SEEDS IN YOUR HAND
By: Dr. Kenneth Gerada
Church Planting Sunday
December 11, 2011
Preparation: The pastor must prepare a seed (preferably a small seed that grows into a huge tree like kapok or doldol, inyam, mustard etc.)
Introduction:
Good morning to all of you! Can you see what’s in my hand (obviously, the people would hardly see it because of the smallness of the seed)? This is a seed, a small _________seed (you mention what kind of seed it is). As you can see, this seed is very small but once this tiny seed is planted, it can grow into a LARGE tree (you can gesture the word large by stretching both your hands from up to side).
The Bible says that the kingdom of God is like a tiny seed. It is very small. But once it is planted it grows to become a large tree. Matthew 13: 31-32 reads:
31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”
Jesus likened the kingdom of heaven to a tiny mustard seed. It is small but it grows into a large tree. The main thought of the parable talks about the nature of the kingdom of God. In this parable, Jesus taught that the kingdom of God, although it started very small, will one day become very big. We know that Jesus started with a few disciples, and through the years despite oppositions and persecutions, Christianity has grown into a worldwide movement. Like a mustard seed, the kingdom of God started small but grew into something really big.
Illustration: Amazon
Do you know that the mighty Amazon River started from a mere trickle of ice on the Andes Mountain? However, as this small body of water moves down the mountain, hundreds of other tributaries pour water into it so that it swells into a mighty river. So great is the power of this river that it pumps fresh water 100 miles from the shore to the Atlantic Ocean.
Friends, we may not realize it but as children of God, we belong to a powerful kingdom. This kingdom may look insignificant in our society. People may oppose and persecute those who belong to this kingdom. But this kingdom will reign. This kingdom will endure. For the kingdom of heaven is an unshakeable enduring eternal kingdom of God.
The GOSPEL of the Kingdom was also likened to a seed that was sown on different grounds. In Matthew 13: 1 – 9
1 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 crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
There are three major implications we can observe in this passage. First, it implies the importance of planting or scattering of the seeds. Jesus said ““A farmer went out to sow his seed.” Like all other seeds, Jesus emphasized the important act of planting or scattering of the seeds before it can grow and bear fruit. A seed in a storage bin will never grow. Seeds must be planted. This means that Christians must go out and share the gospel with other people. This is our responsibility.
Illustration:
Many of us have heard of the story of Romeo and Juliet but not quite familiar with the details of the story. Here is a brief summary of the undying love story of Romeo and Juliet authored by William Shakespeare.
The love story begins when Romeo locked eyes with a beautiful young woman named Juliet. It wasn’t long before the two discovered that their families were mortal enemies: Romeo’s family, the Montagues, and Juliet’s family, the Capulets. These two families had been fighting for years in Verona, Italy. Despite their warring families, Romeo and Juliet decided to marry each other, and the simple secret wedding was officiated by Friar Lawrence.
The situation got worst when Romeo killed Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, after a heated altercation. Friar Lawrence, a Franciscan priest and Romeo’s confidant, informed Romeo that he was banished from Verona and would be killed if he stays. Friar Lawrence advised Romeo to spend the night with Juliet and then leave the next day for Mantua.
Juliet’s mother, completely unaware of Juliet's secret marriage to Romeo, informed Juliet that she will marry a man named Paris in a few days. Juliet was enraged of her mother’s decision and refused to obey. Juliet asked Friar Lawrence for advice, insisting she would rather die than marry Paris. Friar Lawrence gave Juliet a potion which would make her appear dead and told her to take it the night before the wedding. Friar Lawrence promised to inform Romeo of the plan and the two could reunite themselves in the cemetery where Juliet was supposed to be buried.
Juliet drank the potion and everybody assumed that she was dead — including Romeo’s loyal servant, Balthasar, who immediately informed Romeo that Juliet was dead. Friar John, who was supposed to deliver Friar Lawrence’s letter failed to reach Romeo and was not able to give the letter, so Romeo thought that his wife was really dead. Romeo rushed to Juliet’s tomb and, in deep grief, drank a vial of poison. Moments later, Juliet woke up and found Romeo dead. Seeing her beloved Romeo dead, Juliet took her life also.
What do you think would have happened if Friar John was able to deliver the message to Romeo informing him that Juliet was actually sleeping and not dead? It would have changed the whole story, wouldn’t it?
Friends, like Friar John in this epic story, we are all bearers of the Good news. The gospel is in our hands and there are people who need to hear the Good News of salvation. Every believer is a messenger. You are God’s messenger to this dying world.
When was the last time you shared the Gospel with someone?
Like a seed in our hands, the Gospel of the kingdom must be scattered or planted in the hearts of the people. God expects you to be a sower of the seeds of Good News.
(Pause)
First, the parable of the sower implies the importance of planting or scattering of the seeds. Second, it implies the importance of sowing the seeds on good grounds.
Notice that only the seeds that fell on good grounds grew to bear fruit and multiplied. What insights can we draw from this passage? First, we need to consider that people respond to the gospel in many different ways. Our job is to share the Gospel with the best ability we could and the kind of response people gave to the Gospel is beyond our control. This is one of the reasons why we don’t need to be discouraged if people do not respond the way we want to the Good News that we share. We need to understand that there are people whose hearts are like the three other grounds in the parable. Second, we need to be discerning in sharing the Gospel. We need to invest our time on the ones Jesus classified as good grounds. Jesus called this “persons of peace.” Remember Jesus sent his disciples by twos as recorded in Luke Chapter 10. Jesus said: 5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you.
You see, God wants us to find our persons of peace when sharing the Good News of the kingdom. Don’t waste your time on unreceptive, unresponsive people. I’m not saying that you should not share the Gospel with these people. What I’m saying is, don’t waste your time on someone you know is resistant, unkind and unreceptive of the Gospel. After you share the Gospel with these people, move on. Some of us may spent months and even years reaching someone whom Jesus described as unproductive ground and just waste our time away. Move on and find your ‘person of peace.’ How will you know ‘your persons of peace’? Four hints for knowing your ‘person of peace’:
1. Your ‘person of peace’ will receive you with kindness.
2. Your ‘person of peace’ is willing to have you back for Bible study because he/she wants to understand and know more about the Gospel.
3. Your ‘person of peace’ will respond in faith.
4. Your ‘person of peace’ will have the desire to share the Gospel with others and multiply himself/herself.
Illustration:
I heard a story about a young man who heard the challenge about finding a ‘person of peace’ when sharing the Gospel. The next day, this young man prayed to the Lord to give Him a sign if the person he will be talking to is his person of peace. He took a bus and took a seat at the back portion of the bus. There were no other passengers but him. The young man kept on praying “Lord just give me a sign for my person of peace and I will surely take courage to share the Gospel with that person.” After a while, a middle aged man got into the bus and with all the vacant seats available, the man sat down right beside the young man. “Just give me a sign Lord” was the young man’s prayer.
After few minutes, the middle aged man cried and prayed aloud “LORD I WANT TO BE SAVED… SEND SOMEONE PLEASE TO TELL ME HOW TO BE SAVED.”
Hearing this, the young man prayed, “Lord is this my ‘person of peace’? Please give me a sign!” (laugh)
What can be more obvious than that? That is obviously his ‘person of peace’. The man is already dying to have someone share the Gospel with him.
Friends, God has prepared persons of peace for you. What you need to do is to find them and share with them the Good News of the Kingdom.
Story:
I heard a story about a young boy who, while walking along the beach, found it interesting to pick up starfishes from the sand and throw them back to the sea. A man noticed what the boy was doing so he asked him. “Boy, what are you doing?”
“I am throwing back to the sea these starfishes because, when the sun rises up, these ones on the sand will soon be dead.”
The man laughed and said “But boy, the beach is so long and there are millions of starfishes out there that will never have the chance. What difference could you make if you can only pick up a few before the sun is up?”
The boy picked one more starfish and said, “I am sure I am making a difference for this one.”
Friend, you may not be able to make a difference for the whole world but you can always make a difference in the life of someone by telling that person about Jesus and his free gift of salvation. Start finding your person of peace now and make a difference in his/her life.
First, the parable of the sower implies the importance of planting or scattering of the seeds. Second, it implies the importance of sowing the seeds on good grounds. Thirdly, it implies the planting of Churches so that the seeds that were sown will grow and become fruitful.
Jesus said that the seeds that fell on good grounds grew, yielded fruits and multiplied. This implied a process of cultivation. This means that those who receive and rightly respond to the Gospel of the kingdom, must be nurtured or discipled for maturity and fruitfulness. This process of maturing believers is called discipleship and it cannot be done effectively without a church. The discipling of people for maturity and service requires a local body of believers or a local church.
The Great Commission in Matthew 28: 18-20, that Jesus gave, describes to us how this process of disciple making be done.
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
In this passage, we can see that a disciple is one who has a personal relationship with Christ, baptized and trained for worship and ministry. This whole process necessitates a body of believers or a local church to be effectively accomplished.
So, if we decide to sow seeds of the Gospel in a certain place with a goal that those who respond will be discipled and nurtured to maturity and fruitfulness, we’ve got to have a church in that particular area to accomplish it.
Illustration:
Let us take this as an example. Sowers Alliance Church believed that they are called to share the Gospel with the people and to disciple these people for maturity. So the leadership of the church decided to make concrete steps to accomplish this. They picked up a neighbouring Barangay, about 6 Kilometers from their church as a target area. After some training, they sent people to sow seeds of the Gospel in that Barangay. The result was overwhelming. Many people responded positively to the Gospel. The Church’s leadership met again and made plans to get the people baptized and trained for maturity.
Plan A. They would invite these new converts to Sowers Alliance Church for Baptismal instruction and discipleship. This whole process needs at least 6 months. No plans to establish a church in this area.
Plan B. Gather the new converts, baptize and disciple them where they are. Send a church planter who would facilitate this whole process from Day 1 and eventually establish a local church in this Barangay.
Friends, you don’t have to be an expert in ministry or church planting to know that PLAN B is the best option. Planting a new church in that Barangay will effectively deliver the results Sowers Alliance Church leadership have wanted. THEY CANNOT EFFECTIVELY DISCIPLE PEOPLE WITHOUT A CHURCH IN THE AREA.
We need to plant churches if we want to effectively obey the Great Commission. We need to plant churches if we want to see the seeds we sow grow mature, bear fruit and multiply.
Friends, this is the reason why we need to plant churches. God wants us to plant churches so that the people that we reached can be discipled to maturity and fruifulness.
Story:
The Emperor's Seed
Author Unknown, Source Unknown
Once there was an emperor in the Far East who was growing old and knew it was coming time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or one of his own children, he decided to do something different.
He called all the young people in the kingdom together one day. He said, "It has come time for me to step down and to choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you." The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed today. One seed. It is a very special seed. I want you to go home, plant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring to me, and the one I choose will be the next emperor of the kingdom!"
There was one boy named Ling who was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the whole story. She helped him get a pot and some planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown.
After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Ling kept going home and checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by. Still nothing.
By now others were talking about their plants but Ling didn't have a plant, and he felt like a failure. Six months went by, still nothing in Ling's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn't say anything to his friends, however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow.
A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling told his mother that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she encouraged him to go, and to take his pot, and to be honest about what happened. Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He took his empty pot to the palace.
When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by all the other youths. They were beautiful, in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kids laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, "Hey nice try."
When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. "Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!"
All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. "The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!"
When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. "My name is Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!" Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor?
Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!"
(Pause)
Although this story speaks of courage and honesty, I want to relate this story to the kind of seeds that our King has given us. OUR KING HAS NOT GIVEN US DEAD SEEDS. OUR KING HAS GIVEN US LIVING SEEDS OF THE GOSPEL. GOD GAVE US SEEDS OF BLESSINGS.
Friends, we have in our hands the seeds of the Gospel of the kingdom. Seeds that must be planted so that CHURCHES OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST BE ESTABLISHED AND THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD BE DISCIPLED.
Friends our calling is not just to share the Gospel but to plant churches so that those who are won to the Lord can be discipled and trained for maturity and fruitfulness.
As a church, what are we going to do now to obey this call?
Action Points:
1. We need to plant a daughter church. We must work hard so that we can plant a daughter church for God’s Glory. We can plant a daughter church on our own or we can partner with other churches. But the bottom line is, we need to take part in the planting of Churches.
1. We need to help our Church Planting Ministry financially.
CAMACOP has empowered all its churches to collect a CHURCH PLANTING FUND so that we have money to be used for our Church Planting program.
In a few minutes, we are going to make a pledge for CHURCH PLANTING. Remember this:
1. This pledge is voluntary. You are free not to participate if you do not see the need to plant Churches.
2. You can pledge any amount you want to give. You can give what is convenient with your budget but you can also give sacrificially in faith.
3. Your pledge will be a monthly pledge. Collection starts January of 2012.
4. The money that we collect from this pledge will be used for our church planting fund. We will give a small portion (20%) to the district and the rest of the amount we will use for our church planting program.
Remember to give cheerfully for God loves a cheerful giver.
Remember to give in faith for it pleases the Lord to see his people giving lovingly and sacrificially for His glory.
Why don’t we pause for a moment and ponder upon the message we heard today. Let us also pray for guidance as to how much we are going to give as a monthly pledge for Church Planting for the whole year 2012.
(Silence for 2 minutes)
SPECIAL FEATURE – this is the best place for the special feature. “Thank you for giving to the Lord.”
May I ask the ushers (or the Alliance men) to distribute the pledge forms please. As soon as you have the pledge form, please put your name and the necessary information being asked in the form. Be sure to mark the corresponding amount you want to pledge. If the amount is not among the list given, write your pledge on the blank provided. Tear down the form and drop in the offering bag the smaller portion because that will serve as the Church’s copy and you keep the bigger portion, the one with the phrase “MY MONTHLY PLEDGE” for your copy. Thank you very much.
Give them time at least 3 minutes and then ask the ushers to receive the offering including the pledges.
