TRUSTING THE SEED BY FAITH
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
I have medicine baggies with about 10 seeds in each bag. (Corn, bean, sunflower, mustard, flowers.) I also put two donut seeds in each bag, could really be cheerios.) There is power in a seed. I give a baggie to each person.
TEXT: Luke 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
Healthy growth seldom occurs by accident. God’s plan involves the HOPE OF A SEED. According to research 1/3 of those faithful to the church today will leave the church in the next year? Sad? What can we do?
Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
HOW CAN WE FIX A VALUE ON SEEDS? PRECIOUS SEED? JESUS CALLED THE WORD OF GOD SEED… WE NEED SOWERS TO VALUE THE SEED’S POTENTIAL. WE NEED VEHICLES OF TRUTH TO SOW THE SEED OF THE WORD…
SOW THE SEED AND TRUST FOR THE HARVEST. WE TEND TO ANALYZE THE SOIL BEFORE WE SOW THE SEED. How will we respond to the seed, the word of God?
Mark 4:13 And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?
14 The sower soweth the word.
The sower does not analyze the soil. His job is to sow the seed.
*1. THE HARDEN PATH. They soil by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
*2. THE HARD ROCK. The seed sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
*3. THE THORN INFESTED TRAP. The seed among thorns: and these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word. And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
*4. GOOD SOIL ENCOURAGES GROWTH. And these seeds are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
Seeds speak of HOPE future life both physically and spiritually. The power of a small seed speaks of HOPE and
GROWTH. Jesus can bring us CHANGE. CHANGE IS POSSIBLE. Change or die?
SEEDS REQUIRE FAITH… SEEDS NOT JUST REPRESENT THE HARVEST. SEEDS SPEAK OF LIFE, ABUNDANT LIFE. SEEDS SPEAK OF DEATH. SEEDS SPEAK RESURRECTION!
Archeologists were studying the life of ancient people in Egypt. Seeds were part of ancient funeral rites because seeds were a symbol of burial and resurrection. They were digging deep in one of the pyramids. They discovered what was called “KING TUTS’S WHEAT.” This “GIANT GRAIN KERNELS of wheat were found in a cool, dark, dry part of an Egyptian tomb. From 1843 and later in 1849 there were claims of planting these seeds and growth was recorded. The claim is wheat and pea seeds were found.
Japanese botanist found lotus seeds in a dry lake bed in Manchuria. The seeds lay 10 years in a museum. The seeds were estimated to be around 4,000 years old. Seeds were found near Masada believed to be 2,000 years old. They were planted and on March 18, 2005 the DATE PALM named “Methuselah” grew and brought back the life to dates long extinct.
Russia found some seeds carbon dated 32,000 years old. They had been encased in ice 124 feet deep. They planted the seeds and a new plant grew that produced more seeds.
WE KNOW THE BIBLE TALKS ABOUT INCORRUPTIBLE SEEDS.
1 Corinthians 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
IN BIBLICAL TIMES SEEDS SPOKE OF BLESSINGS AND THE ABSENCE OF SEEDS SPOKE OF CURSES.
• Seeds speaks of the call of God to his people.
• Seeds spoke of the KINGDOM of GOD.
• Seeds spoke of PASSING ON LIFE, ETERNAL LIFE.
• SEEDS SPOKE OF GROWTH.
• SEEDS SPOKE OF FAITH/PRAISE
• SEEDS SPOKE OF DEATH/ RESURRECTION.
John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
FAITH is often compared to a MUSTARD SEED.
The mustard seed is a very important parable... Life can be very discouraging and at times our journey seems to be vanity, useless, and with very little fruit that remains. Often our work seems to bring about very little change and many seem to fly in a circular pattern. Have you ever noticed people seem to love darkness more than coming into the light? We face more of the same old same old? Have you ever preacheD to sleeping saints with their arms folded and on their cell phones? There seems to be an outright attack on the truth. People have re-defined the truth and ignore those that teach Biblical standards. Popular opinion has replaced God’s seeds.
We have to trust the PRINCIPLE OF SEED SOWING. God’s word can never return VOID. Pastoring a church is not instant mashed potatoes. Leadership’s reward is often hidden from your visual field. My friend please understand this and never give up. Once you plow the field and sow the seed you have to patiently wait. Sure you have to hate the weeds, but you have to trust THE LITTLE SEED. Only God can give the growth and we must understand working with people is a PROCESS OF TIME…
We tend to measure our success by what we harvest and reap today. God’s process is probably more like what seeds did you plant today? Hear this, GOD IS CALLING PEOPLE TO SOW SEEDS IN THE HEARTS OF HURT, LONELY, DYING PEOPLE.
You sow the seed by the way-side, in the hard ground, sow where the cares of this world are choking out the life. SOW!
UNDER THE JUNIPER TREE… ALL ALONE… NEVER FORGET: BUT GOD… THE POWER OF THE SEED CAN CHANGE THE WORLD.
YOU HAVE TO CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD… THE PREACHER WAS AT THE END OF HIS ROPE… The battle has been long and hard. Your seeds have not grown as you expected. The Preacher appeared as a failure. Wait on the seed!
1 Kings 19:8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
WE ARE AT THE PLACE TO SOW THE SEED AND WAIT PATIENTLY. SOW THE SEED. ARE WE PREPARED FOR THE PLAN OF GOD? Remember the PASSOVER, GIRD YOUR LOINS, PUT YOUR STAFF IN YOUR HAND… BE READY FOR NEW LIFE… NEW HOPE…
WILL YOU GIVE SEED TO THE SOWER?… PLANT SEEDS? GIVE SEEDS?
2 Corinthians 9:10 Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)
CONCLUSION: When I was a freshman in high school at Jellico, Tennessee my dad pastored a church. He read in the paper the WOMEN’S GARDEN CLUB was going to give a $50 cash prize for the prettiest yard in town. My dad spoke with an old man about what was the prettiest, most colorful flower. The man told dad: SCARLET SAGE. It is a bright red flower on a deep green plant. The old man had tons of seeds and he gave dad a large bag of SCARLET SAGE SEEDS.
Dad borrowed the neighbor’s rotor tiler and Dad measured and laid down the lines in front of a beautiful hedge. My brother and I tilled the soil on both sides of the hedges. Then Dad measured 2 large circles in the front yard. So we started the roto tiller and worked for hours digging the circles. We would sit on the porch and Dad would talk about being on the front page of the newspaper. Dad would split the $50 with us. Dad carefully spaced the seeds and he planted them along the hedge in straight rows. Then he planted the circles of scarlet sage in the round ring. We carefully watered the seeds daily. We pulled every weed. The SCARLET SAGE grew tall. One day a lady visited us and said that was the prettiest MUSTARD PLANTS SHE EVER SAW. MUSTARD? MUSTARD? NO, SCARLET SAGE? NO MUSTARD. Isom Sharp had given us MUSTARD SEEDS not SCARLET SAGE. No $50, no newspaper. We gave mustard plants to the whole community. People would drive by and laugh at the crop of MUSTARD. NOT ONE BRIGHT RED FLOWER. BE CAREFUL TO PLANT THE SEEDS YOU DESIRE TO REAP.
Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
25 YEARS AGO I WROTE A LETTER. I never heard a word in reply. I wrote a letter on August 3, 1995 to a person. Today, June 12, 2020, 25 years later I heard from that letter. The person just happened to be moving and going through old files and found the letter. The answer 25 years later was very meaningful to me. Wow. We will not always see the seed quickly. Life is a process… SOW THE SEED, BE PATIENT. TRUST WHAT GOD IS DOING… Many of our prayers seem in vain. Keep planting my friend, we do more than trust the seed… WE TRUST THE LORD OF THE HARVEST IN DUE SEASON.
Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
RELEASE THE SEED AND WAIT ON GOD’S PLAN.
