Mk. 4:26-34
Theme: Sow seeds of Faith
Text: 1 Sam 16:1-13; 2 Cor. 5:6-10; Mk. 4:26-34
The last few weeks were one of the saddest in the history of our dear nation Ghana. We witnessed and experienced the tragedy caused by the floods that had unfortunately become a yearly routine. This year however, the tragedy was far worse when an explosion of a gas station at Circle resulted in an inferno that burned many people. A lot of people perished in such a terrible way in a matter of seconds that three days of mourning were declared and we as a nation mourned their deaths. Some of the dead were only seeking shelter from the storm. Some were on their way home from work, some were in their offices and some were in their homes. None of them expected to die the next minute. Some of the dead are family, some friends, some colleagues at work and some of them neighbours. We did not expect any of them to die when they did but we had the time to share the good news with them. Did we take the time to witness to them while they were still alive? Did we sow seeds of faith in their lives that would have changed their eternal destiny?
The seed of faith is the Word of God that gives life. There is life after death and Jesus declares “I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die” John 11:25-26. The seed of faith like every seed can only serve a purpose when it is planted. Since the Word of God is spirit it can only grow and yield a harvest when planted in the right soil. The Word of God is spirit and the soil of the spirit is the spirit of man. The seed of faith is planted in the heart of men. That is the only place where the Word of God can be planted if it is to grow. The Word of God is not only spirit, it is life. John 6:63 Jesus says “The Words that I speak to you they are spirit and they are life”.
The seed of faith is spirit and it is life. Sowing the seed of faith is the only way to enter the Kingdom of God and become sensitive to the voice of God. Samuel was a prophet of God and needed to be sensitive to the voice of God. When God sent him to anoint another king to replace Saul he needed to hear God to make the right choice. Whereas Samuel looked on the physical appearance God looks on the spiritual appearance “For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” (1Sam. 16:7) The Lord looks on the heart and we should be concerned about the things that are spiritual. We should be concerned about manifesting the nature and character of Christ and this is only possible after the seed of faith has been sown in your life.
The seed, the Word of God, is planted when the Word of God is spoken or read to the hearing of others. It is planted when we witness about Jesus Christ as we share the gospel. Jesus is called ‘the Seed’ in the opening chapters of the Bible when the Lord God said to the serpent “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her Seed and He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise His heel.” The Holy Spirit is the One who prepares the heart of man to receive the seed and oversees its growth. The Apostle Paul confirms this truth when he says “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth”. (1 Cor. 3:6) Without the Holy Spirit there can be no understanding of the things of the spirit because spiritual things can only be spiritually discerned. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”. (John 3:6) The seed, the Word of God, is received by faith. We are saved “By grace through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God”. (Eph. 2:8) Faith brings us into the spiritual realm.
Everything in life begins with a seed. When you see a mango tree you know it started as a mango seed. When you see a mustard tree you also know it began as a seed, a very small seed indeed. For God to start a new creation it began as a seed. The pure seed of Christ was buried to yield a harvest of men and women in His image. We have the image of Christ. We are God’s beloved children because we have His image. We are justified and are the righteousness of God for the same reason. The harvest is always in the seed and all that we are is all that Christ is. There are many people in the world today who cannot grow into the image of Christ because they have not heard the gospel. God has called each and every Christian to sow seeds of faith. If you are really thankful for the eternal life you have received you would want to share it with others.
The seed contains the harvest and once the seed is planted the Holy Spirit will make sure of a harvest. As believers we are to take care of the harvest but unfortunately although the harvest is plentiful the labourers are few. The whole harvest can be lost when part of the harvest is ignored or neglected. After gathering in the harvest it needs prepared to become a blessing. A harvest of new believers must be taught the Scriptures and instructed in the disciplines of prayer, worship, the assembling together of brethren and acting in one accord that they all may be one through their reliance on the Holy Spirit. As believers grow spiritually they also need to sow seeds of faith that others may also enter the Kingdom of God. God will not work on earth without a man to work with.
At the excavation of one of Pharaoh’s tomb (King Tutank Hamon) they found seeds of wheat and corn. Although it had remained dormant for 3000 years when it was planted in fertile soil it yielded a harvest. Once the seed was planted and exposed to the needed nutrients, sunshine and water it bore fruit. The harvest was in the seed. In the same way the gospel has within it the potential of a harvest but needs to be planted in the right soil. The Presbyterian Church of Ghana started with the witness of the Basel Missionaries who in spite of many difficulties sowed seeds of faith in our nation. Today we are still seeing the fruit of the harvest in the many Presbyterian schools, vocational institutes, hospitals, agricultural institutes, and university. The seed of faith will always yield a harvest when it is planted. What harvest are we bringing in? If we are not harvesting then we are not fulfilling our mission.
God’s Word is powerful enough to accomplish what He pleases if His people are faithful in spreading it. We can be assured that if we are faithful in sowing seeds of faith God will work in the life of the individual what He pleases to do. The purpose of the soil is to receive the seed for it to grow and bear fruit. The purpose of our lives is to receive seeds of faith for us to grow and bear fruit. Sowing the seed of faith is the only option we have since after the seven days of Creation nothing comes into being without a seed. We believed because the Word was sown in our lives and Christ commands us to go and sow this seed all over the world. We may think that as one person we cannot make much difference but we can because the harvest depends on the seed. Let us faithfully serve the Lord as we sow seeds of faith and make a difference in the world to the praise and glory of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
