Sower, Soil, + Seed | Senior Pastor Kenneth Carpenter

Mark chapter 4 and verse number one. Matter of fact, since you've been standing, we're going to read just one passage of scripture and pray. Then I'm going to continue to read several more. Mark chapter 4, verse number one. And Jesus began again to teach by the seaside. There was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, sat down in in the sea uh ship, and sat down in the sea, and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus, tonight, my prayer is that you will open the hearts of your people. God, the only way that the word can be received tonight is through the open hearts of your people. God, I pray that you would anoint my my lips of clay with your spirit and that Lord, the words that'll be spoken tonight would enter into the hearts of your people, God. And from there, it will bring a change, Lord. I pray this evening for Brother Dwayne Franklin. I pray, God, that your hands of healing would be upon him. I pray, God, that there's no more cancer in his body. I ask you Lord to do a marvelous miraculous work. Father, touch sister Mel Boyette tonight and touch Lord Brother Troy Alter tonight and the the the list of names that have been turned in. God move upon these people in Jesus name we all pray. Amen and amen. You may be seated. Verse number two. And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine. Behold, hearken, behold, there went out a swer to sow. And it came to pass as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. Some fell on stony ground where it had not much earth, and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up, it was scorched. And because it had no root, it withered away. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. and other fell on good ground and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased and brought forth some 30, some 60, and some 100. And he said unto them, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. For a few moments tonight in the form of a Bible study, I would like to minister on a sewer, soil, and seed. A swer, soil, and seed. One of the methods of teaching that Jesus Christ engaged in was the method of storytelling. The method of giving a parable. He spoke as a story form. He would begin a sermon. He would begin a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a sermon or a discourse. He would he would begin it by by telling a story. He would say things like the kingdom of God is as a a mustard seed and and uh he would he would go on. He would he would paint an image in their minds. He would get them to to see the thing. He he talked about a a lost uh a sheep. He talked about a lost coin. He spoke about a lost son and and uh he he he would use a a storytelling method. And once he painted the picture, he would then apply a spiritual kingdom principle. He would help them to grasp a spiritual principle, a spiritual principle by painting to them a story that they could relate to. Brother Pool, a story that they could relate to a lost I mean, who in this building couldn't relate to a story about something of value that was lost? I think we've all lost items of value. We could all we could all relate to that story. As a matter of fact, the New Testament nor Jesus Christ uh started this storytelling, this parable telling was it not the prophet Nathan that was sent from God to confront David when David had committed adultery and David had committed murder. Was it not Nathan that came into the throne room? And Nathan didn't walk in and say, "David, you're guilty of adultery and you're guilty of murder." He didn't come in that way. He He came in. He said, "And David, let let me tell you something about a a poor man that just had one little lamb. It's all he had was one little lamb. It was a household pet. Slept in the bed with him. Drank from the same cup. It was as if it was his daughter. And let me tell you about a man that lived across the street that had many flocks and many herds. And in the middle of the night, a traveler came to the rich man and was hungry. And the rich man, instead of going out to his hundreds of sheep and getting one and slaughtering it for a meal, he came across the road and snuck into the house and stole that one little lamb and and and and butchered it and served it as a meal. And boy did that ever relate to David. Oh friend, he could relate to that. He could go from zero to 60 in nothing flat. He bolted off the throne with face red and fist clenched. The man that done this shall pay back four-fold and he shall surely die. And boy, Nathan lit him up when he said the simple words, "Thou art the man." But the story related to David. That's why David repented. It made sense to David. I had all of these concubines. I had all of these women. And yet Uriah just had a wife. I'm the man in the story. So he could he could he could relate to this. But Jesus used parables in a different way. There was two audience. There was two audience. There was the audience that thought that Jesus spoke about gardening, that Jesus spoke about wayside soil and good seed and stony ground and ground that had thorns in it. And there were those that walked away that day and they said, "Man, what a wonderful message. I came all the way out here, sat on this hot shore, and listened to him preach." It was some probably went away complaining. I know all there is about gardening. But to those that would go further, to those that just knew there's a deeper meaning in life, to those that would go forward, let's go ahead. Jesus ended it in verse 9 by saying, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." In other words, he was saying to the congregation, now if you want to know the meaning, if you want to know the meaning, you got to have a desire to hear God's word. Do you know my prayer for you today in this building? And I'm going to, as never before, be praying this prayer. I'm going to be praying this prayer over and over and over. God, open the hearts of the people. Because if God doesn't open your heart, you'll leave here tonight. There's two audiences that are here. There's one that'll say, "Well, it was the usual. It was the usual Bible study. We got out at 8:45 or so." And there's going to be those that are going to leave tonight and they're going to say, "I just believe that I want to have a good heart for God to grow some good things in my life." Don't you want to have a good heart tonight? Don't you want to have Don't you want to have a good heart tonight? Come on. How many want to have a good heart tonight? Well, you want to have a good heart. Do Do you really want to have a good heart tonight? You see one audience, I'll speak to their mind. The second audience, I'll speak to their heart. You want to be the audience tonight that leaves and says, "God spoke to my heart." Let's go back to let's go back to Mark chapter 4. He ends in verse number nine and he says, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." Look at verse 10 with me. And when he was alone, they that were about him with the 12 asked of him the parable. There were those that just got up from the seashore and walked off said, "Man, I came all the way out here to hear a message on gardening. I came all the way out here. But there were those that said, "I believe there's a I believe there's a purpose. I believe I believe there's a purpose. I believe there is I believe there's a reason. I believe there is a purpose. I believe there is a reason." And so they followed. They followed along. And as they followed, they asked of him. Verse 10, the parable. said, "Come on, just what were you teaching?" He said unto them in verse 11, "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. He's saying what I'm saying. He said, "Now, here's the two audiences. I'm going to reveal to you the mystery. I'm going to answer the question that's in your soul. I'm going to satisfy that thing inside of you that says I was made for purpose. But to the others, to the others it will remain a mystery. that seeing, look at verse 12, 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." He said, "They heard the same thing you would hear, but they didn't perceive it. They heard the same thing you heard, but they're not understanding because it does more than hearing the word of God that changes you. It's when that you understand it enough to take action. The word of God, you see, the weight of the responsibility tonight is not on the ser, it's on the hearer. The weight of the responsibility. Well, I I didn't really get moved tonight. He's not really that good of a preacher. I'm I'm sad to say that in America today, that's a number one issue in our churches is we have put the responsibility on the ser and not the hearer. >> So the responsibility tonight should not be upon the swer. The swer has a responsibility to sew the word. But the hearer has the responsibility of going deeper in the word and understanding the word until the word begins to change them. of all the parables that Jesus would speak, Sister Carpenter, of all the parables that he would speak, he said this about this one. Verse 13, and he said unto them, know ye not this parable, and how then will you know all parables? And in other words, he said when you study the parables and uh full disclosure tonight, full disclosure tonight, uh I study Sister Sutton for two reasons. I study number one to teach and preach and then I study number two for my personal, you know, I I have to be saved too. I know that's a that's a news that's revelation, but I got to be saved, too. So, right now, I am studying the parables for my personal time. I'm just that's my personal time that I'm studying the parables and I'm finding that this parable of the sewer and the seed he places a great importance upon it. Did we not just read? If we don't understand this parable, we won't understand the other parables. In other words, don't get all hoppy poppy about faith is a size of mustard seed. Don't don't because if you don't understand this one, you won't comprehend faith and all the other parables. He said, "Now, I want you to understand this one." So, for the remainder of the Bible lesson tonight, could we dive deep to understand this parable of the swer, the soil, and the seed. Verse 14, the swer sweth. Look at that. Verse 13, he said, I'm going to explain it to you. The swer sweethth the word. Now, here's the responsibility on the swer. First Peter chapter 1 verse 23. This is how important it is to sew the word. To sew the word, Peter says, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible. Look at these next words. by the word of God. Church tonight, the only thing that changes people is the word of God. >> The only thing that changes people is the word of God. You may like someone can study public speaking. Someone can study the art of storytelling. We can study the art of along. We can when to wave our how to communicate with our hands, how to uh turn and greet the audience and all of that. But it's all in vain if we fail to sow the word of God. It is the word of God that changes us by the incorruptible word of God. It's the word of God that'll bring you joy. It's the word of God that'll save your marriage. It's the word of God that'll teach you how to raise your children. It's the word of God that'll show you how to witness by the word of God which what liveth and abideth forever. For all flesh is as grass and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass witherth and the flower fadeth away. And and I'm I'm really I'm really looking at this through what we preach. Are we preaching something that's flowery? Oh, we preaching something that sounds good. You know, there's a lot of things that sound good that's not sound doctrine. >> He says that's going to fade away. The flower fadeth. The grass witherth and the flower fadeth away. But look at verse 25. But the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. So you understand tonight the responsibility of the swer which would be me the responsibility of the swer tonight. You say well he reads scripture and he does this. Guess what? That's the responsibility of the swer because that's the only thing that's going to change you is the word of God. Hebrew Hebrews gives us a little bit of insight into the power of the word. Hebrews chapter 4 verse 12. Either look at this in your Bible or fix your eyes on the screen. Hebrews 4:12. For the word of God is quick, powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of sunder of soul and spirit, and the joints and the marorrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Verse 13, neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight. Wait a minute. Time out, Paul. We're talking about the word. But then you go right into his sight. How is that? You can't separate the word from Jesus. When you preach the word, you're preaching Jesus. So when we read the word, we're inviting Jesus into our room. When we preach the word here at church, we're inviting Jesus to come in. But there's two audiences. There's one, this is just another service. This is just another time served on midweek service. But oh, who will be a part of the second audience that'll say, "When he was teaching the word tonight, I felt the warm, comforting power of Jesus Christ. I I want to be a part of that second audience. But it's sharper than any two-edged sword. It's sharper. That's why the Bible says when Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, he pricricked their heart. Because the word of God, in order to heal us, has got to prick us. In order for God's word to work upon us, there's got to be a stinging. There's got to be a pricking of the heart. And so this word of God, this preaching, this receiving the word, this congregation that's saying, "I want the word." Sometimes the word is painful, but the word is powerful. Sometimes the word, it hurts when it pricks us. But if we can get by the pain and see the purpose, God will make something wonderful out of our lives. Amen. And amen. Talking about the responsibility of the swer. It's my responsibility to sew the word of God. Tonight, but it's also my responsibility. In Deuteronomy 22 and9, it says something about the swer. It says, "Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with diverse seeds, lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown and the fruit of thy vineyard be divi be defiled." We we see we see here that this swer has to understand that you don't want to put you don't want to put different kinds of seed. and we'll put some philosophy and oh I I read a book about motivation and I read a listen if the word of God can't motivate you you can't be motivated a a a leadership book may be able to stimulate you may be able to put the paddles on your heart and get something going but if that heart doesn't start beating on its own you're just going to go back to deadness book on leadership I'm not against books on leadership I'm not against books to help us hone our skills, but I'm not looking to those books to change my life >> because only the word of God has the power to enter into my heart and bring his God's presence inside of my heart. So there there there's responsibility to the swer. It's a responsibility of the swer tonight. Let's go down a few more verses to Mark chapter 4 verse number 15. We've talked about the responsibility of the swer. We've talked about how he needs to sew the word of God. But Mark chapter 4:E1 15. And these are they by the wayside. Would you say those that word with me? Wayside. These are they by the wayside. You You don't want to be wayside soil. These are they that fail. 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 heart. Let me describe to you what wayside is. Wayside is a small strip of ground. It's a small strip of ground around the field. It served no purpose but for people to walk on. That's the only purpose that that small strip of ground served. That's that was the only purpose was for people to walk on. Now I have read where the parable should address a foolish swer. A foolish swer. Why would you say that? Because he sowed on wayside beat hard drowned ground that apparently had no probability of bringing forth. But I choose not to judge my God as a foolish swer, but as a generous, merciful swer. Do you know that God will throw his mercy seeds on hearts that are hardened? God will throw his presence on people that there may be little as far as what in their heart of a possibility of change. I'm glad tonight that God saw something in me, in you, that he would throw our seed. When we weren't searching for God, God came searching for us. I'm glad tonight to be so serving a generous seeding God. And because our God is generous with where he serves mercy, you and I of FAC Mville, we're generous with who? We're going to s we're going to put our arm around him one more time. We're going to pray for him one more time. We're going to talk to him one more time. You know why? He's a generous seed. So, do you see Do you see that tonight? Do you see that tonight? He's a generous seed sore. But but this soil, this wayside soil, small strip of ground, served no purpose. It was beat hard with the traffic of people. Can I ask us all a personal question tonight? What is your purpose in life? What is your purpose? Come on, be brave enough to ask yourself that question. Sometimes it'll hurt. You know why it hurts? because we really can't say our purpose. And when you can't describe your purpose, you live a life of frustration. What is your purpose in life? If you can't answer it, you're frustrated. I'll go ahead. Doesn't even take the gift of the spirit tonight to to discern. I'll tell you right now, if you can't describe your purpose in life, you're frustrated. You're tense. You're full of all kind of anxiety because you don't know what your purpose is. You know, you were made for purpose, but you really can't describe the purpose. I love the book of Ecclesiastes in a lot of ways. Ecclesiastes chapter 3, listen to this. It's talking to you tonight. Talking to me tonight. Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verse number one. To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. He said there's a everything there's a season and a time a time for every purpose. Can I tell you the time that you'll spend reading God's word, the time that you'll spend inviting his presence will be well worth it because in the time that you spend, you will soon develop your purpose with God. Look at verse 11 of the same chapter of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes 3:11. He hath made everything what? What? In his what? See, sometimes we don't give God time. We live in this microwave. Give it to me right now. We live in this instant. We live in this instant society. We We want it and we want it right now. What? I'm sorry, but God's purpose for your life is an instant. It's not just add water. It's not three minutes you're going to have what the microwave's going to bing and you're going to be everything that God No, no, no, no. But if you'll stay in this race and you'll give God time of your life, time in prayer, time in Bible reading, time in church attendance, time in worship, I'm going to tell you, you're going to look around one day in the spiritual mirror and you're going to say, "God has made everything beautiful in his time." A beautiful man, a beautiful woman, a beautiful marriage, a beautiful family. Now, Brother Denver, I don't want you to think I'm ultra spiritual. I don't you think I'm just ultra spiritual, cuz I'm not. But you know, the crazy weather and the school being out, all the family for two nights, all the family, my two son-in-laws and my daughters and my daughter-in-law and my son and all seven grandchildren came over and they played all kind of crazy games and they tried to get me involved in it. And I still tell you, I won that game. I know y'all said I lost the game, but but I I did get one thing right. It was the men against the women and brother Erikson, Brother Hammond, Brother Nolan, me and they were all them three guys all huddled up and I was giving my opinion and I said, "Hey, why am I here if you ain't listening to me?" All right. And I thought what I said won the game. So, uh, after I kind of left the game, I stepped over to the side and started eating again. And I began to hear the laughter of my grandchildren. Begin to hear my grandchildren playing, laughing, chasing each other around the house. saw my grandchildren climbing on furniture that we would have killed our children for doing that. When you have grandchildren, you say, "Hey, watch them do this." I heard my grandchildren playing and laughing. And then I'd hear laughter erupt at the table of the card game. And and I stood back and I'm not real spiritual, but I stood back and I began to say, "God, I'm such a blessed man. I'm such a blessed man to have my family around me. But I'm I'm double blessed. I'm triple blessed. I got him in my heart. I got Jesus in my heart. I know I have him in my heart. And I got a wonderful family. And I've got a great church family, the family of God. And I stood over by the refrigerator and I just begin to thank the Lord for this. You see, some men count their blessings and what they've got in the bank. And some men count their blessing by what they got in the garage. But if you really want to count your blessings, just keep praying until God begins to do a work with your family. God begins to do a work. And there's nobody that's outside of God being able to do the same thing that he's done for my family, he'll do for your family. But you got to be willing to give him time. You got to give him time because listen to me church. God makes all things beautiful. Somebody shout it in his in his time. >> What a blessed man. What a blessed What a blessed man. God hath made everything beautiful. Verse number 11, chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes. He hath made everything beautiful in his time. Also, he hath set the world in their heart. That's eternity. so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. He puts eternity in our hearts and that keeps driving us. God's got more for us and more for us and more. Ecclesiastes 3:17, I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time, for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. Sometimes we look at the word as being negative and you know what the word is negative. Sometimes the word is negative but the word is only negative to enhance the positive. There is a judgment day coming. People will be judged for their decisions. There is a place called hell. There is a place called it's it burns with fire and brimstone. and the wicked are cast there. The ones that have made the decisions, the ones that have lived their lives godless, that's judgment day. You'll not escape it. He's not curving the grades for you. It's in his word. But you say, "Well, that's negative." Oh, not really. There's a reward of the righteous. There's a place called heaven for those that have made the decision through the pricking of the word of God. They've made the decision to be born again of the water and the spirit. They're not who they used to be. They're not what they used to be. They've been born again, changed of the water and the spirit. They've got in their Bible and they've seen how God has given them the ability to make right decisions and good decisions. And they've lived righteous and they've lived to the best of their ability. And one day, a trumpet's going to sound. And vile, corruptible, sin cursed bodies are going to be changed in a moment. and in the twinkling of an eye, a body that won't age, a body that won't have cancer, a body that won't have diseases. And we're going to a place that's 1,500 miles long, 1,500 miles high, and 1,500 miles wide. It's called the New Jerusalem. And the streets are paved with gold. And there's gates of pearl. And my God have mercy. >> Woo! Hallelujah to God. I'm telling you, you better be willing to hear some negative to appreciate the positive that God has for you. I wish somebody throw your head back and give him praise and give him honor right now. I'm going where the lamb is the light. When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be. When we all see Jesus, we will shout the victory. If you're ready to go to heaven, would you praise him right now? >> There is a judgment day. There is you. You You can't get around it. >> Everybody say you can't get around it. >> There's judgment day. Ecclesiastes 8 verse 6. Please follow this very closely. Ecclesiastes 8:6. Because to every purpose there is what? And judgment. Therefore the misery of man is great upon him. For he knoweth not that which shall be. But who can tell him when it shall be? There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit. Neither hath he power in the day of death, and there is no discharge in that war. Neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it. He's describing your your He's describing your battle with life. Might as well throw up the red the white flag. You're going to lose that battle. Death stalks us with each heartbeat that we have, with each breath that we have. It's it's it's a bleak thing here. It's a bleak thing here. Verse nine. All this have I seen and applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun. There is a time wherein one man ruleth over another to his hurt. Won't you really pay attention to verse 10 very closely? So and so I saw the wicked buried. He attends the funeral of a wicked man. He attends a funeral. He goes to the graveside. He watches a man, a wicked man, be buried. So I saw the wicked buried who had come and gone from the place of the holy. They are forgotten in the city where they had done so. This also is vanity. Go back to verse 10. I saw the wicked buried. But here's the meat of the scripture. They had come and gone from the place of the holy. They had come and gone from the place of the temple. They had come and gone from the place that sung the psalms. They had come and gone from the place the prophets prophesied and the priest taught the law. They had come and gone from this place, but they died wicked. How is that? How you get wayside soil is people going and coming, going and coming and it beats it down solid and hard. Can I tell you? Shake yourself. Prepare yourself. It's one thing to say, "I faithfully attend church." But it's another thing to say, "And it's changing my life." And it's changing my life. It is possible for you not to miss a service here, but die lost. Because it takes more than just going and coming to change the soil that you are. It takes more than just going and coming to change the wayside soil. That is hard. That is hard. And the seed cannot penetrate that hardness that's there. And would you notice about wayside soil? When the seed was sown on the wayside, Satan came immediately and took away the seed. Why does he come? Satan doesn't want the chance that a gracious, generous God will give to you to ever take root in your life. It only is in the mind. He doesn't want it to get in the heart. He wants for you to think for a moment that God is merciful, but he doesn't want you to think for an entire week that God is merciful. He wants you to feel God's spirit just for a second to feel that God is gracious and God is forgiving. But Satan will come immediately because he doesn't want it to take root. Because if I ever comprehend a God who really loves me in spite of who I am and what I've done, I'm going to be a change in division and come and gone in place of the holy, but they died wicked. But look at verse 11. And this is the reason a lot of people get deceived. They get deceived and they stay in their sin because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily. Therefore, the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. You see, they mistake because they've lived an evil life. that some judgment hasn't come, some tragedy hasn't come. They look at that and say, "See, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Eat, drink, and be merry. It doesn't matter." But what they're mistaken is it's the mercy of God that judgment hasn't come. Because look up here at me, sweet people. He doesn't want you to die lost. God is not willing that any would perish, but that all would come to repentance. So the very thing that God is giving you time and you're staying in your sin is not that God isn't judging sin. He's just postponing this and postponing that and pushing it on down the road. Why? He's just hoping that on a Wednesday night you would just hear a message and you would just begin to think, "It's got to be more than just me coming to church. It's got to be more than just me hearing a song. I've got to have him do something to the soil of my life. It is wayside soil, Brother Nolan, because it is the result of not being plowed. It's not been plowed. The only way to make it productive is to break up the unplowed ground. I said it in staff meeting tonight. I'll say it again. It is the devil's plan to villainize a preacher that preaches with authority. Yes, redfaced and yelling. It is God's plan. If he's redfaced because he's passionate about the word and if he's yelling because it's hard to preach about a living God and it not just do something on the inside of you. No, I'm here to tell you I hope as long as I preach the gospel, my face gets red and my voice lifts up because we need to plow. We need to plow. We need to plow. We need to plow. We need to plow. Oh God, you hear me tonight? We need to plow. We need to plow up and down the aisles. We need to You You don't need a poet. You don't need a poetry. You need a plowing. You don't need a soft fuzzy dim the lights. Get your latte out. Get stretched back. You need a red-faced preacher preaching the word of God that's plowing you up and piling you up and plowing you up and plow. That's the only way you're going to change. Oh, >> I wish somebody help me right now. I wish somebody would help me right now. Need some plowing in your life. Need some plowing in your life. You need your You need your comfort zone. You need Listen, we need to afflict the comfortable. Woe to them that are at ease in Zion. >> Oh yeah. >> I come church. Yeah. So did that man. He come and gone, but he died lost. >> He come and gone, but he died a wicked man because there was no plowing. No. No. We're just going to write him off. He's our old pastor. He's preaching that 1960 style of yell and everything. I really like to go. I I got the greatest compliment and I got the greatest hope for somebody. Somebody kind of lost their way and they they've kind of they kind of attending the first church to say nothing and church nothing believe anything you want to believe. And their kids told them the other night said, "We we miss the apostolic church. We miss the preaching. We miss the preaching. If a child will tell you that, then you need to obey. You see, tonight, it's not 1960s style. God knew that it pleased him by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Jesus lifted up his voice. John lifted up his voice. Paul lifted up his voice. And I'm going to lift up my voice. Stir you up. Stir you. But you see you, you determine the plowing. You determine preaching is the method of plowing. Preaching is the method of plowing. It pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. You can't be saved according to Paul in the book of Romans. How can we hear without a preacher? How can we believe? He's got to be a preacher and we've got to be sent. No, I didn't die on a cross for you. And no, my blood will not help you. But when God puts his word in a preacher's heart and it comes out the preacher's mouth, it's not the preacher that saves you. It's not his method that saves you. It's you opening up and saying, "Oh, this is the word of God. This is the word of the living God. I don't care how it makes me look. I don't care what my friends say about me. I got to have change in my life. I don't want to be a beatd down road. Oh my God, don't let the people be wayside soil. Oh God, don't let this church become wayside soil. Oh God, oh God, plow us up tonight. God, help us to break up, help us to break up ourow, help us to break up our fow ground. The wisest man that was a preach the wisest man to live besides Jesus Christ was a preacher. Follow me very fast. Follow me fast. Ecclesiastes 1 and1. Look at this. The words of the preacher. Ecclesiastes 1 and1. The words of the preacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem. Verse two. Vanity of vanity saith the preacher. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity. There we go with that negative again. No, we're preaching the negative of vanity to get you to see the positive of living for God. Verse number 12 of the same chapter. I the preacher was king over Israel and Jerusalem. Chapter 12 verse 8. Ecclesiastes. This is Listen to me again. Ecclesiastes 12 and 8. Why don't we read it together? 12:8. We read it together. Vanity. All right. That was That was everybody. That was everybody the second congregation and a few folks in the first congregation. Let's read it all together. Okay. Let's read it all together. Van Let me read verse nine. Moreover, because the preacher was wise, he sought he still taught the people knowledge. Yay, he gave good heed and sought out and set in order many proverbs. The preacher sought to find out acceptable words. And that which was written was upright, even the words of truth. The words of the wise are as goads and as nails fastened by the masters of the assemblies which are given by one shepherd. He said, "Let me tell you what I am." He said, "I'm nothing more than a goat." That's what a preacher is. That's what I am tonight. I'm just a goat. Do you know what a goat is? It's a long stick that was sharpened on the end to take stubborn animals that didn't want to move and jab them in the back of their heel and tell them to go on. You said, "Did you just call us animals?" I said, "A go?" Hey neighbor, if I'm willing, brother Marshall, to tell you all I am is a goad, I'm willing to tell all of you that we're just stubborn animals. that we get stuck in our way and we get satisfied with far short of what God has planned for us. And so sometimes God just says, "Get the goat out. It's a Wednesday night. Get it out." And I want you to begin to stick them in the back of the hill because they're stopped and they need to understand. They need to break up their fow ground and go. Oh, what a preacher. Talking about Solomon here. The words of the wise or goats, nails fastened by the masters of the assemb. He's talking about key nails. Key key nails that were driven into buildings. You know, you got little nails that can hold the trim on. You got little nails that can hold this on a picture on the wall. But I'm talking about nails that held the structure together. Nails that you had to get the chief supervisors out and say that nail needs to go right there. Bring these two boards together and nail it right there. That's a nail. Don't you ever take that nail out. If you ever take that, you take the nail out of the You take the nails out of the trim. You take the nail off the wall that's holding the picture up. But you see that nail right there? You better never take that nail out. Because if you take that nail out, the whole structure here will fall. That's why we preach a lot about there's only one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. There's only one name. There's only one God, and there's only hear me now. Are you hearing me? There's only one way. I don't care what people say. Tomato, tomato. There's only one way. And we better never take that nail out of the structure or it's all coming down. Oh, we talked to you tonight about holiness in the staff meeting. That's a nail we better keep in the building. We better keep driving it in the building. Our sons, our daughters, we better keep driving it in the building. fastened by the masters of the assemblies which are given by one shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Verse 12. And father by these my son be admonished of making many books there is no end and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Let us hear the concl Let's hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God, keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment and every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. What about you tonight? I don't want to be wastil. The next soil, I'll just go quickly, was stony ground. It was not plowed deep enough. It was ground that had rock. And the Bible said because it had rock underneath the soil. The Bible says that when the seed came up, when the seed came up, Mark 4:17, when the seed came up, there was no root in themselves. and so endure but for a time afterward when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake immediately they are offended. Let me tell you something. The wayside soil was never plowed. The ground that was called stony was not plowed deep enough. Oh, there's folks that can come and sit, listen to me talk about the mercies of God and the grace of God and the benefits of God and the gifts of the spirit and angels and all. They'll set with great anticipation. But when you drop the plow deeper, that's where they begin to buck. Oh, I think I'll slide down the road here and find me another place that they don't they don't they don't drop that plow that that I'm going to tell you what you got. You got rocks underneath. We say, "Well, what's the big deal about it?" No root. And no root is intended for a season of dryness. When that season in your life hits, and a season will hit all of our lives, it's not going to be the touch that you got Sunday night that's going to keep you. It's going to be the roots that you developed over time that's going to hold you. When you don't feel a chill bump, when you've even questioned God, how long's it been? And I'm going to tell you, we ought to all be transparent and say this tonight. There's dry times spiritually we all go through that we don't know when's the last time our emotion felt God but it is that person that has allowed the root the the the plow to go deep and you've got a root system and it's called the word of God and when there's no rain falling your roots have done found a course you've been planted by a river and you outlast the season you hear me tonight if you got roots you're going to outlast the season that you're in when you got roots You're going to outlast the affliction you're going through. When you got roots, you're going to outlast the persecution. You're not going to worry what they're saying about you. You're not going to lose sleep what they're lying about you. You're not going to get upset about what's on social media. Why? I got some roots. But hear me now. Hear me right now. The attack of persecution is not about you. You're not that important. It's the word that you're living that the devil wants to eradicate. It's the word that's the that's the word he's trying to get. Don't you know the devil wants to stamp out Jesus name baptism in this city? Don't you know the devil hates this church? That's why we ought to dig deep tonight and believe with all our heart that there's only one God and his name is Jesus. >> >> offended. >> Stand with me tonight. Stand with me now. Offended >> because of the word. Offended because of the word. Psalms 119 165. Let's read it together. Let's both congregations read this. Maybe both congregations will become one congregation tonight. Let's read it. Great. >> Let's read it again. Great. >> I gotta be plowed up, preacher. I got to be plowed up. I got to get my heart plowed up because great peace have they which love God's law. And guess what? Nothing shall offend them. >> One more scripture. One more scripture. Isaiah 54:13. I'm I'm going to try to stop saying my last scripture because I I've been lying to you. Isaiah 54:13. Let's read it all together. Isaiah 54:13. All >> and stops at we one and a half congregations. Let's read it again. And >> children. >> Oh my goodness. Sounds like if I have great peace, have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them, that I'm going to have children that are going to live in great peace. And guess what? >> Nothing offends them either. >> The word offend means to trip up. There's too many people get tripped up. The third is sewn on ground that had thorns in it. Thorns choked out. It says, "The care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things entering in choke the word and it becometh unfruitful." Hear me tonight. Look up here at me tonight. There's nothing wrong with doing life. There's nothing wrong with doing life. But life can't be all about your ball schedule >> and your shopping trip >> and your latest purse >> and your latest vacation >> and your latest closing. I'm I'm preaching to you tonight. You hear me? >> We don't watch it. We'll get caught up with life. >> God will be on the outside. >> But when we can show I ain't going to I don't know. God, I don't have a problem with this. I just got an observation. But when we have more emotion in that gymnasium >> than we do here, >> there's an issue going on here. When we can get more out for a Tuesday night ACA game than we can a Tuesday night prayer meeting, there's something going on that we need to shake oursel. We you know we got that we got that thing over there. We got that what you call that we sign in kiosk. It's a Greek for that thing. got that kiosk over there. You go type your name in. You punch in for prayer. Keeps a record of prayer. Keeps a record of how many's praying. It's a good thing. But I just wonder if we put that kiosk in front of that gymnasium and have you sign in because I'm gonna tell you something when it comes to judgment day. And I know some of you looking at me tonight like a dead night. No, I'm trying to preach a good morning to you >> because you can get caught up in life. Caught up who you're dating. Caught up with who you married. Caught up with where you're going. Caught up with how I'm raising my kids. I'm raising my kids this way. We got little house on prayer. I'm raising my kids. Caught up. Caught up. Caught up. Caught up. I'm not nearly as concerned with what time you get your kids to bed as I am with what time you get them in this altar. >> >> It's who I am. Stony ground, thorns, and good ground. And I'll just end with this. And I'm not lying to you. I just end with this. What makes good ground good ground? Plowed ground. Got the rocks out. got the thorns out. That's what makes it good ground. It's not your additives. It's not your fertilizer. It's not your reason at the end. If you'll let God plow your life and if you'll let God get the thorns out of your life. Do you know that you can admire some of the beautiful You go through the countries of Virginia, some places the Civil War was fought. Go through some places of plantation, you will find the most beautiful stone fences around. You ever seen those beautiful stone fences around? You know where those stones came from? Those stones came from them farmers that were plowing and they would hit a stone and they would dig it up and they would take the stone over and they made a fence out of it. A fence determines what's mine and what's not. You see, you could either take the hardness of your heart and let God bring it to the surface. Unforgiveness of years ago, done wrong, been wrong, revenge, whatever you want to do. But you can let God dig it up and we'll just build a beautiful fence and God will grow a wonderful harvest in your life. Don't you want that tonight? I want that tonight. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus, open the people's heart tonight, God, in the name of Jesus, Lord, help us, God, to allow the plowing of the preaching. Help us, God, to hear the words, God, of the preaching. Help us, God, to hear the words that the answer is only found in you. Oh God, help us to hear the words of the plow tonight. Oh God, help us, Lord, to let the plow dig deep and bring the rocks out of our heart. God, things that were done wrong to me years ago that I harbor I harbor feelings. I harbor I harbor ill will, God. But oh God, would you bring the rocks out of my life, Lord? Would you bring the rocks and God the thorns? Lord Jesus, you have nothing wrong with family time. You have nothing wrong with me enjoying life. But God, I cannot enjoy life at the expense of putting you on the back burner. Oh God, would you touch these people tonight? Lord, only you can change their life. My loud voice won't change them. My emotions won't change them. My personality won't change them. Oh God, it's only your word that's going to change them. Do the work tonight. Do the work tonight. Do the work tonight. Do the work tonight. Jesus, keep us safe as we go home. If there's any if there's any ice on our roads, Lord, keep your hands upon our people, God. Take them home safely tonight. We'll give you praise. We'll give you honor. We'll give you glory. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. And amen.