The Seeds
Introduction
Last week we talked about sowing – how we are sowing seeds every day. Whether we want to or not, those seeds are going out. We looked at the Scripture in Galatians and Matthew – remember Galatians said, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” So from last week’s message we learned that sowing is something that all of us do – and we learned that we will reap from what we have sown. One of the key principles that we talked about last week was that we couldn’t control what happens to the seeds that we sow, but that it our responsibility to sow the seeds. I also mentioned that it is our responsibility to do something with the seeds that others sow within us. This is where our responsibility comes in. While you are sowing your seeds, others are sowing their seeds, some falling within your grasp, on your soil. So, how do we recognize a seed? What are the different types of seeds? This is what I want to talk about this morning, and next week I will end with the reaping. Last week after service I had a chance to talk with Nikki and Aunt Mae and learned some things about seeds. I did not know that they had to go in the ground a certain way and that if they started growing downward, they will turn around so that their growth will grow upward. They also told me that every now and then they would uncover their seeds to make sure they were growing in the right direction. This can also apply to us as to the seeds that are planted with us. So I want you to hold that thought until later and we will come back to that in a minute.
I. Understanding Seeds
I want to tell you a few things about seeds that I did not understand or know and then use that to show you how that applies to us. Although there are different types of seeds, they have several things in common. For example, all seeds must leave their parents before they can produce something. The seeds falls to the ground where they are picked up or transported to a place where they can be fertilized and grow.
• Seeds are fertilized during the process of fertilization. This process starts the seed’s growth into what it is to become.
• The next thing that all seeds share is their viability. Some seeds are viable (able to remain alive and grow into something after separating from the parent) for only a few days like those of a willow tree, while other seeds are able to remain viable for thousands of years like the Oriental lotus. Seeds that are sown after their best time can produce weak plants or not grow at all.
• Another trait that seeds share is their ability to go dormant (so-called resting periods – time of sleeping). Some seeds continue to mature during these resting periods while other seeds get ready for what is called the germination phase. So there are times when the seeds must rest before they are ready to start producing.
• The next phase is the fertilization phase. This is very similar to the human body fertilization. The seeds cannot produce anything until they are fertilized.
• The last phase is the germination phase. During this phase the seed come out of its dormant phase and begins to start growing. This does not take place until the seed is transported to a favorable environment, which contains adequate water, oxygen and a suitable temperature. During germination, the seed begins to grow into what it was ordained to be.
• The next thing I want to stress here is that sometimes seeds get mixed up in the same bag – you may purchase one thing and when it starts growing you find out that it is something else.
• Finally, there are both good seeds and bad seeds. When you are receiving seeds that are being sown in your life, you must be able to tell the difference.
Now that you have all of these seed facts, how do these facts apply to your life and the seeds that are being sown within you?
II. Spiritual Seeds
Spiritual seeds go through the same process as natural seeds – they separate from their parent (person sowing the seeds), lie dormant, sometimes for years, go through a phase of waking, getting fertilize and start producing fruit. They can also get mixed up – sometimes you receive seeds that were not meant for you and there are both good and bad seeds. With this understanding, I want to walk you through how we receive seeds and what happens to them after we receive them.
Two things I want you to understand out the seeds that are sown in our lives:
• Seeds can get mixed up. Ever heard someone say that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time? There are times when you will receive seeds that are meant for someone else. Remember, just because a seed fell in your soil that does not mean that the seed is meant for you. Remember the story of Joshua and Caleb in Numbers 13. They went out with 10 other spies to see the Promised Land. When they returned, the 10 other spies gave a negative report – sowed bad seeds, against Joshua and Caleb’s positive report. The bad seeds won out and Joshua and Caleb lived with the results of those seeds for 40 years. Sometimes your seeds can get mixed up with some bad seeds. The second thing to remember is that there are good and bad seeds being sown daily everywhere.
• Good and Bad Seeds: Remember the story in Matthew 13: 24-26 about the enemy sowing tares among the wheat. Good seeds produce life within you, bad seeds will try to kill the life that is within you. Good seeds will push you onward, bad seeds will try to hold you back by focusing on the negative. Good seeds encourages, bad seeds depresses. Sometimes it can be hard to tell when the seeds are falling if they are good or not, sometimes they will start to sprout before you will know it, other times you will know as soon as you receive them. This was the case with this scripture; the tares (darnel) look so much like wheat seeds that they could easily be mixed up with the wheat seed by the enemy. Again, sometimes the bad seeds are very hard to recognize. Regardless, only we can determine what those seeds, both the good and the bad will do in our lives.
Now to the process of how the seeds actually start growing. Look at this scripture in 2 Timothy 1:5. The first step is that the seeds must separate from their parents. Here Paul is talking to Timothy, reminding him of the faith that is in him because it was also in his grandmother and mother. He had received this seed of faith from his family. It was already in him, because they had sown it in him. When we are the spiritual sower, we are the parents of that seed and for it to grow, we must sow it in their lives. Once the seed leaves the parent, it lies dormant.
The second step is when the seeds lay dormant. Look at what Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:6. Paul admonishes Timothy to re-kindle, light a fire under, his gift, that seed that is within him. In other words, start doing something with that seed – start producing something. Natural seeds lay dormant until they are moved to a positive environment where they can grow. Spiritual seeds lie dormant until they too have an environment to grow in. Last week we talked about sowing. There are seeds that have been sown in our lives that are just now starting to produce fruit. We are sowing seeds into our kids that will take years to grow. For example, telling our children that they can do whatever they want to do, that they do not have to accept anything that life brings to them, that they can make their own choices. All of these are seeds that will lay dormant until there is a positive environment that will start the process for the seed to grow.
The next step is that the seeds must be transported to a positive environment where they can be fertilized. Read 2 Timothy 2:2. Here Paul instructs Timothy as to what he needs to do with the teachings and word knowledge that he has learned. He tells him to give that seed to others who will go out and teach others. Timothy’s seed had lain dormant and was not starting to produce fruit. The seeds needed a positive environment in which to grow – he was planting those seeds in such an environment. Think about this; someone walks up to you and tells you that you have a gift – a natural born leader. You hear that as a young child. What happens? You have two choices: you can receive that seed that was sown and begin to see yourself as a leader, or you can reject that seed, forget all about it and never become a leader. If you receive it, the seed will lay dormant for a while before it starts to grow. Yes you will see yourself differently, but the seed will not grow until it is in the proper environment. What you do with the seed is up to you. So, once the seed has been given, it must be received in a favorable environment if it is to grow. Some seeds you do not want to grow in your life. Think about those people who told you that you would never amount to anything, or that person who told you that you were not cut out for that job. These are the bad seeds that you do not want growing in your fertile soil. What you do with the seeds that are sown into you is up to you, you can kill the seed or it can flourish.
The fourth step is that the seeds must be fertilized. Read 1 Tim. 1:3-5; 18-19. Timothy here had received prophecies about the seed that was in him. Based on this, Paul left him in charge of the Church at Ephesus. Between Timothy receiving the prophecies and him actually taking charge of the Church, the seeds had to be fertilized and start growing. Just like the human egg, it must be fertilized if it is to produce something and grow. Fertilization takes place constantly during our lives through different life circumstances. Once the seed is fertilized, it begins to grow. Our life experiences and the Word of God fertilize the spiritual seeds within us.
The final stage is the germination stage. This is the phase where the seed begins to grow. In order for this to happen, the environment must be right. The Scripture tell us that Timothy had problems early on, but that he apparently overcame them. Hebrews tell us that after Paul’s death, Timothy was put in prison and released because of his stance on Christianity. This is an accomplishment for one who originally was being admonished by Paul to not be timid. The seed had grown and started to produce, although Paul was not there to witness it. Think again about the child who hears that he is a natural leader as a child, but the environment is not right for that seed to grow. So it lays dormant. Finally the child is in college and is starting to play sports. They have the opportunity to become captain of the team. When they take charge of the team, that seed that was sown in them those years before now has the fertile, positive environment to grow – and it takes off. This process happens even if the seeds are bad – bad seeds will grow if the environment is right. It is said that children who live with abusive parents will become one themselves – if their environment does not change. That seed was sown within them as a child, but it could not grow to potentially hurt them until years later when they were adults.
III. Conclusion
Seeds are seeds. We sow them and we receive them. Once we sow them, we release them, once we receive them we must determine what to do with those seeds. How will they grow, what fruit will they try and produce? Are they good or bad seeds? How can we tell the difference? We must turn everything over to God – trusting that He is able to keep us from falling and He is able to help us recognize the differences between the seeds in our lives.
Remember that seeds are viable for a certain amount of time. If you do not allow your seed to grow in its time, the fruit may be weak or you may not receive any fruit at all. The Godly seeds that are sown in your life will produce what God would have it to produce, but it is still up to you how that happens.
What are you doing with the seeds that are being sown in you?
