Of everything Jesus ever taught, is there one lesson that stands above the rest? We make the case for a single teaching that has the power to reshape how we treat others, view ourselves, and understand what matters most. It might not be the one you expect.
01The One Lesson That Unlocks Everything Else
What if there was a single teaching from Jesus that held the key to understanding everything else he said? That's the bold claim Matt Edmundson explores in this Crowd Church talk, looking at one of the most well-known but often misunderstood stories in the Bible — the Parable of the Sower. Far from being a simple farming illustration, it turns out to be a practical framework for growth that applies to faith, business, relationships, and just about everything in between.
02Why This Parable Matters More Than You Think
In Mark chapter 4, Jesus tells a story about a farmer scattering seed. The seed falls in four different places — a path, rocky ground, among thorns, and on good soil. Only one produces a harvest.
When the disciples ask Jesus to explain, he says something striking: "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all parables?" In other words, if you don't get this one, you won't get any of them. That's quite a statement, and it's what makes this teaching worth paying attention to.
Matt points out something interesting about the starting point. Every self-help book on the planet contains some version of the principles Jesus teaches here — understanding, persistence, focus, contentment. But none of them start where Jesus starts: with the seed being the word of God, not our own ideas or affirmations.
"Self-help starts with me," Matt explains. "What Jesus is saying starts with God. I don't need self-help first and foremost in my life — I need God's help." That's a different foundation entirely. And it matters because God's plans tend to be bigger than what we'd come up with on our own.
03The Four Places Your Growth Can Get Stuck
Jesus lays out four stages, and only the last one produces fruit. Here's what they look like in real life.
The path — not understanding. The seed lands but never takes root because there's no understanding. Matt shares a costly personal example: he lost a significant amount of money investing in property because he rushed in without taking time to understand what he was doing. Proverbs 4:7 puts it bluntly: "Though it cost you all that you have, get understanding." Whether you've been a Christian for decades or you're brand new to it, investing time in understanding is the non-negotiable first step.
The rocky ground — no roots. This is the pattern most of us recognise: starting something with enthusiasm and then quietly stopping a few months later. Matt uses the example of fitness programmes — you begin with energy, but when it gets hard, you give up. Jesus says the problem is a lack of root, which Matt translates as character. When persecution or obstacles come, people without depth fall away. Roots are about integrity, determination, generosity, and how you handle things when they go wrong.
The thorns — getting choked. This one is sneaky because the things that choke growth aren't necessarily bad things. Jesus mentions three: the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desire for other things. You need to pay the rent — that's not wrong. But anxiety about it consuming your thoughts is a different matter. Money isn't evil, but the drive to accumulate it can lead you somewhere unhealthy. Wanting things isn't the problem — losing focus because of it is. And these weeds grow slowly, which is exactly why they're so dangerous. You rarely notice them until they've already taken hold.
The good soil — bearing fruit. Finally, those who hear, accept, and bear fruit — some thirty, some sixty, some a hundredfold. And here's the bit that caught Matt off guard in his preparation: the harvest isn't equal, and it's not supposed to be.
04The Comparison Problem Nobody Talks About
If you produce thirty-fold and someone else produces a hundred, the temptation is to look at your thirty and feel like you're failing. Matt is honest about this: "I can look at other businesses and wonder why I don't have as many staff."
But God designed it this way. Different levels of fruit for different people isn't a sign of failure or favouritism — it's just how it works. The goal isn't to match someone else's harvest. It's to steward what God has given you and be content with where you are while still growing.
Sue Williams, co-hosting the conversation, shares how comparison used to consume her — comparing herself to other women, worrying whether people liked her, scrolling through Facebook seeing the same people constantly on holiday in the Maldives while she sat at home. The breakthrough came through a deliberate discipline of gratitude: thanking God for what she actually had, and genuinely praying for those who seemed to have more. "I had to repeat it for a few weeks," she says, "and then it just left. That weed totally left, and I was left with gratitude."
05Building Roots When the Weather Is Calm
Sue asks a brilliant question during the conversation: how do you actually build your root structure in practice?
Matt's answer is that you find out how good your roots are when the wind blows — when something tries to destabilise you. But you build them during the calm seasons. He shares a story from when he first started his web design company. They were broke, with a newborn baby, and a man offered them money to build a porn website. The financial pressure was real, but the character question was clear. They turned it down. "I slept well that night," Matt says. That kind of decision is only possible when you've already built the roots that tell you what's right.
Sue adds that for her, the roots grew through reading the Bible consistently (even though she admits she struggles with it), through honest conversation with trusted friends, and through those friends speaking truth when her thinking went sideways.
06Things You Can Do This Week
Invest in understanding something you've been rushing through. Whether it's a Bible passage, a financial decision, or a relationship issue — slow down and actually think about it before acting.
Identify one character trait you want to strengthen. Not a skill, not a qualification — a character trait. Integrity, patience, generosity. Pick one and look for opportunities to practise it this week.
Name your weeds. What's slowly choking your focus or peace? Is it anxiety about money? Scrolling social media? The desire for something someone else has? Name it honestly, then try Sue's approach — replace it with specific gratitude.
Stop comparing your thirty to someone else's hundred. Write down three things that are genuinely going well in your life right now. Not because everything is perfect, but because contentment is a discipline, not a feeling.
07The Seed Is Already in Your Hands
The Parable of the Sower isn't about farming. It's about what happens between receiving something from God and seeing it actually grow. Most of the obstacles along the way are internal — lack of understanding, weak character, slow-creeping distractions, and the relentless pull of comparison.
The good news is that every one of those obstacles can be addressed. Not instantly, and not perfectly, but consistently, over time, with the right people around you.
What seed has God already placed in your hands that you might be too busy looking for the oak tree to notice?
Topics in this talk
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uh so my foreign you me well good afternoon and welcome to crap church with me madmanson and beside me is the beautiful sue williams so good well good afternoon yeah it is good afternoon and i think we're doing really well being indoors when it is super super sunny here it is super sunny outside isn't it in fact i'm just gonna open the window a little bit uh yeah there we go uh so it is sunny so if you're watching crowd church from indoors uh like the rest of us then you know welcome welcome to crowd church and if you're watching us outside i am slightly envious that i can't leave a live stream from my garden right now but you know one day the technology will be with us it's just not right here right now so anyway so how are you doing welcome to crowd first time with us right oh yeah first time um very excited a little nervous and because it is a little bit unpredictable working with you matt and we never we never quite know what's going to happen that's very very true that's how we like it so yeah i'm i'm uber chuffed to be here thank you no no it's great to have you and i'm stoked you can be with us that's for sure so uh for those of you who don't know sue and i uh have been friends for a very very very long time i believe it yeah you me and noah used to hang out all the time didn't we um so yeah i've known for a really long time uh almost 30 years now uh and uh yeah can you believe it so um yeah yeah it's gone by a million miles an hour million miles now sue is a beautiful person and a fantastic lady real uh woman of god and i couldn't think of anybody better to host with on this beautiful sunday sunday afternoon with you soon so welcome it's great to have you thank you now we used to host uh actual in church didn't we when you know back in the day when the church was full of people before lockdown uh we used to host together and that was always quite good fun as well so i'm thinking this will be good yeah yeah anyway let me tell everybody out there crowd church it's great to see you great that you're here crowd is a church it's a digital church an online church especially for those that might not see the point of church or who are looking for answers you know how to live a meaningful life we just do church online because we can now we like uh digital church so it's great that you are here you can put in the comments any comments you like whether you're watching on facebook or youtube always great to hear from you uh and we will nicholas put here and i'm just going to put nicola's comment on the screen because frankly it's it's worthy nicholas put here in the comments because sal's not here matt put the phone number up on the screen so i'm going to do that now for those of you it's good that nicholas reminding me of these things right so um so yes if this is true professionals that we are uh if you would like to get in touch with us via the whatsapp number which is down here on the screen uh so can you here's the first test can you point to that what's happening but i ask everybody to do this yep there we go uh it's a true test of a professional presenter uh so fail every single day so everybody does it's fine uh so if you would like to get in touch with us via whatsapp you can connect with us on that number and especially if you've got anything you would like us to pray for any prayer requests we'd love to pray for folks you can reach out by the whatsapp number or via the comments on facebook or youtube or via that website url that you see there www.crowd.church so many ways that you can connect with us choose your favorite one and connect with us that time so yeah yeah so here we go sharon says it's good to see you uh sue uh nicholas says hi sue uh and she's just about the number oh okay i don't know why that's not doing that then because it's supposed to hi nichola hi sharon thanks for the messages thank you anyways it is great to see you all so today sue what we got coming up do you know uh well there's quite a bit actually we've got um oh we've got this amazing talk coming up from then this amazing international speaker and his name's matthias edmondson and so he's speaking today on mark and that sounds absolutely and well i know it's going to be good matt's always good and and so of course we'll also have a little bit of time of worship and reflection a little bit and then obviously then afterwards we have to scrutinize your talk i feel like i'm gonna be on trial we're gonna be inspired by it and uh reflect and chat and discuss it that's what we'll be doing absolutely we will yeah and then um that will take us right through right through to the end it will and we've got ketchup coming as well elias has done this week's catch-up video so make sure you stay tuned for that all told we think we'll be finished around quarter to five five o'clock somewhere around there so for the next 45 minutes to an hour that you're with us just enjoy being with us and if this is your first time with us here at crowd it's great that you're here just feel at home we're kind of laid back we're kind of chilled out but also we're kind of inspired about jesus and so that's kind of the two things coming together and we just uh we want to know more about jesus about the church and what he you know what he's got planned for us really and does it all make sense for us today and that's some really awkward questions so uh shall we get into the talk sue let's do i think that sounds absolutely brilliant yeah yeah we'll do that yeah i'm looking forward to it i've got my pen and paper yeah i'm gonna absolutely you do that now uh for those of you that haven't got a notebook you can comment of course uh in the facebook comments just jot down any thoughts questions that you have and we will get to those in the q a session and just to give you a tiny little background before i press the button here to play the talk we have been working our way through mark's gospel for the last 18 months can you believe it and last week we finally got to the end with john harding doing the final chapter of mark's gospel but i am also aware that there were a few chapters of mark we didn't actually get to cover here on the live stream so what we are going to do this week next week and the week after the next three weeks so me this week sally is doing the one uh next week and then james sloan is coming we are just going to pick out one of the stories from the first five chapters of mark's gospel and just talk about those um and so that's what we're doing for the next three weeks we're just kind of revisiting some of the stuff that we didn't get to talk about in the live stream so without further ado with all that headed up this is what we're going to get into we are going to get into mark's gospel which is one of the books that chronicles the life of jesus and sue and i will be back again very soon grab your notebooks here we go is this jesus's most important lesson he has ever taught that is the title of today's talk and whilst it could easily qualify for clickbait you'll see there is a reason that i ask this question as we're going to come to right now jesus in mark chapter 4 is teaching using parables or illustrations right and we kind of get to this place in mark four which we now call the parable of the sower okay it's all about sowing seed and someone that's the illustration someone is scattering or sowing seed and jesus paints this picture of someone who sows this seed and he talks about four different places in which the seed falls but only one of them bears fruit which is what uh we christians call being successful yes we use the term being fruitful right so this parable is all about how to become more successful how to become more fruitful especially in the things of god and i for one am very very interested in this topic yes i am and in fact so were his disciples but they didn't really get it they didn't really understand the illustration that jesus gave so they asked jesus about what he said okay and this is where we're gonna pick up the story okay so we're reading from mark's gospel chapter four and we're starting at verse 13. and he jesus said to them do you not understand this parable how then will you understand all parables it's an extraordinary statement isn't it and this kind of caused me to ask actually is this the most important lesson that jesus ever taught i don't know if it is but jesus here is telling us that understanding this parable is really the key to understanding all of the other parables right so we've got to understand this one first that makes it important in my mind so let's learn some more about it so jesus carries on and he says the sows the word now spoiler alert okay you could take just about every self-help book that is out there and you will find in those pages some are all of the principles that jesus is going to talk about in this passage okay because as we're going to see they make an awful lot of sense right and you'll be pleased to know they also work and that's why people write about them they put them in the books but in the hundreds of books that i have read not one of them starts in the same place that jesus starts and that is in the seed that you sow what do i mean by that so here jesus is saying that the seed is the word of god and this is important right you could try and sow other seeds like affirmations or goal setting for example if we're going down the self-help route but those seeds they come from us they come from my brain from my mind and this is where self-help sort of falls down right because what jesus is teaching here is different self-help starts with me what jesus is saying starts with god i don't need self-help first and foremost in my life i need god's help first and foremost in my life right now don't get me wrong i like the self-help books and i think self-help can be useful and it could be good at helping people but when all you've got to rely on is just yourself and your own mental willpower well i'm not convinced that's just a great starting point at all and i'll tell you why i think it's a little bit limiting god usually has a much bigger view and a much bigger aim and much bigger plans than i personally can dream of but also oftentimes this is important god's word has a direct clash with culture and society and what self-help gurus teach because it's not just about what i want out of life it's about the plans that god has for my life and my willingness to pursue those now that's not always a sexy message but it is a fundamental requirement of christianity okay lord not my will but your will be done needs to be our daily prayer but that's hard but it is crucial and the second thing to draw out here is seeds are small yeah i know i know this is not rocket science is it we know seeds are small but if you're like me you kind of have to remind yourself of that because i can find myself praying for something that is in effect asking god for a full blown oak tree bam instantly appearing right now don't get me wrong i believe in a god that does miracles i've seen them and had them john talked about them last week a little bit but one thing that i have learned and to be fair it has taken me a fair chunk of time to learn this lesson is that god doesn't always answer my prayers with the big the sudden miracles sometimes that happens but most of the times he opens my hands and he gives me seeds to sow but even god's supplied seed still starts small right and i can often miss i'm too busy looking for that big oak tree that i miss the seeds that he has given me that i need to sow and nurture so how do i do that how do i nurture them how do i see these seeds grow or jesus tells us in matthew 13 verse 19 it says this when anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart this is what was sown along the path so this is the first place that jesus talks about the seed gets scattered on the path but look at this phrase right does not understand it so the first stage to growing the seeds that god has given us is to invest time in understanding okay now let me tell you i lost a shared load of money with investing in property right a truckload of the stuff i thought i was doing the right thing but i rushed into it and with bad counsel and i didn't spend the time to understand it and that was a massive mistake and so i lost out big time right proverbs chapter 4 verse 7 says this though it cost you all that you have get understanding that's pretty mad isn't it i mean costs all that you have get understanding right because growth comes by understanding invest in the time needed to understand what's going on or what god is saying especially when it comes to the things of god and this is true whether you've been a christian for 80 years or whether you've just started out on the christian journey get understanding it's the crucial first step okay so what's the next step well jesus talked about the path and then he goes on to talk about the rocky ground 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 okay what are we talking about here jesus let me ask you a question which will illustrate this how many times have you started something only to find a few months later you've stopped okay so let me take from my own life the obvious example which i for years struggled with was getting fit might just be me but i did right i'd start on a process or on a program but pretty soon again i'd stop why well according to jesus it's because persecution arose and so i only endured for a while because i didn't have strong enough roots if i translate that into modern day vernacular it basically meant that the exercise got harder and harder so after a while i just stopped right i didn't have that depth of character to keep going you see there are obstacles that you have to fight to overcome through persistence you have to invest down and develop the roots if you've ever tried to remove a big root from your garden you will know what i'm talking about because it isn't easy right a root especially a big well-established route is amongst other things very very stubborn okay but i've seen this i've seen this in church time and time again like you take something like teaching on prayer or healing right you hear that you get excited about it you even see god answer your prayers or they get healed and they have joy but they don't have the root the so when persecution or hardships or obstacles get in the way and life starts to get difficult well they fall off they're nowhere to be seen because root is all about our character our integrity our determination to do the right thing regardless of the cost it's about our generosity of spirit our prayer life our gratitude how we deal with other people righteousness peace i mean the list goes on and on but how strong is your character how do you deal with obstacles what do you like when things inevitably go wrong that's a really important question right we have to invest down we have to invest in the root structure our character wow i mean you don't often hear that talk do you so what's the next hurdle that jesus talks about we've had the path we've had the rocky places what's next and others are the ones sown among the thorns they are those who hear the word but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things enter in and choke the word and it proves unfruitful okay let's picture this in our minds right a field full of harvest yet in that field there are small sections that are surrounded by weeds and that section in the middle has been cut off from the rest of the harvest you know when you're heading down this road right of being in the thorns because you feel like you're being disconnected from those around you you start sort of you start out well but you get disconnected and life starts to be a lot more insular and a lot more inside your own head and a lot more about you and this is especially true in committed relationships like marriage or for as christians i think i see it a lot when we start to disconnect from church right so staying committed to our tribe to our spouse to our church and keeping short accounts and not letting those things around us grow and take root that seems to be essential okay but look at what jesus said he says these things enter in and choke the word i think this is a really really interesting phrase that jesus uses here when he talks about things entering in they choke the word this is something that happens over time it's not an instant thing it takes time for these things to really affect us which means it's really really hard to notice them right so what are these weeds that chokers that we should be aware of jesus what are you talking about please do explain it well there are three that jesus mentions number one the cares of this world number two the deceitfulness of riches and number three the desire for other things now looking at this list i don't know about you i wouldn't say that they're all bad things right i mean we need to care about things like mortgages or rent we need money and wanting other things well that can't be all bad surely can it now whilst wanting to pay the rent is great and highly recommended anxiety over it and that kind of anxiety consuming my that's not so great money in and of itself is not evil the bible has a lot to say about money but the drive to get more of it can cause us to do evil things and desiring other things well that can cause us to lose focus or to think the grass is greener somewhere else can't it see these things left and check can begin to choke us and that's why staying connected to our tribe is so important because they usually spot these weeds long before we do right and this is especially important for us as christians when we're committed to each other in a spirit of humility we do really really well but there is still one final hurdle that we have to jump over which jesus talks about he says those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word accept it and bear fruit 30 fold 60 fold and 100 fold now imagine right all that you've had to go through to get to this stage you've invested in your understanding you've invested down and built your character and roots you've endured hardship and obstacles and come through them you've managed to keep the weeds at bay right i mean that's a lot going on and now you've actually got to a place where you see success and fruitfulness which is awesome right well there is one more point i think we have to deal with here and it's the fact that some bear 30-fold some 60-fold and some 100-fold in other words there will be people who are more successful than you and there will be people that you are more successful than if that makes sense and you know what you have to be okay with that otherwise comparison will drive you up the wall you will always be looking at your 30 wondering why you didn't get a hundred listen to me here right you need to know that this is okay god has designed it in such a way right and it's not because he favors someone more than you or he likes somebody else more than you but it is just part of god's natural order it's part of his plan and you are going to have different levels of success different levels of fruit and that's okay you see it would be easy for me to compare my business for example with other businesses and wonder why i don't have as many staff and yes there are things that i can learn from them that i can put into practice which are going to fundamentally help me but i have to learn how to be content with what god has given me and steward for him as best as i can and it's the same in our christian walks too right i can look at others and wonder why they seem to have better opportunities in life than i do but as long as i've spent time understanding building my character and staying connected i can trust god and be content with what i have in life with my life with where i'm at i can be content with that and this is not just me accepting my lot in life by the way because that isn't growth i'm not just sitting back going okay god whatever no no my purpose is to grow and bear fruit that's the whole point in this right but what i don't have to do is judge by looking to others i have to judge my life and the success and the fruit in my life by what god has got for me and my family and being content with that knowing that today i am okay with god and that i can trust him for tomorrow so back to the title is this the most important lesson that jesus teaches i still don't know but i do know that understanding it is essential for us if we want to grow in life i can take these principles and apply them to my marriage to my business to my family to what's going on around me and that is great and wonderful and helpful but ultimately it's about learning the things of god and it is about my walk with god so if i want to be successful if i want to grasp how to have the word of god bear fruit in my life then absolutely this is a really really important lesson for all of us that was absolutely incredible thank you matt there is so much in that talk um and i'm sure that you will have questions please send them in um i know i i've got questions so before we do that let's have um a couple of minutes where we have a time of worship reflection and we're going to play a song called graves into garden and i just had a little look at the words and and the sense that i got from this song is that whether we're on top of the mountain at the moment or we're in the valley whether we feel people's praise or we don't god's love is the answer he is the stability so we're just going to listen to this song in worship and reflection i searched the world but it couldn't fill me man's empty praise and treasures that fade are never enough then you came along and put me back together but every desire is now satisfied here in your love oh there's nothing better than you there's nothing better than you lord there's nothing nothing is better than you i'm not afraid to show you my weakness them feelings and you still call me forever cause the god of the mountain is the god of the valley there's not a place your mercy and grace won't find me against [Applause] that thing is better than you nothing is you better on into dancing you give beauty for ashes you turn shame into glory you turned bones into you turn seas into highways you're the only one who cares you're the only one who there's cares nothing is better than you well thanks john anna grace for that track do you like that track soon that was lovely have they written it no no no no no it's not a song they've written it's a song they a song they've recorded and uh it's a lovely song i think it's really interesting you turn graves into gardens uh such a great testimony yeah yeah yeah yeah absolutely love it love it love it love it they did a great job so what do we think sue your first time on crowd how did you get on with that talk i tell you what i thought it was like a big giant piece of steak oh yeah i love steak it's my favorite and literally i thought oh my word there is there was so much in that talk mat but i loved it because he made it so practical so absolutely loved it there's loads we could talk about do we do we have any questions where do we begin yeah it's a great question so one of the questions that's come in here you sharon said you talked about investing in your root structure can you give examples of how you've done that i think it's a really good question i obviously didn't do that well enough in the talk um so when when we talk about roots what do you understand too by root structure when we talk when jesus is talking about investing in your roots i likened it to character is that what you think it is yeah i suppose so um i i suppose i also think uh when i think about root structure and i think about it going down really deep and it's really well established i suppose i also think that that's happened over time um and so i think that is character but i think for me it is about uh prioritizing time and to read the bible and and then to really think about what to do about it you know and how to obey it rather than just rushing through it yeah i totally agree it's one of those things for me roots you find out if you've got roots when the winds are blowing if that makes sense when something's trying to uproot you when something's trying to destabilize you that's when you find out how good your roots are otherwise you don't normally know and it's not until you have a test or a trial or an obstacle or some kind of i mean jesus uses the word persecution something comes to try and sort of knock you off course it's not until that point you find out how good your roots are and i would totally agree it's what you do over time i think when times aren't difficult to build that down to build those foundations because we all like the stuff on the outside so what are some of the things then that you think we could do that sharon's asking what are some of the things that we could do to to build stronger routes do you think what are some of the things that you've done um well probably a few things it's a it's a really good question thanks shazi and i was thinking definitely reading the bible uh reading it consistently now i would be a total fiber if i didn't tell you that actually this is this is the thing i really actually struggle with so i'm a great example for you folks sorry um but somehow with god's help over the years really uh reading god's word but then i would also say things like listening like to matt then you know doing the talks because sometimes that really expands it um and for me it's definitely getting alongside did you say like your tribe is that how you describe people around you yeah i think for me that's probably been one of the key things because i'm a talker i like to talk out my thoughts my feelings and out of that i think my tribe in my have um been able to say yeah but god says this sue you're you know comparing yourself like i was just thinking about you know comparison and all these different things you know and i think about now um i'm a fair bit older now than i was when i first came to this uh church when i first met you matt and um we were all 12 back then so weren't we and then yeah and i i just remember like oh i could tell you a million things but one of them was comparison comparison with other women comparison um i don't know whether it was about looks it was just about friendship would they like me do they want to be with me literally but it was like a stuck record it literally would you know something one day then the next day and it really was um really over time talking about it to um friends who would say that is not true and also then really beginning to take hold of seeds in god's word that he actually loves me that he's for me that that's actually much more important than what other people gonna say about that's my priority yeah that's great and like you say that that takes time right that's not something you instantly just switch on you kind of and even now you still have to kind of remind yourself of those things so i mean it's um so i think for me building roots building your character actually working on your character as well it's actually understanding when i was younger people always used to say oh you're a bit arrogant and i just thought they meant i was confident turns out i was a bit arrogant and who knew right and so it's things like yeah i'm sure i'm sure you never told me that as well um but it's it's kind of it's taking that on board and going how do i work on my character do you mean the things that actually i don't i don't like integrity i remember years ago we um when we first started our web design company and we were broke i mean we were flat broke and we needed money and josh was a fairly new born at this point it's going back a while and um and we needed some money and a guy came to me and said oh you do the websites don't you i said yeah so can i have a website i was like thank you jesus how can i help you he said i want a porn site i was like oh so here i am right in the midst of a financial problem i needed money but at the same time i had work this guy was promising me money but i just was like oh it's porn so now there's an integrity issue this is a character thing all of a sudden but and to turn it down it's going to cost me do i mean but ultimately you turn it down there's no question you go no we'll turn that down because that's not right just heard a meaning you can do that when you have those strong roots because like you say you've taken to the time to understand what's right and wrong from god's word from god's perspective and you're like there's no way god's for pornography he just isn't on any kind of level and if my aim in life is to please him i'm not doing that website just just pointing that out right and so we politely refused to the guy you know and i can say it wasn't an easy it wasn't easy dealing with the financial hardship but i slept well that night i mean and that's a character thing and that's a sign i think of good strong you see i love that and do you know what matt i just love how you know we're talking about this and how practical the word of god is to help us in life in real situations like that because i was just thinking also about how um god has taught me through comparison to actually be much more thankful as a discipline and i was thinking um due to financial circumstances in all our life in the last 10 years um that classic thing on you know facebook when you see um particular the same people over and over again abroad somewhere else then the next week they're at the maldives and you're like oh that that looks very lovely so you know it was so tempting in that situation and you know and it says doesn't it one of the weeds desiring other things and riches and all that sort of stuff and like i'm sure all of us know weeds are absolutely they can just run rife particularly if they're left untended and um i just that was a great example of just really thanking god for the table i sat at for the food that we have for the family for the roof over my head but then also really praying the best for that other family yeah and thanking god that god had blessed them yeah through their skill and ability in that area of their life you know but was praying for health and then honestly and i i had to repeat for a few weeks and then it just left just that that weed it just totally left and i was left with gratitude and so it's brilliant i think that's brilliant it's such a it's such a simple thing but it's so powerful isn't it that god-given ability just to to have gratitude regardless of what paul said it didn't he said i know what it is to be poor i know what it is to be rich so he wrote paul is a guy who wrote part of the new testament right and he the saint paul the apostle paul that you know paul the man he said i know what it is to be rich i know what it is to be poor but in all things i have learned to be content and it's in that same passage where he says i can do all things through christ who strengthens me right in other words i can live wealthy i can live poor i can do all of this in christ jesus and he talks about having that thankfulness doesn't he having that spirit of thankfulness all and i think that contentment and being grateful is is one of the secrets to a happy life yeah i honestly i totally agree and it's something that god's taught me more and more about and as time has gone on um and to the point sometimes i just like rejoice at like i'm walking along the road this is incredible god thank you that i can walk thank you for my freedom it's incredible because it really stops you from thinking what you don't have but actually what i say to my children do you realize how rich we are yeah when there's people in this world a lot of people don't even have a roof over their head that's how rich we are and i think we forget that you know in western comparison isn't it that's what we're talking about and i love that bit that i think in the when i was preparing the talk one of the things that really surprised me um because you know when you if you're going to be like me so every time you read scripture something new comes out you're like that's really cool why have i not seen that before because i've read talk the parable of the sower many times i have talked about this in different churches around the globe many times it's such a powerful thing and then this time i'm like of course the 30 60 if i had 30 i'm going to look at someone who's got a hundred and go hang on a minute why i'm doing all right but i'm not doing great what's going on and um and that is that actually robs um that's that kind of thing i know 30 is what for in this instance that is what god's got for me let's let's let's deal with that let's that's okay yeah like you say and pray for the guy that's got 100 because men they're going to have to learn how to deal with that right absolutely because it's not an easy thing because it you know the more you have you know everyone says it don't they that you know you think or you're going to be happier but you know it isn't necessarily that's um there was something i was going to say but i've totally forgotten so well whilst you're thinking about what that is um yeah you may not know this too but historically the way we kind of wrap up this discussion time is we have a question from nicola occasionally a guy called matt free who you know will hijack the question but on this week uh nicola has sent in the question ahead of time and she was texting me as we as we went through and so here's my question for you right you ready for this this is deep there we go can i do it yeah yeah what movie would be greatly improved if it was made into a musical you don't know do you you see a re i i think that's such a great question what movie would be improved if it was made and then i go down a list of movies in my head and most of them have been made into musicals right i went to uh i went to the last musical i went to see i actually went with your brother-in-law tony uh tony and i went to see big you know the the the movie big yeah we saw the musical big which was fantastic and actually a lot better than the movie because when you think about what the storyline is in the movie the time when it came out we're like this is great now i let him go that's just a really weird story the music was great uh nicholas says here the the movie that she would uh think needs to turn into a musical would be star wars uh matt's put here i like this one matt's put kindergarten cop which now i'm not gonna lie you're showing your age bud when you say kindergarten problem yeah i love that film yeah what about batman batman no you can't have batman as a musical what's wrong with you that's what my son would say as well me right now actually for suggesting it it's on the internet how to disown your mother mother brilliant right on that bombshell the batman bombshell let's do ketchup here's this week's sketchup video hello everyone welcome to catch up my name's alice and if you're new a very warm welcome to you i'll explain what catcher fits for those who don't know catch up just a little section where people members of community will send in photos or videos each week like a compilation just to see what everyone's been doing nice meal maybe a beautiful bike ride yeah just stuff like that as per usual i'll kick it off with what i've been doing this week recently i've done a piece of r well it's not finished but that's a piece of art which i'm quite proud of this is this is a work in progress and it's taking quite a long time it's been my week go to the clips well thank you for the clips everyone enjoyable as always and remember if you want to send your clips you can text the whatsapp number on the bottom of the screen or you can use hashtag crowdcatchup on instagram and see you all next week very good thanks for that elise i loved his artwork did you see his artwork i was gonna snake elias that artwork really really good excellent well done yeah very good amazing good yeah yeah and good to see little lean is now grown into the bambocino thing won't be long for she's on the cappuccinos just you know the next yeah bless her so thanks sending those in like elias said if you want to see your videos uh or images on ketchup just hashtag catch up on instagram uh or your um send them to the whatsapp let me put the whatsapp number there we go the whatsapp number on the screen which is the same place you can send your prayer requests if you've got any so uh what's mapper here oh you missed my beer smile out yeah sorry bud matt um you have to have a word with josh i don't know he put the clips together for did you crowd catch up it i don't know if you put the hashtag on it great if you didn't i there's nothing i can do bro there's nothing i can do and so uh to be fair i think you text it to me so there probably was something i could have done and forwarded it to josh and i completely forgot uh josh did send me a message this morning saying have you got any stuff that you want me to put in catch up matt and i i have to be honest i was leading the 10 30 service at frontline this morning so i was a little bit busy so i do have a reasonable excuse i don't know is that reasonable sue i think it's fair i just think maybe it's a character issue to develop and work i need to invest in my roots that's what i need to do and oh love it love it love it yeah probably was probably sorry matt is probably what i should say so that's um i think that's about it from us this week now do you know what's happening next week soon well um i know that sally which is incredible sally birch which i know you might have listened to her already but she's coming on to do a talk and she's doing it on miracles which should be really really interesting and she is fantastic she's a legend as well as well as gorgeous and a legend yeah yeah absolutely so sad will be with us next week uh she's hosting as well so you'll see a fair bit of sal and sal will be with me in the q a time so um sal will be back in the hot seat next week uh so we've got that coming up the week after that we have james stone like i say who's gonna round off the whole mark series for us then then it is probably for me the weekend i'm looking forward to the most this month because it is father's day and so as my children are watching this intent yeah i i am expecting good things i dare say i dare say my expectations and the reality will be slightly different uh but you know it's good to have hope and no doubt i'll be showing you the birthday cards or the birthday cards the father's day cards which get uh which get given to me and i will be showing those to you i have no doubt at all so yeah i'm glad you've reminded me matt yeah yeah make a note make a note yeah sue thanks so much for being here how was it your first week did you enjoy that absolutely loved it ready to take over anytime matt you're a legend you're a legend love it so loved it that you could be here and you will see more of suit i have no doubt in the future uh so if you are new to crowd make sure you come back as we live stream every sunday currently at 4pm uh on facebook and on youtube just go to the website www.crowd.church to find out more information or you can whatsapp us on that number and we will be glad to help you it is all there and of course if you've been coming along for a while and you would like to make crowds your church just let me know be good to know that so it'd be great if you could it's been brilliant i've really enjoyed this week it's been beautiful it's been fun and it's always great to hang out with my mate so thanks so much for doing it uh thank you matt you've been legend so everybody thank you have a fantastic week bless you the way we're gonna end this service now is we are gonna play one more worship track which you're more than welcome to stay around for and sing along too if it's safe to do so obviously um and then the live stream will end automatically that's it from myself and sue we will be back again next week so have a blessed week good to see you guys bye for now take care god bless of you anything less than your life giving true could never satisfy only in you too i have it all only in you jesus do i have it all only in new jersey god of goodness anything less than all of my heart i how great you are how great how great and beyond measure how great and beyond how brave oh
