WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.719 Thank you very much for the invitation. 00:00:08.640 --> 00:00:10.460 It's a pleasure to be among you. 00:00:10.460 --> 00:00:10.460 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:32.000 He was an attraction. 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:36.500 They were coming, people were coming from all directions, 00:00:36.500 --> 00:00:39.500 like fans converging on a football ground. 00:00:40.399 --> 00:00:42.500 They came along, they came in groups. 00:00:42.899 --> 00:00:47.100 Husband brought their wife, mothers brought their children, 00:00:47.100 --> 00:00:48.700 youth brought their mates. 00:00:48.700 --> 00:00:52.200 Everybody wants to see him. 00:00:53.500 --> 00:00:55.000 Everybody wants to see him. 00:00:55.000 --> 00:01:00.100 Some seem to have brought the whole town with them. 00:01:00.100 --> 00:01:05.099 They came because they were sick and handicapped 00:01:05.099 --> 00:01:09.799 and thought he might heal them. 00:01:09.799 --> 00:01:13.859 They came because they were poor and oppressed 00:01:13.859 --> 00:01:17.500 and they thought he might deliver them. 00:01:17.500 --> 00:01:21.640 They came because they were bored and curious 00:01:21.640 --> 00:01:26.140 and they thought that he might amuse them. 00:01:26.739 --> 00:01:28.900 They came, well, they came, well, 00:01:28.900 --> 00:01:32.579 some of them had a hard job explaining why, 00:01:33.299 --> 00:01:39.439 why exactly they had come, except that everybody was coming. 00:01:40.140 --> 00:01:41.099 And we are like that, no? 00:01:41.579 --> 00:01:43.719 People goes where everybody goes, no? 00:01:44.140 --> 00:01:46.060 Where the attraction is, no? 00:01:46.359 --> 00:01:48.120 So everybody was there in town. 00:01:48.319 --> 00:01:50.120 Everybody came to see Christ. 00:01:50.120 --> 00:01:53.359 What he will do on this occasion. 00:01:55.420 --> 00:01:59.000 So, but whatever company and whatever motivation, 00:01:59.500 --> 00:02:01.760 for whatever, with whatever company 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:03.340 or whatever motivation they came, 00:02:03.780 --> 00:02:09.879 there was one war in Jesus' lips which intrigues them all. 00:02:10.379 --> 00:02:12.560 And this war was the kingdom. 00:02:13.500 --> 00:02:15.460 Christ was speaking about the kingdom. 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:17.080 And they were expecting a king. 00:02:17.400 --> 00:02:18.740 They were expecting the Messiah. 00:02:18.740 --> 00:02:21.760 There was a lot of prophecies in the Old Testament 00:02:21.760 --> 00:02:24.640 just pointing the coming Messiah, 00:02:25.300 --> 00:02:29.240 the one that will deliver them from their sins 00:02:29.240 --> 00:02:31.960 and also perhaps from the Romans and from the oppression. 00:02:33.260 --> 00:02:36.719 So this parable is telling us about the kingdom, 00:02:37.060 --> 00:02:41.460 about the king, how this king and how this kingdom will progress. 00:02:41.460 --> 00:02:44.960 There is the meaning of the parable. 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:48.420 The text telling us the seed is the word of God. 00:02:48.560 --> 00:02:49.879 This is the meaning of the parable. 00:02:50.500 --> 00:02:54.900 So this parable is speaking about the gospel, about the seed, 00:02:55.980 --> 00:03:01.840 about the sowing this seed and what will be the results of sowing the seed. 00:03:01.840 --> 00:03:06.439 We began with Jesus' gripping announcement of the kingdom of God. 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:10.400 The powers of evil are fleeing before his face. 00:03:11.180 --> 00:03:13.039 Demons are being exorcised. 00:03:13.599 --> 00:03:15.000 Cripples are being healed. 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:20.719 The signs of his messianic mission to transform the world are clearly apparent. 00:03:21.159 --> 00:03:25.080 Everybody can see that Christ is not like any other prophet. 00:03:25.740 --> 00:03:26.480 Christ is different. 00:03:26.479 --> 00:03:31.139 What he's doing, he needs that God will be with him, 00:03:31.459 --> 00:03:35.439 empower him to do his almighty works. 00:03:36.099 --> 00:03:38.199 But how the world is going to be changed? 00:03:38.280 --> 00:03:41.060 And this is an important question, not that we ask ourselves. 00:03:41.620 --> 00:03:44.079 We want to see more changes in the world. 00:03:44.179 --> 00:03:47.219 We want to see people living as a Christian. 00:03:47.500 --> 00:03:53.060 We want to see Christian influence society, politics, etc. 00:03:53.060 --> 00:03:55.899 But how is the world going to be changed? 00:03:55.900 --> 00:03:59.260 What is going to be used to change the world? 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:04.200 So how the kingdom is going to be brought in? 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:12.599 What strategy will Jesus employ to precipitate this decisive transformation in world history? 00:04:14.060 --> 00:04:18.560 Will he rise to an angelic army and march on Jerusalem or Rome? 00:04:19.459 --> 00:04:23.720 Will he call down supernatural fire from heaven to consume the wicked? 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:25.480 What he will do? 00:04:25.899 --> 00:04:34.120 What will be the means that he will use to extend the kingdom, to make the kingdom progress? 00:04:34.120 --> 00:04:38.500 So what strategy will Jesus employ? 00:04:38.500 --> 00:04:43.340 The kingdom of God will arrive, this text is telling us, in three different moments. 00:04:44.220 --> 00:04:47.240 And the first moment is the moment of planting. 00:04:48.199 --> 00:04:51.459 The moment of planting, the face of planting the seed. 00:04:51.459 --> 00:04:52.459 As the seed. 00:04:52.459 --> 00:05:03.099 As the Messiah arrives, he will be disguised to sow the seed of the kingdom in the heart of a few chosen disciples. 00:05:03.539 --> 00:05:07.000 He has chosen a few disciples. 00:05:07.500 --> 00:05:13.359 He sowed the seed in their heart and is going to be through those disciples and their preaching. 00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:15.360 How the kingdom will expand. 00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:16.620 How the kingdom will expand. 00:05:16.620 --> 00:05:19.840 How the kingdom will progress. 00:05:19.840 --> 00:05:30.740 So the first moment of this sowing is the moment of planting the seed. 00:05:30.740 --> 00:05:34.120 The second moment is the growth of the seed. 00:05:34.120 --> 00:05:42.780 Then there will be a period of growth as the seed multiplied through their testimony and fertilized many other lives. 00:05:42.779 --> 00:05:55.039 And it's interesting, you know, that with a few chosen disciples, there were just 120 waiting for the promise of the spirit coming in Jerusalem. 00:05:55.039 --> 00:06:00.279 And just these 120 persons changed the world in a few years. 00:06:00.579 --> 00:06:07.959 In a few years, the spores of this seed throughout the world reached many, many hearts. 00:06:08.219 --> 00:06:12.039 Changed many people's lives. 00:06:12.040 --> 00:06:19.600 So, 30 lives, many other lives until eventually the spores of the kingdom had become distributed throughout the world. 00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:26.680 And it's amazing, you know, that we have Japanese brothers and sisters here from many nations today. 00:06:26.680 --> 00:06:30.540 And so, where is in the world that there is not a church? 00:06:31.340 --> 00:06:34.560 Those spores of the gospel reach out throughout the world. 00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:39.560 And you could come to Spain and you have in Spain brothers and sisters. 00:06:40.400 --> 00:06:41.740 We are united in Christ. 00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:45.300 It's even more important than our nationality. 00:06:46.300 --> 00:06:47.400 We are Christians. 00:06:47.879 --> 00:06:48.420 We belong. 00:06:48.660 --> 00:06:49.720 We are the people of God. 00:06:49.720 --> 00:06:54.680 So, it's wonderful that the Lord is just growing. 00:06:55.380 --> 00:06:59.400 You know, he's making to grow this seed that has been planted. 00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:04.500 And finally, the third thing is that there will be a time of reaping. 00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:08.180 A time of reaping when the Messiah will return. 00:07:08.700 --> 00:07:17.740 This is a time of universal public accommodation to harvest the fruit which the seed had been sown and had produced. 00:07:17.740 --> 00:07:19.740 So, there is this time of reaping. 00:07:19.740 --> 00:07:20.920 This time of reaping. 00:07:20.920 --> 00:07:25.920 And we have to go on, press on, preaching the word of God because it will be a time of reaping. 00:07:26.420 --> 00:07:27.800 It will be a time of reaping. 00:07:28.319 --> 00:07:30.780 How the kingdom then will arrive. 00:07:31.780 --> 00:07:36.500 The seed, the seed is what the text is telling us is the vital instrument. 00:07:36.500 --> 00:07:45.980 There is no other way through which people will change from inside to outside. 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:48.480 So, it's the seed of God. 00:07:48.600 --> 00:07:49.600 It's the word of God. 00:07:49.680 --> 00:07:51.779 It's the preaching of the word of God. 00:07:51.779 --> 00:07:59.779 The instrument, the vital instrument by which the new wall of the kingdom is sown in the very midst of the world. 00:08:00.299 --> 00:08:04.639 The preaching of the gospel will be, is the seminal agent of change. 00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:07.839 It will germinate in God's cosmic revolution. 00:08:07.979 --> 00:08:09.079 The seed is the word of God. 00:08:09.719 --> 00:08:12.579 So, we have to be committed with this preaching. 00:08:13.139 --> 00:08:14.719 We have to be committed with the gospel. 00:08:15.039 --> 00:08:20.099 It's the only way through which the people will change. 00:08:20.100 --> 00:08:26.180 So, we have to take the word seriously and to preach the gospel. 00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:35.840 So, sadly, through history, the church has not taken always the word of God and the preaching of God seriously. 00:08:36.700 --> 00:08:42.720 Through the centuries, it has not always believed that the word of God and the preaching of the word of God is enough. 00:08:43.060 --> 00:08:43.740 It's sufficient. 00:08:43.740 --> 00:08:48.740 And we have to remind ourselves today that the word of God is sufficient. 00:08:50.100 --> 00:08:51.440 It's sufficient for us. 00:08:52.120 --> 00:09:00.000 It's the way God reaches people, calls people to repent, change people, transform people completely. 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:08.240 So, again and again, other things have taken the prime place of the word ought to be on the Christian agenda. 00:09:08.740 --> 00:09:13.080 And in churches, in churches, they don't pay too much attention to the preaching of the word of God. 00:09:13.559 --> 00:09:18.039 The preaching is not central in the services and in the churches. 00:09:18.139 --> 00:09:21.240 And it's very sad because it's through the preaching. 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:23.799 It's preaching the cross of Christ. 00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:30.059 It's preaching the Lord, just offering his life, taking our place on the cross. 00:09:30.679 --> 00:09:33.859 We are preaching his blood that cleanses us from everything. 00:09:34.659 --> 00:09:38.139 We are just preaching the grace of God in Christ. 00:09:39.419 --> 00:09:42.059 By faith alone, in Christ alone. 00:09:42.059 --> 00:09:49.399 So, we have to remember this, that this is important. 00:09:50.139 --> 00:09:52.339 The preaching has to be central in church. 00:09:52.959 --> 00:09:58.019 Well, for instance, the church revered bread and wine more than the Bible. 00:09:58.959 --> 00:10:03.039 And just revered more the sacraments than the Bible, than the preaching. 00:10:03.619 --> 00:10:07.079 And we know that the Bible says signs, visible signs of what? 00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:07.980 Of the gospel. 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:10.620 The bread and the wine. 00:10:10.900 --> 00:10:13.639 What is telling us the bread and the wine? 00:10:14.440 --> 00:10:15.500 The body of Christ. 00:10:16.440 --> 00:10:17.460 On the cross. 00:10:18.940 --> 00:10:20.840 What is telling us the wine? 00:10:21.740 --> 00:10:25.139 His precious blood that cleanses us from everything. 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:28.520 So, the signs are signs of the gospel. 00:10:28.820 --> 00:10:30.040 The gospel has to be there. 00:10:30.660 --> 00:10:35.060 And sometimes, the sacraments take the place of the gospel. 00:10:35.059 --> 00:10:38.219 The altar, instead of the pulpit. 00:10:38.839 --> 00:10:42.059 And we go to some churches, and what do we see in a cathedral? 00:10:42.739 --> 00:10:44.619 What is the central place in a cathedral? 00:10:44.739 --> 00:10:45.199 The altar. 00:10:46.419 --> 00:10:49.139 What should be the central place in a church? 00:10:49.419 --> 00:10:50.439 This one, the pulpit. 00:10:51.179 --> 00:10:51.500 Why? 00:10:51.799 --> 00:10:54.919 Because we preach the living word of God. 00:10:55.899 --> 00:10:57.179 The living word of God. 00:10:57.279 --> 00:10:58.039 The word of God. 00:10:58.239 --> 00:10:59.919 We are sowing the seed. 00:10:59.919 --> 00:11:10.039 So, just not the altar, instead of the pulpit, at the center of the architecture of many churches. 00:11:10.559 --> 00:11:12.759 But also, in the theology. 00:11:13.479 --> 00:11:16.799 The theology of the sacraments, but no, the theology of the scripture. 00:11:17.019 --> 00:11:17.799 The word of God. 00:11:17.959 --> 00:11:18.599 Of the preaching. 00:11:18.600 --> 00:11:25.620 So, God, new society is not going to be brought by the heart of the parliament. 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:30.440 Of course, we want to see the laws change, and the law change. 00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:37.540 And we want to see that the government and politics will be more sensitive to the Bible and to the scripture. 00:11:37.700 --> 00:11:39.300 But the law is not going to change anyone. 00:11:41.180 --> 00:11:42.480 It's not going to change anyone. 00:11:42.600 --> 00:11:43.300 Think about us. 00:11:43.299 --> 00:11:51.240 When we drive our car, sometimes we just drive carefully because we know that there is a camera or we can get a bill. 00:11:52.759 --> 00:11:55.919 So, the law doesn't change anyone. 00:11:56.779 --> 00:12:01.299 The law points us, points our sin, and points us Christ. 00:12:01.639 --> 00:12:03.479 That is our sufficient savior. 00:12:04.199 --> 00:12:05.679 Law doesn't change. 00:12:06.179 --> 00:12:07.559 Of course, the law is wonderful. 00:12:07.559 --> 00:12:12.699 I am not denying how wonderful is the law of God. 00:12:12.700 --> 00:12:14.400 It's wonderful, the law of God. 00:12:14.780 --> 00:12:17.200 But it's not through the law that we are saved. 00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:21.540 We are saved by grace in Christ alone. 00:12:22.840 --> 00:12:23.540 It's by grace. 00:12:25.140 --> 00:12:29.900 So, Jesus was familiar enough with the revolutionary politics of his time. 00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:36.180 He has a disciple that was a zealot, was an ex-revolutionary, a freedom fighter. 00:12:36.780 --> 00:12:39.120 But Jesus knew that this was a wrong seat. 00:12:39.560 --> 00:12:40.920 This was not the right seat. 00:12:40.919 --> 00:12:47.219 The right seat is the word of God, the preaching of the word of God. 00:12:48.139 --> 00:12:52.559 When we are preaching the word of God, we are addressing people. 00:12:53.959 --> 00:12:56.219 We want to see our societies change. 00:12:56.319 --> 00:12:56.699 It's true. 00:12:57.199 --> 00:13:00.620 We want to see more Christian influence in society. 00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:03.519 But we are concerned with people, with individuals. 00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:09.240 We are concerned with families that change from inside to outside. 00:13:09.659 --> 00:13:16.600 People that radically change because they are under the influence of the word of God, through the spirit of God. 00:13:17.139 --> 00:13:18.360 And they change. 00:13:18.519 --> 00:13:23.899 So, it's the only way that there will be a radical and an authentic change. 00:13:23.899 --> 00:13:27.840 It's true, the preaching of the word of God. 00:13:27.959 --> 00:13:29.039 There is no other way. 00:13:29.600 --> 00:13:34.019 God decided that this is the way that we should use to change the world. 00:13:34.019 --> 00:13:48.460 So, it's a word that is a personal, calls us to a personal repentance, calls us to a personal forgiveness, a personal faith, and a personal discipleship. 00:13:48.939 --> 00:13:56.740 It's a word that is just addressing us as individuals and as families and as a church. 00:13:56.740 --> 00:13:58.980 So, I am working in Almuniecar. 00:13:59.279 --> 00:14:01.799 It's a difficult word to pronounce, Almuniecar. 00:14:02.259 --> 00:14:04.620 So, I am working there for the past 20 years. 00:14:05.940 --> 00:14:13.980 During those past 20 years, I have to face some hardships, some strugglings, sometimes disappointments. 00:14:14.340 --> 00:14:20.659 So, there are a lot of things that happen in 20 years, you imagine, in my life, in the life of the church. 00:14:20.659 --> 00:14:37.419 So, when we are sowing, when we are preaching, when we are doing the work of God, it's inevitable to fail, to feel failure sometimes, and to feel disappointed or to be disappointed. 00:14:37.639 --> 00:14:38.719 It's part of the work. 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:39.919 It's part of the work. 00:14:40.219 --> 00:14:43.919 I know that you know as me that this is part of our Christian life. 00:14:45.179 --> 00:14:48.480 So, look carefully how Jesus tells the story. 00:14:48.480 --> 00:14:55.080 He describes you, notice, one homogeneous sowing and four different soils. 00:14:56.200 --> 00:14:57.740 So, the problem is not in the seed. 00:14:59.200 --> 00:15:00.240 The seed is perfect. 00:15:01.080 --> 00:15:07.180 The problem here is on the soils, on the hearts who receives the seed. 00:15:08.039 --> 00:15:14.279 So, it is the quality of the soil, not the expertise of the sour, that determines the harvest. 00:15:14.860 --> 00:15:15.720 And this is very encouraging. 00:15:16.259 --> 00:15:16.960 It's very encouraging. 00:15:16.960 --> 00:15:19.480 We preach the gospel. 00:15:20.700 --> 00:15:22.300 And there are hearts. 00:15:22.620 --> 00:15:24.900 There are people that are already prepared. 00:15:25.440 --> 00:15:29.600 Their hearts are prepared to receive the seed. 00:15:30.200 --> 00:15:31.620 You know, they are already prepared. 00:15:32.240 --> 00:15:35.920 Spiritual fertility does not lie in the gift of the teacher. 00:15:37.019 --> 00:15:39.620 But Jesus insists that is the way it is. 00:15:39.720 --> 00:15:43.200 Spiritual fertility does not lie in the gift of the evangelist. 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:51.340 And for that reason, we must anticipate in this parable four categories, three categories of disappointment. 00:15:52.700 --> 00:15:59.879 Those along the path, the ones who hear and then the devil comes and then the word from their heart. 00:15:59.980 --> 00:16:02.660 Luke 8, chapter 12. 00:16:02.659 --> 00:16:19.559 And what is interesting is amazing because some people tell us, if I could see a miracle, if I could see Jesus performing the water into wine or Jesus walking on the Lake Galilee or doing some miraculous work, I will believe. 00:16:19.559 --> 00:16:20.959 And this is a lie. 00:16:20.959 --> 00:16:21.559 It's not true. 00:16:21.559 --> 00:16:21.559 00:16:21.559 --> 00:16:21.559 00:16:21.559 --> 00:16:22.559 It's not true. 00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:23.159 It's not true. 00:16:23.159 --> 00:16:27.379 First of all, faith is not related with what we can see. 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:30.859 It's related with unseen things, no? 00:16:30.860 --> 00:16:34.700 So, but, you know, how many people saw Christ? 00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:37.940 How many people saw Christ performing miracles? 00:16:38.600 --> 00:16:39.340 And how many believe? 00:16:40.340 --> 00:16:41.279 So, this is not true. 00:16:41.700 --> 00:16:45.480 It's not true that if you will see a miracle, you will believe. 00:16:46.120 --> 00:16:46.720 It's not true. 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:51.800 Many people saw miracles from the Lord itself and they didn't believe. 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:52.700 Why? 00:16:52.700 --> 00:16:59.520 They came to see him with a hardened heart, what is for me very mysterious, no? 00:16:59.900 --> 00:17:09.000 Because they came, they didn't came to see what the Lord will do, what the Lord will say and perhaps to believe. 00:17:09.140 --> 00:17:09.600 No, no, no. 00:17:10.059 --> 00:17:12.380 They came with a hardened heart. 00:17:12.759 --> 00:17:14.160 Doesn't matter what we see. 00:17:14.519 --> 00:17:16.140 Doesn't matter what we hear. 00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:18.240 They won't believe. 00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:22.420 It's something, you know, enigmatic, no? 00:17:22.420 --> 00:17:23.480 Something mysterious, no? 00:17:23.539 --> 00:17:25.359 And believe is something mysterious, no? 00:17:26.019 --> 00:17:26.259 True. 00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:27.319 There is something mysterious. 00:17:29.640 --> 00:17:38.579 What the people does, what are the prejudices that they, when they approach, when they are face to face with the word of God, 00:17:39.120 --> 00:17:40.859 there is some intellectual pride. 00:17:40.859 --> 00:17:48.059 People say, do you expect for me that I will live in the virginal birth? 00:17:48.679 --> 00:17:54.599 Do you expect for me that I am to believe in Christ's deity? 00:17:55.319 --> 00:17:59.319 Do you believe that, do you expect for me to believe in miracles? 00:18:00.359 --> 00:18:01.859 This is, you know, no, no. 00:18:01.979 --> 00:18:04.419 This is just myths, you know? 00:18:04.740 --> 00:18:06.099 It's a mythical thing. 00:18:06.500 --> 00:18:07.779 So this never happens. 00:18:07.779 --> 00:18:13.559 You know, the apostles and the writers of the Bible, they just describe myths, no? 00:18:13.639 --> 00:18:15.099 But this never happened, no? 00:18:15.579 --> 00:18:17.319 So there is some intellectual pride. 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:19.319 There is a moral ostinacy. 00:18:19.619 --> 00:18:23.399 There are people that just hear the gospel and say, I am not going to change. 00:18:23.899 --> 00:18:26.819 Doesn't matter what the Bible tells. 00:18:27.339 --> 00:18:29.299 Doesn't matter what you tell to me. 00:18:29.579 --> 00:18:32.019 That God says, I am not going to change. 00:18:32.259 --> 00:18:34.619 I want to live as I wish. 00:18:34.619 --> 00:18:38.839 So there is a moral ostinacy that harden the hearts of people. 00:18:39.799 --> 00:18:43.139 There are also a self-righteousness attitude. 00:18:43.799 --> 00:18:46.939 People hear the gospel and say, no, I am not that bad, you know? 00:18:47.579 --> 00:18:50.199 No, I am not a bad person. 00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:51.979 I am a good person. 00:18:52.179 --> 00:18:54.079 Yes, but nobody is good enough. 00:18:54.839 --> 00:18:59.259 Nobody is good enough, you know, to impress God with their lives. 00:19:00.299 --> 00:19:02.199 And there is also an indifference. 00:19:02.200 --> 00:19:06.640 People that just came, curious, bored, to be entertained. 00:19:07.480 --> 00:19:09.420 There was just indifference also. 00:19:11.840 --> 00:19:17.920 So, but the Lord mentioned here a person, a third person. 00:19:18.080 --> 00:19:19.000 No, a third person. 00:19:19.259 --> 00:19:24.920 No, mentioned another person and mentioned the work of the devil. 00:19:24.920 --> 00:19:30.300 And we shouldn't forget that we are in the middle of a spiritual warfare. 00:19:31.880 --> 00:19:32.320 Warfare. 00:19:32.539 --> 00:19:33.580 This is a spiritual warfare. 00:19:34.019 --> 00:19:38.580 There are opposition to the gospel in the minds of the people, in the hearts of the people. 00:19:38.980 --> 00:19:39.900 So the devil is there. 00:19:39.960 --> 00:19:42.500 It's what the parable is telling us. 00:19:44.460 --> 00:19:53.400 Notice the one who Jesus identifies as silently and secretly campaigning behind this defiant and cynical attitude. 00:19:53.400 --> 00:19:59.920 The devil comes and takes away the war so they can believe and be saved. 00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:07.500 So people have a hardened heart, but also the devil plays a role when we preach the gospel. 00:20:07.640 --> 00:20:10.400 And we should be aware and we should pray. 00:20:10.840 --> 00:20:13.580 We are involved in a spiritual warfare. 00:20:13.579 --> 00:20:26.039 So Jesus is convinced that a personal force of evil is at work seeking to discredit the war and to distract minds from giving attention to it. 00:20:26.259 --> 00:20:34.059 Every evangelist, every Christian who preach the word of God encounters his demonic opposition. 00:20:34.059 --> 00:20:42.379 So others in the crowd represent a superficial and initial enthusiasm that doesn't last. 00:20:43.079 --> 00:20:44.579 They receive the word with joy. 00:20:45.159 --> 00:20:53.779 And we always, you know, a few months ago, I couldn't show you the PowerPoint, but in the PowerPoint, there was a few person that joined the church a few months ago. 00:20:54.279 --> 00:20:55.619 Some of them, they stopped coming. 00:20:55.619 --> 00:21:00.019 And especially there was a man that told me, oh, you are the best pastor. 00:21:00.459 --> 00:21:01.759 This is the best church. 00:21:02.019 --> 00:21:03.179 And, of course, I was pleased, no? 00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:08.139 If someone tell you, you are the best pastor, this is the best church, it's a wonderful thing to hear. 00:21:08.799 --> 00:21:10.439 He was a nice man. 00:21:10.619 --> 00:21:12.079 He's a very nice man. 00:21:12.119 --> 00:21:13.119 I like him very much. 00:21:13.159 --> 00:21:13.819 He stopped coming. 00:21:14.699 --> 00:21:16.019 And he told me, I want to be baptized. 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:19.279 Please, let's do it as soon as possible. 00:21:19.279 --> 00:21:21.539 It takes time. 00:21:22.200 --> 00:21:23.220 Just settle in church. 00:21:23.819 --> 00:21:24.559 Read your Bible. 00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:26.440 Come to the prayer meetings. 00:21:26.799 --> 00:21:29.180 And just after a year, we will speak. 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:31.319 What happened with this man? 00:21:32.359 --> 00:21:33.379 Such a nice person. 00:21:38.019 --> 00:21:41.960 The devil comes and takes the seed away. 00:21:41.960 --> 00:21:49.819 So there was a superficial decision and initial enthusiasm. 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:53.620 Sometimes people just get enthusiastic. 00:21:54.120 --> 00:22:00.840 And I don't know if you know someone that is very self-controlled, very calm person. 00:22:01.180 --> 00:22:03.720 And you take him to watch a football match. 00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:08.980 So there's a person that is very quiet, calm, self-controlled. 00:22:08.980 --> 00:22:11.980 And you just put it in the middle of the crowd. 00:22:12.120 --> 00:22:13.480 Everybody is shouting there. 00:22:13.900 --> 00:22:17.700 And you notice that this person is getting just excited. 00:22:18.279 --> 00:22:19.599 And shouting too. 00:22:19.700 --> 00:22:20.380 And saying, what happened? 00:22:21.120 --> 00:22:21.740 It's initial. 00:22:22.420 --> 00:22:26.960 This is a part of emotional thing. 00:22:27.860 --> 00:22:32.339 Or being part of a big crowd that influences you. 00:22:32.680 --> 00:22:36.759 Or a kind of world fascist that you get from watching a sentimental movie. 00:22:36.759 --> 00:22:42.319 I am a person that is crying, you know, tears when I watch a movie. 00:22:42.700 --> 00:22:44.740 I'm a bit ashamed to say it. 00:22:44.799 --> 00:22:46.259 But it's like that, no? 00:22:46.799 --> 00:22:50.720 So they receive the word with joy, says Jesus. 00:22:50.859 --> 00:22:54.900 But when the circumstances change, the adrenaline suicides. 00:22:55.900 --> 00:22:58.539 And the intoxication moment fades. 00:22:59.339 --> 00:23:01.039 So there are people like that. 00:23:01.500 --> 00:23:02.900 They get enthusiastic. 00:23:02.900 --> 00:23:05.259 They love what they are here. 00:23:05.700 --> 00:23:06.780 They love the church. 00:23:07.019 --> 00:23:09.720 They said, I never come across such a wonderful thing. 00:23:09.980 --> 00:23:11.360 It's wonderful to be in the church. 00:23:11.560 --> 00:23:12.640 It's wonderful, the gospel. 00:23:13.100 --> 00:23:16.860 And after a few months, they just disappear. 00:23:17.180 --> 00:23:19.160 We don't see them never more. 00:23:19.340 --> 00:23:20.200 They have no root. 00:23:20.700 --> 00:23:21.460 The Bible tells us. 00:23:21.460 --> 00:23:22.220 The parable tells us. 00:23:22.280 --> 00:23:23.240 They have been here for a while. 00:23:23.500 --> 00:23:25.680 But in the time of testing, they apostatize. 00:23:26.180 --> 00:23:30.279 And with this man, he told me, look, my parents are very sick. 00:23:30.420 --> 00:23:31.460 My mother is very sick. 00:23:31.900 --> 00:23:34.799 I have to be there taking care of them. 00:23:35.200 --> 00:23:36.680 And I told them, yes, I understand. 00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:38.460 We will be praying for your parents. 00:23:38.580 --> 00:23:39.120 I understand. 00:23:39.600 --> 00:23:47.220 But look, instead of coming every Sunday, why don't you come once a month, twice a month, for an hour? 00:23:47.220 --> 00:23:50.460 And I said, no, I cannot do that because my, you know. 00:23:50.819 --> 00:23:56.319 So it's this type of situation that we face time to time in church. 00:23:57.180 --> 00:23:58.299 Those among the thorns. 00:23:58.799 --> 00:24:03.519 Those who hear, but as they go on their way, they are choked and they not mature. 00:24:04.059 --> 00:24:05.079 Verse 14. 00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:08.839 There are still others who turn out to be destructive disciples. 00:24:08.839 --> 00:24:12.220 Again, there is an enthusiastic initial response. 00:24:12.619 --> 00:24:21.439 But unlike the case of the superficial decision, these people, they don't seem to renegade, to renege of their commitment to Jesus altogether. 00:24:22.039 --> 00:24:24.679 They retain some of the Christian identity. 00:24:25.240 --> 00:24:27.839 They don't fall in the same sense. 00:24:28.359 --> 00:24:33.699 But as the times go by, they become less and less interested in Christ. 00:24:34.539 --> 00:24:38.279 So what are those chokes? 00:24:38.279 --> 00:24:41.279 In youth, perhaps, educational goals. 00:24:41.819 --> 00:24:45.559 Educational goals, sporting achievement, sexual attraction. 00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:53.039 In midlife, financial stress or family responsibilities or career ambition. 00:24:53.839 --> 00:24:58.899 In all age, preoccupation with health, the garden or the grandchildren. 00:24:58.899 --> 00:25:05.379 There are always things that are there just to, you know, to be choked. 00:25:05.380 --> 00:25:11.320 There are impediments to mature in the Christian life as Christians. 00:25:11.940 --> 00:25:13.540 They do not mature. 00:25:14.140 --> 00:25:19.080 They call themselves Christian, but it's just because it's just a church-going habit. 00:25:19.580 --> 00:25:21.720 And we need to be vital. 00:25:22.140 --> 00:25:24.960 We need to have a vital personal faith. 00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:31.400 And we just encourage each other to have a personal, a real personal and vital faith. 00:25:31.400 --> 00:25:35.779 The seat of the world is the only way to increase the kingdom. 00:25:35.900 --> 00:25:37.640 We have to remember ourselves. 00:25:38.039 --> 00:25:43.539 The only way to increase the church is not through many activities, programs. 00:25:43.539 --> 00:25:44.799 I find the programs. 00:25:44.980 --> 00:25:46.180 I am in a very small church. 00:25:46.539 --> 00:25:49.539 So I miss programs and I miss more people, you know. 00:25:49.539 --> 00:26:00.960 And I would love to have increasing number and to have more activities for women, for children, for marriage, couples, et cetera. 00:26:00.960 --> 00:26:15.940 This is fine, but we should not forget that it's through the preaching of God, not through the things, the activities that we have in church, the way that we will grow as a church and we will grow in maturity as a Christian. 00:26:15.940 --> 00:26:25.320 So the seat of the world is the only way to increase the kingdom and to increase the church and to change the world and to change people's lives. 00:26:25.840 --> 00:26:26.880 And increase it will. 00:26:27.360 --> 00:26:38.600 In spite of the frustrating losses and wasted efforts, Jesus assures us that the farmer will have a splendid crop at the end of the day. 00:26:38.599 --> 00:26:47.339 For there are those who with a noble and good heart hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. 00:26:47.719 --> 00:26:48.959 This is my encouragement. 00:26:49.259 --> 00:26:51.039 This is what encourages me. 00:26:51.579 --> 00:26:52.439 It's not in me. 00:26:53.459 --> 00:26:54.639 It doesn't depend on me. 00:26:55.139 --> 00:27:05.359 The only thing that I have to do is to preach the gospel, to press on, to go on, preach the gospel, find a way to reach out to the people and just sow in the seed. 00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:22.079 At time and out of time, all the time, preaching the gospel is the way that we will grow, is the way in which the kingdom will progress, is the way that the people will really change, will be safe. 00:27:22.740 --> 00:27:28.859 It's the only way that our society will be transformed through the preaching of the word. 00:27:28.859 --> 00:27:30.740 For me, it's really encouraging me. 00:27:30.919 --> 00:27:33.619 I don't see our church is small. 00:27:34.319 --> 00:27:35.039 It's hard. 00:27:35.479 --> 00:27:36.159 It's a hard work. 00:27:36.639 --> 00:27:45.159 But, you know, we have sometimes those fruits from the Lord, you know, a person, two persons, you know, that comes and they believe. 00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:46.659 And this is a wonderful thing. 00:27:47.199 --> 00:27:48.379 So I encourage you. 00:27:48.380 --> 00:28:00.360 I encourage myself to go on and to press on preaching the word of God, announcing the glory of Christ, the gospel of Christ, because it's powerful. 00:28:00.540 --> 00:28:02.040 There is nothing wrong with the seed. 00:28:03.240 --> 00:28:06.220 What is wrong are some hearts. 00:28:06.860 --> 00:28:12.080 But the seed is powerful, it's effective, and will produce a harvest. 00:28:12.079 --> 00:28:17.659 So I encourage you to preach the gospel, and please pray for us. 00:28:17.699 --> 00:28:18.799 Thank you very much for your attention. 00:28:19.039 --> 00:28:19.279 Thank you.