00:00 Welcome and Prayerful Aim

00:59 Recap of the Four Soils

02:25 Introducing the Good Heart

03:07 Reading Luke 8 Parable

05:42 Why Luke Emphasizes Fruit

07:32 Three Marks of Good Soil

09:29 Hold It Fast Tenaciously

10:56 Valuing the Word Most

13:51 Gutenberg and Bible Access

17:36 Practices to Treasure Scripture

20:08 Peter Forgot So We Fight

22:51 Delight That Drives Memory

26:08 Honest and Good Heart

26:39 Honest Heart Before God

27:49 Good Heart Toward Others

28:35 Word Meant to Transform

29:42 Josiah Finds the Law

31:58 Humility and Dependency

34:17 Trembling Gravity

36:06 Hopeful Response to God

36:48 Bearing Fruit Patiently

37:59 Trials Tailored to You

40:13 Fruitful in Every Season

42:09 Path of Grace Habits

45:12 Slow Sanctification Fight

47:13 Heart Condition Matters

48:10 Love Makes Service Count

49:24 Prayer and Small Groups

Well, thank you again then for being here.

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We're honored to do what we do as

pastors and we don't take lightly.

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But what's happening here, we don't

take lightly the fact that you're here

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dedicating time and that you are, uh,

doing this, besides doing almost anything

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else that you might do on a Saturday.

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We're enormously thankful for your

participation and your attention, and

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we think that this is gonna be one

of those messages, these sermons, at

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least this set of sermons can be some

of those messages that really make

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an impact on your life, not only this

week, but on the weekends to come,

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hopefully even when you go back home.

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One of the things that

I prayed for all of you.

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Though differently is that the

people that sent you on your way,

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the people that allowed you to come,

would notice that you are different.

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That you are improved and increased in

your love for God and your love for them,

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and that the way that you care about

them would look discernibly different.

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And I can assure you that if you

were to take these sermons and put

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them into work, you would in fact

find yourself operating differently.

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When we looked at the parable

of the soils, we recognize it.

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Uh, there's four different kinds of

hearts that the word of God lands on.

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And these four different kinds of

hearts, uh, are, are often hard for

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us to discern, at least in the moment.

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In session one, we talked about the

kind of path heart, the hard soil

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that rejects the word outright.

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This is the kind of person, uh, who

Satan snatches the word from their

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heart that never has a chance to even

make any changes because the word

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is immediately taken in session two.

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Uh, pastor PJ preached about

the rocky soil in Matthew 13.

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He warned us about the deception of

the shallow and untested faith that

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looks alive at first, but withers

under trials and persecutions.

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This kind of heart is gonna be the kind

of heart that everybody goes through, but

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this heart just doesn't have the stamina

or the will to survive to keep going.

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Um, actually, lemme

give you this one here.

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The third one that we looked at

from Pastor Mark this morning, he

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preached about the thorny soil.

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And, and Luke, which we're gonna look

at again, he warned about the worldly

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anxieties, riches, and pleasures that

can choke out the life that ha appears.

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And instead that we should give our

attention and energy to what is most

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important, most essential, and give

our hearts and, and minds to God so

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that we're not tempted to throw off

the hope that we have in Christ.

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And trust ourselves to the

father's faithful care rather than

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trying to care for ourselves by

building bigger and better barns.

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The last oil that we're gonna look

at now is the one that of course,

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we pray that is true of you.

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And in fact, what we're going to look

at is the qualities of a good heart.

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And of course, these are gonna be

the qualities that are gonna make

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manifest themselves in your lives.

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If in fact, your heart

is right with the Lord.

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Now it doesn't mean it's

gonna be an an incessant.

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Pro progression.

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We know as Christian men that there

are seasons of great growth and

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there are seasons of great famine and

sometimes it's, it's a bit of a mixture.

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However, by and large, much like the

stock market, you're gonna see that the

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progression is always gonna trend upward.

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Your growth in Christ is never static.

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It's always a dynamic hard progression

toward an increasing godliness.

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And this is what we're gonna see in

the third soil, rather the fourth soil.

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So turn with me back

to Luke chapter eight.

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We're going to look at Luke's accounts.

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In fact, I'm gonna read you Luke's

account because I think it's good for

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us to hear the whole thing so that

we can really feel the full effect

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of what Jesus is wanting us to hear.

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Luke chapter eight,

starting at verse four.

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We're gonna pay special attention to the

fourth soil, but let's just look at all

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of them as we make our way through here.

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Luke chapter eight,

starting at verse four.

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And when a great crowd was gathered

and people from town after town

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came to him, he said in a parable.

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A sower went out to sow his seed, and as

he sowed, some fell along the path and was

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trampled underfoot and the birds of the

air devoured it and some fell on the rock.

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And as it grew up, it withered

away because it had no moisture

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and some fell among the thorns.

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And the thorns grew up and with

it, uh, the thorns grew up rather,

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rather with it and choked it.

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And some fell into the good soil

and grew and yielded a hundred fold.

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Luke's accounts the only one

that says a hundred fold.

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The others will say 30, 60 or 90.

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Luke goes right for the jugular

and says a hundred fold.

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The good soil is

extraordinarily productive.

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We'll come back to that

as he said these things.

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He called out, he who has ears to

hear, let him hear, which tells

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us that even though they heard his

voice, not everybody understood it.

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Not everybody had the will to listen.

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Verse nine.

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When the disciples asked him what the

parable meant, he said to them, to

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you, it has been given to know the

secrets of the kingdom of God, but for

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others, they are in parables so that

he's again, quoting Isaiah chapter six

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here, so that seeing, they may not see

and hearing, they may not understand.

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Now the parable is this,

the seed is the word of God.

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The ones along the path are those who

have heard, and the devil comes and

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takes away the word from their hearts.

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So that they may not believe and be saved.

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And the ones on the rock are those

who, when they hear the word receive

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it with joy, but these have no root.

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They believe for a while, and in

a time of testing they fall away.

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And as for what fell among the

thorns, they are those who hear.

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But as they go on their way,

they are choked by the cares and

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riches and pleasures of life,

and their fruit does not mature.

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As for that in the good soil, they

are those who hearing the word hold

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it fast in an honest and good heart,

and they bear fruit with patience.

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In this final soil, you find that

the difference between the good

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soil and the others, that this

is the only one that bears fruit.

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This soil is receptive.

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It receives the seed, it implants the

seed, and because the soil has been

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prepared, it's able to produce a harvest.

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And as Luke says in verse eight,

here, it's a hundred fold.

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This soil is productive.

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The other gospel rider say that

every soil, every good soil has

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a variable productivity rate.

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Some 30, some 60, some 90, as I said,

which tells us that all Christians

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are fruitful, but to varying degrees.

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But at the time of this writing

here, something really fruitful

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would've been a tenfold crop harvest.

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They would've said, that's great.

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You get a tenfold return.

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You're doing really well.

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If you got 30 people would

be asking you for tips.

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What did you do differently?

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What kind of soil did you, a

manure, what have you, 60, 90.

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This is extraordinary fruitfulness.

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And Luke says about Jesus, when you're

in Christ, when your heart is right,

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there is a fruitfulness that allows

you to be extraordinarily fruitful.

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It's something that's remarkable,

something that humans cannot

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produce, you might say.

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And so Luke is pointing us to

a kind of person whose heart is

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receptive, whose heart is allowed.

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Uh, actually, I dunno if I

say yeah, whose heart is.

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His heart is so receptive

that it bears great fruit.

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Now, I chose Luke of the, of

the accounts and here's why.

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In Matthew 13, Jesus has described

as saying, this is the, the soil that

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hears, understands, and bears fruit.

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That's helpful.

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Uh, and so does Mark.

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Mark says much the same thing.

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It hears, accepts, and bears

fruit, but Luke gives us the

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most detail about the good soil.

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Luke says it this way, hears,

holds fast bears fruit and

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does it in a certain manner.

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This says, with patience.

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And so all three of the accounts are

helpful as they are, but we're gonna

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look at Luke's in particular because

it gives us the most to work with here.

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Now remember the thesis that I've

been working with this weekend, and

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it's that the condition of your heart

determines the fruitfulness of your

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response, as we said in session one,

this really puts a lot of pressure

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on you then to ensure that whenever

you encounter the word of God, that

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you're not just showing up haphazardly.

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That you're making certain, that you're

bringing to the table the heart that

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is prayed up and well prepared to

receive the meal, whether it's in the

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corporate setting with the church, or

whether it's just you and your Bible

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and the Lord, whatever situation it is.

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The difference between the fruitful

Christian is that the, the fruitful

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Christian has a heart that's

receptive, A heart that's ready, a

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heart that is humble before the Lord

earnestly desiring to be fruitful.

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The Lord honors that this sermon,

we're gonna look at the good fruit

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and the good fruit has three qualities

that can be described this way.

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It is tenaciously receptive.

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This good heart is not just a heart

that passively looks at the word.

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The good heart is tenacious

in its receptivity.

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We'll talk about that in a second.

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It is also sincere in the

consideration of the text.

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A heart that is good and receives the

word rightly, doesn't just hear it.

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There is an openness to it.

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There's a willingness to say, step on my

toes, do your worst, Lord, 'cause I do.

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I desire it for your sake.

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And finally, there is an enduring

fruitfulness to the good heart.

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The good heart is not content to just

show up one weekend or one Bible study.

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The good heart says, I will

keep going until Jesus takes

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my life with my last breath.

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I will praise his name.

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I'm gonna keep on serving, keep on

pursuing no matter what happens.

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This is the, this is the, the, the

way that the good heart functions.

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And I'm gonna get all of this.

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We're gonna look at all of this just

from verse 15, verse eight's gonna

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help frame for us the good, the,

the fruitfulness of the good heart.

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But verse 15, and Luke chapter eight

tells us what this good heart looks like.

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Look at this again.

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Here I highlighted the, the

words that we're gonna look at

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as for that in the good soil.

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They are those, these are the

people who they hear the word,

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that's what you're doing right now.

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And then their response

to it is threefold.

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They hold it fast in an honest and good

heart, and they bear fruit with patience.

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Let's talk about the first one, then.

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The first one, I'm gonna

add this one to it.

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Hearing the word is kind of the context,

but I think this is still helpful.

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Hearing the word they hold it fast.

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This idea here is carried on in scripture

to, to talk about a kind of person.

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Who, uh, in fact, you're gonna see

this word in other places in the Bible.

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Uh, the word can mean someone

who possesses something.

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Uh, if I were to think about this,

if M Smith in his heyday, he gets

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the, the football from Troy Aikman.

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That's right.

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Thank you.

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Troy.

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Aikman hands, m Ms.

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Smith a Football m Ms.

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Smith doesn't just hold the ball

gingerly and tenderly in his hands.

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He tucks that thing in there and

he runs like a truck through the

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defense all the way to the Red zone.

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End zone.

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The right place.

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He runs to the right place

and scores a touchdown.

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This is not my field of

expertise, but I'm trying.

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He doesn't just hold the ball.

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He, he holds that thing for dear life.

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This.

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He holds it like his baby.

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He's not letting it go.

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That's the idea, carried along

by someone who holds it fast.

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When God gives you his word,

he's not expecting you just

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to passively receive it.

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He's hap he's, he's hoping

that you'll hold it.

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And why is that important?

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Think about the first soil.

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The first soil has an attacker on

the pril who would love to swoop in

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and take that word from you, right

outta your right, outta your hands.

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But Jesus says here, the good

soil, he fights for that word.

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He doesn't just hold the word

gingerly, he doesn't just make

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sure that it lands in his hand.

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He treasures it, he values it.

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He understands what he has.

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In fact, speaking of value, think

about the way that the, the, the

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different soils express the values.

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The first soil does not

value the word at all.

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Hard heart.

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I have no receptivity.

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The second soil, remember the

second soil is the rocky soil.

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The second soil's values comfort over

the opposition that the word produces.

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I'd rather be comfortable.

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I'd rather not have to fight the world.

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My boss, my wife, my kids.

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I'd rather not fight everyone

around me, so I'm going to let the

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word go because it costs too much.

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I prefer to be comfortable instead

of being right with my God.

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Think about the thorny soul.

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The thorny soul was distracted

by other offers, riches,

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pleasures, the things of life.

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You know, he, he values fine

dining and entertainments.

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He values the things that

the world has to offer.

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He likes the nice cars.

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He values pleasure over the word.

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It is only when you get to the fourth soil

that the fourth soil realizes what he has.

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He values the word more than he values.

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The other things, which will

include comfort, often include your

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comfort, often include the stuff.

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He holds it fast, he receives

it, he treasures it, he keeps it.

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And that's why I'm gonna put

the first point this way.

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It's the best thing I could come up with.

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I think if you're going to be

a good soil, one of the things

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that's gonna be true about you is

that you treasure the word highly.

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Highly.

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I, I've been trying to use

Facebook marketplace a lot more

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these days 'cause I think you can

find a lot of good deals there.

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Um, and I recognize that I'm always

wor fighting against other offers.

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And so I'll, you know, make an offer.

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Hey, I see you're selling this thing.

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Can, would you take this many dollars?

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And often you'll get a

pushback all to this many.

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Can you do that many?

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Now some people, I think they're

delusional, they don't understand

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you're selling a used good and you're

selling it on Facebook marketplace.

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You can't charge the same price

that you're gonna get it for retail.

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And they say, one guy

said, I know what I have.

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I know what it's worth.

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I don't think you do.

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I don't think you do.

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We gotta know what the word is worth.

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We gotta understand how

valuable the word is.

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And I think all of us here would probably

have good enough theology to say, man,

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the word is, you know, it's like honey,

and it's, it's rich and it's valuable.

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Uh, and that might be, we would

probably say that, but what's true

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about us is gonna be revealed by

the way that we actually treat it.

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One of the things that stood out to

me recently is that, uh, the, the

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tenaciously receptive heart, remember,

uh, the, the word possess is a good word,

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but also another word is restrained.

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He's not just content to interact

with the word, he's gotta put

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his hands around it to keep it.

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Now we're gonna talk about the

implications of this down the line, but

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you can already start conjuring up ideas.

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If I were to say, Hey, I want

you to possess this word.

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Uh, if I were to say, possess Luke 15,

I think you'd already start thinking,

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okay, probably means I'm gonna memorize

it, I'm gonna meditate upon it.

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I'm gonna make sure that it

permeates my life, restrain it.

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Put your arms around it so

that it's now your verse.

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This kind of tenacious receptivity

showcases a man who knows that

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the word is better than life.

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Scripture says about,

about the Lord's love.

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It's your love that's better than

life, but his love is revealed in the

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way that his word is given to you.

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You, you might know what this is.

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Um, actually, lemme skip it here.

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You might know what this is.

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If you're old enough to have

seen this in firsthand, uh, wow.

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This is the Gutenberg press.

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RR 2D two, R 2D two.

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They're really funny though.

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The Gutenberg press is, uh, produced in

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That's the thing that

changed everything for us.

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Now, the reason you have a Bible

in your hands today, the reason you

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have, uh, the Bible on your, on your

iPad or whatever you're looking at,

300

is because of this thing right here.

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Now, this is what allowed us to mass

produce with exceeding excellence

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in terms of its replication,

the Bible in all his pages.

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If you have a Gutenberg Bible,

those are worth thousands.

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Today I have a page of

the Gutenberg Bible.

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So cool.

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So cool.

307

What a cool get to have.

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Uh, but if you have a Gutenberg

Bible, it was produced on something

309

like this, and it's incredible,

incredibly rare and valuable.

310

It still took a long time to

build, to, to build a Bible.

311

Even with something like this.

312

Before that, before that,

Christians had to, had to do what

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you and I are doing right now.

314

They'd had to go to their local

church gathering where maybe

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they had a book of the Bible.

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Maybe they had a whole Bible,

but that was a rare breed.

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Christians before them.

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Think about that.

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Then for 14, for for 1500

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For 1400 years, Christians had

no daily personal access to the

321

Bible except what they personally

possessed in their head and heart.

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Isn't that crazy?

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Today we're talking about,

Hey, read your Bible every day,

324

you know, study your Bible.

325

These guys didn't even have the option

to do that unless they had time.

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Maybe they took away time from their,

their farming and they went to the

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local synagogue, or they went to the

local church gather and say, Hey,

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can I read, can I read this scroll?

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If they were even literate,

which we didn't even talk about,

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they, they were even literate.

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They couldn't do that.

332

So Christians for 1400 years did

not have what you and I now have.

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Fast forward 586 years,

you have it everywhere.

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It's ubiquitous.

335

You can, you can close your eyes,

throw a dart in any direction, and

336

you'll probably hit a Bible 'cause

you have full access to the Bible.

337

Unlike Christians for 1400

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And I thought to myself, what would

Christians of yesteryear think about

339

is if I could take a Christian from

340

today and say, just take a look around.

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Right.

342

They would see Bibles everywhere and

they mu, they would probably assume

343

you guys must be the most biblically

literate people ever to have existed.

344

And then I'd say, Nope, not true.

345

But we're working on it though.

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We're working on it.

347

We're really trying.

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It's irony.

349

We have an embarrassment of riches.

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Before this, again, people

had to copy the Bible by hand,

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and books like this were rare.

352

Only wealthy families could afford to do

this because you had to hire somebody.

353

To copy the Bible by hand, page by page.

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And then of course, because they're

paying for this, they would be able

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to do curly cues and different colors.

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They would draw pictures on the pages

to help it be a a little more beautiful.

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And then they were massive.

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If you've ever seen a a,

an old Bible, they're huge.

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They're the family bible.

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Today we have this and

we have it in spades.

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These guys would look at us

and say, you guys have it way

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better than we've ever had it.

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And I don't say that's your shame at all.

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I'm not trying to make you feel

bad that you're not reading your

365

Bible enough to the country.

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I want to encourage you to think what

an incredible privilege that we have.

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The reason that the good heart holds it

fast is because he knows what he has.

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He knows how valuable it is to have

the word of God in his language.

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Spoken right to him where he's at, and in

our case, to have it between two beautiful

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leather covers gilded with gold on the

edges with 14 ribbons of all different

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sizes and shapes, and just to have this

most precious treasure in our hands.

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That's just material.

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When we start thinking about what it

actually is, we now recognize the word of

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God is precious because it comes from God

and it's to us really quickly then what

375

treasuring God's word might look like.

376

First of all, if we're gonna treasure

it the way the good heart does, I

377

think the, the hearing of the word

is part of the answer, isn't it?

378

Uh, remember, the, the, the story

begins with the fourth soil hearing.

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The word of Gotti holds it fast.

380

So at bare minimum, there has to be

some kind of constant nourishment,

381

a constant exposure to the word.

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And again, before 1440,

having that access was weekly.

383

For most families, they'd go to church,

but you now have access to this.

384

Every day.

385

In fact, you can drive home and in your

hour and a half listen to two sermons

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or listen to four or five different

books of the Bible read on audiobook.

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If you're familiar with Eddie's

YouTube channel, you can listen to

388

dramatized versions of the Bible.

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You have access to all sorts of

options to taking God's word hearing.

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It is essential to treasuring it.

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That makes perfect sense, doesn't it?

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If you're investing money in the stock

market, you're not gonna make a profit.

393

If you're not putting money into it.

394

In a similar way, you're not gonna find

the value of God's word unless you're

395

giving it ample time and attention.

396

I, I, I cited for you

here, Deuteronomy 17.

397

This is the section of scripture

where Moses writes a command that

398

I think might be good for us to do.

399

In fact, I think Pastor Pja

recently mentioned this, Moses

400

tells the future king of Israel.

401

I want you to write a copy

of God's word for yourself.

402

So that you may do it all

the days of your life.

403

The king was not permitted to say, Matt,

I want you to write my copy for me.

404

He wanted that God wanted the king

himself to write the copy so that

405

he would have direct access to God's

word, and then he was to have it all

406

his days so that he could abide by it.

407

All his days, he had to do this

because he was responsible for others.

408

He had a charge to lead the people.

409

Now, I, I understand brothers, I

could say that you guys are all

410

kings and I I, that that's true.

411

You're all kings.

412

I, I get that.

413

Uh, but you are, you're not kings

in the technical sense, but you

414

are husbands and fathers, your

brothers, your sons, your employers.

415

You have responsibility

that God has gifted to you.

416

He's stewarded you.

417

You're responsible for grandkids.

418

Perhaps you have a responsibility

then, much like the kings to care for

419

the people that are entrusted to you.

420

And one of the ways that you do that is

you have an, an ever, ever going spring

421

that allows you to feed and pour into

others your hearing of the word of God.

422

Your intake of the word of God

allows you to be useful to the Lord.

423

Regular and daily hearing.

424

At least.

425

A second thing that we can

think of here is retained.

426

Uh, you notice here, um,

in fact, let me, okay.

427

Recently.

428

Speaker 2: Oh man.

429

Speaker: Okay.

430

Luke 22.

431

I'm gonna have to summarize this for you,

but Luke chapter 22, if you wanna write

432

the text down, Luke 22, 31 through 34.

433

This is just, we're, I think we're gonna

get there soon if we're not there already.

434

We're, uh, the pastors are ahead

of you in the daily Bible reading

435

because of the podcast, but at

some point you'll read Luke 22.

436

Soon.

437

In Luke 22, Peter says to the Lord,

uh, Lord, I, I am, I'm a, I'm gonna

438

be faithful to you even under death.

439

I don't care what these other

knuckleheads do, I will serve you.

440

I if they all abandon you, he

says, I will remain faithful.

441

And of course, Jesus sets him straight

from this is the, the second or third

442

time he's done this, he'll say, he says,

Peter, actually what's gonna happen

443

is before the rooster crows, you'll

have denied me three separate times.

444

Now, imagine you're Peter.

445

In that moment you just said to the

Lord, look, if they, if they all deny

446

you, I will remain faithful Lord.

447

And then he says, but you're not

gonna do that, Peter, before the

448

rooster crows, you'll deny me.

449

Okay.

450

It's gotta be definitive

moment in your life, right?

451

Jesus is looking at you, the Son of

God, the Christ is looking at you

452

saying, you are going to deny me.

453

I don't know what Peter thought in that

moment, but it wasn't just 15 verses

454

later, he totally forgets this because

he falls into exactly the right trap.

455

He heard the words, but hours later,

Peter fulfilled exactly what Jesus said.

456

He denies him three separate times.

457

At least two of those times

were from the serving girl.

458

In the courtyard who's saying,

alright, I understand your accent.

459

Aren't you one of those people?

460

You're a gile?

461

And Peter's like, no, I, no, no,

don't know what you're talking about.

462

You're outta your mind SISs.

463

He just starts, he starts

calling down curses on himself.

464

Here's what's fascinating to me

because in verse 61, Luke adds a detail

465

that the other synoptics don't say.

466

After Peter's third denial,

here's what it says.

467

The Lord turned and looked at Peter, the

Lord Jesus turned and looked at Peter.

468

Okay.

469

And then Peter remembered

the saying of the Lord.

470

Peter forgot within a span of

hours what Jesus said he forgot.

471

And yet it was one of the most

definitive prophecies to be

472

ever, to ever to be given to him.

473

Peter, you're gonna deny,

deny me three times.

474

Sure Lord sure he denies it or

he forgets it, whatever it says.

475

Verse 61.

476

He remembers after Jesus looks at him.

477

Could you imagine that exchange

of, of, of eye contact?

478

Peter denies him.

479

I tell you, I do not know the man and

just in that moment, Jesus being bound

480

by these, these thugs with him looks

directly at Peter, makes eye contact.

481

Could you imagine what

Peter felt in that moment?

482

Peter forgot.

483

And if Peter could forget, surely

we can forget, which means then one

484

of the ways that we show that we

value in treasure of the word is

485

that we have to do whatever we can.

486

We have to fight to remember this.

487

We have to fight to hold it fast.

488

Thirdly.

489

A regular hearing retained, uh,

memorized, um, and reflected upon

490

meditated the dwelling richly.

491

Uh, Psalm chapter one, you wanna

know who the blessed man is.

492

Psalm chapter one says, blessed is the man

who does not walk in the council of the

493

wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but

494

his delights is in the law of the Lord.

495

I heard you say that.

496

Good job.

497

His delight is in the law

of the Lord and on his law.

498

He wants, you know, this meditates day

and night, meditates day and night.

499

That is an ongoing.

500

Regurgitation and reflection

and interaction with the word.

501

This is the man who is receptive soil.

502

Whatever your interaction with the

word is today, I'm confident you

503

would say there's room for more.

504

There's room for better.

505

I can get more contact with it.

506

And the scripture's.

507

The only thing where I

could say more is better.

508

Some things more is not better.

509

Some fasting, as I heard

this afternoon, is good.

510

Five days of fasting is good,

maybe as much as 40 days, but a

511

hundred days of fasting is not good.

512

It.

513

You start fasting for the rest of your

life, it's not gonna go well with you.

514

Some fasting is good.

515

More fasting is not better,

but that's not true.

516

When it comes to the word of God.

517

Some reading is good, some meditating

is good, some memorizing is good.

518

More reading is better.

519

More meditating is better.

520

More memorization is better.

521

The more you can get it

into your heart and mind.

522

When your delight is in the

law of God, no one's gonna stop

523

you from spending time with it.

524

In fact, I think a lot of this reminds

me a lot like of a Rangers fan.

525

Anyone have any Rangers,

fans in their lives?

526

I don't wanna point anybody out, uh,

but let me tell you what they're like.

527

What, let tell you what it's

like to live with or around,

528

or to work for a Rangers fan.

529

Not that I'm thinking of

anybody in particular.

530

Speaker 2: No, gg?

531

Yeah, no.

532

Speaker: If you go to this, you know,

this generic Ranger fan, the avatar of

533

a Ranger fan, you go to their office.

534

You'll see ranger's, idolatry all

over the walls, shrines, literal

535

shrines on the wall that celebrate

their glory and their grandeur.

536

See hats with their, their logo on it.

537

And, uh, you know, you, you, you

talk about anything related to

538

the team, they could just spout

everything about them, their history

539

and the stats and the prospects.

540

And here's 14 things they could

do to improve their season.

541

Here's all these guys

here that were looking at.

542

I, you just, you cut them and

they could talk about them.

543

That's what love does.

544

Someone who delights in something,

like that's what happens.

545

You naturally remember things

because you care about that.

546

You value that.

547

And I'm not knocking that at all.

548

I'm just saying it's very similar.

549

That's, that's, that's how it works.

550

You say, I can't remember.

551

I'm too old for that.

552

I, I, when I was younger, I

could remember everything.

553

It was like a lockbox in there.

554

But now that I'm older, it's

so much harder to memorize.

555

No, it's not.

556

It really isn't.

557

You just need to delight

in the law of God.

558

This heart will memorize

because it's what I love.

559

I I love this.

560

I love I'm sure you love your wife.

561

Sure you love your kids.

562

No one has to remind you what your

kids' names are normally, right?

563

Normally, you love them,

you care about them.

564

No one has to remind you

what your wife's name is.

565

You love her.

566

You care about her.

567

You probably remember your anniversary

by this one because you love her.

568

Loving the word of God will help you

meditate on it and think about it

569

to let it dwell within your richly.

570

Colossians three 16 says.

571

Okay, back to our text.

572

Treasure it highly.

573

So hearing the word, this is the context.

574

This is the good heart.

575

They hold it fast, they possess

it, they restrain it, and then they

576

hold it fast in a certain manner.

577

It is with an honest and good heart.

578

What's fascinating about these, uh, these,

those two words, honest and good, is that

579

they kind of say the same thing there.

580

There's two Greek words and underline 'em.

581

They're different words, but both of

those words, they're primary lexical form.

582

Speaks to the same word.

583

Good.

584

So you could say the, the,

the, the good heart holds it

585

fast and a good and good heart.

586

But of course, that's

not gonna be as helpful.

587

So here's a way to think about it.

588

I'm gonna submit this to you.

589

The first word that, that they,

that Luke uses is the word Carlos.

590

And I'm gonna say to you, this

probably speaks to the honesty

591

or the sincerity, the genuine.

592

Of the, uh, the receptive heart.

593

It is sincere, genuine.

594

It is fitting.

595

It functions the way it's supposed to.

596

This is the way your relationship

with God is intended to work.

597

The honest heart then is the one

that's honest with God about oneself.

598

I don't put on airs with God.

599

Remember when Nathaniel comes up

to the Lord Jesus, they introduced

600

Nathaniel to him and he says, here's

a man in whom there is no guile.

601

He's commending him

because he's not a phony.

602

He's not a fake.

603

What you see is what you get.

604

This kind of person is

authentic toward God.

605

He's got an honest heart toward the Lord.

606

He doesn't try to pretend

he's something he's not.

607

He's open about where he falls short.

608

He's also open about the fact that God

has made him an object of his grace.

609

He's grown and he praises God for that.

610

His humility does not negate.

611

His honesty.

612

In fact, it works in it like a, like

a rich soil that flourishes the fruit.

613

He's humble, his heart is humble

and rightly ordered toward God.

614

The second word is a different word.

615

It's agathas.

616

This is also a word that means,

again, good primary lexical form.

617

Good.

618

This is the heart that is

rightly oriented toward others.

619

Um, this is someone who's morally good,

who expresses a great love for people.

620

Now, if, if my understanding of this

text is right, what we're seeing is

621

a microcosm of the great commandment.

622

Track with me, honest toward God,

honest and good, good toward others.

623

What is the great commandment?

624

You are to love the Lord your God with

your heart, soul minus strength, all

625

your heart, soul minus strength, and

you're to love your neighbor as yourself.

626

The good heart has, has really

adopted a, a life of love

627

for God and love for people,

628

but more specifically about the

way he interacts with the word he.

629

Point number two, receives

the word sincerely.

630

The good heart, the good soil

receives the word in a sincere way.

631

He receives it with a sense of saying,

I, I long to do something with this.

632

All of God's word is not

meant to educate you.

633

It's meant to activate you.

634

The God.

635

The the Word of God is not

meant just to inform you.

636

It's meant to transform you.

637

The word of God is not meant to

simply give you more knowledge.

638

But to give you more application, every

time you encounter the word of God,

639

there's an opportunity for you to say,

okay, what do I need to do with this?

640

How do I respond to this?

641

That God doesn't want you to be like a

car collector who simply collects a lot of

642

knowledge and then parks it in the garage.

643

He doesn't want you to

be a Christian Jay Leno.

644

He'd much rather you be the kind

of person who takes the car and

645

drives it, puts it to use, makes

the car what it's meant to do, makes

646

the car do what it's meant to do.

647

These next two points

really focus on that.

648

The reception of the word

shows that it's a sincerity.

649

It's intended to make us responsive

to God, make us responsive to

650

others, and this is a critical

ingredient to the good soil.

651

The good soil does something with the

word always well, the second point

652

will make, or the third point rather,

will make a, a, a better case for that.

653

But let me point you to one guy in

the Bible who I think does a really

654

good job of illustrating this.

655

His name is King Josiah.

656

King.

657

Josiah is the 17th.

658

I think he's a 16th king of Judah,

um, over the southern kingdom.

659

Josiah is one of the highlights.

660

He's one of the good kings.

661

What happens in his affairs, his,

his father gets assassinated.

662

And so King Josiah is installed at

the tender age of eight years old,

663

which is terrifying for a nation.

664

You got this 8-year-old king,

and yet God uses 8-year-old young

665

man to transform the nation.

666

He ruled for 55 years.

667

Um, actually he ruled for.

668

Uh, yeah.

669

No, I think that's right.

670

Yeah.

671

Yes.

672

Eight.

673

He ruled a long time.

674

He ruled a long time.

675

I had in my notes here, I didn't.

676

His grandfather Manasseh

ruled for 55 years.

677

That's why I have in my notes here.

678

He ruled a long time.

679

Uh, king Josiah though, was a

blessing to the nation because he

680

was responsive to the word of God.

681

Here's what happened.

682

Imagine this one of your chief officials

finds the Bible hidden in the temple.

683

And the reason why is because King

Josiah initiated a temple renovation.

684

He was trying to fix what had

been fallen and disrepute.

685

And so he finds the Bible and

they say, king Josiah, we found

686

a copy of the book of the law.

687

Now imagine that the, the nation of Judah

loses the Bible and then they find it

688

probably covered in dust in the temple.

689

They bring it to King Josiah,

and King Josiah responds to

690

God by ripping his clothes.

691

He responds to this.

692

Now he's probably a little

older by this point.

693

He responds positively though this

young man understood that the word

694

of God was so valuable and that it

was so binding on them that when he

695

was responsive to it, when he saw it,

he recognized, we have done poorly.

696

We have not honored God.

697

King.

698

Josiah tore his clothes.

699

And then later on God's gonna say,

I will respond to you, king Josiah,

700

because your heart was penitent.

701

I have heard you.

702

You responded the right way to my word.

703

So often it is not true that we

respond with sincerity, and this

704

is why I'm so concerned about our

sessions, uh, having the right heart.

705

Uh, our job is to be much like

King Josiah to say, okay, I want

706

to respond the way that I should.

707

Let me identify four things about

the posture that Josiah had.

708

The text will be underneath here.

709

First of all, king Josiah

responds with humility.

710

If you and I are gonna respond

the right way to God's word,

711

there has to be humility.

712

Pride will kill your

relationship with God and others.

713

If you think you are better than the word.

714

If you feel like, I already

know this, I already do this.

715

Oh, this guy, this doesn't apply to me.

716

I'm so much further along than this.

717

This is gonna be one of the

most poisonous thoughts you can

718

allow into your head and heart.

719

Josiah doesn't say I, I don't need this.

720

I don't need the word of God.

721

His dad and a lot of his lineage

were men who did not honor the Lord.

722

It would make perfect sense

if Josiah said, I, I got that.

723

I don't, I don't need the word of God.

724

We've been doing fine without it.

725

We'll do fine in the future.

726

King Josiah responds with

humility, rips his clothes and

727

says, oh no, we are in trouble.

728

He took God seriously.

729

He humbled himself before God.

730

This is the kind of person whose

heart is deeply sensitive, highly

731

responsive to the word of God.

732

Now, keep in mind here, this is not

because the sermons are amazing.

733

We'd like to have amazing sermons.

734

We work really hard for you

to do that, but even as I was

735

sharing in the our small group.

736

It's rare that you hear anything like

brand new and just remarkably insightful.

737

It's like, wow, I never

thought of that before.

738

Sometimes that happens and

I praise God for those.

739

But a lot of times you're

gonna hear things that you

740

already heard that I knew that.

741

Okay, cool.

742

This heart is easily edified.

743

This heart is malleable to the word of

God, not because the orator is so skilled,

744

and he weaves words together beautifully,

and he moves me with powerful emotions.

745

No, it's the word of

God that he relies on.

746

He's so in tune with God's word,

that whatever the preacher says,

747

I'm gonna say, man, I want that.

748

I need that.

749

Teach me, Lord.

750

If God can teach people through

a donkey, he can use your

751

pastors humble responsiveness.

752

Second, Josiah showed dependency.

753

Josiah recognized that he could

not handle the word alone.

754

So he sends for the, the prophet, he

calls for the local, local prophet

755

who's actually a prophet test.

756

He calls Holda and God and ask God,

what do you want us to do with this?

757

Hold responds with this long

prophecy about how God's gonna

758

respond, but he understands.

759

He's dependent.

760

He needs God to speak to him even

after receiving the word of God.

761

He needs God to show him.

762

What do I do with this?

763

How do I respond to this?

764

Do you ask God?

765

When you receive a sermon, when you open

your book, God, help me to see this.

766

Help me to understand

what to do with this.

767

That's what Josiah does.

768

Third, Josiah responds with gravity.

769

He trembles out the word.

770

He doesn't respond just with a,

a, a recognition that I'm low.

771

God is high.

772

He doesn't just respond

with the dependency.

773

I need help.

774

He responds with gravity.

775

The word is heavy and weighty.

776

And so he says, I understand that.

777

My job is to know that

what God says is true.

778

I take it seriously and so help me.

779

I'm gonna respond the way that I should.

780

So help me, God.

781

I'm gonna do with the word what I should.

782

In fact, this is what God

says is pleasing to him.

783

Listen to what God says through

the lips of Isaiah, but this

784

is the one to whom I will look.

785

You want God's attention.

786

Here's what he looks for.

787

He who is humble and contrite in

spirit and trembles at my word.

788

Do you tremble at the word of God?

789

Do you feel a holy reverence for

what God says to you in his word?

790

If so, this is the person that God

looks to, that humble hearted, receptive

791

servant is the person that God says.

792

That's the guy I'm gonna look at.

793

When God's looking for a tool to use in

his tool chest, he's not gonna go for the

794

greasy one that's dull and looking rusty.

795

He's gonna go for the one that is strong,

ready to be useful, humble contract,

796

trembling at his word, the tool that's

not gonna fight him when he uses it.

797

He's looking for the tool that

says, I'm available, Lord.

798

Use me as you please.

799

If you want me to clean the

toilets in the church, so be it.

800

You want me to serve my family

and sacrifice my time for

801

the good of others, so be it.

802

You want me to do some lowly job

and set up or tear down, so be it.

803

You want me to be second

fiddle to someone else?

804

So be it.

805

Whatever you want.

806

Lord, your word is the, your word is bond.

807

Whatever you say.

808

Ghost gravity.

809

If God wants you to do

it, you say, he says jump.

810

You say how high gravity

Josiah responds with.

811

Attentiveness.

812

He responds to the word of God.

813

Lastly,

814

Josiah responds with hopefulness.

815

In fact, God responds to Josiah

because of these three things.

816

God gives Josiah a positive word.

817

He says, Josiah, things are going to

turn bad before they get any better.

818

But I'm gonna spare you from this

because of the way you responded.

819

God gave hope and grace to decide

because of how he responded to his word.

820

Brothers, this is where it's at for us.

821

We're gonna treasure God's word highly

and respond to it with sincerity.

822

This is what we can expect.

823

God will show us favor and grace.

824

Things might be falling around,

uh, falling apart around us, but

825

we can trust that God will care

for us through these things.

826

Remember, this is the one that God looks

to humble contract trembles at my word.

827

This is the receptive heart.

828

Okay, finally, we hear the word.

829

We hold it fast, we possess

it, we, we restrict it into us.

830

We hold it the best we can.

831

We do it with a certain attitude,

an honest and good heart.

832

And now finally, this is

probably the hardest part, and

833

this is what distinguishes the

good soil from all the others.

834

Bears fruit with patience.

835

This is the person who doesn't only just

do it, but he stays at it, he responds to

836

it and he stays at it day in and day out.

837

Brother, this is the hardest part.

838

And I wish I could, I soften the

blow for you, but the truth of the

839

matter is that there's going to be

1,000,001 things that make your walk

840

impossible from a human perspective.

841

You'll have.

842

What we didn't talk about with

all the trials is that it's

843

not that the trials happen.

844

We all expect that everyone's gonna

go through trials and uh, I love

845

the way that Pastor Peach said it.

846

It's not whether you suffer,

but whether or not you.

847

I, I should remember what

you said as I quote you.

848

Just delete that from the thing, please.

849

He said it really good.

850

Trust me, what he said was so good.

851

What's most challenging about this

is that the, the trials are tailored

852

to you because God's not foolish.

853

He's not just generally

sending you through difficulty.

854

They're tailored to you and

to your weaknesses and to

855

your specific picadillos.

856

Your sinful tendencies, your I,

your, your, your subtle idolatries.

857

God, God doesn't send trials on accident.

858

They're purposeful

events that are meant to.

859

Shape you, mold you do, you know, you guys

sing that old worship song, refiners Fire.

860

My heart's.

861

One desire is to be holy.

862

Don't sing that song.

863

That's a refiners fi burn me Lord.

864

Burn off all the sins

You really want that.

865

It's like the other song that we sing.

866

Um, if, if All of You means

Less of Me, take everything.

867

If more of you means less of

me, take everything I tremble

868

at that song because I mean it.

869

But I'm also trembling 'cause I

know what that I'm inviting the Lord

870

to change everything in my life.

871

And again, your trials are tailored.

872

They're not accidents.

873

God knows where you struggle.

874

God knows where you sin.

875

And so when he sends you through them.

876

This is where you're gonna

feel the pain of this.

877

I have to bear fruit with patients.

878

I'm gonna go through this

really dark season of cancer.

879

I'm gonna go through this

dark season of unemployment.

880

I'm gonna go through this

dark season of loneliness.

881

No one calls me back anymore.

882

My grandkids don't wanna talk to me.

883

I'm gonna go through this really

dark season where my wife and I

884

are struggling to the nth degree.

885

I'm gonna go through this really

hard season where it feels like

886

the shadow of death encompasses me.

887

Your trials are tailor made, and God knows

that because they're meant to grow you,

888

and therefore, this is the hardest part.

889

This is why this distinguishes

this heart from every other heart.

890

It's soft, it's subtle, it's receptive,

but the barest fruit with patience, that

891

means, here's what that means practically.

892

You go through difficult seasons

and you're still fruitful.

893

You're still bearing fruit

even in the dark of night.

894

You can bear fruit in dry seasons.

895

You can be more godly when everything

else around you is falling down.

896

That's the uniqueness of this fruit.

897

And as I said, humanly impossible.

898

Humanly impossible, but by the spirit

unlocks the door to everything.

899

The spirit's work in your life makes

all of these things make sense.

900

He binds 'em all together.

901

The fort soil doesn't

just employ the word.

902

When there's good times, when

it's fair weather, uh, fort soil

903

employs the word consistently.

904

Fort soil is.

905

Much like what Psalm chapter one says,

I, I only quoted to you verses one and

906

two, but Psalm one verse three says

about that same blessed man who meditates

907

day and night, he is like a tree that

is planted by what Streams of water.

908

Streams of water.

909

A tree planted by a stream now has

a source of life outside of the rain

910

that's, that tree has access to.

911

Living water that will supply that tree

with life no matter what the season is,

912

no matter how dry he has planted like a

tree by streams of water that yields its

913

fruit in its season and its leaf does not

wither, and all that he does, he prospers.

914

This is the tree that always

produces fruit regardless of

915

what's happening outside of it.

916

This is the tree that's planted by God.

917

This is the tree that

is the receptive heart.

918

He responds to the word of God.

919

He's humbled before the word of God.

920

He produces fruit all year long.

921

That is the heart.

922

That God uses in the Christian life,

which is why it makes sense now that

923

he's so extraordinarily productive.

924

How can he produce 30, 60,

90, a hundred fold fruit?

925

Because he's producing fruit all seasons.

926

He's not just waiting for the harvest.

927

The fruitful Christian is fruitful.

928

Winter, summer, spring, fall.

929

He's always fruitful, which

is why he's 30, 60, 90 fold.

930

Now, I should qualify before

you get too far ahead here.

931

This is.

932

It doesn't mean that you're gonna

be equally fruitful every season.

933

It's just that every season

you're making progress.

934

Your relationship with God is

deepening your love for the Lord

935

and your love for others increases.

936

This is the whole idea,

937

enduring fruitfulness hard necessary.

938

This is the person that

God calls us to be.

939

One of the challenges then is that.

940

You might find yourself saying, but I'm

so often dry, I'm feeling I'm struggling.

941

Uh, one of my favorite authors and one

of my favorite books is called Spiritual

942

Disciplines for the Christian Life.

943

Don Whitney says that one of the things

that we do as Christians is that we

944

place ourselves in the path of grace.

945

We put ourselves in the place

where God's grace is expected,

946

which is, is almost child's play.

947

I'm, I don't, I'm gonna insult

you, but that means then I want

948

to constantly be in my word.

949

Now, in fact, I was reading

part of a, is it Mueller's?

950

Uh, uh, Hudson, uh, Mueller.

951

It's Mueller Mueller's biography.

952

George Mueller orphanages

Great man of faith.

953

One of the things he said is, I, I found

the secret to, to Christian growth.

954

He said, for years, I pray for a good

hour before I would read my Bible, and I

955

tried to get my heart in the right place.

956

He says, then I learned that it was

actually the reverse that made sense.

957

I had to read my Bible meditatively.

958

And then find myself naturally

moving into prayer and finding

959

my heart happy in Christ.

960

And that's what allowed

me to make progress.

961

When I got the order wrong,

I found that I was famished.

962

He says instead, I needed to feed

my soul in order to feed my prayers.

963

It was him saying, I'm gonna put

myself in the path of God's grace.

964

You need to feast on these

things that God gives you.

965

We could talk about habits and, and,

and whether you should, you know,

966

add these things to your schedule.

967

I, I mean, I read something recently.

968

And it stood out.

969

'cause I thought, that's brilliant.

970

I've been thinking that my whole life.

971

I never put it this way.

972

Here's what the author said.

973

See if it, see how it lands on you.

974

He says, behavior modification

is dangerously necessary.

975

Behavior modification is

dangerously necessary.

976

Everyone, if, if you know what

behavior modification is, you've

977

been around the church a little bit.

978

You understand behavior modification

is kind of a negative term.

979

Um, it's used often to say, well, we don't

want to just, uh, behavior modification.

980

Our kids, we don't want them

just to do the right thing.

981

Now that's true as far as it goes,

but we do want them to do the

982

right thing for the right reasons.

983

So we train behavior, we teach

them the same thing is true for us.

984

We need to put ourselves in

the path of God, grace and

985

do it for the right reasons.

986

That's the big Mo.

987

That's the biggest difference.

988

If I follow the Lord, if I'm doing

it just because I wanna look good

989

in front of you guys and say, oh

look, I just quoted that scripture.

990

Did you notice that I was so good at that?

991

If I'm doing it though,

for the glory of God.

992

If I'm doing it because I love

you and I love the Lord, and

993

that's every, that's different.

994

Now, my habit takes on a

whole new realm of importance.

995

When I memorize my Bible, I'm doing it

not just as a begrudging discipline, but

996

as a way to show my love for the Lord.

997

But make no mistake, it

was behavior modification.

998

I had to practice that.

999

Reading my Bible every day has

become one of those things I

00:44:41,279 --> 00:44:41,970

don't even have to think about.

00:44:41,970 --> 00:44:42,600

I just do it.

00:44:42,600 --> 00:44:45,300

I love that it's not an

automatic, I still pray.

00:44:45,300 --> 00:44:48,750

I still interact with it, but it's such

a, I don't struggle with it anymore.

00:44:48,840 --> 00:44:49,410

It's not a struggle.

00:44:49,410 --> 00:44:50,070

I just do it.

00:44:50,505 --> 00:44:51,135

Not boasting.

00:44:51,165 --> 00:44:52,125

That's what God does.

00:44:52,305 --> 00:44:53,475

I go in the path of God's grace.

00:44:53,475 --> 00:44:56,475

I feast 'cause I'm hungry, I eat

it and the Lord uses those things.

00:44:57,345 --> 00:45:00,165

One of the things that Pipe Piper

said, and I can't find the precise

00:45:00,165 --> 00:45:02,595

quote, but it's exactly the,

what I'm gonna show you is him.

00:45:02,985 --> 00:45:04,455

Don't look it up on the internet

'cause you can't find it.

00:45:04,935 --> 00:45:07,695

I looked several different times

for this very thing, but here's

00:45:07,695 --> 00:45:08,565

what he said, and it fits.

00:45:08,565 --> 00:45:10,515

If you know Piper, it's gonna be

like, oh yeah, he sounds something

00:45:10,515 --> 00:45:11,895

he would say, here's what he said.

00:45:12,855 --> 00:45:15,915

My growth in Christ is frustratingly slow.

00:45:16,065 --> 00:45:19,125

He was reflecting on his 70th year,

whatever it was, when he, when

00:45:19,125 --> 00:45:22,065

he was doing the podcast and, and

he said, well, what's one of the

00:45:22,065 --> 00:45:24,285

things that stands out to you, John,

after all these years of ministry?

00:45:24,285 --> 00:45:27,404

And he says, my sanctification so slow.

00:45:28,095 --> 00:45:32,295

I've made so little progress compared to

what I thought I was gonna be able to do.

00:45:32,654 --> 00:45:34,815

I have not gone as far as I wanted to go.

00:45:34,815 --> 00:45:37,424

I have not made as much spiritual

gains as I wanted to make.

00:45:37,875 --> 00:45:40,815

And I thought that's yes, same.

00:45:41,175 --> 00:45:42,045

Same bro.

00:45:43,005 --> 00:45:44,415

John, Dr.

00:45:44,415 --> 00:45:45,795

Piper, same thing.

00:45:47,025 --> 00:45:50,445

I want, I want to encourage you

with that and suggest to you that's

00:45:50,445 --> 00:45:54,105

probably gonna be the same for

you, but I, I'm okay with this.

00:45:54,195 --> 00:45:58,245

I'd rather you be ambitious enough to say,

I'm gonna fight for everything I got and

00:45:58,245 --> 00:46:01,485

I, I'm not gonna be satisfied with the

holiness that I've acquired to this point.

00:46:02,985 --> 00:46:04,335

Your heart has to be.

00:46:04,860 --> 00:46:08,850

Constantly vigilantly guarded

so that it constantly makes

00:46:08,850 --> 00:46:10,230

progress in your sanctification.

00:46:10,410 --> 00:46:11,549

It's not gonna be accidental.

00:46:11,670 --> 00:46:13,830

You shift into neutral,

you're not making progress.

00:46:13,980 --> 00:46:16,710

Sure, but you're actually

regressing because the Christian

00:46:16,710 --> 00:46:18,150

life is driving uphill.

00:46:19,170 --> 00:46:21,270

It's the, it's the whole of your C,

it's always gonna be driving uphill.

00:46:21,270 --> 00:46:23,820

Sometimes it's better,

sometimes it's excruciating.

00:46:24,509 --> 00:46:27,900

But you always gotta keep your gas,

your foot on the gas making progress,

00:46:28,140 --> 00:46:30,000

which requires you to guard your heart.

00:46:30,795 --> 00:46:32,835

Guarding your heart then means

that you're trying to cultivate

00:46:32,835 --> 00:46:33,705

the right kind of heart.

00:46:33,885 --> 00:46:35,475

A heart that treasures the word highly.

00:46:35,625 --> 00:46:36,705

He holds faster.

00:46:36,705 --> 00:46:38,955

The word, he receives it sincerely.

00:46:38,985 --> 00:46:41,175

He receives it with an

honest and good heart.

00:46:41,385 --> 00:46:43,425

It's a heart that's true

before God, before others.

00:46:43,425 --> 00:46:44,505

He's trying to grow in this.

00:46:44,505 --> 00:46:46,665

He's letting the word of God

do it's work in his life.

00:46:46,665 --> 00:46:49,185

And thirdly, he puts the

word to work consistently.

00:46:49,365 --> 00:46:50,895

He's not a fair weather Christian.

00:46:50,895 --> 00:46:52,695

He's all day, every day at the same thing.

00:46:52,905 --> 00:46:53,895

Days that he wants to do it.

00:46:53,895 --> 00:46:56,565

He does it days that he doesn't

wanna do it, he does it.

00:46:56,565 --> 00:46:58,365

He's as faithful as the rising sun.

00:46:58,725 --> 00:46:59,130

This is.

00:47:00,075 --> 00:47:03,615

The tender, receptive, responsive,

and consequently, the fruitful

00:47:03,615 --> 00:47:05,625

heart fruit takes time.

00:47:06,585 --> 00:47:09,045

A good heart then is distinguished

by tenacious receptivity.

00:47:09,825 --> 00:47:13,005

It's by sincere consideration

and enduring faithfulness.

00:47:13,875 --> 00:47:15,945

Well, remember we started this whole

thing with saying that the thesis

00:47:15,945 --> 00:47:19,545

of this weekend is that it is the

receptivity of the heart or the

00:47:19,545 --> 00:47:23,115

condition of the heart that determines

the receptivity of your response.

00:47:23,775 --> 00:47:24,765

I said that wrong, didn't I?

00:47:25,245 --> 00:47:27,645

It is the condition of your

heart that determines the

00:47:27,645 --> 00:47:28,490

fruitfulness of your response.

00:47:30,390 --> 00:47:34,080

Your heart matters more than you

might realize, and what I wanted

00:47:34,080 --> 00:47:36,450

to do this weekend is put it on

your radar as one of the things

00:47:36,450 --> 00:47:37,710

that you're constantly working on.

00:47:38,220 --> 00:47:41,370

Going through the motions is important,

but going through the motions with

00:47:41,430 --> 00:47:45,270

the right heart is more important

when you show up to church tomorrow.

00:47:45,330 --> 00:47:48,660

I hope you've taken time to pray with

your family and as to prepare your own

00:47:48,660 --> 00:47:51,540

heart, even maybe to read the Bible

ahead of time and say, Lord, help

00:47:51,540 --> 00:47:56,790

me make this count that you're never

engaging with the word in a passe.

00:47:57,150 --> 00:47:59,160

Kind of way, but you're

always working at it.

00:48:00,480 --> 00:48:01,770

Yeah, man, this is hard.

00:48:01,770 --> 00:48:02,610

This is hard work.

00:48:02,640 --> 00:48:05,310

Hard work is hard work, but

this is the whole thing.

00:48:05,490 --> 00:48:06,360

This is the whole enchilada.

00:48:06,390 --> 00:48:07,050

This is what matters.

00:48:07,050 --> 00:48:08,580

This is what God's gonna commend you for.

00:48:09,090 --> 00:48:09,780

It's your heart.

00:48:10,200 --> 00:48:12,570

Remember we started this whole

thing with one Corinthians 13.

00:48:13,200 --> 00:48:14,940

There's a kind of person, I

don't know if actually I quoted

00:48:14,940 --> 00:48:16,050

you now I think about it.

00:48:16,500 --> 00:48:17,220

I missed it.

00:48:18,960 --> 00:48:20,605

One Corinthians 13, Paul says,

there's the kind of person.

00:48:21,990 --> 00:48:25,740

Who can give and serve

to the furthest degree.

00:48:25,740 --> 00:48:30,390

He says it this way, he says, uh,

if I give up my body to be burned, I

00:48:30,390 --> 00:48:33,390

sacrifice my life for you, but I have not.

00:48:33,450 --> 00:48:35,520

Love is worthless.

00:48:36,630 --> 00:48:40,110

It's the most expensive gift you

could give anybody, but it can

00:48:40,110 --> 00:48:43,560

be spiritually profitless if it's

not done with the right heart.

00:48:44,640 --> 00:48:45,425

That's what this is all about.

00:48:46,590 --> 00:48:49,620

Helping you to serve with the right

heart, helping you to love your family

00:48:49,620 --> 00:48:52,080

with the right heart, helping you to

open your Bible with the right heart,

00:48:52,230 --> 00:48:55,530

helping you to engage in church life

with the right heart, even helping

00:48:55,530 --> 00:48:58,410

you to go through small groups for

this next hour with the right heart.

00:48:59,130 --> 00:49:01,110

Brothers, we're so grateful to spend

time with you and I hope this was

00:49:01,110 --> 00:49:04,080

helpful, but we want you, and we've

been praying for you to have the right

00:49:04,080 --> 00:49:07,380

heart to continue to make progress

in these things, and we are trusting

00:49:07,380 --> 00:49:10,890

that this is exactly the kind of thing

that God does over retreats like this.

00:49:10,890 --> 00:49:11,490

Only a day.

00:49:11,520 --> 00:49:12,780

We've only been here 24 hours.

00:49:13,200 --> 00:49:14,010

Little over that now.

00:49:14,580 --> 00:49:17,250

But we're trusting that God will use

these things to bless you and benefit you.

00:49:17,250 --> 00:49:20,580

And hopefully when you go home this

afternoon, this evening, um, you begin

00:49:20,580 --> 00:49:23,730

to take a lot more notice about how

you love people with the right heart.

00:49:24,390 --> 00:49:24,960

Let's pray.

00:49:24,990 --> 00:49:25,920

We'll make you to your groups.

00:49:26,490 --> 00:49:30,060

God thank you for this weekend and helping

us to go through four different sessions

00:49:30,060 --> 00:49:31,920

and to listen to the best of our ability.

00:49:32,130 --> 00:49:34,950

We now pray, Lord, as we enter into the

small group time, that we would do so

00:49:35,190 --> 00:49:38,340

with awareness of what we're doing, that

it would matter that we would not take it

00:49:38,340 --> 00:49:39,750

lightly, but that we would give our best.

00:49:40,125 --> 00:49:42,165

Help us to read the text and

to think about them and to

00:49:42,165 --> 00:49:43,305

respond to them accordingly.

00:49:43,455 --> 00:49:48,465

Let us honor and serve you with how

we love, with how we love one another,

00:49:48,915 --> 00:49:50,535

but also how we engage with this.

00:49:51,075 --> 00:49:53,715

It's easy for us, Lord, to give

pat answers and to be superficial.

00:49:54,345 --> 00:49:57,315

Um, and sometimes that's, that's,

it's helpful just to get into the

00:49:57,315 --> 00:49:58,665

conversation, but let us not stay there.

00:49:59,355 --> 00:50:01,635

Help us to be discontent with

just scratching the surface.

00:50:01,965 --> 00:50:02,685

Let us dive deep.

00:50:02,685 --> 00:50:03,225

Let us be real.

00:50:03,225 --> 00:50:04,005

Let us be honest.

00:50:04,245 --> 00:50:06,855

Let us make some Godly resolutions

as we leave this place, Lord,

00:50:06,855 --> 00:50:07,845

that you might be glorified.

00:50:08,430 --> 00:50:10,799

That our families and our

churches might be blessed.

00:50:10,799 --> 00:50:13,650

The people who know us might be

blessed because of our lives.

00:50:14,040 --> 00:50:15,330

We entrust this to you in Jesus name.

00:50:15,630 --> 00:50:15,960

Amen.