Untitled Sermon (11)

Northside Church Into the Dirt #1

Jamey Mills 1/24/21

Northside, It’s so good to be with you guys, my name is Jamey and I am one of the pastors here.

Couple things that I want to address real quick… Feb. 7th is Superbowl Sunday. We decided to move the service to 11:30 AM right here… we realize that a lot of people gather with family and stuff… it will be online so… if you want to watch it at 6 please do. BUT… if you show up here at 6… we won't be here.

Feb. 14th we are having Northside's first birthday… Yes, I realize that it's valentine's day… but honestly, what is more romantic than church. We felt like it was the best options considering everything… so we do hope you’ll join us… I am totally biased, I think it will be worth your time.

We are in our second sermon of our new series called into the dirt, where we are looking at one of the parables Jesus told… Parable means to put along side of… it’s an illustrative comparison Jesus often used to help people just like you and I understand something important.

This parable seems to carry a little extra emphasis… Jesus said two interesting things within it…

He used this phrase… whoever has ears and the ability to understand needs to hear this.

And… He says that understanding this key truth will play a role in understanding the other things Jesus has to say.

So, Jesus seems to give this one special attention…

We are looking at Mark 4:

Mark 4:3–9 (NLT)

3 “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. 4 As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. 5 Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. 7 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” 9 Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

A short time later, Jesus was with his disciples when they said, yea hey, this seems simple but we don’t get it and with great patience, Jesus laid it out for them.

Two weeks ago we talked about the seed that fell on the concrete like footpath… and how it represents those whose hearts and minds are so hard before God, that His Word really doesn't even have a chance. We talked about how this really is

The hard path is dealing with those who have rejected God and His truth.

dealing with those who have rejected God and His truth or parts of it… Those who don’t hear it or refuse to hear it for all kinds of reasons.

We talked about how rejecting God doesn't always look the way we may think… and that part of what Jesus wants to do in us is break up those hard places in our minds and hearts where we have not allowed His truth in…

There is so much freedom found right there… one of the coolest things about what I get to do is right there… watching God do that work of breaking up the hard places where we haven’t allowed God’s Word to penetrate… and if that’s you and you want to talk or pray… let me know… [e-mail]. Holding on to things that eventually lead to a hard heart and mind before God… and it really is happening everywhere in our culture.

And today we are going to be talking about the next part…

Do these name Kurt “the mountain man” Steiner or Glen “hard luck” loy or Glen “airtight alibi” Williamson (some free advice… probably don’t trust anyone with a nickname like that) mean anything to you?

If you had to guess… maybe professional wrastlers… Nah… these are world champion stone skippers… that is actually a thing… and believe it or not, the mountain man holds the current world record at 88 skips…

If only I had my rotator cuff… people come from all around the world to compete.. And in 2020 the winning skip… 18. So, your saying there's a chance?

You’ve seen it… the objective is to keep the stone on the surface of the water… and when you get a good one… it skims the surface the whole way until the momentum is dead and it suddenly just sinks… and that really reminds me of what Jesus is talking about today…

Let's read it…

Mark 4:16-17

16 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 17 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.

In this story… the farmer is anyone teaching God’s word and the seed is God’s word… and in all 4 cases… These are the same. The only variable… is the dirt… and we are the dirt… I know it's not super glamorous… but it’s honest… our hearts and the condition God’s Word finds our hearts in is what He’s talking about…

Jesus is saying that there are some, maybe many whose hearts are like soil with rocks in it. They’ve heard God’s truth, they have people willing to speak God’s truth into their lives… and they hear it… and they even receive it with joy… as if they sense its truth and that real life and life change is at their doorstep….

BUT… Jesus says… then life happens… temptation or opposition comes… and it’s not just that rocks in the soil stunt its growth… Jesus said… that the sun comes… and it withers and what??? Dies.

Jesus is saying that this kind of faith is a facade…

This idea that life can be found in the superficial; that we can be more of a fan of Jesus than a follower and still experience what it is that God has for you is a facade… it isn’t real.

In fact, Jesus seems to be saying that it is a sure way to find spiritual death… it withers and does what? Dies

There are signs of life on the surface… but there reality under the surface… is different. It reminds me of what Jesus said about the religious leaders of His day in Matthew 23:27-28, he called them white washed tombs… they looked good on the outside, but the truth is… inside… where no one sees… it was another story… just under the surface they wreaked of death.

Do you want to know what the difference between the footpath and rocky soil is? About 2 inches.

… and under that… the limestone bedrock is even harder than the footpath.

I do think there are people who live their entire life this way… who sort of bounce from one emotional spiritual experience to the next… who depend on others to do the hard work of growing their faith… who aren’t willing to dive into the dirt and meet God their with open hands asking God to do the work only God can do.

Any farmer would know… rocky soil… isn’t good. It just doesn’t produce. It’s shallow… It’s all surface… all of its growth is above ground… and so when the storm comes… it's blown away or when the sun comes… it literally withers… and dies… WHY?

Because there are no roots.

Roots anchor you in the storm, they pull up moisture in the heat, they provide whats needed for real life, real health, real change and lasting fruit… which it was designed to produce.

There is nothing to anchor it in the storm… to pull up moisture in the heat… There is nothing that provides what it needs… what you need for real life, real health, real change, and lasting fruit… which it was designed to produce.

And when you see that… something that was designed for real life… created for it, but is not experiencing it… it's hard to watch. It’s heartbreaking.

And I feel like Jesus is saying that this is the experience of those who allow those things in our lives that were never intended to be there… and to some degree its true of all of us… and the process of growing in our relationship with Jesus… being willing to dive into the dirt, and asking God to reveal and remove those things that exist in us just below the surface… that rob us of life.

There is an old Israeli proverb that goes something like this… when God was distributing the rocks of the world, he dropped the bucket here.

It makes me realize that there can be so many things that lie just beneath the surface…

Things that you’ve done that you cannot forgive yourself for… and you carry that guilt everyday… maybe pushed it off so you don’t feel it but just under the surface it's there.

Things you didn’t choose that others have done to you… that make you feel like less… make you believe that you are broken beyond repair.

Regret, fear and shame… hurt… trust issues

Unforgiveness

Addiction

Lies you believe about yourself

Living for the lens of public opinion… basking in the superficial nature of our culture.

All of these things are incredibly real… and lead to real captivity in your life… rob you of the roots that allow you to experience the depth that God longs to have with you… and I want you to know this…

God’s word absolutely speaks into the rocky and shallow places in your life.

He does. Are you willing to hear it? It will change your life.

He’s got something to say about what you experience here… He speaks life changing rock removing truth into marriages, your finances, raising kids, relationships, laziness, forgiveness, hate, hurt, priorities, fear,

Are you ready to hear it? The right way? Are you willing to act on it and get into the dirt… and asking God in all honesty to do the work of removing those rocks… those things that keep us from going deep with God.

And for me, as I studied this really comes down to this essential truth…

What is the posture or attitude you take when it comes to the Word of God in your life?

Be honest.

Is it nonsense to you? fairytales

Is it old and archaic… irrelevant to your struggles?

Is it simply a big book with portions of decent advice?

Is it largely okay… with portions you hate?

Or… do you really believe that it brings a wisdom far greater than your own… that they are the words that bring and lead to real life? Do you let it have real authority in your life… even in those things just under the surface…

Ignoring what He says is the stuff of the hard footpath. Accepting for a time… until life, temptation, or opposition comes… is the stuff of shallow soil…

Jesus is saying that not only is there no fruit in it… but death becomes of it.

Roots are those things that no one else sees! Jesus is getting real here… it's getting at the longing of our hearts. When no one is looking, when no one knows, are you honestly seeking Him?

In a sense it’s like Jesus is asking you to consider what the truth really is… what is it that you really want? What is that you really value and treasure? Do you honestly… seek Jesus first? Do you honestly desire to hear what He teaches the right way? The answer is not always… but are you growing in it.

Approaching God and His word with the mentality of submission and surrender… ready to act on it, no matter how hard it is… to matter how life happens, what temptation comes, what mistakes we make or what opposition we face…

Hearing Him the right way and acting on what it says… it's how roots are developed in our life… and maybe it’s true… But it seems that far too many of us just don’t have the roots we need for the climate of our culture…

Jesus also used this story….

Matthew 7:24–27 (NLT)

24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

Being planted deep… is required for life. It’s what you were intended for.

it ‘s the anchor in the storm that keeps you from being blown away.

It’s what allows you to draw up the nurishment you need when the heat comes…

What are the things that keep you from going deep?

It is totally possible to leave them there… just below the surface. It’s the decision to not experience the depth that God has for you, to make yourself prone to withering and being blown away by life, temptation, or opposition.

Know this… it’s robbing you. It’s robbing those around you. There is something better… something more life giving… that God desires for you.

Not sure if you’ve ever seen someone plow rocky soil… (PIC of hand plow)

It’s actually a pretty rough process… as it hits rocks in an attempt to bring them to the surface… it jerks and bounces… it’s incredibly hard…

By why do farmers do it? Because they know life… health… growth… depends on it.

And I want you to know it's true for you too.

I want you to know that these hard things that keep you from going deep… keep you from being anchored… that cause the foundation of our lives to be shaky and reactive… are not things you were ever intended to carry… or carry alone.

One of the ways we know we are serious about dealing with the stuff just under the surface in our life is bringing it into the light.

And I’m not talking about announcing it on social media or in front of the church… but I mean… with people who can and will truly walk with you in it.

"We resist offering ourselves wholly to anyone or anything that has the potential to encroach on our personal desires, and Jesus made clear from the start that God's will and ours would be in conflict at times. Yet our surrender to Jesus is also ultimately our surrender to joy."

- Beth Moore in Chasing Vines

And that… that is why we do it. We trust God… that real life is actually found in Him and not in the mess we often make of it.

Diving into the dirt… the painful work of being open handed before the Lord… allowing Him surgically remove those things that keep us from going deep with Him…

Real life… is found there.

What lies just beneath the surface in your life? What keeps you from going deep with God? What is it that you really want? If its real life… you won’t find it in the superficial. You wont find simply on the surface.

Are you a fan or… a follower of Jesus? And know this… God is far more concerned about where you’re heading… than the reality of this moment.

What is it you see when you look into the dirt of your heart… God has something to say about it.

Communion

Most sunday’s we offer the opportunity to take communion… and it really is something that speaks into the depth of our relationship with Jesus.

In Corinthians… it talks about how important it is to take communion with the right focus… and it really is this sort of deep, into the dirt reflecting… realizing the reality of what it is Jesus has done for you and I.

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 (NLT)

23 For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.

There are cups on the back table, and I’d encourage you to grab one and spread out and take it whenever your ready during the next couple of songs.

Pray