The Sign of Jonah
First B Jackson
2022-03-20

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Well, good morning, church. Good to see you. Hey. What do you say we we read a psalm and we sing together? Would you would you stand with me?

And we'll start with this Psalm. It says, know that the Lord is God. It's he who made us, and we're his. We're the sheep of his pasture. Let's start by singing, made to worship.

To love. You and I forgiven and free. You and I embrace surrender when you would not choose to

y'all can have a seat. I've got a few announcements here. Actually, I've got a couple that didn't make it through the Email system to get to the person who puts these things up there too, so I don't want to forget those. Monday nights at first b.

Come hang That is colorful.

Just come hang out.

We're on meal music and message tomorrow. It's chicken pot pie and apple pie the The Pearson's are making for tomorrow. That sounds And then we are catching the last part of James, and James says, every good and perfect gift, it comes from God.

Last part of James one.

Last part

of James one. James one. Okay. Cool. That's good.

Yeah. Come hang out with music and a message on Monday night. Happening at the same time as Awana happens in this room. It's a great kids club. We are going to take a break for spring break but that is not this week.

That's the next couple of weeks. So, tomorrow night, Iwana is on. Bring em because kids matter to God. It's a good time. If you want the Email bulletins, please.

You can sign up for em yourself at firstbjackson.org or you can let us know, call in the office, or call in one of us and we'll get you hooked up. First, be in the Bible. We're in Luke right now. It's kind of an odd thing. I just did my blurb is next Monday.

So, I just did one and sent it in and I thought, I have preached through this chapter over the course of four weeks and now I have a paragraph and a half to do it. Again, but it's really good for us to, I think, to just consider God's words. I'm enjoying that every morning and weekday mornings in the inbox. If you want to be a part of it, let us know and we'll hook you up with the right person. There are couple of clipboards up here.

Here comes Nick Stern. Check and confirm your info, please. This is a rough draft for our church directory. He's going to have these going about and what do you do when you see a big picture and you know you're in the picture somewhere? What do you do?

You look at yourself. You can't help it. That's just the way we are. So if you will look through it and find your information and see if there's anything we need to add, take away, amend, change. It's really, really I'm seeing people I hadn't seen in so long.

I'm just filled this morning. That's just so awesome. Are y'all seeing that? We might do the shaky shake hand time just from a distance, okay? Candlelight vigil and prayer for Ukraine is going to be at Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church.

It's an ecumenical service. I can't promise you won't run into something that upsets you but I can say that if you go, it will be a blessing to be together with the family of God. So, if you would, I'm planning on being there Wednesday, March 23. That's this Wednesday, 06/30 at Our Lady of the Mountains, which is just a couple of blocks away from here, Caddy Cornered over there. Sound booth volunteers are needed.

This is specialized task, but Nick is in the back right there waving his hands and Blake is actually in the booth. If you would, we'd like to kind of fill this team out a little bit. Very very thankful for the guys who have been running it, Nick and Blake and Josh Griffith but we'd like to have another layer deep on our bench. So, if you let them know, I'd appreciate it. The if gathering that was here a few weeks ago, there is another manifestation of this happening May the sixth and the seventh.

You can register now at Bondurant Fellowship Bondurant Fellowship dot org or you can let us know and we'll we'll give you further information about that. It's going to be at Heart to Heart Ranch, May sixth and seventh. We know that one already. I think that's it. There's seems like there's one more.

There is one more. So, at Jackson Hole High School tomorrow night, I was asked to announce this and it kind of late coming in but there is going to be a holocaust survivor speaking, Estelle something. Sorry, I don't have more information than this but at the high school tomorrow night, Estelle, somebody that survived the Holocaust is going to be there. There's more information in my pocket right here, but I'll get that to you if you ask me about it, okay? Somebody just sent it to me this morning.

But, that should be, a very a time to increase our our empathy, I think, would be good. Casey. Okay, the same lady speaking tonight at the lodge at Jackson Hole at 6PM. Thank you very much. Only king forever.

Would you pray with me and then we'll stand and sing? God, thank you. Thank you so much, lord. That you are bigger and you are greater and that you are truly the only king that lasts forever. Lord, would you help us as we muddle through this life attempting lord daily to surrender our will to your will.

Would you show us sovereign God what it is and may we be your willing and obedient servants. Amen. Would you stand with us? We're going sing Only King Forever.

Unyielding soul. Stations rising far. Kingdoms, one strong now shaking. We trust forever and ever. We trust the name of Jesus.

Alright. Let's sing. I'll firm my foundation. I'll firm my foundation, you saints of the Lord. He's laid for your faith in his excellent work.

What more can he say than to you he

There's this prophecy from Isaiah 28 and says, therefore, this is what the sovereign lord says. Look. I'm placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. Thank you, Jesus, that you are that stone. It's a precious cornerstone.

It is safe to build on. I just want us to hear that this morning that Jesus is safe to build on steadfast and solid solid ground. Whoever believes need not be shaken. Thank you. You can have a seat here for a moment.

This is the worship through giving part of the service. I'll invite the ushers to come on for for we're gonna sing your words. And from Psalm one nineteen, it says this about God's word. It says, your word is a lamp to my feet. It is a light from my path.

Ray, would you pray?

God almighty, we're thankful this morning to be a part of the family of God. It's an amazing thing, lord. To as many as have believed, you have given the right to be called to children of God. That's mind blowing. Lord, thank you for your transforming power.

Thank you for your spirit's power. I pray, Lord, that we would operate under the power of the spirit, that we would humbly submit and that you would just move us about, lord, as you would have us to go. In Jesus name, lord, we ask that you'd bless this time where we take the time to give back a portion of what you've given us. And when you do what you do, Lord, and we do what we can, under the power of your spirit, you will do through us what you do with this world. Lord, it's it's amazing.

It's kind of mind blowing just to think about that plan A is that people who have trusted in you would share that love that you've shared with them, with others. That they would pass along the message of love and forgiveness that you stand ready to forgive that you do love. Lord, may this gospel, this good news go forth from this place to the very uttermost parts. I pray, Lord, that we would submit to your will and your way, lord, and may it never falter or lack your supply. In Jesus name, amen.

Children's choirs I mean, children's choir. Wow. Children's church. That's a throwback. Children's church happening downstairs, right now.

Are you all this morning? How's everybody? Good. I'm getting a read of the rooms. Kind of a dreary.

We have had a taste of the to We're to next the back to it next level. Week and as I'm looking at what the chunk is that you, where do you start, where do you stop? We're going to go through and we're in the in the betweens, okay? So, it's between two things. I probably wouldn't have done it this way otherwise.

That's not an apology. It's still God's word and it's still really good but it's kind of three different things that happens all at once. The Pharisees make a request of Jesus for a sign. Now, we saw this briefly but didn't go into it in one of the text last week but in Matthew, Jesus goes a little further than he did in Luke when they request this sign. It's refused.

There are new spiritual ties are announced and then Jesus is making a move towards teaching in parables. Now, when we think about all of the Old Testament prophecies, especially Isaiah, which is what they're studying downstairs in children's church this week. He said, and seeing they will not see and hearing they will not understand. And Jesus calls back to that when he starts talking about parables. And we have all heard the parable of the sower many, many times.

Can I get a witness? Y'all have heard it a lot of times. Right? If you consider the harmony of the gospels, the approach that we are making up to this, we're gonna transition right into but a sower went forth to sow. Right?

That's going to be the next sermon in this Harmony of the Gospel series. But it makes a difference when you think about who's he been speaking to. The Sermon on the Mount was definitely more to his disciples than the others, but there were others there. When the most recent thing, there are throngs and crowds around him all the time. Actually, let me start.

I'll just tell the story. This is what we covered last week and then I stopped where the green is down there on the bottom. And so there's that much more of Matthew. And we'll also cover this much more today, okay? That's what we're covering from the three of them.

But let me start in Mark and just consider the placement. Put yourself in this huge thronging crowd. We haven't been in a whole lot of huge thronging crowds. For some of you, this might be the biggest crowd you've been in in the last twenty two months or something, twenty four months. This, it says, and when he comes home, Jesus comes home.

We're assuming Capernaum because that's where he was making his home at the time and he comes home and the crowd gathers again. He just is surrounded all the time to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. There was somebody all up in his business all the time, right? And it's a mixed crowd. It's disciples but it's also people are bringing their friends who are sick, those who are demon possessed, those who are ailing, and they're bringing them and it says, he comes and the crowds gathered to such an extent they couldn't even eat a meal when his own people heard about this.

The most natural reading of this is when his family heard about this. When his peeps, his folks heard about this. They came out to take custody of him. They were trying to protect him and pull him away from thronging crowds for they, his family, his loved ones, his close peeps were saying, he's lost his senses. Now last week, I sat that in your lap and said, do you consider yourself one of Jesus' close peeps, his friends, his family?

And if so, do you ever have a time where you feel like Jesus is kinda crazy? Why is it that he would act in the way that he's acting? Why is it that he would do that? It's upsetting my little religious apple cart. Why is he acting that way?

Well, his own people heard about it. They came out. They were seeking to take custody of him for his own protection. It seems for they were saying he's lost his senses. And beyond just his people and his disciples, the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, he's possessed by Beelzebub, and he cast out the demons by the ruler of the demons.

So they are taking the power that Jesus is operating under, which is actually the Holy Spirit, and they are saying that is the devil. So they're not right. He's possessed by Beelzebub. He cast out demons by the ruler demons, and so he called them to himself and he began speaking to them in parables saying, how can Satan cast out Satan? Think about this, people.

If a kingdom is divided itself, certainly, that kingdom cannot stand. That one I sat in our lap too because we are a divided kingdom if you haven't noticed. Right? I pray that that's not true of the church, but I saw fishers in the past two years I did not know were there or didn't think they were as big a deal as they are and they are. They just are.

If Christ is praying for unity in the body in the garden, we need to be unified people. Do all that we can to be unified. Let's get back to the text. If a house divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he can't stand but he is finished.

He has an end. But no one can enter the strong man's house and plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man and then he will plunder his house. Jesus is using a rhetorical device there where he's calling Satan a strong man, but he is stronger. No doubt about it. Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven against the sons and the daughters of men, but whatever blasphemies they commit, they'll all can be forgiven.

But there is one unpardonable sin and this is it. Whoever blasphemes against, the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness. If the Holy Spirit is drawing you to God and he's using whatever means to do that and you reject that, that is something that is an unforgivable thing. Billy Graham used to say regularly in sermons that you may never be any closer to do We're We're do And he said all of this because they were saying he has an unclean spirit. And in fact, he did not.

He had the Holy Spirit of God in him. And that's how he was operating, submitting humbly to the spirit of God and casting out demons. And because they recognized the what was happening, but they did not recognize the power that was there. Does that make sense? They they saw something that was good, and so this is where we're going to get to this week's text.

I was in Mark because that's the shortest version of what we covered last week. I'm going switch to Matthew right here. They're telling the same story. Okay? Matthew goes on further and he says, either, it's one or the other, either assume the tree to be good as well as its fruit good.

If you see somebody delivered from a demon, that's a good thing. Is it not? Have you all ever seen somebody delivered from some besetting sin? That's a great thing. Either assume the tree to be good as well as its fruit good.

He's already taught in the Sermon on the Mount that you will know a tree by its fruit. And now that he's practicing it and there are good things that are happening. The blind are seeing, the deaf are hearing, the mute are speaking, the dead have been raised to life. If you see that, those are all messianic things that the Messiah was supposed to be doing. Cleansing lepers.

If you see that kind of fruit, you should assume that the tree is good because there's good fruit. Or it says either, assume the tree to be good as well as its fruit good or you assume the tree to be bad as well as its fruit bad. You can't have it both ways. You can't recognize that, wow, that guy's been set free. That's wonderful.

But the devil did it. Right? That doesn't make any sense. The tree is known by its fruit, and Jesus was producing good fruit. You offspring of vipers.

Oh my goodness. This is the first time that he's called him that. He's gonna do it again multiple times, multiple places. You offspring of vipers. How can you, being evil, pharisees, scribes, people he's talking to, how have you how can you, being evil, express any good things?

What's coming out of your mouth let me let the text say it. From the mouth speaks that which fills the heart. They were filled with jealousy and they thought they were on God's side. And if I'm on God's side and that guy's doing something that I can't do, rather than saying, wow, maybe I ought to follow that guy. You either get the chance to humbly submit and go after Jesus or you want to double down with your own stuff.

Right? The mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. Had a professor in seminary, my counseling professor, and he said, if you ever find yourself in counseling ministry, which I do pretty often. He said, if you do, and a couple comes in, he said, 90% of the time when they come through the door and you say, What might I be able to help you with today? They'll say, We're just not communicating.

It's communication. It's communication. It's communication. He's right. He said, they're right in a way, but read this verse from Luke and read this verse from Jeremiah.

And the Luke verse is this one. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good. The evil person out evil treasure of his heart brings forth what is. For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart or out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. He says, read that from Jeremiah and Jeremiah says, Our hearts are desperately wicked and who can understand them?

We waver. Christ didn't waver. Everything that came out of his mouth was good and his fruit was good. He didn't waver. When James, we're getting to it, in James where it says, a double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Do you find yourself saying things that within your own day are contradictory? Yeah. Let's bear down and find out what is in our heart. And if we see, oh, that's not good, confess it. Homo logeo.

Say the same thing as God about the sinful things that are in your heart. Ask God like David in Psalm 51. Lord, seek, search me, oh God, and search me, oh God, and see if there'd be any wicked way in me and cleanse me from every sin and set me free. And then I'll be able to spring forth with good things. Right?

So the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. The good person brings out of his good treasure good things. The evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things. And they've just called him an agent of Beelzebub. I tell you, people, that for every careless word that people speak, they'll give an account of it on the day of judgment.

This one used to scare me so bad as a child, probably because I have a big fat mouth. We should consider the things that come out of our mouth. We should think about them. But he's saying this to people who have just said you operate under the power of Beelzebub. Think about it.

Everything you you might be confused by what you see. That's reasonable. You might be confused by what you see, but be careful, very careful with your words. I'll tell you, every idle or careless word that you speak, they will give an account of it on the day of judgment for it is by your words that you will be justified. What do you say about Jesus?

What do you say about God and his provision and his plan? We often get to a place to say, you can question God and you can ask God and you can. Don't absolutely. He's big enough to take it. But when you start to think God ought to act like you think he ought to act.

Yeah. Back up. By your words, you will be justified and by your words, you'll be condemned. What's in your heart is what's gonna come out of your mouth. And it's strong evidence what you say.

Right? So then some of the this is funny to me. I put a blank slide in there because this is kinda full stop right here, you know. Jesus says, by your words, you'll be justified. By your words, you'll be condemned.

And then there's just a little bit of blank and it says, and then some of the scribes and pharisees, some of them said to him, to Jesus, teacher, in Matthew's gospel, his disciples call him master and out of a show of respect, others call him teacher. They're there. They're there to watch. But honestly, if he's of the devil, why aren't they there? Either assume it to be good or assume it to be bad.

Go all in. Some of the scribes and Pharisees said, teacher, we want to see a sign from you. Semion. Semion is sign. It's not specifically a miracle.

They had just witnessed a miracle. If you all remember last week, it was a deaf I mean, I'm sorry, a mute guy who was also blind, who had been set free from the demon and was able to speak and was able to see. And they just saw that. It's in the same instance. Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.

If that's not a sign for you, I don't know what is. But they were had already attributed that to the power of Beelzebub. If you really are who you act like you are, then you'll show us the secret code that shows it's a sign from heaven. We want to see a sign from you. But he answered them straightway and said to them, an evil Paneras.

Evil. An adulterous generation. Adulterous is often used in the Old Testament for the people, the chosen people, right, of God when they wandered away from him. They played the harlot. An evil and adulterous generation.

Though they said that they were worshiping God, he was right there in front of them and they were not giving him what he was due. It is an evil and adulterous generation. Idolatrous might be a good translation of that too. An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign. I think that that was a very unique position to be in pre cross in the life of Jesus during his ministry while you could ask him questions out loud.

That's a that's a very specific generation. But I think in our day, there are still people who are saying, let him show me. If he wants to show himself to me, he's doing a darn good job of hiding himself, right? That's the same thing. It's exactly the same thing.

It is an evil and adulterous generation that craves a sign and so Jesus says, because of that, no sign will be given to it except this one. The sign of Jonah, the prophet. Wait a second. What in the world is that Old Testament reference doing there? Why would he say that?

Jonah? Really? Sunday school Jonah? The one that got thrown overboard, swallowed by the fish? Think about this.

The sign of Jonah. He goes on to explain it a little further. For just as Jonah was in the stomach of the sea monster, great fish. For three days and three nights, so will the son of man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. So three days and three nights is a straight up literal translation and that is a Hebraism.

It is a Jewish thing that means three days. Okay. Three days and nights. If you want to, I can show you all the other references for that but three days and three nights might bother you. If it really bothers you, you say, how can it be three days and three nights?

This Friday just started. That didn't make any sense. There's no night. Well, you know, the sun was gone from twelve in the afternoon to you gotta have your darkness and light periods. It'll fit in there.

But it's a Hebrewism. It's funny. Luke doesn't include the three nights because he knows his audience and he knows it'd be something we say, well, that just can't be because it wasn't three nights. Jonah. Think about Jonah.

God says to Jonah, you're my man to preach this word to the Ninevites. They are a rebellious people. They are a hateful people. Some of y'all are going through the veggie tails and those fish in your head right now. They're awful, awful people.

But they're awful people because they don't know me, Jonah, and you're my messenger. And I know you hate them, but I've got a message for you. And you're gonna send this good news message. And Jonah does not wanna do it because he is prejudiced against him. He hates them.

He doesn't have anything to do with them and does not believe that they deserve God's good message. Oh, what a message for the church. Those people, they deserve whatever they get. And then, gets out on the sea, you guys throw him overboard. We know this part of the story.

Fish swallows him up, spits him out on the beach. Where? Nineveh. Imagine that. God said, you're my man and you're gonna do this.

And he said, oh, no, I'm not. I'm running the other direction. Now Jesus didn't do that. Jesus didn't do that. You don't have to take this all the way throughout and say, Jesus and Jonah are exactly equivalent.

Jesus was bringing a message for the people of good news, of deliverance. Jonah was bringing a message of good news, of deliverance, and God said, you're going to be my man and he ran from it but it still happened and then the people repented. Read read the rest of Jonah. Don't just read the the story about the boat, right? He delivered the message and they repented and then he got ticked off and he went up on the hillside.

He said, I knew you were gonna do that. I knew that if

I went there and I carried that message that

they would repent and then be unhappy. I don't like it. I don't like it. They didn't deserve it and now you've saved them and it just ticks me off all the time. A little shade tree is growing over him.

It's a good story. And then he gets upset with God when the when the I put the shade tree there for you. I can take it away. It's not up to you to be deciding everything for me. But Jonah's sign or what Jesus calls Jonah's sign.

And I think Jesus is saying Jonah's a real guy. He's back there. It's real. Just as Jonah was in the stomach of that sea monster for three days, so will the son of man be in the heart of the earth for three days. The men of Nineveh, the people of Nineveh, will stand up with this generation at the judgment.

All ages throughout all time, all peoples will be gathered. And this says, and the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and they will condemn it. You know why? Because they recognize the good news that God was delivering to them and you are rejecting it right now. Because they repented at the preaching of Jonah.

And behold, something greater than Jonah is here right now in front of you. The queen of the South or the queen of Sheba will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it. You remember the queen of Sheba coming because she heard about Solomon's wisdom? Solomon's wisest man ever. She heard about it and she was seeking wisdom.

So she came to learn from Solomon and this text says, she will rise up with this generation at the judgment and she will condemn it. Why? Because she came from the very ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and behold something greater than Solomon is here. Jesus is saying, you've got a message that is very good and very wise, and you are rejecting it. Now when the unclean spirit comes out of a person we've heard this before.

I'll kinda go through it. When the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and it doesn't find it. And then it says, you know what? I'm going back to my house from whence I came. And when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order.

Then it goes and it brings along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself. I think that Jesus was describing that evil generation. He says so. But I think he's also describing anytime we try by our own power to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and just gut out behavior modification without the spirit of God. It goes out and it brings along with itself seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they come in and they live there and the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first.

The pride that sets in when someone believes that they have done it is bad. And that's the way it will also be with this evil generation. Now evil right there is panoras. I mentioned it already. Panoras or panorah in this case because of the gender of the word it's describing.

This is an adjective. It's also used substantively like we use evil. It can be an evil genius, evil scientist, evil whatever. Evil. Or you can just say evil as a subs as a substantive.

Sorry. It's derived from panas, which means pain or laborious trouble. It's pain ridden. Evil is pain ridden. It's emphasizing the inevitable agony and misery that will always go with evil.

Can you imagine a more evil I mean, troublesome life than that of the pharisees trying to thwart Jesus at every turn and seeking to trick him they ask him about blah blah blah. It was just leading to pain when they could have said, instead of teacher, master. That's the difference. He's a good he's a good teacher. I'm sure he's a good teacher.

Well, claimed to be the son of God. Okay. So, the next part right here, all three of em tell the story, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It follows immediately on the heels of what I just said of those Pharisees and where they were and what they were doing. Now, while he was still speaking to the crowds, behold his mother, that's Mary, his mother, okay?

And his brothers, yes, she had other kids after Jesus. There's a list of em if you want to see it in John seven, I think it is. Now, while he was still speaking to the crowds, behold, his mother and his brothers were standing outside seeking to speak to him. This may have been because Mark carries from verse 20 or 21 to 31. It says, his mother and his brothers came and while standing outside, they sent word to him.

They're calling for him. The the crowd was so great. They may have been the ones that were saying he's lost his mind and they're just trying to get him out of there so they can protect him because they love him. They're his family. Now his mother and his brothers came to him and they were unable to get to him because of the crowd and it was reported to him, hey, your mother and your brothers are standing outside.

They're wishing to see you. There's an announcement here of new spiritual ties. And a crowd was sitting around him and they said, behold, your mother and your brothers are outside. They're looking for you. And answering them, he said, who are my mother and my brothers now?

You might think, well, Jesus has lost his mind. I mean, he knows. And though there had been some question, and I'm sure it was a persistent rumor around him all the time as to who his father was. He knew who his mother was and everybody else did too. Who are my mother and my brothers?

And looking around at those who were sitting around him, he said, here are my mother and my brothers. Matthew says, but Jesus replied to the one who was telling him and said, who is my mother and who are my brothers? And extending his hand towards his disciples. Actually, extending his hand towards his disciples. Right?

He says, behold, look at this. Pay attention. My mother and my brothers. My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it. This is an announcement of new spiritual ties right here.

Whoever does the will of God, this is my brother. This is my sister and my mother. And Matthew says for whoever does the will of my father, okay, our father? Right? He's saying we have a common father if you will just accept the message that God has delivered to you.

Whoever does the will of my father who's in heaven, he's my brother and my sister and my mother. That's that's something to ponder. Something to hold on to. We we sang a song a lot when I was in church growing up. It's so good.

I'm so glad to be a part of the family of God. You know that song? Yeah. It is good to be a part of the family of God. And Jesus himself said so.

I mean, there is something special about his mother who said, may it be to me just as you have said. That's how God used Mary. May it be to me just as you have said. She didn't have to get thrown out of a boat, swallowed by big fish. She was ready and willing.

I pray that we would be too. To be ready to accept what God's will for our life is. To know it and to do it. That's the one who's my brother and my sister and my mother. Now, here's the turn.

This turn goes towards these parabolic mysteries of the kingdom and he's going to have a series of em. Some of em, he'll explain, he'll do the thing and he'll explain it to the whole crowd. Just one of em really And then he has others that he'll say the parable and then his disciples will say, that was confusing. Can you explain that? And he'll explain it to just his disciples.

And then he'll do others that are just kind of thrown out there. There's no explanation not for them, not for us. But it's really, really good. The first one is what we'll work our way up to. Now, when a large crowd was coming together and those from the various cities were journeying to him, he spoke by the way of a parable.

The sower went out to sow. How simple. I actually read a list this week of now that Tanya is a teacher, I'm paying attention to some things that I probably wouldn't have before. But, there was a review process for teachers. You know how when you're in college and you take a class and they have a review at the end and you get your positive reviews and negative reviews?

You're going to get your grade, but then it does an anonymous review of the teacher. One of the negative reviews of Jesus teaching a college course was, I hope you like seeds. My goodness. Wheat seeds, mustard seeds, it's all about seeds. There are a lot of good ones in there actually.

Again, he began to teach by the sea and that's Capernaum's right by the sea and such a very large crowd gathered to him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land and he was teaching them many things in parables and was saying to them in his teaching. Listen to this, behold, pay attention. Behold, the sower went out to sow. On that day, Jesus had gone out of the house and was sitting by the sea and large crowds gathered to him. So he got out into a boat and sat down and the whole crowd was standing on the beach and he told them many things in parables.

This is the start of this long series of parables. And we hear the parables all the time. I think it's good because stories stick with us. Right? That's the way.

That's another one of those reviews. It's easy to get this guy off. He tells stories all the time. All he does is stories, stories, stories. I came to learn about Christianity, not that pro Samaritan baloney.

He told them many things in parables. Behold, the sower went out to sow. I am asking. I'm gonna sit this one in your lap, but I'm asking you this week, and it actually I might take a break for spring break. I don't know.

Not I'll be here planning on being here, but take a break. I'm not positive if I'm going straight into this or wait until everybody's back from spring break. It will go into behold the sower went out to sow. But until we get back together and go over this one, would you be cultivating the soil of your heart? Would you would you seriously consider it and think about it and go, okay, I know this sermon.

I've heard it tons of times. Rocky, you know, I remember that. Yeah. Fertile. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. I got it. Would you would you think about it and think about where the seed is landing? Because because there is a sower who is sowing into your life right now.

God is very active. His Holy Spirit is very active. In this world, he goes before us. There's not an interaction that you're gonna have this week that the Holy Spirit has not gone before you into that interaction. Can we watch what we say and can we consider the condition of our hearts?

Cultivate the soil there. Bow humbly before God and ask him, would you would you, Lord, help me in Jesus' name? I'm gonna get the band back up here. Would you just pray with me? God, I I pray that we would be ready to hear whatever it is that you have for us this week.

From your word, I pray that you would plant the seed that is your word deep in our hearts and that it would find fertile soil and it would grow up and it would be something that just amazes us and that it brings your glory to manifestation in front of other people for your glory, not for ours. But God, would you just use us in the way you intend to? Might we be willing? I I I pray, Lord, that you would search our hearts and show us any wicked way that's in there, any cultural expectation that should fall away, Any tie that has become more important to us than our spiritual tie to you and knowing and doing the will of our father who's in heaven. In Jesus name, I pray lord that you would be very present with us this week and that we would recognize it.

Amen. You stand with us? Amen. And for the benediction today, just think about this. Whoever it is that does God's will, it's possible to do it.

Can you believe that? Whoever it is that does God's will is my brother and my sister and my mother. God, let us know. Let us know what it is that you'd have us to do and God, we thank you that just by the same spirit that Jesus humbly submitted to, we can do the same thing. We can humbly submit to your spirit and lord, you will do the work.

In Jesus name, amen.