Episode #27 is live!
Jesus’ Parable of the Sower has more than one meaning
It’s not just about Jesus preaching the gospel. It’s also about where and what kind of seeds of faith we plant in our hearts and our lives.
In this episode I talk about how our faith is like a seed:
- It’s not enough to have seeds (faith). You have to plant them.
- It’s not about how big your faith is, but whether it’s alive.
- You never know how much good can come from one seed, one small act of faith.
- It’s our job to plant the seeds (live our faith). God takes care of making everything grow.
- The law of the harvest never fails: we reap what we sow.
Isaiah promises, “For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.” Isaiah 61:11
Episode 12: 20 Ways to Follow Christ in 2020
Blessings,
James
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Bible references in this episode:
Isaiah 61:11 ESV
11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.
Mark 4:26-28 ESV
26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.
27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.
28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23 ESV
3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow.
4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.
5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,
6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.
7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
9 He who has ears, let him hear.”
18 “Hear then the parable of the sower:
19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.
20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,
21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.
22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Matthew 13:31, 32 ESV
31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.
32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, [about 10 feet tall] so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
Luke 17:5, 6 ESV
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
6 And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.
Genesis 1:11 KJV
11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
II Corinthians 9:6 ESV
6 whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Galatians 6:7 ESV
7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
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20 Ways to Follow Christ in 2020 prayer project
Matthew 14:25 ESV
25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.
Mark 4:39 ESV
39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Download the pdf on Episode 12: 20 Ways to Follow Christ in 2020
