🎵Music🎵
Good morning everyone, let's start our second service, please take your seat.
And open your hymnal to hymn number 41.
Hymn number 41, sweet by and by.
On the birds ready, sing.
There's a land that is fairer than day,
And by faith we can see it afar,
For the Father waits over the way,
To prepare us a dwelling place there.
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore.
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore.
Second, we shall sing on that beautiful shore,
The melody, your songs of the blessed,
And our spirits all sorrow no more,
That assign for the blessing of rest.
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore.
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore glass,
To our bountiful Father above.
We will offer our free, beautiful praise,
For the glorious gift of His love,
And the blessings that hallow our days.
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore.
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore.
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore.
Amen.
Let's see, over in this section, any salvations?
All right, did I miss anybody?
All right, seven salvations to add.
Great work, everybody.
And of course, we do have soul winning this afternoon.
And let's see, a few other things of announcement.
We do have a lot of upcoming activities.
The New Testament Challenge is over.
Next week, we will bring prizes for those that were able to read the entire New Testament.
And next Sunday is our annual Sweetheart Banquet.
Another name is for Married Couples Sweetheart Banquet.
So it's not for dating couples, but for couples that are married.
You're welcome to participate in that, and we'll have the event, then we'll have food afterwards.
It's going to be a great time.
And then coming up shortly after that, we have the Manila Missions Trip.
And so, as of now, we have two different days during that week where we have school preaching opportunity.
Of course, we will have some people from the U.S. visiting us.
They'll obviously get dibs on preaching.
Hopefully, there will be a lot of opportunities there.
But we do have a couple schools. We're trying to get more for that time period.
And of course, the week after that is the Bicol Missions Trip.
And we do have two opportunities so far on the Bicol Missions Trip for school preaching.
And so, hopefully, we'll get more.
But a lot of things coming up. We're going to be a great month for soul winning.
And anyways, that is it for announcements, though.
We'll have Brother Franklin lead us in another song.
For our second song, please open your hymnal to hymn number 47.
Hymn number 47, let the sun shine again in my heart.
On the first, ready, sing.
I remember the time when I first knew the Savior
When the sunlight of blessing so flooded my heart
Oh, the sweetness of first love with Jesus so dear me
And I thought that the emotion would never depart
Let the sun shine again, let the blast bloom again
Spare the embers of love in my heart
Holy Spirit reproduce, then embrace me again
Let the sun shine again in my heart
The second, then how sweet were the scriptures
They spoke to me nailing, how they guided my steps
But my seal did not last
And a sweet place of prayer where I met with my Savior
I neglected and so soon my joys were all past
Let the sun shine again, let the blast bloom again
Spare the embers of love in my heart
Holy Spirit reproduce, then embrace me again
Let the sun shine again in my heart
Oh, I love well to walk in the way we can still tread
When we met with that heart in a fellowship swing
By the pull of the flesh and some worldly companions
In the paths of sin, bless you, attract at my feet
Let the sun shine again, let the blast bloom again
Spare the embers of love in my heart
Holy Spirit reproduce, then embrace me again
Let the sun shine again in my heart
The last, glory come now again for forgiveness and blessing
As they pen it and shout, I am seeking thy peace
For the blood made by death and life, spirit within me
Missed me come to my Father, my wondering to cease
Let the sun shine again, let the blast bloom again
Spare the embers of love in my heart
Holy Spirit reproduce, then embrace me again
Let the sun shine again in my heart
The last, glory come now again for forgiveness and blessing
As they pen it and shout, I am seeking thy peace
For the blood made by death and life, spirit within me
reading let's turn our Bibles to Matthew chapter 13 we will be reading 1 verse 1
to 33 so follow along silently silently with me as I read Matthew chapter 13
beginning in verse number 1 the same day when Jesus out of the house and sat by
the seaside and great multitudes were gathered together unto him so that he
went into a ship and said and the whole multitude stood on the shore and he
speak many things unto them in parable saying behold a sower went forth to
soul and when he sold some seeds fell by the wayside and the false came and
devoured them up some fell upon Sony places where they had not much earth and
forthwith they sprung up because they had no deepness of earth and when the
Sun was up they were scorched and because they had no root they withered
away and some fell among thorns and the thorns sprung up and choked them but
other fell into good ground and brought forth fruit some 100 fold some 60 fold
some 30 fold who have ears to hear let him hear and his disciples came and said
unto him why speakest thou unto them in parables he answered said unto them
because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven but
to them it is not given for whosoever hath to him shall be given he and and he
shall have more abundance but whosoever hath not from him shall be taken away
even that he had therefore speak I to them in parables because they see
and see not and hearing they hear not neither do they understand and in them
is fulfilled the prophecy of Zayas which saith by hearing you shall hear and
shall not understand and seeing you shall see and shall not perceive for
this people's heart is wax rose and their ears are dull of hearing and their
eyes they have closed less at any time they should see with their eyes and hear
with their ears and should understand with their heart and should be converted
and I should heal them but that's a darker eyes for they see and your ears
for they hear for very I say unto you that many prophets and righteous men
have desired to see those things which you see and have not seen them and to
hear those things which he hear and have not heard them hear ye therefore the
parable of the sober when anyone hear of the word of the kingdom and understand
it if not then come the wicked one and catch it away that which was sown in his
heart this is he which received seed by the wayside but he that received the
seed into stony places the same is he that hear of the word and an on with joy
receive it yet has he not root in himself but jurid for a while for when
tribulation of persecution arises because of the word by and by he is
offended he also that received seed among the thorns is he that hear of the
word and the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choked the word
and he become if unfruitful verse number 23 but he that received seed into the
good ground is he that hear of the word and understand it if which also bear
fruit and bring it forth some 100 some 60 and some 30 let's pray dear ever
father we ask Lord that you bless our pastor as he preaches to us a sermon I
pray that you would fill in with Holy Spirit Lord and keep us attentive with
the sermon Lord we're asking all these things who love you in Jesus name we
one thing I forgot to mention the announcements we do have a baptism after
the service and so the water's ready if anybody wants to be baptized so as I'm
doing the closing prayer after I get done preaching before the last song if
you're a man you can go to the men's restroom there to change for a woman you
get the woman's restroom and change in the water is ready so after this service
will have a baptism for anyone else who wants to get baptized now we're here in
Matthew 13 and this chapter is very famous for being a chapter about
parables and there are a lot of parables or a lot of stories here in Matthew
chapter 13 where Jesus trying to illustrate various truths and this is
probably the most famous one the parable of the sower it's a very famous parable
and it's a very important parable and in the sermon you know this is mentioned in
Matthew Mark and Luke and we're gonna be going back and forth between those three
gospels to see how it words it in the other gospels so we're in Matthew 13 but
later on actually here in a second we're gonna get a mark for and you can keep a
bookmark there or a pencil because we're gonna be turning back and forth and also
Luke 8 so before we get into Matthew 13 just turn to Mark 4 let me show you that
this is a very very important parable in the Bible here Mark chapter 4
Mark chapter 4 notice what says here in verse 10 Mark 4 verse 10 and when he was
alone they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable and he
said unto them unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God
but unto them that are without all these things are done in parables that seeing
they may see and not perceive and hearing they may hear and not understand
lest at any time they should be converted and their sins should be
forgiven them and he said unto them know ye not this parable and how then will
ye know all parables and what Jesus says here in Mark 4 is that if you do
not understand this parable how are you gonna understand the rest of the
parables and I think a large reason why saying this is because of the fact this
parable it's not a salvation parable it's about us going out and sowing the
word and going so winning and it's about people actually lasting and enduring in
the Christian life which is only the last group in that story but what I
would say is that you know if you don't have a strong understanding of
salvation you're gonna be very confused which of these four actually get saved
and the thing is when you first get saved what you really need to learn and
understand is salvation memorize verses on salvation understand the passages you
don't have to worry about the book of Daniel when you first get saved you need
to worry about the book of John write the book of Romans you need to understand
salvation very strongly and if you don't understand salvation strongly you're
gonna have trouble understanding the rest of the Bible right I'll just tell
you right up front which of these four are saved the first everybody agrees is
not saved they do not believe the last everybody agrees is saved and the second
and third are also saved and it's very clear the second third and fourth in
this parable are actually saying people say well the last or say because they
bear fruit they endure you don't have to endure or bear fruit to prove you're
saved you've got to believe and the second third and fourth they all believe
but they don't all last in terms of being a godly Christian their entire
lives okay go back to Matthew 13 Matthew 13 and I would say that this this
parable is a good litmus test to see whether somebody is saved so for example
if you were to show this parable to someone and they say well only the last
are saved it's like well why are you saying only the last are saved well
they're the only ones that bear fruit they're the only ones that endure it's
like do you think you have to endure to be saved do you think you have to bear
fruit because I believe salvation is by faith alone whether or not you endure or
not and so you know and it could be somebody saved and they just you know
maybe they're kind of newer they've heard a lot of false preaching they
don't have a strong understanding but it's kind of like if you don't get this
parable then how are you gonna get the rest because this is very basic with
salvation we understand it's by faith alone there is no guarantee you're gonna
have good works and in fact we have the second and the third group that do
believe but they don't end up enduring with having good works and in serving
God their whole lives let's go verse by verse here Matthew 13 verse 1 the same
day when Jesus out of the house and sat by the seaside and great multitudes were
gathered onto them so that he went into a ship and sat and the whole multitude
stood on the shore and he spake many things unto them in parables saying
behold a sower went forth to sow and when he sowed some seeds fell by the
wayside and the fowls came and devoured them up so you know farmers going out to
sow seed and a few of the the grains I mean a few of them just kind of fall by
the wayside he doesn't actually throw them in the grass or throw them in the
ground they just kind of fall along the way and of course they fall in a spot
where they're not going to end up bringing forth anything right they just
fall on the roadside or something like that and of course you know nothing's
gonna happen except the fowls are gonna come and just eat it up right then it
says in verse 5 some fell upon stony places where they had not much earth and
forthwith they sprung up because they had no deepness of earth and when the
Sun was up they were scorched and because they had no root they withered
away now in these first nine verses he is stating the parable and when his
followers ask him about the parable then he's going to explain so first we're
just looking at what he said we have the benefit of the fact he explained this
parable so we can very much understand this parable I'm not a farmer I'm not an
expert at this stuff but you know obviously you're not going to be
planting where there's very little grass and where there's a lot of rocks you're
going to go to an area that's fertile ground you know that that can produce
something good here though it's like that it goes in the area where there's
not much earth and it's in the stony places and what's the result I mean it's
going to spring up and what's going to happen because there's no root within
the ground it withers away when it says they had no root it does not say they
did not have the Holy Spirit of God inside of them you have to understand
about parables that parables are given and parables are trying to bring forth a
truth that doesn't mean you take every little word and phrase in the parable
and try to apply it in some way because the parable is trying to bring forth the
truth and say well you know they had no root what's the roots it's not referring
to the Holy Spirit it's a parable restating that when you're going to be
planting you better go to an area where they can get rooted and grounded in the
ground right just like we get rooted in church verse number seven and some fell
among thorns and the thorns sprung up and choke them and so obviously you
know you don't want to be sowing seed amongst a bunch of thorns but other fell
into good ground and brought forth fruit some in hundredfold some sixtyfold some
thirtyfold who hath ears to hear let him hear this is the parable and whenever
you have a parable that stated you know if you just read the parable people can
interpret it a variety of different ways because it's not necessarily clear what
he's saying now there's other parables that he does not explain and you know
honestly people could have different opinions on some of the things that are
being said a lot of times heresy comes from trying to take parables to teach
doctrine and it's not a good idea because you're hearing a story and you
might get the wrong idea about what he's trying to bring forth this parable is a
bit different because he's going to explain it to us so it's not really in
the gray area he actually explains what he's saying go to verse 18 verse 18
verse number 18 and says here in Matthew 13 verse 18 hear ye therefore the
parable of the sower when anyone hearth the word of the kingdom and understandeth
it not then cometh the wicked one and catch the way that which was sown in his
heart this is he which received seed by the wayside when we are going out
soul-winning what we're doing is just selling the seed of the Word of God
right we give people the Word of God we explain the gospel and you know quite
honestly there's some people out there that you could give them the gospel and
anyone could give it to them and they're not going to get saved right maybe they
listen to it but they just do not get saved and a lot of people that we talk
to you know what we give them the Word of God and guess what they don't believe
it right they don't get saved and what takes place when they do not get saved
well the devil is going to try to take away that which is sown in his heart so
we give people the gospel we really want to persuade them to get saved right then
and there because if they don't get saved right then and there it's quite
likely they're not going to get saved later on down the road I mean they're
hearing the gospel then we might never give them the gospel again and then
maybe a couple weeks later you know Satan has just distracted them in their
life where they don't care anymore right go to Mark 4 Mark chapter 4 I mean
you see examples in the book of Acts with you know Felix you would see the
example of Agrippa where it's like a convenient season all seek for thee it's
almost thou persuadest and as far as we know those men never got saved even
though they heard the Word of God right another way to look at this is to just
think about in a secular sense okay and I'll just use this as an example I am
not like this hardcore organic only person I do believe that there's some
good principles to it but I'm it's not really a big thing to me but I've
watched documentaries on just like eating naturally and non-organic food
and when you watch those documentaries it scares you like you're afraid to eat
anything unless it's like 100% natural and when it scares you you're thinking
in your head maybe I should make a change or maybe you watch a documentary
on drinking coca-cola and you get scared man I should never drink a coke ever
again but here's the thing if you don't make that change immediately you're
probably never going to make it that not true I mean I've heard things in my life
where you're thinking man maybe I should do something about it but you decide not
to it's not like a week down the road it's more fresh in your mind where
you're gonna make the change it's either you do it then or you're not going to
and when we give people the gospel it's like if they don't get saved when we
give them the gospel who thinks Agrippa got saved later in his life probably
nobody almost out persuadest and yet he did not cross over he probably never did
right I hope I'm wrong but I'm just saying based on what the Bible says I
doubt he ever got saved right and so it's very important we give the gospel
to try to get him saved then and there if possible obviously we cannot force
them to get saved but we're trying to persuade them to believe on Christ mark
4 verse 15 and these are they by the wayside where the word is sown but when
they have heard Satan cometh immediately and taketh away the word that was sown
in their hearts notice that the Bible says Satan taketh away the word when
immediately so when we give the gospel immediately Satan is trying to take that
word out of their hearts so basically there's no hope right so just imagine
that you throw seed on the ground in a stony place and then all of a sudden
right when you walk away a bird has already come down and just stolen the
seed that is what the Bible is actually stating and the reality is that we are
in a spiritual fight and Satan is trying to do everything he can to prevent
people from getting saved and so if they don't get saved then and there there is
a good chance the word is just going to be removed by the devil and they're not
going to get saved go to Luke chapter 8 Luke 8 now look there are exceptions to
this and quite honestly I'm a bit of an exception because when I heard the
gospel I got saved an hour later and so it's still fresh in my mind I went home
because I was I was there we were studying for for college science class
and you know I was thinking about it and then I went home and my roommate was
gone I thought about it and I was like you know what I believe this and I know
somebody from college that heard the gospel and one week later he ended up
getting saved right I know someone else that I gave the gospel to and he didn't
get saved when I talked to him he got saved a few hours later but you know I
also know with the person that got saved a few hours later in between those few
hours he said that he almost died in a car crash and it scared him so much and
he's just like I believe right so it's kind of like God was working to get him
saved before Satan could remove that from you know his mind in his heart right
because there is a spiritual battle that we don't see that we don't fully
perceive or understand but it is out there and the Bible is telling us this
in this passage Luke 8 verse 12 those by the wayside are they that hear then
cometh the devil and taketh away the word out of their hearts lest they
should believe and be saved people get saved because they believe in their
heart on the Lord Jesus Christ this is a decision you make you hear it and you
make the decision do I believe it or do I reject it what the Bible says is Satan
can remove that word from their hearts and then if they do believe lest they
should believe and be saved if they believe down the road they get saved if
you if somebody believes and get saved God can't or Satan cannot remove that
word after they've gotten saved but if they have not gotten saved Satan can
remove that word the Bible says turn your Bible to Matthew 13 Matthew 13
the first group is not controversial at all I've never heard anybody suggest
that the first group is safe as far as I know no matter what denomination no
matter what religion like everybody agrees within Christendom that the first
group did not get saved it literally says they did not believe they did not
get saved they heard the word of God but one thing that it teaches us is that not
everybody we talked to is going to get saved there are plenty of people that we
talk to and we give them the gospel and they hear it and they just don't believe
it right I talked to a man yesterday by the name of Eiffel and I gave him the
gospel and he heard the gospel and you know he didn't believe it I asked about
ten minutes in I was like what do you personally believe he's like well I
think you need to be good it's like well that's not what the Bible says it's not
that's not what I'm showing you right but he didn't believe it and they're
gonna be people that we give the gospel to and they're sometimes they're not
necessarily rejecting it but they're not necessarily embracing it they don't
necessarily believe it maybe they're just not sure I'm positive that in this
room there's people that heard the gospel and when you heard it you're just
like you know I'm not sure if I believe that or not and it took a little bit of
persuading to get you to cross over and to believe on Christ so there are people
that we talked to that are not going to get saved Jesus talked to people that
did not get saved Paul talked to people that did not get saved and it shows us
that when we talk to people some will believe and some will reject Matthew 13
verse 20 let's look at the second group of people Matthew 13 verse 20 and
remember this is Jesus explaining the parable okay but he that received the
seed into stony places the same as he that heareth the word and anon with joy
receiveth it so what does it say this group does it receives the word with joy
let me ask you a question what do you have to do to be saved receive him
doesn't it say that in John 1 12 and I get it that's not usually the
terminology we use because when people say you got to receive Jesus as your
Savior people can mean a lot of things by that but that is completely biblical
and correct terminology as many as received him to them gave me power to
become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name I'm always
specific with people you got to believe on Jesus because it's more clear but
saying receive Jesus is actually correct it's the correct statement receive Jesus
Christ as many as received him you don't have to gladly receive Jesus to be saved
you don't have to receive Jesus with joy to be saved you just have to receive him
and we get some people saved and they're not that thankful for it now the Bible
tells us you don't have to turn there but in acts 2 it says they that gladly
received his word were baptized you know that tells you there are people that
receive the word not gladly that did not get baptized see a lot more than 3,000
got saved in acts 2 because those are simply the ones that received the word
with gladness and got baptized but a lot of people heard it and received it but
without gladness because a lot of people we get saved do not get baptized right
and so receiving the word with gladness or joy I believe those are synonymous
and what is stating is someone who actually does something after they
receive it where they actually want to make some changes in their life you know
a lot of people we get saved have no interest in going to church after they
get saved they have no interest in making any changes after they get saved
and they are perfectly happy to die and go to heaven and not care that much
about their lost loved ones I've had times where I gave the gospel and I
remember getting this man saved and I was giving him the gospel and his wife
was like walking back and forth in the background like doing something outside
as they gave him the gospel and I asked him afterwards I said hey is you know is
that your wife and he's like yeah that's my wife I was like do you think she'd be
interested in hearing this he's like I don't know she's busy I was like don't
you want her to hear you know about what it takes to get to heaven he's just like
yeah I just don't think she listened I was like why don't we give it a shot and
he's just like ah you know maybe some other time I'm just thinking you don't
really seem like you care that much about your wife right I mean it's like
you're not even gonna because I remember when I got saved I immediately was
worried about what about my family right what about my parents what about
my sister what about my friends do they understand this do they believe this but
see you see here's the thing you're in this room right now and you're actually
serving God and trying to make changes and it's easy for us to assume that
since we did that that everybody does that but that's not the case a lot of
people get saved with very little love in their heart and they don't really
care that much about other people now that wasn't the case with me that wasn't
the case with you but realize very few Christians actually become soul winners
there was actually something inside of you that wanted to serve God but there's
others that get saved and they just don't care that much but that doesn't
mean that they're not saved because what do you have to do to be saved receive
them as many as received him the Bible says and the Bible says that they
receive the word and they not only receive it they receive it with joy see
in this parable it doesn't give us every situation because there's those that
just don't want to hear don't listen and there's plenty that receive the Word of
God without joy without gladness they don't care that much but this second
group of people they receive the word with joy verse 21 yet hath he not rooted
himself but dirth for a while once again when it says hath not rooted himself
that's not saying does not have the Holy Spirit in himself doesn't say that what
is the parable about the parables about somebody getting saved in the last
groups the only one serving God and what's the secret well one thing is you
better get rooted down into the ground and here's the reality there's people
that get saved but they're not deeply rooted in the things of God and it does
not take much to get him to quit church and quit serving God because it says yet
hath he not ruin himself but dirth for a while for when tribulation or
persecution arises because of the word by and by he is offended isn't it true
that a lot of people when persecution comes just quit on the Christian race I
mean when when I lived in Sacramento and we had the protest a decade ago there are
a lot of people to quit the church large number of people quit the church you say
why because there's persecution now none of them said we're quitting the church
but when 40 people quit a church it's like well you know I just you know I've
never really believed this it's like you've been with us for three years
going so what do you mean you've never really believed this it's like you're
you're quitting because of the persecution you're afraid right now I
hope that would not be the case for people in this room but the reality is
that there are people that quit due to persecution isn't it true that there are
people that would get saved and they don't start coming to church because
they're worried about their Catholic family that's true with a lot of people
we get saved they're worried about their Catholic family or maybe there's people
that are saved and they love our church online only though I mean they
absolutely love it online in fact right now I can think of a lot of names of
people that really love our church that I've is and a lot of them I've never met
in real life but online they love our church they love it they reshare the
sermon and praise God reshare the servants I'm glad you like the post and
stuff but you live 30 minutes from here why don't you come to church because
you're worried about the persecution that your relatives are going to give
you and many times they're worried about the persecution it's like well you know
if I leave the Bible Baptist Church here's the thing I have a lot of friends
in the Bible Baptist Network it's like well it is what it is I mean this room
is filled full of people that used to go to a Bible Baptist Church is that not
true over half the people in this room and some of you come from a long
distance you say why because it's different because we're clear on
salvation we're zealous preaching the truth but this is the reality a lot of
people they don't link up with the church like this why persecution look if
you start serving God you will have some persecution I mean when I look at the
people that I was friends with before I was saved I mean other than the two
people that I met in college right before I got saved that were already
saved that helped get me saved it's like everyone else I'm not friends with today
and honestly I did not try to separate from them I tried to bring them up but
it's like when I'm starting to talk about the Bible and I don't want to
watch the same movies they do anymore it's kind of like okay you're different
that's just the way that it is right I mean when you decide to start serving
God it's like a lot of people just aren't going to want to be around you
because you're a different person now but you know here's the thing about this
we don't live in a Muslim country where you have to worry about being killed for
linking up with Jesus Christ we don't live in India where some Hindus gonna
burn you to death we don't have that persecution here in the Philippines we
can freely preach the Word of God we don't have to worry and all you get is
people that might make fun of you or people that distance themselves from you
that is a very light affliction that we have in this country turn your Bible to
mark 4 mark 4 mark chapter 4
and you know is this not something we see in the Bible I mean think about Peter who was a
great man who's probably going to get a lot more awards than any of us in this
room but here's the reality it's like you know he was afraid and when
persecution came what happened he bailed and it wasn't just him I mean he's the
one that's really highlighted but they all bailed on Jesus they're all afraid
of the persecution and the reality is during times of persecution there's some
people that just say hey I didn't sign up for this I want to serve God with no
persecution no problems everybody loves me everything's going great my life and
yet the Bible says yay and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution look you will be persecuted for the cause of Christ if you're
serving God but I'm just here to tell you that here in the Philippines I mean
it's a pretty light affliction there's not a lot of persecution we preach the
Word of God and we don't have to worry about it we don't have to go so winning
undercover we go so winning and preach the gospel and the worst that happens is
they just ask you leave there's very little persecution that actually comes
here in the Philippines I mean I'll just give an example I mean on on Friday a
couple days ago we're filming for the documentary I did videos inside the
Catholic Church in Pampanga and I was just thinking what's the worst that can
happen they're gonna ask me to leave they didn't ask me to leave so we made
some videos right but I'm just saying it's like it's a light persecution I
wasn't now here's the thing if I lived in a country where they would actually
arrest me and kill me I probably wouldn't have done it but I was like
there's really not much to lose here not much is gonna happen nobody's gonna
execute you nobody's gonna throw you in prison I mean you can go so winning and
you don't really have to worry it's perfectly fine right mark chapter 4
verse 16 and these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground who when
they have heard the word immediately receive it with gladness remember they
that gladly received his word were baptized so these are people that are
excited and you know you could think of people you got saved that came to church
or you can think of people that you got saved that after you got them saved
they said something that just kind of showed you how much they care like thank
you so much for explaining this to me I did not know this right and those are
always the ones that kind of motivate you to keep going as a soul winner it's
very encouraging right then the Bible says this in verse 17 and have no root
in themselves and so endure but for a time afterward when affliction or
persecution arises for the word's sake immediately they are offended now I mean
here's the thing about this if somebody's excited about the things of
God that does not really tell you whether or not they're rooted in the
things of God a lot of people get very excited but the question is are you
reading the Bible on a daily basis because the thing is if you're not daily
reading the Bible and have a daily walk with God you can be very excited but you
could also be very easily rooted out of the ground
so pastor I love this church why don't you get your roots even deeper in the
things of God by reading the Bible by memorizing the Bible because it's going
to get you to really actually last in the Christian life you know if you're
someone who's like well you know what I'm excited it's great but you're never
reading the Bible you know you're you don't have a personal walk with God you
are very likely to get rooted out of the ground right and the Bible says during
persecution because the thing is I mean you don't know when you're going to be
persecuted and so the thing is if you don't get your roots down deep you're
not going to be ready doesn't Jesus speak about in the Sermon on the Mount
that when the storm comes and it's going to happen all it's like some houses fold
and some last you say what's the difference those that were actually
prepared for that storm and you better prepare for the storms and persecutions
that might come in your life go to Luke 8 Luke 8 look I don't think there's any
question from what we've looked at of this second group of people that they're
saved nothing about that they change their beliefs nothing about you know
anything like that that they're here it just says that they quit doing during
persecution a lot of people quit during persecution it's something in the Bible
people quit when times get tough doesn't mean that they're not saved they receive
the word I mean why would we doubt that now it's very clear in Matthew and Mark
the the verse that's disputed is in Luke and I will explain to you what this
verse is talking about but I think the reason why people question this one is
because when you look at Matthew Mark and Luke with the parable of the sower
which one of those three gospels has the most famous version of the parable the
sower Luke there's not a question when people will preach on the parable of the
sower they will almost always go to the book of Luke I do too it's my favorite
version of it and it's the one where it's a bit confusing with this second
group of people it's not confusing in Matthew and Mark but it's like before we
form doctrines let's look at what it says in the other gospels to see what it
says before we form an opinion right Luke 8 verse 13 they and the rock are
they which when they hear receive the word with joy and these have no root
which for a while believe in a time of temptation fall away so let's look at
the part before the semicolon okay they and the rock are they which when they
hear hear what they hear the gospel they hear the Word of God it's sown in
their hearts from a soul winner that came they receive the word with joy now
if we were to stop at the semicolon let me ask you are these people saved yes
as many as received him they received him I mean the Bible is not tricky they
received him I mean what else is there to dispute they receive the word with
joy and it says and these have no root well that's consistent with what we've
seen earlier being rooted and grounded in the things of God and it says which
for a while believe in a time of temptation fall away now this phrase
which for a while believe it is a confusing phrase if you're to take that
by itself I can understand people being confused but here's what I want us to
understand this is not a parable about salvation it's Jesus giving examples of
the person that's actually going to be a really great Christian their entire life
he's trying to tell say people hey this is how you last in the Christian race
and it's only the last group the first doesn't even get saved the second and
the third don't last but they are saved the last are the ones that actually
endure now when he says which for a while believe let me ask you does that
say which for a while believe the gospel no it doesn't it's just something people
assume that it's referring to it's like well why would you assume that because
before the semicolon is the salvation now we're moving on which for a while
believe it doesn't say which for a while believe the gospel here here's the thing
if you get saved you're saved forever and you are never going to call God a
liar the Bible says a safe person is never going to become a Muslim say
person is never going to become a Hindu now maybe they're afraid of their family
and they would just like pretend it's like oh yeah I'm still Muslim in reality
they believe but a safe person is not going to change their religion I mean if
you're believe you believe forever you're saved and but the thing is that
doesn't guarantee that you're rooted and ground in the things of God now here's
the thing they receive the word with joy and when we cross reference in acts to
those that gladly receive the word get baptized where do you get baptized
usually in church right you come to church so generally if somebody's
getting baptized there's someone who just started joining the church or just
came to church and they're just trying to get involved in church and let me ask
you a question what takes place when you start coming to a church like this you
start changing your mindset you start changing your goals you change a lot of
your beliefs you change your stances you make a lot of changes don't you if you've
been with our church for a long time there's probably a lot of stuff that
you've changed being a part of our church but let's say for example you
left this church due to persecution and quit going to church guess what a lot of
the things you started to believe when you came to this church they are just
going to fade out you believe for a while and when time gets tough you just
kind of fade out it's like well you know it's like if we got protested by the
LGBT well you know I never really thought that pastor should have been
preaching against the LGBT like that so you believe for a while and in time of
temptation or cross-referencing time of persecution you just kind of fade out of
it that's what it's actually saying here in Luke chapter 8 it's not confusing in
Matthew or Mark but I would just say that they received the word I mean they're
saved all you have to do to be saved is receive the word but here's the thing if
you start serving God you're gonna start making some changes in your life now
that is not a guarantee for everyone that receives the word but if you
receive it with joy the indication is you're starting to make some changes
here's the thing if you start going to church and hearing the word of God and
reading the Bible you're going to make a lot of changes but what if you just
stop reading the Bible and stop coming to church you're going to start to go
back to your old beliefs and you're going to change your stances again that
is what takes place and it's true for anybody in this room look if I left
church and never came back and never read the Bible and you were to start
talking to me five years from now you'd be like whoa you're like a completely
different person because you start serving God and you become like a new
man right you're like a completely different person what happens if all the
sudden you stop you start going back to how you were before that's the reality
and so during persecution a lot of people quit it's like well I never
believed this anyway there are a lot of people at our church in Sacramento that
during the persecution after they left it's like well you know hey I still love
everyone but it's like I never really believed this it's like you were with
this for years like what are you talking about right but they're afraid due to
the persecution instance the thing is since people want to make excuses for
leaving due to persecution they want to actually change because of the fact they
want to have an excuse and so people say well I never really believed it it's
like well and then you can kind of convince yourself that's true over time
and then you will actually change turn your Bible to Matthew 13 Matthew 13
Matthew 13
and you know what one thing I've learned through the years is that somebody being
excited really gives no indication if they're gonna stick around I I still
remember this guy that visited the church in Sacramento a long time ago
when we were there and you know he was moving to town looking for a church and
after the morning servicemen he's excited he's like man this is exactly
what I've been looking for it's like King James only salvation by grace
through faith soul winning he's like man and he's so excited never saw that guy
ever again right I look forward to seeing him in heaven but it's like never
gonna see that guy ever again right and I have other stories that I can tell but
it's like you know someone being very excited doesn't really guarantee whether
or not they're gonna last yeah there's other people that get saved and you
don't necessarily think that they're you know gonna get on fire for God then they
just start coming to church and they're just kind of sitting through listening
and learning and making major changes and it's like it surprises you you do
not always know Matthew 13 verse 22 he also that received seed among the thorns
is he that here at the word and the care of this world and the seafoodness of
riches choke the word and he become it unfruitful the Bible mentions this third
group of people that hear the word they receive seed among the thorns but the
deceitfulness of riches and the cares of this world it actually chokes it so it
becomes unfruitful now let me say a few things about fruits before I move on
ok in the Bible fruit can represent different things and one thing you can
represent is getting people say the Bible says the fruit of the righteous is
a tree of life and he that when it's souls is wise as a safe person it's like
I can produce other safe people I can give the gospel and people get saved
from faith to faith that's how people get saved right now the Bible also talks
about the fruits of the spirits first the spirit or love joy peace on
suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance and what the Bible
showing you is that if you are filled with the Holy Spirit and right with God
what you're going to exhibit in your life is love joy peace long-suffering
gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance right but a lot of people try
to liken the fruit to always referring to your works so kind of like if you're
really saved then you're gonna have good works you're gonna have fruits well
first off what do you mean by that because certainly a lot of say people
never get anybody saved and when you're saying good works here's what's kind of
foolish about that if you're really saved you're gonna have good works I did
good works before I was saved do you realize that I mean look before I was
saved I had joy in my life sometimes I had peace I love I understand it's not
the same as the peace that passeth all understanding but it's not like well
before I was saved man I just wanted to just you know hurt people and you know
run over animals and just scream and just throw stuff and do drugs it's like
no before I was saved I was nice I was polite I mean people do good works
before they're saved too so it's like well if you're really saved you're gonna
have good works I mean unless you're a reprobate you have good works before
you're saved too so what are you what are you talking about right and when the
Bible here is talking about he become with unfruitful it is referring to not
getting people saved because the Bible is saying hey you want to be a soul
winning Christian your entire life here is the formula right and here's the
thing if you are choked with the cares and riches and pleasures of this life
then you are not going to be a fruitful tree if you're so distracted with the
things going on in this life it is going to prevent you from actually
serving God and accomplishing something big in your life okay go to mark 4 mark
4 but there's no reason for us to question whether they're saved just
because they become unfruitful because most saved people never do anything for
God that's just the way that it is they just don't understand what the fruit is
here in Matthew chapter 13 and I would say this you know the Bible speaks about
having you know the sins and the weights in the book of Hebrews and it's like lay
aside the sandwich thoughts so easily beset us it also talks about the weight
in a weight and a sin is not the same thing the idea of a weight is not
something that's sinful where you're transgressing the law but it's something
that's basically like a distraction in your life you know if something that is
not necessary there are a lot of hobbies that we can have that are not sinful and
not wrong and they can be good things in their proper time and place maybe like
to work out maybe like to watch documentaries maybe like to read or
write poems or whatever right and those things can be good in their proper place
but the thing is if you're spending hours and hours and hours on these
things every single day doesn't really give you a whole lot of time to read the
Bible and meditate on God's Word day and night does it and so the thing is if
you're so focused on the things of this world you're just not going to be that
fruitful because you have too many distractions in your life right says
here in March 4 verse 18 and these are they which are sown among thorns such as
hear the word and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches
and the lusts of other things entering in choke the word and it become it
unfruitful now it's interesting that it uses the terminology of choke
and so look I don't I'm not advocating like MMA or the UFC I mean there's a lot
of sports I don't think there's really anything wrong with watching them
obviously with MMA with like the ring girls in the atmosphere and what they
say it's probably not the best of the sports to watch as a Christian but if
you disagree that's fine but it gives a good example here because generally in
other sports you're not choking someone right if you're choking someone in
basketball or something then you're Draymond Green right you're getting
kicked out or suspended or whatever right but in terms of like MMA it's like
you know you Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a choke is a pretty common way to end a
fight right submissions and when I was younger when I was in college me and my
friends you know we didn't I didn't train jiu-jitsu but we looked at the
moves you know because they have things on YouTube you can watch and we would
practice them and maybe you've seen it in the fight or you've had it somebody's
like kind of choking you and when someone first starts choking you you're
really fighting and you have energy against it and then after a couple
seconds you start losing your strength as the oxygen is being cut off right
the worst I've experienced is like a triangle choke it immediately cuts off
all your air I mean it's it's amazing within like a couple seconds it's like
tap it's like I can't breathe it's like tap right but the thing is this is what
all of these unnecessary things in our lives can be like they can basically
just like choke out your energy to actually do something for God where it's
like you know you should do something and you're excited but all of your
energy is being zapped because it's just choking it out of you and you just don't
really accomplish much for God and the Bible is saying that if you put all of
these distractions in your life it's gonna stop you you're not gonna become
fruitful why because it's fighting against you and so if you want to be
successful you know what you should probably try to do get rid of
distractions just be more devoted to the things of God and have less distractions
in your life go to Luke chapter 8 Luke 8 Luke 8 what one of the great examples I
think about and I mean this as a complete compliment and everybody who's
here knows this is true that has been with our church when when brother
Mateus was here at our church I was amazed at how brother Mateus is just like fully
focused on the Bible because there's a lot of things that talk about famous
names of people and it's like he didn't know who they were I'm thinking what I
was like you don't know who that is and it's just like because he's very focused
on just reading the Bible and going soul-winning and that's probably why
he's a very fruitful tree and the church in Poland's a big success because he's
just very focused on the things of God and honestly it's something was like man
I need to use that as an example because you know he is like completely focused
on that he's like hey I have a goal I want to start a church one day I want to
be used by God and man he's being used by God in a great way you say why
because of the fact he doesn't have all these other things entering into his
life distracting him and maybe you don't have a desire to be a pastor and that's
fine but do you have a desire to be a very fruitful tree and if you have a
desire to be a very fruitful tree one of the things that can greatly help you
is to put aside the distractions from your life that are not that important
it's not always things that are sinful that you should get rid of there are a
lot of things in life that are not sinful but they're just kind of in the
way and as I said everything in its proper place in time I mean I'm not
saying you have to read the Bible 24-7 I have hobbies and things I like to do
you know sometimes in life you're just like man I gotta kind of make a bit of a
change because I'm spending too much time on this right Luke 8 verse 14 and
that which fell among thorns are they which when they have heard go forth and
are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no
fruit to perfection and you know honestly this is kind of the life verse
of most safe people they're choked with the cares and riches and pleasures now
there are people that quit due to persecution for me personally I feel
like I've been persecuted before I feel like if I ever faded out it would be
more likely due to the cares and riches and pleasures of this life kind of like
Demas Demas was a great man but Demas hath forsaken me having loved this
present world and he was too focused on the things of the world and Demas just
kind of faded out from serving God now go in your Bible we'll go to Matthew 13
real quickly Matthew 13 Matthew chapter 13
parable to teach us that are serving God what a person would have to do to start
serving God and what could stop them but it's also a great thing for all of us to
remind ourselves isn't it I better make sure I'm very rooted in the things of
God because I don't know what persecution might come in the future I
don't know what's gonna happen in my life I mean I think I think that my
house is gonna stand if there's a storm but doesn't everybody think that you
don't really know me it's only revealed when the storm actually comes I mean I
don't think I'm gonna fade out due to the cares and riches and pleasures of
this life but it's possible for any of us it happened to Demas and so all of us
can hear a sermon like this and say hey I want to be the last group that
actually endures and does something great for God I better remind myself
that hey you know what I need to keep making the changes keep reading the
Bible keep digging down my roots deep because I want to last in the Christian
life Matthew 13 verse 23 but he that received seed into the good ground is he
that heareth the word and understandeth it remember the first group that did
not get saved they didn't understand the gospel the Bible says you know sometimes
you give the gospel to people and they they have trouble understanding that you
can believe and you're saved forever you don't have to go to confession you
don't have to get right with God at the end of your life I mean that's it you
just believe it's like no that's that's that can't be true but the fourth group
are they that hear the Word of God and they receive it they hear it they
understand it they believe it which also beareth fruits so using about this being
saved you receive the Word of God but this group is different because they
also do what they bear fruit right they also start accomplishing something big
and bring it forth some in a hundred fold some sixty some thirty now turn in
your Bible to someone Psalms is right in the middle of your Bible first chapter
Psalms chapter 1 let me turn there myself Psalms chapter 1 and there's
something I want to show you here in someone that can help clarify because a
hundred fold sixty thirty I think especially if somebody's new with with
church and newly saved it's something that they could probably be confused on
or not fully understand what the Bible is saying because notice what it says in
in Psalm 1 verse 1 blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the
ungodly nor standeth in the way of sinners nor sitteth in the seat of the
scornful but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law doth he
meditate day and night and he shall be he shall be like a tree planted by the
rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit notice this in his season his
leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever he do it shall prosper the
Bible speaks about bringing forth your fruit in your season I mean if you have
an apple tree you want it to produce apples every year right and you want it
to produce a lot of apples every year if you had an apple tree that produces two
apples per year over the course of 50 years it's really not that much two per
year or even if we produced a hundred apples in one year if that was it you'd
be a little bit disappointed because you put in work for the tree to be created
to begin with what do you want you want that tree to produce fruit every year
don't you when the Bible is saying a hundred and six hundred sixty thirty
it's not saying you get thirty people saving a lifetime and here's the thing
when I first got saved I assumed that because I didn't really know how to get
people saved I was trying my best and I was just thinking man if I can get just
you know one person saved per year and I do this for like you know my whole life
it's like man I maybe I can hit the thirty level maybe I could hit the sixty
level quite honestly my goal was to hit two because I figure not only do I
replicate myself I add to the work because it's like one more person than I
am right but that's because I didn't really understand how so many worked and
I didn't really have any training and I didn't really realize that you can
actually get a lot of people saved and here's the thing I mean obviously this
depends on what country you live in and in America depending on where you live
in America 30 can be a really good goal for a year I mean that can be very good
for someone who goes so winning on a weekly basis I mean 30 is a pretty good
number in some areas but I would say this that 30 in a year is is not as
impressive here in the Philippines as it is in Sacramento California you say why
because of the fact you can certainly get somebody saved if you're going so
winning on a weekly basis here in the Philippines is that not true 60 100 I
mean honestly a hundred in a lot of parts of the world is going to be very
difficult but in some parts of the world is a little bit different so obviously
here I mean honestly a hundred you could even set your goal bigger if you're if
you're going so winning on a regular basis obviously not everyone's able to
but some people go so winning on our Saturdays all day and if you're going so
winning all day on Saturdays and you're going so winning on Sundays you're
probably getting more than two people saved per week and the thing is two
people saved per week times 52 weeks taking a week off for Christmas and New
Year's it's like you got a hundred right and so the thing is if you're
getting more than two saved a hundred could actually be a logo okay and so of
course we need to look at the place in the location we live in but what the
Bible is saying is getting this many people saved on a yearly basis bringing
forth fruit bringing forth fruit bringing forth fruit just as you would
want a tree to do go to Mark 4 Mark 4 Mark chapter 4 Mark 4 verse 20 and it
says Mark 4 verse 20 in these are they which are sown on good ground such as
hear the word and receive it and bring forth fruit some 30 fold some 60 and
some 100 says basically the same thing now go to Luke chapter 8 and I will say
this that I think the reason why Luke has the most famous version is because
on the last group where it actually gives us the direct template of how to
serve God your entire life Luke tells us several points in this one verse whereas
the other ones don't really tell us all these things it just talks about
receiving the Word of God and bringing forth fruit but Luke 8 verse 15 it gives
us the direct things we need to do in order to bring forth fruit our entire
lives because that's what it's about thirty fold sixty fold a hundred per
season year after year after year after year well if you're here today that's
something that you should care about right because you're serving God now but
don't you want to serve God in ten years don't you want to serve God in 20 years
don't you want to serve God in 30 years don't you want to serve God in 40 years
now look there are people that have been doing this longer than me zealously
serving God but I've been weekly soul winning at the minimum for over 20 years
now so this is something that I've lasted a little while in the Christian
life and I can say this in Luke 8 verse 15 that this is very true because one of
the sad realities is over the course of 20 years I've seen a lot of people just
kind of fade out it happens and I I hope that's not the case with anyone in this
room but I'm not naive I mean the reality is that in a room full of this
many people I'm not preaching to two people or three people there are gonna
be people that fade out along the way either due to persecution or the cares
of this world or something similar it could happen to any of us and look it
could happen to me I've been doing it for two decades but I hope to do it for
another four decades I hope if God gives me the life however long I live that I'm
able to serve God until the end of my life and so this is something we always
must remind ourselves because we do not want to fade out along the way
Bible says in Luke 8 verse 15 but that on the good ground these are the people
that are very successful are they which in an honest and good heart now it's
very easy to just read over this and not think about which in an honest and good
heart having heard the word keep it and bring forth fruit with patience Bible
says here with an honest heart what does it mean to have an honest heart it means
that you're not lying to yourself you say what do you mean it means that when
you hear a sermon be honest with yourself if I preach on something and
you've got a major problem don't lie to yourself doesn't fix anything look if
I'm preaching against alcohol and you're a drunk it's like well you know and
you're giving every excuse it's like why are you lying to yourself the sermon is
meant to help you have an honest heart I mean if you're not reading the Bible and
I preach a sermon on reading the Bible have an honest heart with it just admit
to yourself I'm guilty I've messed up I need to make some changes and I'll be
honest with you know before I was a preacher and and even now when I preach
because you know I'm I'm kind of preaching to myself when I preach sermons
and I meditate upon this before I preach it I I know what I'm gonna be talking
about here's the thing I mean I just remember being in church and just when I
left it's like almost every single service I feel a bit guilty like I
should be doing a better job right I mean I felt like that pretty much every
service is like I could be doing better or then maybe you know the sermon
doesn't get you so much but then all of a sudden the closing song like is you're
all on the altar have I done my best for Jesus it's like nope it's like I got a
lot of work to do it's like have an honest heart and the reality is that all
of us we have a lot of sin and we have a lot of problems and so when the
preaching comes don't get mad at it be thankful you're hearing something that
can help change your life have an honest heart and if you're not willing to have
an honest heart with the message you're not going to last not because you're
going to find out changes you need to make if you are unwilling to make those
changes you're not going to last you have to have an honest heart to what
you hear the Bible also says have a good heart what's the difference between an
honest and a good heart an honest heart is the recognition and the admission of
guilt the good heart is actually making the change because I could preach a
sermon against drinking and someone could be like yeah you know what I am a
drunk but that doesn't mean that they're going to make the change right so have
an honest heart with yourself and make the change have a good heart to what you
have to hear right and having heard the word having heard the word is past tense
but every time you hear the word of God have an honest and good heart this is
the way our lives work throughout the years we're going to find out more
mistakes that we've made and more things that we need to change and we need to
have an honest heart and a good heart and correct it and look my life is the
same as yours I find out things every week it's like I need to be doing a
better job I'm failing at this what could I change have an honest and a good
heart having heard the word and then notice this keep it so what takes place
is you have an honest heart to the message you have a good heart meaning
you make the change this is every time you've heard the word every time you
hear the word of God preached every time you read the Bible and then when you
learn something new you have a good heart you make the change and then over
the course of the rest of your life you keep it you keep the change you've made
because there's a thing somebody could start coming to our church where their
entire life is just muggle low and messed up and so many problems but if
they just learn and apply everything they learn and keep it and a couple
years then they're gonna be a zealous and great Christian that's really
serving God right it's it's okay if people come to her obviously if somebody
starts coming to our church it's like you know a lot of the stuff is new
they're gonna have to learn a lot I mean you know obviously nobody in this room
knows me from when I was a lot younger but you should have seen me you know
when I was younger I mean even even you know somewhere out there is floating
around when I got baptized my hair is like not that short okay my hair doesn't
grow out long like this but it gets kind of curly and you can just kind of see me
with kind of curly hair and everything and it's just like we did that on the
soccer team in high school I just kind of kept it and then all of a sudden it's
like I was different and then I would wear you know just soccer shirts to
church normally Adidas soccer pants Adidas soccer shoes and you know I'm not
saying there's anything wrong with wearing those clothes they're just
clothes but you know as I started to get close to God I just wanted to make some
more changes in my life the music I listened to was just not good music the
movies I watched were just not good movies you say what do you do what'd you
do I slowly learned I admitted you know what hey I need to make a change and
then I had a good heart toward it and then I just kept what I heard and
obviously I'm still struggling on things I'm trying to get better and some things
some things you make the change and then all of a sudden it creeps back in right
and you got to readjust and do it again sometimes that that's the way it works
sometimes but this is a lifelong thing that we should be striving to do you say
why because I want to bring forth fruit with patience and patience is referring
to the fact that if you serve God for decades there's gonna be a lot of highs
and lows along the way aren't there be a lot of storms in life and if you're
gonna last and bring forth fruit with patience you must always hear the word
as much as possible have an honest heart to what you hear have a good heart
meaning make the change and then keep every single thing that you learn now
go back to Matthew 13 will close up Matthew 13 Matthew chapter 13
look it's it's possible for anyone of us to fade out due to the cares of this
world of persecution I remember someone who used to go to the church in
Sacramento and then all of a sudden he was very excited very zealous is a great guy
you know I don't know what's going on his life I hope he's serving God now but
he's excited he loves the preaching you know he starts going so winning I mean
he wants to make changes and it was great and I remember you know he's going
to everything and then all of a sudden he just wasn't there at church it's just
like oh you know brother so and so sick and then all of a sudden I remember you
know that night I got a phone call and I got a call from this guy and he talked
to me and he's like you know can can cuz we were kind of wondering like maybe
something happened we're gonna try to get in touch with him see if he's okay
and then all of a sudden he's just like can you tell pastor men is I'm not
gonna be back at church and of course I'm trying to encourage this guy on the
phone you know trying to encourage and say hey you know what's going on I mean
maybe I can help you I said hey can we you know grab lunch somewhere I'll talk
to you I understand I said man there's there's ups there's downs we all go
through it I understand he's just like I can't take it he's like my family is
just you know that they don't agree with the church they don't like the church
they don't like my beliefs that he's any he told me he's like I just can't take
the persecution and I tried to encourage him I've never seen that guy ever again
you know he called me on the phone and and you know I've just never seen him
ever again right now I'll be glad I'll see him again in heaven and I hope he
gets back on to start serving God but persecution can be something that can
cause us to fade out cause us to quit because we're afraid the cares of this
world those things certainly can creep in they're very dangerous the cares of
this world the riches the pleasures because it's very easy to just get
tempted with certain things and just kind of become less zealous and slowly
fade out and before you know it after a couple years you've gone a long ways so
we need to take heed to what the Bible says about bringing forth fruit with
patience Matthew 13 verse 10 we'll just close up verse 10 through 17 and the
disciples came and said on to him why speak us out that one of them in
parables he answered and said to them because it is given unto you to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven but to them it is not given for whosoever
hath to him shall be given and he shall have more abundance but whosoever hath
not from him shall be taken away even that he hath therefore speak out of them
in parables because they sing see not and hearing they hear not neither do
they understand and in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah would
say it by hearing you shall hear and shall not understand and seeing you
shall see and shall not perceive for this people's heart is waxed gross in
their ears are dull of hearing in their eyes they have closed lest at any time
they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and should understand
with their heart and should be converted and I should heal them so once a person
gets saved they can understand but before that they cannot understand but
blessed are your eyes for they see in your ears for they hear for verily I
say unto you that many prophets and righteous men have a desire to see those
things which ye see and have not seen them and to hear those things which ye
hear and have not heard them so I encourage you if you've never looked at
this parable before I mean this is a very important parable in the Word of
God if you do not understand this parable according to Jesus how are you
going to understand the rest of the parables because this is very
foundational because it's not a salvation parable but a lot of people
just liken it to salvation but it's important for us to understand it's
about you know what it takes actually last in the Christian life and actually
just have a firm understanding of what salvation is and what is that it's
receiving him receiving the Word of God you believe on him you're saved forever
it's that simple let's close the word of prayer your Heavenly Father thanks for
allowing us to be here today and just getting to see the scripture on this
topic God I ask you to help everybody in this room including myself help us to
serve your entire lives God help us to fight through persecutions help us to
just cast down the cares and riches and pleasures this life that can get in the
way God help us just to last and endure and be a zealous and fruitful tree in
our entire lives God we pray these things in Jesus name amen just a quick
reminder we do have a baptism here coming after the service so if you want
to be baptized you can just go change now we'll have the baptism after the
last song
for our last song please open your hymnal to hymn number 71 hymn number 71
there's a great day coming
the birds ready sing there's a great day coming a great day coming there's a
great day coming by and by when the saints and the cedars are departed right
and left are you ready for the day to come
are you ready are you ready are you ready for the judgment day are you
ready are you ready for the judgment day there's a bright day coming a bright
day coming there's a bright day coming by and by but it's bright come to them
that love the Lord are you ready for the day to come
are you ready are you ready are you ready for the judgment day are you
ready are you ready for the judgment day of the last there's a sad day coming a
sad day coming there's a sad day coming by and by when the cedars are where he's
on the part I know that are you ready for that day to come
are you ready are you ready are you ready for the judgment day are you
ready are you ready for the judgment day
I'm Roger Marvin can you lead us in a word of prayer
hey man we're no dismiss
you