The Seed
By Penny Williams
Everything began as a thought, then was conceived of a
seed. Depending upon what kind of thought you receive will depend upon whether
you entertain it or cast it away. Everything comes from our hearts as this is
where we file the things that are imparted and important to bring up later. The
acorns drop from the Oak tree with some taking root, whereas some are used to
ground up for flour or coffee, others are used for decorations while the
squirrels happily bury for wintertime. The sunflowers stretch their long necks
as if to give praise to the sun embracing the light and when the seeds are ripe
for the picking, sometimes you will see flocks of yellow birds come to dine. Zinnia
seeds become scattered when the wind blows, and the thorny blackberries pop up
everywhere. We sometimes plant bulbs that never come up to meet the sky. Others
cannot wait to bloom.
What happens to those bulbs who never reach through the
earth? They seemingly never had a chance. Was it just a bad bulb? Did the insects or other critters get to the
bulbs before they decided to germinate? Maybe the soil wasn’t good.
God is the mastermind of all fruitfulness, and He uses
seeds everywhere you walk and look and scatters them everywhere. This is part
of His large plan.
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to Nazareth to a
virgin named Mary telling her that she was highly favored of God and that she
would conceive in her womb the Messiah and would rule over the house of Jacob
forever. The Holy Spirit would come upon her, and the power of the Highest
would overshadow her. He would be Holy and called, “The Son of God.” We could even call Him “The Son of Love.”
God is a Spirit. He is Love.
Mary became impregnated with God’s seed [His Love], with
His Word. The Word’s name is Jesus Christ. Everything He said and did was all
about glorifying the Light and Love of the Father.
I do not know anyone who can understand all of God’s
thoughts or His ways. Isaiah 55:8
Our God uses our thoughts to accomplish His will in our
lives and others too. One single word from our Father sent His Son Jesus who
changed the whole world, His name has melted hearts in bowed knees in
repentance, created unwanted wars, exposed the evil intents of enemies, caused
division in households and many believers were martyred and continues today, just
as Jesus said for those who believe He is the King of Kings. The name of Jesus
Christ is known worldwide, and it's never been the same since. Rd. Matt. 10:34-42. 6:25-34
In John 3:3 “Jesus answered, and said unto him, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom
of God.” Jesus was casting seeds.
Mary was a forerunner of what happens to those of us who
listen and understand God’s Word. They become overshadowed or pregnant with
that word by God’s Holy Spirit [love]. During such a miracle, we do not realize
what is happening when it happens. Although, the only way I can express it for
myself is that; I had a small glow of a candle inside of me from my childhood
and knew in my heart that “Someday I would return to the God of my childhood.”
I did not know when or how. I felt that I should “clean up myself first” before
I returned. But that isn’t the way God works. His Holy Spirit cleans us up after
we humble ourselves, repent and confess our sins and accept that Jesus Christ
is the only way to eternal life. Although, the confessions from our hearts take
a few minutes, in time there will be memories of other past sins to confess. By
God’s grace and faith, you have stepped out of death into life through being
conceived in and by His Love. Although we are new creatures in Christ, the
process of cleaning up our old fleshly worldly habits can take years. Be
patient, God is with you. Everything you go through will be a lesson for you to
learn and grow. We all have our own
“customized past paths” we have walked through.
Let’s go to the parable of the Sower.
Matthew 13:1-23 KJV
1 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and
sat by the sea side.
2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he
went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a
sower went forth to sow;
4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them
up:
5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and
forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had
no root, they withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked
them:
8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an
hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto
them in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to
know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more
abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he
hath.
13Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see
not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By
hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and
shall not perceive:
15For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed;
lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
16But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
18Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and
understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he
which received seed by the wayside.
20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he
that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when
tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is
offended.
22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the
word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the
word, and he becometh unfruitful.
23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth
the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an
hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Within every life, there is an enemy and along with that
threat there is a solution.
The amazing thing about this parable is that, just
because someone is preaching the word, or reading the word does not mean they
are hearing, accepting or retaining the word. It all depends on where their
hearts are at the time they hear it. Insincere hearts are blocked from the
truth. The Holy Spirit seeks humble hearts.
The humble heartfelt prayer of faith is powerful before
the word begins to go out into the airwaves. Just as when a farmer prepares
their soil before they plant their seeds, so we too need to learn from the
farmer to prepare the soils upon whom we scatter God’s seed. A full and complete
dependance upon His Holy Spirit by faith promises to bring a fruitful harvest.
Though we may not see the harvest or know about it until later, it is all by
His miraculous mercy and grace.
There were crowds of people gathering around Jesus so
that He went upon a boat to teach the multitudes upon the shore. He began to speak
in parables.
The scriptures below will be in NIV unless otherwise
stated.
“As He was
scattering the seed [word], some fell along the path, and the birds came and
ate it up.”
“Listen then to
what the parable of the sower means; When anyone hears the message about the
kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what
was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path [or wayside].”
Think about this.
If there was not so much life changing power in the word,
Satan would not bother to pervert it or take it away. If there were not so much
love and faith involved and the many promises that would set you free from
yourself, addictions, lies, seductions from the world, he would not counterfeit
the word nor accuse it of being a lie. We know that he is the father of lies.
There are those who tolerate the word and will never remember what has been
spoken. Sin hardens hearts and many will choose sin over God’s love. Sin seduces
and then reduces all that you have.
God gives us love.
The enemy gives us lying accusations, encourages violence
and hatred. What they accuse you of, they themselves are doing.
I ask you, why would our Father God give His beloved seed
to anyone who would devalue it? The Bible talks about how it is a privilege to
have it. His word is a treasure we put in our hearts.
“Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much
soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came
up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
“The one who received the seed that fell on rocky
places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But
since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution
comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. “
To have good soil, deep roots and faith from God you are
going to have to use the faith that He has given to you. This requires you to
apply His word in your life. Trials, tests and temptations are going to come.
Growth will teach you how to resist the worries and fears and do battle instead
of going back into the world. The way of the world decreases the truth, while
God’s word will give you a powerful hope that arms you with increased faith.
Is it not possible that when the seed falls on rocky
places and has no root lasting only a short time could be part of
unbelief in the mighty God who has offered eternal life?
Run to Him and pray.
“Other seed fell among the thorns, which grew up and
choked the plants.”
“The one who received the seed that fell among the
thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the
deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. “
I am familiar with unwanted plants in my garden that
begin to choke out my flowers or vegetables. Most are thorny vines. I find this
factual how the enemy never fails to replicate God’s goodness with something
ugly that destroys. He said for us to learn from His creation and if we are
attentive and pray, we will hear His voice.
The superficial words from the world cannot hold a candle
to God’s promises. Although there can be a lack of understanding of the word, it
does not mean it isn’t true. The distractions, seductions and manipulations for
riches will either stomp out the anointing that is in God’s word or water it
down. The enemy continues to lie and is unable to speak the truth.
Ask yourself what kind of fruit have I been yielding?
What lies have I believed in others?
What lies have I believed in myself?
Things happen! Your heart begins to worry. Do you
immediately go to the Lord about it? Worrying can choke your faith and your
health if you allow it. When you submit to worry, where did your faith go that
God gave you? Worry can be a prelude to
our words. Did you cancel out your faith by a negative word of unbelief? Perhaps
you replaced it with the deceitfulness of wealth and why do we think that we
can buy our way out of the pit we dug for ourselves in the first place?
The love of money will never buy you the love that you seek.
The love of money will never buy you a clear conscience.
The love of money will never buy you favor from God.
The love of money will not purchase healing for your
body.
The love of money will never pay for forgiveness.
If you were to replace faith with your worries and for the
deceitfulness of wealth, you would be as a barren tree that never gives fruit,
and no amount of money will ever pay for your salvation.
Salvation is a free gift from God, if you repent and
believe that Jesus went to the cross for your sins. We have all sinned. Every
person you see in or out of church have sinned.
“But the one
who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and
understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times
what was given”
You win! You will be given new eyes for you to see, new ears
so you can hear and a brand-new heart to begin to store good things inside
instead of the things of the world. The puzzle begins to come together. There will
be battles from time to time, but if you hang in there, I can see you running
to the finish line right next to me. Be forewarned, when someone comes to the
Lord, they lose all their worldly friends. I did because they said, “She got
religion.” Remember, Jesus said, “If
they persecute me, they will persecute you.” Tests will come along for your faith to be
tried and then increased. Temptations will also make their way to your door.
Resist the enemy and he will flee from you. As I have said previously, we go
through these things so WE can see how we respond:
With faith or with fear.
When you opened the word for you to read, God already
knew how you would respond from time to time, because He is Omnipotence, Omniscience,
Omnipresent. He is all powerful with supreme authority over everything. He is
all knowing, He knows your thoughts before you think them, and He is
everywhere. Not one of us can hide from His eyes. Not one bird can fall from
the nest, that He already knows. When troubles come up in our lives and we
respond in the wrong way, it is God who wants YOU to see how you responded. He
wants you to understand what is still in your heart that needs to be flushed
out. We go through these things for us to be honest with ourselves and if we
can see them, we are made stronger in Christ.
Never give up upon God and His plan for your life.
In the beginning we are babes in Christ. The first thing
to learn is to put God first in everything you do. Learn to pray and talk to
Him. Go to Him about everything in your life. You are a toddler. Toddlers run
too fast sometimes and slip and fall. Worries will come and the spirit of fear
can be heart stopping if we allow it. Dropping your faith, going back and
joining forces with the worries of the world will never bring you the victory
that you desire. Learning and resisting will!
The minute you accept Jesus as your Savior you need to find a godly
Bible believing church to make new friends [they will pray for you], seek out a
mentor, find a good small support group to hang out with. Everyone there is
growing and learning too. Organize your time constructively and pray with faith
[expectantly] before you read your Bible and ask the Holy Spirit to give you
understanding as you read. Then, apply it in your life.
Read and meditate on it, eat it, walk it, listen to it,
speak it and sleep it. When you need to know something, remember, God loves you
and He is faithful and will always bring up the answer from The Holy Spirit.
Ask Him.
If you then, though you are
evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your
Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Lu. 11:13
When you do this, you will understand how things work in
the Spirit world first, then the physical. Spirit first, then physical.
When I was of the world, I used to think that everyone
who went to church was squeaky clean. I thought they all had good upbringings,
very little problems and I would look out of my window and watch them when they
came home from church and why did they seem so happy all the time? They had joy. The joy of the Lord!
In the past, fear may have kept you from coming to Jesus,
perhaps of not being accepted in a group. Maybe you feel you would not fit in
or maybe ignorance of the Bible. When I came to Jesus, I did not know anything
about the Bible. I knew there was Genesis, John and The Book of Revelation. But
I did not know what was inside of those writings. All I knew was what was given
to me when at 5 yrs old sitting upon Sister Janes lap in a Catholic Orphanage.
She introduced me to The Holy Father, Son Jesus and The Holy Spirit. She told
me about the enemy who comes to steal, kill and destroy everything we have by
the sins we commit. Yes, I can remember everything she said and I understood
it. I praise God that she was so obedient to tell me this truth. From 5 years
old to 28 years old, I went through a series of unbelievable trials and tests.
I am presently trying to wade through writing a book of my life, so all those
who read this will understand where you are now, I once was. Yes, I went
through that too! I never lived a “normal” life. There was always something
tragic happening to me. So, you see, I have been there! It wasn’t until I was
28 that I made an official confession in my home to accept Jesus into my life
forever. When I rose from my knees, I was a different person, but a babe in
Christ. I discovered I couldn’t get enough of God’s word. I had finally found
out who I was! I did not have an identity. I did not know who I was. I never
had a father, but too many stepfathers. I never wanted to grow up. Why would I
want to grow up when all I experienced was abuse, violence, pain and
rejections?
Everything we go through, all those specialized problems and
pains that stop our world and crush our hearts, are for us to continue being
transformed into the likeness of Christ. We have a God who is never wasteful
within any of our lives. He uses everything we go through in our lives to get
the job done and you know what happens?
We become stronger! In His strength!
We have more faith! Higher, deeper and wider than before!
We love Him so much more! His love is like a homerun!
We are given more understanding! When more understanding
comes, so does the joy!
Nothing! No one can take away what God gives to us! He is
powerful and so is His word.
I am overwhelmed by His love, mercy and grace in my life.
All the sorrows and pains I went through have been like purging through a fire
of faith that strengthened my soul.
It will all be in my book. By faith, it will get done.
I urge you not to let another day go by without accepting
Jesus as your Lord and Savior. He loved you before you knew there was such a
love. My life is a walking miracle, and I will never stop praising His name or
writing about Him. He is your answer now and tomorrow.
Pray with me today this sinner’s prayer that everyone has
had to pray before becoming born again. Consider it a door into eternity, you will be walking through.
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your unfailing love for me. Thank you for
leading me right to this prayer and revealing to me what I need to do to become
born-again. I believe that your Son Jesus died upon that cross, shed His blood
so I could have forgiveness and eternal life. I believe that on the 3rd
day He was risen! Your word tells me to repent from my heart. I repent Lord. I ask
that you forgive all my sins. Name your sins. I need You Lord. Please come into my life and
take over. In Jesus name, I ask this
prayer. Amen.
If you
have prayed this prayer of faith, congratulations and welcome into the family
of God. Confess your faith to those who know you. Find a good Bible believing church and connect
to a small group. These people will help you get through the trials and tests
that you will go through. God will use them to encourage you, and they will
pray for you. You will know them by their love. May His blessings come in waves
of abundance and the way be made clear for you as you grow.
