Bible, Bros & Brew
Bible, Bros, & Brew is all about helping you navigate your relationship with God in practical, real-life ways. Hosts David and Phil dig into scripture—'chopping up the word'—and bring it to life with insights you can actually use every day. And while they’re at it, they share their favorite 'brews'—don’t worry, it’s not booze! Just a solid lineup of classic coffees and teas to keep the conversations flowing.
Bible, Bros & Brew
Walking in the Spirit: A Deep Dive Into the Parable of the Sower | Bible, Bros & Brew
Though it may not initially sound like it, walking in the spirit is a surprisingly practical activity, especially when you keep this central truth in mind: Fruit is the natural product of seed. If we want to bear fruit (i.e., the fruit of the spirit), we must learn how to become good "spiritual farmers" by protecting and cultivating the seed of God's Word that's been sown in our hearts. In this latest installment of our series on walking in the spirit, David & Phil continue their deep dive discussion about the four types of soil described in the famous parable of the sower in Luke 8, Matthew 13 and Mark 4. So grab a cup of coffee and join us as we explore the practical steps you can take to see more fruit from God's Word in your everyday life.
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Last time we were together on Bible Bros and Brew, we began to talk about the parable of the sower. Today we're going to continue that conversation as we look at understanding and something really amazing about letting the word sink deep in your heart. Up next on Bible Bros and Brew. Hey everybody and welcome to Bible Bros and Brew. I'm David. On my side here with me is Philip. There we go Let me put my finger back there we go. And on the other side of Philip is John Ryan's, not with us tonight. We hate him.
Speaker 2:He's been fired.
Speaker 1:He's handling some business tonight, so we'll miss him, but we'll survive nonetheless. Tonight we're going to be talking about continuing to talk about the parable of the sower, but remember, we're talking about it in the bigger context of walking in the spirit, and so one of the things that Phil so eloquently shared a couple of episodes ago is the concept concept that if we're going to produce fruit and bear fruit, then it must start with seed, and that's why we've come over to take a look at the parable of the sower, because it's the ideal picture of the seed. But we also recognize that God shared wisdom with us and said if you understand this parable, then you'll be able to understand all parables. So we're looking for the deeper learning here, if you will, the deeper understanding which is an important word tonight from this parable. Before we go any further, though, let's see what everybody's sipping on to make sure their brains are functioning in a meaningful and prosperous way. I'll start with you, john, this time what you drinking tonight.
Speaker 2:Man, I'm drinking something potent but in a good way, this is a burrito, excuse me. Oh, that's right, a bourbon pecan. Can we see that? There we go. Oh, that's right, a bourbon pecan. Can we see that? There we go. Man, this thing tastes like. I'm a fan of black coffee. And the logos, can I say cute, I know we got a little a little offended at that one. It's all good, uh, but no, it's a good copy. That's keeping me up. What about you, mr Uncle Phil?
Speaker 3:Well, for this episode, I wanted to go back to my roots, back to that which has, in a sense, forged me in the fires of Mount Danor.
Speaker 3:And that would be Peregrine Coffee. And this is their Guatemala Don Edwin Martinez. And it's got notes of chocolate chip cookie, which I love, cinnamon and Mandarin orange which, believe it or not, is such a great balance that you can taste in this coffee man. It's just so good, dude, and I wanted to sport my Dunder Mifflin mug as well. Balance that you can taste in this coffee man, it's just so good, dude, I wanted to sport my Dunder Mifflin mug as well. For those who remember the Dwight Schrute theme of he's an assistant to the regional manager, that was one of my favorite shows from back in the day. Anyway, that's me, man. How about you, david?
Speaker 1:I am digging in at the red barn coffee co this week yes, red barn roasters, and I'm having a little bit of uh albin joy, oh nice. So I will tell you. For whatever reason, tonight, as I'm drinking it, I am getting a little bit of Snickers in it and I know that's not what they intended, but it's just my taste buds where they are right now, I guess. But yeah, it's a lovely cup of coffee, it's nice. It'll be a nice dessert coffee for you or something. If you're just feeling kind of sparky in the morning and want something different to get started with, this would be a lovely cup for that. So, almond joy from uh, red barn coffee roasters you know?
Speaker 3:uh, you'd be pleased to find out that. To find out that Mars Candy Company owns Snickers. Oh, never mind, I thought it owned both Snickers and Almond Joy, so I thought you may have been in the same candy family regardless but, actually Hershey owns Almond Joy, so it doesn't quite work, so anyway.
Speaker 1:Can't they all just get along though? When black candy and white candy can get together, live in harmony on the same shelves of the same department stores and groceries. Sorry, I just had a moment. It was there so that I had to let it come out. I'm sorry.
Speaker 3:That's all right.
Speaker 1:I'm sorry, we're all right. I'm sorry, we're in a new world right now and I should be behaving as though I was recently inoculated.
Speaker 2:Yes yes.
Speaker 1:Well, that's what's in our cups. Now let's jump into the word and dig in to what we're looking at. As I said before, we don't want to lose sight of, kind of the root of where we were, and we started this conversation off just a couple of episodes ago, in Galatians, where it tells us to walk in the Spirit and that we would not fulfill the lust of the flesh. And then it goes on and gives us a listing of the things, some of the things that are represented as lust of the flesh, and then it tells us about the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, meekness, gentleness, temperance, self-control. Forgive me if I got one of those slightly twisted, but it tells us, against these things there is no law. So what we've got to learn to do is we've got to learn to cultivate this fruit in our lives, which brings us to the parable of the sower, where we see Jesus sharing this parable with the people, and he said something very interesting, because the disciples asked him what does this parable mean? And Jesus said well, for you guys, it is to be known and understood, but for those who are without, they'll see and not see, they'll hear and not hear, and it was a reference back to something he'd said in the book of Isaiah, chapter 9, I believe it is. And so, now that the people that are standing around are prepared to hear, because the word is for them, it's very interesting, philip.
Speaker 1:It's like being a part of a country club. Right, when you're inside of the country club, all of the benefits of membership belong to you. But for those who are out, they can see the benefits of your membership, but they'll never partake of them. If you have a golf course, for example, they can see you play golf, but they can't go out and experience what it's like to play golf in your country club. They can see you eat dinner there, but they can never experience and understand the ingredients of the steak or lobster or whatever it is you have there. And being a Christian is like being in a club.
Speaker 1:There are things that are designed for the believer to know and understand, but for those who are outside of us, it's a parable, it's a story, and you'll get whatever you get out of it. And so now Jesus turns to the disciples and the people around and explains the story to them, and last week we explained a lot of what this parable meant looking at Mark, chapter 4. This week we want to look at a combination of Luke, chapter 8, and Matthew, chapter 13. And we want to just break this parable down just a little bit more and specifically the explanation that Jesus gives in it, because in it lies the secret to why we're failing to produce fruit, if we just want to be honest, because we see here there are four types of ground that are laid out, but only one ground produces good fruit. That gets you 30, 60, or 100 fold.
Speaker 1:That's the place that, if you talk to people, I know everybody would want to say they live in that place. That's the place that I want to be, but nonetheless we're all not there, and so we've got to understand what it is about the different kinds of ground and what's happening in the seed. Philip, I'll say one other quick thing before we start reading, and that is in this parable. There are two steadfast things that are critical, most important things, I believe, about this parable. Number one the word is the seed, about this parable.
Speaker 3:Number one the word is the seed.
Speaker 1:And number two, the soil is the heart of man and this is a parable about that seed getting into man's heart and producing a harvest, and so I want you to kind of look at it in that context as we begin to kind of break this down. So I think I want to start in Matthew, chapter 13, because right off the rip it gives us something important. Let's look at the King James version of this I'm just going old school on you because I love the King James of this and in verse 18, it says hear ye. Therefore the parable of the sower when anyone hears the word of the kingdom and understands it not, then cometh the wicked one and catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received the seed by the wayside.
Speaker 1:So ground number one that we're going to talk about is the wayside. So just think about side of the road and a farmer is just spreading seed and some of it just falls on the wayside of the road and it says here uh, that when anyone hears the word and listen, that's the oh, philip, I'm gonna start, I'm not gonna talk too much you're good there's something incredible here that happens throughout all of these parables, and it's this magnificent tool called hearing, Because it's not just planting a seed, throwing it on the ground, because we're talking about the heart of man we're talking about.
Speaker 1:The seed is planted and it says when anyone hears the word of the kingdom and understands it not, then comes the wicked one and takes away that which was sown in his heart. I'm going to stop right there, Philip. I'm going to hand it off to you.
Speaker 3:Talk to us about this for just a bit yeah, it's interesting, um, because in mark four, uh, it talks, of course we know there's. There's mark 4, matthew 13, luke 8. Those three are the same exact uh parable. It's the parable of the sower, but just different angles and perspectives. And so some of the like you get one one person's version. They emphasize one thing and that's totally not even necessarily emphasized in the other uh versions, but they all, of course, it all comes out in the wash. It all kind of equals out when you, when you take them all together. But the one that blew me away is that when I love mark four is probably my favorite. The one that blew me away is that I love Mark 4. It's probably my favorite version of it. It's just kind of, I don't know, it's the one that I read the most when I want to go to the parable of the sower.
Speaker 3:But Mark 4, unfortunately leaves out that very, very important detail about the wayside ground that Matthew 13 includes and that is in that verse. I think it was 18,. John, I'm sorry you could put that back over the screen. Yeah, it says verse 19. It says when anyone hears the word of the kingdom and understands it not, then the wicked one comes. Now, if you read this in the Mark four version, you only see these are the seeds by the wayside where the word is sown. But when they have heard, immediately Satan comes and takes the word away from their hearts. And so it makes it seem like Satan can come all willy-nilly and just take the word out of people's hearts at random. But that's actually not what it means. It's just one of those things where that particular detail was left out of the Martin version.
Speaker 3:But we have it here in the Matthew version and I'm telling you, if you really understand how important understanding is, then this version of the parable, then this version of the parable. It's the core reason why you have people that never get to that place of producing a harvest from the word. It's because they may have heard it but they did not get the sense of it or they didn't get the understanding of it. They didn't comprehend what they were hearing. And that's not hard to do, to be honest with you, because if you take the average person and you tell them hey, read the Bible, tell me what you think about it, they're probably going to, especially if they have a King James version. They're probably going to be like, okay, this is a bunch of the thou and thus, and I don't quite get what I'm hearing. I don't quite get what I'm hearing. You know I don't get quite, given I'm reading. So it's interesting.
Speaker 3:You, you have to not only understand, you have to understand how to understand it, I guess is what I'm saying. You know, you have to take time and study it to really get and grasp the meaning of it. And I think, if I'm not mistaken, the word understand it there In the Greek, it means to put two things together. It's something like that. I forgot exactly what the Strong's Concordance says, but it's something to the effect of that word used for understanding. It means to make a connection or put two things together, also to comprehend. And so it has to go deeper, as far as if you really want to get something out of the Bible, get something out of the scriptures, it has to go deeper than just, well, I read it, you can read it, and your mind could be a thousand miles away. You have to actually take the time. There it is. That's the word understanding. Go down the usage, yep there it is under usage.
Speaker 3:Yep, yep see yeah, the greek verb sunami forgive me if I mispronounced that primarily means to bring together in the mind to comprehend or to understand. So the mind to comprehend or to understand, so it says it implies a synthesis of information where various pieces of knowledge or insight are combined to form a coherent understanding. And to be honest, guys, this is important. Even in reading these three different versions of the parable of the sower, you're, you're getting these various pieces of that parable and it takes reading all of them, grasping all of them and putting it together to get a real picture of what the parable was about. And so to me, this is the ultimate key, because David and I, you know, we've known each other forever and we used to go to the same church.
Speaker 3:It was a mega church and the pastor of that church always emphasized understanding the word he was famous for saying you know, it makes no sense to come to church, hear a sermon and walk away not even knowing what you heard. Advocate for you taking the time in your own personal time and studying the scripture, getting a concordance, getting Bible dictionaries, taking time to really get the sense of what you're reading, otherwise what did you really do? It can kind of go in one ear and out the other. And so with this, if you can grasp what the scriptures say, get a real connection in your mind as to what he's talking about, then that's when the seed can really get planted in your heart. That's when Satan cannot come and take it away, is when you grasp it and get the sense and the meaning of it. And so that's why David and I will always say study the word, take time to really get into it and dig into it for sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, rest of the word, because it gives the. It gives the concept or the idea that understanding is part of the receiving the seed into the ground.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you can't receive seed into the ground without understanding that's good, that's good as we look at the next couple of uh grounds, then you'll see that understanding had to happen for there to be any. Some level of understanding had to happen in order for there to begin to be the production of fruit in each person's life or in each soil. I want to just turn right really quickly. If you're following along in your Bible, leave your finger over and, quite frankly, if you really want to study deep with us, you should have a finger in Mark, chapter 4, a finger in Luke, chapter 8, and then another finger in Matthew, chapter 13.
Speaker 3:Right the Chinese yo-yo. Your fingers all tangled up.
Speaker 1:Use one hand for that. Use the other hand for writing. Now look at Luke really quickly. On that same verse it says those by the wayside, are they that hear? Then comes the devil and takes away the word out of their hearts lest they should believe and be saved. Mm-mm-mm, wow, wow. Now the door just opens up to a whole other realm now, because now you can see, we clearly see that the devil's involved in this process.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 1:And we can see that what he wanted was the word from the beginning. If I can get the seed from the beginning before you even understand it and get it, then good things have happened for me.
Speaker 3:That's right. That's right. It's interesting man, he's always been that way.
Speaker 3:He's always been that way. He always likes to try to attack a thing when it's in its seed form, because he knows that if it gets a chance to grow then it's going to be a problem for him. And so that's why and I'm just kind of kind of riffing here, david, but that's why, like it seems like it's always the hardest when you very first start a business, or when you very first try to exercise and eat right and diet and all the stuff like that. It's always at the beginning of something, always in that seed stage, where Satan really seems to come at his hardest to try to knock you off and uh and and get you, derail you from from the mission, is because he knows that it's easier to attack something when it's in its seed form, um, when it's at its most vulnerable time, because and and definitely this applies to the word it's like when you can, um, get that seed of the word planted in your heart, especially about something that maybe something specifically you're dealing with in life, like it could be about anxiety, or maybe you're having trouble financially, whatever it is, and let's say that you've got some scriptures on that thing, like, for instance, the anxiety thing.
Speaker 3:You can go to 2 Timothy 1, 7, god's not giving me a spirit of fear, but power and love and a sound mind. So that's your scripture that you want to hold on to. But here he comes and he's going to try to, you know, bring something across your path, or some experience, or whatever that's going to tempt you into giving up on that word, or abandoning the word, or aborting it, or whatever you want to call it, so that you'll never see the end result of what that word can produce. You know, I'm telling you, it's almost like just with anything, that in its beginning stages it seems like sometimes that's when the attacks are the heaviest man.
Speaker 1:Right, and that means I'll try to snatch it from you before you even get a chance to wrap your head around it.
Speaker 3:Mm Goodness, goodness Wow.
Speaker 1:And I'll try to take it. That's good and that's the. That's just the wayside ground.
Speaker 2:Mm.
Speaker 1:So now, when you think about it, when you, when you look at all of the parables, you know, when you hear the word of the kingdom and understand it, not the wicked one comes to take it away. Mm, hmm so that you won't believe and be saved. Now, do you see what he's after now in the parable of the sowers? He's not just talking about producing some random fruit. He's talking about your believing and being saved. We're talking about salvation here. That's at play. Salvation is always the first work of seed in your life.
Speaker 3:That's good, man, that's good.
Speaker 1:Wow, I can't believe. I just said that that's a revelation.
Speaker 2:That's dope.
Speaker 1:Yes sir.
Speaker 1:Seed is always. Salvation is always the first work of seed in your life. God wants you to be born again. So now let's go look at this next ground, the stony ground, because it takes it a step further If we look at it. In Luke, chapter 8, it says they on the rock are they which, when they hear, receive the word with joy and these have no root received the word with joy and these have no root, which for a while believe and in time of temptation fall away. And Philip, you kind of explained a little bit of that here just a minute ago. But then, when you look at Matthew 13 of the same verse, it says but he that received the seed in stony places, the same as he that hears the word and the non with joy receives it. Yet here's the key Hath he not root in himself?
Speaker 1:but, endures for a while, for when tribulation and persecution arises because of the word by and by, he is offended because of the word by and by he is offended.
Speaker 1:It's interesting to me, philip, that even looking at the two parables, what we see that is common is that they heard the word, they received it. Not just received it, but received it with joy, so they got something out of it. There was some level of understanding that was struck. But the problem was is that they're on stony ground? And I watched a video. Greg Laurie did a video and he was on the beach explaining this parable of the sower and he just randomly walked over to a kind of a stony, stony grounded place and he's like look at this. And he reached out and pulled the plant up. And you see exactly what Jesus was talking about. It's a plant that kind of had a root, but he pulled it out of the ground so easily because there was really nowhere for the soil to go, because the ground was all hard and rocky.
Speaker 1:So, it never took root. It was easy to pick up, and so we see where the scripture says that when temptations and offenses come and which translation says I think it's Mark, where'd it go? That boils down to that the temptation and affliction comes because of the word.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yep, I think that's the Mark one. Yeah, yep, and I love that because of the word is giving you the cause for the temptation. You know the cause for the persecution and the affliction it is because of the word. Had you not even gotten any word or had it not tried to sink in it, very well could be that that thing, that temptation or that persecution may not even try to come to your doorstep, but it's the purpose of it is to knock you off of what the word has in store. And, as always, there's always going to be that, that phase that you have to go through and you have to endure when you're entering into something new, I don't care what it is, there's always that, that, that place or that that time period where you're going to face the obstacles. You're going to have the times where you, you think that nothing's happening. You're going to have the times where you, you feel like you've been took two steps forward and five steps back, and things like that. It happens.
Speaker 3:It's, I think that sometimes in I don't know what to call it. I don't know what to call it Honestly, maybe modern Christianity, or whatever you want to say. We emphasize sometimes this unrealistic smooth path. It's not hardly ever like that in real life. If you're trying to accomplish something or get something done, there's hardly ever a completely smooth, trouble-free, stress-free path. I don't know of anybody that's tried to build something significant or do something significant that never ran into obstacles and so go ahead. David, I'm sorry.
Speaker 1:Well, you reminded me I was just watching this situation that's unfolding right now reminded me I was just watching this situation that's unfolding right now. There's a beautiful church.
Speaker 3:It's called 2819.
Speaker 1:And you know they just had a really big situation hit their whole church this weekend Because you know, in their case, the city of Atlanta has been watching them. You know, in their case, the city of Atlanta has been watching them and they don't like what's going on and so now they've told this church they have to get out of the school they're in.
Speaker 3:Wow.
Speaker 1:And they've got to do it within 30 days. And you know that's the enemy at work. When the word is strong, truth is being preached, the enemy comes for what's being done there and you can see it playing out. And that's when we begin to discern maybe, if you would, the wheat from the tares or the sheep from the goat, because there's an opportunity to lay hold with doggone faith that says I don't care what happens.
Speaker 1:I believe God's going to do what he said he's going to do, he's going to turn this situation around for us and we're going to find a new home. It's going to be beautiful. God's going to provide all of the resources and do everything versus. Well, it was a good run, we did the best we could and, you know, maybe y'all can meet up in your homes or something like that. This is the difference between those which the word is laid hold in and understanding this happen, and those whom it hasn't fully, and so, because they're getting pushed and pressured, some are ready to quit, but the pastor is saying no, we're going to hold on to God. And that's a life-changing experience. And just imagine being a part of that church and seeing an example of holding on to God. It begins to teach and show and give understanding to the people of how to do it in their own lives.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And you know, Philip and I, in the church that we were in, we saw a lot of faith moving. We saw a lot of stuff happen by faith. Yeah, you know, we believed for, we prayed for, we got together and just knew God would take care of. But I think what's even better is when we were seeing it in our own lives.
Speaker 3:Yes, 100%.
Speaker 1:Because we didn't always remain under the auspices of that church, and I can I'm thinking of some times right now where you know it wasn't. There wasn't a big prayer group to go and offer up your prayer request to them and tell them to pray for you and all that. You had to make your way out of it. You had to pray, you had to believe God, you had to trust God that he was good for his word and that he would do what he said, and you had to see God bring you through that thing. And that's a beautiful thing when you see God work that way in your life. But these people on this stony ground don't give God the chance to show his faithfulness.
Speaker 3:Wow, there is a level of determination that you have to have that's kind of a prerequisite, I think, to actually being any type of farmer, even in the natural world. Beyond the spiritual sowing and reaping, even in the natural world, you know, beyond the spiritual sowing and reaping, even in the natural realm, if you're going to be a farmer, there has to be a level of determination that you have in your. I mean, there's a, there's a level of diligence that that must be there in order for you to plant the thing, cultivate it, see it through and get a harvest and, um, it won't happen instantaneously. That's not any level of realistic, even for actual farming is unheard of. And so, with the word of God, with planting God's word in your heart, for whatever the situation is like I said, you might be dealing with anxiety, you might be dealing with relationship issues, marriage issues, financial issues, health issues, whatever it is, there's a scripture for it. Number one, once you find that scripture, for what you're dealing with? A promise from God that he put it forth in the scriptures and we know, in second Corinthians 2, 14 it says all the promises of God in Christ are yes and amen. You know so God's already decided. You know he's, he's got stuff he's already promised and told us we. You know that we have as covenant benefits, as believers in him. So but that doesn't mean necessarily that the promise is going to be instantly manifested in your life. Sometimes there is a good fight of faith that you have to fight and it's not going to be easy, it's just not. I wish we could, you know, give you the eye in the sky version, but it's not realistic. So, yeah, so, and that's the challenge of that rocky ground.
Speaker 3:That, to me, what I'm describing is the rocky ground challenge. It is when those tribulations try to come afflictions, persecutions, whatever when they try to come, what are you going to do? Are you going to stand on what the word says and go? I don't care what's going on, all I know is that this is what God said. Or are you going to say I don't know, god, what's going on. Oh, maybe it wasn't your will to begin with. Or maybe God's punishing me to teach me something, and all this other stuff that you start drifting off into. Or maybe you just say I don't even know if there is a God. You know, you start going down that road and it's like you know that's what they did in Exodus, I think in Numbers as well Probably two different tellings of the same situation.
Speaker 3:But once they got out of Egypt, the children of Israel, they got out of Egypt, went into the wilderness. The first thing they started doing was complaining and saying why did God bring us out here? Just so we could die? You know he had already promised them hey, I have a land waiting on you, a land flowing with milk and honey. It's going to be awesome. You're not going to lack one thing. Just follow my servant Moses, don't be getting caught up in a bunch of sin. Do the right thing. He gave them clear instructions, but after a while, because they got tired of eating the manna, they got tired of it's the same thing every day water from the rock, and we never know if we're going to make it or not. And all this stuff like that, all those things. It produced this complaining. It produced this unbelief. It produced this thing of is God even among us or not? That's something that it said in one of the chapters in Numbers, and it's like is that an attitude of faith anymore? Not really no.
Speaker 1:Look, it's the stony ground heart.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 1:And remember these are heart conditions that we're talking about there's a wayside heart.
Speaker 1:That means that your heart is so covered in rocks and soil and not even soil, but rocks and just stuff that doesn't produce a harvest that it bounces on that stuff and the birds are allowed to eat it up. Satan's allowed to come and take it away. The rocky ground says that there's still rocks in your heart. There is fallow ground that needs to be broken up in your heart so that you can produce and get that 30, 60, and 100-fold. And you just, philip's talking about the children of Israel. You want to talk about some wayside ground, you want to talk about some stony ground. And then, look, here's the wild thing. Just read your Bible. There were still believers. There were still people among the Jews that didn't believe. Yes, yes, after all, they had seen, there were still Israelites who did not believe.
Speaker 3:Wow, wow, it's true. Even after seeing God work, I mean, he performed a miraculous deliverance for them. They got out of Egypt by his hand. They get to the Red Sea. It looks insurmountable. The Egyptian army is chasing them and then Moses, of course, does his thing with the staff. The sea splits and then the army gets drowned and it's like, wow, we saw God do something unprecedented. And then they get on the other side and instantly are like but is God really with us or not? You know, right, right.
Speaker 1:Right how I believe and now you see. Now you see why they toiled in the wilderness for 40 years, or a 40 day trip because God was trying to do something in those hearts that you know they just weren't going to allow to be done. Some of them.
Speaker 3:Yeah, john, if you don't mind, could you go to Hebrews 3? Because this one just popped in my head while we were talking about it. This is exactly along the lines, I think. Once you see how this ties into the rocky ground piece of the parable, it's pretty cool. In Hebrews, chapter 3, around verse 5 or 6, something like that, there it is Verse 7,.
Speaker 3:Actually it says that is why the Holy Spirit says Today, when you hear His voice, don't harden your hearts. Now, would that not qualify as a rocky heart or a heart full of rocks? It's like don't harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness. There your ancestors tested and tried my patience. This is God talking, even though they saw my miracles for 40 years. It's like goodness man, they saw God doing miracles literally for 40 years straight and he said so. I was angry with them and I said their hearts. Again he's going back to the core, back to the reason their hearts always turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them. So in my anger I took an oath they will never enter my place of rest.
Speaker 3:And then in verse 12, I think this is where we got to tie that in with that parable of the sower. Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters, make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God Dude. It's interesting how I mean, according to what this says and there's other translations, I think, that bear witness to this it's interesting how unbelief and evil are tied together there, and it's like God considers a lack of belief, or specifically choosing not to believe him, as something that's evil. Basically, you know, if you want to break it down, that's evil. Basically, you know if you want to break it down. And so it's like he's saying take heed so that there doesn't turn out to be a heart of unbelief in you in turning away from him. And so he's sitting here saying I've given you my word, I've told you what I'm going to do, I'm not a liar.
Speaker 3:And Titus 1, I think it says it's impossible for God to lie. There's other places where it says that too. So now the ball is in your court. Are you going to believe me or are you going to? You know, just say I don't know God. I mean, I'm not sure who's to say that you're really here or not. Who's to say you even heard my prayer or not, you know, and getting off into all this emotional stuff, it's not going to serve you. Well, what he's expecting, if I can put it this way, what he's expecting is for you to stand on what he said In Hebrews 11,. It says without faith, it's impossible to please him. That's a huge thing. To please him, that's a huge thing. It's like somewhere along the way I think God has. I got to be careful how I'm saying all this stuff and I didn't get much sleep last night, so if it comes out wrong, forgive me. But it's like if I believe there's a level of tolerance for our doubts, I don't think that God expects us to have zero doubts ever.
Speaker 3:I know that. He knows we're human. He knows in like Psalm 103, it says he knows our frame. He remembers that we're dust. He knows we're trying to figure this thing out. But when it comes down to it, when you've gotten his word on a thing, when you've gotten his word on a thing, the thing that honors him most is not you sitting over here questioning, doubting, second guessing what he said. The thing that honors him most is for you to say you know what, father, if you said it, I believe it, and that's going to be the end of that. I believe it, period. And then you just start walking in the direction of what that belief would demonstrate.
Speaker 1:You know what, philip? I hate to say it like this because I don't want to sound like an old fuddy-duddy to the people listening. But that's what the old folks used to do and they were so successful in their walk with God. You know, I even talked to my dad now. He said well in their walk with God. You know, I even talk to my dad now.
Speaker 2:He said well, he said the master knows and he'll work it out.
Speaker 1:Yes, and you know. His answer is always he'll tell you what's going on, but he always comes back to but the master, yes, yes. And my dad calls God the master.
Speaker 2:He is.
Speaker 1:He is right.
Speaker 2:And.
Speaker 1:I've always. You know my mom will say it. You know I've heard church people in their old churches and stuff say it and my grandparents I've heard them say it. It's almost, it's an equivalent to, but God.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know, yeah, and they always keep the but God in their lives and it's like we who are younger, you know we've. I don't know what we think of ourselves. But we sometimes, I think, think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. The word tells us that, but tells us to think soberly. That's right To think soberly. That's right To think soberly.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think sometimes we get too smart for our own good Right and we start yeah, we start leaning to our own understanding instead of what God said, you know? And in Proverbs 3, he's like look trust in the Lord with all your heart. Don't lean to your own understanding, you know. Be not wise in your own eyes.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:And it's right there in the scripture. It's like number one you don't know everything and God does.
Speaker 1:Right and Philip, doesn't that scripture end with but fear the Lord and depart from evil, or where am I?
Speaker 3:at it? Does You're right? Absolutely.
Speaker 1:And you know, I just want to say you know, we have all this technology right, we have all of these tools. We have these phones in our hands which, if you really think about it, are magnificent tools, tools. It's amazing what you could literally carry your phone around and have access to almost anything you could possibly want or need information wise and we live in a world.
Speaker 1:I was just watching the news and they were talking about a $500 billion investment in AI and the fact that AI is going to be able to help with cancer and your doctor's appointments and stuff like that, and finding the right, you know, prescription for you. That if you get sick with a certain type of thing, that it will create a vaccine. Ai will be able to create a vaccine just for you. I all of that is great, but god is still on the throne. Come on man. And if I put man and if I put my trust in AI, if I put my trust in the phone, if I put my trust in all of these other things, I've left no room for God.
Speaker 1:And do you think God is going to allow AI to upstage him?
Speaker 3:Come on bro.
Speaker 1:He's not going to have it. You're always going to need to trust in God. That's right. You know what I use chat GPT now and you know one of the things it constantly warns me of Check this information. It may not all be correct.
Speaker 3:There you go. It's artificially intelligent enough to know that Right.
Speaker 1:But God is always correct and we can trust Him. We can depend on Him. We could use these tools to help us, but we still have to depend on and trust in God for everything, in every area of our lives, despite the technology, despite the robots, despite all of the stuff that may be out there that says, hey, I can guide your life.
Speaker 3:Right Only. God can guide your life. That's right. That's right. What it boils down to as well I guess that's the way to say it is that his system doesn't change. His system doesn't change. His system is seed, time and harvest. It's been that way since the beginning of time, and that's a system that requires patience period. It requires diligence, determination, all those things that are not easy for human beings and we're so used to, especially in our generation man. We're so used to, especially in our generation man.
Speaker 3:we're so used to all the easy conveniences that are out there that's why this ai thing is such a uh, I don't say deceptive, it's not quite the right word. It's such a seducing thing. You know it's. It's, it's promising that you honestly don't have to work for a whole lot. Just pop something in AI and it'll give you something. You know and I'm not saying that there's not you know, that can genuinely be the case with some of the things that AI. But that doesn't in any way reflect on what God's system, how God's system, operates. His system has not changed and to be and here's the the wild thing His system is perfect. Yes, once it's done by way of his system, it doesn't ever, it won't ever, have to be undone or have to be redone. When it's done, his way is going to work.
Speaker 1:In other words, god was perfect AI before AI came along. Once again, something else trying to imitate God. Because we can go to God and ask him for the answers of life and if we're patient, if we'll believe him for it, he will give us the answers to life. He'll give you the answers to your life. Now, if you're going to God asking him for answers to other people's lives, then that's a hold on the ball game and I can't touch that right now. Okay, we still got one more ground and it's the thorny ground.
Speaker 1:Yes, now if we look at Luke, chapter 8, luke chapter 8 says in verse 14, and that which fell among thorns are they which, when they have heard, check that out, they've heard they go forth and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to perfection of this life and bring no fruit to perfection. Matthew says he also that received a seed among thorns. Is he that hears the word and the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and he becomes unfruitful. Philip, I see a picture of a man here with a heart that is both working to bear the fruit of God's word, because understanding has happened In order for it to begin to produce fruit. Understanding has happened.
Speaker 1:Right, exactly, but then you know you start also living and going about the things of the world, the cares of the day, the concerns about your rent and all of those things, and those become thorns around what you had been believing and praying for. That was good and start choking that out to the point that you still don't produce a harvest.
Speaker 3:Wow, wow. It's interesting, man, because it says actually, john, if you could put that back up in that Luke 8, there it says in verse 14, the seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and so they never grow into maturity. So it's not that there was no fruit at all, right, maturity. So it's not that there was no fruit at all, right, it's that the fruit that was there ends up getting choked. Yep, you know, and, and I think in in luke 8, in the king james, it says they bring no fruit to perfection.
Speaker 3:And I remember one time we were trying to grow, um, oh gosh, I think it was cucumbers, uh, in in our backyard at the place we used to live in Fayetteville, and we did the whole thing. We thought we were doing everything right. We got the soil, you know, from Home Depot, whatever the stuff that's supposed to grow really well, grow plants really well. We did the whole thing, tried to monitor everything, keep the pests out, and but there was too much clay mixed in with our soil and so there was not enough for the roots to really get nourished by. So we grew like a fourth of a cucumber. It looked ridiculous. It was like a little bud.
Speaker 1:That cucumber said I'm trying to suck the life out of everything around here.
Speaker 3:It's like, dude, I'm trying, I'm doing the best of what I've got. Man, okay, you know so, but it was like it. The fruit did not come to perfection. In other words, it was there, but because of the competing things, the, the lack of good soil, all the other stuff that was going on, it just could not reach its full potential, if you want to call it that. And so that's what happens here.
Speaker 3:It's not that I mean think about it. This is a person who's finally at a place where they've understood the word. So they've passed level one. They're at the place where they've been able to get past persecutions and afflictions and all that. So they've passed level one. They're at the place where they've been able to get past persecutions and afflictions and all that. So they've passed level two. But then they get to level three and instead of something necessarily coming against them, now it's just things going alongside them that are crowding the word out. Right, right. And that's like, wow, it's not even that we're plucking, plucking the fruit out, is that we're adding too much junk onto it, right, you know? And then all of a sudden, it just it gets smothered, and so it can't, it can't grow like that.
Speaker 1:You know it's interesting, we, we. I think one of the things that comes along with the world we live in, particularly now, is that our world is filled with so much stuff, and I mean we literally have things that desire our attention 24 hours, seven days a week. It's true, whether it's you know, you're going to work and you're doing your work, your phone's ringing and buzzing all the time, you're being alerted for this, alerted for that. The kids need something, your spouse may need something, or a girlfriend may need something, or you're supposed to hang out with the folks oh, you got to be at soccer practice and you can just put the list together and there are all these things. And then we want to Netflix and chill, right, and do all that wild stuff, and before you know it, you don't have time in the day for anything.
Speaker 3:That's right.
Speaker 1:And if you've got no time in the day for anything, then you can begin to see how it would be difficult to bear fruit in an environment that is so full with its stuff. That's why, you know, matthew chapter 6 tells us to take no thought for tomorrow, because tomorrow will take thought for itself. Let's just focus on the day. And it's funny, I was reading a devotional. I'm reading a devotional on prayer right now, and one of the things it talks about is pray for today. Tomorrow will have sufficient things for you to pray for about tomorrow. So true, so true.
Speaker 1:And we've got to really shake this sense that we've got to be involved in everything, doing everything and really putting what's important first, because inevitably the things that get left aside is oh crap, I slept late so I don't read my word, yeah, yeah, and then I'll get it at lunch, and then I decide to go to lunch with Susan, and so now me and Susan are at lunch and I still haven't read my word. I haven't prayed at all except to thank God, and you know all. It's usually your spiritual activities, your spiritual works that always get pushed to the side. That's true.
Speaker 1:When so much is going on in your life, we've got to learn to maybe fast from some of these things and ask the question how badly do I need this thing in my life? And you'll find out you don't need it nearly as badly as you thought you do. But Microsoft and Snapchat and Instagram and Meta, and all of these to Apple, all of these tools want your time and attention, and you've got to learn to say no and to give your time and attention to the things that matter most, so that you can live a fruitful life.
Speaker 3:That's good, dan, that's good.
Speaker 1:Oh, go ahead.
Speaker 3:No, you go ahead.
Speaker 1:I'm sorry I was going to say let's cover one more ground real quickly, because we've got just a couple of minutes left.
Speaker 3:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:It says, but that in verse 15, on the good ground. Are they? I know you love this part, but they are they which and I've been reading in Luke which, in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience. Excuse me, You're fine. The Matthew 13 says but he that receives seed into the good ground, as he that hears the word understands it, which also bears fruit and brings forth some hundred, some 60 and some 30 fold what you got.
Speaker 3:Man. I think with the Luke translation of this, or the Luke version, luke 8 version of this, to me it just nails it to a degree that I think the other two parables don't quite again, each one has its own strengths and weaknesses to me you know what I mean. I guess weaknesses wouldn't be the right way, but each one has its own points of emphasis. That's probably the better way to put it so. But with this one here it says the seeds that fell on the good ground or the good soil represent honest, good hearted people who hear God's word, cling to it and patiently produce a huge harvest. Those two words in the King James it says in an honest and good heart they bring forth fruit with patience.
Speaker 3:I don't think we really Grasp the importance of an honest heart, a heart that doesn't have any pretense when dealing with God, you know, a heart that's not trying to hide something when dealing with God, a heart that's thoroughly transparent dealing with God, because the truth of the matter is that Galatians 6 told us God's not mocked, don't be deceived. He knows when you're telling the truth and when you're not. He knows when you're operating above board and when you're not. There's something, because what it really boils down to. It's a person who's whole, inside and out. You know their heart is sound. You can't have an unsound heart and expect to produce this type. You can't be good soil with an unsound heart, and there's a lot of things that can produce an unsound heart, like if you have unrepented sin or unrepented of sin I don't know what to call it.
Speaker 3:Unforgiveness yeah, unforgiveness as well, those things that may be something you're just not willing to deal with but could be hindering you, and I always think of that scripture in Proverbs 27 or 28. It says he that covers his sins will not prosper. But if he confesses and forsakes them, then he'll have mercy. But if he confesses and forsakes them, then he'll have mercy. So there's always this thing about God has a constant heart monitor going just in your life, from the time you're born to the time you come to see him. There's a constant heart monitor. What's going on in your heart? What are your motives? What's driving you right now? You know, what are the things that you have yet to fully deal with, that you need to deal with.
Speaker 3:All these things that may not necessarily be even sometimes consciously thought of during the day, but then, when certain situations come, it brings something out. You know what I mean. It could be bitterness toward a spouse. It could be jealousy in a relationship with a friend. It could be the love of money that you're dealing with that you don't even know is there until something happens, and now you're tempted with that love of money.
Speaker 3:Those, all those things are symptoms of, or signs of, an unsound heart or a heart that's not honest, if that makes sense. I think the word honest to me it means much more than just telling the truth in that particular verse. It means an honest and good heart. It's something that the heart condition has to be optimal if that makes sense. And that would automatically mean there has to be some level of dealing with these things that can pollute the heart, you know. And so that, to me, once those things begin to be dealt with in your life and it is a process, it is a process, man, it's not going to happen instantly, um, but once those things begin to be dealt with, god starts peeling back those layers All of a sudden. Uh, now you're at a place where your heart is actually good ground to be able to grow that word like it without all the hindrances and the thorns and the other stuff getting in the way. Hopefully I didn't get too wordy with that, but I just wanted to bring that up.
Speaker 1:No, that's good. I want to encourage you tonight as we kind of wrap things up for this episode. You know, hear, understand and bear fruit and bring forth. That's what God wants of us. That's the place where we want to be, which means that the soil of our heart has to be worked to the point where we are that good ground where we can produce. You know, one of the things I've learned about gardening and so forth is that if you don't pay attention to the soil, you lose from the beginning.
Speaker 3:A hundred percent, A hundred percent man.
Speaker 1:You lose from the very beginning. So you have to pay attention to the soil and if you don't tend your ground, there's a farmer out of side of our house and he's been expanding the area that he is farming in in his little area that he has. But one of the things that he does every year is at the end of the season and he's done with his watermelons, he goes back through, he teals that ground, he piles up some dirt, then that dirt grows grass over the winter season and all of that good stuff, and then he'll come back out and teal it and he'll work on that soil and then he'll plant.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 1:We've got to take the same approach. We've got to work on the soil of our heart. We want to be good ground so that when the sower, who sows the word, cast his seed, when it's cast into us, it bears fruit in our lives.
Speaker 3:That's good.
Speaker 1:We're going to put a bookmark right there. We've got more to talk about on this and others, because we still we're going to guide ourselves back into the conversation of um. I forgot what we even started with.
Speaker 3:Walking in the spirit. I think it was yeah walking.
Speaker 1:That's what we're doing Walking in the spirit, because there's more to it, but if you can plant quality seed and good ground and we already know the seed's quality There- you go. Because the sower sows the word. So notice, there's never been a question about the seed.
Speaker 3:Come on now.
Speaker 1:The seed's always been good. It's the heart condition that determines what comes from the seed. We can all get the exact we all, in fact, we do. We all get the exact—in fact we do. We all get the exact same seed. But what each of us does with that seed is what matters most.
Speaker 1:All right, we are so glad that you joined us for this episode. We hope that you've gotten some inspiration. We hope that you studied with us and take a look at these scriptures some more and just dig in for yourself so that you get understanding, you hear the word and let it change and impact your life. We want you to connect with us on social media. You can reach out to us on Instagram, facebook we're out on X right now, slowly but surely growing, so come and find us in all of those places, as at BibleBros and Brew. Also, if you've got questions, you can send or drop a note or a DM to us on any of our social media. You can also send us an email at gotbrew at Bibleiblebrosnet. That's gotbrewatbiblebrosnet. Also, before we go, philip, let's just pray for everybody really quickly.
Speaker 1:Let's pray for God to create in us clean hearts and renew in us right spirits so that we can walk with the Lord and see the good that he desires in our lives.
Speaker 3:Yes, sir. Well, father, we come before you. You said in your word that we can always come to your throne of grace to obtain your mercy and find grace to help us in a time of need. And so, lord, we come asking the same thing that David asked for you to search our hearts. Father, show us areas in our lives, in our hearts, where we have held on to things that we shouldn't, where we have pushed away things that we should let in. Lord, you know exactly. You've been monitoring our hearts. You know exactly what needs to be dealt with.
Speaker 3:We ask you, father, to give us the courage to face up to those things and deal with them, and also to be open to what the Holy Spirit shows us, because you told us and John you said that when he comes, he'll lead us and guide us into all truth, and I do believe that also means the truth about ourselves. Help us, father. Help us to see our own selves as you see us, lord, so that we can walk in a way that's pleasing towards you and that will help our hearts become that good ground that can be optimal soil for your word. We pray for that, lord. We pray that, like David said I think he said search my heart, know my ways, see if there's any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. We pray that same thing, father. Examine our hearts, show us ourselves and help us, lord, to make those corrections and improvements only by your grace, that we need to make, and we give you praise for this now, and we agree on it in Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker 1:Amen. Hey, we love you guys. We're so glad that you joined us. Hey, do us a favor. We're so glad that you joined us. Hey, do us a favor, go back and listen to last week's video if you missed it, or go to our channel and find the next video that you haven't seen yet to watch. I would recommend Breaking the Cycle of Sin. Yeah, what a great series. That's actually unknowingly but knowingly connected to what we're talking about now. Yes, all right, go listen. We'll talk to you later, peace.
