Sowers Are Not Perfect

If you wait until you are perfect before you speak about what the Lord has done for you and share the gospel (and the Word of God), you will never do those things. I believe that the Lord gave me about the same amount of fruit when I was a novice as He does now that I know a bit more about the Bible and a bit more about how to share the gospel. It is more dependent upon how much I share the gospel than it has to do with my proficiency or lack thererof.

John 15:5: I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Luke 8:5: A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. 8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? 10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

It might appear that the sower was wasteful. His aim was not very good. Some seeds fell by the wayside. He did not put a screen over the ground to keep the birds away. (My mother did that to protect her precious strawberry plants.) He did not irrigate the ground and he did not know if there would be sufficient rain to produce a crop. He threw some seed on rocks. He did not pick the rocks out of the stony places before he sowed the seeds. (As a young person I was paid by some wise farmers to pick the rocks out of their fields, especially the large ones.) He did not pull up the thorns before he sowed the seed. But I believe he sowed more seed than a sower who might have seemed more practical to us. I understand that seeds have been discovered that were in dry and dark places for thousands of years and still bore fruit when they were planted, watered and received sunshine. Sowers of the Word of God, the seed, do not know which individuals will see and not see or which will hear or not hear. But they still keep sowing the seed. Though he might seem wasteful to us, I find no criticism in the Bible of that sower. It is not recorded that he had any remorse about sowing some seeds in wrong places. And, of course, we should feel remorse when someone has rejected the Christ and/or the Word of God.

2 Timothy 4:2: Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

1 Corinthians 3:6: I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

Sometimes we don*t even know if we are planting or watering. We need to know that it is God that gives the increase. Dozens of Christians planted and watered me before I was saved. Some of them even believed that I was saved before I really was. But they could not look upon my heart. Water seems necessary both before the seed is planted and after. Those who plant and water today cannot look upon the hearts of others either. We can be fairly confident a seed has germinated when a plant has roots that seek and find the water which the Lord provides and produces fruit and more seeds. It works much the same with agricultural sowers and spiritual sowers.

Philippians 1:15: Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: 16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: 17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. 18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.

Care to discuss Sowers Are Not Perfect with Ron?

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