Throw the Seed | Pastor Trent Roberts

What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus Do you believe me? What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood That's it What can wash away, say What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus What can make me whole again? What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus Hallelujah, Hallelujah Say I know there was a God That's it Who only made a man Hallelujah, Hallelujah I know there was a God Who only made a man What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus What can make me whole again? What can make me whole again? Say nothing, say nothing Nothing but the blood of Jesus Sing it again, sing it again What can wash away What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus

What can make me whole again? Say nothing Nothing but the blood of Jesus Hallelujah, Hallelujah I know there was a God Who only made a man Hallelujah, Hallelujah I know there was a God Who only made a man Hallelujah, Hallelujah I know there was a God Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah I know there was a God There's never been a performance Or perfection Or striving for acceptance Let me tell you It's only by the blood It's never been about deserving Or hurting It's the gift of screening in Let me tell you It's only by the blood Does anybody want to be holy and righteous? That's it, sing it Let me tell you Somebody testify Somebody testify, sing it Does anybody want to be worthy, forgiven?

Justify what you did Let me tell you It's only by the blood Hallelujah, sing it Hallelujah, sing it Hallelujah, I know I know there was a blood Who only paid for blood, sing it Hallelujah, sing it Hallelujah, I know I know there was a blood Hallelujah, Hallelujah, sing it Hallelujah Hallelujah I know there was a blood I know there was a blood Hallelujah, sing it Hallelujah Hallelujah I know there was a blood I know there was a blood There's never been a performance Perfect ♪ Let me tell you it's all in my blood ♪ ♪ Let me tell you it's all in my blood ♪ ♪ Hey, it's never been enough ♪ ♪ There is nothing you can do to hurt it ♪ ♪ Let me tell you it's all in my blood ♪ ♪ Let me tell you it's all in my blood ♪ ♪ Does anybody wanna be holy and righteous ♪

♪ You're the lightest heart, let me tell you ♪ ♪ It's all in my blood ♪ ♪ Does anybody wanna be worthy, forgive me, say ♪ ♪ Just a part of me, let me tell you ♪ ♪ It's all in my blood, say ♪ ♪ Say, hallelujah, hallelujah, say ♪ ♪ I know it was the blood that could've only been ♪ ♪ Say hallelujah, say hallelujah, that's it, say ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, I know it was the blood could've only been ♪ ♪ I know it was the blood that could've only been ♪ ♪ Say hallelujah, say hallelujah, that's it, sing it ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, I know it was ♪ ♪ I know it was the blood that could've only been ♪ ♪ Say hallelujah, say hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, I know it was the blood that could've only been the blood ♪ Could've only been the blood. Could've only been the blood. There was nothing I could do, Lord. There was nothing I could do. But you stepped in. You stepped in. It could've only been the blood of Jesus. It could've only been the blood of Jesus. This is your song today, sing. ♪ I am an instrument of exaltation ♪ ♪ And I was born to lead the way above all names ♪ ♪ You hear the melody of all creation ♪ ♪ There's a song of praise that only I can bring ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy, say who else is worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one, say there is no one, only you Jesus ♪

♪ Who else is worthy, yes, yes, worthy, yes, yes, worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one, only you Jesus, you are worthy ♪ ♪ You are the infinite God of the ages ♪ ♪ Yet you chose to make my heart your dwelling place ♪ ♪ You healed, you healed my broken place ♪ ♪ Showed me your glory, yeah ♪ ♪ So I have songs and things, not even angels sing ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy, yeah, who else is worthy, yeah ♪ ♪ There is no one, only you Jesus, you are worthy ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy, somebody shout it, who else is worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one, there is no one, only you Jesus, you are worthy ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy, who else is worthy, yeah ♪ ♪ There is no one, there is no one, only you Jesus ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy, who else is worthy, yeah ♪ ♪ There is no one, only you Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh, oh, oh oh, oh, oh, oh oh He was, and is, and is to come, seated on the throne above. Holy, holy, righteous one, whose blood is white as snow, whose blood is white as snow, whose eyes can never be blind, holy, holy, man of God, anointed one, holy, holy, man of God, anointed one, holy, holy, righteous one, whose blood is white as snow, whose eyes can never be blind, holy, holy, man of God, anointed one, who was, and is, and is to come, seated on the throne above. Holy, holy, righteous one, who shed his blood, the fruit to us, the fire of love, Jesus Christ, we lift it up, holy, holy, man of God, anointed one, who was, and is, and is to come, seated on the throne above. Holy, holy, righteous one, who shed his blood, the fruit to us, the fire of love, Jesus Christ,

we lift it up. Who else is worthy? Hes it. Who else is worthy? There is no one. There is no one. But we all be Your Jesus. Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no one. Only Your Jesus. Here is my heart. There is no one. Only Your Jesus. There is no one. Only Your Jesus. I tell you, Pastor Sam has such a gift of just encouraging, lifting up. I am so thankful to the ministry of Pastor Sam, Pastor Brenda. And I'm telling you what, I selfishly, I just don't want them to go anywhere. They're ours. I'm claiming it. I'm naming it. I'll do whatever it takes. But I am so thankful for their generosity, their hospitality. And this is their love for all of us. As a staff, as a family. Any person that comes on this campus or drives by it, let me tell you what, his heart is for them. And I get to see him on the stage and behind the scenes. And I'm telling you what, it's the same thing.

You know, there's just no, it's just nonstop Superman. I'm waiting to see Clark Kent. And I haven't yet seen it. But I am so thankful that he gave me the opportunity today because he's so protective of this pulpit because he loves you guys so much. But it's been a busy few weeks I can say for me. We finished North Point up for the semester and all the students who are local in a way, but they're so relieved. And just this last Friday we had graduation here in this room, which was a gift. We saw 17 graduates take their position now to step into ministry. We have a picture on the screen you can see. And 15 with bachelors. That's right. 15 got their bachelors in ministerial leadership. Two with associates of arts. And what's really great is 14 graduates, as you can see up there, they have the white stoles on. They were recognized by the Assemblies of God Michigan Ministry Network as licensed ministers and being ready to send out to the ministry. Three of the individuals, we don't have them marked, but three of them have a call to missions. One has already been approved by Assemblies of God World Missions to go to Thailand because they're being called to Laos. And so we're seeing what was started, what, 20 years ago almost here, the seeds in this room. As people begin to pray and lead it, who would have thought now what's happening is happening. Since I've been president, we've sent now almost four people into missions. I've been praying for one a year, and let me tell you what,

we've done it and I'm about to start going to two a year. Because God's just doing something. And it wouldn't be done without the hospitality, the love, and really, this staff and this building and this people and the heart that God's been here on. Sometimes it just takes time. When he plants seeds, I think we get impatient to realize God's planting a seed, it takes time for it to grow. But you know what's great about a seed? Seeds produce seeds. Seeds produce seeds. Just this morning, I was in my office and I was playing with AI, which students, please don't do that, don't, don't. You're gonna get caught, we have software that catches you. But I was kind of curious, I thought, okay, God, one apple seed, one generation, I wanna see what it can do. And so I asked AI, if I have an apple seed, how many seeds will that produce statistically across its lifetime on average? And here's the numbers, and it was quite fascinating to me, it said, it's going to, on average, one apple produces five to 10 seeds. So on average, let's say six to seven. Per year, a mature apple tree produces about 400 to 800 apples per year. Depending on the variety, the climate and the care, that's approximately 2,400 to 6,000 seeds annually.

Over the lifetime of that tree, if it's cared for, 50 to 100 years is the average for what apple tree should be. The peak production could be 20. Do you guys love AI? This is, I mean, do you know how long this would've taken me in the Encyclopedia Britannica? I mean, this would've taken, it was typed in, and I got, it's just amazing. But 20 to 50 years on average is the lifetime of a tree. That means an estimated 500 apples per year at seven seeds, 50 productive years. You're looking at 175,000 seeds from that one seed. A single tree that's well taken care of in its environment can produce about 300,000 to 500,000 seeds from one single seed. Let me tell you what's amazing about that. I was on the phone last night with Pastor Sam, and he was traveling, and one of the places he had the privilege to go to was his hometown where his mother was raised and their parents met. And we began to talk, and he began to tell me about the revelation he was having. And after we hung up, the Spirit continued just to kind of amaze me at how God can be at work and how one seed produces so many seeds, just one seed. I mean, think about this, Pastor Sam, his mother from Indonesia, father Dutch, have to go back to Holland, and all the things that take place, Billy Graham shows up one night in Holland, preaches a sermon, she gets saved,

the family gets led, they come to America. All the different things, and Pastor Sam then travels the nation as an evangelist. And then Pastor Sam, guess what he does? He becomes the pastor, thank you Jesus, of Grand Rapids First. And guess what, the seeds continue to multiply and multiply and multiply. And now we have a Bible college that's sending out ministers who are gonna do what, guess what? They're gonna multiply and multiply and multiply. It's all because of one seed. It all starts with just one seed, but the multiplication is just ongoing of what God is doing. And I'm just so mesmerized and almost at times in awe of what God can do with one seed and how that seed multiplies, which then multiplies, which then multiplies. And it kind of goes today because Jesus in the New Testament does something, he loves to take his disciples and step into very ordinary moments to reveal deep, revelations of truth with the kingdom. Because sometimes people will just look at the moment and be like, oh yeah, that's it, yeah. There's a fish, there's a lake, there's a, yep, okay. But for those who are looking to actually understand, they see a whole nother level of dimension of truth that invites them into.

And in the book of Matthew, we have one of those encounters and it's the parable of the sower. Now, young people, I wanna clarify for you what a sower is. It's not a sewing machine person. It's not a seamstress. This is a farmer who's taking seed and throwing it, like just, they're sowing the seed into the ground. And I say that because I would have thought that back in the day. And I wanna make sure our imagery is set right for us. And so if you're online, if you're in the room here, if you're listening eight months from now, I just want you to listen because I have the text up screen, but listen to what Jesus says and look to hear what he's trying to communicate. This is Matthew chapter 13, verse three through nine. He says, listen, a farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across the field, some seeds fell on a footpath and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn't have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell among thorns, and grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil. And they produced a crop that was 30, 60, and even 100 times as much as had been planted.

Anyone with ears should listen and understand. And then the disciples kind of lament, saying, why are you always talking in riddles to us and everything? And so Jesus has to break it down for them at another level. And he doesn't do this with every one of the parables, but this is one of the parables he says, I really need you to understand this. And so as we go down to verse 18, Jesus really gives them the breakdown of meaning. He says, now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds. The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the kingdom and don't understand it. The evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. The seed in the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don't have deep roots, they don't last. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God's word. The seed, though, that fell on the thorns represents those who hear the God's word, but all too quickly, the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. And the seeds that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God's word

and produce a harvest of 30, 60, and even 100 times as much as had been planted. You know, I've read this a lot, and historically, as I've read this, even in my younger years, I would always think of this is the parable of the soil and the seed. But it's not, it's the parable of the sower. It's the parable of the sower. The important thing I want you to see is the sower who's doing this. And as a president, understand something. My students call me pastor or president, and at the end of the day, that means I'm kind of a CEO style. I would have called this farmer into my office so fast for the amount of seed he was wasting. I mean, you're talking about a 25% return on investment. I'm like, didn't you see the rocks, son? Why would you throw, that's the walking path. Don't throw seed on the walking path. Did you not see the thorns? You are wasting good seed. Don't do this. Think, if we would have put that seed on the fertile soil, think of how great that would have been. We could have a 50% yield, a 75% yield. But now we only have 25% because you know what? You threw the seed on the wrong place. I'm not that bad of a boss. You can ask my people.

I wouldn't do that. But that's what I would have thought. Because it's a waste. But here, I want you to write this down if you got this. Jesus doesn't rebuke the farmer because Jesus never condemns the farmer for scattering seed. Not once does he say, and this was a bad farmer. And seed only belongs on fertile soil. There's no condemnation to the seed going on the path or in the stones or the thistles. A farmer is meant to sow seed. We've built an entire evangelical culture around soil assessment. We study people. We profile neighborhoods. We measure receptivity. We look and say, are they ripe? Is this the time? Are we gonna do this yet or not? What's going on? And in the process, we sow so little seed because we're waiting for the perfect scenario to put it. Understand, we wait until we almost have guaranteed returns on our investment when we witness, when we lay down the groundwork of what God's doing, when we speak of his kingdom. But that's not farming. That's the stock market. And this isn't the parable of the investor or the CEO.

It's the parable of the sower. And if Beyonce was to write a song, it'd be the sower's gonna sow. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's the way we should be doing this. And understand, the farmer's job is not to judge the soil. The farmer's job is to sow the seed. Just get the seed out there. Get it out there. Ecclesiastes says it best this way. In 11.4, it says this. Whoever watches the wind will not plant. Whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. Don't wait for that perfect moment. Just get that seed in the soil. It's where it belongs. When I was working in my master's work, one of my professors said this to me. He says, Trent, you're having a hard time writing this paper. I said, there's so much. He goes, you know what? Just shoot the engineers and build the bridge. You gotta just start writing it. You gotta just start doing it. And I can't say how many Christians I've seen that are trying to measure every moment on if is this the moment Lord is this The moment Lord is this the moment Lord that what happens is they have what we call analysis paralysis They're completely paralyzed That they do nothing Because they're just analyzing and somehow it satisfies the itch of evangelism and witnessing but guess what the seed still in your pocket guys a

Seed let it sit in the soil. That's where it belongs. Let it be put and cast wide Secondly I want to encourage you to know this is the truth the seed has power the farmer doesn't have in this narrative The seed has power the farmer doesn't have The farmers trusting the seed to do what the seed does This gospel it carries resurrection power I'm gonna say it again. The gospel has resurrection power Life's already in the seed In first Corinthians 3 6 Paul says this way I planted the seed a palace watered it, but God has been making it grow See if Paul doesn't plant policies of waters. What's God gonna do? What's he blessing? What's he causing to grow? James says you have not for you asked not and I would dare say nothing's grown because you ain't planting See you don't have to be eloquent You don't have to be a theologian although if you want to I would encourage you to come to North Point College Kristen's right over there. She'd be willing to get your information. No, but I really mean this that you just got to throw seed It's amazing what God does See when I was 15 I was I grew up in the Philippines my parents were missionaries I Would say I'm 15 I wasn't really serving the Lord based if you were gonna just follow me for a day You would say this guy's not serving the Lord, but I knew a lot about the Lord And I won't quote Nacho Libre, but I knew a lot People didn't think it but I did And I remember I was out skateboarding some of my friends and Pete Sokka Looked at me and he says Trent you need to get saved And I thought What I need to get saved Who does he tell me I got I know more about the Bible than any of these guys I don't need it. What am I gonna get saved? and guess what I went home and the Holy Spirit took that seed and man, it was Just rattling. It's like one of those Mexican jumping beans. It was just bouncing. It was annoying me

Who's he think I need to get saved? I don't need to get saved Do I need to get saved? I think I probably do need to get saved Okay, Lord here if you're open to it, I'm willing to do this thing with you and this was honestly my sinner's prayer 15 God if you're in I'm in but I don't want a camp experience. I Just I don't want us to have an encounter then you go MIA. I Need you to be with me constantly Like I'll do this but be with me, please I woke up the next morning and he has yet to leave me every morning. I wake up And that's a beautiful story but understand what's even greater is because of so or so with just a comment It was just one seed I went home and I couldn't believe what God chose to do with that seed in my life I mean he looked at me I was just sitting there and it's like that word echoed and echoed and echoed in me and I love to screw people's lives up now with things like that Because I'm confident in the power of the seed And I know the heart of my God is to reveal and grow Life in people and so I want to throw that seed on every person Even if it looks like thorns and thistles You Have a responsibility for the harvest you're not responsibility. Excuse me. You're not responsible for the harvest. You're responsible for sowing He's the Lord of the harvest He's the Lord. He's looking for workers, but the harvest is his I Think sometimes we think that our job is to get people always to the moment of decision He gets them to the moment of decision. Our job is plant the seed to the understand. There's a question The Holy Spirit's working don't be a harvester be a sower He's the Lord of the harvest It's his But get those seeds in the field. I'm telling you what the gospel is not fragile. It survived the Roman Empire the Dark Ages Voltaire Darwin Nietzsche every intellectual season that predicted its extension is now gone

Communism can't kill it. How do you know I was there and the church is thriving and guess what our democracy? our seed can't contain it because it's his kingdom the word of god is living and active saints don't be afraid to plant it in hard ground because the seed is going to do what a seed does it cracks concrete it grows in walls how do i know that because i got to re-blacktop my driveway because those stinking seeds it's amazing where it can grow we have a rock area and i'm thinking there's not even soil there and i got seeds growing i'm out there weeding rocks because seeds are going to do what seeds do now here's what i want you to understand this is more cultural than biblical but ready there's some rough looking soil out there you got so much thorn and thistle i don't even know how you got here you know it's all rock and stone over here but there is some rough looking soil out there but remember between the path the rocky ground the thorns when we look at people we're not called to be soil inspectors we're not called to be soil inspectors we're not called to be soil inspectors when we look at people we're not called to be soil inspectors be seed throwers get that seed out of them tell them what god is doing tell them make a comment make a statement pray for them one of my favorite things to ask people what's god doing in your life and they're like what because it presupposes guess what i believe god's doing something in their life and that alone gets them to say i don't know if i believe in god i'm like well you don't have you didn't believe in you when you're here you know i don't think your belief really determines it i think what it is is that i want to know so what's god doing in your life though that's what i asked and guess what the spirit of god what i've seen him do with that question they come back what do you mean when you ask me that well i want to know what's god doing your life because i believe god wants to do things in your life are you paying attention to it it haunts them and you might look at some people and say well trent that person you got to understand that's all thorn at this so i can't it's pointless to do it but let me tell you what you're not alone a lot of people see that and think that but there's people in scripture i want to help encourage you with how many guys remember the apostle paul i mean this guy was he was hunting down the christians he's hunting them down systematically he even says he held the coats while they stoned stephen and i'm sure he had a little smirk on his face knowing he was doing what he's supposed to do but guess what on his

road to damascus a seed falls he has an encounter with christ he's blinded god reaches out to ananias i need you to go to paul and he's like uh the killer of us christians i don't think so and i gotta believe and i was thinking like that soil ain't nothing gonna grow in that soil he's a murderer he's a killer i can't do this but he ends up going and guess what because of that we see one of the world's greatest missionaries of that time grown out of rocky barren soil because the seed does what the seed does what about the woman at the well if you know the story well she had five husbands she was a samaritan i mean this is pastor doug five husbands she was one away from her own a and e special i mean it was questionable there's no way this woman's coming front row i don't know if i want her proclaiming the gospel but jesus sees value and plants the seed of who he is in her and she brings a revival to her area and she begins to tell everyone you gotta come and see what this man does he's he's unlike anyone i've ever why because she knows what it means to have death and now life what's amazing you ever seen those people get first saved you almost want to be like whoa whoa you're going nuts with this witnessing thing you're just throwing seed everywhere and i want to be like go keep throwing man it should be like if we planted corn and got popcorn that's the way it should be that's what the seed of the gospel should be doing it should be plant water pop pop pop pop pop pop pop pop seed just starts splattering everywhere it goes because how can i stay quiet with what my god has done and who he is all i can do is speak of his wonder his beauty his goodness his patience his his favor for me and the seed just keeps pouring out and pouring out and pouring out and people at work are like uh he's he's i mean when my uncle got saved on his way to prison I mean my grandparents who weren't saved thought he found a new drug now It was the 70s and there was a very good chance of that But what he had found was the Holy Spirit Because he was different and things were happening and he's telling everybody he can't stop during this Jesus movement The gospel is just seeds just pouring out of him. He wasn't worried about being civilized. Why? Because he was a dead man who's now alive And He understands everything I am is because of him and From him guess what happens he takes it to my father and From my father. He becomes a world missionary going to Asia

Becomes my uncle becomes an evangelist in Africa and two other continents Then his children become ministers my brother the vice president of Concordia Lutheran school me now here and me also mission a seed produces seed that produces seed that produces seed But it has to be cast out There's some rough soil, but don't underestimate what a seed can do when God does what he wants to do with it All I got to do is throw the seed I just got to throw the seed I just got to get it out there I want to challenge you because here there is a day of coming There's a day coming guys and I tell my students this often You're gonna minister and for those who don't know know they're supposed to be at North Point You know, I'm gonna put you there too. You're gonna minister to generations. I'll never meet You're gonna you're gonna sow seed and soil and people and culture I never even encountered yet or knew existed Because I'll be in the grave But I'll be dancing don't you worry I'll be dancing with him at this time And there's a day that I'm gonna stand before my Savior face-to-face Doesn't mean I'll be looking him in the eye. I'll be straight down just praying for mercy I'm gonna tell you what I do not want to be standing there with a pocketful of seed Because you'll be standing before God and The seed you saved has no value now See when the Lord the harvest does show up the sowing is over Everything you've sown is done. It's in the ground And my question is What will remain when you're gone have you been sowing Or have you been saving? This isn't the parable the saver. It's the parable the sower Me and Kayla are confident when we both stand that day, of course that we're gonna see things clearly And We'll have moments where that oh, I wish I would have I've only I but I also know this we've given to missions. We support missions across the world Missionaries we invest in here in our home church and

we just have Conversation upon conversation with people. I'm trying to point direct them to God Trying to water what others have planted trying to plant so others can water so God the Lord the harvest can have his way And I know that the seeds I've planted are gonna remain well after me. I Mean if you want to invest go find a young believer, that's like that's like Finding Apple stock in Steve Steve Rogers like jobs garage. You're getting right the start of something really good Go go get that spiritual investment for your 401k Have that keep sowing because guess what? Well after I'm in grave his seed is still making seed And I want I want God to say Trent come here look at remember remember this one I want to show you how the seeds work. It just you see it just going across nations and generations Every person in this room someone planted in you Someone even at home you didn't tune in because purely a Google search it's because someone Put seed of the gospel in you and the Holy Spirit came and is bringing life out of it Don't underestimate it But I want us here to be Reckless as farmers as sowers Don't be CEOs or stewards of the seed just chuck that seed. I Want you guys playing hot potato with it? Just just get it out. You see an opportunity take it Yesterday I get my hair cut The lady said so what do you? You, what are you doing this weekend? And everything inside of me is just like nothing. I can't even think right now. I just, I'm out. It's been a busy week. But all of a sudden I felt this urge of like, tell her you're preparing a sermon. I was like, this is gonna get awkward quick. Just what I wanted. I said, I'm gonna be working on a sermon.

She goes, a sermon? I said, well, I'm a minister. I'll be preaching at GR first. It's over there and I tell her about it. It's always fun to watch the follow-up question. It's like, so what's that like? And I knew I was taking her to uncharted waters. And I said, that's really awesome. I'm gonna be speaking on this text when Jesus said this. And I have my nine-year-old son in the chair next to me and he's listening and he said, he goes, dad, tell him about that, da, da, da. And next thing you know, he's wanting to get into China and stuff. And now his barber's involved. Next thing you know, I mean, there's just what the opportunities of what God can do with these moments. I've just been to throw the seed. You just don't underestimate what a seed does and how little it is. Just do something to give God something to work with. But be a reckless farmer. The farmer throws it on the path, on the stones, on the thistles. Don't withhold it. And here's the truth. If there's one thing I really want you to hold on to, it's this, that God blesses what we release, not what we keep.

I'm gonna say it again, because I heard a few groans, I heard a few Holy Ghost moments there. I wanna say it again, because this is not a comfortable saying. God blesses what we release, not what we keep. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. What have you released? What are you keeping? Don't keep his goodness, his story, what he's done, his testimony. At the end of the day, that's his. We're just the canvas it's displayed through. Scripture says, we are like living epistles read of all men. I'll tell you what. I do not like, I'm just gonna be honest with you. I don't go to libraries. They're just germ-festered places to me. I don't wanna, I'll buy the book.

I do not wanna get one of those books. I'll wear gloves when I go to the library, because I just, ew, too many people touching that thing. It's one of those, and I'm in education, so forgive me. But we should be read of all people. People should know. We're one of those different people. I've laughed, because Dr. Lidbeck always says, I wanna put up a sign that says, solicitor is welcome, but understand you have to talk to Trent. Just to see what happens, because it's hilarious watching what you do. They'll be supporting North Point and somehow having a sinner's prayer by the time they leave. It's gonna be great. Some of you are at this place where it's time to sow. It's time to sow. It's time. You've kind of reached a point in your Christianity where you might be a little bit bloated. It's time to empty the barns, put it in the field. Last thing you want is full barns in an empty field. And it's sowing season. It's time to empty the barns and fill the fields, because that's where I find the well done, thy good and faithful servant. The Lord of the harvest will do what he does. And you may be saying, I don't even know how to do that, Trent. Well, guess what?

Do I have? There's more. Would you get your phones out for me? I'm just gonna run through an exercise with you guys. Because here at GR First, we have GR One Serve. One of the best places to start is to become a hero. There's a QR code they're gonna put on the screen. You can scan that QR code. I pray to God there's a QR code they're gonna put on the screen. Now there is, I'm seeing nods. Thank you, Jesus. Still on the throne. But I'm gonna encourage you. Would everyone just kind of lie to me and put your phone up and act like you're scanning that for me? That way I really feel like I did something today. There we go. Man, I nailed that. Look at that. But if it's your first time, would you scan it? Because that's what, Pastor Troy, Sue Ellen Williams. Pastor Troy is at home day, not feeling well. So God, we pray Pastor Troy. Touch him, Lord Jesus. But I'm telling you what, you know what I love about Pastor Troy? He was some rough soil. He was soil I'm sure some people would have passed over

almost 15, 16 years ago. Am I right, Sue? He would have probably said, You know, you'd have probably just passed that door up, went on the next one. But it was a child who came to his son, it was the faith of a child that said, I'm gonna plant some seed here, I'm gonna invite them to church. Pastor Troy shows up here, sits up in the balcony, hears the gospel, and that seed starts to come to life. And from that, he starts to come down, comes to these altars, his life, and now we got a Pastor Troy. We have a Sue Ellen. We have a Williams family. We have a legacy that has started because of one seed. And now that seed, guess what? Overseas, our pod and our ministry that helps you guys now go to soil with things. Ways to say, let me pray for you, I wanna bless you. So guess what? When you stand before God, I'm sorry, but you got no excuse now. We can't rewind and pull this out. Now you know, now you're liable, so guess what? Take advantage of it. Pastor Sam's heart is that you would take advantage of it. That's his heart, that's why we're doing this, so that you can go out and give to your neighbors,

give to your friends, and say, let me tell you something, I wanna bless you because that's the heart of God, because you're worth being blessed. Diapers, snow shovels, beds, mattresses, furniture, lights, cameras, action, I mean, the stuff that you can get there, aquariums, I don't even know what's all over there. But become a hero and find out, and you'll be amazed the needs that he starts to show up, and the soil you start to encounter. Never underestimate the power of a seed. Just throw it, just throw it. Get it out of your hands, and God brings more, and then get it out, and let him bring more, and get it out. Next thing you know, it's gonna root with somebody, and they're gonna start throwing. Before you know it, the harvest is beyond plentiful. And we're still in that same old problem, the workers are few, but let's keep planting.