Sowing

Jesus demonstrated the situation with His parable of the sower of seed in Matthew 13:3-9, "'Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. but when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.'"

In verses 18-23 Jesus explained the meaning of the parable, "'Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.'"

This parable applies at the time of our receiving the word of God that will bring us to a state of salvation as the "seed" of the Word of God first reaches our attention and as we contemplate the offer of salvation through the saving blood of Jesus Christ. Some people hear the Word with joy and intend to accept the free offer of salvation through faith in the Name of Jesus Christ but consider that "another time" will be more appropriate. There are too many activities demanding their time and attention. They shelve the idea of salvation for a more convenient time when they have finished with their current interests.

Just such a situation occured in the record of Paul when he was brought before the judgment seat of King Agrippa. Paul explained the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ and Paul's role in preaching the good news as a messenger of God. After Paul finished his impassioned plea, Festus, the local governor cried out, Acts 26:24-32, "Now as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, 'Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!'

"But he said, 'I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason. For the king before whom I also speak freely, knows these things; for I am convinced that this thing was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.'

"Then Agrippa said to Paul, 'You almost persuade me to become a Christian.'

"And Paul said, I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.'

"When he had said these things, the king stood up, as well as the governor and Bernice and those who sat with them; and when they had gone aside they talked among themselves, saying, 'This man is doing nothing deserving of death or chains.'

"Then Agrippa said to Festus, 'This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.'"

Through the ages King Agrippa has become the classic example of one who came very close to accepting the salvation of Jesus Christ that would have assured his place in Heaven throughout eternity. Nevertheless, he had many temptations that he was not willing to relinquish, such as an amoral lifestyle and the power that he enjoyed as king under the dominion of Rome. He failed to understand that God would have brought him deliverance from those temptations and the chains that had him spiritually bound. King Agrippa apparently never made the faith connection that would have brought him salvation. From the records of history he died without knowing Jesus Christ as his personal savior Who would have brought him redemption from sin. He allowed the birds of prey to snatch his victory from him at the last moment, and most likely at his final opportunity to receive salvation. Doubtless King Agrippa even now bitterly is regretting his decision to "wait for a more convenient time" to make a decision for Christ. This was an example of a seed sown along the wayside which the birds of prey devoured..

The sower and seed parable also applies to factors in our lives after receiving the salvation of Jesus Christ that would have resulted in great blessings in our lives and in the lives of others around us. The birds of prey always are hovering to snatch away the wonderful promises of God that are freely at our disposal.

For example, Jesus promised in Luke 6:38, "Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

Here Jesus urges us to give to God's work with the expectation that we shall receive great blessings in return. In the parable of the sower this equates to the promise of a great harvest, of a hundred- sixty-or thirty-fold of that which has been "sown" into the work of the Lord. When this truth is preached many people determine to try God at His word, even as promised in Malachi 3:10-11. "'Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this, ' says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground., nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,' says the Lord of hosts."

It is the devil's great delight to steal from us the opportunity to receive these blessings as promised by God. First his birds of prey will snatch from us the belief that God means these promises to prosper us. Doubt creeps in as we dissect the promise, wondering how it is possible for God to fulfill this promise. We may have a job that pays a specific, fixed salary as one's only source of income. It may not appear that there are other job opportunities. For that reason one may pay tithes and give offerings without the expectation that God will fulfill that promise.

Ask

Since God has limited Himself to acting on our behalf only in response to our faith, or belief that His Word is true and that He will perform as promised, we limit His ability to reward us. We do this through lack of understanding or lack of faith in His promises. Jesus said, Matthew 7:7-11 (and Matthew 21:21,22; Luke 11:9-13; Mark 11:22-24), "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"

Jesus stated in John 14:12-14, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My father. And whatever you ask in My name, I will do it."

James 4:2 states, "You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask."

God's word will not return to Him void, but it can return to us void if we refuse to believe it at face value and therefore limit God's ability to bless us. The blessings are there, but we often are unable to receive them.

Deuteronomy 8:18 states, "And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers as it is this day."

This scripture does not promise that God will give us wealth. It promises that He will give us the "power to get wealth". We have power to get wealth through wisdom and ideas with which He can inspire us. God can enable us to see opportunities to provide a service that can result in great financial recompense. Perhaps He will provide an opportunity for more training that will enhance our earning potential, or He might reveal a job opening that we might otherwise have missed. God knows how to bring about His promises as we trust in Him and in His word. The birds of prey from Satan would snatch this knowledge from our hearts through disbelief and an unwillingness to be open to the leadings of the Spirit of the Lord Who prompts us with gentle urgings.

Give

It is important to pay tithes of ten percent of our income and our earmarked offerings first so that God can have the opportunity to bless us in the utilization of the remainder for our own needs. God can cause the remainder after tithes and offerings to go much further for us than the total 100% could do for us without god's input into our prosperity. The Word promises, Malachi 3:8-11, "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?'

"In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me. Even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this, , says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessings that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes. So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground. Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the fields, Says the LORD of hosts."

Jesus encouraged giving as a way of life and as a means of blessings for ourselves, Luke 6:38, "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

Jesus reiterated that with whatever measure we give, with the same measure we shall receive. This applies to the size of our gifts as well as to the nature of the gifts. We can expect financial blessings as we give offerings to His cause. As we give words of encouragement to others we can expect to receive in kind when we are discouraged and in need of assurance. As we extend assistance to those who cannot help themselves we can expect this same return on our efforts in our hour of need which can come to any life. God also can go beyond this "tit for tat" exchange to provide all of the above as He wills and/or as we ask.

. Satan uses his birds of prey to convince that we are too busy to consider helping others, since our own needs are too pressing. If the attempt is made to include acts of mercy in our daily lives we well may find that the expenditure of time is rewarded with the bonus of time-savings in our own daily schedule. As the saying goes, if you want something done, ask someone who already is busy. Those persons know how to get things done, as God inspires them with time-saving ideas.

Galatians 6:7-10 states, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows that he will also reap. He who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. and let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith."

To take advantage of God's promises Jesus encouraged in Matthew 6:25-34, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

" Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is thrown into the over, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' for 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

These are amazing promises, but Jesus would not have given them were they not true. David expressed this concept in Psalm 37:25,26, "I have been young and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lends; and his descendants are blessed.

Worship and Praise

Throughout both the Old and New Testaments we repeatedly are exhorted to praise and to worship. Through praise and worship we enter into fellowship with God our Father and are in turn strengthened and blessed. Psalms 22:3 declares of God, ""...You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel."

This means that when we praise God He indwells those praises. To bless and magnify the Lord is the task of Believers. This pleases God and He rewards us for our devotion. It is through praise and worship that our inner beings are lifted, our spirits refreshed and we receive the ability to continue with our lives in the assurance that there is a God Who loves and cares for us and that we need not fear for the present or the future since we are in His protection and care.

Satan hates to see the LORD honored with worship and praise. He will do everything in his power to disrupt and prevent such praise and thus cause us to be deprived of the blessings that ensue with praise unto God.

Vultures

God knows that what we worship is what we serve. If we are hedonistic in our approach to life we worship and serve pleasure. The hedonist has little time or inclination to worship and serve God. He does that which makes him feel good on a superficial level. Rarely does he understand that the ultimate high comes from uninhibited worship and praise of God.

Those who are ambitious for worldly success with its rewards of career and financial achievement worship at the throne of recognition. This becomes their god, and it leaves little time for worship and service to the one true God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We enter the "house of worship" and little true worship ensues. Our neighbor sings off key. We don't focus on the meanings of the words we sing. The Preacher is rambling. The roast is burning in the oven, The children are restless. My stomach is growling. I must get back to the office. The kids want to get to the beach. Susan's dress is nicer than mine. My shoes don't match my dress. Did Mary get a facelift? Nancy is bursting at the seams. Why is she such a glutton.? Why does he spend so much time begging for money? That board member thinks he can run this church. That Sunday school teacher is such a bore. I could do better than that if I just had the time. How can we keep within the budget? Am I going

to be fired? These are all birds of prey, designed to keep us from the blessings that ensue from worship and praise of God.

Know God

Through worship as well as through service we manifest our love for God. Jesus promised, John 14:23,24 "...If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the father's who sent Me."

Jesus emphasized the importance of worship in John 4:23,24, "...the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and truth, for the father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

Jeremiah 17:26 promises, "And they shall come from the cities of Judah and from the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from the lowland, from the mountains and from the South, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, bringing sacrifices of praise to the house of the LORD."

From this we see that God considers praise as a sacrifice to Him. Since Jesus Christ once and for all offered Himself as the one-time only sin sacrifice for us we no longer need to make animal sacrifices unto God for our sins. Nevertheless, sacrifices remain an important form of worship; sacrifices of praise, adoration, time, money , prayers and efforts unto the LORD.

Satan, as the ultimate bird of prey works diligently to prevent these sacrifices from being made unto the LORD. It was his desire to receive these sacrifices from others for himself which caused his fall from grace. He even promised Jesus the kingdoms of the world if He would just fall down and worship him.

Luke 4:5-7, "then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, 'all this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. therefore, if You will worship before me, all this will be Yours.' And Jesus answered and said to him, 'Get thee behind Me, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"

Time

Psalm 119:9-16 exhorts us to spend time getting to know God and His desires for us, "How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies. As much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts and contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes, I will not forget Your word."

To perform these functions time is necessary. In this age of speeded-up living few have time to spare for all of the activities at our disposal. It is necessary to select those things which will be most productive since we cannot do everything. Too often the enemy of our souls convinces us that we simply do not have time to spend in prayer, praise and study of the word of God. Yet devoting this time is a sacrifice greatly desired of us by God and which allows us to reap the benefits of God's promises.

Even as the Word assures that we shall reap abundantly as we sow to God's promises, it also indicates that sowing in the wrong fields reaps its harvest of destruction and grief. Hosea 8:7 prophesies, "They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind, the stalk has no bud; it shall never produce meal, if it should produce, aliens would swallow it up."

This is readily seen in the lives and families of those who have little time for God and for the worship of God. How many have become seemingly greatly blessed and prosperous, only to lose it all before they die? For example in early 1929 around thirty of the richest men in America gathered in New York City to discuss finances, planning for ever greater prosperity. Every single one of those men either died by suicide or else died penniless. Where did their wealth and achievements get them?

As one of the super-wealthy recently replied to the comment about his extreme wealth, "It's only paper."

How right he was, and how sad that few truly understand that unerring certainty. How much of what we have will we take with us when we die? Job completely understood that concept, Job 1:21, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."

As one wag commented, "You don't see many Ryder's trucks backed up to the open grave so that a man's wealth can be taken with him."

The ancient Egyptians and Chinese thought that they might take some of their wealth with them. They had costly burial places constructed and filled with priceless goods. The burial sites long since have decayed and their contents plundered. The only riches one can "take with him" are those efforts done unto the glory and praise of God. Their rewards will be distributed to them as Jesus promised in the parable of the talents, Matthew 25:14-30 and at the judgment throne of God, Revelation 20:12-15 "and I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books....And anyone not found written in the book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.".

If you never have taken the opportunity to assure your security on that day of final judgment, now is a good time to make that commitment. The price of salvation has been paid by Jesus Christ in his sacrifice on Calvary's cross for our sins. We simply acknowledge that sacrifice, accept it through faith in His truthfulness and repent before God of our past wrongdoing, knowing that these past sins are washed away though our belief in the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God Who died for us. This is an individual decision that must be made by each person himself. No one can make that decision for you. It is yours alone to make. The rewards are eternal salvation and life throughout the ages in His presence and in the wonderful worlds He has created for our enjoyment.

May God bless you in all of your ways as you worship Him in the beauty of holiness. II Chronicles 20:20-22 "...Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper. ....he appointed those who should sing to the LORD and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: 'Praise the LORD, for His mercy endures forever.' Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated."