We're starting a brand new series today entitled Transformed. And I want to start this morning's message with simply a picture of some seeds. I know, exciting. Uh, but if you want to take a look at these seeds, the reality is these seeds don't really look too impressive. Right? They're barely 1/8 of an inch thick, roughly 3 millimeters in size. That's slightly larger than a grain of rice. They almost look like granola, but I wouldn't add these seeds to your morning yogurt if I were you, uh, because these seeds ultimately can grow into something that's much bigger than themselves. You see, it doesn't seem impressive to start. But these seeds within them have the potential to grow to trees almost 40 stories high. You see, these are coastal redwood seeds. Coastal redwood trees, mostly found in Northern California, are some of, if not the tallest trees on the planet, spanning hundreds of feet high, living over centuries of years. In other words, these trees are gonna outlast your grandchildren's grandchildren's grandchildren. Now, how is it that something so massive can come from something so small? I want to encourage you today, because the Bible tells us do not despise small beginnings. Because every towering redwood tree, as well as every great harvest and every transformed life, and every disciple of Jesus Christ, starts with a seed. So this morning's message is entitled starts with a seed, because here's our truth for today, that every disciple starts with a seed. It starts with a seed. You know, getting away for a little bit with family was a time of refreshment, a time of renewal, and I came back fired up, ready to go. I hope you guys are ready. I'm ready. OK. But here's the thing, they say oftentimes that a change of pace and a change of place give you a change of perspective. But for me, I came back just doubling, tripling down on the very core of who we are as a church. You see, our vision is to help every man, woman and child experience Jesus. And then our mission or the way we accomplish the vision is that we do that through planning the gospel, growing in community, and multiplying through service. Because we believe Jesus changes everything. And every year we, we pick a theme or a one word to describe the direction of our church. And in January, I shared that this year's theme for 2026 is transform. And that we want to be transformed by the gospel to become a little bit more like Jesus. And so we've been doing a lot of work behind the scenes, organizationally, through our systems, through our personnel, through our training. To get a stronger structure transformation from the inside out, because we're a much larger church than we were just a few years ago. So we have to update the systems to support that. But even more than the organization, for our spiritual family, we want to see transformation. That we want to see lives changed. And so over the next 4 weeks, we want to talk about what does that look like on a practical basis? What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? What does it look like to make and multiply disciples? And how can we become more like Jesus this year than ever before? Do you know that one of the fastest growing social communities in our country are a series of LARP groups. Have you ever heard of this? LARP groups. Do you know what LARP stands for? It stands for live action roleplay. Live action roleplay. So LAARP groups are groups of people who gather together, usually on the weekends. They put on elaborate costumes and spend time pretending to live out a story that's not actually theirs. No, it's fun. Right? For a few hours on the weekend, they get to talk differently, dress differently, act differently, and then they get to go back to their normal life on Mondays. And there's all kinds of LARP groups. There's all kinds of groups that are live action roleplay that you can, you can find groups of elves or groups of Vikings or Renaissance groups. But here's my fear. My fear is that there are many churches across our nation that are simply another form of LARP group. Here's what I mean. Replace L LARPing with the church and the definition still works. One of the fastest growing social communities in the country right now are churches. Churches are groups of people who gather together, usually on the weekends, put on elaborate costumes, and spend time pretending to live out a story that's not actually theirs. Therefore, a few hours, they talk differently, dress differently and act differently, but then they go back to their normal way of life on Monday. I don't want that for the church. Church is not a place where it's live action roleplay. It's not a place where you have to dress a part. That you come in and look churchy and use churchy words, and you live hash blessed, and you come in and sing some songs that have weird deep theological lyrics that seem a little odd, right? We sing about things like the blood and being washed, and someone's a king, and we're like, what's going, like, here's the reality. Is that we don't want to just play church, we want to be the church. That we don't want to just talk about transformation, that we want to experience it, and that every disciple, every life that is transformed by the power of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit working through them starts with a single seed. And it grows. So being a disciple and making disciples requires your attention and your intention. And we want to do that as a church. And so let me describe the faith journey that we go on here at Mission Grove. See, even the name Mission Grove is attached to the imagery of a tree that we come from this idea that no single tree makes a grove, but a grove can start from just one tree. And so when you're growing on your faith journey, we hope it looks a lot like this. You see, it starts out with the seed. And that's what we're gonna talk about today. And once the seed of the gospel, the word of God gets planted into your heart, then you start to see it take root. And when it takes roots and you start to grow, and you then abide in Christ continually, eventually you start to see fruit. We spent all summer talking about the fruit of the Spirit, right? And then as you start to produce fruit, it ultimately leads to a harvest. Now, today, we're in the seed phase. Every phase has got a stage that you're in. It's got an action that you do, and then a goal for that phase. So the stage for those in the seed phase is that of a seeker. And before people get caught up in that work, cause there was like 1020 years ago, there's a whole movement called the seeker sensitive movement. And, and we're not gonna just go over the top to look like the world to convince people about Jesus. We just have to show, give them Jesus because Jesus is always relevant to the world, right? But we don't need to bash the idea of seeker sensitive because everyone is seeking something. So the question is not, are you seeking, the question is what or whom are you seeking? And if you are seeking Jesus, if you're spiritually curious and asking questions of life, at some point, you come into contact with the gospel. And the gospel of Jesus Christ is not neutral. You have to decide, is he the Lord or not? And so that's the action that once you hear the gospel, we want to, you, we want you to engage with the gospel. So everybody before they put their life or put their trust in Jesus Christ at some point is a seeker of some kind. And so we want you to engage with the gospel, with the hopes that you will come to a place of believing in him as Lord and Savior. But don't just take my word for it. Let's, let's jump into the Bible. If you have your Bible, let's open up to Mark chapter 4. Jesus is teaching, and he teaches often in what are called parables. Parables are practical stories that illustrate spiritual truth. So he uses illustrations and and common stories that the audience would understand to reveal a deeper spiritual truth, describing the heart of Jesus, the mission of Jesus, and the kingdom of God. And this first parable, the parable of the sower, really helps us understand all parables. And so let's jump into this together. Mark chapter 4, verse 1. Say again, Jesus began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him. So he got into the boat and sat in it on, on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. I love that. It's a little bit reverse of right now. So Jesus was sitting down, everyone else was standing up. Maybe we should try that next week. I'll sit down, you guys stand, and we'll see how you do for 40 minutes. So. No, I, I'm kidding on that. But the reason he would do that is it would create a natural amphitheater kind of environment, right? People would stand or sit on the shore or on the coastline, and he would go into the boat and it would create a space where everyone could see and hear what he's saying. Verse 2, and he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching, he said to them, Listen, behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it has no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and it choked it, and it yielded no grain, and other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold. And he said, He who has ears, let him hear. You know, we don't have to wonder what Jesus meant by this parable, cause Jesus actually explains it. If so, if you're gonna Understand and have commentary on the Bible, it would make sense that the best commentary comes from Jesus himself. Is that fair to say? Like the best interpreter of Scripture is also Scripture, or the best understanding of Jesus would be what Jesus says about Jesus. Is that fair? Because just a few verses later, in verse 13, he goes on to actually explain what this parable means. Let's pick it up in verse 13. And Jesus said to them, Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word, and these are the ones along the path where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground, the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves but endure for a while. Then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others, the ones who are sown among the thorns, they are those who hear the word. But the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold. Now, I take the preaching of the word very seriously. It says actually in other places that those who teach the word are going to be held to a higher standard. And so, so I'm very humbled to be a part of that. And, and y'all know me too, that I'm, I'm very much as a giant kid at heart. And so like we're in this together, but I, and I want you to know, I take this very seriously. But this message, this scripture, this passage is not about the preacher, but those who receive. Because the seed is the same. It's good seed. Right? The coastal redwood seed produces coastal redwood trees. Same with the gospel, the word of God is gonna produce life transformation from the inside out, because it is the word of God and, and the word of God never comes back void. So the question is not, is the seed good, but it's the soil ready? And so in this parable, it's a practical story that illustrates the spiritual truth. We see 4 different conditions of the heart. Those 4 conditions were present in the crowd then, and I believe they're even present in this room now. And so when I call up a type of seed, I want you to point to the person in the room that you think. I'm just, just kidding though. Someone's like, 00, no, OK. Don't, don't do that. OK, this is the eyes on your own paper kind of thing right now, OK? There are 4 conditions of the heart, and I want you to ask yourself, which condition are you? Which condition are you? Number 1, it's the hardened heart, the seed that's thrown on the path, and we understand this path as Arizonians, right? Because everything is like rock solid here on the ground. That's why when it rains, everything just rushes down because nothing takes. If you don't prep the soil, when you try to plant things in your yard, it doesn't take because the ground is tough. This is the person whose life really is indifferent to the gospel. And I'm gonna tell you, indifference is almost more dangerous than than anger, right? Because if someone's angry in a human relationship, you can kind of love hate, go back and forth, you know, where the person stands. But if one person is completely apathetic in a relationship, that's tough to come back from, isn't it? Well, I wonder how many people are apathetic to the message of God. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've heard it before. It's in one ear, out the other. It's on the path, it's gone from the path, doesn't matter. Notice too, by the way, that when the seed is thrown, the birds come. Have you ever planted grass in your yard? And the and the next day birds come. Why? Because they want that seed before it takes fruit. I think the same thing happens in spiritual warfare when the word of God is preached, there are all kinds of spiritual birds come in and try to take the seed before it can take a hold in your heart. That's the hardened path. Second path we see is the shallow heart. That's where it's not just on a hardened path, it's in the rocks. That's not indifference, that's instability. It's the idea of they, they like what Jesus offers, but when things get tough, like, I didn't sign up for that. Right. It's a shallow heart They get excited, but that's about it. Doesn't take root. Third type of heart is what, this is a tough one cause this one probably best describes our area. Northern Phoenix, Cave Creek, Carefree, Scottsdale, and that's the divided heart. See, the second one, we understand that persecution drives people away from their faith sometimes. That makes sense. But just as scary as persecution are possessions. Did you catch that? It's, I like Jesus, but I also like the world and all the stuff and all the things. You can't have that. My, um, My, um, family just got to celebrate. A little niece was born last week, super cute, little, her name is Felicity. How, how cute a name is that, right? Little Felicity. And so my little niece was born, and my wife, Samantha, with my daughter, Chloe went to build a bear, and they made a little cute little teddy bear for Felicity. They kind of customized it. They put in a little message for her. It's super cute, right? Um, also, The process of making a Build A Bear is kind of. Not cute. Have you seen it? Like the workers are like, what kind of bear do you want? And it's like, you know, stuffed animals. It's just like a limp animal skin that you're like, oh, I want that one. And then you take it in, they just shove some vacuum-looking reverse vacuum thing and they fill it with stuff and then you get to pick the items you want. And, and it's really cute for bears, for families with babies and just handing out the gifts for family. It's really cute, right? But I, it is not cute in the church. Here's what I mean. Too many people have a bill to bear Jesus. Right? They have a bill to bear Jesus. I like what the Bible says about love and joy and peace. I don't like what it says about purity though. I don't like what it says about money or greed or pride or anger. So we pick and choose what we want, when in reality, that's not the gospel. If Jesus is not Lord over everything in your life, is he really Lord over anything in your life? That's why one of the challenges is a divided heart. When we say I like Jesus, and I like all this stuff. things and all these possessions. No, when you allow the word of God to be planted into your life, it transforms every area of life that now you view marriage through the gospel, you view your possessions through the gospel, you view your attitude and your mindset, and how you speak and how you live all through the gospel because you are being transformed from the inside out. So we have the hardened heart, we have the shallow heart, we have the divided heart. Lastly, we have the receptive heart. That's the good soil. If you allow the word of God to come into your life that you believe it wholeheartedly, you will see fruit beyond measure. There's a saying, an old saying that goes, anyone can count the number of seeds in an apple, but only God knows the number of apples in a seed. One seed might not only change your life, but could change generations and legacies to come, because one life was changed with the gospel. What kind of heart do you have? Is it hardened? Is it shallow? Is it divided? Or is it receptive? What is the seed? What is the good news? What is the gospel? Well, let me just put it in the most simple way I know how. John 3:16. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Now there's a lot of ways to share the gospel. It means good news. People have asked me, John, what's the best way to share your faith? And I say, whatever one actually you do. In other words, you can use the bridge illustration or Romans road or or or this John 3:16 method, whatever method that is, just we gotta, we gotta share it. But to give those who don't know how to share accurately. I love this verse. Why? Because it's one verse, 8 words, 8 words from this one verse tells us how to share the gospel with others, right? 8 words broken into 4 phrases. Number 1, God loves. The gospel starts with the fact that God loves you. God created you on purpose with a purpose, and he loves you for who you are. But in an opportunity to love him back, we have chosen sin, and sin separates us from a perfect holy God. But God didn't just sit back and allow that separation to stay. But rather, God love. The second phrase is that God gave. God gave His only Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross, to take our punishment. It says in 2 Corinthians 5, that he who knew no sin became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God. In other words, he took our place, so we could take his place. That Jesus died on the cross as payment for our sins. That when he was buried and then rose again on the 3rd day, he defeated death and the penalty of sin so that those who believe will be saved. So God loved, God gave. The 3rd phrase there is, we believe. What do we believe? We believe that Jesus is Lord and that Jesus is savior. In other words, that Jesus isn't just a teacher, Jesus isn't just an apostle, but he's the very Son of God. He is the second member of the Trinity. That he is fully God, and he took on the temporarily the limitations of a human body. That's why he's called the Son of God and the Son of Man, and that he did that to die on the cross as payment for your sins and for mine, to provide the way of salvation, the ultimate sacrifice. That we believe that Jesus is God, and that through dying on the cross and rising again on the third day, through him and him alone, we can be saved eternally. That he can come into our life that we are that we are saved and that we live. That's the final phrase, we live. God loves, God gave, we believe, we live. That my friends is the gospel in 8 words. But what is belief? What is belief? To believe is to pull the full weight of your life in him. A few years ago, I was on a trip with my wife and we want to do one of those excursions there in Mexico and we went zip lining. And, and at the time, I'm not sure if it still was, but at the time, this was the longest, fastest zip line in Mexico. And you actually lay down like Superman on it. And so, uh, and I'm kind of terrified of heights if I'm just being transparent with you. And so I did the loving thing and we're in Mexico. I'm not sure if things are gonna work or not. And so I was like, ladies first. Because I love her, not because I was afraid. OK, a little bit of both. Anyway, so she lays down. It's like a Superman zip line. You go over 60 miles an hour. You go like thousands of feet, it's crazy long. And as she lays down, I watched them put weights on her back. And I was like, what is that for? He's like, well, you gotta be heavy enough to get to the other side. You don't want to stop midway through. I'm like, oh, OK. Uh, honey, I love you. Good luck. And soon, she's off, right? So I'm like, all right, I think she made it. We're gonna be OK. So then I get on, I lay down. They're like, all right, you ready? I'm like, wait, wait, wait, you didn't put the weights on my back. They're like, no, sir, you're good. Great. Now I'm terrified and self-conscious. There we go, and it was a great experience, right? Here's what I realized that you can't, you can't kind of zipline. Go to another time I was speaking at a youth camp, and they had an activity of zip lining. And I was trying to describe what does it mean to believe in Jesus. And that afternoon, there's a kid at the top who was fearful. And of course, I shamed them because it's like, clearly I'm not afraid anymore. No. Um, and so we were up there with this kid and we're trying to encourage them like, hey, you gotta put the full weight. And, and you got to trust that it's going to hold you and then let go. Because you can't kind of zip line, right? You can't, you can't hokey pokey it. You know what I mean? I used to be addicted to the hokey pokey, but I've turned myself around. And I'm sorry, that was bad. I'm sorry. That's where it might, it, it comes in and it goes out and I should have held it anyway. You can't hokey pokey zip line, right? You can't kind of. And so we encouraged this kid and the kid went and everyone was excited. And then that night at the session, it came, we said, that's what belief is, is to put the full weight of your life in Jesus. You can't kind of be a Christian. Do you trust him or do you not? When you take that idea of belief into these verses, it gives a greater weight to understand cause that's what the definition of belief really is. Let's look at a few verses in the Gospels, John 1:12. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, who put the full weight of their life in the name of Jesus, he gave the right to become children of God. In the middle of the miracle when Jesus fed the thousands with the bread and the fish in John 6, it says this in John 6:29, Jesus answered them, this is the work of God that you believe in him, that you put the full weight of your life in Him who was sent. The writer of the Gospel of John, at the end of his letter, tells us exactly why he wrote the letter in John 20:31. He says, but these are written so that you may believe, that you may put the full weight of your life, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by putting the full weight of your life and believing, you may have life in His name. This is what it means to have a receptive heart. Well, yeah, but John, don't I have to go to church? I gotta do these things. I gotta do this checklist. I gotta follow. I gotta get my life right and all these things that comes after. Because Paul, it's pretty straightforward, says this in Romans 10:9 and 10, because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes and is justified, and with the mouth, one confesses and is saved. Verse 13 of that same chapter says, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. You can trust him. If he's holding up the universe that he created, if he died on the cross, predicted his death, did it, was buried, and rose again on the 3rd day, defeating death, the same name that created the world, that sustains the world, that defeated death is strong enough to hold your life. Are you willing to believe in Him? Verse 14, so then how then will they call on him who they have not believed? How are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? How are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news? But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us? So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. This is the message. This is who we're called to be as a church. We are not called to LARP. I mean, if you wanna have fun, uh, look, for those that make fun of LARPEs, they're the same people that either rock the jerseys on the weekend for sports or rock like the t-shirt with the concert artist on it, right? You know what I'm saying? Like we all have something that we just line up for and cheer for from a distance. This is not church though. Church is not come when you come into an arena or a stadium and you cheer for a few people on the stage performing. Church is the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, gathering together that we stir one. Another up to good works that through the power of the Holy Spirit, we confess sins, we encourage, we pray with, we lift up, and we see life change. And through that and through our love of one another, and through the service of those in the community, we see the light of the gospel come and transform and bring revival throughout the community. It's not about a building. It's not about budgets. It's not about those things. It's about the power of the gospel planted in the lives of people who are willing to believe them. And to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love others as Jesus first loved us. That is the church. The church is not a building you come to, it's a movement to belong to. And when you do that, you can see radical eternal things happen for His glory. Amen. It's time to stop role playing here. It's time to stop playing dress up. Let's be the church. Some of the final words Jesus gave to the church before he ascended to heaven. There in Acts 18, he says, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. This is what it means to be the church. But if you think, well, I'm not good enough. I got questions. I've got doubts. So did the disciples. Every disciple starts with a seed. And those giant coastal redwoods. can start from a seed. What can God do in your life? Understand that God moves, that until you receive Christ in some way, shape or form, you're a seeker. But the hope is that you engage with the gospel. And that ultimately you, you believe in Jesus. You put the full weight of your life in him. God loved, God gave, we believe we live. This is the gospel. Have you received it? So as we close today, I wanna ask you to do 3 things today. Number 1 is I want you to to engage with the gospel. We're throwing the seed out. I understand there's gonna be different soils in the room. So how's your heart? See, the gospel must be planted in your life before you're gonna see transformation. Is there something that's hard in your heart? Is there something that honestly is shallow? Is there something that's dividing you? You want Jesus and fill in the blank. Are you willing to let go of all To put the full weight of your life into that harness, into, into Jesus, understanding that he is strong enough to hold you. If he's strong enough to defeat death, he is strong enough to take your life and transform it. And to take you to places you never even thought possible. So when you engage the gospel, I want you to embrace the gospel. May your heart be that of the receptive soil. To trust him as Lord and Savior. And if you're sitting here in this room today, and you're like, you know what, John, I have done that. Then the final challenge then is to extend the gospel. Then you get to become the sower. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good and preach the good news. That's all of us. I don't know how people are gonna respond, but it's not our job to save. Our job is to share. God's job is to save. And so who is one person in your life that you can pray for this week? Who is one person that you can share the gospel with this week? Who is one person that you can plant the seed that you can sow? I don't know what their heart is and what their soil is gonna be like, but some are gonna respond. What if lives and legacies were changed? Because you decided right here, right now, that I'm gonna share the gospel with the people around me. every life, every harvest, every revival starts with a seed. First it said, if you want to change the world, you, you want, you got to change the nation. He said, well, if you want to change the nation, you got to change the state. If you want to change the state, you want to change your community. If you want to change the community, you gotta change the people. You got to reach the families. Well, if you want to reach the families, you got to change. The individuals So let me start with you. Are you gonna allow God to change your life? You've heard the gospel today? I want to give you a chance to respond. I want to invite everyone in the room to bow their heads, close their eyes for just a moment. And the gospel is that we can't make it to heaven on our own, that our sin separates us from God, that Jesus died on the cross. That he is Lord, He is Savior, that when he rose again, we can go to heaven. If you're willing to put the full weight of your life on Jesus, if you've never received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, But you're feeling prompted to receive him as Lord and Savior today. You want to put your faith for the first time in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior today, with no one looking around. I want to know, and I want to pray for you. On the count of 3, I want you to raise your hand. On the count of 3, if you want to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior today, no one looking around. I want you. On the count of 3, to raise your hand. 1. Do you know that Jesus died on the cross for you? 2, that when he rose again, he provided new life, eternal life and can change your life from the inside out. 3, if you want to receive Jesus Christ in your life, receive the gospel in your life right now, no one look around, I want you to raise your hand. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. And like 3 other amens in the back. Love it. You can put your hands down. If you raise your hand with me right now, I want you to pray with me. It's not magic in the words, but there's power in who we're praying to. I want you to pray with me. Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner. I don't want to role play anymore. I know I can't make it to heaven on my own. I believe that Jesus, you are God, that you are Lord, that you are savior, that you died on the cross for my sins, and that when you rose again, you made forgiveness possible. God, I turn from my sins. I receive you and put the full weight of my life in you as Lord and Savior of my life. I commit my life to you, Jesus. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for loving me. I commit my life to you. In your Son's name, we pray. Amen.