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Content type: Sermon Poem / Prayer Service / Tribute Incomplete Biography
Body: Pray. Last week during children’s moments, Cheryl gave out seed packets. Her message was about sowing and reaping what you sow. Sadie, Marla, and Cassidy each received a pack of seeds. Being the go getters that they are, each of these young ladies hurried home from church to plant their seeds. Well, just as it is in the life of a young Christian, these seeds grew to maturity in just one week. Mrs. Sadie was given some flower seeds, and she brought with her this morning these beautiful flowers for us to enjoy. Marla was given some tomato seeds, and she brought with her this morning this ripe, juicy red tomato. And Cassidy, just in time for Halloween, brought with her a full-grown pumpkin. Grown to maturity in only one week. Raise your hands if you agree with me, that this is the way it is with Christians. We receive Christ as our personal Savior, and we return to church the next week a mature Christian, in the likeness of Jesus Christ. Either you are listening, or you are asleep. Seeds do not grow to maturity in a week, nor do Christians. Seeds and Christians must grow before the harvest. I will be speaking this morning about what goes on between the sowing and the harvest. The growing. Ephesians 4 13-16 **13**This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. **14**Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever, they sound like the truth. **15**Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. **16**He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. When we are born again, we are like a newborn baby, always dependent on parents for everything. It is a joy to see a birth of a baby in the family and the excitement stays for some time. But every parent would want to see their baby grow from stage to stage. It is also true for a spiritually newborn. We need to grow up in Christian character and likeness of Christ. Christian life is ever growing, and it never stops. A newborn baby begins with feeding on mom's milk and slowly gets semi-solid food and after a certain stage, parents feed the child with solid food. Similarly, for a spiritually newborn person, God's Word is like milk (complete food). A person begins with a basic understanding of God and Christian living. As we continue to grow, we need to deepen our understanding of the Bible. From there our journey begins towards Christian maturity. If the Word of God is not consumed daily, we can become weak and backslide. Without a doubt, one of the biggest problems that we have in the church today is that of spiritual maturity. We get ourselves into all kinds of problems by saying immature things, by making immature decisions, by acting in immature ways. We need to become spiritually mature. We need to grow. 2 Peter 3:18 “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” It is God’s will that every Christian becomes spiritually mature. God wants us all to grow to spiritual maturity. In fact, Paul scolds the Corinthian church for their lack of maturity. He treats them as if they are babies in Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:2-3: “I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?” Paul tells them to grow up! God wants them to grow up – because spiritual immaturity causes all kinds of problems. God’s will for our life is spiritual maturity. One of the purposes of the church is to help us grow to spiritual maturity. Are you growing Spiritually? Spiritual growth happens through a process, not one single event. *First, we crawl (we come to church and get saved) *Then baby steps (we read the bible and start to learn about Jesus) *Then walking occurs (we realize how good the good news, really is) *Then running (we tell others about what we have learned) ** it’s a growing process. Life is defined with opportunities, choices, problems, and victories. And for the Christians life, the Lord takes those things and works miracles and victories your whole life long. Now, it’s the in between, the trust and faith space in the middle that counts, “it’s the journey” (the growing period) Understanding that your harvest is a result of what you plant, means you need to determine your seed. What kind of seeds are you willing to plant? Understanding that your harvest is a process, means you need to make preparations for it. What kind of a harvest are you expecting to reap? Remember this. A harvest requires sown seeds. There will never be a harvest if the seed stays in the barn or in your pocket. Notice in Mark 4 it says: "God’s kingdom is like seed thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and forgets about it.” While the seed is going through a transformation process, so must we. “The seed you sow is not the same grain you reap.” A lot of people don’t reap the full potential of their harvest because they don’t understand that a harvest is a process, expect, expect, expect. The barn you store your seed in, is smaller than the barn you are going to store your harvest in. (REPEAT) Or at least it better be. Spiritually, you need to prepare your mindset and your expectation, they determine the dimensions of your barn. Start expanding your expectation! What kind of a harvest are you looking for? An average one, or a busting at the seams, running over, unable to contain, running on the ground harvest. Bringing in the harvest requires commitment; it requires work and diligence. Spiritually speaking there is such a bountiful harvest of souls for the kingdom, so difficult it seems to bring them in. What does a harvest look like for you? Harvesting souls doesn’t come only once a year. That depends on how often you sow the seeds for the harvest. If you want a good harvest, then you have to be willing to participate in the growth period doing all you can to ensure the end result. Cultivation is what we're talking about here. It works in gardening, and it works in life too. Did you know that bringing the good out in someone is a harvest? Did you know that bringing a smile to someone's face is a harvest? Did you know that complementing someone is planting a seed and someone feeling good about themselves as a result is a harvest? And that's what happens as a result of loving your neighbor as yourself on a daily basis. Illus. Planting seeds believing and receiving planting seeds out of my need planting seeds I will keep believing God will keep increasing and blessing me We need to have the mindset of what kind of seed can I plant today. "Who can I bless today?" "Who can I do a favor for today?" Opportunities are everywhere if you are willing to look for them. There is an old saying that states “you will always reap what you sow”. The harvest that you reap in your life is the result of what you sow. What does God say to do? Isaiah 54:2-3 HCSB. 2.“Enlarge your house; build an addition; spread out your home! 3. For you will soon be bursting at the seams. When it comes time to reap the harvest, it’s too late to enlarge the barn! Expectations and Faith Occur during the growth period, not after the harvest! When the harvest comes you must be willing and ready to receive it if you're not ready it will be lost. In Greek, there are two words used to define time. Chronos and Kairos. Chronos is the word from which we get the word chronological – normal, general time. Kairos however means - a fixed and definite time, opportune or seasonable time, the right time, a limited period of time. The word Kairos holds true in every believer’s life. The Bible states that this life we live is but a vapor, our opportunity to continue to plant seed, to tell others about the gospel is limited. Friends, I ask you, what are you planting? what will be your harvest? Sometimes it’s easy for us to get so caught up that we’re focused only on ourselves. "I’ve got my plans. Don’t get me off my routine." "I’d love to help you out, but I’m sorry, I just don’t have the time." It's time that we set our human nature aside and remember, we were created in the image of God, we weren’t created to live selfishly, that’s the way the world lives. In case you haven't noticed lately there are a lot of hurting people all around us who need our love and encouragement. Don’t miss the miracle of the “now moment” God sends your way, don‘t miss the opportunity to sow into someone else’s life on the spur of the moment the good news about Jesus Christ. Especially as we enter the Thanksgiving season, we shouldn’t miss opportunities to do the right things whenever situations come our way to bless people. There is a book by Kenneth Copeland...called "Blessed to be a Blessing" and this is true. In doing so, ultimately when we bless others, but we will also ourselves receive a blessing. Illus. There’s an old Indian Fable, it goes like this. A water bearer had two large water pots which he carried on either end of a pole slung across his shoulders. One of the pots had a crack in it, so every day as he carried water to his master’s house, he arrived with one full pot and one only half full. This went on for two years. One pot was very proud of its accomplishments, while the imperfect pot was embarrassed at its failure. Its distress at being able only to accomplish half of what it had been made to do, resulted in its speaking one day to the water carrier. "I am so ashamed," the pot said. "Why?" asked the carrier. "Because water leaks out all the way to your master’s house and because of my crack I’ve been only able to deliver half of the load." The water carrier looked kindly at the cracked pot and said, "As we return to my master’s house today, I want you to look at the beautiful flowers along the path." The pot was a little cheered by the beauty he saw along the way. "Did you notice that the flowers were only on your side of the path?" the water carrier asked. "I’ve always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted seeds on your side of the track and as we walked back each day from the stream, you watered them." For two years I have been able to pick fresh, beautiful flowers for my master’s table. Without your being just the way you are, this beauty would not have graced his house." I tell this story because someone might say... I know what you're saying is right and we need to be busy for the kingdom, but I just have a hard time doing it. God knew that would be the case, that's why the Bible says, some may plant, some may water, but God is the one who gives the increase. While all of this may not come easy to you, and to do the things that others do so easily. All of us can do something, and that's all that's required and when we do that, God will give the increase. And the harvest will truly be bountiful and so far beyond what we could've ever thought or imagined in our wildest dreams! So, let’s give thanks and praise to the Living Water, Jesus Christ, as we move through the “in between”, “the growing” and the harvest. Growing toward the Son, with our hearts and minds set on becoming more and more like Christ each and every day!
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