Saturday, May 16, 2015

Grow Church Grow

Today we'll look at the story of the Sower of Seeds in Luke 8, and what it should mean to the church.

While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture.Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

Jesus tells us that it is what happens when we share the Gospel.

The seed is the word of God. 12 Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. 14 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
It has a Seed Rejection ration of 75%! To improve on a 25% success rate we must plant more seeds! We should plant more seeds but according to Jesus our conversions will remain at the same percentage. My thought is, Why not try to be more strategic in our seed planting?

Strategic seed planting would involve working the soil in advance. In other words:
1.     Engage in conversation about your faith.
2.     Pray, pray, pray for who and when we are to share the Gospel with.
3.     Live out your faith for all to see.
4.     Know the Word of God and share it accurately and truthfully.
5.     Be sensitive to what someone is telling you. They might not be saying no, but have question.
6.     Continue to be involved in the lives of new believers.
7.     Be ready always to share the Good News of Jesus.

Let's plant the seeds of the Gospel in good soil. Amen?