Planting Time

Growing Season Luke 8:1-15 "Good seed planted in prepared ground, grows great fruit, but it takes time." "But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded 5a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, d“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Luke 8:8 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience." (Luke 8:11-15) Matthew 13 says in verses 7-9 - "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!” At the very beginning of my walk with God, My soil was prepared, but not cultivated to the place where it could understand the seed that was planted completely. I understood that when one recieves Christ then all would be peaches and cream and life owuld be good. My sins were forgiven and I was on my way to heaven. Parts of that were true. But the peaches and cream part, doesn't happen right away with most people. Growth in Christ takes learning, training and understanding and all of that takes time. Just as it take time for a baby to learn to walk, so it takes time for a baby, new born Christian to learn to walk with God. In order to becoming more and more like Jesus one needs to understand and know God and to know that we have God, The Holy Spirit living in us and His power is available to us from the very start. The parable of the sower, Luke 8, Matthew 13, and Mark 4 as you read them all, they will all give different elements of that new walk in Christ and the element of time is one of tjhose elements. There is a growing season. For instance, the word persevering, speaks of it taking time, (v. 15) meaning “a patient, steadfast waiting.” As I have over the last 2-3 years have tried to get some lilaces to grow in the yeard, it seems like they are taking forever even to become a small bush. They do not seem like they are in a hurry to grow. Im not sure if there was bad soil of not, but I put some fertilizer in the holes before planting them, but they just are not flourishing in their world where I planted them. I kind of felt like these lilaces at the beginning of my walk with God, after my salvation, my spiritual plant almost died. But it slowly took root over the next 5-7 years which seemed like a lifetime to me, but God never gave up on me, and continued to send men and women into my life that continued to feed and water me, in ways that I could understand. So over the first 10 years of my walk with God, was very, very slow. One day, I understood the fact that I had the Holy Spirit within me, and I had the power of God in me so I could rsist the devil and He would flee from me. I began to understand the forgiveness of sin, was something that was perminent, that when my sin was forgiven by God and antther person, those sins were gone forever. I only had to be concerned about new weeds of sin that wanted to enter my life. So over the next 6 years, God had a training progam instore for me, the fist part was learning about forgivenss, and that began to happen when I was 17,8 when my dad passed away, the next step was me going to bible school when I was 20, and the next was learning about how true forgiveness worked, and the freedom it granted when really accepted and given. At graduation from bible school, I had understanding, and now the real growth would be ready to take place as my field had now been worked in a proper maner the weeds had been distracted, and I was prepared for growth.. I would have to say, that from that time until now has been a growing process, over those 50 years, I have seen fruit that has been produced fromm good soil, because I have patiently worked and waited for that growth to happen. I am preparing for eternity, but in the process of my mind I have to think, that if the Lord gives me a long life on this earth, and like my grandma, live to 100 plus years, I need to be seeking God to even grow closer to being like Jess with each passing year. reach forty-five feet high, and weigh up to two tons. With a goal of taking as many young seedlings with me to heaven that I can. You see, Jesus used the imagery of a farmer to describe to us, how aas believers in Christ need to grow once they become a part of the kingdom of God. He tells of how the seeds that fell of rich prepared soil, could produce 100 fold. They were the ones who“[hear] the word of God, hold on to it with all of their might, in the power of God in their life, with an honest and good heart, seeking to bear fruit with patience” (v. 15). When we hear the word of God and act upon it we will experience a strong yield, and good a growth of good this will only come when we receive the wisdom of God in and through the powet of the Holy Spirit and patiently allow Gods Spirit to produce growth in us. This morning I want to encourage you, you may be going through a dry spell, or you may be feeling it is taking you foever to get on track with God But be encouraged, because of the fight we all have with the enenmy, Satan, He does not want to let us go, our spiritual growth typically takes time and effort, even while we seek to trust God in it all. You will habve those time of an explosive spurt of growth, and then it will level off again and youwill wonder what happened. Just remember in those leveled off times, that groth is happening, even if it seems very slow. But as you continue to seek Gods wisdom and recieve it you will learn to follow in His ways, one day at a time. I would say, don't look for big meracles but rather see the small things each day, that you may class as little mericals. Its those little steps, the little mericals, that build up to true and honest groth in the Lord. Father god, help me not to get impatient with you and the slow way my spiritual growth is happening. Help me be patient in waiting learning to relax and to trust you more each day. Help me to see you working on my life causing growth to happen, even when it seems very, very slow.. Lord, I like the phrase, (please be patient Gods not finished with me yet) "PBPGNFWMY" Thank you Father wor continuing your redemption work in my life. I am a new creation on a daily bases, because you are in my life. It is in Jesus Name I pray Amen. please help me to patiently trust Your ways.