Sow and Reap

ss=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'> Mark 4:26 - 29

SOW, REAP

26And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;

27And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.

28For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.

29But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

Romans 8:11-14

HARVEST

11But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

12Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

13For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Introduction

God, in these last days, calls for His children to preach the Word wherever we go. He desires that we all get off the pew, out of the pulpit and out of the choir stand and go tell a dark and dying world the good news of the Gospel. Throughout His earthly ministry, one of His recurring major themes was that He came to seek those that were lost and bound for hell. He came to pull each of us out of whatever dead situation that we were in and bring us into the marvelous light. But, once we have become His children, we have that responsibility to spread His Word.

26And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;

Casting seed – what kind of seed? Need to know that your casting good seed to bring up good seed.

27And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.

After you cast the seed, you’ve done your job and now its God’s turn to work. There’s no point in worrying or stressing once that seed has been planted in the ground.

28For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.

‘Earth’ = ‘prepared soil’ as in you don’t just throw into any ground but ground that has been prepared for just such a purpose.
How do you prepare the soil? By invoking the presence of God into the situation in whatever way you can (choir songs, kind word, helpful hand, etc)
Along w/ the next verse, 28, The soil (lit., “the earth”) produces grain which develops to maturity in successive stages. The soil does this all by itself (automatē; cf. the Eng. “automatic”). This key Greek word (emphatic by position) could be translated “without visible cause” implying “without human agency,” and thus refers to work done by God. God works in the life-bearing seed which, when planted in good soil, grows stage by stage and produces grain without human intervention.[i]
The seed that you plant will reproduce after its kind so you should plant good seed

28For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.

First comes the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.

Such is the preaching of the gospel.
Here, therefore, the sower represents human responsibility in the work.
The vitality of the seed is independent of his labour.
The earth develops the plant from the seed by those natural but mysterious processes through which the Creator is ever working.
So in spiritual things, the sower commences the work, and the grace of God perfects it in the heart which receives these influences.
The earth beareth fruit of herself. In like manner, by degrees, the faith of Christ increases through the preaching of the gospel; and the Church grows and expands.
And what is true of the Church collectively is true also of each individual member of the Church.
For the heart of each faithful Christian produces first the blade, when it conceives good desires and begins to put them into action;
then the ear, when it brings them to good effect;
and lastly the full corn in the ear, when it brings them to their full maturity and perfection.

But Too Many carnal Christians walk around day after day claiming to be walking after God’s own heart but there is no evidence of it! If we truly have the regenerated heart within us, that Good Seed grown into fullness of life, there should be evidence that God is in control of our lives. And if we are led by God then we should be ready, willing and able to go into the devil’s territory and take back are sons and our daughters, to take back our neighborhoods and towns.

Listen:

· SB 777 - ban any teaching or activities in schools that "promote a discriminatory bias" against homosexuals, transgenders, bisexuals, and those with gender (perceived or actual) issues.

· At the location a 10-year-old boy was left partially paralyzed after being hit by a stray bullet nearly a week ago, California Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata announced a new gun buyback to take place in Oakland.

· A 23-year-old man is expected to survive after he was shot Thursday night by an assailant who is still at large, police said

Tragedies and injustices like these should never be allowed to go without someone standing up and crying loud, ‘that’s it, this far and no further!!!’

You took prayer out of the schools and the church did nothing.

You started legalizing same sex marriages and the church did nothing

You took God’s name off the top of the court house and the church did nothing

Violent crimes are higher than ever before: little boys can’t even go to a piano lesson; young men can’t even go out to get a hamburger without being shot. And what is the church doing?!!! Saints, we are the keepers of the light! We are supposed to be salt and light in the world.

‘IF WE HAVE TO HAVE GUN BUY BACK PROGRAMS IN THE DAY AND MID-NIGHT BASKETBALL GAMES AT NIGHT, THEN THAT’S WHAT WE NEED TO DO!”

IF WE PASS OUT TRACKS AT THE MALL OR SURPRISE VISIT OUR CHILDREN IN SCHOOL, THEN THAT’S WHAT WE DO!

I don’t care if your for Obama or for Hillary, if you want real change, BE THE CHRISTIAN THAT GOD WANTS YOU TO BE

BE THE CHURCH THAT GOD CALLS YOU TO BE

Step out in the authority of God and take back everything that the enemy is trying to take from us.

· Saints, if we are truly born up in God, if the Word that was sown in us has produced a spiritual seed, then we need each and everyone of us ask ourselves, what are we doing with what God has birthed in us? How are we helping our loved ones??

Romans 8:16

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: Jesus never backed down, He never looked the other way but w/ Godly love He stood toe to toe against all comers. As God’s children, shouldn’t we do the same?

What is the test of a born–again believer?

Romans 8:11-

11But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

One is not marked as a believer by a mere profession of faith, but rather by being indwelt and led by God’s Spirit (Rom. 8:11, 14).
We are told that the Holy Spirit dwells in us as believers in Christ (Rom. 8:9–11).
Paul uses this same idea when he speaks of our being “sealed” by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13; 4:30).
Therefore, as verse 14 says, we are consequently led by Him (Rom. 8:14).
Paul talked about a constant war in Romans 7:22 that raged within him between his flesh and the and his spirit man.
If he had been led by his old nature, one could question whether he were truly saved.
This is confirmed by Romans 8:11, “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you
Once we have come to possess spiritual life by means of the implanted Spirit, or after having been “born again” (John 3:3), it is impossible for the dead flesh to rule over the live Spirit on a permanent basis (1 John 3:6).
The born–again believer has a responsibility to follow the Spirit.
“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh” (Rom. 8:12).
The expression, “we are debtors” indicates that we are under obligation to God.
Because we personally did nothing to merit the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we are indebted to God for His presence in our lives.
The way we repay God for His grace is to follow after the Spirit and not the flesh.

There are inevitable consequences of our lifestyles.

Paul declares in Romans 8:13, 14 that our way of life clearly demonstrates whether we have been born again into God’s family.
“If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die” (Rom 8:13).
Such a person clearly does not have the Spirit in him and will be eternally separated from God, no matter what profession of faith he makes. He is excluded because his life yields the fruits of the flesh (Gal. 5:19–21).
Those who follow the Spirit, on the other hand, grow from the immature state of childhood to the maturity of sonship who as grown–ups voluntarily conform to Jesus Christ.
Our conformity to Christ confirms that we are born again and are “joint–heirs” with Christ.
In Romans 8:16 the word “children” is used: “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children [tékna] of God.”
Téknon means “one born,” thus, it refers to the new birth (John 1:12).
Afterwards, however, comes the maturing process.
This growth into sonship is achieved by means of obedience to the Holy Spirit in our lives (Rom. 8:14) and God’s will for us (Eph. 2:10).

Conclusion

Putting our faith in action:

· At the location a 10-year-old boy was left partially paralyzed after being hit by a stray bullet nearly a week ago, California Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata announced a new gun buyback to take place in Oakland.

· A 23-year-old man is expected to survive after he was shot Thursday night by an assailant who is still at large, police said

[ii]

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[i]Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (2:120). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[ii]