CAN YOU LOVE BEING A WATER BOY?
WHO WILL WATER THE WATERER?
WHAT ARE YOU PLANTING?
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
This is a two part series!
Many times I have asked God, WHO WILL WATER THE WATERER?
We need planters, and we need water boys in the church!
1.CAN WE FIND LOVE IN BEING A WATER BOY?
Proverbs 11:25 The liberal soul shall be made fat:
AND HE THAT WATERETH SHALL BE WATERED ALSO HIMSELF.
I was at a football game. I saw this young boy jumping and yelling for his team.
He was handicapped and could not play in the game, but he was the best water boy I had ever seen.
There was a time out called, and in an instant the water boy had the water bottles out on the field.
Not only was the water boy carrying water to his team, he was patting them on the back, telling
them how good they were doing. He cheered for the band when they marched out on the field.
He carried water and towels when the basketball team was playing. He mopped up the sweat
of the players from the basket ball court. But he never made a basket?
I was at the graduation ceremony in June, I saw golden honor cords around some.
Some had scholarships to fine schools. But when the handicapped, excited water boy
walked across the stage --- his class mates stood to their feet and cheered, he was the best
water boy the school had ever known.
2. TEXT:
Proverbs 11:25 The liberal soul shall be made fat:
AND HE THAT WATERETH SHALL BE WATERED ALSO HIMSELF.
1 Corinthians 3: 6 I have PLANTED, Apollos WATERED; BUT GOD GAVE THE INCREASE.
7. So then neither is he that PLANTED any thing, neither is he that WATERETH,
BUT THE GOD THAT GIVETH THE INCREASE.
8. Now he that PLANTED and he that WATERETH ARE ONE: and every man SHALL RECEIVE
HIS OWN REWARD ACCORDING TO HIS OWN LABOR
9. For we are laborers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
Mark 4: 3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow.
4. And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, ---
5. And some fell on stony ground, ----
7. And some fell among the thorns,
8. And some fell on good ground, ---
The call of God today goes forth, God is recruiting planters, waterers, and reapers.
Will you hear the call?
3. BUT THIS SEED IS SO SMALL, WHAT CAN IT MATTER? WHY WASTE MY EFFORT SOWING
THIS LITTLE THING?
Mark 4:30 And He said, Wherefore shall we liken the Kingdom of God? Or with what comparison
shall we compare it?
31. It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds,
that be in the earth:
32. But when it is sown, it growth up, and becometh greater than all the herbs, and shooteth out great
branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.
A. Well, any one that is going to be a faithful planter, must not look on the outside and judge the inside.
In every seed God has a blueprint for growth, the seed may be small, but God will help it to grow and
develop.
The smallest seed in the world is an orchid seed, thousands fit on the point of a pen.
The largest seed in the world is cocodemer, it can weigh 60 pounds.
B. Every seed is a plan for God’s growth! God needs some planters and waterers to help accomplish God’s
plan. Will you enlist today?
Are you growing? Just in spurts?
Do you have a plan for growth? Can you tell seasons?
DON’T CRY OVER YOUR LITTLENESS, GOD HAS A PLAN. HE LOVES YOU!
C. If you can’t see the potential in the seed, you will never plant it!
4. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE A GOD CALLED SOIL ANALYZER? HAVE YOU BECOME A JUDGE?
Mark 4: 3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow.
4. And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, ---
5. And some fell on stony ground, ----
7. And some fell among the thorns,
8. And some fell on good ground, ---
A. MANY ARE HOLDING ON TO THEIR SEEDS, THEY HAVE NOT FOUND THE GOOD GROUND.
Many are waiting for the perfect saints to sow their seeds.
SOW, SOW, AND LEAVE THE SOIL ANALYSTS TO GOD!
B. What color robe does a believer receive? WHITE? Yes, a white robe?
What color robe does a Judge wear? BLACK? Every judge I have ever seen is wearing a black robe.
If God gave you a white robe, and God did not give you a black robe, there must be a lesson ---
God never made you a judge!
5. WE LIKE TO SEE AND TASTE THE FRUIT, AND ENJOY THE WORKS OF OUR HANDS.
2 Peter 3:18 BUT GROW IN GRACE, AND IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR
JESUS CHRIST...
A. As we moved into our new home, Howard and Cindy, dear friends of ours, built the front deck on our
new home. Howard unloaded the wood, set up his saws and tools and began working. I loved watching
them work and watching the form starting to take shape. By the end of the day, when Howard and Cindy
left our house, we could see the frame work completed.
Linda, my wife, and I sat in the cool of the evening and surveyed the beautiful work that had been accomplished.
We drank some sweet tea and enjoyed the moment of looking at the work.
Howard and Cindy returned early the next morning and we worked like busy bees. At lunch time, I could see the deck coming together.
That evening Linda and I took two chairs and sat on our finished deck. I was so thankful for friends and
finished work.
B. I later pondered: I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A JOB, THAT AT THE END OF EIGHT HOURS OF WORK
I COULD SIT BACK AND SEE WHAT I HAVE DONE.
C. REAL GOOD, GODLY MINISTRY MAY NEVER BE SEEN BY THE EYES OF THE WORKER OR A GREAT
CROWD. At times a minister may feel like they are blind, and there will be no harvest.
D. You can count the seeds in an apple; BUT ONLY GOD CAN COUNT THE APPLES IN A SEED.
6. THERE ARE SEVERAL LAWS OF SOWING AND REAPING. ONE IMPORTANT LAW IS
YOU WILL REAP IN PORTION TO THE AMOUNT YOU HAVE SOWN.
2 Corinthians 9:6 But this I say, He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly;
and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
Perhaps the law of science would express it, for every action there is a reaction.
7. WHAT KIND OF GARDEN ARE YOU PLANTING?
WHAT WILL THE FAMILY EAT DURING THE COLD WINTER?
A. Once when I was in the sixth grade my Dad pastored in southern Ohio. It was a small church,
and the money was very tight. My family supplemented our resources by growing a big garden
and Mom would can many quarts of food for the winter.
My Dad and I was working in the garden planting corn. My Dad loved Hickory Cane corn.
Dad had a big brown paper bag of corn seeds to plant. He made three rows and we planted them.
He started a fourth row and Mom came out and told Dad a church member was being rushed to
the hospital. Dad had to leave immediately.
B. Dad told me, "Son, you make another row, and plant it until all the seeds are planted!"
I made another row and planted it, and there were many more seed left.
I made another row and planted it, and it seemed like there were more seeds left than when I started.
At the end of the second row, I dug a hole and buried the hole brown paper bag at the end of the
garden.
C. Later that evening my Dad came home. Dad asked me about the corn. I informed Dad it made two
more rows of corn.
Dad said, "Son, there was a lot more seed than that!"
I told Dad all the seeds were in the ground.
D. It rained several days, and I was watching cartoons on the couch, when Dad came in the house
very angry! Dad grabbed me by the shirt and out the trailer we went.
There were a million little green fingers pointing upward out of the soil.
Every blade of corn coming up in that little circle was a quiet testimony of my laziness.
As Dad and I stood there I had to plead guilty and beg for mercy.
E. My Dad bowed his head, and said, " NOW, SON, ALL THOSE WASTED CORN PLANTS WILL
DIE! AND SON, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN FOOD FOR OUR FAMILY THIS WINTER."
Dad added, "SON, IF THE FAMILY, THE SEVEN OF US, STARVE TO DEATH THIS WINTER,
IT WILL BE YOUR FAULT."
Several times that summer, I went to the garden and prayed and asked God for His Mercy,
and that God would bless our family and help our food to get us through the winter.
F. Well, this little kid story could be a real story. If we do not spiritually plant wisely the whole
church could suffer?
What kind of garden would our garden yield, if everyone planted just like me?
Don’t waste today’s seeds, you may need them tomorrow.
8. DON’T BE SURPRISED IF THERE ARE SOME MEAN SOWERS OUT THERE.
THE MEAN SOWER WILL SNEAK INTO YOUR GOOD FIELD.
Matthew 13:19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not,
then cometh the wicked one, and catched away that which was sown in his heart.
Matthew 13: 27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto Him,
SIR, DIDST NOT THOU SOW GOOD SEED IN THY FIELD? From whence come the tares?
29. But He said unto them, An enemy hath done this.
Don’t let those that are mean, unforgiving, and vindictive keep you from sowing the seed.
9. ARE YOU A GOD CALLED SOIL ANALYZER? HAVE YOU BECOME A JUDGE?
Mark 4: 3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow.
4. And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, ---
5. And some fell on stony ground, ----
7. And some fell among the thorns,
8. And some fell on good ground, ---
A. MANY ARE HOLDING ON TO THEIR SEEDS, THEY HAVE NOT FOUND THE GOOD GROUND.
Many are waiting for the perfect saints to sow their seeds.
SOW, SOW, AND LEAVE THE SOIL ANALYSTS TO GOD!
B. What color robe does a believer receive? WHITE? Yes, a white robe?
What color robe does a Judge wear? BLACK? Every judge I have ever seen is wearing a black robe.
If God gave you a white robe, and God did not give you a black robe, there must be a lesson ---
God never made you a judge!
10. WHAT KIND OF SEEDS ARE YOU PLANTING?
Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall
of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
9. And let us not be weary in WELL DOING, for in DUE SEASON WE SHALL REAP, IF WE FAINT NOT.
Sickly oaks from sickly acorns grow.
A. In 1966 we moved to Jellico, TN. and my Dad pastored a church there.
We lived in a pretty white house out on the edge of town.
The city of Jellico had a garden club that offered a $50 prize for the prettiest yard in town.
My Dad decided the parsonage should be the prettiest house.
So my Dad borrowed a roto tiller, and my older brother and I tilled the dirt in front of the hedge, and made
two large circular flower beds in the middle of the yard.
B. My Dad loved red flowers, and there was an old man at church named Isom Sharp.
Isom was over 80 years old, and a leader at church.
Isom agreed to supply my Dad with all the Scarlet Sage Seed that we needed. We labored very hard
planting the Scarlet Sage Seed just as my Dad and instructed us.
C. The flowers started growing and we started making plans for what we were going to do with
our share of the $50 contest money.
D. One day a neighbor was walking by our flower garden and started laughing at my Dad’s work.
The neighbor informed us what was growing was not Scarlet Sage, it was MUSTARD GREENS.
We did not win the prettiest yard award that year, but we made the best out of it.
We gave mustard greens to everyone at church and supplied all our neighbors with all the mustard greens
they wanted.
If you want Scarlet Sage, you better plant Scarlet Sage seeds!
11. FOR ANY SEED TO BRING FORTH FRUIT IT MUST DIE TO SELF.
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.
25. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
That seed has been laying in a warm comfortable barn, and the sower comes and gets the seed.
The sower throws the warm, dry seed into the cold, damp ground.
The seed cannot understand this? Can this be God?
12. PROCRASTINATION MAY BE ONE OF THE GREATEST SINS OF THE CHRISTIAN PLANTER AND REAPER.
THE HARVEST WILL NOT WAIT! WILL YOU WORK IN THE HARVEST?
John 4:35 Say ye not, There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest?
Behold I say unto you, LIFT UP YOUR EYES, AND LOOK ON THE FIELDS; FOR THEY ARE
WHITE ALREADY TO HARVEST!
A. If what you have in your hand today is not enough for your harvest, it is seed to plant and grow
more. Many never learn the act of faith to plant what is in their hand, because they search for instant
gratification today.
TO BE A GOOD GARDENER IT TAKES MORE THAN GROWING SEEDS, YOU MUST HATE WEEDS.
B. It takes great faith to plow, sow, weed, and reap the harvest.
I fear many people eat their seed corn, then when faith needs the growth, there is nothing to give.
All God asks of us is to do the best we CAN with what we have!
C. Maybe instead of the focus being on the small,
we should focus on the BIGNESS OF THE AWESOME, MIGHTY GOD WE SERVE.
D. I know little people that have invested their all and receive no trophies and applause.
All God requires is faithfulness to the post of duty you are assigned to do.
If every seminar in the world tells you what is wrong with you and why you shouldn’t be so little,
trust God. SURE DREAM BIG...THEN BIGGER ... But despise not the little things.
That warm wet kiss from an old widow in the rest home is the KISS OF GOD.
That food basket to the family that will never say thank you, yet goes to bed fed by your hand is
God’s work just as much as the largest church in your state.
E. Someday may there be applause for the little.
The Bible agrees with me.....
When many of the first shall be last ... and the last will step in front of the first
and say excuse me --- the FATHER HATH CALLED ... I MUST ANSWER.
F. Now, if you let your littleness limit your vision you are just as wrong.
The grass is always greener over the septic tank?
The neighbor with greener grass may have a higher water bill?
13. THERE ARE DEGREES OF FRUITFULNESS
Mark 4:8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased;
and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some a hundred.
DOES THE 30 COMPARE THEMSELVES TO THE 60, and the 60 to the 100?
Be what you are.
John 15: 1 ---5
NO FRUIT
FRUIT
MORE FRUIT
MUCH FRUIT
2 Corinthians 10:12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that
commend themselves: BUT THEY MEASURING THEMSELVES BY THEMSELVES, AND COMPARING
THEMSELVES AMONG THEMSELVES, ARE NOT WISE.
14. LOVE BEING A WATER BOY!
Proverbs 11:25 The liberal soul shall be made fat:
AND HE THAT WATERETH SHALL BE WATERED ALSO HIMSELF.
A. Enjoy the journey, not just the destination.
Love where you are. Love being a PLANTER or a WATERER.
You are not bad just because you seem so little!
You are not the problem, you and God are the solution.
B. BUT MY WORK IS NOTHING!
This is a beautiful lesson written by Tiziana Ruff.
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 trusted 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!"
From "In The Garden With Jesus," a children’s devotional written by Tiziana Ruff.
May I plant, and water, by my knowing the crush of life, may I give the fragrance of the CROSS to
others.
See, we must do our best with what we have. Jesus knows you and your family.
Never give up and never look back. Never compare yourself to others.
Be faithful in the small, little things.
DON’T EAT THE SEED CORN, SOW IT!
Don’t hold your seed, invest your seeds, and grow the plan of God to others.
Could you enlarge my hands and pass this to others. I just want little people encouraged.
His servant,
Wade Martin Hughes, Sr.
Kyfingers@aol.com
I pray over this in Jesus’ name.
Make me real happy and make a copy and give to a little preacher without a computer.
