Parables: Mirrors of the Soul #1 | Pastor Rob Thomas

``Guys, this verse points to hearts that not only hear God's message, but embrace it fully, allowing it to take root and grow into a harvest thirty, sixty, and even a 100 times what was originally planted. It shows the reward of being receptive. Exponential fruit that blesses not only you but all of those around you. Guys, good soil is deep. It's clear to weeds. It's ready to receive, to retain, and to produce exponentially. [01:21:58] (37 seconds)  #FruitfulHeart

So this verse is saying that some people, they hear god's message, but it's like seed thrown onto a beaten down path. A beaten down dirt path. And it never gets the chance to sink in because Satan swoops in like the birds as it said in the parables, and he steals it right off the surface. And it shows us how a hardened heart doesn't allow the truth to get in and to penetrate. [01:00:55] (29 seconds)  #ProtectThePath

And so with that, we gotta recognize that he wants us to see our lives reflected back to these stories, and he wants us to respond in a way that can potentially change everything. And so that's where we're headed for the next several weeks. We're gonna let Jesus' Jesus' parables hold up mirrors to our hearts so we can see clearly, so that we can repent where needed, we can receive his grace afresh, and we can step in to more fully into the life that he gave himself for. [00:56:00] (30 seconds)  #ParablesAsMirrors

Hardening of the heart is generally something that happens gradually. It doesn't happen overnight. It happens gradually and it happens through it can happen through unbelief. It can happen through sin. Sometimes, it happens through, disappointments and and through wounds. A heart can get hardened. And and here's the thing though, it can be prevented. It can be prevented by community and by being vigilant just like we can protect the path from being too compacted. [01:03:38] (28 seconds)  #GuardAgainstHardness

Well, I would ask you, is hardness beginning to take root? You need to stop and seek god and allow him to soften and still your heart. Guys, the enemy doesn't need to destroy the seed. He just needs to keep it from sinking in. He just needs to keep it from taking root, which takes us to number two. The second thing Jesus talked about is the shallow heart. This is the seed cast on rocky ground. [01:06:58] (25 seconds)  #SeekASoftHeart

So guys, this tells us that some folks, they get all excited about god's message right away. Right? Right? You know, in a moment and they sprout up real fast like like seed in thin soil. But the problem is there's no deep root system in place. And so in hard times, our opposition come, their little seed, their little sprout dries up and it dies. It tells us that shallow faith can look promising at first, but it crumbles under pressure if it lacks substance. Let's go back to our image real quick. [01:07:41] (38 seconds)  #LetTruthTakeRoot

Guys, Jesus doesn't tell these stories to entertain us. He doesn't tell them to make us feel good. He doesn't he he doesn't tell them to just comfort us. He tells them really to confront us and to convict us and ultimately to transform us. [00:55:41] (18 seconds)  #CommunityKeepsYouSoft

Many of you know of a man by the name of Lee Strobel. He was or he is a former atheist and he is also was also for years the legal editor for the Chicago Tribune. And and in the late nineteen seventies, Lee Strobel's wife came to know Jesus. She gave her life to Christ, and his heart was was hardened by skepticism and and just intellectual pride is is what he calls it. And he had always just dismissed faith as as a as a crutch for those who were weak. [01:04:59] (34 seconds)  #FourSoilsOneHeart

And so Billy Graham just took Templeton under his wing, and they were doing these huge rallies together, massive things God was doing. And Templeton started with this genuine joy and the zeal and this passion, but over time, he the his intellectual doubts and and personal trials, these things started creeping in. And and we know that in the in the in the nineteen fifties, questions started entering his mind. He started questioning things about suffering and about science and all these different things. And it eroded away at his faith. And we know that by 1957, he left ministry completely and he became agnostic. [01:13:39] (36 seconds)  #AskHardQuestions

Many of you know of a man by the name of Lee Strobel. He was or he is a former atheist and he is also was also for years the legal editor for the Chicago Tribune. And and in the late nineteen seventies, Lee Strobel's wife came to know Jesus. She gave her life to Christ, and his heart was was hardened by skepticism and and just intellectual pride is is what he calls it. And he had always just dismissed faith as as a as a crutch for those who were weak. [01:04:59] (34 seconds)  #LetTruthPenetrate

So this verse is saying that some people, they hear god's message, but it's like seed thrown onto a beaten down path. A beaten down dirt path. And it never gets the chance to sink in because Satan swoops in like the birds as it said in the parables, and he steals it right off the surface. And it shows us how a hardened heart doesn't allow the truth to get in and to penetrate. [01:00:55] (29 seconds)  #VigilanceKeepsYouSoft

So guys, we're warned here to watch out for hearts that turn cold and unbelieving because that causes us to pull away from God and we're in we are urged to encourage others each day to to avoid that deceptive hardening effect that can come in and take place in our hearts. And here's the reality, guys, when you think about it. [01:03:12] (26 seconds)  #MakeTimeToListen

Hardening of the heart is generally something that happens gradually. It doesn't happen overnight. It happens gradually and it happens through it can happen through unbelief. It can happen through sin. Sometimes, it happens through, disappointments and and through wounds. A heart can get hardened. And and here's the thing though, it can be prevented. It can be prevented by community and by being vigilant just like we can protect the path from being too compacted. [01:03:38] (28 seconds)  #DeepRootsEndure

If you remember Mary and Martha in in in Luke chapter 10, here's they're they're hosting Jesus at their house and we know that Martha is hurrying around. She's making preparations. She's distracted. She's anxious. Everything's gotta be in place. Everything's gotta be in order and she's all about serving which sounds good right on the surface. But where was Mary? Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus. She's listening intently to his words. She's absorbing his heart and his word and everything that's coming forth, and she's doing so without distraction. Jesus would go on to commend her saying that she had chosen the one thing that was necessary. The better part that would not be taken away. [01:23:24] (47 seconds)  #TrialsBuildMaturity

Jesus isn't describing four different types of people off somewhere. He is describing four possible conditions of the human heart. And like I said, everyone of us have had elements of these in our hearts at one point or another. And I believe many, if not most of us, we have elements of this in our hearts right now, of these different areas. [01:26:40] (25 seconds)  #FromMiracleToMurmur

If you remember Mary and Martha in in in Luke chapter 10, here's they're they're hosting Jesus at their house and we know that Martha is hurrying around. She's making preparations. She's distracted. She's anxious. Everything's gotta be in place. Everything's gotta be in order and she's all about serving which sounds good right on the surface. But where was Mary? Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus. She's listening intently to his words. She's absorbing his heart and his word and everything that's coming forth, and she's doing so without distraction. Jesus would go on to commend her saying that she had chosen the one thing that was necessary. The better part that would not be taken away. [01:23:24] (47 seconds)  #WhatCrowdsYourHeart

So guys, this tells us that some folks, they get all excited about god's message right away. Right? Right? You know, in a moment and they sprout up real fast like like seed in thin soil. But the problem is there's no deep root system in place. And so in hard times, our opposition come, their little seed, their little sprout dries up and it dies. It tells us that shallow faith can look promising at first, but it crumbles under pressure if it lacks substance. Let's go back to our image real quick. [01:07:41] (38 seconds)  #WealthCanIsolate

James is telling us to see trials as opportunities for joy because they test our faith. They they build they build staying power within us. They lead to maturity. They lead to wholeness. And really, it contrasts faith's quick fade with how trials can actually strengthen us if we will persevere, trust god, and and it'll turn our weakness into completeness. [01:11:46] (28 seconds)  #MultiplyWhatYouPlant

And so in that, you know, back to back to the Israelites coming out of of of Egypt. I'm thinking about this and talking thinking about how, you know, in in Exodus chapters, fourteen and fifteen, it it's the account of them, coming through the Red Sea and and coming out the other side. And and god miraculously parts the waters. He drowns Pharaoh's army. And and and what the very first thing they do on the other side is they burst into song and they begin singing praise to god as their deliverer. Here's the funny thing later. Here's the funny thing to look at. If you go to the next chapter, verse 16, they were hungry and they were thirsty and they start all this excitement, zeal, all of a sudden turns into grumbling and doubt to the point that they decided that they would be better to go back into slavery in Egypt. Next chapter, guys. If you go about two chapters after that, they're making a golden calf. Guys, their shallow roots couldn't sustain them through tests and trials and reveal the faith that was emotional, but it wasn't endure enduring. [01:12:14] (64 seconds)  #ListenOverBusy

Guys, Jesus is telling us the answer. He's saying, he's telling us to prioritize god's kingdom and his way of living above all else and trust him to take care of all of our needs. Jesus is here he is offering the antidote to the crowded heart. This is the answer. When we put God first, the thorns lose their power. They lose their place. They lose their their their ground in our in our heart. It frees the word to produce fruit in us instead of being choked out. [01:18:44] (28 seconds)