Digging For Discipleship

Sermon Summary:

In this powerful message, we explore the Parable of the Sower from Mark 4:1-9, focusing on the perspective of the soil. The central theme is discipleship and how we can grow to become disciples who make other disciples. The key to this growth is counterintuitive – to grow higher, we must dig deeper. This involves pushing through rocky seasons that challenge our faith, truly listening to Jesus to grasp who He is, and trading our worldly values for Kingdom values. We’re reminded that discipleship is hard and requires a high pain tolerance, but Jesus sees both our struggles and our coming victory. By holding onto Jesus through all seasons, spending time in His Word, and allowing Him to transform us, we can become that flourishing disciple described in Psalm 1.

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Key Takeaways:

• Discipleship requires pushing through rocky seasons that challenge faith
• Listening and spending time with Jesus is crucial for understanding His message
• Worldliness can choke spiritual growth, necessitating an exchange of values
• Growing as a disciple involves continuous digging deeper into God’s word
• The goal of discipleship is to become a disciple who makes other disciples

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Scripture References:

• Mark 4:1-9, 16-19 (The Parable of the Sower)

Stories:

• Ryan Chandler’s personal anecdote about considering pastorship in England
• The story of Jesus’ disciples facing trials and witnessing miracles
• The comparison of modern social media influencers to the third soil in the parable
• The speaker’s reflection on advice received from his mission professor, Dr. Stroop

Transcript

I can tell you one thing, this sermon is already going better than the last sermon I preached. If you remember, I preached in October, had a little ukulele with me last time. The absence of the ukulele is not the reason this sermon is going better. The reason this sermon is going better already is because the first time, the last time I preached here, it was the first time I’d ever preached at First Baptist Church of Arlington. It was kind of an intimidating room, intimidating stage. I went to the bathroom about 15 minutes before the 11 o’clock service. Went to the bathroom, dropped my phone, bitten down to pick my phone, ripped my pants.

Y’all didn’t know that last time, did you? Hid it pretty well. Preached the whole sermon last time with ripped pants. So this sermon is already going better. you.

Dr. Wiles is watching this going, why are they applauding that?

Let me tell you about some discouraging advice. I was given several years ago when I was a seminary student. Long time ago, before I became a pastor, before I came here to be the young adult minister, I was the junior high pastor at First Baptist Church in the Woodlands. And I was working on my master’s degree at the same time. Amy and I were young. We didn’t have any kids at that time. And the church there in the Woodlands had a partner church all the way in England that we did mission work with. We used to do baseball camps. In Europe, and it was one of our missionary strategies to get to know the community and the people there through baseball. It’s wonderful camps that we put on with these local churches. One of the churches in England didn’t have a pastor at the time, and they really needed one. And so the pastor I was working for in the Woodlands said, why don’t you go there and be the pastor at this church? I’ll help you get an interview. We’ll fly you over. This could be a wonderful opportunity for you and your wife. And I was all about it. In fact, I couldn’t. I couldn’t believe that it could actually be true. I get to go to England, like castles and knights and the royal family, and I get to go there and be a pastor in that kind of place. That sounds awesome. And so Amy and I, my wife, we were all about it. We were about to go. We were about one month away from flying on a plane to interview with this church to see if they would invite me to become their next pastor. But something happened in our lives that made us pause, stop, and seek a little bit more discernment. Amy got pregnant. And that changed everything, because suddenly, life in England was about to be a lot harder with no community and no support and a baby on the way. And so we sought a little help. I sought the advice of my mission professor, a wonderful man named Mike Stroop. And I thought that what my mission professor was going to tell me was, go. Yes, Ryan, go. Save England.

After all, after all, you know this. That’s kind of what those mission people are like, right? Those mission people, that’s the beginning of that famous passage that they like so much. Go, therefore, into all the world, right? Instead, here’s what Dr. Stroop said to me. I was expecting him to say, go. And Dr. Stroop said, no. He said, no, don’t do it. Don’t go. So what Dr. Stroop told me was, you need to stay here and actually finish your degree, and before you go off and do that, you need more formation in your life. And you really need to know what you’re doing and what this is about before you go. I’ll be honest, I was annoyed by that. That was annoying. In fact, I had asked him for advice because he was the mission professor, and I thought he was going to tell me what I wanted to hear. I thought he was going to say, yeah, get on out there. Go do it. And at the time, I really wrestled with that. Man, what terrible advice, I thought, especially from one of our mission people. And I couldn’t help but think at the time, you know, Dr. Stroop, if Jesus were standing right here, I don’t think I said this to him, but I thought it. If Jesus were standing right here with us, what would he say? What advice would Jesus tell me? Maybe Jesus would have said, yes, Ryan, go. Go to England and save England.

Well, maybe, or maybe he would have shared this parable with me.

Would you stand today, and we’re going to read. From Mark chapter 4.

It’s the parable of the sower. Parable I’m sure you’re all very familiar with. We’re going to read Mark chapter 4, verses 1 through 9.

Again, Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. He taught them. He taught them many things by parables. And in his teaching said, listen, a farmer went out to sow his seed. 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 the thorns, which grew up and choked the plants so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew, produced a crop, some multiplying 30, some 60, and some 100 times.

And then Jesus said, whoever has ears to hear, let them hear. This is the word of the Lord. You may be. You seeded.

Now, there’s a lot of different ways that we could look at this parable today. Think about all the different ways that we could actually look at this thing. We could look at this parable from the perspective of the farmer who freely throws the seed, almost nilly-willy. It doesn’t matter what path it is or what the soil’s like. He’s just throwing the seed out there. I think that would be a good way to look at it. That would teach you a lot. That would teach us something about our responsibility as missionaries, witnesses of God in the world. We could look at it that way. You know how else we could look at it? We could look at it from the perspective of the seed. What is this message that we’re giving to the world? What is that gospel message that we’re actually spreading? That would be a good way to look at this passage. But I think maybe the best angle for us today is to examine this parable. From the perspective of the soil. From the perspective of the ground that receives, nurtures, and helps the word to grow. So that’s the angle that we’re actually going to look at this parable today. It’s going to be an angle about discipleship. So if you’re wondering what the sermon is about today, well there it is. It’s about discipleship. It’s about discipleship. How is it that we can grow? How is it that we can grow as a disciple in Christ? And I’ll be blunt about what I believe is the ultimate goal of discipleship. The ultimate goal of discipleship is to make disciples. If you’ve ever wondered before, how do I know if I’m growing in Christlikeness? How do I know I’m growing in maturity? How do I know I’m growing more and more like Jesus? That is one surefire way to know that you’re experiencing some kind of growth in your life. You’re a disciple who is making. You’re a disciple who is making disciples. Because we are absolutely called, like Jesus says in Matthew 28, we are called to go and make disciples of all nations. So if you want to be one of the soils in this parable, we’re absolutely striving to be that fourth soil. That’s our goal. That’s our aim. Hopefully none of you want to be soil number one. Anybody? Right? Number two? Number three? Yeah, hopefully none. None of you are striving for one of those. We’re all trying to become that fourth soil that produces so much that sometimes it’s 30 or 60 or 100 times making more. I think we can all agree with that. The question is, how do we actually get there in our lives? We all want to be better disciples. That’s not a question. The question is, how do we actually get there? How do we get to be? The kind of disciple that’s so filled up that we are making disciples everywhere we go. Well, Jesus’ parable has the answer to that, but you may find it really a surprising answer. If you want to grow, Jesus says, if you want to grow higher, you have to actually dig deeper. That’s the lesson behind the parable of the sower. If you want to grow higher, you have to actually dig deeper. If you want to grow higher, you want to become one of those disciples that’s making other disciples. The answer is, you have to dig deeper first. And digging deeper for discipleship looks like, according to this parable, digging deep for discipleship looks like three different things. It looks like pushing, and it looks like listening, and then thirdly, it looks like trading. So that’s what we’re going to talk about today. Very briefly, pushing, listening, and trading. So first, digging for discipleship looks like pushing.

It looks like pushing through rocky seasons of life that challenge our faith. Pushing past those rocky seasons that have the potential to hurt us as we’re trying to follow Jesus. That’s the lesson of the second soil. Now, thankfully. Thankfully, Mark didn’t only record the parable itself. The parable itself is rather confusing because that’s part of the purpose of parables. Mark also records for us Jesus’ explanation of this parable. So if y’all would, open to Mark chapter 4. We’re going to look real quickly at verse 16 and 17. This is what he meant by that second soil. That second seed that has to push past the rocks.

Here’s Jesus’ explanation of that. He said, Others, like seeds sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. So that’s what Jesus means when he talks about this second kind of soil. It’s planted. Its roots barely start to spread. But as soon as it encounters this layer of rocks, which Jesus defines as affliction or persecution because of the word, it gives up. So listen. This is serious. And I absolutely mean it. You really actually do have an enemy in the world that does not want to see you grow into a disciple that makes disciples.

You have Satan. And Satan prowls around. And his followers prowl around. And that’s their entire goal for your life. They want to see you quit and give up. They would love nothing more than to see you get discouraged and just walk away from this whole thing called the church. They want to see you quit because they know if you ever become a disciple that’s making disciples, well, that’s God’s kingdom multiplying and encroaching on Satan’s kingdom. So he wants you to be discouraged. He wants you to look around at your life. He wants you to watch the news. He wants you to watch presidential debates and just go, oh my gosh. What’s going on? I don’t even know what’s going on anymore. He wants you to question God’s goodness and faithfulness in your life because he knows if he can get you to that point of discouragement, you’ll give up. Just a little bit of persecution in their life. A little bit of affliction. A little bit of trial. And I can get them to quit. And so that’s why I think we all need to know this very important thing about discipleship. There’s something very important that we all need to know as we continue to be disciples. I don’t want you to try to do it well. It’s hard.

Discipleship is hard. Salvation is free. But discipleship costs. Growing in your faith is going to take thick skin. You cannot follow Jesus. This is true. You cannot follow Jesus without a high pain tolerance. And so what do I mean by that? Well, let me tell you what I mean by that. If you’ve ever been to the funeral of a child, you know exactly what I mean by that.

It’s hard.

It can make you question a lot about the world and God. If you’ve ever faced infidelity or divorce. If you’ve ever faced job loss, then you know what I’m talking about. You see what I mean? I’m not talking about those little frustrations in life. I’m not talking about going to Kroger and you’ve got to park at the back of the parking lot because there’s no parking spaces at the front. I’m not talking about those little things. I’m talking about those little frustrations in life. about those big things, those Job-like moments of life, those sackcloth and ashes moments of life, those major moments of crisis that lead you to question not only God’s presence, but God’s goodness in the world, God’s goodness in your life. Notice this, while Jesus is telling this parable, I think this is interesting to think about. While he is telling this parable to all of his disciples out there, he knows that these kind of moments are about to happen in his disciples’ life. As he is telling this parable, Jesus knows that these disciples, these people that are sitting right here, that they are actually going to experience these things and pretty quick. He knows that very soon, one night, they are going to wake up to the sound of voices thundering and metal clanking. They are going to see. Jesus knows the truth Trials that are coming to their life. He knows that they’re going to see the Messiah beaten, led away, crucified. They’re going to run. Jesus can see it already. He knows they’re going to run. They’re going to spend days in confusion. They’re going to spend days questioning themselves, arguing amongst themselves. Well, did we get it wrong? Was he really the Messiah? Did you know he was going to die? I didn’t know he was going to die. Why?

Jesus knows all these things are coming in their life, but he also knows some other things that are coming up in their life too.

You see, Jesus also knows that they’re about to see something that nobody else in the history of the entire world has ever seen before.

Yes, he sees all the challenges and he sees all the trials. He sees it. But Jesus also knows that they’re going to see an empty tomb. see, Jesus also knows that his disciples are about to see a resurrection. They’re also about to see Jesus ascending into the clouds, going to take his rightful place at the Father’s right hand. Jesus knows they’re also going to see tongues of fire filling up a room and landing on them, filling them with the Holy Spirit. They’re going to see the birth of a community that will become one of the most important and the largest, not one of, the largest religious movements in the entire history of the world. They’re going to see miracles and signs and wonders. They’re going to see lame people walk again and they’re going to see blind people receive their sight. Jesus knows all that and he knows that one day they’re going to see him returning, riding the clouds, bringing all of heaven with him. So does Jesus see all the trials and the challenges and the affliction that his disciples are going to face? Yes, he sees. He sees it and he also sees the victory that’s coming through him. And here’s the good news about that. He sees that in your life too.

He sees that in your life. You’re one of his disciples and he knows the challenges and the struggles that you face. He knows what you have gone through and he knows what you will go through and he also knows how to get you through all of it. He sees the victory that’s coming in your life. And as a matter of fact, he’s already given. He’s already given you all the tools that you need to dig deeper into discipleship. That’s also the good news right there. He’s already given you everything you need. He’s given you his spirit who lives within you and teaches you. He’s given you this community of faith around you, this church to help encourage you and lead you. By the way, I’ll just put a quick plug right here. If you’re not plugged in to some kind of small group or some kind of Sunday morning Bible study. Get plugged in to the community. This is one of the gifts that God has given you to help start that. And we have a lot of good ones around here. So many. We want to start more. And in the fall even, we’re going to have some new small group opportunities for all of you on Wednesday night. In fact, if you’re a young adult, I just quick plug right here. I’m going to put my Bible down real quick. Quick advertisement. If you’re a young adult and you have recently gotten married or you’re about to get married, we’re going to restart a class. We’re going to have a class called The Knot in August. And The Knot is here to help you make sure that your marriage is solid. Let’s say you’ve been married for a while and you’re like, hey, I could use a tune-up. The Knot is also available for you. We’d love for you to come and invest your life in that way. It’s a gift. It’s a gift that God has given to you because you’re one of his disciples. You know what he’s also given you? He’s given you his word. He’s given you this Bible right here so that you would never have to wonder again. W-W-J. What would Jesus do? You don’t have to ask the question. You have it right here. So digging deep in your faith, here’s what it actually means. Digging deep for discipleship means holding all the more onto Jesus through all seasons of life, even in those rocky ones. That’s what it truly means. Hold onto Jesus. Give your roots time to grow. Stay faithful to him. But in order to do this, you must be willing to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to him. It’s crucial to being able to do this in your life. In fact, it’s what brings us to the central idea behind this entire parable. It’s the idea of listening. Not only are we called to push, we’re called to listen. Digging for discipleship also looks like listening. It’s taking that time, the necessary time, to listen to Jesus and grasp who he really is. And that’s the context that envelops this whole parable. It’s not just about hearing the word. Oh, cool. Great message. I heard it. Thank you, Jesus, for that. It’s about hearing it in such a way that it leads to life change and transformation. It’s a form of hearing, the form of hearing Jesus is talking about. It’s a form of hearing. It’s a form of hearing that happens primarily here and not primarily here. In fact, the same command that Jesus gives at the beginning of this parable. He tells us, listen. It’s the first thing he says, listen. It’s the same command that begins the Shema, Israel’s declaration of faith in Deuteronomy 6, verse 4. Hear, O Israel. Listen, Israel. The Lord is our God. The Lord is one. The Lord is one. The word to hear occurs 13 times just in this one chapter. In almost every Bible translation, if you’ll look at your Bible, they put the title or the header for this, the parable of the sower. But I think that it may be better titled the parable of the four soils just so that the emphasis is on how we hear and how we receive the word of God, how it takes root in our life and grows. Because that’s the main idea behind this story. Taking time to linger at Jesus’ feet and to learn from him. It’s not just an important part of discipleship. It’s the essential, crucial part of discipleship. In fact, there is no discipleship without taking the time necessary to linger and listen with Jesus. And I think that many disciples, both ancient and modern, have had to learn that lesson the hard way. I mean, even look and think about what’s all occurred in Mark’s gospel up to this point. Remember, Mark’s gospel is kind of like lightning. It hits fast. It’s something Dr. Wiles has been mentioning several times as he’s been going through the gospel of Mark. That word immediately is all over the place. Have y’all noticed that in your reading of it? And immediately, Jesus did this. And immediately, Jesus did that. And immediately, and immediately, and immediately. This is a fast gospel. Things are fast. They’re happening. It’s action-packed. Jesus is here. He’s there. He’s everywhere. He’s teaching. He’s preaching. He’s healing. He’s doing all the things. Massive crowds are all gathering around this Jesus guy. And he’s telling them all kinds of great things about the kingdom of God. And suddenly, well, and suddenly the action stops.

Everything slows down in Mark chapter 4, even for a moment. And Mark takes the time to share with his readers this passage. For 20 verses, no less. Suddenly, Mark stops all the action and he slows down for 20 verses. He even gives us Jesus’ interpretation of the parable. Why? What’s going on in the passage here and in the book of Mark? Here’s what I think is going on. I think it has to do with Mark’s source of information. You remember who Mark is getting all this information from?

Peter. That’s who’s telling Mark all these different stories about Jesus. And I think that as Peter is reflecting on his time with Jesus, this particular parable stands out to him. And he uses it as an opportunity to pastor a young disciple.

After all, they have a lot in common, don’t they? Peter and Mark. They have a lot in common. They’re both. They’re both deserters.

In the middle of the night, that last night before the crucifixion, Peter denied. And then he deserts Jesus, leaves him there all alone. In the middle of a missionary journey, Mark, John Mark is the book of Acts, refers to him, abandons, deserts Paul and Barnabas. Right in the middle of the mission trip. John Mark takes off. We don’t know exactly why. Could have been that he disagreed with their theology or methodology. It could have just been that it was really hard. The work was hard. It was just a little too challenging for John Mark. Either way, I think that what’s happening behind the scenes in Mark chapter 4, verses 1 through 20, this is why the narrative suddenly slows down. It’s because Peter is sharing something. He’s sharing something with a younger disciple that he wished he had learned a lot earlier in his life. If you’re going to follow Jesus, Mark, if you’re going to follow him, if you’re going to spend your life pursuing his kingdom, if you’re going to become that type of person that makes disciples everywhere they go, then you have to really and truly know who Jesus is. You’ve got to take the time, Mark, to listen. To Jesus. See, none of the people in the gospel of Mark really know who Jesus is until the very end. It isn’t until the end of the story when Jesus is on the cross that the Roman centurion looks up at him and goes, oh, holy cow, this is the son of God. It’s not until the end of the story, at the time, nobody really knows who he is. Not even really his disciples. Oh, sure, there’s that one part where Peter goes, no, I think you’re the Messiah. But Peter doesn’t know what that means. None of the disciples exactly knew what being the Messiah meant. They thought they did, but they didn’t. They certainly didn’t expect that the Messiah was going to suffer and die. They didn’t expect that from the Messiah. And I think that’s why Jesus never downright says, oh, and by the way, I’m the Messiah, everybody. I’m the son of God. Surprise. It’s me. Jesus doesn’t do that. Why doesn’t he do that? It’s because if he had just told people downright, I’m the Messiah, they would have interpreted that weird. They would have interpreted it wrongly. They would have started a violent revolution to overthrow Rome. Jesus would have had to say, that’s not what this means at all. And so he never tells us until the very end of the story because he knew people would get him wrong. And listen, that same kind of thing still happens today too. So many people want to paint Jesus in their own image instead of letting Jesus paint them in his image. And that’s the whole concept behind this parable. Make sure you hear the message rightly. Listen deeply. Walk with me daily. Spend time with me. And look at the way I treat others. Look at how I treat the oppressed and the foreigners. Look at the way that I treat people with kindness. Look at how I invite women into leadership and equality. Look at how I am willing to suffer so that somebody else can find life. You have to spend time with me if you really want to know how to follow. And that’s the reason Jesus even teaches in parables at all. Parables are not illustrations. Parables are not metaphors. They are meant to make you think, to make you ponder, to make you question, to look at it from this way and that way and try to figure it out. In fact, I had this bizarre idea when I was preparing for Sunday morning. I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to prepare three different sermons? Like have them ready to go. One about the farmer, one about the seed, and one about the soil. And then we let the congregation discern together which one we want to hear today. And then Katie Reed Hodges was like, like a pick your own sermon? And I was like, yeah. And she’s like, that’s a bad idea. And so I said, okay. that’s the purpose of parables. That’s what they’re supposed to do. So Jesus’ teaching method, the very way that he teaches is a lesson in itself about what it means to be a Christian. To be a disciple. We cannot, he’s saying, skirt our responsibility to listen and dig and listen and dig and listen and dig and listen and dig. It’s a lifelong process. Jesus wants you to dig deeply, continually into his word so that you can become a disciple that makes disciples. You want to grow higher?

Then dig deeper. But let’s say, let’s say that you do make it through all that rocky layer. You say, okay, I’ve gone through some stuff in my life. I’ve pushed through those rocks. My roots are starting to spread. My faith has been strengthened. Is that the only thing that can hinder our growth? Well, no, it’s not. Jesus also points out that another danger can hinder our discipleship growth too. And that other danger, he points out, is worldliness. That’s the other danger that could hinder us from growing. That’s the other danger that could hinder us from becoming a disciple that makes disciples. Look at Mark chapter four, verses 18 through 19. Here’s where he talks about that third seed and that third soil. Mark four, 19. But the worries of this life, no, excuse me, 18. Still others, like seeds sown among thorns, hear the word, but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the world. The word, making it unfruitful. So that third seed, or that third soil, it’s surrounded by thorns. And Jesus says that what those thorns really are are the worries of the world, the desire for wealth. Essentially, you know what he’s essentially saying those thorns are? Stuff. That simple, just stuff. And Jesus says that that desire for worldly stuff eventually strangles us to death. It chokes Jesus’ voice right out of us. Now, when I was trying to think of a modern equivalent for thorns, like what could a thorn look like in our world today? And remember, I’m a young adult minister and I work with young adults. I thought of the desire of so many young people today to become social media influencers. You know what I’m talking about? Those people on social media who, they just post everything about their life. They wanna be so famous, so quickly, so badly. They just post and post and post and post. I know you’ve seen them on TikTok or Instagram or Facebook. It’s those people who want to be so famous that they just, they film everything they say. They don’t think about it. They just go ahead and film it. They film everything they eat. They film everything they wear and every place they go. It’s gotten so ridiculous now that many people are actually faking it in order to get famous. They’re faking even their vacation pictures. There’s a whole industry. I’m not kidding. There’s a whole industry designed to help you fake pictures for your social media account, like half of an airplane that you get to go and sit in the seat and take pictures so it looks like you’re flying to some cool, exotic place. That’s a little crazy, isn’t it? The word I think about when I think about these social media influencers, the word I think about sometimes is delusional. It’s the word that comes to mind. And I think that the word delusional is also a good word to describe this third soil. Someone who knows the word of God. Somebody who knows what Jesus has said. Somebody who’s received the word with joy, Jesus says about this soil, and continues to pursue worldly stuff. It’s delusional. And let me remind you what the word delusional means. It’s an adjective that means having unrealistic beliefs. It’s unrealistic. I’m telling you right now. It’s unrealistic to pursue both Jesus and the world. You can’t do it. It’s impossible. You’re not gonna make it. It’s a consistent message throughout the New Testament, as a matter of fact. I think that 1 John 2, 15 through 17 surmises it the best for us. Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father, but it is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the one who does the will of God continues to live forever. So that’s just another truth about discipleship. You can’t do both. You can’t serve two masters. It’s the ultimate downfall of the third seed. It loves the world too much. It listens more to the world’s voice and not Jesus’s, and eventually what happens is the world kills it. And so what’s the remedy then? Well, I’ll tell you, the remedy, once again, is to dig deeper. You just say it with me. Dig deeper. That’s the solution. This time, digging deeper looks like a trading, like an exchange. Digging for discipleship, in this case, looks like trading our worldly values for Jesus’s kingdom values. There’s an exchange that happens as we get to know Jesus and we understand who he is. When you give your life to Jesus and begin to follow him, part of your discipleship journey is, yes, to listen. To listen, to learn, and to spend time with him so that, here’s what can happen in your life, so that Jesus can change you. That’s the reason for it, so that Jesus can transform you. The call to discipleship is the call to change. Jesus wants you to exchange your worldly values for his heavenly ones. He wants you to exchange envy for contentment. I don’t have to be envious of anyone because Jesus is envious of me. He’s given me everything I need. He wants you to exchange inconsistency with joy. You know the difference between happiness and joy? Happiness is based on our circumstances. Joy is there all the time. If your life is based on happiness, you’re gonna be up and down, up and down. What Jesus offers you is joy that lasts through every season of life. He wants to exchange that with you. Jesus wants you to exchange selfishness for love of others. He wants you to exchange greed for generosity. Jesus wants to see you changed.

Yes, everybody’s allowed to walk in here exactly like you are, but every week Jesus wants you to walk out just a little bit different. But he can’t do it in your life if you want your cake and to eat it too. If you want all the rewards of following Jesus without actually following Jesus, Jesus, Jesus says it’s not gonna work. It’s not how I designed it to work. Eventually something is going to win out in your life. It’s either going to be me or the world.

So if you wanna grow higher, that’s the secret, Jesus says. deeper. Dig into Jesus. Dig into the word. Take all the time necessary to listen, to study, to read, to understand, and to apply Jesus’ message in your life. It’s the only way, I can tell you. It’s the only way you’re gonna make it through those rocky seasons of life. When you encounter those rocks, the only way you’re gonna make it through is with Jesus. And it’s the only way that you’re gonna move closer into Christ-likeness. There is no changing without God’s Spirit in your life. It’s the only way that you will become that flourishing disciple, that Psalm 1 type of disciple, that Psalm 1 type of person that Dr. Wiles emphasizes all the time that becomes a disciple-making disciples. Remember, that’s our goal. It’s what Christ has called us to be.

You know, it may have taken me a while. It’s taken me some time. But I think I’m actually beginning to understand what Dr. Stroop was trying to tell me all those years ago.

And I think it’s some pretty good advice.

In fact, it may be some of the best advice

I’ve ever gotten in my life.