Transcription

Chris
So, Jeff, we’re talking about the weeds and the seeds. Okay. Yeah. Which rhymes? I just figured I’d just talk about that because. Weeds and seeds. Yeah. I like rhyming things.

Jeff
Weeds and seeds, uh, fulfill our needs. Yeah, yeah. You just keep adding leads to stuff. Leads?

Chris
Yeah, I don’t know.

Jeff
I don’t even know what to do with it. Sorry, people. It’s not going to get any better today. He’s Chris and I’m Jeff, and we’re the Bible guys. I just felt like we should start off and be honest. Yeah, yeah. This is probably going today.

Chris
So I was I was almost thinking that we probably needed to rerecord that. And then you said it’s not getting any better. And I thought, that’s perfect. We’ll just leave it.

Jeff
So hey, this is anniversary week. Yes it is. We are celebrating anniversary week. This is our first year. And, uh, Tuesday actually was the day, right? It’s a big day, but we cannot finish our anniversary week without everybody’s favorite segment of what made Chris mad this week.

Chris
That’s so funny. That is funny.

Jeff
So, so. And I know whenever we say what made Chris mad this week, you always go, I got a thing. Yeah, you don’t even have to think about it.

Chris
No, I do have a thing. So yeah, yeah I knew it. Yeah I know, I know. And by the way, we don’t look at any of the segments, right? People, people probably understand that by now. We don’t look at any of them until literally we’re ready to record. Right. So I do have a thing. Uh, but here’s the thing. You know how, like, um, you and I, we talk so much about, like, how our history and the our back history is, is the same. And oftentimes I get way more mad at, uh, at, uh, my background than you do. Yeah, sure, sure. I always get mad at like, sure. Fundamentalism and legalism and all that. You’re like, oh, you’re just more angry. Yeah. Uh, right. Um, but and it is true, but but most of the time I get angry. Not because of me, not because of my.

Jeff
On behalf of.

Chris
Others. Yeah. And it is true.

Jeff
Yeah. It’s benevolent. Anger is what you have. You are. You are angry on behalf of.

Chris
All of you poke fun. But I am so angry that that exists because. Because of the damage that they cause for generations of people. Sure. So anyway, so. So here’s what happened. Um, you know, you know, our good friend Debbie Zentz, who’s been at, uh, Archer. Debbie. Right. She’s one of.

Jeff
The founders of Heritage Church. Yeah, she’s been around forever.

Chris
Yep, yep. Well, we were talking about just our backgrounds and things, and and she was talking about, like, churches that we used to go to growing up and just the conservativism and things like this. And she she told me a story and she goes, and I don’t think anything’s made me any more mad. I mean, I just hit, I went from 0 to 100. She goes, yeah, she goes. I remember my pastor used to stand by the front door when people were coming in, and she said, if there’s a person that walked by him that had hair that was just past their ears, he would say, hey, son, why don’t you turn around and go home and don’t come back until you get a haircut. Get a haircut.

Jeff
Wow.

Chris
And so and she said it like it was, you know, like a super negative thing. Right? And I immediately hit the roof and I go, and by the way, this is true. I’m only saying this not because I’m being mean. Sure. I said, I literally want to find that man. Go back in time. Yeah, tackle him to the ground and physically punch him. Right, right. And by the way, I’m not being mean.

Jeff
Wow. Yeah, yeah, I’m not being mean. I mean, I’m.

Chris
Being very honest by saying I have a visceral reaction. I truly want to injure him. Right. Because of the damage that that people like that cause. Yeah, sure.

Jeff
Now, on the other side, she would say he was a pretty good guy. I mean, he had a couple of those weird things. Yeah, yeah.

Chris
Bad intention, destroying the lives of people, all that.

Jeff
Yeah, yeah. I think he had good intentions, was trying to help people, but just. Yeah, sometimes. Yeah.

Chris
People. Well that’s that’s that’s anybody. Right. Yeah. Yeah. So so anybody who anybody who damages the kingdom accidentally. Yeah. Does so in ignorance. Yeah. Yeah.

Jeff
That’s right. And I think that was a lot of that back then. Yeah.

Chris
Yeah. So so and by the way we understand that and and that’s even people today. It’s not just legalism which I, which I, I really think Debbie’s.

Jeff
So old that that whole, the whole world is just full of hippies back then. Right.

Jeff
So take a shower. Take a shower.

Chris
Yeah. You know, it’s it’s so interesting, but but no, I do I do actually, uh, think that legalism, which is, uh, you know, just, uh, uh, condemning people, that kind of thing, you know, it’s that Pharisee attitude that Jesus talked most against. I think that’s the most damaging because it disguises it under the under under like, uh, well, just like Pharisees. Right? Sure. Like, who would have ever thought that religiosity would be the thing that kept people from God? Right. And Jesus taught that right. Jesus said, ironically, he didn’t say these words, but he was sort of saying, ironically, it’s your dedication to religiosity that’s the barrier between people coming to know God, right? And when you learn those kind of things, it blows you away.

Jeff
Religion often becomes a barrier to a relationship with God, right? Right. Because religion is man’s attempt to get to know God, right? Or man’s attempt to connect with God. But God’s attempt is through a relationship with his son. And and those are two very different things, because religion tends to fall into a list of rules, the do’s and don’ts, and a relationship tends to be much more about if you love me, keep my commandments. There’s a huge difference between those two things. Yeah, right. And so his commands are still his commands, right? Truth is still truth. Um, right is still right. Wrong is still wrong. We still have to take a stand on those things, but we can do it in a way that guides people into a relationship with Christ and start with first things first. First, the most important thing for that young man walking in. The door was not his hair. The most important thing for that young man was his heart. And that’s what Jesus kept trying to say all the time was the outside come. It gets fixed after the inside gets fixed over and over and over again. It’s the inside first, the outside second.

Chris
Which, by the way, she ended up telling me at the end of that story that apparently that young man was somebody that she knew in school, and he was at the end of his rope, and he was giving church a last try. And that man, that preacher sent him home and he committed suicide.

Jeff
Oh my goodness, I’m kidding.

Chris
Okay. But he could have what? That’s what I’m saying.

Jeff
You tell a lie on The Bible Guys.

Chris
Hey, I’m saying that’s the danger that that pastor, he thinks it’s about a haircut, but it’s not right, right?

Jeff
Right. It’s it’s.

Chris
So do you see how I got mad again?

Jeff
Right there? We focus. We focus oftentimes too much on the outside, not enough on the inside. The outside matters, but the inside matters more. That’s right. Right. So you got to start at the right places. And the most important thing in that moment for that young guy wasn’t what was on the outside. It was what was on the inside.

Chris
So think, think preachers. Yeah, yeah yeah. We have to. If there’s a preacher listening.

Jeff
To Christians in general. Hey, think when you type on Facebook people. Oh yeah. Christians because we, we want to fix the outside all the time instead of working on the inside. So, so we have to be planting seeds that change from the inside. We got to use the Word of God as a as a sword that cuts to the bone and marrow. The Bible says in the book of Hebrews, right, let God’s Word do what changes, rather than us just making rules to try to make people change.

Chris
Yeah, well, well, Proverbs says that the Word of God is either like a sword to pierce and kill, or it’s like a scalpel that a surgeon could use to heal. Yeah. Which is super cool. Yeah.

Jeff
All right. Well, hey. Good. So that’s what made you mad this week? Yep. Okay. Well good job. Chris. Yeah. That was your one year anniversary of what made you mad. So, you know, we’ve got a whole year of those.

Chris
And, you know, it’s it’s worthy. It’s worthy. It’s a worthy anniversary. Mad.

Jeff
Okay, well, there we go. A whole year, we should do an entire segment of what made God mad this week.

Chris
He just said what made God mad this week?

Jeff
We should do an entire segment of what made Chris mad this week. Hey guys, if you’re listening on any of the audio platforms that the podcast goes out on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or through through the Spreaker, uh, podcast platform, would you please subscribe and then share it? There’s always a link. Just share that link with your friends and family. There’s somebody who needs to hear what Chris is mad about this week. All right. Well, we’re going to start reading in today. In Matthew chapter 13, Jesus can talk more about weeds. And then we’re going to get into mustard seeds and all kinds of things.

Chris
I hate weeds, bro.

Jeff
Yeah.

Jeff
Do you hate weeds?

Chris
I hate them.

Jeff
We had all this rain and man our flowerbed out front just all of a sudden has all these weeds.

Chris
Right now I’m going to go home. Literally after this podcast, I’m going to spend at least an hour and a half weeding the things that I haven’t been able to get to.

Jeff
Well stop by my place afterwards. I got some weeds out in the front yard.

Jeff
Here we go. Uh, Matthew, chapter 13 first, Matthew 1324 says, here is another story Jesus told the kingdom of heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night, as the worker slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. The farmers workers went to him and said, sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds. Where did they come from? An enemy has done this! The farmer exclaimed. So should we pull out the weeds? They asked. No, he replied, you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest, and then I’ll tell the harvesters to go sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.

Jeff
That’s interesting. Yeah.

Jeff
And then in Mark chapter four, verse 30. He says. Jesus said, how can I describe the kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it? It’s like a mustard seed planted in the ground. It’s the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of all garden plants. It grows long branches and birds can make nests in the shade. So he has that one. And then in Luke chapter um, 13. Oh, let me read Matthew. Matthew uses the same thing about mustard seeds. He says, here’s another illustration Jesus used the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed planted in the field. It’s the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants. It grows into a tree and birds come and make nests in its branches. Jesus also used this illustration. The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough. Huh? That’s interesting. And then Luke chapter 13 says, Then Jesus said, what is the kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? It’s like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in the garden. It grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches. He also asks, what else is the kingdom of heaven like? It’s like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough. So it seems to be a theme. He’s talking about little seeds, little bitty yeast. Those kinds of things make a big impact.

Chris
Yeah.

Chris
Yeah, that’s, uh, those are all related, aren’t they? And, uh, and, you know, we just mentioned a few minutes ago about, uh, actually it was on yesterday’s podcast how, um, there are certain themes in the Bible and, uh, Jesus, uh, talks often about planting seeds and growing and being connected and the life that comes through seeds. And, uh, and in another place, he actually talks about how, uh, you only have enough have to have enough faith, uh, the size of a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds. Right. And so, uh, and over here in, in this illustration, he says, the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed planted in the field, the smallest of seeds. Yeah. So he uses the exact same phrase attached to the same seed. Yeah, in a different context. So I love that. And there’s a reason why. Because I think that anybody listening in the first century, uh, they understood farming like nobody’s business. Right, right. They everybody understood that. So he said mustard seed. Everybody understood. He’s using that intentionally. Um, you know, what I heard one time is, uh, I heard this, uh, illustration about how Jesus never said that your faith had to be bigger. He actually made observations about how great is your faith. He used to say, like, I’ve not seen such great faith in all of Israel. Yeah, so. So if Jesus would say you have to have more faith. He never said that. He never said that. He never said more or bigger. He said always said greater. Or he said, where is your faith? Right, right, right, right. And so and by the way, in my mind, I always think of him saying, you have to have more faith. Chris
Like in my mind I remember him saying more faith, more faith. And I think it I think just naturally, I think that it has to be more or bigger. Which, by the way, if you think of more or bigger, you know what that does? It puts the burden on you, doesn’t it? Yes.

Jeff
To grow.

Chris
It’s like it’s like. And by the way, I’ve a side note, I remember a really good friends of mine saying our daughter, uh, has a sickness and she’s praying and then. And how I met her. I did her wedding. Now she has a baby. Uh, this is 20 years later, and she’s a dear friend. Their families are dear friends of mine. But back when she was a teenager, she was so mad at God. She, uh. I first met her when she had taken a Bible and had written curse words all over the Bible, and and the parents said, would you please talk to our daughter for us? And, uh oh, I’m getting emotional thinking about it. And, uh, and you know why? Because she was going to people and they were praying for her to be healed, and she wasn’t being healed. And she was so frustrated. And what they told her is, it’s because of you. It’s because you don’t have enough faith.

Jeff
Yeah. That’s so.

Chris
Wrong. Right. And so what they were doing is they were telling her, it’s it’s on you. You have to have bigger faith. More faith. Right. And yet in my mind, it seems that way. But Jesus said, where is your faith and how great is your faith? And so here’s what I what I heard one time. I heard one pastor say, um, it’s not about the size of your faith. It’s about the greatness of your faith. It’s more about the size of your God. Yeah, yeah.

Jeff
That’s right.

Chris
Right. That’s right. So. So it’s like, what will make your faith great? It’s not the size of your faith. It’s. It’s the size of your God that will make your faith great. Right? So if you have a if you have a big God, then your faith will be great, right? Right. A big faith is only placed in a big God, right? Right. So your faith is only as good as the object it is placed in.

Jeff
So I struggled with that. When Jesus says, you know, it’s the smallest of all seeds my dad and I were planting, we were uh, we were planting, uh, carrots, radishes, and then an entire strawberry thing. Well, strawberry seeds are way smaller.

Chris
Oh, yeah. Than a mustard seed. Holy cow.

Jeff
And, uh, radish and and carrot, depending on what kinds. You’re growing way smaller. So I said. Why did Jesus say that the mustard seed is the smallest? My dad said, well, Jesus said, the mustard seeds the smallest in that it it grows up to be a tree. He said. So carrots, just a carrot. It only comes up like, you know, this far below the ground and this far above the ground, he said. Radishes is like this, right? Strawberries that stays on the ground. But what Jesus is saying, it’s a tiny seed that’ll grow into a bush. It doesn’t grow into a full tree, but it’ll grow into a bush. Birds can even sit in it or use it for shade and stuff in the heat. And somebody was saying it’s Jesus was highlighting what it becomes, right? So it’s the tiniest seed that becomes the biggest thing. Right? That’s what he was saying. And I’m like, oh, okay. And so my dad often talked about that idea with me that, um, you know, the amount of faith that is required is small, but what that faith produces can be great, right? Yeah. And so, like you were saying, you know, it’s not the size of your faith. It’s the size of your god. Um, you know, God doesn’t always give me everything I want, even though I have faith he can. Right. And so I have to also trust that that God is going to be good and he’s going to give me what’s best. As that bird benefits from the shade of that, that, uh, bush, um, the mustard seed turns into it’s the same, you know, that I have to I have to trust that God will give me the shade and the rest and the protection and the care I need. Jeff
And that’s a big part of my faith. And, um, but he’s not measuring the size or how much. And, you know, I’m always reminded of that guy who comes to Jesus and says, hey, Jesus, if it’s possible, can you heal my son? And Jesus goes, what do you mean, if it’s possible, right? And he says, everything is possible if you just believe. And the guy goes, I do believe, but would you help my unbelief? And Jesus at that point doesn’t get mad and kick him out and say, come back with more faith, right? Jesus heals his son. Even when the guy says, I’m struggling with my faith, right? I have enough faith to ask, right? And it turns out that’s enough faith to get God to move.

Chris
Yeah. That’s amazing. That story is great. And I think that that’s actually, um, one of the coolest, coolest aspects. I think I’ve heard, uh, the fact that the mustard seed, uh, is the smallest of seed that grows into the biggest thing. I’ve never heard that before. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh, that’s.

Jeff
Because it’s not the smallest seed, right?

Jeff
But he’s tying how small it is to how big the plant becomes.

Chris
Yeah, that’s extremely cool.

Chris
Yeah. And, uh, so, so Jesus, again, he just goes back and forth talking about, uh, you know, different things. And then he says yeast. He talks about yeast and flour.

Jeff
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Yeah.

Chris
So he also used this illustration. It says the kingdom of heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread, even though she only put a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough. Now, uh, we all know. Well, those of us who are live in Bible World know that he often used yeast as a symbol of sin. Sin?

Jeff
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Chris
And so he talks about which is, by the way, uh, for a lot of our listeners who don’t even know this, I explained this the other day to somebody who was taking communion, and they go, what? They had no idea. Uh, that’s the reason why we take communion in wafers.

Jeff
Yeah. Unleavened bread.

Chris
They’re unleavened bread. Right. So unleavened bread is a bread without yeast. That’s right. Right. So Jesus and by the way, I don’t think that’s necessarily required, uh, for communion because it didn’t necessarily say you must use unleavened bread.

Jeff
He was using it was a Passover meal though. So he used unleavened bread.

Chris
Correct.

Jeff
And this bread represents my body.

Chris
Yes.

Jeff
Which was sinless.

Chris
Yeah, yeah.

Chris
So, so, so best to use unleavened bread. Yeah. Yeah. So, so that’s why we do it.

Jeff
We have no other tradition.

Chris
Right? We have no other tradition. Right, right, right. So, so I would say um, I would say, uh, because Jesus often used yeast as a symbol of sin. Uh, he’s talking about how sin, uh, or in this case, how just a little bit of yeast permeates the whole flour, even though there was this much yeast. Right. And this much flour.

Jeff
Yeah.

Chris
How? Just a little bit of yeast, uh, permeated everything.

Jeff
Hey, during covid. Everybody was making bread. Did you guys make bread?

Chris
No.

Jeff
It kind of became a it was a TikTok thing. Everybody’s making bread. So next thing you know, my wife, my daughter, they want to make bread. And we used to make bread a lot when I was a kid. And I’m not good at it, but, you know, because there’s, there’s an art to bread making.

Chris
Really. Yeah.

Jeff
So we go out, we get some yeast, we do all the things that we need. We make some dough, all that stuff. And the first one that we made, I put way too much yeast in and it, it, it just kept going and going and going this great big giant thing, it looked like a giant bomb was going to go off in our kitchen because it just kept growing up too much. A little bit of yeast does. So much has such a huge impact. So he’s referring here to yeast being like faith, right? But, uh, faith is that way. A little bit of faith can have a huge impact. A little bit of sin can do the same thing. Right. So so yeast goes both directions when he’s using that illustration.

Chris
Yeah. Yeah.

Chris
That’s true.

Chris
Yeah, yeah. And uh, and I like how he says, uh, it’s the way to describe the kingdom of God. Yeah. So he describes it with the bread and the yeast. He’s describing it with the, with the mustard seed, and he’s using all these illustrations, um, and, uh, you know, what is the kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? You know, and, you know, it’s one of those things where it reminds me that, uh, don’t ever underestimate. May the power of a visual aid.

Jeff
Oh, yeah. Right.

Chris
Yeah. So, like, you know, just a moment ago, like a couple episodes ago, I said. I said, uh, I set you up with an object lesson, and you’re like, yeah, I’m not necessarily an object lesson guy. But, you know, the funny thing is, is I remember almost every good object lesson that I’ve ever seen. Yeah, I think that’s what Jesus did, you know, like, think about it. He’d walk around, he’s like, hey, see that olive press? Let me talk to you about that. Hey, you see these seeds? Hey, look. Look at that fig tree. You know, look at that fountain. Right? And that’s what he did. He just. He pointed things out and talked about. Hey, look at the birds of the air, you know? And what he did was, you know, look at the look at the fields. Look at the flowers in the field. Sure, he often used things. And there’s life lessons, um, to learn from them. So just, uh, just yesterday our staff went to, uh, CJ Barrymore’s, which is a place that has bowling and go karts and putt putt and all these different things. And and I said to you, I said, hey, do you know that bowling pins have, uh, they have to rest one day a week, right? Because I guess everybody who is involved in bowling alleys knows this, but, uh, you, when you run bowling pins, when you rest them one day a week, they last, like, I guess 700 times longer or something. Something ridiculous to that nature. Right. So their lifespan increases dramatically, dramatically if you just give them a day of rest, because something about the integrity of always getting hit and knocked and, and you know, having to just, you know, rest from that, uh, expands the life of a bowling pin. Chris
And so you could literally learn about the Sabbath and teach the Sabbath.

Jeff
From a bowling pin.

Chris
From a bowling pin. Right, right. And a bowling alley. Right, right, right, right. Which I’ve done before, by the way. Yeah. Right. And so it’s amazing how, uh, the things around us, uh, speak into the things of God. And I believe that God created it. I have to believe this. God created things around us to point everything to him.

Jeff
Yeah, absolutely.

Jeff
Everything is for his glory.

Jeff
Yes.

Chris
And I believe that. I believe things like that. Just like four days ago when I said my my dad saw a moth, right? And said, that’s confirmation of God, right, right, right. Yeah. So God created creation to point to him. I believe that’s the case. So. Well, hey, man, I think that’s a great place to end. And, uh, we will see you hopefully on Monday on The Bible Guys.