In the introduction, I share how God prepares the soil of our heart before sowing seeds of faith. (Subscribers, click here to view video.)
INTRODUCTION: SEASONS
The sycamore tree reaching for the skyline tells me the season has turned. Evidence of life come and gone lays bare and open on my front lawn. Remnants of leaves crackle, turn and sway even at the hint of wind. A brown trail floats into oblivion down the boulevard. Winter is here, although it seems like fall, and no water reaches these leaves separated from the branch. They are dead and dry. It will be months before a green leaf sprouts from the branch, boasting signs of life anew, but nature’s cycle says it will come.
Spring will come.
Surely our own walk enters in and out of the cycle, feeling the bone cold chill of winter and becoming parched in the heat of summer.
What season am I in, Lord?
My contemplative heart searches within, wondering what God will reveal. I look around and find the sun casting a silhouette on this crisp winter day followed by a gust of wind.
No matter what season we are in, the Son will rise and shine.
“My going forth is as certain as the dawn.” – God (Hosea 6:3a)
Seasons change, He does not.
God offers a profound promise set outside earth’s life cycle. A promise that withstands the natural elements. A promise sown in nutrient rich soil saturated with spring showers of living water.
Agrarian culture dominates the Bible, Old Testament and New. When Jeremiah, Isaiah or even Jesus spoke in metaphors of plowing, sowing or harvesting people understood the deep truths found below the surface. This study will be a very feeble attempt to dig through the soil of those words and discover rich nutrients of faith for our own walk.
BEING PLANTED
Read Jeremiah 17:5-8. The entire passage contains both a warning and a promise. Today we will take a glance at the promise.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; But it’s leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7-8)
In this passage, God likens man to a tree.
What are the two conditions for being a firmly planted tree? What is the difference between the two?
Meditate on the wealth of these promises given by God when we trust in Him. We will explore these in depth in Session 2: Firmly Rooted.
- Planted by water
- Extended roots
- Will no fear when heat comes
- Leaves will be green
- Will not be anxious in year of drought
- Will yield fruit
What do these promises mean to you?
Seasons change environments and circumstances, but remember; the Son still rises and shines.
As I stand back and survey the landscape of these promises, I really have to wonder how we get there? How do we get to a place in our walk where we still yield fruit in the drought? How do we become firmly planted like this?
Can I still bear the fruit of love, joy and peace in a spiritually dry season?
Can I still stand strong against the fiery testing that is sure to come my way?
Can I still be secure in droughts of uncertainty, lack and stripping?
My God, your God, says, “YES.” Do you believe Him?
According to Jeremiah, being firmly planted is possible in one word: TRUST. Trust in God.
Trust, however, takes time to grow and be cultivated, remembering that when seasons change, God does not.
David strategically and purposefully begins His sacred collection of psalms, prayers and songs with an overarching truth that sets the tone for the subsequent 150 chapters.
According to David, being firmly planted possible in another word: DELIGHT. Delight in Word.
Read Psalms 1:1-6. This passage parallels Jeremiah’s divine insight and again, contains both warnings and promises. According to verses 1-3 what additional conditions yield God’s promises?
Now, catch a glimpse at the harvest David listed.
- Firmly planted by streams of living water
- Yield fruit in its season
- Leaf does not wither
- In whatever he does, he prospers
Have you been witness to any of these promises in your own life? In trusting God during the trials of your life, how have you prospered despite facing setbacks?
SOWING IN THE GARDEN OF OUR HEARTS
Read Isaiah 58:10-11
To sow, in essence, means to plant. In the video, I discussed the critical step of plowing to cultivate the soil in preparing for sowing. The Israelites needed their hearts plowed and God used the prophet Isaiah to not only declare God’s judgment on the people, but to urge them to keep His covenant so they could partake of promises to come. When we trust in God, His presence and guidance satisfies the dry seasons in our lives and gives strength so we will be like watered gardens, saturated with His truth.
Before God plants seeds of faith, hope or love, He breaks up the stony places of our heart to receive more water to our roots. In Ephesians 5:26, what is significant about water?
As David indicated in Psalm 1, our delight and meditation in God’s Word is a condition for harvest.
What does Ecclesiastes 12:9-12 reveal about words?
Contrast what the writer says about words with what the psalmist says in Psalm 1. What is the Spirit speaking to you in this passage?
Close your time, by reading the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13:1-23. It’s a familiar story and while you may be tempted to rush through it, read it anew. While this passage is giving a picture of those who receive God’s Word through salvation and those who do not, it also represents conditions of our hearts at given points in our walk.
Are there areas of your life related to any of the conditions described in the parable?
- Hard Heart
- Shallow Heart
- Crowded Heart
- Fruitful Heart
Our response to the plowing of God in a particular area of our lives greatly determines our growth. Each of the first three fruitless hearts in the parable is influenced by a different enemy – Satan, the flesh and the world. When a farmer plows, it’s important to maintain straight rows. Bends in the row lead to inefficiency and overcrowding where the plants compete for space and sunlight. The only way farmers maintain straight rows is by looking for marker in the distance and fixing their eyes straight on that marker. As God plows, we, like a farmer, can fix our eyes on the Author and Finisher of our faith, knowing harvest will come.
REAPING ABUNDANCE
Growing and producing fruit is and always will be the work of God…
“I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It's not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What's important is that God makes the seed grow.” I Corinthians 3:6-7
…and in His harvest there is abundance.
“But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." Matthew 13:23 (NIV)
Sowing is both a promise and a command. As we encounter God, He uses others to plant seeds of His Word in our hearts, enabling us to sow seeds for His kingdom. Comfort and grace are found in knowing the Master Farmer equips us for His work. In your study guide this week, you’ll further explore the command of sowing seeds.
Discussion: Share a comment about the study. Describe the season you are in OR share a time when God has prepared the soil of your heart for greater things.
