Do You Love The Truth?

Good evening, good to see everyone. This good crowd here on a Wednesday night, Drury night to it foggy at my house. I know that. So I started to call in sick. I said, no I'm not working at Duke anymore so I have to go then call in or anything's up, have to go so but it's good to see you and it's Pat has already said, we will be having service on Christmas Day. I hope you can come just get up extra early and open your gifts and then you come on the church. I guarantee you, your Christmas will be better if you'll come to church that Sunday, you'll just have a better Christmas. I can tell you that and do bring someone with you. We want to, we want to fill this place up, on December 25th, Sunday morning. So bring someone with you and invite some folks and let him know. We're going to have a time of singing and praising and fellowship and preaching. And then we're going to have a good time. Well tonight, I want you get your Bibles and turn back as we did last week to Matthew chapter 13. And if you remember last week, we asked the question. Would God ever withhold truth? From someone. And how did we answer that?

Yes. But let me, let me preface that by saying this. If someone hadn't has never heard the gospel, God will not withhold truth from them. He wants everyone to hear the gospel but when we hear the gospel and then we reject the gospel on and on and on. Well the Bible says that he'll take that truth, what we do have he'll take that from us. And remember in Matthew Chapter 13, Verse when Jesus, it says started teaching in Parables and he did that to reveal the truth to his disciples even though he had to explain to buy a parable to them, he still revealed the truth to them but he was concealing the truth from those who had rejected the truth, like the Pharisees or the Sadducees or maybe the scribes and the religious leaders. He was concealing truth from them. So we know we're in a bad spot that is a good warning. To us is when we do not love the truth and do not desire the truth, we run the risk of God, pulling that truth away from us and quite possibly never receiving that truth. Never having another opportunity to hear the truth. So that was the warning for us last week, but what I want to do tonight and the title of this message is, do you love the truth? And I want to share with you the parable of the sower which is right after or right before and after what we talked about last week if you remember we were looking in chapter 13 verse 10 through 17 Last Week. Tonight, we're going to look at verses 3 through 9 and then we're going to look at what the parable means in verses 18 through 23. Now remember What is a parable? Well Parable means alongside you put a natural truth, like farming that we're going to talk about tonight. You put a natural truth beside a spiritual truth and those who do not have the spirit of God who do not have the Holy Spirit living, on the inside of them will not be able to understand the spiritual truth, although they could understand the natural truth. The natural truth is self-explanatory to me, it's easy to understand but what the hard part is is putting the spiritual truth with it and that's why he started teaching in Parables love the truth tonight. And last began reading and Matthew chapter 13. In verse 3 in this is what Jesus is saying, then he spoke many things to them in Parables saying, Behold a sore went out to sow and as he sold some seed, fell by the wayside and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on Stony places where they did not have much are Earth, and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of Earth you ever. I threw out some winter Rye here the other week. And I believe it's coming up between my concrete better than it is in the yard. I mean, you throw went around concrete, need to come up. It don't need much death. It will come up almost like most grass seed. It will come up looking for 6. They spring up because they had no debt, but then looking for 6, but when the sun was up, they were scorched and because they had no root, they withered away and some fell among thorns and the foreign spring up and choked them. But others told by other seed fell on good ground and yielded, a crop, some 100 fold some 60, some 30, he who has ears to hear, Let Him hear. All right. Now, to me, that's self-explanatory, I mean, when you look at this right here, we know about sores and we know about seed, and we know that if you so stuff in Stony places, it may come up for a little while, but then when the sun comes up, we understand it has no root. So it's going to Scorch it, it's going to wilt. And then we understand if you have competing just like some of you have a garden, if you have peas or watermelons or whatever it, maybe corn Tomatoes, you at you know, that sometimes you have to weed your garden, you have to get rid of the weeds if you don't. I mean the weed will overtake. Well, that's what happens here with the foreign. Some fell among thorns and the Thorns sprung up and choked when we understand that. And then we understand that some fell on good ground, LOL. Good ground means this moist and it has fertilizer and you probably are rated it and it's ready to go. Get so little rain gets a little son it's ready to go in so it produced a crop. So I'm 100 some 60, some 30. Don't send that the natural store. But what's the spiritual story of this? What has this got to do in the spiritual realm? You got seed, you got a sore? You got thorns and thistles, you got good ground, you you have Birds coming in and devouring. Some of the seeds up. I've seen happen, myself, they'll come and eat to see you or take the seat or whatever. What is this mean in the spiritual Realm? If Jesus didn't explain it, how would we think of this in the spiritual realm? Well, disciples, come to him, and ask him? Why you speaking in Parables, and then that's what we went over last week, 10, through 17. And then now look at Verse 18. Therefore, this is Jesus. Speaking hear the parable of the sower. Now, he's going to explain it to the disciples because he's going to reveal spiritual truth to them. And to the Pharisees, he's doing what he's concealing, this true. He's not explaining it to them. But look what he says verse 19, when anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it. Then the wicked one comes and snatches away. What was sown in his heart? This is he who receives seed by the wayside. That tells us something there that tells me that some people are hard-hearted And the word goes out and falls on a hard heart and Satan comes and steals it. Look at verse 20, but he who receive seed on Stony places. This is he who hears the word and immediately received it with joy? Remember now, the Stony ground, it don't have a lot roots or anything. So what happens when it gets hot yet he who has no root in himself but indoors only for a while or when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word immediately. He stumbles he quits. I've I've known people like that. My whole life, they get saved. They go to church and then three months later, you never see him again. They just quit why most time something went wrong in their life. And they said, well, God's not on my side. I tried this Christianity. It doesn't work. They didn't have any route. and when the heat was turned up, they wilted You see the spiritual truth? Getting ready to come out here. All right, then in verse 22, now, he who receives seed among the Thorns, is he who hears the word and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word just like a garden and he becomes unfruitful Verse 23, but he who receives seed on the good ground and I hope, you know. Now when it says ground, good ground is talkin about a person's heart. He who receives seed on the goodheart? Is he who hears the word? And understand it. And other words, the one who hears, the word, who loves the truth, who obeys the truth, and who indeed bears fruit and produce has some 160/30. So ask you tonight, do you love the truth? I hope you see that. There's four people here, and all of us filed one is 4K. Sometimes, maybe more than one person alive.

Four categories. So what's the categories? Well, let's look at what is the seed? Who is the sore? And how about the soil? The ground that talks about. That's what we'll get to last. The first of all, let's look at the seed. Now, Jesus said in verse three that eyesore went for two. So what's he showing where he scattering the seed, or what kind of seed is, he scattering? Well, if you want to know what the CD is, look at verse 19, when anyone hears the word of the genome and does not understand it. Then the wicked one comes and snatches way that was sown in his heart. This is he who received the Sea by the wayside you say, well, what was sold in its heart, what is it? That was sown in his heart will look at the first part of August 19th, we need one. Hears, the word of what of the Kingdom. The word of the Kingdom that is the word of God. When Jesus is preaching. Any preacher is preaching the gospel when you hear that, that's what he's talkin about. So the see that he's talkin about here ass or went forth to sow seed. The seed, is the word of it doesn't, just mean preachers or teachers, it means all Christians because all of us, all to be doing some type of sewing. We're sharing the gospel with other people and sow the seed, is the word of God. And it is our job our privilege as Christians to. So that seed, I'm glad the Bible is described as seed. The seed is the word of the Kingdom, the word of God. You know, the Bible uses a lot of metaphors. A speaking of the Bible, In one place, the Bible's called a hammer. If it breaks a hard heart in another place to Bible is called a rock. The Bible is called a sword. The Bible is called truth and light. There is a lot of metaphors in the Bible, the Bible called many things, but I think, one of the best illustrations of metaphors in the Bible is that the Bible is a seed. You say, why is that a good metaphor? Macaws a seed? Has life in it. A seed has life. You plan it it has to die but then we have a resurrection let's say and it comes up out of the ground seed has life in it. And one of the things that I've learned is I study the Bible older over the years That the Bible lives. And I don't mean, These pages right here are alive, know they'll be right where they are in the morning. If I left this Bible help, they'll be right there, but the word is alive, what does Hebrews 2:14 for 12s for the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword? You see the word of God is a, a live. Listen to what Jesus said in the gospel. John, he said the words that I speak to you? They are spirit and they are life. He says, the words are life. This book is not like any other book. This book has Words of Life in it that some of you like to read and some of you probably like to buy these books and they have series of them, they have 6, 8, 10 books, and you just love to read those books and they're so good. But there's nothing that will bring you life like the Bible because it is the seed, it is the word of God. And I've seen the word bring forth many times, bring forth life and soul that encourages me when I preached because I can't depend on my powers of persuasion, I can't depend on my powers of logic, I'm not going to depend on my personality, or or My cunningness or any gifts, I might have a hat. When I preach, I have to I have to depend on the word of God so the preachers job. Just like the the witness's job is to get the word out because if I know if you will understand the word, if you will hear the word and understand it friends, there is life in the word and it will germinate in your life and Friends it will sprout in your life. That's just the way the Bible is and so it's not enough just to kind of scratch the soil a little bit, you got to sow the seeds, you got to get the word out and no matter what else we do here at new Grace, no matter how good the song service is or how sweet the fellowship he is, or how fine our building is. It's all in vain. If we are not sowing seed on the ground, it is all in vain. So we have to so he says a sore went forth to sow sow the seed. Is what the word of God. Who's the sore? Look at it again, verse 33, folk many things, them in Parables and behold a sore went out to. So what who is this sore? But look at verse 37. He answered and said to them, he who supposed to good seed is the son of man. So the solar here is no one but Jesus, he is the source of the Lord Jesus and he pictures himself here as a farmer scattering the seed and this is a picture of Jesus himself. Now what you going to see in a moment is that Jesus scatters the seed everywhere? He's got her Seed where you and I would not scatter seed. He puts it on hard ground and I'm not going to put any seat on hard, ground less. I tell it up first my he didn't care, he put it there, he threw it in a thorn bush. He threw seen over there where the thorns and thistles and Briars and all that I probably wouldn't do that but he did. He he threw it over here where it would had competing weeds and things like that, he's fat, he scattered it everywhere he scattered the sea and you're going to find that some fell on Stony ground it matter he's got hurt it anyway so I'm fell among weeds. That matter is scattered it some fell on good soft ground moist broken fertile ground. He scattered it there too. He was just scattered everywhere and friends. If that's what Jesus did, I really believe that his servant those of us who call ourselves, Christians and who follow and love. Jesus. We oughta, be scattering to, we ought to be like our savior is what we should be our Master. He is the seeds or and what did Jesus say and Jon 20, as my father has sent me even so I send you The Great Commission. He said go by the pies teach name of the Holy Spirit, he says you go and do that and so the church his new body the sore is the son of man. We are his body and so friends we ought to get out. And so the seed now what I'm trying to say is this We need to sow the seed, but don't try to figure out what type of ground you're throwing it on. I've had people come to me before and say, I have witness to this person over and over and over there, never going to accept Jesus. I'm just going to quit talking to them. They're just hostile, they'll never accept. Jesus, you don't know that. You do not know that it is not our job to evaluate, the soul, the hearts, it is our job to scatter the seed. That's what we do. It's not our job to pick out who God's elect our, who is going to accept Christ and who's not. And then if they if they turn a deaf ear to us, we say well you'll probably never be a Christian. Anyway we can't do that. I've seen too many people who were just hostile to the gospel and right now some of them are standing behind Pulpit preaching.

So we can't say what? Someone's got, this hard hard? Or, they're never know. We don't know that. We we don't know what is hard sauce. Also needed. Saw a shower. So we don't know. Our duty is just a scatter. The word and wouldn't it be wonderful if the everybody in this building tonight? Decided tonight and, you know, something? I'm going to get up tomorrow morning and I am going to go and Scatter some seed for Jesus. Wouldn't that be something if everybody would do that? So seed everywhere just like he did and then let God take care of the Harvest. We don't have to worry about the Harvest. When I pre, I can't make anyone walk down this aisle and I don't even want to try to make anyone walk down this out. I want it to be a decision between them and God and the Holy Spirit. And I want them to come in and give their life to the Lord. Because they are convicted that they need a savior. And that they are a sinner. That's why I want them to come in. So, the Harvest belongs to him. My job is just to get out the Dostal. Best best folk the sower is Jesus and us the church. The seed is the word of God. Now, let's look at the soul. Now, what does this all consist of what is it? What is he talkin about here? He's talking about the condition of people's hearts. So this takes us the point number 3, and I've got for the four types of people here. And I want, I want us to go through these and talk about them a little bit and what we're talkin about the condition of people's heart. So, I want you to look first of all, in the first heart that we see the first condition of people is the sinfulness of the calloused heart, that what does callous mean. If you got calluses, how do they feel hard? It's hard. So the sinfulness of a hard heart, if you want to look at it like that, look at it first for And as he sold some seed, fell by the wayside and the birds came and devoured. Them, that let me tell you what the Wayside was. In those days for would own land and it was in narrow strips. And you, you liable to have three or four acres would narrow strips in between each strip would be about 5, ft of space. Now, someone over here me on this trip and you met on the Strip beside it. But this 5 ft here, was where ever one walked the check on their crops or instead of walking in the field, they would walk on this. This area here, think of it. Like, if you ever, if you ever went to a golf tournament, Think about where the gallery stands and then somebody hits a ball into the gallery. They move out of the way. What's the lie like? It's just hard if a, if a tight lie, why? Because people been standing there is matted down, inside the bottle, just sticking up, it's a tight life with this is the way it was here. Everyone use the 5 ft there to go from their land to, to get out to carry seed in to do work. So it was just like a hard path right there. Well, when the solar was out here. So in some of the seed and he would throw it like this, he didn't have the Rotator thing like we do, we're just swings it everywhere. He would just throw it here. He would throw it. There was some fell on the hard-pack what would happen when the birds would come and eat it up because it had no depth or anything. So, So many people. Hearts are like this. It's the hard path of their hearts have become byways in thoroughfares. If you will for this world, their worldly people, their heart is like concrete. They've been hard and they've been trampled down and there's no softness there. So what happened to see, just lays there the files come by and, and get the seed. And of course this represents, what does the Bible say in verse 19? When he explains it, when anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand that these other people like the Pharisees who rejected the truth, they didn't care about the truth. They didn't want to hear the truth when anyone hears it and does not understand it. Been the wicked one, who's the wicked one Satan then the wicked one comes and snatches away. That what was sewn on pack. On his hard heart and what happens a person with a hard heart, well that they say no to God over and over and over there, very passive they'll come to church and sit in church and they'll listen to what they want to hear. But then it's the preacher starts kind of stepping on their toes. They'll tune to preacher out because they don't want to hear that. Because their heart is hard. They have no desire to hear true that had no desire to walk in the spirit. They just keep saying, no, no over and over to God, they have no commitment, no response, don't don't ask me, don't get personal with me or anything like that. Don't require me to change the heater sermon after sermon and yet it never changes their life. You know, I have known people in my life. And I know I'm today, they have been in church, their whole life. They have heard sermon after sermon after sermon and I know all the preachers that's been preaching there too and they preach the gospel and they've been there, 20, 30, 40, 50 years and there never been a single one bit of change in their life. They're still causing trouble in the church. They still gossip about people, they do the same thing that they've always done. Why is how can that happen if this book, if life, if this book can change us and Transformer? This book and then turn around and never.

It the truth. They don't love the truth. They don't love the trip, they don't even desire the truth. They have is the sinfulness of a callous heart. They're hard, has hardened overtime because they said no to God type in time and time again and friends. When you say know that long sometimes I just said, okay, I'll turn you over to yourself. I will text the truth that you do have from you and friends will not happen. They will never listen to the truth, because they can't because God has went through it. That I really believe that that has happened. Several people that I know and God warns us about a hard hard in Hebrews. He says today, if you will hear God's voice Harden, not your heart, it is a sad thing. When a person gets a hard heart, had a man, say, to me one time, you know, I don't go to church anymore because I used to go to church, and, and listen to preachers when I was a boy. But pretty sure just Don't Preach like that. Well, that's probably true to an in a certain instant, but some preachers do. Some preachers, preach, the Bible and the word of God. Maybe it's just you don't hear like you used to when you was a boy, maybe you said no to God. So long that your heart has hardened info. So we see here in Matthew Chapter 13. The first one is the the sinfulness of the callous heart and I want to, I want to turn. I think I may have put this scripture down here. John chapter 12, verses 37, in 39. This is probably one of the most sad status verses in the Bible. Want you to look up what the Bible says. but although he had done so many signs before them, speaking of Jesus,

they did not believe in him. Remember all the Miracles, he did remember all the healings that he did resurrecting of the Dead baseball, all this, although he had done many signs before them, they did not believe him that the word of Isaiah. The prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke.

Lord, who has believed our report and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed.

Therefore, they could not believe what you noticed in verse 37. It says they would not now, I'm verse 39 when God withdrawals, the truth from us, They cannot believe that's the point that they got to. They would not believe they were ejected it. And now, in the Hinton, they believe, even if they wanted to, but God has taken it from. Did you know that your heart can get so hard that you cannot believe in the word of God never gets in it, never sinks down and our hearts just become sinful and stubborn and unbreakable and unloading that's the first part. Look at numbers letter, b. We see the shallowness of the Casual heart and I want you to look at this and verse 5 & 6. Some fell on Stony places where they did not have much of Earth, they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of Earth, but when the sun was up, they were scorched and because they had no root they withered away now. Look what Jesus says, it means in verses 20 and 21, but he who received the seed on Stony places. This is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy? Yet he has no root in himself but indoors only for a while for when tribulation persecution arises because of the word immediately. He stumbles now the problem Was not that they had no death.

Best art heart had no death, it couldn't get in. But in this case or the shallow heart or the Casual heart the seed, got it, it had no depth it got under the ground a little bit but it just couldn't go far enough away. What I think he's he's talkin about here. I think in about What cause superficial emotionalism? Some people just want to go to church and get riled up. They just want to hear a preacher scream and yell and holler and stop and snort and spit and carry on that's what they like. They like the emotional appeal. That let me say it is God gave us a motion that we all have emotions. Emotions are fine. But friends, you cannot count on your emotions when it comes to deciding or whether or not. I'm going to trust Jesus or not, you can't do that. But some people just love this, emotional preaching. And I know this, and I've seen people before I was in Rome at a, at a church one time. And there were two full, every Sunday that I pre side imitation. They come walking down the aisle. I bet you, they did it. Seven Sundays in a row. And I'm thinking to myself and they would be confessing the same sin every Sunday. And I'm thinking to myself or why are you coming and confessing this in every Sunday? Don't you ever stop? Play, why do you keep doing this? You know, the Bible says it's better to obey than to sacrifice. But I think what they were doing. They were presuming on God's grace, but people walk down the aisle. And, and you talk about salvation and preach the word in the gospel in Christ. Heaven and hell, you give an invitation and people walk down the aisle, they'll have tears running down their face. But friends, many of our superficial Billy Graham said of, all the people that were saved at all his Revival he said about one in four stuck, that's the word that he used. It was all emotion and it was superficial. They had never made a heart commitment to Jesus Christ, the seed get in, but the seed never get down. In other words, their casual Christian. Their shallow Christians are superficial, they only feel emotions. I have a guy that's a good friend of mine. And he's constantly going to charismatic churches. Because he just loved the emotional appeal. Now he's heard me preach 100 times, I'm sure. And always got the feeling that he didn't think a lot of my preaching. I think he thought my preaching was just a little bit to kind of intellectual you go a little deeper, you don't Gale, you don't sweat, you don't holler. I mean that's just not my style that's not my demeanor as it is. But he didn't want to hear the Deep things of God. He just wanted this emotional appeal. So he just jumped from church to church the church, trying to find something that will just spur him on in Kendall his emotions. And so we have to understand that many times this casual Christian to get excited to Bible says, they, they received the word with joy and they say they praise God and things like that. But then when you come to him, you say would look. Now, what you need to do is you need to get, you need to get in a small group, you need to get in discipleship class. You need to get in this study group and you need to grow in the Lord, is it? Not may not, I'm not doing all that. I mean I've gotten save and I know that I'm on my way to heaven and really I'm not going to hell and I know that and really I'm satisfied with that. That's the Casual heart right there and what happens is when trials and tribulations come in their life and when it get hot in the kitchen, what happens? They Wilt because they had no dip. They were under the dirt but they didn't go deep enough and they don't want to go any deeper because they're saved and they're satisfied with just missing hell friends. Listen. if you're saved, I'm glad But if you're saved and you're satisfied with that, and you don't want to do anything else, you don't want to grow, you don't care about deep teaching, you don't you just don't care about that. All you come to church for us here to music and relationships, and that's important. But if I saw, you won't let me tell you something, you have, 20, 30, 40, 50 60, 70 years that Satan will jump on you, and he can ruin your life and he will ruin the lives of your children and your family as well. You need dep you. You can't be a casual Christian. You can't have the shallowness of a casual heart and we can't have that. We got to be rooted and grounded, all right? We come here. And I and I want to say this and I'll I'll leave, I'll leave this after this here. Salvation when God Saves you salvation is the deepest work that God can do in a person's life. It is the deepest. It's regeneration is substitution is a Toma. If salvation is sending the Holy Spirit everything that salvation entails it is, the deepest work that God can do in someone's life, your emotions Are the shallowest part of your nature. We all know that emotions are fickle. They're just very shallow. I can like something one day and dislike it. The next I can like a person one day and it's like I'm the next very shallow and I just want to say that God does not do his deepest work in the shallowest part. He does not do it in your emotion. He doesn't in your heart and he wants you to have root. He wants you to be rooted and he wants you to have some death. Let's move on quickly. See the shamefulness of the cluttered heart. Look at it verse 7.

Some fell among thorns and the foreign spring up and choked them. Well, look how the Lord explains that verse 22. That he, who receives seed among the Thorns? Is he who hears the word and the cares of this world? And the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and he becomes unfruitful, here's a person when Steve gets in and it gets down. But it never takes hold. Now, the first one to Calais Park to see never got in the second one that got in. But it didn't go down this one gets in and goes down but it never takes whole you say or what are you trying to say? I'm trying to say this is a person with a divided heart. This is the person that comes to church and has one hand on Jesus and the other hand on the world. And he wants both and he wants to live for the world and he wants to live for Jesus. There are two crops growing in the same soil. And friends, you know, that can't happen. What did Jesus say in Matthew a man? You cannot serve God and money, or Mammon. You can't do it. They said you loved one. Hate the other. I hate the one and love the other, but you can't serve two masters. You cannot do it. This is the person. I believe I would say, is the person who never really truly repents they come down the aisle to give their heart to Jesus, but they never deal with the weeds in their life. They never deal with the Thorns. They have a divided heart. What did James say, says a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. A double-minded man is a man with a divided heart. He wants to serve, Jesus over here, but he wants his worldly things over here and he tried to do both Jesus said, except you repent. You shall all likewise perish. If you don't repent. Now why so many people unfruitful about the people I was told by who sit in church for 50 years and never change at all. They stay the same, how in the world does that happen because they have never let go of the world with both hands and they never put both hands on Jesus. That's how it happens. And maybe it's because they've never been saved the seed is got in. But the seed never took hold in their life. They never said, Lord, you are Lord of all and friends. If you don't make him, Lord of all in your life, he's not Lord at all of your life. Not at all. He can't be half. Lord, you can't say, well, I have room in my heart for this and I have room in my heart for the weeds. No, we don't, we don't have room like that. And if you don't say Jesus alone, Jesus Christ, only Jesus Christ, always than friends. I'm afraid, you've never met the Lord Of Glory. Nothing wrong with the seed. Nothing wrong with us or the problem is in the soil. You have two competing crops going on, WebMD? Well here's the good one, three out of four is bad but here's the good one. We see the sincerity of the committed heart. Look at verse 8 But others talked about seed fell on good ground and you need to crop some 100, some 60, some 30. And then verse 23, but he who were cc'd on the good ground. Is he who hears the word? And understand it. Why does he understand it? Because he has a love for the truth. He desires the truth and he loved the truth, and the Holy Spirit, teaches him the truth. And it says here in verse 23, he understands it who indeed bears fruit and produce. How does he do that? Remember I said last week if you want

The truth.

Bay the truth. This is what the good ground us. He loves the truth, he hears it and understands it and then he bears fruit and produces because he's obedient to the truth. In friends, we thank God for those sincere hear the word, the word falls on good ground, moist and fertile and broken up. And I give their heart to the Lord, and they grow in the Lord or not, casual Christians, they're not callous Christians and friends. They can come to church and they're not sitting here with a cluttered mind, thinking about what I'm going to do tomorrow, what I got to do this, I got to do this at work, I got to go to dry cleaners. Got to mow the yard, all that in the preachers preaching. In all this truth, just goes right over their head because they have a clutter heart. but this person not so they, they have a teachable spirit, apply the word of God to their life, and I think about will close

did you know that if I put the gospel, which I If I pray every Sunday here for a whole year, you would hear 52 sermons on the gospel in some way. And then if you come on Wednesday night every Wednesday night, you're going to hear it too. So you going to hear over 100 sermon and that's not even counting the things you may watch on.

You may listen to a podcast you may watch the internet all of that. How in the world could we hear 52 sermons gospel sermons? Friends. If there's no way that we can stay the same, the word of God is living. It will change you. The only way that we stay the same is because we do not love the truth. Not going to a bather truth because we don't want to hear it and friends. If that's us, we fall in one of the three first categories. Our hearts are either calloused and hard because we've rejected the truth is either where our hearts is casual because we don't want to grow. I'm satisfied, just being saved. I don't care about small groups. I don't care about this discipleship, who cares? I know I'm

going on in her life that we try to hold on to the world. That the world is choking the word and our life friends, left of a teachable. Quiet spirit and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to her heart, and less never be like the Pharisees who rejected the truth. And Jesus said, I will pull that truth from you. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we thank you. And praise. You and love you tonight. Lord, for this very important message. For, we know that your word is hard to understand at times the Lord, we thankful that many times you explain it to us just like you in this parable. Lord, I pray tonight that each one in here can say that I truly love the truth and I want to hear the truth and I want it to change and transform my life. Morning, we don't we run the risk of losing that truth. and not only do we run the rest because we would not believe but Lord, one day we may get to the point where we cannot believe Lord help us to be true to the scriptures. Help me to preach with power and boldness and Authority but also with humbleness and meekness and lowliness of mind. Lord help me to make.

Deep theology, easy to understand. Lord, I pray you'll give me that ability. I pray that when I stand up before these good folks here Lord that I will be able to give them the gospel in a way that they can understand that it will spur them on to desire. The truth to love the truth and to obey the truth in Christ name. I do pray.