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[0:00] You might say we seem to have looked at this story before and that's absolutely true about a year and a half ago we had a series on the matter of fruitfulness and we did indeed look at this very passage why do we come back to this again why is this story so important and I'll give you seven reasons.

[0:21] It's the only parable recorded in three gospels and if something is spoken and spoken at length in three places in the Bible we should pay some attention to it.

[0:33] Jesus gives a full explanation to his disciples unlike many parables where no explanation is given. Jesus was very concerned that nobody should make a mistake about what this story was about.

[0:46] Misunderstand this parable says Jesus and you'll have trouble understanding any of Jesus' parables. Look at verse 13. You won't get them. This is like a seminal parable.

[1:00] It helps us to understand something fundamental about the workings of the kingdom of God. This is a parable for everyone whether this is the very first time you've heard this story or the one thousandth time this story comes with freshness and application to every single one of us.

[1:21] Fifthly because this is not impersonal and theoretical. It is not about farming. It is about people. It's about you and me. And it touches on the most important issues of how we live.

[1:35] There are two verses here which scream with relevance for us today. And we'll be looking at those later. But I do want to provide some context before we come to those verses.

[1:49] And firstly to say that there are punchlines. There are punchlines in all the parables. You know what a punchline is? It's something you're building up to a certain point. And then there's a boom. Okay? It's something that is being applied vigorously.

[2:05] And the punchline of the story is found in verse 8. And Jesus gives the explanation of that punchline in verse 20. Others like seed sown on good soil.

[2:18] Hear the word accepted and produce a crop. Thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown. That is amazing. That's an enormous yield. That is massive fruitfulness. The farmer would have been absolutely delighted.

[2:36] And what matters as we can tell from this line is that there is fruitfulness. There is a crop. There is a result. And the key agent of that fruitfulness, we learn from this parable, but also in other parts of the Bible, is a word.

[2:55] A word is spoken. So please turn in your Bibles to James chapter 1, verse 18. It's on page 1213.

[3:14] Where James says, God chose to give us birth through the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.

[3:25] The Bible is never accidental. One part of the Bible interprets another. This language is consistent.

[3:37] There's a word and there is fruit. As also we find in 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 23. Where Peter writes, For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

[3:59] And this is the extraordinary thought. God speaks a word. And this word is so lively, so powerful, that it creates a birth. And this birth is so beautiful, that it results in the richness of fruit.

[4:17] The seed is the living and enduring word of God. And fruit is the result of a birth, which leads on to fruit. And here are the words of Jesus himself, when he says in John chapter 6, verse 63.

[4:33] The words I've spoken to you are spirit and they are life. And the question that this parable poses for us is this.

[4:48] Where's the fruit? Where's the fruit? That's exactly what the farmer is looking for. That is what God is looking for in people. And we ask the necessary question.

[5:00] How can we know if someone is in a relationship with God by Jesus Christ? Many answers have been given to this particular question. But this is the Bible answer.

[5:14] It's John 15, verse 8. John 15, verse 8. Please turn to that. Jesus meeting with his own disciples says this.

[5:32] This is to my Father's glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. So Jesus makes a direct relationship between fruit in people's lives, which demonstrate that they are his disciples.

[5:56] Maybe you don't like that particular answer. But it is the Bible's answer.

[6:07] And if the question is then asked, well, what is this fruit? Well, we could look in multiple places.

[6:18] But I suggest that that's not a bad place to start. In the book of Galatians, chapter 5, verse 22. Many of you will know this. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

[6:35] And that's set in contrast in that context against the fruit of the normal, the sinful nature. It's a fair, fair, fair question to ask of anybody.

[6:50] Well, if you say you belong to Jesus Christ, if you say that you've experienced this birth of which I've been talking about, where is the fruit? Where is the evidence?

[7:05] And we could do no better than to actually read the story of the Lord Jesus himself.

[7:16] Because he is the perfect example of the one who was so filled with the Spirit that he demonstrated the fruit of the Spirit in his life. With utter consistency.

[7:27] Over 33 years. In all the trials and tribulations that he experienced. Because he was a man like us. And was tempted as we are.

[7:41] And yet consistently, the fruit of God's Spirit is seen in his life. And you might say, I thought you were all about faith.

[7:55] Isn't faith the most important thing? Well, faith is important. But as James says in chapter 2, verse 17, faith by itself, it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

[8:16] Fruit is the evidence of a genuine faith. And a faith without fruit is a dead faith. So where does that leave us?

[8:28] Sometimes people do say, I have heard it. I wish I had a faith like yours. I wish I could only just believe in the way that you do.

[8:40] But this story warns and encourages us to be good listeners. So that we may be fruitful to God's glory.

[8:53] The person who says, I wish I had a faith like yours, is the person who says, I'm just waiting for God to do something in my life. But this story is not about fatalism.

[9:12] It's not about waiting. But it's a warning, an encouragement for us, that we may be those who take hold of God's Word and put it into practice in our lives.

[9:27] It is fundamental to live as a Christian in the atmosphere of reading and hearing the Bible. Which is why we have such an emphasis upon this point in this church and the way in which we undertake all that we're about.

[9:48] Because Jesus himself is saying there is an absolute connection between the Word of God and fruit. there is an absolute connection between the Word of God and being born again and the fruit that arises from that.

[10:06] And if we destroy that connection and try to create some other methodology whereby fruit might arise in people's lives, we are flying in the face of what Jesus himself with all seriousness has brought to us.

[10:23] So we have an obligation to listen to hear the Word often and in all situations and with great care.

[10:41] But I want to say to you today that it isn't enough to hear the Word. It isn't enough to hear the Word. You might say, well you just seem to be contradicting what you've already said.

[10:57] I'm not contradicting. It isn't enough to hear the Word. And this parable tells us why it's not enough. Because there were four kinds of people heard the Word in this story but only one kind of person heard the Word with any profit.

[11:15] It is not enough to open your Bible and read it.

[11:27] It is not enough to come here Sunday by Sunday and hopefully to hear good messages. It is not enough to be so stirred by the message that you receive that you say to people we had a good message this morning.

[11:42] It is not enough to shake the hand at the door and say thank you so much that was really helpful. All these things are not enough unless it leads on to something else.

[11:59] It isn't enough simply to hear the Word. Please look at Mark chapter 4 and verse 20 and you tell me what is the difference between the three previous cases and what Jesus says in Mark 4 and verse 20.

[12:24] Please just look at that carefully. Just read that verse and if you think you can see where the difference lies please put your hand up.

[12:41] Right Christopher tell us well it certainly is a difference but what is it about the hearing bit in verse 20.

[12:53] Roberto accept accept accept your Bible might say receive. That's the difference. That's the difference between those three previous cases.

[13:07] They heard they heard they heard but this group they hear and receive they hear and accept. so James tells us in chapter 1 verse 22 do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves do what it says.

[13:33] Let's hear James again in his very normal blunt fashion. Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. so he's talking about real people and he's saying there's there's a real danger that you can listen to the Word but not in such a fashion that it is helpful to you.

[14:03] You can be deceived because you think I've heard the Word I've heard the Word but you can be very badly deceived if it has not taken root in your life and made a difference.

[14:18] James is quite blunt about it you have a responsibility and the responsibility is to do what it says. So if we were looking again at these four pictures I speak very quickly of picture number 1 verse 15 here some people are like seed along the path where the Word is sown as soon as they hear it Satan comes and takes away the Word that was sown in them.

[14:56] I hazard a guess that 95% 90% of the people of this city are in this category they're not here today there may be one or two but they're not here today so I'm not going to spend a great deal of time talking about this point these are people who are just not interested it doesn't matter how well it's presented how cleverly it's presented and so forth these people are not interested Satan has a field day taking away the Word it never actually does anything in those people's lives at all picture 2 is found in verses 16 and 17 others like seeds sown on rocky places hear the

[15:57] Word and once receive it with joy but since they have no root they last only a short time when trouble or persecution comes because of the Word they quickly fall away when trouble or persecution comes because of the Word let's be careful to actually take Jesus' words at its face value here and say there is enormous problems for Christians who are facing trouble and persecution because of the Word and I would suggest that there are plenty of examples of picture 2 all over this world today but probably not here in Brighton except except in this area and I would want to speak to children and students here today that it is the case and it will become more so that with social media there will be threatening and trouble and difficulty for those who want to live as Christian boys and girls and students because they will not be welcomed by their peer group they will be ostracised sidelined rejected which is extremely difficult and so we need to pray for our children and young people and students that they will be able to be strong in the Lord and be kept by him sheltered by him and know that he is a God who provides picture three verses 18 and 19 these are the two verses which I say scream to us because they have such relevance to us today still others like seeds sown among thorns hear the word but the worries of this life the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word making it unfruitful now I want to say today that there is no difference in the end between picture one and picture two and picture three in all those cases the word is unfruitful yet the reality is many of us most of us are going to find ourselves somewhere in picture three today but picture three is not a sort of twilight zone

[18:37] Christianity picture three is telling us about an enormous seminal danger that can occur when the word of God is spoken but not accepted in people's lives people who appear to make a start but then stop because the word is choked and the result is absolutely the same as the case where the word is snatched away it is absolutely the case same as when the word has no ground no root because in the end there is no fruit and this is just where we are this is just where we are and Jesus spells out the content and the nature of the things which choke the word he speaks here of life's worries of the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things there are people who hear the word of

[19:55] God in multiple ways and on multiple occasions but they don't appear to grow the word is choked they don't develop they're stuck one year to the next if you would apply Jesus test you'd have to say where's the fruit it is not that they don't have an interest in growing as Christians it's not that they reject God's word no they're often blessed by it and will say that after the Sunday service they're impacted they're moved they're stirred but they're not changed the word is choked making it unfruitful and they're not changed because the word has not been received and acted upon it's been heard but it's not been applied why because other things get in the way all the time and every day Jesus speaks of the worries of life the stuff that we bear around with us we come here with worries we leave with the worries and the word of

[21:06] God can't find a pathway in we're alongside a neighbor friend at the moment who's very worried about a situation and it's just so evident that there's no way in which the word of God can find a way into this person's life at this time because the worries are being nursed they're being stroked they're being encouraged and the person says it just keeps on going round and round and round and round in my head and we're the same aren't we we've all known times when worries have become so overwhelming that there's no space for anything else

[22:10] Jesus speaks of the deceitfulness of wealth we may take this to mean that whether rich or poor we can be deceived into thinking that wealth brings contentment and something that we can trust in you don't believe that do you but actually it's the way the world in the western world is geared up how can the consumer society thrive without the fiction that the more we have the better off we'll be it's a lie but it's so peddled in our consumer society this is the air we breathe so be careful of the choices that you're making be careful of the decisions that you're making be careful of the pressure you're putting yourself under if you are believing that having more having more is what you need to live a rich and fulfilled life

[23:27] Jesus speaks to the desires for other things and I'm glad he uses this phrase because it hoovers up everything that distracts and smothers the word let me speak now of distractions Christians I've heard this word used quite frequently in recent days in church and I think Christians recognize there's an issue but rather than just use the word let's look it in the eye this morning and let us spell it out and understand why this may be one of the most corrosive and destructive tactics of the devil in stopping God's word being fruitful in people's lives so I would say that this is a fairly modern phenomena of course it's not completely modern because otherwise Jesus wouldn't be referring to it at all in the first place but nevertheless I think we need to be incredibly careful on this point do you recognize the obliterations of the rhythms of life that have occurred in our society over the past 30 or 40 years do you recognize that there has been an abolition of the one in seven routine

[24:44] I think the freeing of relaxation on Sunday trading was in the 1980s was it some of us are older to remember that remember it going through parliament people saying at the time don't do it don't do it but it's been done and so you can go out today and you can do whatever you want because it's just like any other day of the week but God made one day to be special it was a creation ordinance and we in our recklessness have overwhelmed that and you might not be personally damaged by it or you think you might not be personally damaged by it but it has made a difference to your life it really has we have a 24 7 culture which again you could say is very convenient because it does mean I can go onto Amazon at 2 o'clock in the morning and I can expect them to come back with their email and say this will be delivered to your door at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning or possibly by drone and we say wow that's amazing that's wonderful

[25:51] I wish there was a button I could press and say I don't want it tomorrow morning I don't want it even tomorrow I want it in three days time normal slow delivery you don't need a new chopping board this morning do you you could wait but that's the theory of the world we live in that everything must be the escape to the sun I just popped that in and many of you won't even have the freedom the opportunity to do so but how many people are there out there a lot of retired people who actually escape the seasons because they spend their summers in the UK and they spend their winters in Spain or elsewhere and you might say well it's a bit of a foolish example but I think it's interesting I think it's a blessing that we have seasons do you feel blessed by the seasons my sister-in-law in Australia they don't have the seasons in the same way they don't have spring in its richness they don't have autumn they don't have development spring summer winter autumn these are precious gifts from the

[27:06] Lord they take us through different cycles they are a reminder of decay death and rebirth if we abolish those things and say do you know what I just like to live in a climate which is completely constant all the time I don't want to see all this sort of leaves turning to brown and gold and falling off the trees and littering up my garden so I have to get a hoover out to pick them all up these things are important these things are precious they tell us something they tell us something about mortality they tell us about God's recreation but we obliterate the rhythms of life you can do anything you want at any time you want and God didn't set it up to be like that and then we're faced with multiple choices and you say well that can't be a bad thing it's a distracting thing isn't it it's a distracting thing if you're forever looking at the back of the package and finding out how many calories are going to be involved there it's a distracting thing if you're using your iPhone in some way or other to make comparison prices between

[28:24] Aldi and Tesco and Sainsbury and so forth in order to save £2.50 it's a distracting thing and then our life is in soundbites poor politicians today when did you last hear a grown up mature conversation between a reporter and a politician when did you have a last time have a good grown up mature conversation with another person because our lives are constantly interrupted by the phone which rings but yours won't because it's off nine times out of ten I find people interrupting conversations of having one-to-one with them on the basis of a phone in their pocket going off so we allow it don't we we allow ourselves to be distracted we are swamped by IT my company has just produced the findings of a major study amongst millennials and generations do anybody know what a millennial is give me a definition of a millennial right put the hand up put the hand there

[29:52] Roger no it's not actually carry on Peter people born in the 1980s actually between the 1980s and the late 1990s that's a millennial okay if you didn't realise that before that's what you are but only if you are born in that period of time generation Z now who's generation Z well indeed they're the ones after born in the late 1990s so these are the ones who are now going into universities and do you know what they're a different group they're a different group to the millennials and they're a different group to generation X who preceded them and they're a different group entirely to the baby boomers like myself born in the 1950s onwards and it's a very fruitful area for psychologists and sociologists to investigate and to understand the differences between these sorts of people so my company did this exercise and published the results only last week very kind of them because it was very helpful now for this sermon and I'm going to put up on a screen a number of findings out of this study and the red bits for you to think about and I'll give you the answers so all right millennials and generations said spend five to six hours a day on the phone okay please don't argue with the study thousands of people have contributed to this study they check their phones every how many minutes they are called the always on on demand generation mobile devices are regarded by these groups as a help to kill time as well as to be more efficient

[32:03] I travel to work on the train every day I'm just so amazed really just multiple phones that people have people really do feel quite terrified about putting their phone down and actually looking out the window the average attention span of generation z is you won't get this right so many would rather lose their wallet than their phone and social media encourages the need to portray yourself as having a rich and interesting life so if you haven't got anything rich and interesting to say about yourself perhaps you need to invent it because otherwise you're not going to have so many likes are you so okay who's going to be brave and give a suggestion here of how many times how often the study says teenagers are on their phones so many hours a day 12 okay 17 wow but teenagers spend a lot of time in bed and sleep don't they okay we'll just park that at the moment

[33:20] I haven't got a clever system to give you the individual answers on there no I can give you the answer I'll tell you the answer is nine the answer is nine right they check their phones every 12 minutes 8 minutes 5 the answer is three three minutes can anybody give testimony to this any parents have they got any idea oh right okay right the average attention span of generation Z these are the ones who are now teenagers going on to university going to university the crop the cream of the country coming to Brighton and Sussex universities the general attention span of generation

[34:21] Z is you're getting the right order seven eight seconds eight seconds don't tell me what it means eight seconds that incredible thought it just means I suppose every eight seconds having to be brought back on stream how many would rather lose their wallet than their phone 90% well it's not quite as many as that it's 60% it's 60% yeah it's it's interesting isn't it we need to talk about these things in church because these are issues of distractions I'm not going to go into the territory of you know it's a bad thing you know people can rage about this and so forth this is the world we live in

[35:30] I'm just saying watch out be very careful because it's one thing to be hearing the word it's another thing to be pulling it into practice in our lives it is these and many other forms of distractions that can constantly rob us of the energy motivation and space that is needed in order to apply the word of God in our lives and grow do you agree with that because this kind of work applying the word of God in our lives and growing needs quiet it needs space it needs perseverance it needs depth of thought self-awareness and sensitivity to the voice of the Holy Spirit preparedness to take time to see what is wrong in us prioritizing our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ the Bible is not soundbites the Bible is not designed for eight second attention spans we cannot take the findings of this to suggest that somehow the human race is being transformed into some sort of hybrid that is incapable of handling this word properly awareness is one thing but it's another thing to be saying what do we do with that understanding what do we do with that knowledge we need to be warned you are not limited to an eight second attention span believe me you don't have to be checking your mobile every three minutes you're not programmed to do that

[37:31] God has designed for you created for you to be able to receive his perfect word in the way that pleases him and we do him due honour by submitting ourselves to his regime his ways fruitfulness through God's word is not automatic it is not dropped like stardust from heaven you will not get it as a kind of second blessing in your Christian life the application of God's word is needed and that needs deliberate action and what a blessing it is when we can receive God's word from the mouth of the Lord Jesus who not only spoke it but obeyed it in every circumstance of life these are Jesus' own words so listen carefully listen up that's exactly what he said in that parable he calls out he says listen

[38:44] John 8 31 32 if you hold to my teaching you are really my disciples then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free the truth will set you free John 8 51 I tell you the truth if anyone keeps my word he will never see death John 14 21 whoever has my commands and obeys them he is the one who loves me and there are no other criteria there's no other category his disciples are the ones who hold to his teaching they keep his word and they obey his commands and that's how we know they are his disciples that's how we know if we are one of his disciples why do you call me Lord Lord and don't do the things I say don't just hear the word and deceive yourselves but do what it says and I thought this morning we do a bit of an exercise in groups of three or four using the handouts there and simply taking seven or eight minutes do this what is your response to these various issues that crop up in your life and what does the word of

[40:13] God have to say about these issues because it does have something to say and I want you just to think what a difference it might make if we were able to find the good of God's word impacting our lives in the matter like anxiety let me just put anxiety who suffers from anxiety here most people most people suffer from anxiety here's a very helpful part of the Bible for you Philippians 4 verses 6 and 7 do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your request to God the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus do you believe that do you believe that but why are you crippled with anxiety some Christians answer to every situation say I'm just going to trust the Lord

[41:24] I'm just going to trust the Lord but trusting the Lord is opening the Bible and hearing his voice it's not just closing your eyes and waiting for some sort of mystical effect to occur he says no open your Bibles hear what I have to say and put it into practice in your life so the practical application and the issue of anxiety is to say I'm not going to be anxious because I'm going to give this to God I'm going to lay this at his feet even with thanksgiving because in your darkest situation there will be issues that you can say thank you Lord and here's the promise the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus have any of you experienced the blessing of that particular verse yes I have I really have well hallelujah that's exactly why it's there this isn't just there to fill in some sort of philosophical point about what Christianity is like and what a kind God we have but it's there because it's for real people flesh and blood like us to be able to experience the good things that

[42:44] God has for his children because he's that kind he's that concerned for us because Jesus knew what it was to be in this life and to be faced with anxiety and what did he do well he didn't have the New Testament then so he would have used an Old Testament verse in some way but he did use the Bible didn't he in the situations that he was faced with he used his Bible he put it into practice even when the temptation was enormous man should not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God he quoted back to the devil he knew his Bible so he he applied it that was his pattern that was his way and then look at we're going to look at stress Psalm 131 has something to say about that James 119 on speech my dear brothers take note of this everyone should be quick to listen slow to speak and slow to become angry this is

[43:53] God's word oh what trouble has been caused in lives when people are not slow to speak when they do not listen and they are quick to become angry oh what trouble is caused isn't it so please hear these words from the mouth of Jesus saying sweetly to you my dear brothers take note of this be quick to listen slow to speak and slow to become angry it might not be just a couple of verses it might be a story in the Bible that is so relevant to this particular matter that you're facing so I've given you there on your sheets about 15 or 16 other ones there I just thought why don't just get into groups of three and four and pooling your knowledge say what in the

[44:54] Bible have I found helpful to deal with issues of giving guilt addiction putting God first and because we haven't got much time perhaps sort of those here on the left you can start from the top down and those on the right can start from the bottom up and we'll just see where we get to alright let's do that now quite revealing isn't it when we were actually facing something and we're saying yeah there is something but I can't put my finger on it I don't quite know where it is saints of old used to memorise the word of God and in Psalm 119 the psalmist says your word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you he felt that was the safest place of all to have God's word we have lots of devices now so that if we got a sort of even a hint of a phrase and so on we can tap it into the machine and it will tell us where it comes from and so forth but it's a pretty healthy thing to have it hidden in our heart isn't it if you just happen to be found one day without a device that works you just want to have that don't you

[46:10] I'm very impressed by those in places of lands of persecution who they feel I may be quite soon going into a prison situation where I don't have access to the word of God I'm going to very seriously memorise the word of God Muslims memorise the Quran why don't Christians memorise the Bible Sunday schools in the past used to be you know God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life John 3 16 alright so you always got the reference not just the words but where to find it so how did you do how did you do on giving did you have any thoughts on giving any Matthew 6 thank you

[47:11] Matthew 6 verse generally that's helpful I'll tell you what we've spent a long I'll just throw up on the screen some ideas for you right so when it came to giving I like this verse in 2 Samuel 24 24 when David is about to buy the threshing floor so that the temple can be built and the guy says to him you can have the field free and David says no no no I'm not going to do that I'm not going to do that he says this in 2 Samuel 24 24 I will not sacrifice the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing I really like that it's a very good thought when it comes to the matter of giving don't give God the fag ends the leftovers you give him the best the first fruits it's a very healthy test is this going to cost me something to give is it going to cost me something well there's a story it's in the Bible and it's an example for us to follow 1 John 1 89 we should know this by heart 1 John 1 8 and 9 what does 1 John 1 8 and 9 say cleanse us from all our righteousness if there's one verse you want to have in your heart when you're going through a very difficult time when Satan is accusing you badly and you feel there's some sort of sin in my life that I feel so ashamed of

[49:03] I'm so overwhelmed by that guilt 1 John 1 8 and 9 very helpful for us some of us are suffering with addictions here you know what I mean addiction could be substances it could be thought life and so forth 1 Corinthians 6 19 puts it into a very very serious context doesn't it 1 Corinthians 6 19 do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you whom you have received from God you are not your own you were bought at a price therefore honour God with your body that's very serious 11 o'clock at night when our defence is alone you're on the screen and you're just browsing around it's the end of the day and you're just going through the internet and one link leads to another and so forth you may get yourself into difficult territory you need to hear 1 Corinthians 6 19 don't you putting God first 1 Samuel 2 30 yeah yeah yeah yeah well it's like be careful little eyes what you see be careful little ears what you hear there's a father up above who is looking down in love be careful little eyes what you see this is not about proof text this is just about saying the bible is uniformly helpful in all kinds of areas and we could give 20 different applications to it so yeah absolutely you're going out with a non-christian do you think the bible has anything to say about that

[51:20] I think it really does have something to say about that people poo poo this verse and say it's not really relevant to the particular situation why take the risk 2 Corinthians 6.14 do not be yoked together with unbelievers for what do righteousness and wickedness have in common or what fellowship can light have with darkness you say oh that's not my situation really that person's not like that that's the bible's definition that's the spiritual definition of those who are not in Christ they're in darkness you don't have fellowship at the deepest level with someone who is in darkness don't go down there don't test the water these are the passages and there are a few others as well there but brothers and sisters I mean of course it's one thing to do the exercise we do it today but of course the acid test is are we going to put it into practice did you hear the word and in a way we're embracing the word now as we're opening up the bible but are we going to put it into practice are we going to be the ones who say

[52:35] I'm going to have to break that relationship and I'm going to do it now I'm not going to wait I'm going to break the relationship now I will turn off the TV screen I will throw away what has been getting in the way that's between you and God it may be helpful if you were able to share that some of those things with others so they might pray for you but it's the word of God that we're going to get clarity from the world spouts rubbish at us we need the word your word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you when his word is living in our lives being applied in our lives then there's a harvest thirty, sixty, a hundredfold then the Lord is pleased then we're in just the place where you'd want us to be and how blessed we are as his people the good God has given us these things heavenly Father we pray that you would help us to not just be listeners of the word but receivers of it also put this truth into our lives we pray help us by the power of your spirit forgive us for our sins cleanse us by the blood of Jesus Christ wash us and fill us with yourself afresh in Jesus name

[54:06]  Amen Amen Amen