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here Prairie Lakes Church, we're so glad that you're here this weekend welcome. Hey, we're gonna end a series we've been in for the last four weeks now called moved and every single weekend in this series. We've done the same thing.

We've talked about something. We're calling the discipleship path here at Prairie Lakes and then we've talked about what a call to action might be as we're moving along the path, which is you know, why we're calling the series moved and this week is not going to be any different. Okay, but as we conclude things we're gonna Jump Right In I need to make a few let's call them qualifications before we even get into anything this weekend. Okay, if you qualifications, here's the first one So even though you can all hear my voice, hopefully I I'm I'm gonna be talking to a very specific group of people. Okay, very specific group of people. So here's who I'm primarily talking to this weekend. Okay, and you probably seen this before but here's our discipleship path.

We've got a bunch of people in the room who might be spiritually curious. Some of us are brand new Believers and some of us we've been around for a little bit. We're being discipled. Some of us have been around a long time and we're ready to be a disciple maker. But here's who I'm talking about this weekend. I'm talking about you if you've been around for a little while.

Okay. You're not checking things out. You're not just stepped across the Fate line. You've you've been around for a while and you're kind of further along in your journey. So here's here's you you served on maybe a few volunteer teams.

You've been in a few different small groups, you might be tithing. I know for sure. You've heard way more sermons than you can remember. I know that for sure. So if that's you if I'm describing you you are my primary audience. I'm talking to you if qualification number one if you're further along.

In your journey with Jesus, okay. Now if that's not you if I'm not describing you do me a favor and just trust me when I tell you this because you're not going to want to check out. Trust me when I tell you this you might need to pay.

Even closer attention this weekend. Because what I'm gonna talk about today is something you're gonna need to know when you when you get there. All right, all of us who are on this journey with Jesus all of us walking with him increasingly loving and obeying him all of us will eventually Find ourselves.

In this spot that we're going to be talking about this weekend. Okay. So that's the first qualification if you're further along here's the second. I'm not just talking not just talking to those who are further along more specifically. I'm talking to those of us who are further along but we feel Number two, we feel stuck.

We feel stuck. Some of us are further along but we feel stuck. So here's what stuck feels like. It feels stagnant. There's a lot of new there's not a lot of new there's not a lot of growth. There's not a lot of exciting challenges or opportunities. We just feel stagnant kind of like a swamp of water collects and just sits and and stinks and the tracks mosquitoes and produces algae rather than flows. Right stuck feels stagnant stuck also can feel boring not just stagnant but boring feels like no matter what it is. I've heard it before I've seen it before. I've been there done that no offense Pastor Jesse, but there's not a whole lot that you can say or do that my first reaction won't be yeah, no offense, but being stuck sometimes feels like it just feels like I'm just bored now being stuck can also feel not just not just bored and not just stagnant, but it can feel start to feel like resentment.

or cynicism or even criticism sometimes a sign of being stuck as you're just you're just kind of pretty critical because when we're at this point in our journey, we stop growing and we're stuck. Here's what a lot of us. Do we start looking around and we start trying to figure out why are my stuck? Why do I feel stuck? I'm as stuck for a long time whose fault is it and we start to try to figure out who's fault it is and a lot of times.

We kind of land on maybe it's the church's fault, you know, maybe it's my church's fault. Maybe the messages are dry and they're familiar and they're too surface here. They're not interest to me and where I'm at. You know these next steps that you're talking about. They're your simple things that I've been doing for years. And and if I get told that I need to serve one more time or get in a group one more time or whatever like We're just we're further along. We feel stuck we might feel bored. We might feel just even critical. Okay?

So I'm talking to you this weekend if that's kind of how you feel or you have felt that way now. One more qualification AM. I just put a finer point on on this audience that I want to talk to. You want to grab this weekend as we jump into scripture this week and we're gonna jump into a scripture that's going to feel more like a warning.

Because that's what it is. It's a warning. Now confession time we're gonna do this a couple times confession time. We don't talk about these kinds of passages. All that often we do sometimes but not all that often at parade. We just don't.

But we're gonna need to this weekend. So as we do here's my third and very important qualification. I'm talking to you if you don't get confused. by warnings Okay.

I'm talking to you. If you don't get confused by them, here's what I mean. When I notice a pattern in my kids. That needs to be corrected. Maybe it's an attitude or it's a behavior whatever it is when I noticed it and then I give them a warning. Okay. Here's what sometimes happens.

Right there their eyes well up with tears and you just kind of you know, and it's not because I'm punishing them. It's not because I'm yelling at them. It's not because I'm angry with them, but I did give them a firm warning now. Why does that produce tears in them? Well, it's because they're young.

Because they're sensitive it's because the the warning can make him feel insecure, you know. Like like maybe I don't love them or maybe their position in relationship with me is is in question. now in reality It's totally the opposite totally the opposite right? I'm warning them because I love them.

It's because I care for them. It's it's because they matter to me not the other way around, okay? so nevertheless, we're gonna dive into this warning passage of scripture and while I'm gonna be as clear as I possibly can about the nature of this warning and who's it for there's still a potential that it's going to feel kind of weird tea.

It might you might feel a little uncertainty or fear or anxiety or confusion as we put her eyes on and if that's you just take comfort. I'm probably not talking to you not directly and just know this. Okay. The last thing I want for you to feel is that when you don't need to especially if you're just starting this journey, we're no matter Church no matter where you are. You know where you're starting from. You can look for God here.

It's a safe place for you to do that, but I need you to understand. Very much like a warning comes from a loving parent. There's warnings in Scripture that have the same tone in the same purpose. And this is going to be one of those and if you get that if you understand that I'm talking to you.

Okay. All right. Let's dive in. I want to start with a simple question. Here's the simple question. What does this sign mean? Pretty simple, right pretty straightforward. Okay. What's it? Well, if you don't if you don't know what this sign means you are going to find out the hard way, probably right? So most of us listening right now. We're mostly in Iowa. We do not live in cities with complicated traffic flows where we always have to pay attention to going the right way or we might be going the wrong way but there are quite a few of these signs in our state and they're usually strategically placed when you're either getting on an interstate or off of one right? If you want to go left onto the eastbound Lane, sometimes there's the westbound Lane coming off and coming right next to that same entrance and there's a sign planted right there saying hey you you shouldn't go on the left side of this meeting. You should stay right because that's going to take you to where you want to go rather than around into oncoming traffic now, okay, you know wrong way now, here's my next question for you. Here's my next question.

What would you call someone who? After looking at that sign. Okay, what would you call someone who after they look at that sign? their first question is this I wonder how far is too far? or How far how far in the wrong direction, can I go before it's too late? What would you call that person?

Well, I mean you probably call them something that I cannot repeat in church and shame on you but you'd be right like you would be right because here's what we know about. There's about the sign. There's there's only one right response to it.

There's only one. What is the right response to the sign it's turn around turn around. It's what the Bible calls repentance repentance is realizing that you're going the wrong direction and you should turn around and go the other way.

And that's what these warnings in scripture are. I really supposed to. Cause us to to realize that they're not supposed to inspire this insecurity about like well have I gone too far? How much further can I go before it's really a problem.

not like hey, you're going the wrong way like turn right. There's several passages of of scripture that serve as Kind of Wrong Way signs warnings and passages are just telling us. Hey, there's a right way to go and there's a wrong way to go and you don't want to go the wrong way. You want to go the right way.

So the one that I'm gonna dive into the only one we're gonna dive into this weekend is found in Matthew 13. That's where we're gonna be. Matthew 13 now Matthew's the First Gospel, it's the first book in the New Testament the first book that tells you about who Jesus is and what he said and did. And so we're gonna have some of the verses on the screen as well. But as you navigate to that if you got your own Bible in the previous chapter, we're gonna be in Chapter 13, but in the previous chapter chapter 12 Jesus has been accused of something that you would just swear.

He would never be accused of but what Jesus the son of God God In the Flesh what he gets accused of. is sorcery like being able to do all these Miracles that he did because he was tapping into an evil power. Jesus had gone to the dark side. He's the Sith Lord, right? Like sure Jesus you've done some pretty amazing things. But you know, you you've done them because you know, you you're you're a child of Satan. Yeah, I mean, so he gets accused of that now Jesus has to clarify then which side he's really on and as he does he talks about two different groups of people. He talks about those who are with him on his side and then he talks about those who are not those who are against him and he says that you know what it's not really hard to tell who's on which side Here's what he says in Matthew 12 verse 33 says make a tree good.

And it's fruit will be good. Or make a tree bad and it's it's fruit will be bad for a tree is recognized by its fruit. In other words, in other words, Jesus is saying you'll know who's on my side by their changed life.

By the fruit that comes from following Jesus obediently. Jesus is saying I'm changing you from the inside I change people from the inside out. That's what changed life means just it's not just a behavior thing. It's from the inside out. You become more and more like me from the inside out. And as you do the life that you live is gonna be one of obedience can be one of righteousness can be one of goodness and just things that kind of come out from in you are are all good.

That's the sign. now as Jesus describes these two groups of people in Matthew 12, those who are like that they're with him. They're on his side from from inside of them comes good things because of their relationship with Jesus.

He also describes those who aren't on his side and they won't produce that kind of fruit. But then he's going to clarify even further in Chapter 13. So start reading with me. Here in verse 1 that same day just went out of the house same day. So we just said the same day.

Remember the house is Sat by the lake. Such a large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat. And he sat in it. So he goes into boat and he goes out a little bit into the water just to be able to speak to everybody. Well all the people stood on the shore and he told the many things in parables in Matthew 13, if we read the whole chapter you'd see there's Parable up to Parable to Parable. We're just gonna grab the first one told the many things in Parables saying, A farmer went out to sow his seed.

And as he was scattering the seeds something along the path. Birds came and ate it up. some fell on Rocky places where it didn't have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallowed when the sun came up.

The plants were squashed and they were withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns. Which grew up and choked the plants? But still other seed fell on good soil. Where It produced a crop 160 or 30 times what was sown Whoever has ears?

Let him hear. now pay close attention to that last highlighted phrase there. Okay. Because he's just got done talking about trees and fruit in chapter 12, and now he's talking about crops which similar metaphor here in Chapter 13. He's talking about the same thing. But in this story now in 13, there's this added detail. It's not just fruit.

Okay, it's not just that you're gonna know who's on Jesus's Side by their change in lives and the fruit that comes out those good changes. Will multiply 30 60 100 times. now at this point in jesus' story, he doesn't he doesn't quite explain what he means by multiply necessarily but lucky for us. This is one of those Parables where we also get an explicit explanation from Jesus himself as to what his story means and just tell the parable he interprets it.

So go down to verse 18 read along with me how Jesus interprets his own his own terribly says listen to what the parable of the sower means when anyone hears the message about the kingdom and doesn't understand it. Okay, the evil one comes and snatches away what's sown in their heart? The seed is Jesus's message about who he is and what he's doing and what it's like to be in relationship with God and what a life looks like as a result.

This seed that message of Jesus is sown along the path. Which is that first soil the seeds falling on Rocky ground second so refers to someone who hears the word at once and receives it with joy, but they since they have no root. They last only a short time when trouble or persecution comes because of the word they quickly fall away when following Jesus meets a little bit of resistance. No, I'd rather not the seed falling among the Thorns soil 3, we first to someone who hears the word the message of Jesus, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word making it there's the word on fruitful, okay?

Then the fourth one but the seed falling on good soil. Refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop yielding 160 or 30 times what was sown so so the idea is just multiplication. It's not the amount. It's not specific amount like 100 times 30 times 10 times 2 times whatever it is, it's it's it's it's multiplication now.

Jesus what is he saying? He's saying that everyone no matter who they are. No matter what kind of soil is in their heart. Everyone is going to get some some seeds this message of his sprinkled. In their lives, right? He's gonna find a way Jesus is gonna find way because he loves the entire world to make sure everybody knows.

No matter the kind of soil that makes up their their heart and he's saying that that most people okay when they receive his message most people three out of four soils if we're being mathematical about it. They'll respond in some way initially. Most people will but those who truly understand and accept Jesus's message.

Jesus is gonna say they always exhibit a Telltale sign. And that's this those who truly understand jesus' message will follow Jesus's ways. They'll produce fruit. No matter the circumstances. See the path people received his message, but they didn't respond. They were tuned into a completely different voice, right?

The rocky people those people responded initially having some sort of maybe Mountain Top experience. But once that feeling Fades and some initial resistance comes their way. The response Fades as well. So it just it never takes root in their lives the thorny ground people they respond and they even stick it out with Jesus for a time. But when it becomes difficult or costly or constraining to the life that they really want.

Remember what Jesus says here? What he says is. Isn't that they fall away? He says that they're on fruitful. And just let's let's sit on that one just for a second. Okay? There's a group of people who respond to Jesus and follow him. Probably for a Time.

Then around church for a while. heard a bunch of his messages even live some of his stuff out. But they're mostly unfruitful. It's not like they resisted jesus' message of Crisis didn't cause them to you know, fall away. They're not clenching their fistic God. Oh.

they're just living however they mostly want probably not a horrible person. Like I said, you may go to church every now and again definitely would say they believe definitely feel like I stepped across that line of Faith. They say they believe but they're unfruitful.

Now I don't I don't think Jesus is careless with his words here either when he talked about. For those people in the thorny category who are who have kind of Journey with them a little bit, but they're unfruitful. He's not careless when he says these two very specific.

things that compete for their allegiance that compete for their heart that threatened their following two various specific things the worries of this life. and the deceitfulness of wealth the worries of this life these people do so wealth. Those are the two big threats. To some for so many of us who have who have responded to Jesus's message.

Whose messages begun to take root in our lives? And you've chosen to follow Jesus the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth threaten all of that down to its very core. And if you're wondering, okay. If you're wondering because it's really easy to kind of diminish both of those. Yeah, not perfect but If you're wondering just how big of a threat those really are in your in your life if you're wondering.

I want you to try asking yourself this question. Honestly, is there is there something Jesus has told me to do. That I'm not doing and I know I'm not doing it. because it worries me.

Or because it threatens something that I have or that I want. Is there something that I know and I would agree. Yep. Jesus has told me to do it. I believe who he is. He's told me. I would admit I'm not doing it.

And the reason I'm not doing it is because I'm worried. I'm worried about what's gonna happen to me as a result of it. It threatens something that I really want that I have. If we understand Jesus's message, okay, if we understand it his Parable says you're gonna follow his ways. You're gonna be fruitful.

What has Jesus told us to do? What does it mean to follow I mean several different things, right? It means forgive us God's give as forgiven as forgiven you forgive as God has forgiven you right? That's one. That's one of the things he said. It means turn the other cheek. That's one of the things he said.

And he's due unto others as you would have them do unto you it means love one another as I have loved you. It means care for the poor and the and the Widow and the orphan do something to help those who are most vulnerable among you that's what he said be a good stewards invest your wealth not just in your own future, but the future of the Kingdom right start for yourselves Treasures in Heaven.

tithe Be generous. Don't forsake gathering together, right? These are all things that Jesus has said. and we haven't even gotten to the the big two the great commandment love the Lord your God with all your heart.

All your soul all your mind all your strength and the second is like it love your neighbor as yourself. and the Great Commission go into the world. Make disciples baptizing them in the name of the father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart soul mind strength in your neighbor as yourself go into the world and make disciples. Those are the big two. Those are the big two. Is there something Jesus has told me to do that? I'm not doing. Because it threatens what I have or what I want or because it just makes me just super worried.

Here's here's the warning. Okay. And if you have ears to hear it hear it. every single command of Jesus every single command Acts as a either a test or an indicator of where our loyalty truly lies.

Every single command of Jesus acts as a test or an indicator of where our loyalty really lies that is a true statement whether we want to be true or not. It's true for me. It's true for you. I believe in Jesus.

I've stepped across that line. I'm trusting him. Great. forgive that means it have to give up that anger that I feel like a super Justified because what they did.

Yep. So what it means? I believe in Jesus great. tithe Oh. not sure how I'd keep up my lifestyle if I did that.

She just wants me to nope. Jesus told you really clearly. I believe in Jesus great. Okay, that means your friends your coworkers your neighbors your family members who don't know Jesus. They could kind of recount some conversations. You probably have had with them about who Jesus is and who Jesus is to you and what he's done in your life and what he wants to do and what he can do in theirs, right?

see each of these commands just they act as a test or an indicator if you let them. If you let them. Of really where your loyalty lies they'll serve as a good warning. Are you going this way? You're going this way.

Okay. so you got a couple of black guys, right? Jesus knocked you around a little bit, not me. The question is this right just like a wrong way science. Try to tell us don't go this way go the right way.

What's the right way? What do we do with all of this? Right? Let's let's get our picture back up here. Okay, because here's what I'm talking to. I'm talking to those of us. We've been on this journey for a while and we're kind of stuck. We're kind of stuck.

What does it look like we've gotten a little too comfortable maybe worries or wealth is kind of choking our growth. What do we do? Well I said it's gonna be confession time. Here's another one from me to you. In the past, I think.

What we as Prairie Lakes leaders staffers communicators, whatever word you want to say. What we've settled for when we're talking to you. is to just tell you to go reach your little Iowa or go.

Get get back to church or go jump into a group or serve or give or whatever it is. Right. In other words do something mostly on your own to get yourself moving again. rooting for you Well, here's here's one major problem with that approach. It does not work.

right right It doesn't not for you. It doesn't. Because when you're when you're here. On this part of the journey, that's where you are and you're stuck there. Some of those steps don't don't really like cause you to move again. They don't they don't work in the same way. They used to they just they just don't you've attended four million church services. If you're telling me that the four millionth and first one is gonna be the one I'm gonna tell you probably not You've been a part of a ton of small groups and some of them have been super awkward and and and the idea of jumping another one. Just kind of like set you just put you over the edge.

Yeah, you could read the door. Yeah, you could hold babies, you know. They just don't they don't. They don't seem to work in the way that you need them to work to keep you moving. So as Leaders, okay, there's more there's our confession. So we've done quite a quite a bit of reflection last two or three years and one of the one of the really painful realizations, I think that we were forced to see was this Not just that a lot of us were stuck at that stage.

But we weren't we weren't really doing anything as Leaders to actually help you get unstuck. Besides just telling you to get unstuck. With steps that just weren't really designed to do that. So we started to wrestle with what our part is in that as a church. And as Leaders, especially our responsibility to those of you in that spot because what we want for you is this okay. We want you to go from being discipled from learning.

to being a disciple maker To actually do in it. That's what we want for you. We just to kind of clarify what what we mean by this. All right being disciple. What we're going to say is learning to increasingly love and Obey Jesus. After you get baptized you're on this journey where you're learning about him and you're starting to practice it a little bit you're taking some of these steps for the first time and maybe you're gonna be even grow into maybe a leadership position and help others kind of a little start on their Journey as well. But but to go from that to being disciple maker, it's almost it's reorienting your entire life around it, but around making disciples of Jesus in your little Iowa and you're gonna do that with Jesus and you're gonna do that with other disciple makers.

We're not going to do that as like a gorilla Warfare just go out into the jungle and start making disciples kind of thing. We're gonna do that together. We want to create a community of disciple makers on Mission together to reach, Iowa. That's what we want for you. Okay, and so How are we going to do that? What's the what's the step or the strategy that we need to create to help you do that? Because we can't just say go do that. We can't just say it. We can't just say why aren't you doing that and make you feel bad about it? We cannot say, you know, you better do that or else, you know?

Now if we're going to do that, we're going to do it together. We're gonna do it together. And so here's what we've come up with. All right, here's what we've come up with. Here's a picture. You might be able to see most of this but kind of same discipleship past same categories not interested spiritually curious new believer being discipled disciple maker. This is the path that we're all on we've talked about these categories here for the last several weeks.

Now we're talking about people who are kind of stuck here. Okay. And what's the step to go from being disciple to a disciple maker what you can read the chart. Maybe you can't maybe you can't. Here's this word. Here's our big step.

It's the step of membership. membership For those of you who are stuck you've been around a while. Here's what we're asking you to do. We're asking you to join us for a completely refreshed membership class.

That's the big reveal membership class. Oh man, that was quite the buildup for a huge disappointment. Wasn't it now? Actually, yeah, this is what we want you to do. Okay, what if I'm already member?

We think it's especially for you actually. Huh? Okay. Will I still be a member if I don't take the class? Yes. for now We're not we're not revoking your we're not revoking your membership if you don't take the class, but we really do.

Once you in it and we actually want you in a special if you've already taken it. Some of us have just taken it and we're like, oh my gosh, I have to do this all yes. Here's the question you probably are asking. How is a membership class going to get anyone unstuck? how because some of us took that thing 20 years ago.

And some of us have been around 20 years. We haven't taken it all because it just has not been relevant for us. Fair enough. Here's what I want you to know is different about it membership 1.0. Our previous way of doing it you describe it as like a simulation meaning it really just helped you get connected to the life and community of PLC. If you if you were new to the church or new believer kind of just new around you were trying to figure out your way to connect it was It was kind of how we did that kind of we've got way better assimilation strategies now, like first step and first principles and you know stepping on a serving team for the first time and it connect card and and those do way better at assimilation. So so what membership is now is this it's really more alignment.

Here's what we mean. It's helping you to live out the mission of Prairie Lakes. together it's time to stop learning. It's time to start living it out together. Your weekend host your campus Pastor. Whoever they're going to get up there and explain more the details, but here's the main headline of the Practical changes and this is where I'm so excited.

Membership now is going to mean two gatherings. That will do together where we're gonna gather together. We're gonna dig into two big questions session. Number one is going to be is it no matter Church even biblical. We say it all the time. We say it all the time. Was that really mean and show me from the Bible?

Does Jesus really Envision and no matter Church? number one and number two if he does, what does it mean to be a no matter follower at this no matter church together. Okay. All right, your weekend host is going to explain a lot more. But before they do.

Let me just pray over all this. Okay, Father in heaven. We want to get unstuck we want to go from. From being stuck to being moved and to moving again. So father if there's places in our hearts and our minds. That just need to be challenged.

I've got if they're cynicism. There's busyness. There's barriers. Would you help illuminate them and move my other way so that we can jump into this and God. I just I just pray a prayer of blessing over. this journey that we're taking in this new strategy that we're gonna try so Jesus I pray all that in your name.

amen