Focused Thinking:

“Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”

The one who sows the GOOD SEED is the SON OF MAN.

The GOOD SEED are the SONS of the KINGDOM.

The one who sows the BAD SEED is the ENEMY, the DEVIL.

The TARES are the SONS of the EVIL ONE.

The FIELD is the WORLD.

The HARVEST is the END of the AGE.

The REAPERS are ANGELS.

Just as the TARES are GATHERED UP and BURNED with FIRE, so shall it be at the END of the AGE.

The SON of MAN will send forth HIS ANGELS, and they will GATHER OUT of His kingdom ALL STUMBLING BLOCKS, and those who COMMIT LAWLESSNESS, and will THROW them into the FURNACE of FIRE; in that place there will be WEEPING and GNASHING of TEETH.

Then the RIGHTEOUS will SHINE FORTH as the SUN in the KINGDOM of their FATHER.

• Reflecting words from Daniel 12:3, Jesus described the final glory of the righteous: “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.”

Those who receive God’s favor stand in bright contrast to those who receive his judgment.

• He who has EARS, let him HEAR.

Is there anything more important to hear?

How tragic that the message is so available, but that it falls on deaf ears?

Defining Terms:

“Furnace of fire” is not a name for hell but is a metaphor for final judgment (Daniel 3:6).

Jesus often used the term “weeping and gnashing of teeth” to refer to the coming judgment (see 8:12; 13:50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30). The “weeping” indicates sorrow or remorse, and “gnashing of teeth” shows extreme anxiety or pain.

End of the Age:

Jesus, who has already identified himself as the Son of Man (8:20; 9:6; 10:23; 11:19; 12:8, 32, 40), revealed that he will inaugurate the end of the age and the final judgment.

Personal Application:

How should followers of Jesus respond to tragedy of evil?

Tears–for the separation and suffering that will fall upon evildoers. God mourns over lost souls, and so should we.

Share the Gospel–since many need to hear and all who respond in faith will be saved from judgment. Christians ought to always be witnessing people.

Lifelong service–all you do should be dedicated to God. God uses your work to advance His kingdom and overcome evil.

See my priority time from Matthew 13:24–30 to get a more complete picture of this parable and all the truths and applications associated with it.

I deal more with the implications of this truth in the church in that priority time.

This explanation is straightforward and doesn’t need much additional explanation. I’m not going to improve Jesus’ explanation.

Interactive Prayer:

Father, give us the ability as a church to scatter as much seed as possible. I pray that a higher percentage of our seed will fall on good soil. I pray for the privilege and responsibility to reap where we have not sown as well as where we have sown. I pray for the wisdom and ability to know how to cultivate good soil. I pray for You to bring the rain of the Holy Spirit to do what we cannot do. I pray that the seeds of Friday night will fall on good soil.

I pray that You will give this church a harvest during this month of September. Give us a harvest of souls. Give us a harvest of commitments. Give us a harvest of people who are willing to say “yes” to the Holy Spirit. Father, we can’t make that happen, but I pray for Your favor and blessing. Father, give us the ability to truly be salt and light in this city. Give us the ability to be difference makers. Give us the ability to truly change a community. Give us the ability to see You do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we can ask or think according to Your mighty power in and through us. Father, I pray that Your Son will be exalted and receive all the glory in the church.

Focused Thinking:

What is leaven (yeast)?

What is leaven illustrating in this parable?

Leaven (yeast) is used as a symbol of evil or uncleanness (Matt16:6); but that isn’t the context here, it is a positive symbol of growth.

• Like the parable of the mustard seed, this parable stresses small beginnings with great growth.
• While the seed grows, however, the yeast permeates and transforms; thus, we see another aspect of the kingdom. Although yeast looks like a minor ingredient, it permeates the whole loaf. Like leaven working its way through the dough, the kingdom message would spread across the entire world.
• Governments rise and fall, businesses rise and fall, but the church is the one organization that finds a way to keeping moving forward regardless of circumstances.

Why did Jesus speak in parables?

He fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

• The first half of the quoted verse follows the first part of Psalm 78:2.
• The second half (since the creation of the world) seems to be an independent rendition of the end of Psalm 78:2.
• Psalm 78 reviews Israel’s history from the time of slavery in Egypt to David’s reign.
• This psalm was told over and over to each generation so they would not forget God and make the same mistakes as their ancestors.

• The “things hidden” refers to God’s mighty acts in redeeming his people despite their sin and unfaithfulness.

Parables were an essential part of Jesus’ ministry, imparting truth, fulfilling prophecy, and separating the curiosity seekers from the true followers.

Personal Application:

Let’s start small with discipleship.

• Let’s do a pilot group for M28.
• Let’s embrace discipleship curriculums and mobilize leaders to mentor individuals or groups.
• Over time, let’s write discipleship curriculums that follow the “Do, Coach, Teach” model instead of the “Teach, Coach, Do” model.

Scott Brumbelow’s email about 1% is significant as it relates to this email. How can we go from 20 to 21%? How can we start with groups of 12?

• How can we break down discipleship into stages?
• What does basic training look like?
• What does advanced training look like?
• What does leadership develop look like?

Interactive Prayer:

Father, give us the personnel, the leaders, the time and the resources to make this happen. Help us to prioritize our priorities. Help us quit delaying. Help Andy, Bob and me put our heads together and make this happen. Father, give us the ability to run the organization well so we can keep the main things the main things. Father, forgive us for the distractions and excuses. Help us man up and do what needs to be done immediately.

³¹He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; ³²and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

Focused Thinking:

CONTEXT: Through this parable, Jesus explained that his kingdom would have a small beginning.

It began with Jesus alone and, upon his ascension, was left in the care of twelve apostles and just a few hundred other followers.

Jesus compared this beginning to the mustard seed, which was the smallest seed that a farmer used. The mustard seed was so small that it would take almost twenty thousand seeds to make one ounce. No other seed so small produced such a large plant.

From this very tiny seed would grow a large shrub—the largest shrub among all the herbs that the farmer would plant in his garden. A mustard shrub could grow ten to twelve feet in just a few weeks.

His point was that just as a tiny seed will grow into the largest of garden plants, so God’s kingdom will produce many people who truly believe. Jesus stressed the future greatness of the kingdom, which then seemed insignificant.

Personal Application:

What small seeds are we planting right now?

Overton seeds

Single Parent seeds

Freedom Extreme seeds

Memphis Union Mission

Children Ministry seeds

Middle School seeds

High School seeds

Invest and Invite seeds

Imperfect seeds

• We need to sow seeds with the poor.
• We need to sow seeds with the prisoners.
• We need to sow seeds with the sick.
• We need to sow seeds with the oppressed.
• If we reach the people nobody wants; I believe God will give us the people everybody wants.

Interactive Prayer:

Father, give us a harvest. Give us the privilege of reaping seeds we haven’t sown as well as seeds we have sown. Father, give us the privilege of seeing small seeds grow up into big strong trees firmly planted by streams of water. Father, I pray for Ebony and her family. Protect them from the seeds of God’s Word being stolen. I pray that the seeds will fall on good soil. Father, I pray that a higher percentage of our seeds to fall on good soil. Father, I ask, seek, and knock for a harvest.

Give us a harvest of salvations and baptisms. Give us a harvest of people repenting of casual consumerism Christianity. Give us a harvest of people repenting of idolatry. Give us a harvest of people coming out of the middle. Give us a harvest of people who will love God, love people, and make disciples. Give us a harvest of people who will define their Christian life by serving and giving. I pray that the words of Brett Lawson will be prophetic for this church. I pray that we won’t back away. I pray that we will just keep coming. I pray that we will sow seeds and reap a harvest bigger than any of us can ask, think, or imagine.

I pray for David Montague and the Memphis Teachers Residency program. I pray that we can develop a great partnership with him and completely change Overton High School, and the schools that feed into Overton. I pray that train up teachers to be on mission in the classroom. I pray for a harvest of men and women to train up in leadership from Overton. I pray for the opportunity to plant a church in Overton. I pray for a harvest of an entire community. I pray that You would use us to change one community and that we could replicate that with other communities. I pray that we could train other churches to do the same.

Father, I pray that You will protect us from the evil one. I pray that You will bind him by Your blood, by Your name, and by Your authority. I pray that you will bind him from our people and from our property. I pray that You will put a hedge of protection around our people. I pray that You protect our recovery people from relapsing. I pray that You will protect our students from sexual temptations and from the influence of drinking and drugs. I pray that You use Chris Shivers with the Singles in a powerful way. I pray that they will become a force to be reckoned with for the advance of the kingdom. I pray that You will protect the marriages in our church. Father, please bind the thief from stealing the seeds of the Word of God. I pray that the seeds of Love Works will fall on good soil. I pray that the seeds of Love Works will multiply some 100-fold, some 60-fold, and some 30-fold.

Father, I pray that people will make an investment in Overton High School tomorrow by buying T-shirts and going to the game. I pray that You will give us a harvest of love and service tomorrow. I pray that more than 500 people will go to the game. Father, please do whatever you have to do to persuade people and to remove excuses. Father, I pray that our people will see it as an incredibly fun activity. I pray that people will truly look forward to encouraging people and cheering people on. Father, give the Overton team favor. I pray that You will bless them and reveal Yourself to them. Father, show the coaches and the players your glory. Father, bring true revival and spiritual awakening to that team, to the cheerleaders, and to the school through our church.

Father, show our people the beauty of Your love and the beauty of loving as You love. I pray that our people will become the most loving people in the world. I pray that our church will be known by love. I pray that all of our groups will make Sept 3rd a group event. Father, make us a people who love You supremely, love one another supremely, and make disciples with complete and total commitment.

Father, I pray that the Holy Spirit will fall upon us tomorrow. Please blow through our church with great force tomorrow. I pray that Your Spirit will do what I cannot do. I pray that the kindness of God will bring forth repentance. I pray that people will experience godly sorrow that leads to repentance without repent instead of world sorrow that leads to death. Father, give our people the gift of repentance and faith tomorrow. Father, give a harvest of repentance tomorrow. I pray that we would see a harvest from the past three weeks. I pray for the ability to filled up with all the fullness of You tomorrow. Give me the ability to speak with the authority of the Holy Spirit. Give me the ability speak in the power and demonstration of the Spirit. I pray that I will sense Your Spirit tomorrow and speak Your Words the way You would speak them. Father, give me the ability to love people the way you love people. Father, help me be used of You tomorrow in such a way that everybody responds to You immediately instead of delayed obedience.

Father, make everything that we says is true tomorrow be true in and through the lives of our people. Father, I pray that our people will respond to You in a relational way, I pray that they respond to others in a relational way. I pray that You will bust through the resistance tomorrow. I pray that You will flood the altars tomorrow. I pray that You will bring about life change. I pray that everything will finally make sense tomorrow. I pray that people truly “get it” tomorrow. Father, make us soldiers of love. Make us men and women who are on a mission of love. I pray that people will repent of the world tomorrow. I pray that they will see Your glory and run to You. Father, if we run to You; we automatically run away from sin.

Father, we need to see Your power. We need to experience Your presence. We need to fulfill Your purpose. Father, grow our church spiritually, numerically, and financially. Father, bring us a harvest of lost souls. Bring us a harvest of disciple-makers. Bring us a harvest of leaders. Bring us a harvest o givers. Father, make us a people who humble ourselves, pray, seek Your face, and turn form our wicked ways. Come, Holy Spirit Come. Come dear Jesus. Come Spirit Come. We need You more than we need anything else. Father, we need to see and experience Your Holy Fire. Father, give us the ability to jump start our church into a season of momentum. Make us a people who keep the commandments of God on our hearts. I pray that we will teach them diligently to our children.

Focused Thinking:

The parables in this section answer the question, “What is the kingdom of heaven like”?

These parables show the reality of the kingdom of heaven versus people’s expectations/perceptions of the kingdom of heaven.

The Jews thought that the coming of the Messiah signaled the fulfillment of God’s kingdom on earth, meaning God’s reign and rule on earth. Jesus’ first coming initiated God’s kingdom on earth, but it won’t be fulfilled until His second coming.

Jesus gives the meaning of this parable in Matthew 13:36–43.

³⁷And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, ³⁸and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; ³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.

What is the work of the enemy?

What is one of the primary strategies of the enemy?

²⁵“But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.”

The enemy is a brilliant strategist.

The enemy knows his best strategy is to go uncover and try to weaken the church from the inside.

The enemy doesn’t doubt himself; he was bold enough to try to tempt Jesus three times personally.

• This was a known practice in ancient warfare and feuds—destroy a nation’s (or person’s) agricultural base and his military might would also be destroyed.
• The presence of Satan’s children among God’s people would also serve to weaken them.
• The “weed” Jesus referred to may have been darnel, a poisonous plant that looks very much like wheat in the early stages of growth, but becomes distinguishable when the heads of the wheat appear.
• Jesus’ hearers would have understood how no one would have noticed the weeds until the plants came up and bore grain. Only then would the weeds appear.
• A heavy infestation of darnel (indicated by it being “sowed” among the grain) would cause the roots of both plants to become entangled.

Always expect the unexpected.

²⁶“But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.

In many respects, it doesn’t matter how wise you are or how discerning you are, the enemy is going to surprise you from time to time.

• It is difficult to tell the difference in the early stages of one’s life cycle; but the test of fruit will prove itself with time.
• The MORE the wheat grows; the MORE evident the difference is between the wheat and the tares.
• The LESS the wheat grows; the LESS evident the difference is between the wheat and the tares.

People will always question the farmer.

²⁷“The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’

The landowner sowed good seed.

• The enemy attacked in the dark of the night.
• The enemy does what the enemy does.

The landowner can be proactive and try to protect himself and his crops from the enemy, but he won’t be 100% successful.

• The landowner can’t beat himself up for the presence of tares.
• That is a reflection of the world we live in, not the landowner fault.

What should the landowner do?

²⁸“And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’

The tares are the work of the enemy, not the landowner.

The landowner needs to focus on the wheat, not the tares.

²⁹“But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

If you do anything to the tares you could damage the wheat.

The harvest will reveal who is who.

The harvest will reveal the difference between the wheat and the tares.

³⁰“First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up.”
“But gather the wheat into my barn.”

The wheat and the tares represent two churches.

• One is selfish, power-hungry and sinful.
• The other is unselfish, humble and holy.

• One is a false church whose head is Satan.
• The other is the true church whose head is Jesus.

Why are we continually surprised when we are confronted by the false church within the body of the true church?

The wheat and tares grow up together, and are completely indistinguishable from each other—for a while.

Every attempt to separate the true church from the false church fails because the attempts are almost always made on the basis of external factors.

• Doctrinal Purity
• Moral Conduct
• Ritualistic Practices

Personal Application:

Quit worrying about the tares (weeds).

Don’t define success by the absence of tares (weeds); define your success by the abundance of wheat.

We are in the wheat business.

• We need to do everything possible to produce the best wheat possible.
• We need to do everything possible to produce as much wheat as possible.

Interactive Prayer: prayed offline today.

³⁵“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. ³⁶“Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. ³⁷“For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸“I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”

My priority time went in a different direction today. Here is the result. I will pick back up tomorrow with Matthew 13:24–30.

Focused Thinking:

³⁵“Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.”

In September we will teach our people to “Love People,” to “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

The fields are white for harvest WHEN we love our neighbor.

The fields are white for harvest WHEN LOVE WORKS.

What could we believe the Lord for in the month of September?

What does it look like for us to pray to the Lord of the Harvest?

What does it look like for us to recruit and send out laborers in the Harvest?

What does it look like for us to reap and receive the wages and gather the fruit for life eternal?

What does it look like for the one who sows and the one who reaps to rejoice together?

³⁷“For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸“I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”

• How many seeds have we sown over the last eight years?
• How many prayers have we prayed over the last eight years?
• How many seeds have others sown in Memphis?
• How many prayers have others prayed for Memphis?
• We have been sent to reap some seeds that we have not labored.
• We have entered into their labor, into the spiritual history of this city and of families, to reap a harvest of seeds that we have not sown.

Stop and think about this for a moment; how many seeds have been scattered in this city throughout the years? How many seeds have been planted by others? How many seeds have been prayed for by others? How many seeds have been watered by others? What does it look like for us to believe God for a harvest? What does it look like for us to reap the harvest of seeds that we haven’t sown as well as seeds that we have sown?

Personal Application:

Why can’t September be a month of harvest? Why can’t we plant more seeds in September about loving our neighbors and October be another month of harvest? What does it look like for us to believe God for a harvest? Are we going to believe God for a harvest that can’t be explained by man’s efforts? Are we going to believe God for a harvest that be explained by programs and events? Are we going to believe God for a harvest that can’t be explained? Are we going to believe God for a harvest that can only be explained by prayer and fasting?

What is the risk of believing?

What is the reward of believing?

What am I asking you to do?

I am going to set aside next Friday morning, Sept 3rd to pray and fast.

• I’m going to set aside one morning, one afternoon, or one evening for prayer and fasting for the month of September.
• Will you join me? Make it flexible to your schedule.

I don’t have any specifics from the Lord yet, regarding the harvest. I don’t know what it looks like yet. I don’t know if the Lord will reveal that to me or not, but I’m going to begin by asking the Lord for a harvest in September.

Interactive Prayer:

Father, You are the Lord of the Harvest. Please give us the blessing of reaping Your harvest. Father, we can plow the soil, we can prepare the seedbed, we can plant the seeds and we can pray for rain, but we can’t make it rain. We can’t make the seeds grow. Father, give us the privilege of reaping seeds that we haven’t sown as well as the privilege of reaping seeds that we have sown. Father, give us a harvest in the families of our people. Give us a harvest among the friends of our people. Give us a harvest at Overton High School. Give us a harvest with people who are struggling with hurts, habits, and hang-ups. Give us a harvest among single parents. Father, give us a harvest with people we’ve not met. Give us a harvest with the unchurched and dechurched. Give us a harvest with the churched who aren’t growing or used but need to be revived.

Father, give us a harvest of lost souls. Give us a harvest of people sitting in the middle. Take our people from sitters to servers. Take our people from receivers to givers. Take our people from consumers to contributors. Give us a harvest that is unexplainable. Father, give the blessing of the fullness of Your Spirit working in and through us. Father, I pray that Your Spirit will blow through our church and in our city in such a way to bring about revival and spiritual awakening.

Father, show me what You want to do. If You want me to know specifics, please show me specifics. Father, give me the faith to believe You for the harvest. Father, forgive me taking too much responsibility for the harvest. I can’t create the harvest, but I do believe we’ve been faithful to plant seeds. Father, give us the stewardship of reaping the harvest. Father, bust through the spiritual resistance. I pray that You will bind the enemy and keep him from our people and from Your harvest. Father, bind him and his demons in Your name and by Your blood. Father, give us Your presence and power over the enemy and his deception and distractions. Come, Holy Spirit Come. Father, I pray for Your Spirit to bring people this Sunday in abundance and for a breakthrough in our response time.

Focused Thinking:

What happens when the seed falls BESIDE THE ROAD?

What happens when people HEAR the WORD but DON’T UNDERSTAND IT?

¹⁹“…the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.”

Satan steals the seed like the birds of the air steal the seeds.

Satan is a thief; stealing is who he is and what he does.

He comes to steal, kill and destroy.

• These are the people who typically don’t see their need.
• They don’t have much conscience regarding sin. In fact, many times they don’t even believe in absolute truth, they practice situational ethics.

Personal Application:

What can we do as a church to protect the seeds of the Word from Satan?

Prayer is obviously the first and foremost way.

• What if we produced “take-away” sheets every week?
• What if we addressed specific ways that the thief will try to steal the seed?

Focused Thinking:

What happens when the seed falls on ROCKY SOIL?

²⁰“The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.

This man hears the Word and immediately receives it with joy.

• He has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary.
• When affliction or persecution arises because of the Word, immediately he falls away.

Many times these people approach the gospel as a self-help program and if the gospel doesn’t help enough then they fall away.

Another group approach the gospel as a prosperity gospel and if all of the problems aren’t removed and replaced with blessings they fall way.

The gospel does forgive you and ultimately frees you, but it doesn’t immediately remove the consequences of your sin. We still live in a sinful world among sinful people and we still battle sin ourselves so the gospel doesn’t magically make everything better circumstantially.

Many times these people are unintentionally approaching God as a genie in the bottle or a spiritual Santa Clause. The gospel does give us life and life more abundant; but it requires us to be salt and light in a dark and sinful world.

Personal Application:

We must not give people the “bait and switch” tactic with the gospel.

We must tell the people that the gospel is a free gift, but that it is a lifestyle of denying yourself daily, picking up your cross and following Jesus.

We must teach a God-centered gospel, not a man-centered gospel.

Focused Thinking:

What happens when the seed falls AMONG THE THORNS?

²²“And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

This man hears the Word, and the worry of the world choked the Word and it becomes unfruitful.

This man hears the Word and the deceitfulness of wealth choked the Word and it became unfruitful.

• This is Satan’s most subversive tactic of all. These people hear and accept the Word and allow it to take root in their hearts, giving hope of a harvest. But thorns grow up and choke out the growing seed. Thorns rob nutrition, water, light and space from newly sprouting seeds.

Distractions and conflicts rob new believers of time to reflect on and digest God’s Word to grow from it, as well as robbing them of guidance and support from interaction with other Christians.

Jesus described the “thorns”: cares of the world and lure of wealth.

I think this is the majority of the American Church today.

• American Christians want their money first and God second.
• American Christians want their will first and God’s will second.
• American Christians want success and security, not sacrifice and service.

Personal Application:

The desires of one’s heart influences one’s response.

The attitude of one’s heart influences one’s response.

The condition of one’s heart influences one’s response.

Since money is such a dominant idol in America, it is absolutely essential that we have quality classes that teach people God’s truth regarding money.

• This is one of the most strategic ways for us to help people in the middle.
• We must do more than just tell people God’s truth about money; we must show them how to get out of debt and be good stewards.

Focused Application:

What happens when the seed falls ON GOOD SOIL?

²³“And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty.”

This man hears the Word and understands it.

This man bears fruit and brings forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty.

• We must find ways to PLOW the soil in the hearts of people.
• We must find ways to PREPARE THE SEEDBED in the hearts of people.
• We must find ways to PLANT the SEED in the hearts of people.
• We must PRAY for RAIN.

I need to set aside an afternoon for our team to think through this and see what we can do to prepare the field better, plant the seeds better and pray for rain more.

Interactive Prayer: Prayed Offline today.

Focused Thinking:

How authoritative is it when Jesus quotes Isaiah and says this prophecy is being fulfilled?

The One who is the WORD is quoting the WORD.

The One who is the WORD is telling that ISAIAH’S WORD has come true in this moment.

That would be exciting if it was a positive word; but it is tragic when it is a negative word.

¹⁴‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand;
You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;

Why?

¹⁵For the heart of this people has become dull,
With their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes,

Personal Application:

Oh God, forgive us for allowing our hearts to become dull.

• It definitely feels like this is true in America today.

Oh God, show me how to sharpen people’s hearts.

How do we penetrate hard hearts?

We have to do the same thing Jesus did.

We need to disciple a few and turn them loose to change the world.

We can’t disciple the masses all at once.

That is the equivalent of trying to boil the ocean.

We must reach the crowd and grow the core at the same time.

We must fully commit to discipleship and leadership development.

This can’t happen through education alone; we must take discipleship out of the classroom.

Discipleship isn’t an intellectual process alone; discipleship is the process of loving God and loving people.

Oh God, help us prioritize true discipleship and leadership.

Forgive me for constantly getting distracted.

Help me lead this team and organization to discipline ourselves and structure this organization to prioritize discipleship and leadership development.

We will never win this city or this world to Christ by having more people who attend our church will dull hearts.

We must not fall into the trap of reaching people only to allow their hearts to become dull like the majority of casual consumer focused Christians today.

Focused Thinking:

¹⁵Otherwise they would see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart and return,
And I would heal them.’

What happens when our hearts aren’t dull?

They see with their eyes.

They hear with their ears.

They understand with their hearts.

They return and I heal them.

Once again, that is another picture of revival.

• Revival is simply the people of God returning to God with all their heart.
• Revival is simply the people of God loving and obeying God from a heart of love.

• Revival is simply the people of God obeying the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.
• Revival is simply the people of God loving God, loving people, and making disciples.

¹⁶“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17“For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

We are seeing small numbers of people Love God, Love People, and Make Disciples and the results are amazing.

• We are blessed to see this; therefore, we must be good stewards of it.
• We are blessed to hear this; therefore, we must be good stewards of it.

Many are not seeing what we are seeing.

Many are not hearing what we are hearing.

Many are not experiencing what we are experiencing.

I have been on two previous staffs where God was working, but I rarely saw what we are seeing today, I rarely heard what we are hearing today and I rarely experienced what we are experiencing today.

We must be good stewards of the people that God is entrusting to us.

• We must disciple and grow our core.
• We must disciple and grow our new believers.

We must prioritize the good soil.

We must keep sowing in the good soil.

We must scatter seed everywhere, but we must be smart enough to prioritize the good soil.

The farmer and the seed are the same, but the soil is different with different people, different families and different locations through this city.

We must not give up on anyone; but we lead those who are willing to be led.

We must not give up on anyone; but we must disciple those who are willing to be discipled.

We must run with those who are willing to run!

Interactive Prayer:

Father, give us the ability to truly pastor people. Give us the passion and priority to disciple people. Give us the ability to identify leaders, mentor leaders and send them out to reproduce and multiply. Father, help us quit making excuses. Help us quit being too busy and to demand that we stop and do what is most important.

Father, forgive us for not having a better discipleship process in place for new believers. Father, forgive us and forgive our previous generations for not disciplining people and for turning Christianity into church attendance. Father, forgive the American Church for producing more Pharisees than disciples.

Father, show our team and me how to truly prioritize discipleship and to fully commit to it and to hold ourselves accountable. Father, help me in the midst of all the busyness to prioritize M28. Help us lead our organization more effectively so that we don’t burn one another out. Father, help us to redesign this church to truly prioritize reaching people and disciplining people. Show us how to build systems that enable us to focus on Loving God, Loving People, and Making Disciples.

Father, the first step of focus is the process of elimination. Show us what we are doing that we don’t need to be doing. Show us how to direct all of our energy and efforts to do three things well: Love God, Love People and Make Disciples.

Focused Thinking:

Why do you speak in parables?

¹¹“To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.”

If we refer back to the parable of the sower, the farmer is the same and the seed is the same; the only difference is the soil. There are people who harden their heart against God and His truth. There are people who resist and reject God’s truth. There is a mystery between God’s drawing of the Spirit and man’s choice.

What happens to those that have received Him versus those that reject Him?

¹²“For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.

Once you know Jesus, you are able to learn more, to love more and to live more.

If you reject Jesus, you are vulnerable to the lies of the devil and his desire to steal, kill and destroy.

Jesus’ answer to why He speaks in parables.

¹³“Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

Jesus had to tire of all the distractions the Pharisees provided.

Jesus had to tire of all the obstacles the Pharisees provided.

Jesus was ready to lead those who were willing to follow.

Pick up here with the prophecy of Isaiah tomorrow.

Matthew 13:14–17

Personal Application:

Father, raise up leaders for Highpoint to live out Your vision.

Father, give us the staff members we need to equip leaders.

Father, give us the resources we need to fully fund Your vision.

Father, give us the ability to focus on WINNING DISCIPLES.

Father, give us the ability to focus on MAKING DISCIPLES.

Father, help us to focus on the essentials and not get distracted.

Interactive Prayer:

Father, the task is so overwhelming. The darkness is so strong. We can’t defeat the darkness with a lame version of Christianity. Father, take complete and total control of us, do whatever You have to do to truly be Lord of our lives. Father, we fight like crazy to stay on the throne. We do everything we can to be control and ask You to be our helper. Father, we’ve got it all wrong. You are not our helper. You are our Savior. You are our Lord. You are our King. You are our Commander and Chief. We are the soldiers. Father, help us to see, understand and embrace our identity as followers of Christ.

Father, show us Your Holiness in such a way that we have to repent of our sinfulness. Father, show us Your glory in such a way that we have to make haste to bow low toward the earth and worship. Father, forgive us for our love of the world. Forgive us for our lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and boastful pride of life. Father, forgive us for our love of self, our love of money and our love of pleasure. Father, forgive us for minimizing You. Forgive us for not respecting You. Forgive us for not exalting You. Forgive us for not honoring You above all things. Father, forgive us for all the idols in our life. Father, I ask for forgiveness for myself and for our people. Father, I pray that I can do what Isaiah did and repent for myself and for my people.

Father, I pray that the conviction of the Holy Spirit will overwhelm us tomorrow. Father, it is the kindness of God that brings forth repentance. Father, show us Your kindness tomorrow through the five baptisms. Show us that You are alive and all powerful. Show us that You desire us to love You with all our hearts, all our souls and all our minds. Father, I pray for Your Spirit to convict of sin, judgment and righteousness tomorrow. Father, I pray for unlimited numbers of people to truly trust You as their Lord and Savior tomorrow. I pray for people who think they are saved, but aren’t saved to be saved tomorrow. I pray for people who have a knowledge of God but not a heart captured by God. I pray for people in the middle who aren’t saved to be saved. I pray for members of the Overton football team to be saved. I pray that You would do a great work in the coaches on the team. I pray that they would see You in such a way that Your glory captures their hearts, souls and minds forever.

I pray for entire households to be saved tomorrow. I pray Harold and Terry Jenkins to be a catalyst for us reaching more African American families. I pray that You will cause Your Spirit to bless them, anoint them, grow them and use them in a mighty way. Father, give us the privilege of seeing the beauty of the body of Christ in all its various shades and colors. Father, I pray that tomorrow will be an amazing day for the Jenkins family. I pray that You will speak to Keshua about being baptized.

Father, I pray for anyone who hasn’t been baptized tomorrow that Your Spirit would lead them to make the decision to “Go Public.” Father, I pray that we will see more than 50 people baptized on September 26th, 2010. Father, I pray that Your Spirit will do what we cannot do. I pray that our people will invite people to church. I pray that all the invitees will come tomorrow. I pray that all the inconsistent Highpointers will come tomorrow. Father, move upon the hearts of people everywhere to come to Highpoint tomorrow. Father, I pray that the Holy Spirit will draw people in unexplainable ways to come tomorrow. I pray that You protect our people from the enemy. I pray that You bind the enemy and not allow him to deceive anyone. Father, I pray that You bind the enemy according to Your blood and according to Your name.

Father, I pray that our people will come tomorrow with great anticipation and expectation. I pray that people will come ready to worship You, ready to celebrate You, ready to be changed by You, ready to obey You. Father, give Josh and myself great sensitivity to Your Spirit tomorrow. Give us the ability to discern Your voice, to discern Your movement and to respond appropriately. Give me the ability to facilitate our ability to see You and to respond to You. Father, send Your Spirit to us in a overwhelming way. Father, I beg You please do not let us settle for us. I pray that we will wrestle with You and demand that You bless.

Father, in fact that is what I am doing right now. I am demanding that You bless us. Father, we can’t live without Your Spirit. We can’t live apart from You. Father, we are always self-destructing apart from You. Father, I need to see You. I need to experience You. I need to see Your Spirit bring forth true confession and repentance. Father, I need to see Your Spirit win the battle against the resistance of our hearts. Father, I need to see You change us from consumer Christians to courageous Christians. Father, I need to see You change us from casual Christians to committed Christians. Father, I need to see You change our hearts. Break us from our selfishness. I need to see You overpower us. I need to see You strip our idols from us. Father, give us what we don’t deserve. We don’t deserve Your Spirit, but we need Your Spirit.

Father, we can’t do enough to make this happen. Father, we are 100% dependent upon You to do what we can’t do. Father, I beg You, show us Your glory. Father, pass by in front of us tomorrow and show us Your glory. Pass by in front of us and proclaim Your names to us. Father, pass by in front of us make a new covenant with us. Father, raise us up for such a time as this. Father, I want to stomp on the head of the serpent tomorrow. Father, I want to authoritatively reject our sin and wholeheartedly choose You tomorrow.

Father, make us a people who are awesome at Loving You and Loving People. Father, I pray that Love will work through us tomorrow. I pray that Your Love will shine gloriously tomorrow. I pray that everything else will pale in comparison. I pray that we will see the surpassing value of knowing You. I pray that people will choose You tomorrow, I pray that people will choose Your vision and mission tomorrow. I pray that Your people will let go of the middle tomorrow and run unashamedly into Your arms and ask You to rescue them from the middle.

I pray that people will experience the Love of God tomorrow in a life-changing way. I pray that people will experience the Love of People tomorrow in a life changing way. I pray that the Love of God will flow upon us like Niagara Falls. I pray that the Love of God will be beautiful and irresistible tomorrow. Father, manifest Yourself tomorrow in such a way that we can see You in undeniable and irresistible ways. Father, show us the beauty and the glory of the Great Commandment.

Father, show us that all true love relationships require time and participation. Show us that we can’t take short-cuts in our love relationships. Show us what it really means to give God ALL of our heart. Show us what it means to give God an UNDIVIDED HEART. Father, show us that You are LOVE. Show us that You are the most beautiful and glorious desire of our hearts.

Father, give our people the ability tomorrow to evaluate accurately. Give our people the ability to be reconciled, to be restored, and to be rebuilt. Father, please give us the faith and courage to repent and return to You.

Father, I pray that You will give us the ability to humble ourselves. Exalt Your so highly tomorrow that we have to humble ourselves before You. I pray that You will give us the ability to see You lifted up so that You can draw all men and women unto Yourself. Father, please give us the an intense desire to confess the idols of self, success, and sex. Father,

I pray that our people will truly pray to You tomorrow. Father, give me the presence of mind to create enough space in the response time. Father, give me the ability to hit my time or even beat my time so that I can lead the response time effectively. Father, I pray that people who ask You for forgiveness and repent of their sins.

Father, empty our hearts for the purpose of filling our hearts with You. Give us the ability to seek Your face instead of Your hand. Father, give us the desire and ability to repent toward You and to place our faith in You. Father, cause the wind of Your Holy Spirit to blow through our church in a powerful way. Father, give people the courage to respond. I pray that the response will be contagious. I pray that tomorrow will be a breakthrough day for You in and through the lives of our people.

Father, I pray for our people to turn from their wicked ways. Give them the ability to hate their sin the way You hate their sin. Give them the ability to see sin the way You sin. Father, expose the lies of the devil and cause us to hate what You hate and to love what You love. Father, give us the prayer of John Wesley, “Give me 10 men who hate sin and love God and we’ll change the world.” Father, give us a godly sorrow instead of a worldly sorrow. Father, give us the evidence and fruit of genuine repentance. Father, give us the ability to repent of sin and return to righteousness.

Father, I pray that You hear my prayer right now. I pray that You are forgiving me right now. Forgive me for all the ways that I sin against You. Forgive me for all the ways my heart strays. Forgive me for all the ways I depend upon my strength instead of Your strength. Father, my strength accomplishes nothing. Father, I repent of my sins. I hate my sins. I hate anything that keeps me from You. I hate anything that keeps me from loving You and loving people.

Father, I pray that my repentance with be permanent and progressive. Father, make me the man of God You desire me to be. Father, fill me up and use me for Your glory. Father, You are blessing us but there is so much more available if we will humble ourselves, pray, seek Your face, and turn from our wicked ways.

Father, give us more of You. Father, forgive me and forgive our people. Father, heal our people, heal our churches in this city. Father, revive the churches and awaken the city. Father, heal our churches, heal our city, heal our country. Father, give us a fresh moving of Your Spirit. Father, give us the ability to truly humble ourselves, to truly pray to You, to truly seek Your face, and to truly turn from our wicked ways. Father, please give us leaders who are willing to do that tomorrow. Father, give us people from the middle who are people to do that tomorrow. Father, change this church from the inside out. Fill us up and send us out. Fill us up and send us out. Fill us up and send us out.

Father, grow this church spiritually, numerically and financially tomorrow. Father, cause this church to take a huge step forward tomorrow. I pray that tomorrow will be a spiritual marker for this church. I pray that we will see Love Work tomorrow. I pray that we will see Your Spirit accomplish great and mighty things tomorrow. Father, move us incredible success and move us to success that can only be explained by the Spirit.

³And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; ⁴and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵“Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. ⁶“But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. ⁷“Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. ⁸“And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. ⁹“He who has ears, let him hear.”

Focused Thinking:

What is the context?

Jesus left the synagogue and began to teach outdoors.

Jesus left those opposed to him and reached out to the responsive people.

Jesus began teaching a series of parables about the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus used parables to get listeners to think.

Parables are short stories that use familiar scenes and everyday objects and relationships to explain spiritual truths.

• A parable compares something unfamiliar with something familiar.
• A parable compels listeners to discover truth.

Parables hid the truth from those who had already closed their minds.

Matthew 13:1–23 focuses on the parable of the sower and the soil about the receptivity of the gospel.

Matthew 13:24–35 focuses on three “little power” parables about the weeds, seeds, and leaven.

Matthew 13:44–50 focuses on three “end time” parables about the treasure in a field, the pearl, and the net.

In this parable:

• the farmer represents Jesus,
• the soil represents Israel,
• and the seed represents the proclamation of the kingdom.

The parable shows the contrast between the results of acceptance and rejection of the gospel message.

What is the difference between farming then and farming now?

Farmers sowed by hand, not by machine.

No matter how skillful, no farmer could keep some of his seed from falling by the wayside, from being scattered among rocks and thorns or from being carried off by the wind.

How did the farmer deal with this problem?

The farmer would throw the seed liberally, and enough would fall on good ground to ensure a good harvest. The yield depended on the condition of the soil where the seed fell.

The variable wasn’t the farmer or the seed; the only variable was the soil where the seed fell.

Personal Application:

Highpoint needs to scatter as much seed as possible.

• We need to export our teaching as much as possible.
• We need to export our teaching via people and places.
• We need to export our teaching via technology.

What areas in Memphis are beside the road?

What areas in Memphis are on the rocky places?

What areas in Memphis are among the thorns?

What areas in Memphis are good soil?

We won’t know until we scatter the seed and evaluate what happens.

We can’t always evaluate what other churches have done and whether or not they yielded a crop. With Jesus the farmer and the seed is the same and the only difference is the soil, but that isn’t always the same today with churches. Some churches are better equipped to cultivate different types of soil and to change bad soil to good soil.

What is good soil for Highpoint right now?

Overton High School is good soil.

Freedom Extreme (CR) is good soil.

Single Parents are good soil.

De-churched are good soil.

Un-churched are good soil.

• The majority of churched haven’t been good soil for us.
• There is a newer generation of churched that “get it.”

Imperfect.tv is good soil.

The possibilities are unlimited.

• How much seed can we scatter when a video goes viral?
• How much seed can we scatter with “Going Public” stories?
• How much seed can we scatter with “A Better Story” videos?

Focused Thinking:

What happens to the seeds of the Word of God?

1) Some seeds fell beside the road (13:3–4).

• The birds came and ate them up.
• Beside the road represents the hardness of the heart.

2) Other seeds fell on the rocky places (13:5–6).

• Where they did not have much soil.
• Immediately they sprang up.
• Because they had no depth of soil.
• But when the sun had risen.
• They were scorched.
• Because they had no root.
• They withered away.
• Rocky soils represents hearers who lack depth.

3) Other seeds fell among the thorns (13:7).

• The thorns came up and choked them out.
• Among the thorns represents hearers who have a lot of stuff competing for their hearts affection and their mind’s attention.

4) Other seeds fell on the good soil (13:8–9).

• And yielded a crop.
• Some a hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty.
• A farmer would be happy indeed to see his crop multiply even ten times. Thirty, sixty or a hundred would be an incredible yield, for it would mean even more seed to plant and harvest in the coming year.
• The good soil represents those who are ready to repent and believe, ready to go public, ready to grow in Christ.

⁹“He who has ears, let him hear.”

Some people in the crowd were only curious about Jesus; a few were looking for evidence to use against him; others truly wanted to learn and grow.

Jesus’ words were for the honest seekers. Those who honestly seek God will have spiritual hearing.

Interactive Prayer:

Father, give us favor in the spreading and sowing of your Word. I pray that the seeds of our teaching will fall on good soil throughout this city. Father, give us favor in reaching the unreached. Give us favor in reaching the imperfect, the unchurched and the de-churched. Father, give us favor reaching people of diversity.

Give us the ability to truly make a difference in this city. Father, give us the vision, the resources and the leadership to have multiple campuses. Give us the ability to truly reach all different types of people. I pray that the common denominator will be Your love for us and our love for You.

Father, imprint the vision of “Love Works” upon the hearts of our people. Cause them to truly get it. I pray that the teaching and vision of loving God, loving people and making disciples will become the focus of our lives. Father, cause the Holy Spirit to do what we cannot do and bring about godly sorrow that leads to a repentance without regret. Father, cause the Spirit to move in such a way that we will let go of our idols and replace our idols with You. Father, move strongly upon us. We cannot do it by ourselves. We will not voluntarily give up our idolatrous loves unless You move upon our hearts and minds. Father, cause the Holy Spirit to break through our resistance and have complete reign and freedom in our lives.

Focused Thinking:

Unexpected Response:

How many times does Jesus give an expected response?

Almost never.

• He is constantly confusing people.
• He is constantly making people think.

What was the expectation here?

They were expecting Him to give a simple response.

They were expecting Him to stop what He was doing and find out what His mother and brothers needed. If not that, they were at least expecting Him to give direction as to when He would be available.

What did Jesus say?

“Who is My mother and who are My brothers?”

What is Jesus really asking? This isn’t a literal question; this is a spiritual question.

He is asking who is willing to become a part of His family?

⁴⁹And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! ⁵⁰“For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus pointed to His disciples and answered His own question.

The people who can have a relationship with Jesus are the people who do the Father’s will.

• They believe in Me.
• They believe I am sent from the Father.
• They believe that My will is the Father’s will.
• They believe in obeying God’s will.

Jesus wasn’t denying His human family; he was simply using His family as an illustration of a greater truth.

Jesus was simply using the strength of human relationships to communicate the strength of the divine relationship.

Jesus was inviting people to become a part of His family and to experience the love and privileges of being a family member.

Personal Application:

We must invite into God’s family.

We must also teach and speak in the realm of relationship.

We must do everything we can to help people become family.

• We must become a family focused on God’s vision.
• We must become a family focused on God’s mission.
• We must become a family that Loves God and Loves People.

We must create quality environments for family members to be family.

We must create quality connect groups.

We must create connect groups that serve the mission.

Interactive Prayer:

Father, give us the leaders we need to form quality leadership teams for our connect classes. Father, give us the ability to truly build a healthy connect and serve ministry. Please give us the staff and lay leadership needed. Father, help us do this quickly. Give our people the desire and discipline to commit to a group. I pray that our people will see and understand that God choose a group as His strategy to change the world. Father, give us the ability to truly create discipleship groups. Give us the heart and mind to join the groups for the purpose of giving instead of receiving.