26 GOD SOWS SEEDS. LUKE 8. 4-15

In the above parable Jesus will explain what happens when God sends seeds of Faith for His children the first thing to notice is, there is no shortage of Faith-seeds He throws it on the Path, on the Rocky Ground, some where the thorn bushes are and even manages to get some on the field for the crop. So the problem is not with the amount of seed, there’s plenty of that, it can be taken up by anyone. So why isn’t it taken up and spread abroad more than it is? I am attempting to answer that question today. We are not born with Faith, Like all good things in this world, we have to learn to achieve them, in this case we have to hear about it, seek it out, understand it and evaluate it. As Paul tells us “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the Word of God,” Once God gives us the gift of Faith and we know that God is the source of all truth We begin to understand Faith. We all have two ears and most of us have pretty good hearing, so we know we have to listen carefully as we hear Scripture being read and explained to us, therefore, the reason Faith is not exercised is, either we are not listening, or we are not being taught, or, we just don’t want it, or perhaps a bit of all three, in the case of the first two, I suggest we could read it aloud to ourselves so that we can hear it. And allow the Holy Spirit to teach us. When we hear something it goes through our ears to our brain, and is stored there for future reference like a computor. God made us, He knows our capabilities, our senses, everything about us. He knows what we can say to whom. So why don’t we speak-up​? Embarrassed?... It was pretty embarrassing hanging naked on a cross for sins He didn’t commit... Don’t want to make a fool of yourself?,... The Son of God made a fool of Himself for us.... People might scoff and laugh at us?…. “The people scoffed at Jesus saying, “He saved others, let him save himself” So He’s not asking us to do anything for Him, which He hasn’t already done for us. In the case of people in the third category, “those who just don’t want to know about God, or only want an argument I believe we have to leave them to God, but never stop living a Christian life and giving examples of our own faith. I believe this Parable is one of the most basic teachings Jesus gave us, so nobody can say they don’t understand, Jesus chose something as small as a seed to show us how little Faith we need to trust Him, and how few words we need to use. If we take up His offer and give a seed to each person we meet, I wonder Just how large a field we would cover. Yes, some will be waisted, and Satin will come and have his way with some of the seed, but there’s plenty more where that came from. In Luke 8.v4 Jesus tells us the parable about the farmer who sowed some seed in his field. He gave us four examples of what happens when seed is sown. It’s interesting to note that even the disciples who had been with Jesus for several months didn’t understand this parable and He had to explain it to them and give them the reason why He was speaking in parables There were people there just as there are people in the world today who can’t and don’t understand about The Kingdom of God, but we can, So, like Jesus, we have to speak to them in the language they do understand fields and birds, rocky ground and the heat of the sun etc” In other words, Jesus is telling us Don’t talk to new Comers with churchy words or Theological phrases they have no idea what we are talking about. Just tell them about Jesus, How much He loves them and why ,and what He has done for them. I believe, By following His methods we may get better results. Jesus explained to the disciples the parable (Luke 8.v11) The seed is the Word of God. Although we can’t change or minimise it we can simplify it. Inevitably as the farmer goes to the perimeter of the field some will go on to the pathway, and be waisted and birds will come and eat it, in other words, people will hear it and say “What a nice story” instead of taking a few minutes to really listen they ignore the Word of God, while others will reject it out of hand, because Satin jumps in and tells them they’ve done okay in life so far without all that God stuff, so they don’t need it now. But, God keeps giving us more opportunities to pick up on those seeds and come to Him before trouble hits and we live to regret not having taken op such opportunities. It’s good to remember God never withdraws His offer or runs out of the good seed of Salvation, it’s always waiting to be picked up. The second example Jesus gave was the seed that falls on Rocky ground, have you ever noticed, where there are rocky surfaces, there are also little puddles of water keeping tufts of grass green for a short time, and also making the rocks slippery then as the water dries up so does the grass, it’s a process, and so it is with Faith, while it’s fresh, nice, green and moist all is well, but when the water dries up and challenges arrive the grass dies and things get a little tough so does the faith of those who are only there for the good times without putting in much effort or commitment they slowly get bored and slip off the Rock and get washed away. There is no stability, staying power or willingness to learn about God. This is usually brought about by not looking for and finding a Christian friend who can help them in to a good Bible-believing church, or not feeling welcome when they do find one. It’s important, if you see a new face at church to welcome them, remember you were a stranger once and someone came and spoke to you. One never knows just what The Lord has lined up for you, so speak to a stranger, you may save a soul for Christ. Jesus’ third example was The seed that fell among thorns. It was choked by the worries, riches and pleasures of this world. Thorns are horrible things, and I believe Christ chose them very deliberately, they can hurt, even draw blood at times. Some people find it difficult to fully accept Christ, the reasons are varied and numerous; The price is going to be too high, others are of the opinion they have to be a really good person to be a Christian, still some think they have been so bad, God wouldn’t want anything to do with them. These are worldly attitudes and obstacles which choke many a searching heart that desperately needs Christ. These people need to be dealt with sensitively and with gentleness. Tell such people it doesn’t cost anything to come to Jesus just Come as they are, Give Jesus a chance , You have nothing to loose, and everything to gain. He can deal with liars, thieves, bad mouth, porn, abortion, prostitution anything, tell them they are not the first to come to Him in a mess, He has dealt with much worse than they are, if they really want to change and have a new start in life, Jesus is the only way, tell them He died for them to come to Him and receive eternal life. Explain to them exactly what Eternal life really means. Living forever in the happiness of Heaven with God and all the people who have gone there ahead of us. they will live in peace and harmony, no pain, no tears or fighting, disagreements arguments or heartaches, life will be perfect. Why would anyone not want that, especially when one looks at the mess the world is in today. Tell them the only reason God wants them to turn to Him is because He loves them and gave up His very life for them, surely He deserves a chance. Go the extra mile, offer to pick them up for church, or take them for coffee, invite them for a meal, give them your phone number, make yourself available, that’s what true Christianity is really about. Is God asking you to be a Soul Saver for Him today? What an opportunity.!!! The sequence of the words Jesus chose is interesting, “Worries” When one worries it shows a lack of Faith, hundreds of times we read in Scripture “Do not worry” and “Just Believe”, I know these are the most difficult for a new Christian to master, but I can tell you from personal experience when you have mastered worry, all the other virtues are a breeze. The more Faith I have, the less I worry, so pray for God to increase your Faith He really does take care of things when we allow Him to. The problems come when we don’t understand what or why he is doing certain things especially when those thing are exactly what we wouldn’t do, some get fearful and start to put their own spin on it, then things really go wrong and they blame God, However, all is not lost , Confess and try again with smaller things, watch Him work and slowly you will learn to trust Him with bigger things , You’ll be amazed. The next words He used were Riches and Pleasures. We want Riches to buy things that bring us the pleasures of this world. God has given us this world and all that is in it for our enjoyment and pleasure. But, We have to understand where and in whom our Identity lies, as Christians, we belong to Him, and our priority must be Him and His desire for us. So, if we make an Idol of anything else, money, riches and pleasures, we are putting that thing, person or place on the same footing as God who has no equal. This is a sign of misunderstanding and immaturity and will very soon lead us away from God. Jesus said, The Forth Seed fell on good soil. This didn’t let them off the hook, He said “They retain it and nurture it and by persevering produce a good crop.” note the words nurture and persevering, You see we can’t say “I’m a Christian, I know some scripture, go to church, sing the songs, give tithes etc. so I’ll be okay, No, Being a Christian is an activity, it’s an everyday 24/7 job. Now, you can make this a chore or a joyful experience. I know there are some Sects, Churches and religious organisations that require their members to go door-to-door or stand on street corners to preach, and if they are preaching Jesus I don’t have a problem. Jesus said “If they are not against me they are for me” But I would rather bring them to church, take them out for coffee, or spend a bit of time with them in either of our homes. The Command for a Christian is;--”Go and Teach all Nations Baptizing them In the name of The Father and of The Son and of The Holy Spirit” So you see there is a requirement even for those of us who had the Faith Seed fall into their lap as it were. Jesus said “To whom much has given, much is required,” in fact this is a Command for the long-term mature Christian who by persevering will produce a large crop . We all have to answer for what we have been given, and one day, Jesus will want to know what we did with the seed we were given. See the parable of the Talents. Our Christian Faith is so precious, it has to be valued, nurtured, guarded and protected, yet spread thickly all over the world. This is not an easy job and that’s why God sent us His Holy Spirit to help advise and comfort us. We need His input in every situation to keep us awake and alert as the devil roams around the earth “Seeking whom he may devour.” That’s not just you and me, but the New Christians who we must nurture and help along with the seeds which we’ve been given. These seeds are not only of Faith, but Our God also sends seeds of Hope, of Love, Integrity, Holiness, Kindness etc. It’s always a good practise before one goes into a situation to ask The Holy Spirit’s presence to provide us with an abundance of the particular seed necessary to meet the requirements of the situation. This has a two-fold effect (1) it keeps us humble and (2) it gives us confidence knowing and feeling the presence of God. I hope I’ve provided some food for thought regarding the parable of the Seeds. Prayer is our ultimate weapon, use it often. God Bless and protect us all in Jesus’ name Phaline. ------------------------