Ephesians 4:11-12 (ESV) “11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ”
Being effective in sharing Jesus with people comes from: 1. loving God with your everything 2. and loving people from the overflow of God’s love in your life.
Mark 12:30-31 (NLT) 30 “And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
To walk in what God has called you to, you need to know your Identity: You are sons and daughters who are fully loved by God (Eph. 5:1-2) You are the Light of the world (Matt. 5:14) You are the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21) You are Farmers who sow and reap (Mark 4:14 and Mark 4:29)
Planting Seeds: Introducing People to Jesus
Excuses Fear I am not bold enough I am not an extrovert I am not good with words I don’t know enough I am to busy I am not “called to that”
Success Defined: love and obedience
Right Motivation 1. Compassion Having a heart broken for the people around you, and knowing that you have the solution. 2. Eternity: does what you are living for right now affect eternity?
Mark 4:14-20 (NLT) 14 “The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others. 15 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away. 16 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 17 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. 18 The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, 19 but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. 20 And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
How to share and show the Gospel?
How you Live Can people tell that you are a Christian simply by looking at your life? You should stand out like a sore thumb.
What you Do Natural Supernatural
What you Speak Your Testimony (gospel written on our lives) The gospel. (The gospel is enough!) 1. You were created for a relationship with God. 2. Sin separated you from God. 3. Jesus is God’s solution to sin. 4. Do you want salvation through Jesus 5. The cost: your whole life. Repent and follow Jesus.
Reaping a Harvest
And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor.
2 Timothy 2:6 (NLT) “And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor.”
People will run to Jesus if we live a life positioned to harvest. The kingdom of God is on the offensive.
How to harvest You share the gospel/God shakes hearts People ask for Jesus. (Repent, get baptized, receive the Holy Spirit). Walk with them on their salvation journey (discipleship)
Pray for the sick
Mark 16:17-18 (NLT) 17 “These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe… 18 They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”
Isaiah 53:5 (NIV) “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
Things that are properly cultivated grow. "Sometimes it's fruit; sometimes it's root. It's always growth season for believers." Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NLT) 7 "Blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. 8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.
"Our health is not dictated by the strength of a season but the depth of our root!"
Mark 4:3–8 (NIV) 3 "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the Sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times."
The sun is going to come out, and it's required for us to produce fruit.
Heat fuels our growth. Mark 4:16–17 (NIV) 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
God is far more concerned about your character than your comfort.
Romans 8:28–29 (NLT) 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son.
Growing through the Heat Romans 5:1–5 (NLT) Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory. 3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
1. Be at peace with God V1 Since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
Peace is not found in the absence of difficulty but the presence of Jesus.
2. Stand in faith 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege(Grace) where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory.
James 1:2–9(NLT) 2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. 5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
3. Hold onto hope 5 This hope will not lead to disappointment. Hope is joyful expectation not worrisome stagnation. Hope is holy optimism.
4. Find confidence love of God V5 For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
James 1:12 (NLT) God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
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Isaiah 61:3 (NIV) to provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
Things that are properly cultivated grow. "Sometimes it's fruit; sometimes it's root. It's always growth season for believers."
"When Growth starts, decay starts"
We grow… 1. From Strength to strength Psalm 84:7 (NIV) They go from strength to strength,
If growth is your goal, being sustained won't be a problem.
2. From Glory to glory Christianity is not simply a transformed life. It's a life of transformation.
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV) And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Psalm 92:12-15 (NIV) 12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; 13 planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, 15 proclaiming, "The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him."
Cedars of Lebanon. 🇱🇧 Psalm 104:16 (NLT) The trees of the Lord are well cared for— the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. 1. Majestic 2. Evergreen 3. Resistant & repellent of est. 4. Longevity 5. Useful 6. Fragrant
"We only flourish naturally if we are rooted deeply!"
3. From Knowing Jesus to Knowing Jesus . Philippians 3:8–12 (NLT) 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ…10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death…12 I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.
Cultivating Roots. 1. Persistent in Christ. Colossians 2:6-7 (NLT) 6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
Depth requires devotion.
1 Peter 2:2–3 (NIV) 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
The Word + Prayer
2. Plugged into the house Psalm 1:1–3 (NIV)1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.
Acts 2:42 (NLT) All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord's Supper ), and to prayer.
-They were not Just devoted to Jesus, they were devoted to one another!
