LESSONS FROM THE SOWER II: OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL, 4TH JANUARY 2019

MEMORISE:
Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: Proverbs 24:3

READ: Mark 4:2-9, Mark 10:29-30

2 And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,

3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.

5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth;  and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:

6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.

9 And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Mark 10:29-30
29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,

30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

MESSAGE:

Yesterday, we learnt a great lesson from the futility of indiscriminate sowing from the Parable of the Sower. The Holy Spirit taught us that it would amount to a waste of seed, time and energy if we do not sow wisely. Today, we will reflect on the benefits of sowing with wisdom.

To conclude His parable on the sower, the Lord in Mark 4:8 said:

“And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.”

The first lesson here is that seeds don't all yield the same amount of fruit. Every child of God must have this understanding in order not be frustrated by unfulfilled expectations. In His own wisdom, the Owner of the Church did not endow every member of His Church equally (Romans 12:6-8).

What is important is that we all sow seeds, using the endowments God has given to each of us, and we must do all within our ability to maximise the potential of our seed in order to yield the expected fruits (John 15:16). 

It will therefore be wrong for us, as members of the Body of Christ, to begin to compare ourselves competitively with one another. The Holy Spirit discourages this type of attitude among the brethren (2 Corinthians 10:12).

When we choose correctly the right soil to sow our seeds into, we are bound to prosper. 

It is frustrating to work and have nothing to show for it. Peter experienced this in Luke 5:3-8, by by the time he encountered the Owner of heaven and earth, he had a big catch. From Peter's experience, you will be wise to learn that you need Jesus Christ, who is Himself the Wisdom of God, to experience breakthroughs in life without struggle (1 Corinthians 1:24-29). 

Moreover, if you are one of those who pay tithes and give offerings as commanded by God, you must identify the correct soil to sow these seeds of faith into. You must identify a commission which has God's backing to sow your seeds of giving into. 

Many people have been discouraged from paying their tithes, offerings and first fruits because God's promise on these in Malachi 3:10 is not fulfilled in their lives. They have become disgruntled about giving, not only to God but also to the needy, because they lack adequate  knowledge on the priciples of sowing. 

The problem is that many people unknowingly sow among thorns and thistles, on the roadside or even on the rock. From the Parable of the Sower, we know what happens to such seeds. This will not be your experience in Jesus' Name. 

Some ministries which are not founded on the call of God are like the wayside and rocky ground that Jesus described; you will be wise not to sow your time and resources in such places. Overall, the best investment you can make is to sow the seed of your life into Christ. 

If you do, you will surely reap the benefits in multiple folds (Mark 10:30, John 10:10).

KEY POINT:
God is not committed to what He hasn't commanded. Are you sowing into a cause that has His backing?

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Matthew 9-10, Isaiah 3:1-23

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 4: TAKE MY LIFE, AND LET IT BE

1.Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise,
Let them flow in endless praise.

2.Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee.

3.Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee,
Filled with messages from Thee.

4. Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose,
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.

5. Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne,
It shall be Thy royal throne.

6. Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee,
Ever, only, all for Thee.