Elevation Worship Experience sermon notes from KH Elevation Blakeney Campus Sunday, June 12, 2016

Pastor Larry Brey (LB for short) Elevation Church University City Campus Pastor
Sermon Title: Ground Work The Path, The Rocks, and The Thorns.
Scripture:
Matthew 13: 1 to 9: New International Version (NIV) The Parable of the Sower: 13 That same day Jesus
went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat
and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: A
farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came
and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the
soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had
no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good
soil, where it produced a cropa hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them
hear.
Genesis 1:9-10 - New International Version (NIV) 9 And God said, Let the water under the sky be gathered
to one place, and let dry ground appear. And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground land, and the gathered
waters he called seas. And God saw that it was good.
Joshua 4: 1-7: New International Version (NIV): 4 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan,
the Lord said to Joshua, 2 Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to
take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them
over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight. 4 So Joshua called together the
twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, Go over before the
ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder,
according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your
children ask you, What do these stones mean? 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the
ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These
stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.
Hebrews 12: 12-13: 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 Make level paths for
your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
Genesis 3:17-18 New International Version (NIV): 17 To Adam he said, Because you listened to your wife
and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, You must not eat from it, Cursed is the ground
because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns
and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
Hebrews 12: 1-3: New International Version (NIV): Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud
of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with
perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the
joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of
God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose
heart.
1 Tim 4:8: 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will
award to me on that dayand not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Pre-sermon notes and other thoughts:

This weeks Verb: Love Love week outreach event is the second week July 2016. Go to the following web
site to volunteer: http://events.elevationoutreach.com/

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 Elevation Worship team: "I Can't Believe": In the fall you were there Grace began before I was aware The
shame to great for me to hide. Covered now because of Jesus Christ. I can't believe The price you paid for me
What you did not owe so that I could know you. How can it be You chose someone like me To declare your
praise for the glory of your name? To the one who gave it all I belong with all my heart and soul And every
gain I count as loss, When I survey the wonder of the cross You gave your life upon the cross To make your
home within my heart, Oh what a faithful God you are Your praise forever in my heart.
Elevation Worship Team: Yours - The Praise is Yours. The one we bow before.
Elevation Worship Team: Behold your throne around your glory. So high above. You are alone are worthy.
And the praise is yours. You are the one we bow before. Reigning over us as we left you up. You will rein
forever more. For the one who was and is to come. Forever crowned. Glory and praise, power and strength.
Worthy is the lamb of God. Hallelujah. And the praise is yours. You are the one that I bow before. And the
praise is yours. You are the one we bow before. Reigning over us as we left you up. You will rein forever
more. For the one who was and is to come. Forever crowned. Glory and praise, power and strength.
Worthy is the lamb of God. Hallelujah.

Pastor Larry Brey The Ground Game

Do you feel a level of expectation today? Did you know that God will meet you at your level of expectation?
You should expect to find healing and peace in our God. An LB classic: Your expectations will drive your
experiences.
There are many different needs in this place, however, we find one God to meet our needs.
See Genesis 1:9-10 - New International Version (NIV) 9 And God said, Let the water under the sky be
gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear. And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground land, and
the gathered waters he called seas. And God saw that it was good.
Repeat this part: God says that it was good.
Opening prayer: We also know that the needs outside of these walls are great. As a church family, our
hearts are saddened by the events that are unfolding in Orlando, FL in the late hours of last night where
some woke up this morning learning that they lost a loved one. Although we know that the hope of the world
is found in Jesus, we take a moment as a church to tell those in Orlando, FL that we love you, are praying for
you, and are standing with you. God, you are a good God. Thank you for gathering us together in this place.
We declare: everything that which you create, we call good. Every man, women, and child was fashioned in
accordance with your purposes. Elevate our perspective today Lord. We believe that the voices that tried to
destroy them will be washed out and there will be one voice speaking over their lives today they are good
and they are loved and they have purpose and they have potential in your hands. So we believe that you
will do something wonderful.
Have you not enjoyed this exceptional series called Functional Faith?
The premise being that Faith is not something you bring out on special occasions like fine china. We have a
paper plate faith that you can eat on and live on every day.
My favorite sermon was the Frame Game by Pastor Steven.
One of the reasons the sermon series functional faith resonated well with me is because Pastor Steven used
farming analogies where he talked about the plow, sower, seed, planter, and harvesting. You see, I grew up
on a farm located in Sleepy Eye MN near the Walnut Grove, MN which was the set for Little House on the
Prairie.
I grew up on a big farm in a small town where my parents needed free labor that came in the form of kids
five kids that is where all five kids had first names begin with the letter L.

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 I loved growing up on the farm and loved wearing my cowboy boots.
I even had a fluffy collie dog named fluffy.
My Dad taught me great values: a. We learned the value of a dollar. We did not have a lot but we learned
how to take care of what we had. b. We also learned the value of hard work and work ethic. The work day
went from before sun rise to past sun set.
As a farmer, we sow seeds and then we harvest.
Each week Pastor Steven is a farmer where he is casting seeds and sowing good seeds in the soil of our lives
and we are able to see the great things coming out of our lives because of the great seed.
I want to talk to you about what seeds have been producing in my life.
It is very fitting that when someone invests in you, you say thank you.
Perhaps is better to show someone vs. telling him.
From Pastor Stevens wisdom on this stage, marriages have been restored, kids are reconnected with parents
examples of the harvest from the mighty seeds that have been planted on this stage.
Last week Pastor Steven talked about Gratitude Practice. As church, lets exhibit some gratitude practice
today. Send a message to Pastor Steven at the amen corner or contact us at www.elevationchurch.org
show him how his seeds of wisdom have harvested in your life.
Thank you Pastor Steven for honoring and sowing Gods word.
Back on the farm, I commented to my Dad about a section of land saying Dad: This is bad ground. By Dad
responded: No. This is good ground. It just needs some work. So we got up early to plow, till, fertilize, and
de-weeded the land. Eventually, we reaped the harvest on the land.
Some of you are looking at your lives and saying that you are bad land. You are looking at some areas of
your life that are overgrown and you are saying that that things are not good and I am bad ground.
Some of you had people speak over you and say that you are bad ground.
I am here to tell you today that was a lie.
This is not true, because what God creates, he calls good. He made you and knit you together. God knows
the potential resting inside of you.
Some of you have labeled this land as bad. I am here to tell you today that it is good.
Like my profit father said: It is good ground and just needs some work.
So lets get to work today.
We are going do some ground work today on our lives.
Recall the wonderful demonstration by Pastor LB using a plastic bin of dirt.
For the purposes of todays discussion, our life is a box of dirt.
You are good ground and you just have some work to do.
See Mathew 13: 1-9: The Parable of Sower.
When we read this parable, we often look at this a subject of production four different fields producing
different amounts.
Today, I want to look at this parable from the perspective of the farmer.
Because this farmer in the parable was a good with good seed.
When we look at things from the perspective of potential, we might be see somethings that the farmer saw
that we dont.
And I want to look at lives as one field. You do not have separate fields you have one field.
You have one box of dirt and there is some ground work that you and I need to do.

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 Lets assume we have a good farmer with good soil who has good seed. The investment of the seed is an
indication of the potential and we are not going to waste seed on bad soil or a bad farmer.
God is waking you up today. He is not done with you.
You are good soil.
God says: I want to release your potential today and how you move from potential to production is called
ground work.
Potential = what is sowed. Production = what we did with what we had.
Lets move from potential to production.
Three types of ground work we are going to do today. We are going to work on the following areas: a. The
Path (where the tractor tires have worn down the field where people walk back and forth), b.
The path represents those areas of your life where people have walked all over you. This also represents the
good soil that has been trampled under. When you think about your path, all you see is pain the father that
walked out on you. The teacher that says that you are stupid. The pain of the path. The pain created by
hanging out with the wrong crowd where the wrong crowd leads you to the wrong behaviors. The wrong
crowds and influences lead you down the wrong path.
Who are these people that we are calling the wrong crowd? Here is a better question to ask: Were you ever
that wrong crowd? Where you the one that tried to talk someone else into doing that thing their mother said
not to do? What do you do when you are the one carving paths in to people?
Take for example the situation with LBs 10 year old son and his reluctance to move and expressed his
frustration by taking down the home for sale sign? LBs son was very attached to the current home and
would pray that the house would not sell. LBs first response was to express frustration at his son where LB
told his son what he should feel until God slapped me on the head - by saying LB to quit telling how to feel
and start listening to how his son really feels Per LB, I was carving a future path for his son indicating that his
feelings were not important.
Often the worst person that carves paths into our lives is the person in the mirror.
An LB classic: I think we wear our own paths out the most.
An LB classic: Fear, anxiety, worry represent emotional pacing and you will wear out a path of worry
vastly bigger than what anyone else could create where we go crazy over things like an unexpected bill.
A path of worry will grow and cultivate irrational thoughts.
Because of the pain of the path, we do not want to be remembered for the pain, so we put up no-trespassing
signs where the pain of a path causes us to say things like, well, I will never trust anyone again.
So what do we do with the path?
See Hebrews 12: 12-13: 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 Make level paths for
your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
Did you know that there is a purpose to your path?
But if all you do is remind yourself of the pain, you will never see the purpose though the pain.
So why were the paths created? The paths were created to get people somewhere.
Your paths have a purpose to be people into the presence of God.
There is a purpose for your path and God never wanted you to walk this alone
If you start to examine your pain, you will start to see your purpose.
And you will never find your purpose when we walk this path alone.
Every one of you today needs to invite someone onto your path where you begin to see your purpose and
you start converting your path into potential which then leads to production (a harvest).

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 Your path is designed to move people not to punish you but so that God can use you for his Glory.
Key point: So what do you do with the path? Answer: find purpose.
The second form of ground work we need to do is the rocks.
See vs. Mathew 13: 5
The devastating rocks are the ones that you cant see that break your plow and cost you money.
The surface of our soil often looks great. We typically look great because no one can see the rocks that are
below the surface.
You are breaking opportunities and breaking relationships and the situation has nothing to do with the
surface. It is the stuff below the surface that is breaking stuff.
With a little bit of digging, you can find these rocks.
Key point: The rocks are what you do to yourself. Where the paths are what others did to you.
Consider the rocks of resentment, bitterness, and frustration.
At LBs family farm in MN, the worst job was rock picking a boring and difficult job.
The game we play is that we throw rocks of resentment at other people.
The last person to see the resentment, bitterness, or frustration is typically is the person that owns it.
And you have given up on some things in your life claiming that it was bad soil. Just perhaps it was
resentment below the soil that was the problem.
So what are we to do with the rocks?
See Joshua 4.
So what do you do with them, you make a pile of rocks. This is what you do with them.
Recall that LB stated his favorite sermon every is Frame It Up by Pastor Steven LB feels his way because he
was holding onto big boulders of resentment had been stored up and directed at his Dad.
God told LB to frame it up and zoom into the favorable qualities of his Dad to value of dollar, to work
hard, and to work the ground. Had LB not zoomed in and put things in the proper frame, he would have
stored rocks of resentment or setup up stones of celebration. And you have the ability to erect stones of
celebration.
It does not need to be a rock of resentment. Celebrate Gods goodness instead.
So what are you going to do? Focus on rocks of resentment or setup up stones of celebration?
We all have the ability to frame it up, zoom in, and setup stone of celebration.
The 3rd area of ground work is the thorns.
If you ever worked at removing thorns, it is difficult.
You and I were created to work on the paths and rocks.
But the thorns were not part of Gods plan.
See Gen Genesis 3:17-18The rocks you did to yourself. The thorns the thorns are what sin did to you. Not
part of Gods plan.
We were never designed to deal with the thorns this is not in our pay grade.
However, God was not surprised when sin entered the world because he made plans for a savior to come to
earth. Because He had a plan to deal with the thorns something we lacked the power to address.
And this set the stage for His son to make a triumphant entry to earth.
And he came out of glory wrapped in humanity walked in flesh and made his dwelling among us.
But recall that he had one purpose his purpose was to go to the cross.
And he has captured by the Roman soldiers and they beat him, mocked him, and took his clothes - and they
put a scarlet robe on him - and they humiliated him and they beat him within an inch of his life and they

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 hurt him and the things that should have been laid on you and me were placed on him and the Roman
soldiers put a crown of thorns on his head a crown of thorns and sin that should have been on our head
ended up on the head of Jesus.
Jesus could have picked any crown that he wanted.
He picked this. His crowning achievement was our sin.
He did for our ground something we could never do. Jesus did his ground work in advance for others to build
on.
He did the ultimate ground work.
The stone the builders rejected has become the corner stone.
Everything is built on that stone. And Jesus put it out there and said that is my stone.
Because he did this, He created a path for you and me so that we could come into the presence of our God.
That is what he did. He made a path a place for you and me to come into His presence.
Hebrews 12:1: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off
everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked
out for us,
God says: There is a path. I have laid it out And I want you to run it as fast as you can.
Jesus crowning achievement was our sin. While we know that we put a crown on the head of a campion. Our
King took the crown of thorns.
But did you also know that there is a crown for you and me?
Yes. Even with all of the advanced ground work done by Jesus, there is a crown for you and me.
See 1 Tim 4:8: Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge,
will award to me on that dayand not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Start working your ground. Because there is a God who send a son who wore a crown of thorns so that you
can I can have a crown and stand at His feet.
Closing prayer by LB: God has sowed some paths that we need to find a purpose for. He sent us some
rocks that we can setup as stones of celebration. But he also showed us some thorns that only He can deal
with. So Father as we gather together in your mighty name, we hear your word. I pray for that person that
is looking at the difficult paths of their life and to invite someone onto it. They are alone and isolated and
all they have is there pain. But God, I pray that they turn their perspective towards you and they would see
their purpose and they would not live in the path and they would not live in the pain. But, they would see
purpose in front of them to bring others into your presence. Oh God give people the courage to dig up
some stones things that the enemy holds to hurt them - that God they can setup these stones as a
celebration. Thank you for the victory that has been won that is coming because we can set up a stone as a
tribute to your faithfulness. God, thank you for your son Jesus who took our thorns. Thank you he did
what only he could do and created a way to be in your presence. Thank you for the crown that is awaiting
us. We thank you and we praise you in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

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