The need to be a sower

 

1)      We were asked open our Bibles to the 8^th chapter of Genesis.

2)      I want to start tonight’s lesson with the final verse in this chapter – READ

3)      This verse contains some promises.

a)      As long as the earth remains, there will always be a season for planting.

b)      God says man will also have a “harvest.”
      In some years, such as this one with massive flooding, harvests may be limited.

c)      Until the Lord returns, there will be opportunities to plant and reap.

d)     God has also said we will have “summer and winter.”

e)      I have not heard anyone who believes in global warming say winter will one day end.

f)       If this claim were ever to be made, Gen. 8:22 would say the claim is wrong.

g)      God has also promised that “day and night” will exist until the end of time.

 

4)      This evening we want to think about the sowing and reaping in Gen.8:22.

a)      People from the world sow and reap.

b)      As we sit here tonight some have crops that are growing.  Some have already started to reap.

c)      Other items will be taken from the ground and vines very soon and consumed.

d)     Sowing and reaping are also important things in the spiritual realm.

e)      One of our tasks as Christian is to “sow the seed” (take God’s word into the entire world).

f)       The first century Christians did this and did it pretty well.

 

5)      In the opening chapters of Acts we find Christians broadcasting the see of the gospel. 

a)      We not only see the gospel being taught, we see success; in Acts 2 about 3,000 became Christians.

b)      As Acts continues, thousands and thousands more were converted to Christ.

c)      At various times we may consider why we do not see such high levels of conversions today.

d)     There are likely multiple reasons for this, but tonight I want to focus on one.

e)      The amount of seed we sow is substantially less than what was being sown in first century times.

 

6)      Many times we have likely read from the second chapter of Acts.

7)      We know how people became Christians and “continued steadfastly” at the temple (Acts 2:46).

a)      Have we ever stopped to consider what Luke is trying to tell us by using the word “Temple”?

b)      This single word is almost a sermon in and of itself.

c)      The temple complex was in excess of three quarters of a mile.

d)     The area known as the “Court of the Gentiles” has been estimated to consist of 14 English acres.

e)      Imagine a space that is about equal to 14 football fields.  This was a giant area.

f)       It is now wonder that this construction project more than 46 years (Jn. 2:20).

g)      This complex had many porches, porticos, courtyards, compartments, rooms, shops, terraces and chambers.  
        The numerous buildings of the temple are alluded to in Mt. 24:1.

h)      This was a big, big place.

 

8)      One of the things that helped Christians grow was their exposure to an unsaved world.

9)      The temple put Christians into contact with the unsaved on a regular basis.

10)  Consider this quote from a well known Bible encyclopedia (McClintock and Strong, 10:252).

11)  There were “thousands who were frequently assembled” in this area.

12)  The temple area was “sometimes used for popular meetings.”

a)      This was a perfect place for Christians to come and meet as well as teach.
As unsaved Jews came to the temple they could hear/see what was being done.

13)  Estimates tell us that more than 200,000 could be gathered in the temple area.

a)      Let’s think about this number in terms of the book of Acts.

b)      1% of 200,000 is 2,000 people..

c)      We can look at the 3,000 conversions in Acts 2 and say many were converted and this is true.

d)     Let’s not overlook the fact that there were tens of thousands that did not respond to the gospel.

e)      Stated another way, a bunch of seed had to be sown to bring people to the faith.

f)       This seed was sown in a wide variety of hearts.

g)      Some parts of the temple were still under construction at the time in Acts 2.

 

14)  It is very likely that some of the workmen were exposed to the gospel.

15)  This may have been on the days that followed the feast of Pentecost.

16)  Workmen employed for temple construction surely heard the gospel because of their jobs.

17)  The temple was a place where Galileans and people from Judea could be found.

18)  Priests, Levites, Pharisees, Sadducees, and temple officials could all be found at the temple.

19)  The common people could be reached at the temple as well as religious leaders.

20)  Not only were different people coming to the temple, people came for different reasons.

a)      Some were there to make an offering.  Others came to meet friends.

b)      We would expect to find some who came for religious purification, pay a vow, or ask questions.

c)      This was also a place where people could go and have a judicial dispute decided.

d)     Some would be at the money changing area (near the court of the Gentiles).

e)      Even the poor came to the temple.  This area had beggars.

 

21)  When we understand what the temple offered, we can see why Christians spent so much time there.

22)  I want to read, in fairly rapid order, some passages from the book of Acts.

23)  These verses show just how fully the first Christians used the temple.

24)  The passages will come from Acts 2, 3, and 5.

25)  READ - Acts 2:46; 3:1-2, 8; 5:12, 20, 21, 25, 42

26)  God’s people had a free place to meet (the temple).  This place gave them ample exposure to the unsaved.

a)      By sowing a lot of seed, people were converted.

b)      Jesus knew this place would allow a lot of seed to be sown.

c)      Mk. 14:49 says Jesus was in the temple “daily.”

 

27)  Sometimes people ask questions about church buildings.

28)  There were no church buildings in first century times.

29)  With thousands of Christians in Jerusalem, there was no space to construct giant buildings.

30)  We have no record of a church building until about 125 AD – long after the establishment of the church.

31)  Christians in Jerusalem didn’t need to spend any money on church buildings.

32)  They had a natural place to meet and a constant flow of unsaved people to reach out to and teach.

a)      Those who came to the temple after Acts 2 must have gotten some surprises.

b)      Many of them had been exposed to the “doctrines and precepts of men” (Mt. 15:8-9).

c)      Christians began to “sow the word” and this made people stand up and pay attention.

d)     This is the way we need to do things today.  We need to be sowers of the gospel seed.

e)      We need to take the gospel and scatter it as far and as widely as possible.

f)       Every means at our disposal needs to be used.

g)      We always have leftover issues of house to house.

h)      When a new issue is available, I always take at least a dozen with me to the post office.

i)        A lady passes these out to the postal employees on my behalf.

j)        There are many ways we can use this tool to spread the word.

k)      We can keep a stack of these in our car.  When we go to a doctor’s office, leave 2-3.

l)        If we go out to Sunday lunch, offer one to the waitress.

m)    Leave these in break rooms.  See if our neighbors are willing to accept them.

 

33)  We have professional DVD’s that tell people about the gospel.

34)  At $1 each (the church pays the cost), they are inexpensive.

35)  Jesus said in Mk. 4:26 a man “cast seed” upon the earth.

a)      This is no different than Mk. 16:15 – preach the gospel to every creature.

b)      Jesus said there is a plentiful harvest (Lk. 10:2), but we can only obtain it by sowing the seed.

 

36)  Most of us have at one time or another fed an animal.

a)      Maybe it was at the zoo – we had a handful of food and we fed lambs, ducks, chickens, etc.

b)      We took food from our hand and we finally said, “It is all gone.”

c)      We literally gave all away all the food we had.

 

37)  God has given us some seed to sow.

a)      Our sack of seed may not be the same size as someone sitting next to us.

b)      One of the things that should concern us is how much seed do we have left in our sack?

c)      Have we even opened our sack of seed?  Have we never tried to sow the gospel in the lives of others?

d)     One goal should be to say, “We had a sack of seed and we sowed it all.”

e)      “We need more seed.”

f)       In the physical realm it is disappointing to put good seed in bad soil.

g)      If we plant something we want to see it grow.

 

38)  God says in the spiritual realm seeing the seed grow is of secondary concern.

39)  Our job is to sow the seed, just as the Christians in Jerusalem did.

a)      Imagine what would have happened if the first saints had reasoned in this way.

b)      “The temple area can hold more than 200,000 people.”  We have converted 3,000.”

c)      3,000 is a little more than 1% of 200,000.

d)     If we received a 20% return in the physical world for a crop we would be very disappointed.

e)      A harvest of 10% would surely be counted as crop failure.

f)       5% would be regarded as a waste of time.

g)      With 1%, some would think “why bother?”  Such a figure would be regarded as a total disaster.

 

40)  A physical harvest is not in the same category as a spiritual harvest.

41)  In the church we emphasize the sowing.  We want to reap.  Sowing is our first priority.

42)  We should seek to saturate the area where we live and work with the gospel.

a)      This takes work, time and patience.  It is God’s will.

b)      Some seem to have the idea that they will wait for the “perfect opportunity” to sow.

c)      Often that perfect opportunity never comes.

d)     Farmers do not sow when it is pouring rain or in the winter months with frozen ground.

e)      God says to us that we can sow at any time.

f)       It was a Jewish feast in Acts 2; the gospel as sown.

g)      The church was started, things were peaceful, the gospel was sown.

h)      Later persecution became so intense Christians had to flee; the gospel was still sown.

 

43)  If we are sick and headed to a physician’s office, we or the one taking us can still sow the seed.

44)  We can keep tracts with us and probably hand out at least one a day in a typical week.

45)  We work hard at sowing the seed and we trust God for the results (a harvest).

a)      The power is in the seed.

b)      It is not us.  It is not really in how much we know.

c)      People are converted because the seed of the gospel is sown in their lives.

d)     Are we committed to sowing the seed?

e)      I have read that in a sales career, it takes 9 calls to make a sale.

 

46)  A lot of people start out in a sales job but they do not stick with it.

47)  They get discouraged because they are often told “no.”

48)  Our success is not dependent on our having someone say “yes” to the truth.

49)  Our success is simply communicating the message.

50)  As Paul said in 1 Cor. 3, we “plant” the seed.

51)  If we are a Christian, how long has it been since we sowed some seed?