Jesus Sowed

What Did Jesus Do?

Listen! A sower went out to sow.
Mark 4.3

Of all He did, certainly sowing was near the top of the Lord’s priorities. Not a day went by without Jesus scattering the Word upon the hearts of all He met. And He was not a discriminating sower.

Jesus realized there was all kinds of “soil” in the world. He understood that much “seed” would never yield anything to harvest, so it was important that He sow lavishly. In fact, in the parable of the Sower 25% of the seed is quickly snatched away without any chance to even germinate; 25% sprouts, only to soon wither and dry up because there was no depth to its roots; 25% grew and showed promise, only to be choked by weeds. Just one out of every four seeds actually matures and yields. But what a yield! Thirty, sixty, a hundredfold!

If one is stingy with one’s sowing, there will still be a harvest. But when the whole earth is your field, and it is souls for the Father’s kingdom that you are seeking to harvest, generous sowing is called for. Full handfuls of the Word need to be taken up and broadcast as you go. And so, Jesus sowed.

He sowed along the roadside. He sowed along the shores of Galilee. He sowed in the Decapolis. He sowed in the region of Tyre and Sidon. He sowed on the Mount, and He sowed on the Plain. He sowed in Jericho, and He sowed in Jerusalem. He sowed the Word in the hearts of the twelve apostles, and eleven of them the Word took deep and strong root, and what a yield! Countless hearts have received the seed of the Word for nearly two thousand years now, If you are reading this it is highly likely that someone has scattered some “seed” on your heart, and that the Word has been growing in you, and you might even be a sower yourself.

There is a legend of John Chapman, “Johnny Appleseed,” who is credited with scattering apple seeds across the U.S.; an itinerant sower whose vision was of villages and farms beautified and blessed all throughout the land with abundant apples harvests. At the same time as Chapman was supposed to be scattering his apple seeds, sowers of the Word, Circuit Riders and frontier preachers, followed the instructions of the parable of the Sower, and sowed the Word of God far and wide across the land.

And for a time America enjoyed a remarkable harvest of faith: Two Great Awakenings, and countless other smaller revivals, the birth and growth of world-wide missions, churches and Sunday School societies sprouting up in towns large and small. Sowers are still needed, for millions of hearts still lie fallow, barren and uncultivated, if you will, yet with the potential to someday yield 30, 60, a hundredfold for the kingdom.

The question is, will we sow daily, lavishly showering the seed of the Word upon he hearts of all whom we encounter? That’s what Jesus did.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4