Staying Sown

1 Peter 1:1-2 Peter, an apostle (a special messenger) of Jesus Christ, [writing] to the elect exiles of the dispersion scattered (sowed) abroad in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, ² Who were chosen and foreknown by God the Father and consecrated (sanctified, made holy) by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and to be sprinkled with [His] blood: May grace (spiritual blessing) and peace be given you in increasing abundance [that spiritual peace to be realized in and through Christ, freedom from fears, agitating passions, and moral conflicts].

The Parable of the Soils describes how Jesus’ word is received within the soil of our hearts. Some hearts are trodden down, others are thorny, or rocky. Only one of the soils receives the seed of the Word and produces fruit. Billy Graham used this parable to make the point that only one in four people who gather in our churches has actually been born-again.

What I have never thought of is that not only is our heart a garden – with seeds sown into its “ground” – we are seeds. Our lives and the way we live them are seeds. From one seed come many seeds that either bear fruit for righteousness and the Kingdom of God, or bear fruit for evil and Satans’ kingdom. Question is, Am I consciously aware that I have been sown by the Lord? Everyone quotes Romans 8:28 God works for the good for those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose. But few actually believe that promise. If we believed it we would wait for the Lord – the Sower of our lives – to bring fruit out of the pit He has buried us in. What does this all mean? In order for a seed to germinate a “pit” must be dug to plant the seed, burying it in the soil that will “entomb” it. In the Old Testament Joseph was “buried” in a pit (tomb) by his jealous brothers to be “resurrected” into becoming a ruler of Egypt. We see the same in Jesus’ life. Planted in a “pit” or tomb He burst forth 3 days later securing the salvation of the world. In speaking of His crucifixion Jesus stated: I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains [just one grain; it never becomes more but lives] by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces many others and yields a rich harvest. (John 12:24). The best place to sow any seed is in the dark ground. The soil that is fertile has rotten, stinking stuff in it. It’s not clean, or sterilized. The pit, darkness, and fertile, stinking soil is actually good for the seed. In other words, all of these things are good for you – if you are God’s seed. I once heard Brad McClendon teach on this and he asked, What happens to the seed when we take it out of the pit? It dies and the transformation is halted.

Many times the Lord has led this “seed” (me, myself, and I) to a place, circumstance, assignment, difficult person, or situation – He had chosen for me; He had designed for me – to be buried. Unfortunately, I halted the process of transformation by taking myself out of the “pit” He had buried me. Sadly, over the years of ministry, I have watched people claim God’s leading to this or that – but once they started feeling the darkness of His pit, and smelled the rotten, stinking soil used to bury them – they quickly jumped out. They missed an all important truth: If you say you are a follower of Jesus then eventually you are going to have to follow Him down into the “pit;” the place where it seems the enemy has scattered you. The soulish man, or fleshly nature, is always seeking to save SELF – mind, will emotions and personality. It will avoid its death at all costs. Hebrews 12:7 states that we are to endure hardship as discipline. God is treating you as sons….You can’t be a son (or daughter) like Jesus until you learn to suffer with Jesus. Romans 8:17 affirms this fact: And if we are [His] children, then we are [His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His inheritance with Him]; only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory.

Matthew 13:8 reminds us: Other seeds fell on good soil, and yielded grain—some a hundred times as much as was sown, some sixty times as much, and some thirty. When I submit to this process I will bear much fruit.