Sept. 4, 2024

How To Read and Study Pt 2

How To Read and Study Pt 2

We continue our look at an article about how to study the bible

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We continue our look at an article about how to study the bible

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Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is

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the Theology Central podcast, making Theology Central. Good morning everyone.

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It is Wednesday, September fourth, twenty twenty four. It is

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currently eleven forty three am Central Time, and I am

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coming to you live from the Theology Central studio located

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right here in Abilene, Texas.

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Well.

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Yesterday talking about our pet peeves, right, those things that

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really irritate us, those things that really bother us, those

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things that really frustrate us, right, and I said one

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of the things that bothered Oh, I gave you a

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number of things that really bothered me. But the main thing,

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the thing I was using for an opening illustration was

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one of the things that bothers me greatly is when

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I look around and I see all kinds of books

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that I have purchased, and I see one that I've

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not really done much with.

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I haven't really I didn't really take notes on it.

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I've not used it in preaching or in a podcast

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or in teaching in any way, shape or form. I

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just feel like I've not gotten the most out of

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that particular book. I like to get the most out

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of things that I spent money on.

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It doesn't matter what it is.

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If it's a book, I want to do something with it, right,

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if it's if it's music, if it's a movie, I

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want to how can I get the most out of it?

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How can I use it and find new ways to

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use it so that it's not going to waste. It

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was worth it ultimately. So I was looking around and

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I noticed that I had brought a Bible home from

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the church, this one. Typically, this Bible typically has stayed

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in the church library. It's also kind of been back

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when when I was broadcasting at the church, sitting on

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the table where I used to do a lot of broadcasts.

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The main reason it was there is it's a kjav

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study Bible, and I typically study Bibles like a reference tool,

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where I don't use it for my typical study. I

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grab it when I am studying to look at maybe

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notes or some tools that it has in it. But

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when I typically do my study, I try to start

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with just a Bible that just has the text, and

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study bibles are just there like a reference tool like

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a dictionary or an encyclopedia. So I know I've had

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this one for a while, but I've not really done

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much with it. Right. I don't feel like I've used

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the notes that much. I don't think i've referenced it.

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I'm like, well, it's going to waste, so I grabbed

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it again. This is the KJV Study Bible put out

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by Hallman. I really, I mean, it's very nice. I

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love the cover, everything about it. It's way too big

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to use for a preaching Bible because I like to

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carry mine around, so I don't even think I've ever

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used it. Even in preaching.

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It would just have to sit on.

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The pulpit, but I typically like to have it in

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my hands, so I've not really used it in any

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meaningful way.

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But it was here in the study.

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I'm like, why did I bring this home? I don't

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know why, but.

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All right, let me know.

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Open it up. So, as I said yesterday, I opened

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it up and I found an essay right here before

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we even get to Genesis. And the name of this essay,

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the title of it is how to Read and Study

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the Bible. And I'm like, whoa, this is right up

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my alley because I love to read anything about how

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to read and study the Bible. I caught because I know,

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no matter how many times I've read it, no matter

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how many times I've studied it, no matter how many

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Bible colleges, seminaries, Bible institutes I've attended and graduated from,

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I will never know the Bible as well as I could,

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or as well as I should. I'm always trying to learn,

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and I hope that every time I learn something new,

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it only humbles me to show me how much further

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I need to go. So I'm always reading these things now.

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To be fair, I'm always reading them, and sometimes I

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get very irritated because I'm like, wait, that's telling me

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how to read and study the Bible. That I apologize

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there started coughing. That's supposed to tell me how to

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read and study the Bible. Well, that that doesn't do anything.

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It's so vague, it's so it's so that no, I

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need an actual method I need. I need something more tangible.

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So a lot of times I read these things just

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because I want to see if it's a decent attempt

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to tell people how to read and study the Bible

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or if it's just another, I hate to say it,

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useless attempt. So many sermons I will here preach how

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to study the Bible. I'll listen to the entire series.

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I'm like, nobody really knows how to study the Bible.

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You gave some general principle, some general idea, but you

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did not give them an actual method other than we'll

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read and read what comes before and comes after and

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look up across reference and look up some things in

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a dictionary, just some very basic concepts. But it's not

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a tangible method. So I sometimes read these things to criticize,

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but I also read them to try to learn as well.

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So I decided, well, since I haven't used this Bible

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in any real meaningful way, since I haven't used it, well,

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this would be a perfect time to open it up.

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Let's go to this essay.

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And let's turn it into kind of a podcast series

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on how to read and study the Bible, and we'll

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just read through it and I'll offer my own perspective,

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my own critique, my own analysis, and hopefully the end

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result is we all learn a little bit more and

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how to study the Bible, and you'll hear multiple perspectives.

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So that's really the goal. And remember this essay was

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written by George H.

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Guthrie. George H.

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Guthrie, And as soon as I saw the name, like

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I bet you that this essay is an edited version

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of something he has written elsewhere. And well, I wasn't

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disappointed because I found that he had written a book

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entitled how to Read Your Bible by George Guthrie. How

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to Read Your Bible by George Guthrie. And then I realized,

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wait a minute, wait a minute, he's he's done. He's

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done more than just write one book on how to

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read your Bible. He's also written Because I realized I

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had also laying here in the study a book entitled

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A Short Guide to Reading the Bible Better by George H.

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Guthrie.

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I'm like, okay, so he's written at least a multiple

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books on this subject. Okay, so let's use this essay.

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Maybe i'll reference and I think today I am going

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to reference this book over here, and we'll just we'll

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just try to make the most out of it and

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see what we can get from it, and hopefully we'll

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be interesting in entertaining.

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Now I am going to do something here.

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Okay, I'm going.

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To save this.

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They have this free. When I was looking at the

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book on Amazon, they were promoting a new book for me,

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not in a new book, just promoting something else for

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me to buy Bible notes skim the entire Bible in

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a few hours instead of months. I wonder, I wonder

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what that's all about. Then they also have here a

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book entitled fifty two Week Scripture Devotional and Meditation Guide.

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So I'm going to save that as well, because I'm

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always you know, any type of book that will help

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me be a better student, I'm always interested in. But

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the bottom line is I say all of that and

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interrupted the program to start coughing. I hope I muted

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the mic carefully, But I say all of that to say,

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we're going to continue with this essay. I may reference

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one of the books and we may talk about it,

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but I want you to know he has written a

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number of books on the subject. Obviously, Hallman, when they

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put together the Study Bible, wanted some type of article

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about how to read and study the Bible in front

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of the text of the Bible itself, to try to

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give people some tools and how to better utilize the scriptures,

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which is a good idea. Now, this one started off

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by again claiming the Bible is on the best selling list,

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and we kind of looked at that claim and not

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completely accurate, and we kind of looked at that a

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little bit again, and then the big thing at the

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beginning of this article was him claiming that basically, when

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we open the Bible, we're trying to hear from God.

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And remember I had kind of a little pushback there

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right on one hand, Yeah, when I read Scripture, I'm

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hearing from God because it's God's word. So in a

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general sense, I'm in agreement, but he kind of took

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it more in a more personal way, like, as I

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read the Bible, I have to learn to listen, and

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he even says it's a skill. Have to develop the

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skill of listening so that I will hear God. No,

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I need to develop the skill and how to read

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and how to interpret what I'm reading. Because God speaks

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through the written word. He doesn't speak any other way.

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So it's not like, Okay, I read the Bible and

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then I stop and go, okay, God, what what are

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you going.

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To say to me about it?

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You know, God is not talking to me outside of

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the Bible about the Bible, because once I start going

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down that path, you know what.

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That leads to.

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Well, God spoke to me, and this is how the

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Scripture is to be understood. When now I'm claiming my

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interpretation came directly from God, which would make it infallible.

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That becomes very problematic. God speaks to us through his

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written word. We have the responsibility of learning, learning how

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to read it and interpret it correctly based off its context,

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the words that are used, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

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So I didn't like this here from God concept, so

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we kind of pushed back on that. Then he are

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Then he began to say, why spend time and the Bible?

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And that was the last paragraph that we read. Basically,

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he goes on to say this, perhaps your past has

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been marked by starts and stops and reading the Bible,

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and you're wondering whether you have the discipline to engage

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the Bible consistently well join the club. Most of us

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has struggled with the discipline of Bible reading and study.

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So it is worth giving consistent Bible reading and study

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another try, or a first try. Most believers knowuitively that

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it is it's important that we read and study that

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somehow intuitively we know this, But at the same time,

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he acknowledges that many Christians struggle with any consistent reading

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and study of Bible. Every statistical analysis that we've ever

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found has basically stated the same thing. Christians struggle to

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read and study the Bible in any consistent manner. Why

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is that the case? Again, what some people turn to is, well,

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that's because most people aren't saved. Well, that becomes you know, problematic.

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You're throwing everyone out of the Kingdom of God based

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on I guess how many hours do you have to

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read the Bible per week in order to be saved?

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That becomes a problem. But the issue is people do struggle.

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And I think that people's reading or lack of reading,

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people studying and lack of studying more comes down to

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their personality. It's their own fleshly way they are, and

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it manifested what they read and study. Just in general,

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are you either are someone who likes to read and

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study that's usually just your natural tendency, or you're not,

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and that's going to transfer over to basically your Christian life.

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And the Bible.

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So he goes on to say, this is God's word.

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So the reason we should spend time with it basically

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is because it's God's word. It's God's word and we

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can agree to that. Now, he said a lot of

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other things. I'm not going to go back and review

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all of that because that brings us to the next section.

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So we have the introduction, which is basically hear from God.

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I've challenged that why do we need to spend time

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in the Bible? Well, most Christians don't, but intuitively we

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know we should and it's God's word and so we

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need it basically, right, I'm kind of summarizing now the

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next section is going to be somewhat problematic, I think.

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All right, So here is the issue when it comes

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to reading and studying the Bible. What is the significance

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of the condition of your heart to be truly an

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effectual student of the Bible? Is the condition of your

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heart the critical element? Right? Like you say, okay, I'm

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going to be I want to be a good Bible student.

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I want to read and study the Bible. How can

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I be effective? How can I actually be a good student?

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Does it literally come down to what is the condition

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of your heart? Is the condition of your heart the prominent,

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the primary factor that determines whether you're going to be

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an effective Bible student or not, or maybe we could

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say this is it the condition of your heart?

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That determines.

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If being a good if studying the Bible is even

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going to be a uh you know, have a positive

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effect on your life. Well, what is the role of

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the condition of your heart and studying the Bible? That is?

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That is the question.

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That's what he's going to address in the next section

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and in his book right here Reading the Bible Better.

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He spends a lot of time on this is. He

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has an entire chapter called look to the Heart. It's

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the heart. It's the heart is the issue. He doesn't

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start with the mind. It's really interesting when when you're

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talking about being a good student, he doesn't start with

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your mind. He doesn't start with your ability, as you know,

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reading comprehension level, are you good at it? Bad at

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He doesn't start with understanding. You know, your understanding. He

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didn't start with their mind or your understanding like you

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think that's where you would begin. Well, to be an

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effective student of scripture, you've got to be a good reader.

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You have to have good reading comprehension. You need to

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know basic rules and how to interpret anything in a

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written format. You need to understand literary genre types. He

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sets all of that. He doesn't start with that. He

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basically starts. In fact, the very next section is this

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is what it is entitled, Begin with the heart. Start

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with the heart, not the mind. Start with the heart,

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not your understanding. Start with your heart, not your ability

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to identify a literary genre, literary different types, how to

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understand hermoneutical principles. No, his argument is, you begin with

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the heart. Now what do you think? Do you think

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it begins with the mind or begins with the heart. Now,

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I'm going to be honest with you. A natural inclination

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here is to say it starts with the mind because

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the Bible is again it's in a written form. Your

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your ability to read and to study comes down to

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your ability to read and study anything in a written format.

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Your ability to read literature and understand structure and how

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it's put together, and a story, arc, et cetera, et cetera,

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et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Character development, Oh, you know, symbolism,

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whatever the case may be. That's what's required. You start

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with knowledge, you start forget the heart. I'm going with

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the mind. You need a Bible study method, You need

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to know the proper steps. You need to understand the

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good and the bad and the ugly and cross referencing

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when something relates when it doesn't. You need to understand

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historical context, cultural content. You need on and on and

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on and on and on and on and on. I

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would say start with the mind. He's like, no, no, no, no,

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no no, start with the heart. The condition of the

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heart determines the effectiveness of study.

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That is his philosophy.

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Mine is no. The condition of your mind determines the

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effectiveness of the study. Now, which one is right? Which

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one do you think is right? What do you think

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is the correct perspective? I think about eighty percent is

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going to be it's the heart. It's the heart, it's

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the heart. And I think about twenty percent will be like, no,

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it's the mind. Are you on team heart or team mind?

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I'm on team mind, I really am. And here's my reason.

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I will I will justify my reason. If the condition

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of the heart is what matters, well, then how do

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you fix the condition of the heart without the scriptures?

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Don't you have to be don't you have to go

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to the scriptures the scriptures, study the scriptures and know

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the scriptures, because it's the scriptures that changes the heart.

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Is that not the typical way Christians understand it. Well,

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if that is true, then you got to start with

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how to read and study and understand so that you

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can change your heart? Or do I change my heart

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apart from scripture? And if I do, how do I

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change it without scripture? Do I look and say, well,

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my heart is messed up, so I shouldn't even bother

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reading the Bible? And do I can fix my heart?

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But how do you fix the heart? Now you could

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argue what determines the condition of the heart. Is it

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the reading and study of scripture? Is it what I

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do and don't do? Or is it God? Well, then

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that creates a whole different challenge. So what do you

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start with? The heart or the mind? Now let's see

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how he makes his argument here. And I'm going I

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am I said, I wasn't going to do this. I

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was going to try to stay keep myself, you know,

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connected to the essay. But I am gonna at least

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come over to the book A Short Guide to Reading

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the Bible Better by the exact same author, because obviously

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this is this is edited and kind of a you know, pulling.

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Together a lot of his resources.

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But I am going to read a section here in

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the book at a here in a minute, I would

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like to go through this entire chapter on the heart,

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but I'm not going to do that right now because

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i just want to put forth the concept. And when

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you go to church, if you go to church tonight,

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or if you go to church on Sunday, ask people

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when it comes to being an effectual Bible student, when

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it comes to being a good Bible study, do you

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start with the heart or do you start with the mind?

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Ask your pastor.

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I think almost inevitably they're going to say it starts

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with the heart, because that sounds spiritual. But I struggle

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with this. But let's see how he approached the subject.

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He handles it this way. In the Parable of the

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Seeds and Soils, Jesus used a word picture to describe

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the different levels of receptivity people have towards God's word.

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So he starts here with begin with the heart by

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pointing us to Mark chapter four, verses three through twenty.

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Mark Chapter four, verses three through twenty. And this is

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where things are going to get a little challenging here.

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So I'm going to I guess I'll just use the

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Bible that I have right here in front of me.

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Let's go to mark.

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Chapter four. Mark chapter four, and he wants us to

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read three through twenty. Three through twenty that's a pretty

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good amount of scripture. We will read it slowly. This

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may take up a good portion of our time, but

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I've given you at least the concept. Do you begin

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with the heart or you begin with the mind? He says,

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you begin with the heart, And here is his argument.

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All right, So mark chapter three, verse one. And he

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began again to teach by the seaside. And there was

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gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered

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into a ship and set in the sea. And the

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whole multitude was by the sea on the land. And

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he taught them many things by parables, and said into

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them in his doctrine, hearken, behold, there went out a

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sower to sow. Please note this is a parable. One

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of the most difficult things about parables is that everyone

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can run to the parable and grab any part of

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it and say this represents this, This represents this, And

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we can start trying to make every heart represents something.

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And we remember, I've told you over and over and over.

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When it comes to a parable, sometimes you got to

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step back. I know it's tempting to go, well, this

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represents this and this and this, and even if things

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represent that typically, I think it's best to understand that

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the parables trying to just give us one main idea.

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It's not trying to give us all these different, you know, connections,

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and then we draw all these lessons from each thing

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it represents. I think it's just one typically major lesson.

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So just keep that in mind, because this parable is

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used to get into a lot of It.

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Goes a lot of different directions. But here we go.

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Are you ready?

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So Jesus begins the parable hearken. Behold, there went out

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a sewer to sew.

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Verse four, and it came to pass.

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As he sold, some fell by the wayside, and the

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fowls of the air came and devoured it up.

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So there's the wayside, now, please not.

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We got to so we got a we got sower.

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We have we have we have a sower, went out

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to sow. So we got the sower. We've got seed.

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Here we have the wayside, and we have now birds

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eating up the seed. Right now, we know that some

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of what some of these things represent, and it turns

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into again I think sometimes we end up missing the

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major point.

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All right.

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So the first one is on the uh fell by

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the wayside, and the fowls of the.

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Air came and devoured it up.

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Next and some fell on stony ground where it had

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not much earth, and immediately it sprang up because it

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had it had no depth of earth. But when the

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sun was up, it was scorched because it had no root.

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It withered away.

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And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up

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and choked it and yielded no fruit. And others fell

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on the good ground and did yield fruit that sprang

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up and increased and brought forth some thirty, some sixty,

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and some a hut. Now this parable has been used

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to say, well, some of this represents lost people. Only

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one of these represents a saved person, and they turn

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it almost into a discussion about soteriology or proof of salvation.

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I don't think this parable has anything to do with souteriology.

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I think you've got to be very I think that's

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going way beyond the intention of the parable. People have

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turned this into the condition of the human heart. There's

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so many things people have done with this. Well, let's

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see what the explanation is, and Jesus says in verse nine,

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he said, unto them again, this is the multitude that

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he's teaching. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

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Those of you who have ears to hear, let them hear.

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And when he was alone that when he was alone,

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they that were about him with the twelve asked of

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him of the parable. And he said, unto them, unto you,

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it is given to know the mystery of the Kingdom

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of God. Unto them that are without. All these things

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are done in parables, that seeing they may see and

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not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand.

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Less at any time they should be converted, and their

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sins should be forgiven, should be forgiven them. Now that's

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a controversial passage because it seems to imply that the

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parable there is not given so that they can see.

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The parable is given so that they cannot truly understand.

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Let me read that to you again, all right, So

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he says, unto you, it is given to know the

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mystery of the kingdom. That's his disciples, those whom he

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has chosen, those that we would.

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Refer to a save.

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But unto them that are without All these things are

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done in parables that seeing they may see and not perceive,

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and hearing they may hear but not understand. So we

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always have the idea that the parable is there to

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make it easier to understand. Well, no, not really, because

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for in some cases the parable is actually to keep

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people from the truth, not to bring the truth to them.

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And you have to then reconcile that with your own theology. Okay, now,

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some people say, well, that's not necessarily the reason for

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the parable. It's just the result of the parable. What

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we could get into that debate if you so desire,

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But we want to see how this is being utilized

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about teaching us how to read and study the Bible.

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So then he says in verse thirteen, know ye not

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this parable?

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And how then, how then will you.

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Know all parables?

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So we asked the question, know ye not this parable?

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How then will you.

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Know all the parables?

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If you don't know this parable, If you don't understand

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this parable, the implication is you're not going to understand

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any of them. You've got to be able to understand

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this parable. So he begins to explain it. The sower

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soweth the word, So the sower is the person who

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sows the word of God. So the sower is the

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person who has the word of God and sows it.

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And so the seed obviously is the word of God.

472
00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:05.799
And there and these are the are, if I can

473
00:26:05.839 --> 00:26:10.240
read correctly, And these are they by the wayside where

474
00:26:10.279 --> 00:26:13.880
the word is sown. But then, uh again, let me

475
00:26:13.880 --> 00:26:17.160
read this again. And these are they by the wayside

476
00:26:17.359 --> 00:26:20.480
where the word is sown. But when they have heard,

477
00:26:20.559 --> 00:26:24.160
Satan cometh immediately and taketh away the word that has

478
00:26:24.400 --> 00:26:29.799
that was sown in their hearts. So the first group

479
00:26:29.799 --> 00:26:32.039
of people, the word of God is sown, but Satan

480
00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:34.359
immediately comes and takes it, takes it away.

481
00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:35.559
What was in the heart.

482
00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:37.920
Now you almost almost want to describe this. Well, no,

483
00:26:38.160 --> 00:26:40.279
it never even made it into the heart. But he,

484
00:26:40.559 --> 00:26:43.599
literally the text says, he taketh away the word that

485
00:26:43.759 --> 00:26:45.400
was sown in their hearts.

486
00:26:45.680 --> 00:26:47.400
So the word was sown in their hearts.

487
00:26:47.640 --> 00:26:51.480
But the wayside, then, just are the people that the

488
00:26:51.519 --> 00:26:56.160
word Satan immediately takes it away verse sixteen. And these

489
00:26:56.279 --> 00:26:59.839
are they, likewise, which are sewn on stony ground, who

490
00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:03.319
when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness.

491
00:27:03.480 --> 00:27:06.000
But have no root in themselves, and so endure, but

492
00:27:06.079 --> 00:27:09.200
for a time afterward, when effect, affliction or persecution arise

493
00:27:09.279 --> 00:27:11.880
it for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. And

494
00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:14.680
these are which are sown among the thorns, such as

495
00:27:14.680 --> 00:27:16.799
hear the word, and the cares of this world, and

496
00:27:16.839 --> 00:27:19.240
the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things

497
00:27:19.359 --> 00:27:22.319
entering and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And

498
00:27:22.359 --> 00:27:24.920
then verse twenty, and these are they which are sown

499
00:27:25.160 --> 00:27:28.119
on good ground, such as hear the word, receive it,

500
00:27:28.160 --> 00:27:31.279
and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some

501
00:27:31.599 --> 00:27:34.720
one hundred. So there's the parable. All right, you've got

502
00:27:34.759 --> 00:27:36.960
the sower. You got to seed, which is the Word

503
00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:39.720
of God, and then it's sown. And these are the

504
00:27:39.759 --> 00:27:41.519
different responses to it.

505
00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:42.559
Now.

506
00:27:42.680 --> 00:27:44.400
Well, again, what some people do is they turn this

507
00:27:44.440 --> 00:27:46.799
into an argument about salvation. I don't think this is

508
00:27:46.839 --> 00:27:50.440
about soteriology. I think this is simply about how people

509
00:27:50.480 --> 00:27:53.640
receive or don't receive the Word of God, the different

510
00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:56.200
ways people can receive it. I don't think this is

511
00:27:56.240 --> 00:27:59.039
necessarily like which group is saved, which group is not saved.

512
00:27:59.039 --> 00:28:01.880
It doesn't seem to be the indicate the purpose here.

513
00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:05.799
I don't think this is necessarily an issue. Most people

514
00:28:05.799 --> 00:28:10.000
turn this to an issue about the heart. I don't.

515
00:28:10.039 --> 00:28:13.039
I think maybe that will work. Let's go back to

516
00:28:13.079 --> 00:28:14.799
the article and see how they use it. But I

517
00:28:14.839 --> 00:28:18.599
wanted to read the whole parable, and we'll see what

518
00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:21.759
we can do with it. All right, here is what

519
00:28:21.799 --> 00:28:23.440
the article does with the parable.

520
00:28:23.880 --> 00:28:25.440
Here's what it says. Are you ready?

521
00:28:25.599 --> 00:28:27.960
Here we go In the Parable of the Seed and

522
00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:30.359
the Soils Mark chapter four three through twenty, which we've

523
00:28:30.400 --> 00:28:33.240
now read, Jesus used a word picture to describe the

524
00:28:33.279 --> 00:28:37.440
different levels of receptivity people have towards God's word. I

525
00:28:37.480 --> 00:28:39.880
do believe that's the main purpose of the parable. It

526
00:28:39.960 --> 00:28:43.799
just shows, hey, when you're out there sowing the seed,

527
00:28:44.240 --> 00:28:48.160
you're going to get a variety of responses. You're gonna

528
00:28:48.160 --> 00:28:52.000
get a lot of different responses. There will be different responses.

529
00:28:52.880 --> 00:28:55.200
I think that's the main focus.

530
00:28:55.279 --> 00:28:58.000
But it goes on to say this, right.

531
00:29:00.599 --> 00:29:03.839
He tells of a farmer sowing seed along the edge

532
00:29:03.880 --> 00:29:07.000
of a field. Some seed fall on the hard packed

533
00:29:07.039 --> 00:29:09.960
path beside the field, Some fall on rocky ground that

534
00:29:10.039 --> 00:29:13.480
has little top soil, Some fall into the weeds, some

535
00:29:13.559 --> 00:29:16.880
fall into furtive soil that offers a good environment for growth.

536
00:29:17.200 --> 00:29:21.799
The various places they fail provide images of the human

537
00:29:22.079 --> 00:29:28.119
heart as it is confronted with God's word. So now

538
00:29:28.519 --> 00:29:32.599
he is now added really a dimension. The soils represent

539
00:29:32.640 --> 00:29:33.960
the human heart.

540
00:29:35.079 --> 00:29:37.519
Well, that is that the way?

541
00:29:37.599 --> 00:29:41.480
Is that true? So then you see where this is

542
00:29:41.480 --> 00:29:45.000
going to lead if we go with his philosophy. Well, then, hey,

543
00:29:45.599 --> 00:29:48.319
the effectiveness of God's word in your life, if it's

544
00:29:48.359 --> 00:29:50.839
going to be affected, if the word of God's actually

545
00:29:50.839 --> 00:29:52.839
going to grow, if the word of God is actually

546
00:29:52.880 --> 00:29:57.319
going to produce anything lasting, then what determines that is

547
00:29:57.359 --> 00:30:00.000
your heart. So you have to make sure your heart

548
00:30:00.319 --> 00:30:03.200
is right or the word of God will not do anything.

549
00:30:03.519 --> 00:30:05.680
So then is that is that? Make it up to you?

550
00:30:06.480 --> 00:30:10.960
So how do you change the heart? That would seem

551
00:30:11.000 --> 00:30:12.640
to almost imply that you have to change the heart

552
00:30:12.680 --> 00:30:15.279
apart from God's word, because God's word can't do anything

553
00:30:15.359 --> 00:30:18.799
until you change the heart. This would not be the

554
00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:21.119
word of God changing your heart. Now you have to

555
00:30:21.200 --> 00:30:23.079
change the heart so that the word of God can

556
00:30:23.160 --> 00:30:25.680
do something. If your heart is not right, the word

557
00:30:25.680 --> 00:30:28.240
of God doesn't do anything. Well to me, the word

558
00:30:28.240 --> 00:30:30.480
of God is the thing that's supposed to change the heart.

559
00:30:31.119 --> 00:30:32.680
See I don't think this. I think we take the

560
00:30:32.720 --> 00:30:36.279
parable too far. This is simply just acknowledging a reality.

561
00:30:36.720 --> 00:30:39.799
People are going to respond differently. He's using a word

562
00:30:39.839 --> 00:30:43.920
picture just to say everyone's going to respond differently to it.

563
00:30:45.160 --> 00:30:50.359
But the article goes on to say this, some people

564
00:30:50.359 --> 00:30:54.359
have hearts that are hard packed, like a frequented footpath.

565
00:30:54.720 --> 00:30:58.200
God's word does not get through to these hearts. Others

566
00:30:58.200 --> 00:31:00.960
have shallow hearts that seem open to God. The word

567
00:31:01.079 --> 00:31:03.200
comes and they respond, but the moment things get tough,

568
00:31:03.440 --> 00:31:07.359
the pressures of life override, override the principles of God's

569
00:31:07.400 --> 00:31:11.000
word and the spiritual, and their spiritual life withers. A

570
00:31:11.079 --> 00:31:16.759
third type of person engages God's engages God's word.

571
00:31:17.240 --> 00:31:21.240
All right, let me read this again. Okay, yes, okay.

572
00:31:21.359 --> 00:31:23.880
So a third type of person engages God's word at

573
00:31:23.920 --> 00:31:27.279
a deeper level, but worries and desires for worldly things

574
00:31:27.319 --> 00:31:30.960
squeeze out the word, choking it from the person's life. Finally,

575
00:31:30.960 --> 00:31:33.359
there are those people who receive the word with a

576
00:31:33.400 --> 00:31:36.599
heart like a well tilled filled This is a picture

577
00:31:36.640 --> 00:31:39.400
of a person fully receptive to God's word, and God's

578
00:31:39.440 --> 00:31:46.799
word brings exponential, exponential growth to their spiritual lives. So

579
00:31:46.880 --> 00:31:50.319
see that according to this article, everything is about your heart.

580
00:31:50.519 --> 00:31:53.640
Your heart is the issue. Hey, it doesn't even matter

581
00:31:53.759 --> 00:31:55.839
if you read the Bible, doesn't even matter if you

582
00:31:55.880 --> 00:31:58.279
study the Bible, doesn't even matter if you go to

583
00:31:58.400 --> 00:32:01.839
church the word of God, it's not going to do anything,

584
00:32:02.200 --> 00:32:04.279
is not even going to get in. It's going to

585
00:32:04.359 --> 00:32:05.759
be unfruitful even.

586
00:32:05.559 --> 00:32:06.599
If it does spring up.

587
00:32:06.640 --> 00:32:09.119
If it's not, if your heart's not really tilled right,

588
00:32:09.400 --> 00:32:12.839
it's just gonna go away. So it's really useless, it's meaningless.

589
00:32:13.039 --> 00:32:16.119
You have to get your heart right. So again I

590
00:32:16.119 --> 00:32:18.559
have to get the heart right apart from God's word.

591
00:32:18.920 --> 00:32:23.319
That's where this becomes somewhat problematic. Then it goes on

592
00:32:23.400 --> 00:32:27.039
to say, which pattern of response describes the condition of

593
00:32:27.079 --> 00:32:30.720
your heart today. Perhaps you have never committed to following.

594
00:32:30.480 --> 00:32:31.960
Christ as the lord of your life.

595
00:32:32.039 --> 00:32:33.799
I encourage you to talk to a Christian or a

596
00:32:33.839 --> 00:32:36.720
minister whom you trust and ask them about following Christ.

597
00:32:38.039 --> 00:32:40.519
For First Corinthians tells us that a person who is

598
00:32:40.519 --> 00:32:43.480
not a Christ follower cannot engage spiritual truth in a

599
00:32:43.519 --> 00:32:45.759
way that is life changing. So this would be the

600
00:32:45.759 --> 00:32:48.400
beginning place for you turned to Christ asking him to

601
00:32:48.440 --> 00:32:55.640
bring his good news to life in you. Or perhaps

602
00:32:55.720 --> 00:32:58.519
you have committed or perhaps you have committed your life

603
00:32:58.559 --> 00:33:01.039
to follow Christ, but your heart is not very receptive

604
00:33:01.079 --> 00:33:03.119
to God's word at this time. You may be plagued

605
00:33:03.119 --> 00:33:05.960
by a heart that is consumed with worry or material things.

606
00:33:06.160 --> 00:33:10.240
Sin and self absorption can eat the heart of your

607
00:33:10.279 --> 00:33:13.640
Bible study began your path back to a healthy relationship

608
00:33:13.640 --> 00:33:15.680
with God by crying out to Him right now and

609
00:33:15.759 --> 00:33:19.680
asking Him to forgive you for your hard heartedness, expressing

610
00:33:19.720 --> 00:33:24.160
your desire to hear and live His word. So what

611
00:33:24.200 --> 00:33:27.839
this seems to say is, Okay, your heart condition may

612
00:33:27.880 --> 00:33:30.400
be messed up because you're lost, so get saved. Well,

613
00:33:30.440 --> 00:33:34.079
then does your heart condition become great? Well No, not necessarily,

614
00:33:34.119 --> 00:33:36.640
because it says you maybe actually be a follower of Christ.

615
00:33:36.920 --> 00:33:40.119
But you have a hard hearted heart, so you need

616
00:33:40.160 --> 00:33:41.680
to do something about it. So what do you do

617
00:33:41.720 --> 00:33:44.400
about it? Supposedly you cry out to God and fix it?

618
00:33:44.759 --> 00:33:47.759
But if God, why didn't God just fix it when

619
00:33:47.799 --> 00:33:51.640
you got saved. If God is the one doing the

620
00:33:51.640 --> 00:33:53.680
fixing of the heart, why didn't he fix it the

621
00:33:53.720 --> 00:33:56.640
minute you got saved? Well? Maybe he did fix it,

622
00:33:56.920 --> 00:33:59.759
but then you can develop heart heartedness. So now you

623
00:33:59.799 --> 00:34:01.480
got to cry out to God to fix it again.

624
00:34:01.799 --> 00:34:03.920
So does God fix it once or does God have

625
00:34:03.960 --> 00:34:06.960
to fix it multiple times? So it seems like I

626
00:34:07.039 --> 00:34:09.199
go direct I don't need the Bible to fix my

627
00:34:09.239 --> 00:34:12.880
heart heartedness. I go directly to God. God fixes my

628
00:34:13.000 --> 00:34:17.400
heart heartedness. Then I go to the Bible. Then growth

629
00:34:18.679 --> 00:34:23.519
exponentially will occur. My growth will happen. So the way

630
00:34:23.599 --> 00:34:26.760
he's if we were to chart this out, here's the key.

631
00:34:27.079 --> 00:34:30.679
All right, your heart, your heart condition determines whether you

632
00:34:30.760 --> 00:34:34.119
be an effective Bible student. So your heart condition could

633
00:34:34.159 --> 00:34:37.400
be messed up because you're lost, and your heart condition

634
00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:39.559
can still be messed up even as a saved person.

635
00:34:40.159 --> 00:34:42.599
What you have to do is recognize your heart heartedness.

636
00:34:42.679 --> 00:34:46.559
You have to recognize your heart condition is not right.

637
00:34:47.000 --> 00:34:50.320
Then you go directly to God. God supposedly fixes it,

638
00:34:50.360 --> 00:34:53.000
even though he obviously didn't fix it in salvation, but

639
00:34:53.079 --> 00:34:55.679
he now fixes it now all the word of God

640
00:34:55.840 --> 00:34:58.159
can actually get inside of you and now can Now

641
00:34:58.199 --> 00:35:01.599
does that mean at any time the heart heartedness.

642
00:35:01.199 --> 00:35:01.840
Could come back?

643
00:35:02.280 --> 00:35:03.800
Does God fix it once.

644
00:35:04.039 --> 00:35:05.599
Or does he temporarily fix it?

645
00:35:05.800 --> 00:35:07.719
And then it's up to me to either have it

646
00:35:07.840 --> 00:35:10.559
or not have it. And then so then does God's word.

647
00:35:11.039 --> 00:35:14.039
It sounds like God's word has no real impact on

648
00:35:14.119 --> 00:35:17.519
your heart, being hard or not hard. You see where

649
00:35:17.519 --> 00:35:20.159
this parable. If you start taking this apart, you were

650
00:35:20.159 --> 00:35:22.039
started in a sense, I think you run into some

651
00:35:22.119 --> 00:35:25.400
really major like you're just going to be going in circles.

652
00:35:27.159 --> 00:35:29.920
So I wanted to hear like maybe a different perspective.

653
00:35:29.960 --> 00:35:33.159
So I looked up some things. I did find this.

654
00:35:33.400 --> 00:35:34.920
Now I don't know if you'll agree with this, but

655
00:35:34.960 --> 00:35:35.840
I did find this.

656
00:35:36.920 --> 00:35:41.079
Here's what I found. The parable of the sower, or

657
00:35:41.119 --> 00:35:43.280
the parable of the Seed and soils, is found in

658
00:35:43.320 --> 00:35:46.760
three of the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The

659
00:35:46.920 --> 00:35:50.880
common interpretation of the soils as different conditions of the

660
00:35:50.920 --> 00:35:53.599
human heart is based on jesus explanation of the parable,

661
00:35:53.719 --> 00:35:55.960
where he describes how the seed the word of God

662
00:35:56.000 --> 00:35:59.159
falls on different types of ground, each representing different responses

663
00:35:59.159 --> 00:36:02.679
to the Gospel Messa. However, the idea that we must

664
00:36:02.760 --> 00:36:05.039
change the condition of our heart to be recepted for

665
00:36:05.119 --> 00:36:08.920
God's word is not explicitly stated in the parable. Instead,

666
00:36:09.039 --> 00:36:12.599
Jesus explains the different kinds of responses to the word. Now,

667
00:36:12.599 --> 00:36:15.360
I just want to make sure you realize I don't believe.

668
00:36:16.800 --> 00:36:17.880
I don't believe at.

669
00:36:17.760 --> 00:36:19.840
Any point in the parable. You can work on this

670
00:36:19.880 --> 00:36:22.679
and tell me whether I'm right. I could be wrong here.

671
00:36:22.679 --> 00:36:25.159
We may have to look this up. Does Jesus ever

672
00:36:25.239 --> 00:36:35.400
refer to the soil being the heart or do we

673
00:36:35.519 --> 00:36:39.400
just assume, well, the soil represents the human heart because

674
00:36:39.400 --> 00:36:41.519
on and the one parable when we.

675
00:36:41.440 --> 00:36:43.639
Read it, Hey, that's the wayside.

676
00:36:44.239 --> 00:36:46.840
But then when Jesus described it the Word of God

677
00:36:46.920 --> 00:36:50.599
is in the heart, well, we think, well, the wayside

678
00:36:50.599 --> 00:36:52.320
it doesn't even get in the heart, but it's in

679
00:36:52.400 --> 00:36:54.960
the heart. But Satan comes and takes it away. But

680
00:36:55.079 --> 00:36:58.840
it does sound like it's in the heart. So is

681
00:36:58.880 --> 00:37:00.719
that how we get the idea it's the heart. It

682
00:37:00.719 --> 00:37:05.280
sounds like maybe I guess I can make an argument

683
00:37:05.320 --> 00:37:07.840
there when Jesus says that Satan comes and takes the

684
00:37:07.840 --> 00:37:10.159
word that's in the heart, Well, then that would seem

685
00:37:10.159 --> 00:37:13.360
to imply I guess that the heart is that soil.

686
00:37:13.880 --> 00:37:16.320
But it's not that it just lays on the top.

687
00:37:16.360 --> 00:37:19.599
It actually gets in the heart. See, that's the problem

688
00:37:19.639 --> 00:37:22.039
with these parables going too far. So maybe we could

689
00:37:22.199 --> 00:37:30.079
argue that it is the heart, so here we go. So, however,

690
00:37:30.119 --> 00:37:31.880
the idea that we must change the condition of our

691
00:37:31.920 --> 00:37:34.079
heart to be receptive to God's word is not explicitly

692
00:37:34.119 --> 00:37:37.719
stated in the parable. Instead, Jesus explains three different kinds

693
00:37:37.719 --> 00:37:41.519
of responses. The path represents those who hear the word

694
00:37:41.519 --> 00:37:44.559
but satan immediately takes it away. To the rocky ground

695
00:37:44.599 --> 00:37:46.920
represents those who hear the word and receive it with joy,

696
00:37:47.079 --> 00:37:48.760
but have no root, so they fall away with.

697
00:37:48.719 --> 00:37:49.719
Trouble or persecution.

698
00:37:50.199 --> 00:37:53.920
Thorns represents those who hear the word but are distracted

699
00:37:54.000 --> 00:37:56.840
by the worries of life, deceitfulness of wealth, and desires

700
00:37:56.840 --> 00:37:59.679
for other things. And then the good soil representing those

701
00:37:59.719 --> 00:38:01.639
who hear the word of God, accept it, and produce

702
00:38:01.679 --> 00:38:05.039
a crop a fruitful response to the Gospel. Now, this

703
00:38:05.159 --> 00:38:08.119
source goes on to say, nowhere in jesus explanation does

704
00:38:08.159 --> 00:38:11.519
he directly come to command listeners to change the soil

705
00:38:11.639 --> 00:38:14.519
of their hearts. Instead, the parable serves to illustrate the

706
00:38:14.519 --> 00:38:17.920
different reactions people have to the gospel, reflecting the sovereignty

707
00:38:17.960 --> 00:38:20.039
of God and how individuals respond to his word.

708
00:38:20.400 --> 00:38:21.440
The emphasis seems to.

709
00:38:21.400 --> 00:38:24.599
Be more on the reality of varying responses rather than

710
00:38:24.639 --> 00:38:29.159
a directive to change one's heart condition. That said, in

711
00:38:29.159 --> 00:38:31.599
the broader Biblical teaching, there are references to the need

712
00:38:31.639 --> 00:38:35.039
for a transformed heart, where God promises a new heart,

713
00:38:35.159 --> 00:38:37.440
but the transformation is often portrayed as a work of

714
00:38:37.480 --> 00:38:40.519
God rather than a human endeavor. Thus, while it is

715
00:38:40.559 --> 00:38:43.320
true that a receptive heart is necessary for fruitful reception

716
00:38:43.400 --> 00:38:45.760
of the Word, the Parable itself does not draw the

717
00:38:45.760 --> 00:38:49.039
conclusion that one must change their own heart's condition. It

718
00:38:49.159 --> 00:38:52.960
simply represents the different responses to God's word. So their

719
00:38:53.039 --> 00:38:55.480
argument is the Parable really is only just saying, hey,

720
00:38:55.519 --> 00:38:58.559
this is a different way people respond. It's not necessarily

721
00:38:58.599 --> 00:39:01.159
like you've got to go change heart. And if you

722
00:39:01.159 --> 00:39:06.400
don't change your heart, the word of God won't do anything. Now,

723
00:39:06.440 --> 00:39:11.039
in the book Reading the Bible Better Right, in the

724
00:39:11.039 --> 00:39:17.760
book Reading the Bible Better, Guthrie says this, if you

725
00:39:17.960 --> 00:39:21.440
think about it, the problem with each of these first

726
00:39:21.519 --> 00:39:25.679
three soils is a problem of space. The Word does

727
00:39:25.719 --> 00:39:29.000
not thrive because there's not enough room for it to thrive.

728
00:39:29.760 --> 00:39:33.119
Only the fourth seed in soil was pictured represents a

729
00:39:33.119 --> 00:39:36.320
person who has a generous space, a big heart ready

730
00:39:36.360 --> 00:39:39.559
to receive and thrive in the Word of God. It

731
00:39:39.639 --> 00:39:42.519
is not hard or shallow or congested with other things

732
00:39:42.719 --> 00:39:47.320
that distract from the Word. There is a heart hospitality

733
00:39:47.360 --> 00:39:50.119
to the Word, and more importantly, there is a heart

734
00:39:50.199 --> 00:39:54.599
hospitality to the Lord of the Word. Relationships cannot thrive

735
00:39:54.679 --> 00:39:59.519
without space, then, it says, but for now, ask yourself,

736
00:39:59.559 --> 00:40:02.679
which of the soil represents your life at this point

737
00:40:02.679 --> 00:40:03.119
in time.

738
00:40:03.480 --> 00:40:05.079
Examine the condition of your heart.

739
00:40:05.440 --> 00:40:08.480
Is there a heart hospitality in you? How would you

740
00:40:08.559 --> 00:40:11.719
diagnose your current condition? After all, if you don't deal

741
00:40:11.800 --> 00:40:14.920
with the issue first, you will never establish a pattern

742
00:40:14.960 --> 00:40:17.519
of reading the Bible well, and therefore you will not

743
00:40:17.760 --> 00:40:19.960
grow as you should in your relationship with the Lord.

744
00:40:20.360 --> 00:40:25.280
There just won't be space for it. You have to go.

745
00:40:25.440 --> 00:40:29.159
You have got to recognize and deal with your heart

746
00:40:29.239 --> 00:40:34.119
issues and make space for what matters, for ultimately, we

747
00:40:34.159 --> 00:40:37.320
are reading to grow in our relationship with God. So basically,

748
00:40:37.320 --> 00:40:39.679
what he is saying is, you've got to examine the

749
00:40:39.679 --> 00:40:45.320
condition of your heart and then you've got to fix it. Well,

750
00:40:45.320 --> 00:40:48.119
what do I use to fix my heart? Wouldn't the

751
00:40:48.159 --> 00:40:51.360
inevitable result be the Word of God? But the Word

752
00:40:51.400 --> 00:40:54.960
of God can't get in unless I fix my heart.

753
00:40:55.039 --> 00:40:57.599
According to this reading of the parable, do you not

754
00:40:57.719 --> 00:41:01.239
see the circular problem? Hey, the Bible will not do

755
00:41:01.360 --> 00:41:04.280
you any good. It will not even get inside of you.

756
00:41:04.280 --> 00:41:06.440
You will not even grow, And if there is any

757
00:41:06.480 --> 00:41:09.480
apparent fruit or growth, it's going to immediately go away.

758
00:41:09.679 --> 00:41:11.920
The Word of God is not going to do anything

759
00:41:12.000 --> 00:41:16.800
for you until your heart is right. Okay, and you

760
00:41:17.039 --> 00:41:20.320
have to make your heart right. How do I make

761
00:41:20.360 --> 00:41:23.960
my heart right? Well, the best he's offered so far

762
00:41:24.360 --> 00:41:26.760
in the essay and in the book so far is

763
00:41:27.199 --> 00:41:29.679
just cry out to God. So I just cry out

764
00:41:29.719 --> 00:41:32.360
to God and God fixes my heart? How does God

765
00:41:32.360 --> 00:41:34.159
fix my heart?

766
00:41:34.639 --> 00:41:36.639
Does he just now make it receptive to the word

767
00:41:36.679 --> 00:41:37.000
of God?

768
00:41:38.679 --> 00:41:40.559
Now? Does that last the whole time? Do I have

769
00:41:40.639 --> 00:41:42.199
to constantly be asking for that?

770
00:41:42.719 --> 00:41:42.800
What?

771
00:41:43.159 --> 00:41:46.000
Why didn't why didn't he fix it? Why didn't he

772
00:41:46.039 --> 00:41:48.119
fix it?

773
00:41:48.199 --> 00:41:49.039
And salvation?

774
00:41:49.280 --> 00:41:52.039
Why wouldn't God just say you're saved. Your heart is fixed,

775
00:41:52.280 --> 00:41:55.400
it's now receptive. It's now what did he use? It's

776
00:41:55.559 --> 00:41:59.320
it's hot, it has hospitality towards God's word, it has

777
00:41:59.440 --> 00:42:02.280
it's it's hospitable to the Word of God, it's welcoming

778
00:42:02.320 --> 00:42:06.000
to the word of God. It's opening it's heart, it's

779
00:42:06.039 --> 00:42:08.800
open to it, and so now you'll be transformed. So

780
00:42:09.159 --> 00:42:13.159
why wouldn't you just like you either have to argue,

781
00:42:13.559 --> 00:42:16.639
if your heart's not open to the word of God,

782
00:42:16.760 --> 00:42:18.679
then you're just not saved. Well then you have to

783
00:42:19.320 --> 00:42:23.639
I guess, I don't know, throw everyone out. So I

784
00:42:23.639 --> 00:42:25.639
guess that's what some people do with the parable. The

785
00:42:25.679 --> 00:42:28.920
only person saved in the parable, according to some people,

786
00:42:29.119 --> 00:42:30.000
is the last one.

787
00:42:30.119 --> 00:42:31.639
Everyone else is lost.

788
00:42:32.440 --> 00:42:35.360
So if you're truly saved, then your heart's open to

789
00:42:35.360 --> 00:42:37.559
the word of God, and then boom, you're going to

790
00:42:37.599 --> 00:42:39.159
be doing this and this and this and this and this.

791
00:42:39.679 --> 00:42:40.239
I just don't know.

792
00:42:40.320 --> 00:42:43.039
I don't think the Parable is trying to say that.

793
00:42:43.079 --> 00:42:45.280
I think the Parable is just trying to say there

794
00:42:45.320 --> 00:42:49.800
will always be different responses to God's word, not only

795
00:42:49.840 --> 00:42:53.599
in different people in your own life. It can be

796
00:42:53.639 --> 00:42:56.880
within a twenty four hour period. Sometimes you open up

797
00:42:56.920 --> 00:43:00.199
the Bible and read it and you just feel like, wow, man,

798
00:43:00.719 --> 00:43:03.639
it's there, it's convicting, it's doing something.

799
00:43:04.119 --> 00:43:06.320
And then sometimes you read God's word.

800
00:43:06.800 --> 00:43:13.559
And it's just like, hmm, well what do I do?

801
00:43:14.039 --> 00:43:16.400
Like not much as you just feel like nothing is

802
00:43:16.440 --> 00:43:18.880
going on with it. And it can't be the condition

803
00:43:18.960 --> 00:43:20.880
of your heart. It could be a million It can

804
00:43:20.920 --> 00:43:23.039
be your attitude, it could be your emotions, it could

805
00:43:23.039 --> 00:43:24.920
be a good day back. Who knows, there can be

806
00:43:24.960 --> 00:43:30.639
a million issues. I don't think that means you're not saved.

807
00:43:31.800 --> 00:43:34.440
So here's the question, where do you start the heart

808
00:43:34.480 --> 00:43:36.559
of the mind? And if you start with the heart,

809
00:43:36.880 --> 00:43:37.760
how does this work?

810
00:43:38.039 --> 00:43:40.400
How do you fix it? How do you fix the heart?

811
00:43:42.280 --> 00:43:43.800
I said, I would think you need God's word to

812
00:43:43.800 --> 00:43:46.920
fix the heart, that God's word can fix the heart,

813
00:43:47.280 --> 00:43:52.280
challenges the heart, helps transform the heart. But this argument

814
00:43:52.400 --> 00:43:54.920
is nope, the heart has to be changed before the

815
00:43:54.960 --> 00:44:01.119
word of God can do anything. If you say, well, God,

816
00:44:01.199 --> 00:44:04.960
your heart can only be changed by God, well then

817
00:44:05.000 --> 00:44:07.079
there's nothing you can do. And so if your heart's

818
00:44:07.119 --> 00:44:09.559
not changed, then it's God's fault. Well, nobody wants to

819
00:44:09.599 --> 00:44:15.360
say that. How exactly is this supposed to work? I mean,

820
00:44:15.400 --> 00:44:21.679
I love the concept that, hey, start with the heart. Hey,

821
00:44:21.719 --> 00:44:23.199
we're going to do a class on how to study

822
00:44:23.199 --> 00:44:25.360
the Bible. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I got some bad news.

823
00:44:25.719 --> 00:44:28.599
Unless your heart is right, the word of God is

824
00:44:28.639 --> 00:44:30.599
not going to do anything for you.

825
00:44:30.719 --> 00:44:32.119
Sermons aren't going to do anything.

826
00:44:32.239 --> 00:44:36.360
Preaching Bible study, It's going to be useless. It's going

827
00:44:36.440 --> 00:44:40.360
to bounce off, just going to bounce off. And maybe

828
00:44:40.360 --> 00:44:41.880
your hard to be good enough that'll get in there

829
00:44:41.920 --> 00:44:43.880
a little bit, but it's just it's going to be

830
00:44:43.920 --> 00:44:45.840
kind of just fake growth. It's going to show up

831
00:44:45.840 --> 00:44:47.840
and just disappear. It's just going to be a facade.

832
00:44:48.119 --> 00:44:50.559
So really, unless you know your heart is right, there's

833
00:44:50.599 --> 00:44:53.079
really no point in listening to sermons or reading the Bible.

834
00:44:56.119 --> 00:44:58.800
Do you see how that's not a Is that the

835
00:44:58.840 --> 00:45:09.719
way that's supposed to work? So how do you reconcile this?

836
00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:15.599
What do you do? What do you do?

837
00:45:19.119 --> 00:45:30.480
And I'm looking here, Yeah, I don't think really has

838
00:45:30.679 --> 00:45:31.239
much here.

839
00:45:32.719 --> 00:45:35.599
Basically, then it kind of goes that I'm supposed to

840
00:45:35.800 --> 00:45:37.599
like I need to read the Bible to develop my

841
00:45:37.639 --> 00:45:40.280
relationship with God, but it doesn't. He doesn't ever really

842
00:45:40.519 --> 00:45:45.400
answer the question how how does this? What is the

843
00:45:45.440 --> 00:45:48.079
proper proof? What is the what does the flow chart

844
00:45:48.159 --> 00:45:52.079
look like? Let's see, so God has to change the heart.

845
00:45:52.360 --> 00:45:54.000
How do I know if my heart has changed enough

846
00:45:54.000 --> 00:45:56.440
for good Bible reading? Well, now you just have to

847
00:45:56.480 --> 00:45:59.480
really examine your heart now if your heart's not changed enough,

848
00:46:00.320 --> 00:46:02.920
and then the Bible study will be in effect ineffectual.

849
00:46:12.199 --> 00:46:14.000
I don't know what else to say other than all

850
00:46:14.039 --> 00:46:15.880
I can do is leave it there.

851
00:46:16.000 --> 00:46:16.679
Where do you fall?

852
00:46:16.760 --> 00:46:18.679
And I'm leaving this to you now. You can go

853
00:46:18.719 --> 00:46:21.599
listen to sermons on Mark chapter four. But you've got

854
00:46:21.599 --> 00:46:23.840
the sermons two point oh. App just start listening to

855
00:46:23.920 --> 00:46:26.320
random sermons? And how do they handle it? Who do

856
00:46:26.440 --> 00:46:30.480
you start with the heart? And who changes the heart? Now,

857
00:46:30.480 --> 00:46:33.119
if you say God's word changes the heart, well that's

858
00:46:33.119 --> 00:46:37.079
gonna make no sense since God's word can't get into

859
00:46:37.079 --> 00:46:39.599
the heart to change the heart unless the heart's already right.

860
00:46:45.199 --> 00:46:49.880
So are all Christian hearts right when most all Christians

861
00:46:49.920 --> 00:46:56.599
believe that the heart is not always right? All right,

862
00:46:56.639 --> 00:46:58.559
I'll stop there. I know I left us with more

863
00:46:58.599 --> 00:47:02.079
questions than answers, but I'd love to get your feedback

864
00:47:02.440 --> 00:47:04.000
so you can let me know what you come up with.

865
00:47:05.320 --> 00:47:08.440
Maybe it's a maybe it's a riddle without an answer.

866
00:47:08.559 --> 00:47:09.079
I don't know.

867
00:47:11.199 --> 00:47:16.599
But I'm seeing a logical fallacy here. I'm seeing like

868
00:47:17.280 --> 00:47:20.119
almost a circular reasoning here. I'm seeing that it just

869
00:47:20.199 --> 00:47:25.880
doesn't make sense when I try to map it out

870
00:47:27.000 --> 00:47:28.360
all right, You let me know what you think.

871
00:47:28.519 --> 00:47:31.760
All right, I'll start right there. Everyone, have a great day.

872
00:47:32.760 --> 00:47:33.320
God bless