Outreach: Sowing Seeds

all right so with the preliminaries out of the way we will get into our lesson so this will be sadly our last lesson on Outreach so it's been real and it's been fun so we're going to get ready to wrap that up and then looking forward next month uh brother hodm will be speaking on healing for the month of March so again looking forward to that all right so going into our final lesson so just a kind of look back on what we've done so far so through the month of January obviously brother watt talked about preparing ourselves so we laid that Foundation to get ourselves ready and then throughout this month we've went through the next steps after we of course got ourselves prepared we're preparing to now reach out to others so if you remember if you were here or if maybe you saw it online our first session for February we talked about one of the tools of Outreach being boldness because that is a very valuable tool if you're going to reach people amen I will say being transparent I'm not a very bold person so this is something I have to work on I don't know for those of you that know me well I'm not a very vocal person I'm uh not a very outgoing person so so that is definitely something I myself have to work on is boldness and getting out there to talk to people so that's one of the first things we talked about we also have talked about using our testimony and our trials as a way to minister to people so obviously trials that we've went through again kind of just reiterating things we've talked about to kind of build up to where we're going to go tonight that may seem like struggles that we Face we feel so alone but yet at the same time the things we're going through once we get through those we can use those to help in other people's lives to reach other people we went on to talk as well about being Fishers of Men so being a fisherman like we had talked about previously you're actively trying to make those catches so you're you're actively out there trying to reach people so tonight we're going to wrap all of this up we've sprinkled it throughout talking about seeds and planting seeds so we're going to now put all of this together wrap it up and we're going to really dive deep into those seeds that we are spreading we've talked about as well how some people may not be as receptive to our Outreach may be certain people that we've tried to reach that it's been very difficult and that it just doesn't feel like it's going to work and we need to know how to approach all of these different situations so we're going to build on that even more tonight because there's so many different people there's so many different situations that we will face to where people will not accept what we may have to say so even if people don't appear to accept what we have to say or what we're trying to plant into their lives the main thing that we cannot do is back down at that point we can't cower away and feel that we fail we can't give up at that point and feel that we're not being effective we have to still stand firm in all that we know and all that we've worked towards so the past couple of sessions I sort of started out with a story to set the tone so I'm going to do the same tonight I do have a story that I'm going to kind of talk through of a situation just again to kind of build a foundation on what I'm going to be going going into

so this is a story about a young man named Ivan he was actually a Russian soldier back in the early 1970s so again this is a very old story that happened way back in the day so what did happen well to me to me you know so just speaking from my perspective you know that's that's on back there you know so you know and I'm sure for those of you that was there if you think back you know it's probably a little foggy so just saying Maybe not maybe not I don't know I'll see when I get there I'll see I did just hit 30 in the past few months so I'm getting there all right so no yeah so this young man he was 18 years old back when this happened so again he was a soldier in the country of Russia back in this day now back in this time things were very different than they are today in just many different ways so this young man had a faith that was very different from what he was a part of from the army that he was a part of what they wanted him to believe what they wanted him to do they consistently tried to re-educate him if if you will to talk him out of his faith in God so there was one time that he was just walking along a snowy sidewalk it says and he was praising God for this time alone just looking at it as time to sing and time to pray and then suddenly it caught his eye a bright star began to come down and fall from Heaven so it just came closer and closer and appeared to get bigger and bigger he says he looked up to see what was an angel above him and obviously his heart was filled with joy but also fear at this side so what did the angel say to him it says the story says it did not descend all the way to him but hovered about 200 yard above the ground and it spoke to him saying Ian go don't be afraid for I Am with You obviously he couldn't speak at this great sight similar I'm sure to when the angel appeared to the Shepherds I'm sure they were left speechless as well I could imagine I would be the same but although he couldn't speak his Joy was like a fire within him at this message that he had heard so he went to his Major's office and knocked quietly on the door he had been interrogated again and again by many others within the unit but yet he never backed away from his faith and again I want to remind he was only 18 at this time still very young but yet he certainly had a boldness he certainly was not afraid of his faith despite the situation he kept finding himself despite the opposition that he kept finding himself in so the major thought he was certain he could now solve this problem of faith and belief that this young man had he asked him why are you not learning the correct answers and he told his major well sometimes there's a difference between the correct answers and the true answers he said sometimes God does not permit me to give correct answers you can imagine for those I don't know if anyone in here I was not if any of you were in the military I have many family members that were I'm sure that speak speaking to a superior officer like this was not something that was to be taken lightly I'm sure this could be a very frightening thing especially for such a young man so after he had asked him and mentioned this to this young man he then regretted it as the young man Ivan leaned forward in his chair at this point his face then glowing with joy at the opportunity to now share sh his faith how many of us facing these situations get excited to share our faith or do we tend to hide it away more so and to back away but he said sir he is the one who created all the universe he greatly loves man he sent his son and he just was going on but then he was interrupted by the major who said yes I know the Christian teaching but what has that got to do with being a soldier do you disagree with the teachings of our army and he said no I do not but he came back and said but you do not accept the Principles of Scientific atheism upon which is based our entire State and military power of our army and he said I cannot accept what I know to be untrue everything else I can gladly accept so this major is still perplexed he said no one can prove the existence of God and in his words he said even priest and pastors agree on that but the young man countered and said sir they may speak about not being able to prove God but there's no question about knowing him oh yes he is with me now in this room and he told the major before I came here he sent an angel to encourage me so just see how God works he knows when you need to hear a word I'm sure the story doesn't tell but I'm sure that there was something changed in this Major's life upon hearing all this now upon hearing at this time what he just said he just stared at the young man and he said I'm sorry that you will not be reasonable your persistence will do nothing for you except bring discomfort and then he goes on however through the years I have found that men like you often come to their senses with a little discipline so unfortunately this young man was subjected to go out into 30 Dees below zero and he had to stand out as punishment for not accepting what he did not what he did not what he knew was not true so it seems like a very sad State of Affairs but he looked at it as well tonight I'm going to have a long time to pray in this case as he stood out in that icy wind that burned his ears and made his eyes water he just looked at the good I have have time to pray many wh ifs of course flooded his mind but he remembered the angel who visited him that morning the angel told him do not be afraid and it goes on to say as it ends it talks about how some officers came out towards him and said have you changed your mind yet he been standing out in this cold as punishment for his faith and he said no as much as I want to come in and go to bed I can't I will never agree to remain silent about God so as it ends they said do you plan to stand out here all night long he said I don't see how anything else is possible and God is helping me it says he checked his hands and they they were cold but not too cold he could still move his toes it was a miracle he could see the officers that in their coats were already shaking from the Cod but yet he himself was not as cold as they were because God was there with him

so in this story it doesn't tell us if anyone else's lives were changed but I'm certain that something had to trigger a change in these people's lives that met this young man I'm sure that a seed of something that they had not experienced before they had to ask who is this person that can withstand all of this that we're putting them through and they still will not give up their faith I can only imagine that they had some thoughts and that they wanted to know some more so this is just one situation of many that may happen when we're out there working the fields we may not always get that Harvest that we're looking for so as that story ended again it doesn't tell us the happy ending that everyone came to their senses and everyone came to God in that time and the same can be said for our Outreach as we're out there working we may end up in terrible situations because of our faith we may end up in less than desirable conditions in our lives because we decide to stand true because we decide either way whether they accept what I bring to them or not I will not falter in what I believe some may think well the seeds that I'm planting must be so small and insignificant because I don't see any growth happening but I'll just tell you everything that's within a tree or whatever it may be is already in the seed it just takes time to grow it has to be nurtured it has to be tended to and some people once we've done our part It's up to them to nurture that seed to water that and they may not always do that

we're going to go to Matthew Chapter 13 starting at verse 3-9 this is Jesus speaking it says he spake many things into them in Parables saying Behold a swer went forth to sew and when he SED some seeds fell by the wayside and the fowls came and devoured them up some fell upon Stony places where they had not much Earth and forth with they sprung up because they had no deepness of Earth and when the sun was up they were scorched and because they had no root they withered away some fell among thorns and the Thorns sprung up and choked them but other fell into good ground and brought forth fruit some H hundredfold some 60-fold some 30-fold he who hath ears let him hear so obviously as it said in verse three these are Parables that Jesus is speaking in and we will get into he does go into to explain these further but just from looking at this passage of scripture many of these situations we will all face when we're out there trying to reach people in our lives maybe some of you've already faced one or more of these situations maybe you've faced all of them maybe you were one of the people that when someone tried to reach you you were the person this Parable speaks about we're out there throwing seeds but we have to remember not every seed May land just how we had hoped all right we had talked before about situations where me personally I know that a seed had to be planted in somebody's life but but I don't know what the outcome was and there's some to where I know that I spoke the truth to them I know that I presented it to them but as of now I still don't see the fruit of their lives I don't see at this time that they were receptive so again they have to keep up with it they have to choose to grow that fruit we still do our job however by planting we just have to know that some people are not willing to water that seed they're not willing to take the time and the work to make it grow

Jesus does go on to explain more specifically what he means in these Parables so we're going to want to go on the same chapter 13 starting at verse 18- 23 hear ye therefore the parable of the SE when anyone heareth the word of the kingdom and understandeth it not then cometh the wicked one and catches away that which was swn in his heart this is he which receives seed by the wayside but he that received the seed into Stony places the same as he that heareth the word and with joy receives it yet he hath no he hath not root in himself but duth for a while but then when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word by and by He Is offended 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 but he that receiveth seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word understandeth it which also beareth fruit and bringeth forth some H hundredfold some 60 and some 30 how many of you in here tonight can think of situations just like these with people in your own lives again maybe one maybe more than one but I'm sure that every one of us in here have faced a situation at least one such as this how many have backslidden family members for example in my experience this truth is something that I've known my entire life it's all I know many on my family however have different faiths some of them know the truth even once lived it but yet as of today they no longer live this life that's something that for me personally I'm sure some of you as well it just boggles my mind I just don't understand I've never been on that other side of not knowing this of course I'm not perfect of course I've made mistakes but I've never been on that other side to walk away from this or to not know it at one point so it just a my mind just can't understand how people can experience the Holy Ghost how people can hear the truth they can be told but yet they still walk away just as he explained this Parable there's people that know the truth and they once lived it but then they let things get in the way as verse 19 said when someone hears the word but yet they don't have the understanding they don't take the time to truly understand what it means to live for God then when the enemy comes against them he takes away what was sown in their heart that's the one that was received the seed by the wayside I feel that is so prevalent in my personal experience for sure it's so easy if I can say it this way for people to come into church and to get that feeling that they've been looking for and it fills them up for a time but they don't again take the time to truly understand what it means to take up the cross and follow him they don't understand what it means to Die daily they let all the things of the world stay in their life they don't want to give it up and that's when the enemy snatches away all of that fruit that they could have bear it's such a sad thing to see when there's people that you know that have so much potential that you've lived this in front of for so many years that you've talked to you've had conversations with you've told them the truth they may have even been to church with you and heard it on multiple occasions but yet they still choose to go their own way this is something we will face many times and we have to understand it's not our fault it's not our fault as long as we have planted that seed it's up to them to make that decision we can't look at ourselves as failures and say well I can't even reach my own family how can I reach those out in the world is there anyone that's ever said that that before it can seem so discouraging but this is something that we have to learn to pray through to get through and to just keep working towards the next one to keep throwing out the next one to keep plowing for the next one it just may not be the time for that seed in that family member or that close friend just just yet we've talked about how new converts love to go head first into things when they experience the power of God so many of them they just they want to do everything they can for God at that time but yet again as one of these Parables say they don't anchor themselves down they don't root their themselves truly down on the surface they appear to truly be Allin but within their themselves they're not they're not Allin and they begin to drift away when things get too tough or when they have to give up too much that's another situation that on our mission of Outreach that we're going to run into it may seem so successful with that person they're finally here they appear to be all in for this they want to do everything they can but I had said it at one of the previous sessions so many people when they first get in I've heard it said that they want to go to the mission field but yet they can't even come to church consistently there will be people like this and it's not our fault if they don't root theirselves down as long as we continue to live it as long as we keep keep our light shining we're doing what God called us to do we are not failures at that point some people let money jobs relationships all of these Earthly things get in the way of their walk with God some people don't know how to separate theirselves from the things of the world maybe even some of us we still struggle with things such as that I can only imagine someone that's not filled with the Holy Ghost that doesn't have the knowledge of the word like we have that's something that they have to work on and they have to learn so if we run into those people and they get choked away with the things of life again that's not on your back that's not your failure because once it gets to the point to where they have nowhere else to turn I'm certain that those people will remember they will remember what you told them they will remember remember what you planted within them but rest assured as he ended those last few verses there will be those people that we reach out to that will hear the word and they will hold it deeply within them and they will bring forth good fruit but there is one thing however that we still have to remember

we are not the only ones out here or out in the world that are trying to bring in a harvest there's also an enemy out there that's planting their own seeds in people's lives Jesus talks about another Parable in the same chapter starting at verse 24 through3 another Parable put he forth unto them saying the Kingdom of Heaven is liking into a man which sowed good seed in his field but while a man while men slept his enemy came and sowed tears among the wheat and went his way but when the blade was sprung up and brought forth fruit then appeared the tears also so the Servants of the hous holder came and said unto him sir did thou not sow good seed in thy field from when since then hath it tears he said unto them an enemy hath done this the servant said unto him wil thou then we go and gather them up but he said nay lest while you gather up the tears ye root up also the wheat with them let both grow together until the Harvest and in the time of harvest I will say to the Reapers Gather ye together first the tears and bind them in bundles to burn them but gather the wheat into my barn while we are trying so hard to reach out to people to seow Faith within them to se hope in their lives peace help whatever it may be there is an enemy that's throwing out seeds of Doubt seeds of fear fear of hopelessness and when it comes down to it as I've said already people have to decide which seed are they going to water nurture and allow to grow we can't make people make that decision as much as we want to as much as we may get frustrated sometimes just not understanding how do you not see it are you not tired of living the life you're living it's like people as many of you may have seen the illustration the angel on one shoulder the devil on the other as long as we're sure that we've thrown our seed to that person we know that angel is there that angel is there it's just up to them to decide which voice they're going to listen to I once heard it said before by someone that I know that they had talked with somebody about the apostolic truth and they asked them so do you see it they went through baptism repentance the Holy Ghost so when they were finished they asked them do you see it now and they like yes I see it it's right there it's in the word and so he asked I'm all right are you ready to be baptized and he was like I can't do that why not well if I do that I'll lose membership at my church oh my so sad that there's people so much potential they know it they know what they need to do we've done our part but yet there's something that they're just not willing to let go of there's something something that in the way that they will not change and I'm sure that much like myself that's very shocking answer to hear but they didn't want to lose membership at their own church for being baptized in Jesus name

so Jesus did go on however to explain the previous Parable that we spoke about starting at verse 36 Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house and his disciples came unto him saying declare unto us the parable of the tears of the field he answered and said unto them he that Seth The Good Seed is the son of man the field is the word the good seed are the children of the Kingdom but the tears are the children of the wicked one the enemy that sowed them is the devil the Harvest is the end of the world and the reapers are the angels as therefore the tears are gathered and burned in the fire so shall it be in the end of this world the son of man shall send forth his angels and they Shall Gather out of his kingdom all things that offend and them which do iniquity and shall cast them into a furnace of Fire there shall be welling and nashing of teeth then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their father who hath ears to hear Let Him hear so sad to think that in this Parable that the wheat the people who are the children of God and the tears who are the people of the wicked one those Wicked people are so close they're right there with the children of God but yet they're still at this point going to be thrown into the fire because of their iniquity all these situations that we've talked about those people may be so close may feel so close to us but yet still they will continue on in their iniquity and it's such a sad thing to think about to be so close to Victory from this world but just not willing to be a child of God in this situation the one thing we have to do as I said is just keep doing what we're doing the despite feeling like maybe wanting to give up maybe you've said it's been so long since I've invited someone to church and they've actually come it's been so long since somebody that I've ministered to received the Holy Ghost or repented I've tried so hard but there just seems to be nothing sprouting forth that I can see in my field

one example I'll give you is of Noah he continued to build the ark even when people were against him even when it surely didn't make sense to do what he was doing maybe even he did not fully understand why am I doing this but it's because God gave him a word word it's because God chose him for this God has chosen each and every one of us to reach people in our lives even when it feels so hopeless even when it feels like we're surrounded by the tears they're right there within reach but they still will not give up the iniquity they still will not turn from their wicked ways we have to just keep building either way even if it doesn't make sense even if we don't understand even if we don't see that there's rain coming we got to keep building just as Noah did because God has put that purpose within each and every one of us what did Noah do he just continued to warn the people anyways and just kept building even if no one seemed to listen and from the Scriptures it appears that no one did listen because only him and his family were the ones on the ark I can only imagine how many people as long as it took him to build that had to come by and question or laugh whatever it was but yet not one of them even though he continually warned decided to go on there with them and that's what we will face sometimes but we have to just keep plan we have to just keep plowing we have to just keep watering because that's what God has told us to do that's the mission that he's given us we have to just continue to be that light and keep telling those people whether they choose to still live in the darkness or not

second Timothy 4:2 says to preach the word be instant in season out of season reprove rebuke exhort with all longsuffering and Doctrine you may not be be a preacher per se to preach the word from a p pit but you have to continually preach the that word into those people's lives whether it's the season for their seed to grow or not because there will come a time we just may not know when it's the time for that seed to grow within that person but we have to keep preaching we have to keep going we have have to want Revival in the church in Acts chapter 13 it talks about how after David had served his generation according to the will of God he died and was buried his generation or this generation rather has to have a life-altering experience with God it doesn't matter so much whether we're successful today what matters is whether we're going to continue to reach people and be successful years from now sometimes seeds take time to grow it may not be now that we see that success but we still want to be around we still want to be working the fields for when it comes to the season for for that seed to grow it could be years from now before that person finally comes to their senses as it said David had served his generation I'm sure that there's many lives that were affected during David's Lifetime and there's many generations that came after that he didn't even see that were a product of what he did in his lifetime we may not even see in this lifetime the fruits of our Harvest but God saw their Works in talking about Jonah it says God saw their works that they turned from their evil way God repented of the evil that he had said that he would do into them and he did it not and in the Book of Jonah it says that he was displeased Jonah was displeased exceedingly and very angry and he prayed unto the Lord and said I pray thee Lord was not this my saying when I was yet in my country therefore I fled before into tares for I knew that thou art a gracious God merciful slow to anger and of a great kindness and repent thee of the evil therefore now oh Lord take I beseech thee my life from thee now for it's better for to die than to live such shocking words as Jonah was reluctant to participate in this revival that was going to happen he said God if you're going to save all those people I would rather die than be inconvenienced how often do we find ourselves in this same mindset to where we would rather not be inconvenienced or we would rather not come out of our comfort zone then see people's lives changed one thing we have to remember is that

people are going to have what I like to call Jacob and Isaac moments in Genesis 27 it talks about how Isaac was deceived to give up his Blessing from Esau to Jacob how did this happen Jacob deceived him he made his feel like Esau sound like him smell like him all of it and he stole a blessing from his brother we have to realize again people are being deceived while we're out there trying to reach them the things in the world world that they're seeking to fill that void it may look right to them it may smell right to them it might even feel right to them but it's not what they think and there are people that's facing this in our lives the Bible makes it very clear that the devil is the father of all lies and there's people that we will pour so much time into that at the same time they're facing this great deceit that we may not even see or know of

how many of you know the driest desert in the US the mve desert how many of you have heard what's known as the armagosa river so this is a very long stretch of river that partly flows through this desert most of this river is underground and only surfaces at certain points but interestingly at the points where that water comes above ground it says that there's life given to many different plants whatever it is but yet this is one of the driest places in our country there's people that as we try to reach them it may seem like their lives are as dry as that desert that there's no room for anything to grow there's no room for any water but when the time's right for that water to rise up when they get to that point in their life where that Living Water finally surfaces that's when life will Spring forth within them that's when those seeds that you seem to have thrown out that are bearing no fruit when it is finally time for that person and that water rises up within them that's when things will change it's not up to us when people are going to be saved we don't make the decision when they're going to lay down their lives at an altar but when the time is right and that water rises up within them it's in God's timing and that's when that life will Spring forth out of them

I once had a family member who's very big Apostolic now but my mom actually reached out to him many times back many years ago when he wasn't of this faith and he just said I don't see it I just I don't understand it but something interesting happened one day he had heard it because it was explained to him so he knew what the Bible said but he himself did not understand it or see it but my mother got a call one day and he said I see it I see it how did this happen there was someone in his life that had actually ask him questions about the apostolic faith and the Lord used his own mouth to explain it and as he explained it he got the understanding himself you see that seed was planted within him many times before but it wasn't up to my mother or anyone else to make that grow as much as we wanted it to but when it was time for that water to rise up in God's timing that life sprung up in him and I'll just say to till this day he has not walked away it's all in God's timing we have to remember that sometimes it takes time for people to come to him but we have to love them through it all we have to understand it's not our time it's not in our timing we can't make it happen it's all in God's time time how many of you know some prodigal sons in your lives maybe they're still on the run now but as the scripture that talks about that says when that son came back that father embraced him with such a love whoever those people are that maybe they've walked away maybe they know and they just won't accept we have to love them through that that's one of the greatest ways to reach people is to just love them no matter what

so as we come to a close on this series hopefully if you weren't before you've decided I've got to get a little bold for God I'm not going to let the situations that I faced bring me down but I'm going to use them to reach others and hopefully you've learned that it's all in God's time as much as we want it to happen it's all in his time if we can all stand as we get ready to close out as we get ready to pray before they sing I just want to challenge each and every person here think of one person just one person in your life I'm going to make it easy for you just one maybe there's someone already in your mind that you know needs to be reached what are you waiting for maybe you've already tried we'll keep trying

let's all pray pray before we sing and worship God we thank you for this time together Lord we thank you for your word Lord we ask that you let us just hear your voice God we ask that you let us be effective Soul winners God let us have a desire to see Souls saved let us have a desire to see the church fill up God let us just have patience God as we wait for that Harvest as we wait for those seeds to grow forth and bear fruit God let us not get impatient but let us keep building let us keep plowing even when it doesn't make sense even when things seem so against us God we know that everything is within your timing God we know that as long as we stay true to you that you will bless not only our lives but those that we are reaching out to God lord we just ask as we get ready to go into a time of worship that we remain thankful for your name that we remain thankful that we have the opportunity to reach people in our lives in the name of Jesus as they begin to sing just keep the spirit of praise and worship in Jesus name