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Series A – Seventh Sunday After Pentecost – Sunday, July 16, 2023 | Pr. Chris Rosebrough

Welcome to the Teaching Ministry of Kongsvinger Lutheran Church. Kongsvinger is a beacon for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of Northwestern Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone, and now, here’s a message from Pastor Chris Rosebrough:

Time Stamp	Transcript
0:22	The holy Gospel
0:29	According to Saint Matthew the 13th chapter [Music]
0:35	thank you that same day Jesus went out of the
0:41	house and sat beside the sea and great crowds gathered about him so that he got into a boat and sat down and the whole
0:48	crowd stood on the beach and he told them many things in Parable Saying A sower went out to sow
0:54	and and some seed fell along the path and the birds came and devoured them other seeds fell on Rocky ground where
1:01	they did not have much soil and immediately they sprang up since they had no depth of soil but when the sun
1:06	rose they were scorched and since they had no root they withered away other seeds fell among thorns and the Thorns
1:12	grew up and choked them other seeds fell on good soil and It produced grain some 100 fold some 60 some 30 he who has ears
1:20	let him hear then the parable of the sower when anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it the
1:27	evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart this is what was sown along the path as for what was
1:33	sown on the rocky ground this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy yet he has no root
1:39	in himself but endures for a while and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word immediately he
1:45	falls away as for what was sown among the Thorns this is the one who hears the word but the cares of the world the
1:52	deceitfulness of riches choke the word and it proves unfruitful as for what was
1:57	sown on the good soil this is the one who hears the word and understands it he indeed he bears fruit and yields in one
2:04	case a hundredfold another 60 in another 30. this is the gospel of the Lord in
2:10	the name of Jesus if you haven’t figured it out today is uh Parable today’s Gospel text is all
2:17	about the word of God and let me remind you of how lutherans read that third
2:22	commandment what is the third commandment I should ask my catechisms right Third Commandment is you shall remember the Sabbath day by keeping it
2:30	holy and then of course Luther asks the question what does this mean and it means this that we should fear and love
2:35	God so that we do not despise preaching and his word but hold it sacred and
2:43	gladly hear and learn it that’s the law hear God’s words and you’re going to
2:48	know we live in a time when a lot of people don’t want to take God’s word seriously of course we expect that from the world right have you guys heard
2:55	about that that one fellow who came up with this idea that he’s going to have A.I rewrite the Bible for us to get rid
3:02	of all the errors and things and stuff like that what a Blasphemous thing to say and do right there are no errors in
3:09	God’s word and anyone who thinks thus doesn’t understand the word of God at all but we expect those kind of attacks
3:15	from the outside but they still come from within and I’m going to note from within has two focuses we could talk
3:21	about the pastors who’ve abandoned the preaching of God’s word who like to scratch itching ears and tell people
3:27	what they want to hear tell people that they just put a thousand dollars into the offering plate God is going to heal
3:34	them God is going to make them Rich God is going to make them influential and make them 20 years younger right you
3:40	might as well you know get rid of the balding thing and all that kind of stuff right I can’t promise that for any of you right but there are people who want
3:46	to hear such messages and pastors like that they’ve abandoned the preaching of God’s word and then you think of guys
3:52	like Andy Stanley and what have they done they flat out attack God’s word when during the sermon right and you sit
3:59	there and go what kind of church is this all right well this is the kind of church that our sinful nature wants to
4:06	be a part of our sinful nature you’ll note it goes along with things like this which leads to that second bit the
4:13	second bit of the internal conflict that’s inside of you it’s inside of me
4:19	how many of you guys have said oh this time I’m gonna really read God’s word
4:24	and and so you decide you’re going to get up early on on a work day right and so you pour yourself a cup of coffee or
4:30	tea whatever you’re prone to and you open up your Bible or you turn it on nowadays you have to kind of give that
4:36	as an option you know I still have one of those analog Bibles it doesn’t need batteries it’s kind of fascinating if you think about it but you open up your
4:43	Bible and you start reading right and you get three four five paragraphs in
4:48	and you realize not a single word has sunk in you have no clue what you’re
4:55	even reading right and if it’s worse than that and it may even be that what
5:01	you’re really doing while reading the word is you’re working on your grocery list are starting to work out your to-do
5:07	list for the day and you’ll note that when Christ talks about how the Devil comes along when you don’t understand
5:13	God’s word and just snatches it away no that’s talking about you
5:18	and let me be blunt that’s talking about me as well and so we are not nearly attentive to
5:26	God’s word as we ought to be we do not yet fear love and trust God as
5:33	we ought to and if you remember last week we talked about our sinful nature you think your sinful nature wants to do
5:38	devotional time and read God’s word you got to be out of your mind your sinful nature would be rather out outside
5:43	playing golf or something or working on the weeds in your yard and so we must understand that as we read this parable
5:50	that Jesus isn’t just merely talking about people out there and describing four different types of people and four
5:56	different types of soil so you can sit there and convenient and say well I came to church today so I must be part of the
6:02	good soil people no this isn’t how this works in fact it’s a terrifying
6:08	proposition when you consider it and then listen to these words he who has ears let him hear now in the past I’ve
6:15	kind of quipped because I’ve never want to miss a good opportunity for a good pastor joke a good pastor joke would say
6:21	he who has ears let him hear that means the sower was sowing corn really funny right but here’s the thing
6:28	is is that that’s not really a punch line for a for a laugh that’s a
6:33	legitimate Stern warning uh he who has ears let him hear why
6:40	would Jesus give such a Stern warning well consider the context we are in the
6:45	middle of the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 13 and from chapter 5 all the way through chapter 12 when Jesus has
6:52	preached and he’s taught he is taught plainly in language that anybody can
6:58	understand right but why is he switching it up in the
7:03	middle of everything Wyatt chapter 13 does he decide that he’s going to go all Parable on people and here’s the thing
7:10	we’ve got to understand Jesus hasn’t sprung into Parable mode in order to make his sermons more understandable
7:18	that is a flat out lie if you’ve ever heard somebody talk like that then they don’t understand God’s word at all Jesus
7:24	has gone into Parable mode in order to make his words less understandable
7:30	at least to the people who are inattentive to his words who do not think that they are sacred do not think
7:36	that they are God’s words people sit there and go what’s this whole thing about the sower and the seeds and stuff like that I don’t get it right this is a
7:43	waste of time I’d rather be looking at Instagram I got things to do on Snapchat yeah you know right
7:49	yeah that that I I recognize that seventh grade Junior High mentality and
7:56	disdain for anything that isn’t shiny and entertaining that Christ isn’t here
8:02	to entertain people and you’re going to note that when Jesus first preaches the Parables the disciples completely freak
8:08	out in a moment of sheer panic and anxiety and I always hear their words in
8:14	this in the sound of Seinfeld’s voice all right you ever hear about Seinfeld Jerry Seinfeld in a panic mode
8:22	weird voice so the disciples come up to Jesus why are you speaking to them in Parables ah right right because they
8:30	could see what was going on there Jesus he gets into a boat there’s a large crowd he gets into a boat goes
8:36	out just a little bit uses a natural Amphitheater to help his voice carry and he tells this parable about A sower and
8:45	some soils and not only that the sower doesn’t make any sense if you kind of
8:50	think about it and you can just see people sitting there going uh what
8:56	what was the point of that and by the way do you know any Farmers that are like this you know now listen I
9:03	don’t know anything about farming firsthand the only thing I know about farming is from the farmers that attend
9:08	here but the one of the things I’ve noticed about Farmers is that they don’t waste their seeds
9:15	right the the seeds are a precious commodity seeds are the type of thing
9:20	well you got to make sure that you plant them under the right conditions you don’t want to plant them too early
9:27	you don’t want to plant them too late because you risk losing an entire crop so things have the conditions have got
9:34	to be just right at just the right time and if you miss it you hold on to those seeds plant something else or a
9:40	different kind of crop right because you don’t want to be planting the wrong thing at the wrong time but you’re going to note that this sower
9:47	who taught him how to farm because he’s taken seed and he’s
9:53	spreading it all over the place I assure you that that the cuts matka family the
9:59	lens art you know Arlen Lind he does not take his seed and cast it on the roads
10:05	up here in Oslo okay he makes sure that he tills his soil makes it and prepares
10:12	it right gets its combine out there and gets those things planted in the ground at exactly the right place I’ve never
10:17	seen any of the farmers here sow seed on a path or among rocky soil or among the
10:24	weeds who does this right
10:30	let me tell you who does this Jesus Does and that’s one of the big points of all
10:38	of this he who has ears to hear Let Him hear and so Jesus tells his disciples who are
10:45	in a full Panic to you it has been given to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven to them it has not been given
10:53	these are people who have despised Christ’s words and is preaching so much
10:58	that in chapter 12 they accused Jesus of Performing Miracles by the power of
11:04	beelzebel the prince of demons who who can possibly think this way
11:09	right so they cannot deny Christ is doing good he’s preaching God’s word people are hearing things they’re
11:16	understanding there are sinners who are legitimately repenting in fact that’s kind of the whole Scandal of it if you
11:22	think about it there’s an account here in the gospel of Matthew where there’s a
11:27	fellow by the name of Levi the tax collector he also happens to be the author of The Gospel of Matthew and he’s
11:33	at his tax Booth right and Jesus comes along and says come follow me and you
11:38	know what he does he believes his tax booth and he comes and follows Christ
11:45	and that night after Christ has called him Jesus decides he’s going to do something scandalous he’s going to eat
11:51	at Levi’s house Levi the tax collector are you kidding me that guy is a rogue a
11:56	scoundrel a sinner what are you thinking Jesus and the text talks about how the Pharisees were all
12:03	for clamped they were all upset do you not understand who your master is eating with his eating with Sinners right and
12:10	Jesus course says it’s the it’s the sick who need a physician not
12:15	the well he came to call sinners like you and I it’s Jesus who sows his word among the
12:24	weeds and the rocks and on the hard paths and so Jesus says
12:30	to the one who has been given he will have an abundance but the one who has not even what he has will be taken from
12:35	him so this is why I speak to them in Parables because seeing they do not see hearing they do not hear nor do they
12:43	understand indeed in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says you will indeed hear but you will never understand you’ll indeed see but
12:50	never perceive for this people’s heart has grown dull and with their ears they can barely hear and their eyes they’ve
12:58	closed lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn and
13:04	I would heal them do you not get it he who has ears to hear Let Him hear all those times when
13:11	you’ve opened up the Bible or you’ve come to church and God’s word isn’t even registering and the birds are flying
13:17	over and the only thing you can think of is the thing that you’re going to be doing next after you leave or move on to
13:23	the next thing you are under this condemnation
13:28	and this condemns you and shows that you are a sinner who is not attentive to God’s word you
13:36	are a sinner who can barely hear and by the way you’re in good company
13:42	there are many times when I struggle to pay attention to the word of God even when I’m preparing for a sermon
13:49	and you know what Jesus’s word should cause us some good
13:54	Godly grief and a wee bit of Terror and convince us yet again we are not as
14:01	holy as we ought to be we are not we are not as Pious as we ought to be
14:08	either we’re not and the law rightly condemns us for our lack of piety our
14:14	inattentiveness to God’s word and there’s all kinds of ways in which you can be inattentive but here again Jesus
14:21	says he who has ears to hear Let Him hear one of the things I’ve been working on
14:26	is uh is a bible study on the Book of Ezekiel ezekiel’s not an easy book
14:32	in fact if you’ve ever read Ezekiel chapter one we’re going to be talking about Ezekiel chapter one next Saturday
14:38	during the Bible study portion of the homecoming on the Prairie but you read Ezekiel chapter one and literally after
14:45	reading it just on a cold reading you sit there and go what did I just read
14:51	it is super complicated it’s like space aliens and weird things like this you don’t know what to make of it in fact
14:56	like the History Channel you know two you know has that Ancient Aliens things I’ve seen guys on there talk about yeah
15:03	Ezekiel had an encounter with a UFO no he didn’t that’s not the point of that
15:09	text but the point is is that if you don’t understand God’s word you’re going to have to actually dig there are
15:14	certain parts of scripture that you just sit there and go I don’t understand what’s going on or if you’re so enamored
15:22	with it with what entertainment right and finding out what the next Big Show is and stuff like this and making sure
15:28	that you’re part of the the next big thing that it happens that you can talk about it with everybody and be a part of
15:33	it in real time and all this kind of stuff you come to the word of God and you sit there and go this is the most boring thing ever
15:40	and then you get to a portion of scripture where it says things like this and so and so begat so and so and so and
15:46	so begat so and so and so and just sit there and go kill me now please
15:52	right but here’s the thing that’s sin
15:59	do you not understand that some of the most important parts of scripture are the hardest for you to understand and
16:05	read I think about today’s kids you give them a Rubik’s Cube what are they going to do
16:11	pull that thing apart and then put it back together and say so yeah solved it no that’s not how you solve the Rubik’s
16:17	Cube and you’re going to note God’s word there are parts of it that are very puzzling very difficult and so this
16:24	phrase he who has ears let him hear I found a reference to it a cross-reference and of all places the
16:31	opening chapters of the Prophet Ezekiel let me give you the context remember we
16:36	just worked our way through the book of Jeremiah right the the southern Kingdom of Judah they went complete apostate
16:43	just like the northern kingdom and when the northern kingdom went apostate into idolatry God said we’re done and he
16:51	scraped them out of the land of Israel and now we refer to them as the Ten lost tribes of Israel good luck finding them
16:58	God scattered them to the point where they’ve even lost their jewishness they don’t even know if they’re Israeli or
17:04	not right they’ve just dispersed into the nation dissolved gone
17:10	and then Judah follows suit follows the same stupid idolus pattern and what does
17:15	God do in the midst of all of that he sends Prophet after Prophet after Prophet repent turn from this wickedness
17:22	stop worshiping these false gods they cannot hear you they do not understand these are figments of your imagination
17:28	do the people listen no so what do they do they finally get complete control of the country they put
17:35	an Ashira poll inside the holy of holies like God needed a girlfriend and he doesn’t like her you’ll notice
17:41	throughout the scriptures God is not keen on that girlfriend okay constantly abusing her and kicking her out and
17:47	stuff good on him because she’s a but that’s a whole other thing right she
17:53	is she’s a fertility deity you don’t think that she’s all about sex that’s exactly what she’s all about
17:59	right do they listen to the prophets no they
18:04	cast God’s words behind them but here’s the thing we all do that and so God finally exacts some of the
18:11	cursing section of the Mosaic Covenant and he sends them into Exile in Babylon
18:17	in fact the opening portion of Ezekiel makes it clear we’re five years into the Exile the temple is still up and running
18:25	in Jerusalem because Nebuchadnezzar hasn’t torn that thing down yet but God’s about to have him come and get rid
18:31	of it and what has happened is that among the Exiles there’s still a bunch of Looney Tunes false prophets giving
18:38	them assurances that God’s going to send them back to Jerusalem any day now when God has made it clear through his real
18:44	prophets they’re going to be there for some time they haven’t even unpacked their luggage because they think they’re
18:49	going home next week when in fact God has made it clear you’re going to stay here for 70 years
18:54	so where Jeremiah leaves off now God picks up another Prophet Ezekiel to
19:01	prophesy to these Wicked people who still refuse to hear his words
19:08	and God says this to Ezekiel so he said to me son of man stand on your feet and
19:14	I’m going to speak with you you’re going to note ezekiel’s on his face when he realizes what he was seeing that it
19:20	wasn’t a UFO that instead it was the actual glory of God he’s on his face recognizing that he had
19:27	seen this so God tells him to stand up and so as he spoke to me the spirit entered into me set me on my feet and I
19:33	heard him speaking to me and he said to me son of man I send you to the people of Israel
19:40	to nations of rebels who have rebelled against me Ezekiel isn’t merely a
19:47	prophet to Israel he’s also a prophet to the Nations that you know like Norwegians
19:53	people living around here right right they and their families they have
19:58	transgressed against me to this very day The Descendants also are impudent
20:03	stubborn I send you to them and you shall say to them thus says Yahweh
20:09	Elohim and whether they will hear or refuse to hear or they are a rebellious
20:14	people they will know that a prophet has been among them and I sit there and go you know what we kind of live in a day
20:20	when people say something like this you know what listen I need to stop have to stop you right there I want you to stop talking about Jesus so I’m going to set
20:27	a boundary up right here and so you need to respect my boundary I don’t want to hear anything about God’s word and stop
20:33	condemning me and telling me that I’m a sinner okay and if you don’t respect my boundaries I’m going to call the authorities and we’re going to have you
20:39	written up for a hate crime right this is how people talk nowadays right but you’re going to note here God is
20:47	sending the prophet Ezekiel to a bunch of people who’ve set up that boundary we don’t want to hear the word of God
20:53	Stony hard path kind of soil with weeds all over the place
21:00	does God care about their boundaries no you know what he does he sends more
21:08	of his word because God knows that sin isn’t freedom
21:14	sin of slavery and its consequences are dire
21:19	the wages of sin is death not just physical death but Eternal death and it’s not God’s will that any should
21:25	perish what a persistent God this is who would do such a thing continue to
21:33	Faithfully send his word knowing that it’s living and active and that will always accomplish the thing for which he
21:38	sent it and he’s sending it for the purpose of their repentance
21:44	so if they don’t listen to you at least they’re going to know that there was a prophet among you and you son of man do not be afraid of
21:50	them nor be afraid of their words though though Briars and Thorns are with you
21:56	and though you were made to sit on scorpions that sounds like fun do not be afraid of their words or be dismayed at
22:02	their looks for they are a rebellious house and you shall speak my words to them whether they hear or refuse to hear
22:10	for they are a rebellious house but you son of man hear what I say to you
22:15	be not rebellious like that rebellious house open your mouth eat what I give
22:21	you and here in Chapter 2 we see God using his word as a metaphor but it’s
22:28	consistent with other portions of scripture Christ says man shall not live by every if I am shall not live by bread
22:35	alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God so God here is
22:40	giving fresh words of Revelation to a newly minted Prophet Ezekiel and God is
22:47	encouraging him listen make sure you consume that you eat that you feed your
22:54	soul on the very words that I am giving you to give to other people they are not merely for them they are also for you
23:03	hmm what a good God we have so be not afraid of them you son of man
23:09	hear what I say be not rebellious like the rebellious open your mouth eat what I give you and when I look Behold a hand
23:17	will stretch out to me and behold a scroll of a book was it was in it he spread it before me and it had writing
23:23	on the front and on the back and there were written on it words of lamentation mourning and woe and he said to me son
23:29	of man eat whatever you find here eat the scroll go speak to the house of
23:35	Israel so I opened my mouth and he gave me the scroll to eat got a spoon feeding him
23:41	his words and he’s consuming a scroll of all things I bet it still tastes better than kale right
23:48	just saying okay and so he said to me son of man feed
23:53	your belly with the scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it so then I ate and it was in my mouth as
24:00	sweet as honey and that’s the thing when you really study God’s word and you really understand it it legitimately is sweet
24:07	as honey it feeds the soul it calms the heart it enlightens the mind and in its in the
24:15	ramifications that it has in your life and producing within you the fruit of the holy spirit it’s amazing
24:21	so he said to me son of man go to the house of Israel speak with my words to them for you are not sent to a people of
24:27	foreign speech or of hard language but to those of the House of Israel and not
24:32	to many peoples a foreign speech in a hard language whose words you cannot understand surely if I sent you to such
24:38	they would they would actually listen to you what an indictment if if God had sent
24:45	Ezekiel to China back then ancient China right Ming Dynasty time kind of stuff they would have listened to him but he
24:52	sends them to Israel and they’re they’re they’re they don’t want to hear God’s word but the house of Israel they they
24:57	will not be willing to listen to you for they are not willing to listen to me because all the house of Israel have a
25:03	hard forehead and a stubborn heart right so they got a hard forehead and a stubborn heart so God because I got the
25:10	solution I’m going to raise up a prophet and I’m going to make him just as stubborn as hard as they are loads of fun right behold I’ve made your
25:17	face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads like Emery harder than Flint I have made your
25:23	forehead so fear them not nor be dismayed at their looks for they are rebellious house and moreover he said to
25:29	me son of man o my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart and
25:35	listen to these words and hear with your ears
25:40	he who has ears to hear Let Him hear and you’ll note Ezekiel
25:45	prophesies until the 27th year of the exile
25:51	he’s 27 years into the Exile and he then goes silent with 40 more years left to
25:57	go a little more than 40. but you’ll note that the words of God accomplish the things for which he sent
26:04	and that’s what Isaiah said God sends his word it does accomplish the reasons for which he sends it and the purpose is
26:11	for which he sends and so Ezekiel sent with God’s word to a hard-hearted people you’ll note that by 20 you’re 27 they’re
26:18	no longer listening the false prophets who are saying you’re going to be leaving next week
26:24	Daniel is up and running he’s a contemporary of Ezekiel and thing you
26:29	know Shadrach Meshach and Abednego they’re even mentioned in ezekiel’s Prophecy keep this in mind these are the
26:34	ones who are there and then as we’ve been reading as we’re working our way through Nehemiah and Ezra we can see the
26:42	impact that God’s word has had on these hard-hearted people who wouldn’t listen
26:48	to God’s word eventually the soil is tilled up the seeds take root
26:55	and they grow and they multiply and by the time they return from Exile there is a Revival of
27:03	the hearing of God’s word and the people are attentive to it and they listen to it
27:09	God isn’t like any farmer that I know and that’s the point if you think about it this Parable ultimately is about the
27:17	love of Christ you think about the parable that Jesus tells of The Prodigal Son but isn’t that
27:24	exactly what’s going on here Jesus has come to Israel and people rather than
27:29	rejoicing and praising God that they have been visited by God and the Messiah is now on the scene just as God had
27:37	promised in their word they say about Jesus oh he’s performing Miracles by the power of beowulsabubs don’t listen to
27:42	him he’s a sorcerer he’s a demon he’s a Satanist he’s part of the Illuminati stop don’t listen to him right create a
27:50	conspiracy theory about Christ but Christ doesn’t just pack up his
27:55	bag and disappear off into the Wilderness and say fine you don’t want to listen to me have it your way
28:01	instead he keeps preaching the word but he makes it harder to understand
28:07	so that those who are truly seeking him will find the treasure in the
28:12	understanding of his words so A sower went out to sow as he sowed some seeds fell along the
28:18	path Birds came and devoured them other seeds fell on Rocky ground where they did not have much soil immediately they
28:24	sprang up since they had no depth when the sun rose they were scorched and since they had no root they withered
28:30	away other seeds fell among the thorns and Thorns grew up and choked them other seeds fell on the good soil and produced
28:36	grain some 100 fold some 60 some 30. he who has ears let him hear so hear the
28:41	words of the parable of the sower when anyone anyone including Christians here’s the word of the kingdom and does
28:47	not understand it and this happens to me and it happens to
28:53	you right now note then the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart
29:00	the devil is at work in each of us still to this day he does not want you to hear God’s word
29:08	he is the great enemy of God and he’s your enemy too when Satan tempted Adam and Eve in the
29:13	wilderness not in the wilderness but in the Garden of Eden he tempted them for the purpose of murdering them and making God the murder weapon
29:20	and now he works over time to make it so that you will not hear will not believe
29:25	will not understand will not live by God’s words so your sinful flesh goes
29:33	along with the Devil note where that comes from
29:40	as for what was sown on the rocky ground this is the one who hears the word immediately receives it with joy oh Pastor what was the best sermon ever oh
29:47	man I I wow I never knew that before oh I’m so excited that’s so cool
29:53	yeah I’ve heard it before right and then what happens they don’t come to
29:58	church for four five six seven eight weeks must not have been that cool right
30:06	but you know we’re all tempted to do that we wake up on Sunday morning and the one thing I don’t have is is I
30:12	don’t have this option anymore but I remember when I had the option see I work here okay I want you to not make
30:18	this clear I get paid to be here you don’t okay so when you wake up on a
30:23	Sunday morning you look at your watch and you sit there and go ah man I’ve only got 20 minutes to get ready for
30:29	church so do I want to go to church or not temptation’s there isn’t it
30:35	you know I the Super Bowl’s next week and uh right and of course the Vikings
30:40	are not in it but um you know right
30:45	we still have these Temptations as Christians this is not talking about them it’s talking about you and it’s
30:51	talking about me so they receive it with joy he has no root in himself he endures for a while
30:58	but when tribulation of persecution arises on account of the word immediately Falls away you can’t expect
31:03	me to teach the truth about God’s word or say the truth about it HR will write me up
31:09	I might be thrown into Facebook jail thank God Elon Musk allows me to say the
31:15	truth on Twitter but I hate that place so I’m not going to do that there right yeah this is starting to hurt
31:22	right and as for what’s sown among the Thorns this is the one who hears the word but
31:27	the cares of the world the deceitfulness of riches they choke the word and it proves unfruitful
31:33	cares of this world what am I going to eat what am I gonna drink what am I
31:39	gonna wear where am I gonna sleep all the problems that go along with this world my house is falling apart I need
31:45	to buy a house I need to find a new apartment I need to go and buy the groceries I need to make sure to fix the
31:51	things that are broken and all this kind of stuff it never ends does it
31:57	but isn’t the Temptation always to prioritize those things over God’s word and come into church
32:04	and if you’re saying well I’ve never have that problem you’re lying I struggle with that daily
32:12	so do you and that’s the point but again note that this sower isn’t
32:19	like any other farmer that’s for what’s sown among the Thorns this is the one who hears deceitfulness of the world richest that all proves unfruitful as
32:26	for what was sown on the good soil this is the one who hears the word I don’t know of any soil that tills itself
32:33	right that’ll be a cool thing for Farmers wouldn’t that be yeah hey I got myself some of that self-tilling soil I
32:39	don’t even have to use a combine on it well that’s the best thing ever all I got to do is put the seed in the ground it grows automatically wrong
32:45	somebody’s got to till up the soil which leads to the question where did this soil come from that was
32:54	good soil if every human being is born dead and trespasses and sins and we are
33:01	and we’re all under the Dominion of darkness when we are born and conceived and we are where the good soil come from
33:10	I’ll give you one guess it’s the sower
33:16	he’s the one who tills up our soil he’s the one who breaks up the hard ground
33:21	he’s the one who removes the rocks and he’s the one who pulls the weeds
33:26	but let me ask you this is he done yet tilling up that hard ground in you
33:32	is he done yet pulling those weeds or removing those rocks
33:38	no he’s not so brothers and sisters this isn’t a parable about sower soils
33:45	it’s a parable about the sower what a great and loving persistent stubborn God
33:51	that we have who loves us so much that he keeps sending his word and Promises to
33:58	accomplish through it what he intends to accomplish and let us thank God that his
34:03	word has come to us and we have at least heard enough of it that we recognize that we are sinners and that we’ve
34:12	idolatrously turned our back to God’s words and followed other voices that would
34:18	lead us astray and worse we’ve even let others astray by our false words
34:24	but let us note that this sower is loving and kind slow to anger abounding
34:29	and steadfast love and he has even taken your idolatry and your inattentiveness
34:35	to his word upon himself in his body and bled and died on the cross for your sins
34:41	and mine I think about that passage in the in the Torah there’s several places
34:47	in Tehran one of them is notable in the book of Deuteronomy where God reminds the children of Israel that he delivered
34:53	them from slavery with an outstretched arm
34:59	since when does God have arms well if I think about it right
35:06	Jesus had arms and he’s God in human flesh
35:12	and he has delivered us from slavery without stretched arms forgiveness of our sins
35:18	called us to repentance and through his word is continuing to produce in US
35:25	well fruit to the benefit and Glory of his kingdom to our benefit as well
35:32	so let us repent let us repent of not hearing God’s word and let us hear again these comforting words of Christ and let
35:40	us again Marvel in glory in such a beautiful sower who throws caution to
35:45	the wind and sows those seeds wherever he can sow them whether it be in the
35:51	most awkward of places among weeds and rocks and hard paths all for his glory because his word will accomplish the
35:57	thing for which he sent it and it’s accomplishing in us our salvation
36:03	he who has ears to hear Let Him hear in the name of Jesus amen

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