Good morning, welcome to The Roads Church! If you guys would stay in what this to worship this morning, we just welcomed those online on the roads, family and overflow. Just so glad that you guys decided to worship with us this morning. I’m thankful that we live in a country where we have the freedom to worship, but just as a reminder, too, that this country is not our source of freedom. And so it’s always, it’s always good to remember that God is our source of freedom. That he’s the one that actually is our source of freedom and where we get our freedom. So I just want to worship him this morning.
Free, free, free, free, free, free, free, free, free,
Free,
Free, free.
I just feel such an abundance of love right now in this room. He’s here. He’s here. We thank you for freedom. Jesus. This next song we’re going to go into is called first love. And as I was just praying about it and wondering what he wanted me to say, I wrote this and it says though, there are seasons and moments. When we might feel disjointed and divided, weary and tired, we may always return to Jesus. No matter your circumstance, we may always, we can always return to Jesus. God wants us to put aside and put away anything that distracts us from the sacred place with him, with our personal time with him, whatever is filling that place. Whatever you’re putting your time into, whether that’s social media or just something worldly, God wants you to make that time with him. But I want to encourage you no matter your circumstance or what, no matter what you’re trying to overcome.
It’s a good reminder to know that you can never be too far from him to where he’s disappointed. It doesn’t want you. I just felt like he wanted to remind the congregation that he always wants you. He is a jealous God. He is a loving God. Proverbs eight 17 says I love those who love me in those who seek me diligently find me. So if you’re in a place where you feel like you can’t make it out, I promise God will pull you out of that grave and make your dry bones new again. Make your old wine you again. [inaudible] Justin Love is found. Yeah, no, I hear your voice. [inaudible] come on. [inaudible] [inaudible] come on, come on to The Roads Church. [inaudible]
Weeks ago, pastor Chad said something that really made me think it said when’s the last time someone said you were on fire for God.
I thought, you know,
It’s maybe been a while. Since someone set that up,
I felt that in my heart or not, it’s like, what am I showing? What light am I shining that he’s put inside of me? So this morning, if you don’t feel like your light shining very bright, then just ask the Lord to breathe on those embers. Because when the Holy spirit starts a fire in you, it doesn’t go out. So he, this morning, the Holy spirit is here to breathe, fresh breath on your fire, and he can make it burn so much brighter than we can ever start up on ourselves. Amen. Cause we don’t have that breadth, but the Holy spirit literally means breath and that air comes in. It lights the fire that’s on those embers. So we’re going to see through this just a few more times, and we’re going to ask the Holy spirit to breathe on us so that people can see that we’re on fire and it’s not because of what we’ve done. It’s because the Holy spirit is breathing that into us this morning. So as we sing this, if you want you to join around this altar kneel down before him, whatever it is you have to do to posture your heart, ask him to come and breathe on you.
[inaudible] Jesus. We just thank you for your presence. We just surrender every single part of who we are to you this morning, our heart, our mind that is your fire comms. As we invite your fire and burn every single thing away, that’s not a view. Help us to surrender ourselves to that. Thank you, Jesus. [inaudible] take me there. Take me there. I’m right here. My life is [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible] try [inaudible]
Man. This is amazing how the Holy spirit works. You know, last week God gave me a vision. You know, it was talking about the fire and the three things that’s needed for, for fire to sustain stealth is oxygen needs fuel, and it needs an ignition source. And last week he showed me that, you know, the oxygen is the Holy spirit. The fuel is the power within the word and the promises God has made to his people. And the ignition source is us. Well this week, man, he’s really been downloading. And I was like, man, this, this doesn’t make sense, but it does now
The
Vision, and this is a now message for the church. The vision is, is that people are sitting around with candles and they fill this draft, but they start protecting their lights. Almost guarding it. It’s not a bad draft, but instead it’s the Holy spirit trying to blow the flame to make it bigger. The draft gets stronger, but the people protected even more so as they protect, we are pulling the ignition source away from the oxygen and fuel. See God needs us to use our ignition source to allow the Holy spirit to explode in the church. So the light that he has given us, isn’t yours to keep, he needs us more than ever to allow his, our light to erupt into an infernal. We have to break down the walls of the church that we were used to. The church that operates within the walls is no more.
God needs his people to move out of their comfort zone and out of their four walls. He needs us to be 24, seven, three 65. Christians. You see the enemy is winning. He wants us to tort or turn towards turn, turn towards him. And the tides are shifting, but God knows the enemy’s hand. He knows the enemies next move. But he just keeps, or he just needs us to allow our fire to be ignited. So we need to go where we never thought we could go do things. We never thought we could do the time is now. There is no waiting. There’s no holding back. We will overcome. We will take back the things the enemy has tried to take. Our God always wins. Just like he has conquered the grave. So Lord we to say more of you today. We just ask that that fire erupt this lettuce flow. If you are protecting your candle, now is the time to let it rise. Picture yourself, raising your candle up, letting the Holy spirit just flow and breathe onto that. Jesus. We just say more, more Jesus Jesus for yes, Jesus.
Solar wind is acid. You just erupt our fire. Turn our small flame into a burning it. We just take nothing for granted. Jesus’ mighty name. Thank you, Jesus. I just feel that somebody or people are holding back. They’re not for sure about letting their flame suscept protective. Call it a motherly instinct. God says it’s time. Don’t be afraid of what I have planned for you. He needs us. He needs us more than ever. So just let him in. It’s not scary. He just wants to walk. He just wants to warm our hearts, a warmer bodies. So we just thank you for the flow.
Jesus. We just ask that Jesus flow. This river use each and every one that’s in this, in this church. It’s listening Lord that you just pierced their hearts with your love this morning. We just love you. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus mighty name. He has you returning to your seats. Reach out high five, shake hands. He Rose family. We’re so excited. You can grow joy just today in the comment section below, please let us know where you’re watching from. Um, we would love to know where you’re watching from. We just want to partner with you are auditorium guests. We’re just so glad you joined us today. My name’s Joe. We’re excited to have you in the house today. Hey, this a couple of quick things. Hey, let’s just give it up. I want to celebrate one quick thing real quick. You know, the move partnered with sleep and heavenly peace.
And yesterday we had about 50 move leaders and youth partner with their leadership of the sleep in heavenly peace. And we built 32 beds yesterday. That’s just a little small piece of it through your donations. Last, the last two weeks, we had a goal of $6,000, but you guys Trump that big time by over $11,000 donated. So we just thank you through your generosity. We’re putting kids at sleeping on floors, not just in our communities, but they are reaching out. They’re growing their community and reaching more kids. And we’re going to get kids off the floor, but it’s the, it’s the gifts that you give on a weekly basis that makes that pop. So I just want to pray over our ties. And so if you have your ties and offerings, there’s three ways to give. You’ll see it on the screens behind me. But if you have your envelopes or if you do it online, please grab your phones. We just want to thank you Jesus, for the gift of the tie, your work dis always ceases, never ceases to amaze us. So Lord, we just thank you for the plans that you have for our gifts that you provided for us in Jesus mighty name. Amen and amen. Hey, we’re getting ready to play the road’s news. And then pastor, Chad’s going to be out with an amazing message.
Good morning at The Roads Church, and welcome to the roads. We are excited to be together today to worship and connect with Jesus. As a one church would many locations. Our North city campus, our Mount Carmel campus and our erodes family. As you join us from your homes, through your devices all over our nation, wherever you are, Jesus is amazing. And being in his presence is everything. If you’re joining us at one of our campuses this morning for the first time, take a minute to fill out your connect card found in your worship guide that you received. When you came into service after service, stop by our next steps table on your way out. We’d love to get to meet you and give you a welcome gift. If you’re joining us online today for the first time, we’d love to hear from you to go ahead and text the word roads to (618) 243-0900.
If you’re ready to get more involved and learn more about the road’s church growth track is your next step. Our North city campus offers our four week class growth track on Sundays at 10:30 AM in the growth track room. We also offer our fast track growth track every month at our Mount Carmel campus, giving you all four classes in one day and registration details can be found in your worship guide roads. Kids has been dreaming with God and we are partnering with him to offer something brand new for our kids this summer, we are very excited to present our very first ever road’s kids bootcamp road’s kids. Bootcamp is created to train and equip our young warriors for the kingdom of God, as well as allow opportunity for them to go further in their walk with Jesus and deeper into their relationship with God, the father and the Holy spirit, our kids will be learning to hear God’s voice about the power of prayer and about their identity in Christ, as well as the encountering, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords through worship road’s kids, bootcamp will be held at or North city campus from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, June 21st through the 25th, all roads kids, children ages four year old through fifth grade are encouraged to attend.
Preregistration is required and will be held May 9th through May 30th. Please be diligent to pre-register to confirm your spot for bootcamp registration in Sunday, May 30th roads kids out on Mount Carmel campus is gearing up for our kids. Summer connect live in the Proverbs, studying the first four classes of Proverbs with a vision based on Proverbs chapter one, verse four, for our roads kids to be equipped with wisdom and gain an understanding of their design and destiny kids. Summer connect will be held at our Mount Carmel campus on the second Wednesday of each month in June, July and August with a back to school celebration to end the summer roads, kids and friends that are in first through fifth grade and the 2021 2022 school year are invited to be part of our kids’ summer connect pre-registration is required for anyone planning to attend. Registration will open up on May 2nd and the registration deadline is Sunday, May 23rd. Make sure to look through your worship guide, visit our website and join us on social media to stay connected. We believe doing life together and building relationships makes us stronger. That’s all for the Rhodes news. We love you. Rhodes family. Welcome home.
All right, great job. What’s up everybody. Good morning. Welcome to the road church. So glad to have all of you with us. Great to be here with you today on this beautiful day. Uh, yes, I did dress up a little bit today, but just don’t let it throw you off. No special reason I just did, but you know, usually people ask me like, Whoa, what are you dressed up? I’m like, well, anyway, it doesn’t matter. No matter what I wear doesn’t matter, but I just want to say thank you to, uh, again, all the people supporting our youth and, and did a great job with the sleep in heavenly peace build is fantastic, the generosity, but we just want to continue to welcome all of you. Our erodes family of people watching online. I continue to get people ran into people this week said, Hey, is once you know what you, every single week.
And I’m like, great. That’s awesome. So glad to meet you and our overflow room. People there want to thank you. Our Rhodes family up in Mount Carmel. We’re so thankful for our family Mount Carmel greeting them as well as all of our E groups that are meeting. So it’s just something that, again, trying to keep myself reminded that the people in the room are not all the people that are watching and trying to engage them. We’re we’re at T V a screen generation. And so people are watching all the time. So we just want to say, thank you without the generosity of the church, we wouldn’t be able to provide this broadcast to people. I had some new people reach out to us. Of course, we’ve got our Northwoods family up in Wisconsin, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Roxboro, North Carolina, but Illinois. So people there and some new friends in Carlinville, Illinois watching every week.
Can we welcome everybody watching online today?
She’ll love you to our family, Mount Carmel and our hearts and prayers go out to pastors, Kevin and Amy Gammon as Amy’s mom, Becky went home to be with Jesus just last night. So we love the Gammons. We appreciate you and our Mount Carmel Rhodes family, uh, supporting them. So thank you all. Uh, our vision here is to connect people with Jesus from all roads of life, as you know, and, uh, we just want to another big, thank you. I want to give is to pastor Charla Lewis last week, who brought a fantastic word?
Come on. Can we give it up for her? Such a great job?
Sharing the heart of the father about our kids. I don’t know about you, but as a father of five, I was incredibly convicted. As I was sitting there at the Mount Carmel location last week, watching it on the screen, I’m just like, wow, bombs, dropping conviction hitting. As we realized that the most valuable thing we can do is to give our kids Jesus. The most valuable thing we do at this church is to pour into our kids. Jesus, doesn’t get the publicity a lot that it needs to because a lot of times in church kids are the things that go in the backroom. Can you just go watch the kids? But it’s once you know it at the roads, our value is not just to watch the kids it’s to pour into them. That’s why we continue to ask people that feels that gift to that, calling on the inside of them, to pour into our kids, to jump in and do it.
You know, we need more people, uh, facilitating that. Cause if we want to continue to reach more people, guess what? They bring kids with them. And if they bring kids and nobody’s serving or not enough for serving them, we have to turn them away. And so again, we do need more people. We need your gift. The kids need your gift. God needs your gift. So please use it for the kingdom and building up his kingdom. Why else would we use a gift from God then for God, if I have gift given to me by God, why would I not use it to build his kingdom? Just stuff again, that’s not a guilt or manipulation. It’s just encouragement to use it, to give God the glory. Hey, we’re going to start a new talk today. A couple of weeks ago, I talked about meeting with God today.
We’re going to start a talk called kingdom culture. This may be a one trick pony. It may be multiple weeks. I right now we’re at this stage where I just don’t care. I’m just, I’m not even sure I’ll preach on it today, yet. The tie it’s early, it’s early. I just want you to know I come prepared, but I come prepared to seek God. And I want to see his presence move and touch people because that’s what you need. You need his presence in your life. So hopefully you got your Bibles here at the Rose Church. We get excited about our Bibles because we believe that God’s word is the ultimate truth in our life. So if you got them today, let’s get them out. And let’s open to Matthew chapter 13, Matthew 13. I love it. Little excited, sermon notes are available there in your worship guide and on the YouVersion Bible app.
If you’d like to follow along there, we’re going to be jumping in and taking a look at the entire, just chapter Matthew 13, it’s going to be looking at it, kind of expository, preaching, just reading from it and talking about it. In this chapter. Jesus invites us into an awareness of his kingdom instead of just church or religion. Something that’s important for us to understand is that we are not church people. We are kingdom people. We are kingdom people that attend church, but church is not the ultimate goal. The kingdom is the ultimate goal that when you keep it, this perspective, you don’t get into church versus church. You don’t get into well, I attended church. So that’s all that matters. This is like Joe said, we want to walk in his kingdom everywhere we go all the time. Not just when we’re in a certain building, we’re gonna walk in the kingdom.
So this is what Jesus invites us into. And he starts talking about the kingdom. And if we get just into church or religion, it creates this all kinds of problems. Let me give you an example. A story. A man was stranded on a deserted Pacific Island for years. Finally, one day a boat comes sailing into view and the man frantically waves and draws the Skipper’s attention. And the boat comes near the Island. The sailor gets out and greets the stranded man. And after a while the sailor asks, what are those three huts you have here? Well, that’s my house there. Well, what’s the next hut as the sailor? Well, I built that hut to be my church. What about the other hut? Oh, I’d rather not talk about that. That’s where I used to go to church.
It’s funny because it’s real all by himself. He had to split off and start a new church. So we don’t want to get caught up in religion and just churchianity. We want to embrace the kingdom of God because we’re all going to gather together around the throne in heaven. Those are believers in Jesus Christ. So let’s look at what the kingdom talks about, the culture of the kingdom versus the culture of society. Let me give you this definition before every scripture culture in Webster definition says the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterize as a society and institution or organization. When we talk about kingdom culture, it’s a set of attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes Christians. And what I’m seeing right now, and what’s going on in our society is a battle for culture, a battle for societal values and what concerns me is not what’s happening in the world.
The world is the world non-Christians we were in all non-Christians at one point, we’re all blinded. We’re not better because we know Jesus it’s by his grace. We can see truth. But what concerns me a little bit is that the church itself, in some places and in some applications in contexts is beginning to back up. I feel a little bit intimidated and beginning to mold to the culture of society. Over the culture of the kingdom. There is a incredible amount of pressure right now to conform to the culture of society. And if you don’t conform, bam, we’re going to blow you up on social media and the church. Although some Christians are even backing up. They’re afraid of the social media mob. So they’re afraid to say anything. And my concern is as that, we forget that the culture of the kingdom is the right culture.
It’s the most loving culture. It’s the most kind culture. It’s the most freedom culture. It’s the best culture. Don’t apologize for the truth. Here’s one thing that I believe is foreign. It’s not loving. Sometimes people think about it’s. We need to be more loving to people in the world. Well, it’s not loving to the people. It’s not loving to lie to people. Don’t lie to me and tell me what I’m doing is okay. If it’s creating in my life, somebody throw me a bone and give me the truth and help me to open my eyes to get out of it.
But there’s that intimidation factor that man, we don’t want to don’t want to hurt anybody. Don’t want to say anything everything’s on edge. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of social media, right? I mean, anything you say, I’ll just hang out a little bit here. Yeah. So again, we just want to ask this question. What culture is controlling our lives? Is it the culture of the kingdom, the culture of Jesus, or is it the culture of society? You cannot. Jesus said these words, you cannot serve him and the world can’t you can’t do it. You’ll love one hate the other talking about God and mammon. Emma, not just being money, but a system, a worldly system. So let’s see what God’s talking about. The kingdom of heaven, Matthew, chapter 13, are you ready? It says on that same day, Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea, headed to the beach.
What a life and gray multitudes were gathered together to him. Great multitudes. Jesus could draw a crowd so that he got into a boat and set. So he’s on the beach. Bunch of people come around. Here’s the picture. So he decides to get up off his towel of his beach chair says, all right, I’m we’ll get on the boat. These people are crowding me. He gets out into a boat and set, and the whole multitude stood on the shore. So picture this, Jesus has setting in a boat. The people are there on the shore and they’re all just standing. Why did he get out into a boat? Because he had no microphone, no amplification. So water is a natural amplification of voice. So he got out into the water and as he spoke the waves and the water will carry his voice and it’d be an eight. We’ll be able to amplify it to all the people.
He created sound. He knows how it works. So then he spoke many things to them. In parables saying behold, a sower went out to sow and as he sowed some seed fell by the wayside and the birds came and devour them. Some fell on Stony places where they did not have much earth. And they immediately spring up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up, they were scorched. And because they had no root, they withered away and some fell among thorns and the thorns sprang up and choke them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop, some a hundred fold, some 60, some 30. He who has ears to hear, let him hear now was Jesus distinguishing people who had physical ears and people who did not have physical ears. Was he talking about people have the ability to hear versus people that were deaf.
What he’s talking about, those who have ears to hear. In other words, those who have a desire to hear the ones that have bent their ear towards, have you ever been talking to someone or listening to something you couldn’t hear very well and you kinda turned into them. You kinda, what does that maybe even cut to your ear? Like you had ear to ear. So you’re leaning in you’re intentional. I want to hear, and Jesus was saying, I’m going to say this to everybody, but not everybody’s going to hear it. It’s the same way. I realized that every time that I get up to speak, not all of you are going to listen to me. Not everybody watching online is going to hear me. They’re going to do church while they’re trying to do the dishes, trying to do laundry and whatever. And it’s going to be nice. You’re going to have some background noise, but you’re not really going to hear.
You can hear noise and not listen. So Jesus was saying he has an ear to hear, let them listen, listen for yourself. Listen for application suites. He’s drawing them in. He’s saying, Hey, I’m just throwing this parable out there. Not all of you going to pay attention to it, but the ones who want to get something out of it perk up. The Roads Church So the disciples came and said to him, yo, Jesus, why do you speak to them in the seed, wayside and stone, Fornes just be playing. But he answered to them because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. But to them, it has not been given for whoever has to him more will be given and he will have abundance, but whoever does not have, even what he has, will be taken away from him. Let me just pray over this father.
I thank you for your word and Holy spirit. I welcome you to bring revelation and understanding our desire is to gather around your voice and to hear what you have to say. Soloed, we look to you the giver of truth, the giver of life, that your words that you speak, they are spirit and they are life. Lord, let him come alive in our hearts today, all the glory to you. Jesus, we love you. Amen. Notice what it says here in verse 11, he says, because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. I will submit to you this morning that there are mysteries of the kingdom of heaven that have been given to us whose us, us are disciples, believers, followers of Christ without Jesus, without the Holy spirit, The Roads Church we cannot understand the word of God and what he wants to speak to us.
The Holy spirit is our teacher. So without God, we can’t understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. Once we’re born again, then the, uh, Jesus was talking to Nick Nicodemus and he says, unless someone is born again, they cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. You can’t get in to the kingdom of heaven. I’m not talking about, just get into heaven. You can’t get into the kingdom of heaven, the process, the system, you can’t understand it. So you gotta be born again. Our spirit has to be made alive by the, by the Holy spirit, Titus chapter three. So once we’re born again, now our eyes are open and we can see truth. And that’s what Jesus is saying. There are mysteries that have been given to you. Here’s what the mystery means. The word mystery means that which has not been known before, but which has been revealed to an in-group or restricted constituency. In other words, a select group of people. When he says there are mysteries that have been given to you. There are things that God was to reveal that have not been known before. I hasn’t seen here, as in heard, hasn’t even entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for them. But he said, it’s only going to be revealed to a certain end group. Well, that’s not fair.
Jesus said, I’m going to open it up to whosoever will seek me, will find me. But if you’re not seeking, you will not find me. Is that because God’s looking for people who have a heart turned towards him. In other words, it’s called love. You make a choice. I got all of these options and I choose you. It says that God’s trying to be mad and leave people out. He’s not pushing anybody away that wants to come. He’s just saying you have to come. You have to seek me, ask, receive, seek, find, knock. It’s open. Okay. So he’s saying, this is what’s going to happen. I’m going to reveal this to an in group of restricted group, but it’s been given to them to know that we’re given means to grant someone the opportunity or occasion, just because I’ve been given the opportunity. Doesn’t mean I’m going to take advantage of the opportunity God’s given you.
And I as believers, an opportunity to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. So he’s telling the disciples. So we gotta decide if we want to know that, to know that been given you to know the mysteries, I’m just breaking down this verse for, cause I believe it builds on the rest of it. Given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. This word know is different. It’s a Greek word. Ginosko which means a process or progression of knowledge or comprehension. In other words, you get to know, to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven is not a fullness of knowledge. Like, Oh, I know all that. That’s duh, that’s a different word. The word ginosko means that he’s given me the opportunity to grow in my understanding and knowledge of the kingdom of heaven. And I’m still that journey given you an opportunity to grow, to know the mysteries, not like I know it all now, but to know more today than I knew yesterday to know more the day after that, then I knew the next day to keep going and growing and growing.
So he says, I’ve given you an opportunity to progress in your knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. So what does he want to reveal? Let me talk about the kingdom of heaven. What does that mean? A lot of times when you just mentioned the kingdom of heaven, people say they’re thinking of heaven. As you, soon as we use the word heaven, people will go to a geographic place. Like the mysteries of heaven. Like what is it going to be like in heaven? I want to know the mysteries of the actual place. I really want to know what it’s like. I mean, I read books about people that’s gone there. I hear stories about it. I watch movies about it and I’m so jealous. I want to know what it’s going to be. Like. I have asked God over and over and over, take me in my sleep and take me on a tour. I have I a Lord. I want to see it in 2009. I got a word from a dear friend of ours in India. And she said, the Lord is coming and he’s going to take you to be with him. I was like, yes, tonight’s the night.
That’s what I thought. I thought it was like a now word. So I went back to my hotel there in India and she said, I saw you in your clothes. And God was taking, came in a chariot and picked you up and you wrote, I’m like, it’s going to happen. So I got, I got to bed and I prayed and I stayed awake. I was like, he’s coming. And I’m laying there. You know? And I changed out of my dress clothes. And at one point, a few hours into my waiting, I realized, I remembered, wait a minute. She said I was wearing the clothes I had on. So I got up out of bed and put my clothes back on. I’m telling you I was that crazy.
I put my clothes back on and sat there and said, come Jesus, okay. I want to see it. But we’re talking about heaven. That’s not what he’s saying here. He’s not talking about the geographic place. The kingdom of heaven, the word kingdom means this royalty rule or realm an area ruled by a King. So a kingdom is an area ruled by a King, but I studied this a little bit further and I found this about a kingdom. The word for kingdom is Cecilia, but its root word is the word decease in Greek where we get our word basis. So when it says the kingdom of heaven, I want you to think maybe even put it in our words might help you understand more the basis of heaven. Here’s what that word means. The word literally means to walk or the foot or the bottom of something. That’s why we talk about the basis as the bottom of something. Or you can put it this way, the principle foundational component of something. So Jesus said, it’s been given to you to know the mysteries of the principle component, the foundational elements of heaven, or in other words, we could say, it’s been given to you to know what heaven it’s system is based on how heaven operates, how it functions, what it’s built on. It’s been given to you to know that.
Yeah, really?
Yeah. That’s what Jesus said. Jesus came to show us what it was like to have a kingdom of heaven operating here on earth. What did he say in Matthew chapter four when he first came, he says Jesus began his ministry and he came and he says, from that time, Jesus began to preach and say, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Jesus was saying, the kingdom of heaven is here. Not hand like hand on hand means it’s arrived. The kingdom of heaven showed up. What was he saying? Hey, I came because the foundational principle elements of the system of heaven has now come to earth and here I am. So Jesus came to the earth to show us how heaven is run and how to do it on the earth. That’s what he did. He didn’t come to show us what we could not do because we’re not Jesus. He came to show us what we could do because of Jesus
Can we do it in our humanity? Can we do it on our own? Absolutely. No, but he said, I’ll come to show you the kingdom or the system or the foundational principles of heaven it’s here. But look what he said first in Matthew four 17. How are we going to do that? The first thing he said, repent, repent. Now when our church entity, we hear the word repent. We say, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. That’s not what repent means. We think rippit. We think we’ve got to come to the alter and just apologize over and over to repent does mean we turn away from something, but the word met Tenao in the Greek means to change or adjust the way you think it has to do with the mind. I’ll give you the definition there in your sermon hosts to think differently, to change one’s way of life.
As a result of a complete change of thought and attitude with regard to sin and righteousness, without a change of mind, a change of thought, there is no repentance. You have to change the way you think about sin, the way you think. As long as we justify sin, we will never repent of sin. As long as I explain it away and say, well, this is why I’m doing it. That means I have reasoned in my mind why I’m doing it. And it’s okay. So I can not repent, rethink as long as I think that’s okay. So he’s telling us, he said, listen, all your people repent change the way you think because the system of heaven is here. And if you want to operate in the system of heaven, you’re going to have to change the way you think. And this is what God’s telling us.
We are conditioned to think like earthlings, we’re conditioned to think like how the world operates. And Jesus said, I want you to think the way heaven operates, it’s a challenge, but we can do it. He was wanting to build his kingdom culture on the earth and he’s going to have to do it by changing the way people thought. Look what he said in Luke chapter 11. Remember when the disciples asked, Jesus teaches how to pray. You think about this sometimes, you know, how many times do we get? Why don’t we did it for a football game before a basketball game? We said, okay, we’re going to kneel. We’re going to put, we’re going to say our fathers, our father who? Art in heaven, hallowed, be thy name, thy kingdom come. They will be done on earth as the name for Gibson truth. We go through that, right? But they said, Jesus teaches how to pray, teach us how to pray. So Jesus said, okay, do you want to pray? Do this? It’s Luke chapter 11 verses one and two, they said, teach us to pray. Verse two. He says, so he said to them, when you pray, say our father in heaven, hallowed, or Holy be your name. Look what he says. Next, your, your foundational principles
Com your system com
Your way of thinking and believing and behaving com the things the best cease, the basis of heaven com. That’s how we’re supposed to pray. We’re saying, God, your system, your foundational core beliefs and principles come your will be done on earth. As it is in heaven. He’s given us to build the kingdom. We’re going to have to do it through that process. So now he, he did this through this parable. Now let’s just look at this parable. I’m just going to look at one verse of it, because for time sake today, I’m not going to get into all. I’m just going to get into the first, uh, see the wayside seeds. You could say, look at verse three. So he’s talking about the kingdom and he’s talking about, it’s been given to us to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, and he’s using this parable to talk about it. So what does that mean? Then he spoke many things to them in parables saying behold, a sower went out to sow a sower, went out to sow and as he sowed, or she sowed some seed fell by the wayside and the birds came and devoured them. Let’s break it down for a second. Behold, a sower went out to, so what does it mean to sow the word? So is a word that means to place or scatter seeds in the ground for future growth. Somebody say future growth.
So you get it down in your heart. Again, say future growth, key word, future. Haven’t got it yet to scatter seed for future growth. When his future, his future in the present future is something not yet. Can you see the future? I’m not talking about trying to be spiritual here, just in the natural. Can you see the future? No, you cannot. So we’re to scatter seed now for something we cannot see until later. So we are not discouraged by what we don’t see, because we understand that it’s future growth and not now growth. I’m not sewing for now growth. I did that yesterday. Are you grasping yet? Because I feel your role in the same place. Sometimes we, so now for now growth, I sewed today. So I can see it this afternoon. I’m sewing a new attitude this morning, so that tonight, thanks will be different. I’m going to so better behavior towards my spouse and by supper, there better be a change To close. Let’s talk about something else. I, so I’m going to, so I’m going to start tithing By this week. I want to see you breakthrough. The principle of the kingdom of heaven is you so now for what you will see or experience later. So my encouragement is not based on what I see. My encouragement is based on what I saw.
We want to get excited. I’m see I’m talking about myself, but God says this. I want you to start this new habit. I want you to start doing this. I want you to start putting this principle in this discipline, and I want you to do this. Well, what’s going to be in the minute for that. Just start doing it. You’ll see it. Well, I want to see what’s going to happen. Sowing to future growth. Am I helping anybody? I mean, we’re, we’re starting. We got to start things now for what we’ll see later. And don’t get discouraged if we don’t see it by tomorrow. So man, that’s more than wanting to go into there, but that’s what’s sowing is sowing it. Can you get it in your hearts? Can we be people that believe in sowing and reaping the kingdom of God is sowing and reaping.
Let’s get excited about we’ll start changing some things today for future growth. Everybody say future growth. All right. So what is being sown? What is being sown? The soar went out to, so what’s being so jumped to verse 18. Cause he going to explain the parable. Jesus said, therefore, here are the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away. What was sown in his heart? This is he receives seed by the wayside. So as he sowed some fell as he sowed. So what is he? So when anyone hears the word of the kingdom, what do we, so it says here we sow the word of the kingdom. What is the seed? The seed is God’s word.
We don’t. So our, once we, so God’s word. If I could pull up a chair and just disciple right now, it’d be to a Christian to tell you we do not. So our wants, we sold the word, trying to live a successful Christian life without a relationship with your seed will never produce a harvest in your life. But we have been adapted into this culture of entitlement, which is society that God sees that I needed. So he will give it to me. That’s not how it works in the kingdom. It’s not an entitlement kingdom. I hate to burst some bubbles, but it is a seed kingdom that we saw and we read and what do we? So we sold the word that way. I don’t get twisted and start praying my own selfish desires because I need to pray. And so the pure word of God, if I need something, I need to find seed on it and grow it in my life. I need breakthrough in this area. God, when are you going to do, when are you gonna do, when are you gonna do? He says, when are you going to, so what are you going to so well, I just, you know, I need it. Your Bible says, you know what I need up before I ask. He’s like the fact that I know it does not negate your need to sell it. Boom. That was a wrap right off the top.
Hey, can you guys jot that down for a second? Service has no way out
Just because he knows what we have need of does not negate our need to sow his word to produce it. So, so we sold the word where’s it. Sewn look at verse four says behold, the store went out. So as he sowed, some seed fell, some fell. That word fell means to descend from one level to another. Noticing this parable, when we it through the first time it fell on the wayside, Stony places, thorny ground, and good ground for different types of ground. So the seed was sown everywhere. The seed went out everywhere, all kinds of ground. We got wayside, ground, Stony, ground, thorn, ground, and good grounds. It falls everywhere. The different types of ground represents the heart. Look in verse 19, the wicked one comes and snatches away. What was sown in his heart? So where do we sow the word? We sew it in our heart. The condition of our heart determines the growth.
That’s good. Yeah.
A heart after God will produce for God.
We got to get our hearts, right?
Well, I just don’t think the Bible’s working for me. Check your heart out. I’m not understanding thing. The Bible saying, check your heart, check your heart. Make sure what’s your heart condition. What are you pursuing the things of God? Or is your heart all twisted up with Fornes? Is it hardened? Stony places? Is it scattered? Look what he says is sewn in the heart. Let me get to this next part. How do we do it? What determines the success of the seed liquid verse 19. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, every say understand does not understand it.
Congrats this with me.
When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away. What a sewn in his taught. When does the wicked one come and snatch away with sown in our heart? When we do not understand it, understand it. So it’s an important to understand the word I’m thinking it might be. What does that mean to understand it? The word understand means to put together in the mind to comprehend. This is about meditating, the word, taking it from information to revelation. This is the difference. Again, Christianity one Oh one, you won’t be successful. Don’t just read the word, meditate the word. What do I mean by meditate? The word Joshua one eight. The book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do. I can’t observe to do. If I don’t meditate for, then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success. When will I have good success? When I meditate on God’s word, Psalm one, two, but his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in his law, he meditates on Snapchat day and night.
Is that what somebody says? He meditates on Instagram day and night meditates on Facebook day and night meditates on Netflix day and night. Us because of the crowd,
You guys are excited. I’m telling myself
Meditate. What we meditate on is what will
Produce the thoughts
You meditate on will produce
Fruit in your life. Produce fruit.
He said, if I meditate on the word of God, that’s the only way I’m going to understand it. And once I begin to understand it, now it begins to drop in my heart. So if I can help myself, we can help each other. Right now, God’s trying to tell us, listen, if we want to be successful in the kingdom, we got a scatter seed. We got to sow the word in our hearts, put it in our hearts, put it in our hearts, put it in our hearts, put it in our hearts. How do we meditate? It here’s what the word meditate means. In the Hebrew. It means to ponder, give serious thought and consideration to selected information with a possible implication of speaking in low tones in reviewing the material a lot to say this in plain English meditating means I say it to myself over and over and over and over.
I speak it out loud. Whenever you speak the word back to yourself, it gets down in your heart. When it comes out of your mouth, it goes back in your ears. And if it goes into your ears, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So every time I speak the word, I hear the word. And when I hear the word, it starts to produce faith. So when I speak it and I hear it, I speak it. And I hear it. I’m planting every time I say it and I hear it. I’m planting, I’m planting and I’m sewing for future growth. I don’t see it yet, but I keep sowing it. I’m sewing it for future growth. I’m sowing for what I don’t see. And I’m hearing what I don’t see and faith is being produced. And this is how God’s going to operate the kingdom in our life. How am I going to change the culture? When I repeat and I changed the way are things that I don’t operate by what I see, I operate by what I believe. What I see in my life right now is a consequence of past sewing, good or bad.
If what you see is not what you want to experience. If it’s not the culture you want to experience, don’t just look at it and complain. The more you identify with it and speak about it. You are continuing to. So for future growth of what you don’t like right now. So what I see right now that I don’t like I got to get new seed going right now for the future growth that that will die. And what I’m wanting to happen will begin to spring up. Let me, let me give you the process for culture development. Let me close here.
Steps process for culture, develop number one, faults, develop into ideas. Number two ideas. Create concepts. Concept is an accepted truth ideas that you meditate on. They create accepted truths in your life. Whether these ideas came from God or not as between us and God, I just concepts. Once we get an accepted truth, what happens? Those concepts form sleeps. Those beliefs, influence behavior. Our behavior produces habits and habits determine culture. This is how it works, how it works in the kingdom. Jesus said, repent, if you want to change. So here’s, if you’re dancing a culture right now in your home, in your marriage, in your, in your own mind, a culture of your mind, culture, group, thoughts, culture of your health, culture, finances, whatever it may be. If you’re experiencing a culture, you do not want, then you don’t get to just jump down habits. You have to go all the way back and change your thoughts.
We want to change some quick habits and get there and microwave it. And it doesn’t last yet because our habits are built on behaviors, which were built on beliefs, which were built on concepts, which were built on thought on ideas, which are built on thoughts. When you go and try and just change a habit real quick, why do you fail it’s later because you have underlying concepts and beliefs that are supporting your current behaviors. So until I go back and take my thoughts captive second Corinthians, chapter 10. Thanks take my thoughts captive into the obedience of Christ then knows new thoughts, produce new ideas. And those new ideas create a new accepted truth about my identity in Christ and who I am. And now I begin to have a different accepted truth about freedom and my power and my authority as a believer. And from that new accepted truth. Now I begin to walk into new beliefs and my new beliefs influenced new behaviors. I begin to behave differently because it’s based on a different truth that I’ve grabbed hold of in my now my beliefs have changed. So now my behaviors change and now my behavior ongoing produce produces good habits and my habits have, and now my habits that have changed ongoing consistently every day produces a new culture.
Can I do that by this afternoon? Well, here’s what we can do. Those are steps. Now. I don’t want to take away from the power of God that can accelerate steps I’ve seen and experienced in my life where all those things happen. Bammo Whoa, Hey, I got a new thoughts right now. And my FIO, everything has changed. Everything’s changed now. My culture may play out over time, but right now, those things can change. But sometimes you’ve got to start with committing. I’m going to change my thoughts. We’ll get some new ideas, get some new concepts, get some new beliefs that we to do some new habits and we’ll change my culture. Kingdom culture came to culture. So I want us to pray. Maybe you’ve got some things that you’re saying I need to make some changes in my life. I want you to invite Holy spirits in right now. I begin to ask him to change your thoughts. There has been so much attack of the enemy on our mind. Over this last year, people inundated with all kinds of things going on in their minds. I know it has for me. He has attacked my mind in this last year. Like no other time in my life, fear insecurity, identity crisis, trying to zap hope right out of your life.
Try and zap joy right out of your life. We need a new thought. We want to experience the kingdom of heaven on the earth. You cannot enter the kingdom of heaven unless you’re born again. If you’re listening to me right now, Mount Carmel, North city, overflow, erodes, family groups, wherever you are right now. I want to give you an opportunity to accept Jesus as your Lord and savior. Unless one is born again, you can’t enter this system. We are dead to it without Jesus. So if you’d like to repent, repent of sin, turn away from it and walk into righteousness. That is by grace through faith. I want to give you a chance to say yes to Jesus. Will you pray this with me? Meaning with all of your heart, it’s not just a formality. It’s the, it’s the condition of your heart seed is going to be scattered right now with the condition of your heart will determine the growth of that seat.
If you’re hungry and you want more of God come to The Roads Church, you want to repent and change and pursue him with all of your heart right now, pray this with me. We’ll pray it all together. We’ll say these words with me, father in heaven. I believe that Jesus is the Christ. The son of the living. God who came to save the world from their sin. I believe he Rose from the dead to give us new life. Today. I repent. I renounced sin. I turned to righteousness. Forgive me of all my sin. Come into my hearts. I accept you as my Lord and savior. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for saving me in Jesus’ name. I pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. For all of you, pray that prayer. This morning, welcome to the family. Welcome to the kingdom. We’re all a work in progress in this kingdom. Rolling even grounds, but we’ll give an opportunity for prayer this morning. If you would stand to your feet,
[inaudible]
We got some words of knowledge that I think you’re going to want to respond to. Again, some people are going just to places to serve, but if you could hold your places for just a moment, I’m going to give you a chance to encounter God
For someone being manipulated by their feelings. If that speaks to you right now that you feel like I’m being manipulated by my feelings, then God’s willing to change that. He’s wanting to speak to your heart. People being intimidated by the devil. And God wants to break that off of them. If you build them, feel intimidated by the devil, someone named Stan or Stanley, you have recently experienced some type of trauma and God wants you to know it’s going to be okay, that you stay understanding. Again, respond to these, make your way to the front. If you, if you want prayer this morning for healing of any type or something going on in your life, come on, God wants to touch you today. Someone dealing with a migraine headache, a right ankle sprain and a right ear infection, migraine headache, right ankle sprain, that it would be all the same person, a right ear infection.
Also, uh, heard someone dealing with Ms. Someone, dealing with Ms. Feel that God’s wanting to heal that today. Can we just invite the Holy spirit to come, come on. If you want God to touch your life, step out. If you’re in one of our physical locations, make your way to the front overflow room, make your way up. Not just for people to pray for years to come up expecting. I want to encounter God. I want God to touch my life. I need a breakthrough in this area of my life. I need my thoughts to change. So I need someone to agree with me that today you want to make it a committed effort to change your culture. And so now you’re going to begin to sow seed towards that future. Holy spirit, come and heal in Jesus name. Thank you for supernatural miracles. Beginning to happen right now in the name of Jesus for migraines to go for the ankle spring, to be healed in the name of Jesus for Ms.
Complications to go in Jesus’ name. We just blessed STAM Stanley with Lord. We just thank you for calling him out, encouraging him in the name of Jesus. We just thank you for, for intimidation and manipulation to break off of our life. All form of of fear. We say no to you. You will not control us anymore. You will not control our behavior or our thought process. Lord, we are born again into your kingdom through our, thank you. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord bursitis, uh, lose something in the right elbow. If that’s you, if that’s you feel like God’s willing to heal that right now in Jesus name and his phrase, you for healing to come to the right elbow. Thank you to someone named Marissa. I believe. I believe it’s Marissa. God’s willing to speak to you, doubting your identity, doubting your identity and who you are and who God created you to be.
Marisa. God is just speaking to you that you are created by him for his purpose. He’s calling you out. You have value. You have need, you have uniqueness in who you are, but you are of God. Marissa, do not doubt that for another moment in the name of Jesus, we give you praise. Come Lord, let your fire fall and consume us. Lord. We’re not here just to have acute service Lord. We want to encounter you. We want people to encounter you right in their homes, right where they are. Lord. I pray for the fire of God to fall in their homes, or I pray over marriages and relationships and children. Lord, I praise you for protocols that have begin to waver and wander off. We just call them in, in the name of Jesus that they will come to their senses and say, Oh, I need to come home. I need to come to my father in heaven. Lord, we just called him in, in Jesus’ name. If that’s you and you have a prodigal situation, just begin to pray over them. Just to begin to declare them, begin to sow seeds right now for future growth. We just praise you for the anointing of the Holy spirit. That’s breaking yolks right now, removing them off of people’s lives. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord.
Somebody, Megan, that is hopeless right now. You’ve said I’m just hopeless. I’m hopeless, Megan. The God of hope is going to encounter you right now. We’ve got a full pass. You just weeping before the Lord, as the God of hope just becomes to settle on you and something begins to happen on the inside. You don’t see things changing right now, mega, but something on the inside hopelessness is being met by the God of hope. God of hope is encountering you in the name of Jesus. We say more Lord, more of your goodness, more of your power.
We give you freedom. Lord Jesus, touch hearts all over Lord. We pray. Lord. If you’d like prayer, we’re going to be available. We’re going to hang out after service. If you’d like prayer for that, I’m going to turn it over to the service host who has a couple things to mention to you, Rose family. We’re so excited to join us with this are joined with us today. We just wish that you have a rest of the amazing week, an amazing day. We love you, see you next week at The Roads Church!