In the RIGHT Place!
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I have five questions for you. Do you want to thrive? Do you want to thrive in your faith? Do you want to thrive in your relationships? Do you want to thrive in your education or career? Do you want to thrive at everything you do in life? Don’t miss this. Environment is everything. Environments can be good for you or bad for you. They can be favorable for you or unfavorable for you. Environments. Surroundings. Context. Habitat. Neighborhood. Home. Room. Workplace. School. Church. It’s where you live and operate. Here’s how important environment is. You can be dead wrong, but in the right place and things work in your favor. You can be unprepared, unsure, unconventional, or unsophisticated, but in the right place and things work out for you. Why? You were in the right place. Here’s another look at it. You can be right, but in the wrong place and it be disastrous for you. Let me say it again. You’re right. You’re good. In the wrong place. Things can be disastrous for you. You can be the right person in the wrong relationship. You can be the right person on the wrong team. You can be innocent, but in the wrong place and suffer the consequences. You can be the picture of good health and be in the wrong place, breath bad air and mess your life up. The health of your environment is everything.
On Wednesday morning, Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was filled with 176 passengers and crew members. Minutes after takeoff from Tehran’s airport, Flight 752 went radio silent. It disappeared from radar. Catch the context. Hours earlier, Iran fired missiles at Iraqi military bases housing US troops. They were retaliating the death of Commander Soleimani. Iran was armed and ready to fire. They were ready to fight the US or Iraq. It was a hostile environment. Put it together. Flight 752 tried to take off in a hostile environment. They tried to elevate in a hostile environment. They tried to fly in a hostile environment. Anti-aircraft missiles were fired at the plane. They hit the plane. It crashed. Everyone on board died. Why? It’s hard to fly in a hostile environment. Fussing and fighting. Shooting and stabbing. Lying and looting. Stealing and killing. Cheating and conniving. Unfair and uneven. Hateful and handicapping. Poverty-stricken and perverse. Have you ever been in the wrong environment and no matter what you did, you got shot down? Your ideas got shot down. Your dreams got shot down. Your good intentions got shot down. Your good works got shot down. Your business plan got shot down. It’s hard to thrive in the wrong environment. I’m tired of the wrong environment. I want to be in the right place. I want to be in a thriving place. I want to be in a blessed place. I want to be in the best place for me.
At the heart of this parable, Jesus was teaching His disciples a thing or two about the spiritual importance of the right place. He had just left a crowded house where he healed everyone that was brought to Him. He healed them because they were in the right place. The same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. His ministry was exhausting. They pulled from him, but didn’t pour back into Him. While sitting by the sea, great crowds gathered around him. So He got in the boat and sat down. The crowd crowded the beach. Jesus started teaching. He healed people in the house. He taught people on the beach. Notice that He’s not in the synagogue. He’s in the house. He’s on the beach. He’s in the boat. The last time He was in the synagogue, they were hostile towards Him. In Matthew 12, Jesus was in the synagogue on the Sabbath. A man came in with a withered hand. Jesus told the man to “stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out and it was restored, healthy like the other. Here’s the trouble. Verse 14. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Jesus, how to destroy Him. Verse 15. Jesus was aware of this. He left that place. It was the wrong place for His ministry to take off. They were trying to take shots at Him. They were trying to destroy Him. When He left, many followed Him, and He healed them all. Wherever Jesus is, it’s the right place. It’s the right place to be healed. It’s the right place to be empowered. It’s the right place to be saved and set free. It’s the right place to turn your life around. It’s the right place to be forgiven. It’s the right place to worship. It’s the right place to witness. It’s the right place to thrive. Jesus’ ministry took off because He was in the right place!
Let me ask you something. Have you ever seen an airplane fly indoors? It’s too small. It’s too limiting. It’s too restrictive. Not enough runway. Not enough clearance. So Jesus moved His ministry outside, to the right place so it could take off! He moved it to the house. He moved it to the beach. He moved it to mountain tops. He moved it to the workplace. He moved it to meetings and conferences. He moved it to hospitals. He moved it where the people were and His ministry took off! Here’s the shout. No matter where Jesus is, it’s the right place. Somebody is going to be healed. Somebody is going to grow.
The best way for disciples, followers of Christ, to grow spiritually is to be taught. So Jesus taught. He was always teaching. A sower went out to sow seed. Back in their day, they didn’t sow seed like we sow seed. We dig a hole. Plant a seed. Cover the seed up. That’s not how they did it. They would grab a hand full of seed. Walk down a path between rows. Throw the seed. Scatter the seed from left to right as they walked. They had seed everywhere. There were two places the seed fell. The right place and the wrong place. Simple. Three wrong places. One right place. It’s easier to be in the wrong place than the right place. The wrong place was the path. The wrong place was rocky ground. The wrong place was thorny ground. Seed didn’t produce in the wrong place.
On the path, birds came down and ate up the seed. It didn’t have time to get rooted. It was unprotected so it was unproductive. On the path, it was worn down from people walking all over it. It was bare, hard and unyielding. It’s hard to thrive in places where people walk all over you. No body races a worn-out horse. Get to the right place.
On the rocky ground, there was little soil. Little substance. The seed grew, but it had shallow roots. The rocks wouldn’t allow it to get rooted. So when the sun rose. It scorched it. It withered away. It’s hard to thrive when you have hard stuff that keeps getting in the way. Hard problems. Hard relationships. Hard pain. Hard situations. They distract you from God and keep you shallow. Ships don’t sail in shallow water. Get to the right place.
On thorns, there was competition for soil. So the thorns grew and choked out the seeds. It’s hard to grow your faith; your prayer life; your devotion life; your service; your support with thorns choking you out. Get to the right place.
8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.” I want to say 2 things about the right place to help you grow spiritually.
When you’re in the right place, you can sow some seed and get a big harvest. The right place. Some seed fell on good soil. Seed. God’s word. Seed. God’s revelation. God’s insight. Seed. God’s wisdom. Some seed fell on good soil. Point to yourself. Say, “I’m good soil.” My life is good soil. My heart is good soil. My soul is good soil. When God’s word falls in my life, I produce fruit. I thrive. Ps 119:11. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. One man plants. Another waters. God gives the increase. Some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Some seed. Big harvest. One hundred times what you sowed. Some seed. Sixty times what you sowed. Some seed. Thirty times what you sowed. You mad because you don’t have all the seed. Sow what you have. Sow into your church. Sow into your faith. Sow into your career. Sow into your education. Sow into your community. When you sow into the right place, you will get a big harvest.
I love hearing Toi and Dezz laugh in my home. There was a period last year where they weren’t laughing. I complained to God. Why aren’t they laughing? The Holy Spirit said to me, “If you want laughter in your home, sow it. Cultivate it. I’ll give the increase.” So I started listening to stuff that made me laugh! Soon they were laughing more. I sowed. God gave the increase!
Something big is coming out of this seed. Look at your neighbor and say you came out of a seed. When I hear this word, something big is coming out of it. When I pray, something big is coming out of it. When I fast, something big is coming out of it. When I serve, something big is coming out of it. When I study, something big is coming out of it. When I love, something big is coming out of it. Something big is coming out of my life! Something big is coming out of my family! Something big is coming out of my church!
One of my neighbors planted a stalk of bamboo in his yard. For the longest, it was a single stalk of bamboo. But one day, I looked. It was bamboo everywhere. Bamboo was taking over their yard. How could one stalk become a yard full of stalks. I researched bamboo. It turns out bamboo is self-seeding. One stalk produced seeds. Other stalks produced seeds. Seed fell on good ground and produced more bamboo. From one stalk of bamboo, something big came out of it!
When God’s word falls on your life, something big is going to come out of you! Big harvest. Big checks. Big dreams. Big faith. Big praise. Big worship. Big service.
Big fruits of the Spirit. Big love. Big joy. Big peace. Big patience. Big kindness. Big goodness. Big faithfulness. Big gentleness. Big self-control. I’m planted in the right place and big fruit is coming out of my life!
I’m done. Seed time. Harvest. I hear you. Between seed time and harvest, it’s dirty. It’s stinky. It’s hard. It’s long. It’s messy. When you’re in the right place, grow through your mess. From every mess there’s a masterpiece. From every disaster there’s a master. The world will know you’re disciples when you can grow through mess. Grow through your mess. Grow through the lies. Grow through the scandal. Grow through the pain. Grow through the tests. Grow through the bankruptcy. Grow through the rejection. I’m growing through this mess.
Horse. Flea. Mess. Blessing! Horse was riding home one cold night. He had fleas on his back. He got startled. Jumped. Fleas fell off. One of the fleas fell in horse mess. The other fleas laughed at him. I told you it was cold. They all froze to death. But the one in the mess. He fell into the right place. It was stinking, but it was warm. It was nasty, but it was warm. It was unfair, but it was warm. He lived because he fell into the right place. He thrived because he made it to the right place.
I’m not dying in this mess. I’m coming out of this faith mess. I’m coming out of this financial mess. I’m coming out of this academic mess. This mess can’t hold me. I’m coming out of this financial mess.
My harvest is on the other side of the mess.
I’m done done. Jesus was born in a mess. Pregnant virgin. Jesus was raised in a mess. Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Jesus was led into a mess to be tempted 40 days and 40 nights. Jesus was working in a mess. His colleagues were trying to kill His ministry before it got started. They nailed Him to a cross. That was a mess. They put a crown of thorns on His head. That was a mess. They put Him in a borrowed tomb. That was a mess. But early Sunday morning, he grew through His mess. He got up with all power in His hands. His harvest was on the other side of the mess!
Don’t run from your mess. You’re in the right place. You’re in the right place to thrive. You’re in the right place to win. You’re in the right place to graduate. You’re in the right place to succeed. You’re in the right place to heal. You’re in the right place for victory. You’re in the right place!
Wherever Jesus is, it’s the right place. I’m in the right place. I’ll see my harvest. I’ll see my fruit. I’ll see I’m going to make it to my harvest because I’m going to grow through my mess. I thank God I’m in the right place. My wife is the right place. My daughter is the right place. Jesus is the right place.