Pastor Mac Hammond | July 25, 2021
Recap:
Since sowing the seed of God’s Word into people’s lives is the source of our harvest in life, we need to know how this actually happens. Pastor Mac explained this past weekend that seed is found in the fruit, so if we don’t have fruit in our lives, we can’t plant seed in the hearts of other people. Cultivating a good harvest starts by cultivating the soil of our own hearts to provide a healthy place for God’s Word to grow. When the seed of God’s Word grows up free from weeds and rocks in our own lives, then the fruit will begin to be seen and other people can be blessed by the fruit of the Spirit in us.
Dive Deeper:
If a farmer plants seed on rocky ground, the seed would never get much depth and therefore would not produce much fruit. If a farmer plants seed among weeds, the seed will be choked out over time, unless the weeds are removed. Now, if seed falls on soil that is healthy, properly weeded and watered, fruit will be harvested.
This picture of sowing and reaping is key in understanding how sowing and reaping works in our own lives, for as the Phillips translation states, “A man’s harvest in life will depend entirely on what he sows.” Since seed is found inside fruit, we need to cultivate the soil of our hearts to be a good area for growth. If we ignore weed seeds—ideas that are counter to God’s Word—and let them flourish, the seed of God’s Word will be choked out. If we properly cultivate the ideas that come from God, we give the Word of God an opportunity to flourish in our lives and bear fruit. In fact, this cultivation of the garden of our heart is where faith in God and His Word is cultivated as well.
What does that fruit look like? The fruits of the Spirit. When the seed of God’s Word flourishes, we’ll find love, joy, and peace becoming a reality. We’ll find faithfulness and self-control and the other fruits of the Spirit becoming consistent in our soul. When our soul prospers in this manner, the outward realities of life will follow, for as 3 John 1:2 says, we prosper as our soul prospers.
As fruit flourishes in us, other people get to partake of our fruit. We’ll spread joy and patience. We’ll spread faithfulness and love. We’ll plant seed in other people’s lives. For even more on how this fruit is passed on to others, listen to Pastor Mac’s full message above.
Read More:
Mark 4:3-20 KJV
“Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: 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. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: but when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 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. And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
“And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
“And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables? The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.”
Galatians 6:7 KJV
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
Galatians 5:22-23 KJV
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
Galatians 5:22-23 Amp.
“But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge].”
2 Corinthians 13:5 Amp.
“Examine and test and evaluate your own selves to see whether you are holding to your faith and showing the proper fruits of it. Test and prove yourselves [not Christ]. Do you not yourselves realize and know [thoroughly by an ever-increasing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you are [counterfeits] disapproved on trial and rejected?”
3 John 1:2 KJV
“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way and [that your body] may keep well, even as [I know] your soul keeps well and prospers.”
James 3:17-18 Amp.
“But the wisdom from above is first of all pure (undefiled); then it is peace-loving, courteous (considerate, gentle). [It is willing to] yield to reason, full of compassion and good fruits; it is wholehearted and straightforward, impartial and unfeigned (free from doubts, wavering, and insincerity). And the harvest of righteousness (of conformity to God’s will in thought and deed) is [the fruit of the seed] sown in peace by those who work for and make peace [in themselves and in others, that peace which means concord, agreement, and harmony between individuals, with undisturbedness, in a peaceful mind free from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts].”
Discussion Questions:
1. Have you seen the fruit of the Spirit in other people’s lives? How did it impact you?
2. How do weed seeds choke out God’s Word?
3. What can you do to get rid of weed seeds in your own life?
4. When the fruit of the Spirit is evident in you, how does it affect the rest of your life?
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