the trees are at, but we're talking about spiritually

our hearts or the environment that we put ourselves

in. It speaks of what you absorb, what influences

you, what you surround yourself with, who you

surround yourself with. And for better or worse,

the condition of your soil, that environment,

will decide the direction of your life. This

is very important. The soil that you're planted

in, or the condition of your soil, will determine

the direction of your life. Doesn't matter how

much you water it. Doesn't matter how much you

tend, how much sunlight you give or other things

you may do to create a beautiful or positive

environment. That seed. It's only going to grow.

That potential will only produce what the soil

supports it to do. So it is, the word today for

us is going to help us understand the good from

the bad. And we're going to go back to Psalms

1 here because in this psalm, we see something

very interesting. Now, Psalm 1 is the beginning

of a very long book of... poems and prayers and

songs of worship. When you think about the book

of Psalms, that's generally what comes to mind.

It is filled with lamentation and prayers and

pleas and cries. It is very personal, intimate,

depending on who the writer is. Most of the time,

just David, but there were other writers in the

book of Psalms. Some of them are unknown, but

that's generally what you think about when you

think of the Psalms. But Psalm 1. The beginning

of all of these prayers and songs of worship

and poems and cries does not begin with a prayer,

doesn't begin with a poem, doesn't begin with

a lament, but instead the first chapter of this

book begins with a lesson about being planted.

Somebody say planted. Think about that for a

moment. Of all the ways in which this majestic

book could have begun, It began with a lesson

about being planted. And this is essential. This

is key. And I believe one of the reasons it's

key is because many believers have learned to

do all of those other things. They've learned

how to praise God. They've learned how to clap

their hands. Some on beat, some on not. Praise

God. Hallelujah. They've learned how to sing

the songs. They know the lyrics of the song.

They've learned how to worship. Some have even

learned how to pray. And some pray very good.

They've learned how to pray, but they have never

learned how to be planted. And my concern today

as the preacher of this message, as the pastor

of this church, is that there is a generation

that has learned how to do all of those outward

things, singing and praying and dancing and shouting,

and they haven't learned how to be planted in

the right soil. And so before we can grow up

into the things of God, before we perfect our

praise and perfect our worship and perfect all

of these other elements of Christian living,

we've got to learn how to be planted and rooted

in the right godly soil. Somebody say amen today.

And the soil is important. And the psalm opens

up not by comparing forms of worship and prayer.

It begins by comparing two types of soil. Toxic.

And healthy. So let's look at the first type

of soil that we read. Or that is illustrated.

And that is toxic soil. Which this type of soil

leads to spiritual decline. Verse 1 it says,

blessed the writer says. And the writer is unknown

here. We don't know who it was. Could have been

David. But he begins by saying, blessed is the

man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly.

Nor stands in the path. of sinners, nor sits

in the seat of the scornful. Now, notice, if

you will, everybody pay attention to this. Notice

the downward progression from walking to then

standing to ultimately sitting. Everybody see

that? Notice the decline. It is a downward progression

from walking, which probably represents ultimate

mobility and strength, to just standing and then

sitting. Now, this describes for us a spiritual

decline. It describes, there are actually three

stages here of spiritual decline. Spiritual depravity,

spiritual declining and regression. In fact,

you can even say that what we have is a three

-step process to backsliding. People don't just

backslide overnight. Hello? We don't just backslide

overnight. Somebody just doesn't go from Sunday

to Monday and they totally backslid. No. It's

a process. Just like it's a process to get more

of God and to grow in the things of God, it's

also a process to spiritual decline. Now the

first stage is the walking. He tells us about

the walking. And I have, I've tried to... Bring

it together on this very simple sort of no frills

graph for you to see these spiritual stages.

He starts with walking. And walking, theoretically,

this person, the walker in the scene here, is

somebody who still has mobility, control over

his actions and his location. Somebody who can

casually change spaces. Somebody who can move

around at will. Somebody who is walking is someone

who is, for the most part, in control of their

location, where they are, where they go, where

they choose to be on any given moment. If you're

able to walk, you can get around, right? You

can get around. It might take you a little while.

It's not as fast as a car, right, or a bike or

a scooter, but you can get from point A to point

B while you're walking, right? This is what walking

can do. And when you can walk, you can change

your space and... But the thing about the man

who is perhaps not godly or is regressing, who

is spiritually declining, is that for some reason

or another, he cannot resist the counsel of the

ungodly. The walker stage is somebody who is

unable to resist the ungodly. Now, what I think

is interesting is that the psalmist describes

Not just a place. He doesn't say an ungodly place.

He's talking about a group of people. So a lot

of what we're going to look at here today is

not simply, oh, I walked into the wrong place.

This is the wrong building that I'm in, or I

walked into the wrong neighborhood. No, it's

not just physical buildings and locations. Most

of these places are about the people that you

associate with. Amen. The ungodly represents

a group of people. Now, I know some of you might

be thinking, ungodly? Well, I don't spend a lot

of time around ungodly people. You know, most

of the people are pretty good. They're pretty

solid. They're pretty legit. They're pretty good.

Pretty godly, if that's the case. But to be clear,

ungodly people are not simply evildoers. He's

not talking about outright evildoers, blasphemers,

and sinners. Ungodly is this. An ungodly thing

is anyone or anything that doesn't act or think

like God. I'm going to tell you something that's

going to blow your mind. Someone will say, whoa.

Even Christians can be ungodly. I know you can

talk in tongues until you get cut in mouth and

still be ungodly. Ungodly, the only criteria

to be ungodly is that you think and act unlike

God. That's it. And so the walker is constantly

being drawn to the ungodly people who don't think

and act like God would, who don't love like God

would, who don't think like God would. Now, of

course, none of us are perfect and are going

to be like God all the time, but... The ungodly

folks are those who have just made up in their

mind, their intent on not doing that. So why

does the walker continue to go back? Why would

he do that? Well, this is the rationalization.

The walker says, at least I don't stay there.

This is how the walker justifies him or herself,

constantly going back to this ungodly atmosphere.

He tells himself or herself, well, at least I

don't live there. I can walk away whenever I

want. I can walk in and I can walk out. And so

that's their justification for doing that. At

least I don't stay there. Well, you may not stay

there, friend. You may not live there, but what's

happening is that every time you walk into that

environment, You're tracking into that environment.

And when you come back, you're tracking all of

that dirt back into your life. You may not live

there. So, well, I don't stay there. I just talk

to them every once in a while. I just hang out

with them, or I just entertain what it is they're

telling me. Yes, but eventually you start to

track in, and just like dirt gets caught in the

soles of your feet, and because we don't wipe

our feet every time we go, you know, you take

those things into your life, and now you're wrestling

with doubts. How did that doubt get there? Who

have you been talking to? Why did I become so

suspicious of the church and of the leader? Who

have you been talking to? How is it that I've

become so jaded and so rough around the edge?

Who have you been around? Whose advice, whose

counsel have you been sitting under unknowingly?

What carnal arguments have you now entertained?

What lies now are you accommodating? What imaginations

are you allowing your mind to get carried away

with? And why is it that your thinking is stinking

now? And I can tell you that more than likely

it's because you've been walking towards the

ungodly and you're allowing those things to sort

of stick to your mind. And even though you can

walk away and say, well, at least I don't live

over there. At least I'm not there. Eventually

it begins to affect your spirit. And now you

can't seem to get rid of those thoughts. Hear

me. Hear me today. You say, well, what's wrong

with that? Because you will eventually stand

in the places you keep walking to. It progresses.

It starts off as walking. Eventually, it becomes

standing. Now I'm stuck here. Now I'm standing.

And now notice the progression. He's standing.

If you can go back to verse 1. He said, okay.

Now I'm standing in the path. of of sinners he's

not walking anymore he's standing there he's

lingering now in a place watch this that he only

used to visit now he's standing there in a place

that that now he's comfortable in a sinful or

backwards ungodly environment you see this is

what begins to happen Toxic soil, it starts to

normalize sin and ungodliness. It makes it normal

for you, and it normalizes. Watch this. What

used to convict you no longer convicts you anymore.

Hello. It used to convict you, and now you have

become desensitized. to what that is being said.

You used to be repulsed, offended even by what

you would hear, see, but now you've become so

used to it, you're standing in it. It used to

drive you to an altar. That one sin, you'd be

the first one at the altar the next night, bawling

your eyes out before God. But the longer you

stand there, it doesn't affect you the way it

used to. And now you just clap your hands, flailing

your hands. Oh, hallelujah. Meanwhile, there's

sin in your heart. And there's something that

has to be dealt with. And you're standing in

a place that used to convict you, that used to

trouble you. Oh, but this is what the standard

says. The standard begins to rationalize it.

Well, I can walk back whenever I want to. I'm

here because I want to be here. I choose to be

here. Oh, it's not that simple because now you're

compromised. Now you've adopted the ways of the

soil. And you're not just thinking wrong, you're

doing wrong. You used to just hear what they

say. Now you're talking like them. Oh, hallelujah.

You used to just accommodate it. Now you're repeating

it. You used to just observe it. Now you're mimicking

it. Come on now, somebody. Hallelujah. This is,

and if it sounds like the word coming forth today,

this is the word of God, it's a bit confronting.

It is. It's intended to be that. It's designed

to be that way. Because what it's trying to do

is alert God's people, alert us to the subtle

ways that we slowly drift from where God wants

us to be. It doesn't happen overnight, but now

you're there. And the place where you eventually

stand, you'll be sitting. You will eventually

sit in the place where you're standing. Now you

see the man, he's not walking anymore. He's not

standing anymore. He is completely at rest. He

is sitting now in the seat of the scornful. He's

sitting now in scorn. And you know what's happening?

He's planted, but in the wrong soil. He's planted,

but in the wrong environment. He's planted, but

among the wrong people and among the wrong things.

He's planted there. And this is the final stage,

you could say. It's gone from curiosity, watch

this, to compromise. Now he's not just compromised.

He's not just curious, or she, okay. We'll be,

you know, we'll keep this for everybody. We'll

be equal opportunity here. It could be a he or

a she. And hallelujah. And, but. Now there's

contempt. Now there is scorn. Now there is resistance.

Now he's resisting correction. Soil that resists

correction, that mocks what is good, mocks what

is wholesome, what is right. And what begins

to happen is that the heart begins to harden.

It grows callous. It grows unmoved and cold and

hard and empty. And this is the stage that somebody

might be in, maybe even here today, but there

is hope for you if that's the case. Hallelujah.

But this is where one could end up in this decline,

this spiritual decline. You think, well, surely

if somebody gets to the point where they're sitting

in the seat of the scornful, they're going to

want to get out of that place. Surely they're

going to open up their eyes and they're going

to have an aha moment. They're going to realize,

oh, I need a change in my life. But it's not

that simple. Because when you're finally in the

seat of the scornful, you are sometimes the hardest

person to reach. You know why? Someone say why.

Because you also rationalize where you're at.

And you know how you rationalize it? You say,

well. At least I'm not as bad as they are. Pastor

cannot be talking about me today because he's

probably talking about that sister over there

on the side of my eye. Don't look around. He's

probably, oh, I know, he's talking about the

person who's not here today because same on them,

they should have been at church. No, it's always

somebody else. And it's always the other person.

And so the sinner rationalizes it. Well, at least

I'm not as bad as the folks down the road. They

got it worse. And that's the wrong measurement

tool, my friend. Listen, the measurement that

we ought to use for our lives is not against

other people. The true measurement of our lives

is the word of God. I need to measure my life

by his standard and not by how better I am compared

to those that are around me. That's a false measurement

in our life. Hallelujah. But the sinner is comparing.

His comparison is discomfort. And from this point,

it gets urgent. It gets critical. Now, there

is still hope for anybody, no matter what stage

that you might find yourself in or no matter

what. what phase of the spiritual decline you

find yourself in there is hope for you amen there

is a way but you must understand you must know

that the ungodly man or woman will never produce

the kind of fruit that god wants from your life

as we will see in later in a later message in

this series uh that you will not be able to but

you'll be like the shaft that is driven by the

wind as we see in verse four you won't have the

stability and the roots that you need but most

of all you won't produce the kind of fruit that

is consistent with a Bible believing Christian.

That is consistent with a child of God that is

growing in the things of God and producing life

for the kingdom of God. How many of you want

to be that kind of believer? I want to be flourishing.

I want to grow. I want to expand into the things

of God. Why don't we give God a hand praise today.

Say God I want to produce. I'm ready. Well, here

comes a sharp contrast. If you'll give me a few

moments of your time because I've got to shift

gears. Today's message, I must confess, is almost

like two messages combined into one. Hallelujah.

It's a double -decker message. Praise God. Because

both of these can be good just on their own.

Amen. But I don't know about you, but when I

go to In -N -Out, man, I like a double -double.

I like two patties in there. Praise God. I got

you. How many of you hungry? I know you're going

after church now. Well, here's the second patty,

all right, is that I don't just want to talk

about the unhealthy toxic soil, but let's talk

about the healthy soil. How do we get back to

that place? Or how do we maintain that place?

How do we make it better? Verse 1 shows us what

to avoid. But verse 2 shows us what to embrace.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and

in his law he meditates day and night. Notice

the contrast between the first picture and the

second picture. The blessed man. How many of

you want to be blessed? I'm going to ask you

again. How many of you want to be blessed? I

want to be blessed. The blessed man is not just

avoiding the ungodly and the scornful. Listen,

Christian living, successful, victorious Christian

living is not simply about pulling the weeds.

It's also about planting what's right. Amen.

It's also about planting in good soil. And so

he's not just avoiding the ungodly. He's not

just avoiding the scornful. He's not saying,

you know, I'm not going to look at anybody. I'm

not going to do anything. You know, the best

thing to do is just stay home, lock the doors,

close the blinds, and, you know, avoid the world.

No, that's not what God is calling us to do.

That's not the life God has for us. But he's

cultivating. Now reading between the lines, it

seems that the man, this shadowy figure here

in the psalm, has gone through a process where

the word can produce growth in his life. And

that process is cultivation. That's a big word,

but somebody say that word, cultivation. Cultivation

is key. It's the process that starts by breaking

up the hard places in your heart and then allowing

the word of God. To be planted and formed in

you until Christ is formed in you. Cultivation

is not something that can happen quickly. Just

like spiritual decline doesn't happen overnight.

Dear friend, hear me today. Spiritual growth

doesn't happen overnight. You know, some think

that the pastor just preaches a good enough message.

and I get a little oil on my forehead before

the service is over, man, I'm going to grow leaps

and bounds in the Lord. I'm going to walk out

of here a sequoia tree. No, you're going to walk

out of here more encouraged, more edified, more

nourished and enriched. But growth still takes

time. It takes time. It takes intentionality.

It takes God's word being formed in you. but

it also takes a good and a healthy dose of cultivating

that ground that has become hard in our hearts,

in our spirits. Jeremiah, in Jeremiah, the Lord

said these words, speaking to his people who

needed to get right and get back on track. He

writes in chapter four, verse three, break up

your fellow ground and do not sow among thorns.

God tells his people, If you're going to experience

growth, a harvest, new life in your life, new

trees of righteousness, this is what you got

to do. You got to break up the fallow ground.

Fallow ground. Fallow ground is hard ground.

Uncultivated ground. Fallow ground represents

dry, empty, hard dirt. Not the kind of ground

that is ready to receive the seed of the word.

Ready to receive. that seed, whatever kind of

seed that it is. So the ground has to be tilled

and plowed and cultivated. So that the seed can

penetrate the ground. It's the same in the spirit.

It's the same in the kingdom of God. The seed

of the word cannot take root in a hard or complacent

or calloused heart. I don't care how good the

preacher is. And I think this preacher is not

too bad. Amen. But even a better preacher than

me, it doesn't matter who, the greatest preacher

in the world could be standing by here and preach

your socks off. And you still wouldn't make one

change in your life. life until that ground,

that place has been cultivated, broken up to

receive the word of God. And likewise, the boringest

preacher on the earth who, you know, who just

preaches until the paint dries on the wall can

have an effect in your life if the ground isn't.

It's not the preacher. It's not the platform.

It's not the music. It's not the paint on the

walls. It's our hearts being ready to receive

what God is. wanting to do in our life. Come

on, give God some praise here today. But this

process is difficult. today. Hallelujah. Oh my

God. My heart is just pulsating today for somebody

under the sound of my voice. Somebody who may

listen or watch this message this week. Hallelujah.

People, I've been burdened to pray for. You've

got to understand that until the ground is broken,

all it is is dirt. The difference between dirt

and rich soil is cultivation. And some of us

won't grow because we've got nothing but dirt.

We don't have soil. And there is a big difference.

Dirt is dead. It's lifeless. It cannot support

growth. It's just dust and rock and debris. But

we've got to allow the Holy Ghost. We've got

to allow the hand of God to dig down into the

depths of our soul and our hearts and begin to

break up the fellow ground that's been calloused,

that's been jaded, that's been bittered, that's

been angered, that's been missed. mistreated,

for whatever reason, that ground is hard. But

if we allow God to cultivate the ground and break

up the ground, then we are ripe for a harvest.

We are ready to receive the promises of God,

the word of God, the glory of God. God, I want

you to cultivate me at this time. I want you,

God, to work deeply in my life. Come on, why

don't we give him some praise right now? I feel

the Holy Ghost moving in this place today. You're

not going to grow in dirt alone. but broken soil

the man that we see this shadowy figure and someone

is a man I don't know we don't have the full

backstory but evidently he went through a process

evidently he allowed God to to break up the ground

in his life and and because of that that broken

soil is now alive it's enriched there's been

nutrients that have been mixed around oh and

God can even take some of the bad stuff Turn

it into fertilizer. Oh, I don't need that. Some

of you, maybe you grew up somewhere near a farm

or around some ranch animal, farm animal. I'm

here to tell you that sometimes they take even

the waste and the dung and the droppings of the

animal. I know that sounds disgusting, but they

will take that to create a fertilized soil, a

compost. They'll even take trash and garbage

and leftover food, the things that you think

have no value, the things that you think have

no truth. The things that you think God couldn't

possibly use in your life, he will use when he

cultivates the ground. He'll take even the smelly

stuff. Come on. He'll take even the dirty stuff.

He'll take even the messed up stuff. And you

say, it doesn't matter what your life looks like

on the outside. I've got a seed I want to plant.

Come on, somebody here today. I've got a seed

I want to plant in your heart so that you can

grow up into the Lord and become a tree of righteousness.

Because the first thing you've got to do is you've

got to repent. Hello, I lost you now, praise

God. You've got to repent. That's part of the

cultivation of the ground. I've got to repent.

Hallelujah. Amen. And I've got to humble myself.

Ooh, Jesus. I've got to humble myself and let

the ground be broken up. Some of you are going

through a breaking right now. You're going through

a breaking in your relationship, going through

a breaking in your family, going through a breaking

in your finances, a breaking in your spirit,

emotionally. You're going through a breaking

mentally. But I'm here to tell you that if you

just let God continue to do what he needs to

do, he's preparing the ground for optimal growth.

He's preparing the ground to receive. Because

until the breaking, you're not ready to receive

what God wants to do in your life. Fresh anointing,

that fresh word, that fresh move of God in my

life until that ground has been broken. And so

if I'm going through a breaking right now, I

feel like I'm talking to somebody, like I'm ministering

to somebody here today. If I'm going through

the breaking, God will use all of it. He'll allow

trials and tribulation. He'll allow pain and

failure, discomfort. He'll even have to do it

through correction if he has to. But these things

will. You avoid hitting rock bottom. You know

God will let you hit rock bottom. God will wait

until you're left with absolutely nothing. So

all you do is cry out unto God. I don't know

about you, but I don't want that to happen. Hello,

somebody. I don't want to have to wait until

I lose it all. Before I finally look to heaven

and say, God, here I am. I'm ready, Lord. I've

tried it, mouth. and my way didn't work. I got

a taste of the world and the world, it chewed

me up and it spit me out. That they may be called

trees of righteousness. The planting of the Lord.

That he may be glorified. I've come to tell you

right now that God takes the ashes and he turns

them into soil. God takes the bad and he turns

them into a planting. I don't know if there's

somebody here right now that needs to get real

with God and say, Lord, have your way. I invite

everybody to stand in this place at this time.

I feel God. At this altar, there needs to be

a breaking of the ground. At this altar, there

needs to be a breaking of the soil. At this altar,

we need to say, God, I don't want to be like

the ungodly man. I don't want to walk in the

path of the ungodly. I don't want God to stand

in the path of sinners. Rise up from that seat

in the name of Jesus. You're standing in the

wrong path. You need to walk back with humility.

Oh, somebody in this place needs to come and

prepare their heart before God and say, here

I am, Lord. Here I am. I invite every hand to

be lifted in this place. Come on. All over this

place. Oh, there's just a handful of us today.

But all over this place, I invite you to extend

your hands to heaven. I'll feel the Holy Ghost.

Some of you are dealing with some stuff, heavy

things, and things are getting broken apart.

we begin to talk to the Lord right now. I wish

somebody out there in this building would begin

to talk to Jesus. Somebody begin to talk to the

Lord. Somebody begin to open up your heart. I

feel the Holy Ghost. Oh, God, let thy word. Have

I heard it in my heart? Listen, listen, listen,

listen. The psalmist said in Psalm 119, he said,

Thy word have I hidden in my heart that I might

not sin against you. The reason why some of you

are still struggling with that sin is because

you haven't hidden His word in your heart. And

the reason why you haven't hidden His word in

your heart is because your ground has been too

callous and hard and fallow. So no matter what

mental... exercise you do, no matter what podcast

you listen to on Monday morning, no matter what

Monday motivation you have, no matter what radio

station you listen to, all those things can be

nice. But until you get to the root of the issue,

until you let the ground break up in your spirit,

then when the word gets planted, you can hide

it in your heart. It gets buried in your heart.

And you now say, I'm going to walk on another

level.