Sowing Beside All Waters

Recap

Going to build off of what Anthony spoke of last time.

Briefly go main points of Anthony’s sermon:

Matthew 28:18–20 (AV 1873)

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

We saw that Christ has given us the power of His Spirit, His personal presence, and promises to claim which will help us accomplish the mission of sharing the Gospel with the world.

Today we are going to consider some practical steps we can take to begin doing what Christ has commanded us.

The Example of the Sower

The First Step

After Christ said that all power was given unto Him, what did He say we are to therefore do?

Matthew 28:18–19 (AV 1873)

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore...

The first step to fulfilling the Great Commission is to GO.

We see this in the beginning of the parable of the sower.

Luke 8:5 (AV 1873)

5 A sower went out to sow his seed...

How are we to Go?

Christ commanded the same thing to Abraham, the father of faith:

Genesis 12:1 (AV 1873)

1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

How did Abraham go like God told Him?

Hebrews 11:8 (AV 1873)

8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

Christ, our Example, taught us that He had to do the same thing:

“In the East the state of affairs was so unsettled, and there was so great danger from violence that the people dwelt chiefly in walled towns, and the husbandmen went forth daily to their labor outside the walls. So Christ, the heavenly Sower, went forth to sow. He left His home of security and peace, left the glory that He had with the Father before the world was, left His position upon the throne of the universe. He went forth, a suffering, tempted man; went forth in solitude, to sow in tears, to water with His blood, the seed of life for a world lost. His servants in like manner must go forth to sow.” Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 36.

We are to GO by faith that God is with us because He said He is.

What are we supposed to sow?

Luke 8:11 (AV 1873)

11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

We are supposed to sow the Word of God.

Where are we supposed to sow?

In the parable of the sower, where did the husbandman sow the seed? — Only on good soil?

Christ sowed the truth to all people with all types of heart conditions.

This is why Scripture says:

Isaiah 32:20 (AV 1873)

20 Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters...

What do we understand waters to symbolize prophetically?

Revelation 17:15 (AV 1873)

15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

Same target is described at the beginning of the Three Angel’s Messages:

Revelation 14:6 (AV 1873)

6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,

There is another symbol in the Bible of spreading the Gospel which is informative:

Ecclesiastes 11:1 (AV 1873)

1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.

We understand the symbol of the waters, but what could the bread mean?

John 6:35 (AV 1873)

35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Strategic Sowing

Our goal is to feed Christ to as many people as possible—how can we be most effective?

Who is normally the most receptive of bread? — Those who are hungry.

Isaiah 58:6–7 (AV 1873)

6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, And to let the oppressed go free, And that ye break every yoke? 7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, And that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; And that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

When we try sharing our faith with others, our main target should be the good soil, the souls which “hunger and thirst after righteousness” (Matt. 5:6).

As mentioned, that does not mean that we are to share our faith with those who we know are receptive, but we are to “sow beside all waters” (Is. 32:20).

We do this because of the promises God has given us in His Word:

Ecclesiastes 11:1 (AV 1873)

1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.

Sometimes it may take a while to see any growth, but that does not mean that the seed is dead. Once that heart has the right conditions, that seed will flourish.

Even though certain hearts do not seem receptive to us, we must still sow the Word in their heart, because God has commanded us to, and has promised that this effort will be blessed:

Isaiah 55:10–12 (AV 1873)

10 For as the rain cometh down, And the snow from heaven, And returneth not thither, But watereth the earth, And maketh it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: It shall not return unto me void, But it shall accomplish that which I please, And it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 12 For ye shall go out with joy, And be led forth with peace: The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Here we learn that we are to not only “go out” by faith, but we are also to sow in faith in God’s Word!

God has promised that our sowing will not be in vain, and that it will do what God designed it to do.

With this in mind, why are we not sharing more of our faith with others!

Secret to a Large Harvest

How does a farmer get a lot of seeds? — By hoarding all of the seeds he has?

The way someone gets a lot of seeds is by planting as many seeds as he can

2 Corinthians 9:6 (AV 1873)

6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

What would happen to a farmer who never shares the seeds he has?

Proverbs 11:24–25 (AV 1873)

24 There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; And there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

If we do not share our faith (seeds) we will lose what we have.

25 The liberal soul shall be made fat: And he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

Christ taught the same thing:

Luke 6:38 (AV 1873)

38 give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

If we share more we will not only have a great harvest, but we will be blessed in the process!

Blessings for the Sowers

Acts 20:35 (AV 1873)

35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

When we are selfless, and share our faith to others, we are living the way God intended that we live.

LAW OF SELFLESS LOVE IN NATURE?

Isaiah 58:6–8 (AV 1873)

6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, And to let the oppressed go free, And that ye break every yoke? 7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, And that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; And that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, And thine health shall spring forth speedily: And thy righteousness shall go before thee; The glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward.

APPLYING WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED:

We need to take the first step and GO

Must get out there and take a step

We are to go out in faith

Each of us work in different fields, so different varieties of seeds have the potential to grow better in our areas.

Identify types of seeds (literature) which will flourish in our fields

Should sow strategically, aiming for the best soil, and give bread to the hungry

Identify the parts of your field which has great soil, and give more time to the soil planted there.

But continue sowing in the rest of the field, since you may be unaware of spots which have good soil.

More seeds (literature) sown, the greater the harvest

If we live by faith, doing what Christ has said, not only will others be blessed, but we shall also receive spiritual blessings.