Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Harvest or Crop Failure


NOTETAKER:  LC@AL 10-24-12  Sermon Title: Harvest or Crop Failure
Point 1:  Seed Producer – 2 Cor. 9:10 - 10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. Gal 6:7,9 - Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.Genesis 8:22 - 22 “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”
Context: Matt 13:3-4 – God is the sovereign sower…God does not discriminate.  God gives according to your ability…
1.   God ________________ you the seed to sow!
2.   God ________________ you to sow it!
a.    Deut 16:16 - 16 Three times a year all your men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose…No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed:
3.   Seed is more than ________________ , its ________________ and ________________ .
a.    Luke 6:37-38 - 37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
4.   Seed always ________________ after its ________________ kind.
a.    Gen. 1:11-12 - 11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
5.   We are ________________ .
a.    Gen. 1:27-28 - 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them;    male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Point 2:  Seed Proliferator – 2 Cor. 9:6-7 - 6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Context:  Matt 13:4-8  Jesus wanted us to see in the parable the power of the seed not just the soil it was sown in. 
6.   Seed is ________________ to grow.
7.   What are you ________________ ; ________________ and ________________ or ________________ and _______________ ?
a.    Gen. 3:17-19 - 17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it  all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
8.   The ________________ of your ________________ is in your ________________ .
9.   The more I ________________ , the more I ________________
10.               What do you ___________ __________ ….then _________ it?
Point 3:  Silt or Soil – Proverbs 13:3 - 3 Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin.
Matt 12:36-37 - 36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Context:  Matt 13:4-8  Jesus showed us God is willing to try all types of soil.
11.               The ____________ of the soil will impact the _____________.
12.               ________________ is unstable but has the ingredients to make ________________ soil
13.               Jesus changed ________________ name to ________________ for a ________________
14.               What ________________ of ________________ are you?
15.               Are you due for a name change:  ________________ , ________________ , ________________ , ________________ .
Point 4:  Sole Sower – Matt 13:8 - 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
Isaiah 55:10-11 - 10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Context:  Matt 13:19-22  The revelation is what one seed can produce.
16.               There is a ________________ your ________________ will ________________ .
17.               What word ________________ are coming ________________ of your ________________ ?
18.               Word seeds are ________________ wrapped in ________________ .
19.               The power of your ________________ will produce ________________ or ________________
a.    Prov. 18:21 - 21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
20.               What ________________ /________________ are you ________________________________ , ________________ , ________________ , tithing?   What ________________ are you ________________
a.    Prov. 18:21 - 21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Sowing Seeds that Produce


Sermon Text: Matthew 13: 1-9 Matthew 13:8 “Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown”. 
Sermon Title: Sowing Seeds that Produce
Point 1: Sovereign Sower: vs. 3, 4a Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed.” 4. As he was scattering the seed…
The sower in this parable does not appear to be a very good farmer. He indiscriminately sows the seed. How good a farmer is this…not carefully tilling the land before sowing it, wasting seed on patches of land that surely will not produce a harvest and simply throwing it everywhere?
(1)     Jesus is telling us God is willing to take a risk. You and I would never plant seed anywhere we didn’t think it had a chance to grow, not God. God is willing to take a chance..
(2)     God sees potential where others see a rocky life, a shallow life, a thorny life and a life that has been pushed to the side.
(3)     Jesus also wants us to see the Sower is Sovereign. You cannot tell God what to do with His seed. Some of us are good for giving God instructions on who will live right and who will not live right…  
 
Isa 55: 8, 9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
 
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts
Daniel 4: 35…He does as he pleases…No one can hold back his hand and say what have you done…
Point 2: Seed Power4 “As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown”. 
The common denominator in all farm verses is the word seed. The seed, the word of God, is the best seed you can find...
Psalm 119: 11 says I hide it in my heart so I cannot sin against God. Jesus said in Luke 21: 33 heaven and earth shall fade away but his word will last forever. The Psalmist 19: 10 said it’s sweeter than the honey comb. Jeremiah 15: 16 said Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. If there is little growth in your life ask yourself how much seed do you take in? If there is no harvest in your life there has been no seed in your life. Harvest is equal to seed and vice versa. This is how Paul put it in Galatians 6: 7, 9  Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Let us not be weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Point 3: Choice Soil 4   “As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.… Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 
Some times when the word comes to a person,“it falls along the path,” what that means is the message doesn’t fall in the middle of the row. We choose to give the required time to understand the word and the evil one comes and snatches it up
Other times, you choose to receive the seed of the word comes that brings you joy…Now because the word answered some difficult areas in your life notice what the word says happens vs. 21 “persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away” e.g. marital problems, addictions, family problems, and relationship problems…
Finally, you choose to accept the word...

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Sermon Title: WWW: Wheat in a Weed World Pt 2



Sermon Text: Matthew 13: 29
Sermon Title: WWW: Wheat in a Weed World Pt 2
Point 1: Grow Together vs.26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
vss. 27 – 28 The owners servants came to him and said, “Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from”? An enemy did this, ‘he replied. “The servants asked him Do you want us to go and pull them up?” The answer to the definitive question is vs. 29 NO What do you mean! Leave the weeds together? Are you kidding?


Point 2: Glow Together vs. 29 29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them
Matthew 23:17-28 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it. 23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. 25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. 27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.


Point 3: Go Separate vs39/40 – 43 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

WWW: WHEAT IN A WEED WORLD!


Sermon Text: Matthew 13: 29
Sermon Title: WWW: Wheat in a Weed World
Point 1: Grow Together vs.26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
vss. 27 – 28 The owners servants came to him and said, “Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from”? An enemy did this, ‘he replied. “The servants asked him Do you want us to go and pull them up?” The answer to the definitive question is vs. 29 NO What do you mean! Leave the weeds together? Are you kidding?
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Point 2: Glow Together vs. 29 29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them
Matthew 23:17-28 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it. 23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. 25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. 27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
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Point 3: Go Separate vs39/40 – 43 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
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Wednesday, October 3, 2012

What Had Happened Was: I can't straighten up


Sermon Text: Luke 13: 12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity,”

1: Stripped by rules
vs. 10 “Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
vs. 14 “But he ruler of the synagogue was indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath.”

2: Strapped by a spirit
vs. 11 And there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years…and she could not fully stand up.

3: Set free by Jesus
vs. 12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her and said to her, Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.”
Jesus did three things that freed the woman from this spirit of weakness.
(a) Information.
(b) Inspiration.
(c) Implementation.
         
4: Straight praise by me
vs. 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God


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