Planting for the Future

I can remember the first garden that I helped my dad plant. I was about 7 or 8 years old. It was a lot of hard work. We didn’t have modern gas-powered tools. We used spades and hoes to brake up the ground. This is a process called harrowing the ground.

After that, we cultivated the ground by running a garden rake over it to break up clumps of dirt, remove rocks, weeds, and grass from among the dirt. Our hands  and clothes were smeared with dirt and we had splotches of mud on our face from the mixture of dirt and sweat.

After the ground was cultivated, we would use hoes to furrow the ground in long, straight rows. Some of my rows were not very straight, but, hey, I was 7. Then we each took handfuls of seeds, got on our knees and crawled down each row so that we could poke little holes in the mounds created by furrowing the ground, dropped a seed into the hole, and then covered the hole with dirt. After all of the dirty work we watered the garden.

Then we stood back and looked at what we had done. After days of work we turned a grassy yard into dirt and mud. I hated gardening. But I knew that just underneath that dirt and mud were seeds that were going to burst through the ground any minute now. I must have looked out at that garden 2 or 3 times that day wondering if the plants had broken through the ground yet.

The next morning I went running out to see the plants. Nothing. For weeks all we saw was dirt. But we kept watering the garden, and soon little shoots started to break through the dirt. Then these shoots started to grow stems and leaves and a few weeks later we started to see miniature vegetables growing on the stems. We had planted a garden. What an exciting thing to see new life spring up out of the dirt.

When you think about gardening, you realize that the bulk of the work requires you to disrupt and even destroy some things in order to make way to plant. The term harrow means to break up, to root up, to disturb keenly or painfully. To harrow is to wound or cause to suffer. You must break the ground if you want to start something new. The ground must be made ready for roots to take hold.

The word cultivate means to prepare, to loosen, to break up. Harrowed ground still has a lot of large clumps of dirt, grass, and weeds. It also has rocks and tree roots in the way. You must cultivate the ground, go in and remove all of the things that will not be good for the work you have planned.

Even the term furrow means to cut or gouge a trench. You can plant seeds in ground that has not been furrowed, but it is much easier to protect your plants when there is a furrow. A garden with furrows marks safe places for you to walk without stepping on your delicate plants. It also indicates the areas where you planted things so that you can easily remove those pesky weeds that will spring up long before your plants.

Planting is not something we do for instant gratification. You cannot plant today and eat from the garden tonight. It is a long, slow process. And it is a process that we can use to see growth in our spiritual lives as well.

In Matthew 13 Jesus uses 5 parables, explains 2 of the parables, and even explained why he used parables to teach. Most people know the Parable of the Sower that begins in verse 2. I thought everyone would be able to relate to farming analogies until I moved to Fort Worth, Texas, and heard people ask why the sower in this story would plant seeds along a walking path or among rocks. I asked if they had ever seen someone seed a yard for grass. What a stupid question to ask people in Ft. Worth. They didn’t grow grass there, most people rocked their yards. So we spent time discussing how some crops are not planted as an individual seed, but scattered along the top soil.

I also thought that most of the people Jesus spoke to would have understood what a sower was, but his disciples had trouble understanding what He meant. So Jesus explains the parable to his disciples. Then he launches into another parable about planting. Matthew 13:24-30.

He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while people were sleeping, his enemy came, sowed weeds among the wheat, and left. When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared. The landowner’s slaves came to him and said, ‘Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’
“‘An enemy did this!’ he told them.
“‘So, do you want us to go and gather them up?’ the slaves asked him.
“‘No,’ he said. ‘When you gather up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I’ll tell the reapers: Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to burn them, but store the wheat in my barn.’”

Again His disciples did not understand, so Jesus explains this parable in verses 36-43.

Then He dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached Him and said, “Explain the parable of the weeds in the field to us.”
He replied: “The One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world; and the good seed—these are the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather from His kingdom everything that causes sin and those guilty of lawlessness. They will throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Anyone who has ears should listen!

Jesus is not the only one planting. We see here that the Devil is also at work to grow a crop of weeds. And what do weeds do? They soak up all of the nutrients around them, they choke out other plants, they use space in the soil preventing other plants from taking hold, and they reproduce and grow faster than most plants.

That is why God gives us a plan for how we are to plant for the future. Look at Acts 14:21-23.

After they [Paul and Barnabas] had evangelized that town [Derbe] and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch, strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith and by telling them, “It is necessary to pass through many troubles on our way into the kingdom of God.”
When they had appointed elders in every church and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

This passage is an example of church planting. In 1 Corinthians 3:6 Paul wrote “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” That is why we still use the term church planting to indicate starting a new church. It is important that established churches continue to take an active part in starting new churches. Remember that Paul and Barnabas were sent out by the church at Antioch and this church continued to support them in their work.

But it is important that we also understand that the lessons we learn about church planting from God’s Word are not just for new churches.The guide seen here in Acts 14 is not just how to start a church, but how to keep a church healthy. Too many churches are as guilty as the church in Ephesus which God said in Revelation 2:3 had abandoned their first love.


What was their first love? Jesus. How do you show your love to Jesus? By doing exactly what we see here in Acts 14: reproducing themselves through evangelism and discipleship. Notice that verse 21 says, “After they had evangelized that town” that they made disciples. Too often the church wants to disciple people that have not accepted the Gospel. We want an immoral society to accept God’s values when they do not even know God.

C.S. Lewis shared his thoughts in radio broadcasts from 1942-1944 that later were published in his book, “Mere Christianity.” Throughout this book Lewis discusses morals based on Laws of Nature and make a case for how the mere existence of morals tell us that there is someone who created the moral code. But Lewis understands that those without Christ will not live Christian lives and that we should not expect them to. He wrote:

“My own view is that the Churches should frankly recognise [sic] that the majority of the British people are not Christians and, therefore, cannot be expected to live Christian lives.”

I believe that the American church needs to recognize that the majority of the American people are not Christians, and, therefore, cannot be expected to live Christian lives. We must stop trying to condemn the lost for their actions and start telling them about God’s love. It seems that everyone knows John 3:16, that famous verse of God’s love, but we often fail to read past that to verse 17.

“For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

God Incarnate, Jesus Christ, was not sent to condemn people, so why do we? Jesus showed His great love by giving His life for them. Billy Graham said, “It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge, and my job to love.” I understand that many Christians grew up under a pastor who preached hell fire and brimstone sermons. You were told that you are a filthy sinner and that you must turn or burn. And many people who attended churches and revivals back then accepted Christ as a result.

Many also simply bought some fire insurance and continued to live their life the way they wanted to. They accepted Christ for salvation, but they never made Him the Lord of their lives. We often call these nominal Christians. I tend to be more harsh and say that they never were Christians. You see, unless you accept Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you have not actually repented. There is no fire insurance. There is life or there is death. There is light and there is darkness. In order to receive life, you must die to yourself. In order to be in the light you must step out of the darkness.

Billy Graham made a statement back when I was child. He said, “Half of those sitting in the pews today are lost.” That number is probably higher now because for decades churches have become more like concert halls than houses of worship. We have a country club mentality where members believe that they have certain rights and privileges because they are members. If things are not done in a manner that appeals to them, they will let the pastor know that they are a tither and should have a say in how things are done.

This may make some church members mad, but there is nothing in scripture that says you have any say in how the church is run. God gave us a plan for the church and it does not include business meetings, committees, or power plays. In fact, God said that the hand cannot tell the head what to do. Jesus is the head of the church and has placed pastors as His shepherds until the time that He returns to claim the church as His bride.

If you ever feel that because you tithe you should have a say in the church, then you have just taken that tithe away from God and made it into a membership fee. And the church does not do membership fees. You need to give the tithe back to God and trust Him to direct the church through His appointed shepherds, elders, and leaders.

But the leadership are doing things wrong! Are they? Or is it that you just don’t like how they are doing things? As a child I often thought that my parents were wrong. Squash for instance. Surely God never intended for anyone to eat such a vile tasting vegetable. Why then would my parents force me to eat it…at least once a week? It tasted so bad that my mom would smother it in butter or seasonings or try to hide the flavor by cooking it with other less vile tasting foods. It didn’t work. Nothing could drown out that disgusting taste. But just because I thought it was wrong didn’t mean that it was wrong.

Some people just cannot get over the fact that someone else is in control. Perhaps that is because they never actually allowed Jesus to be the Lord of their life. They bought fire insurance only. In 2 Corinthians 13:5, Paul tells us to “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith.” Paul did not write letters to the lost, he wrote letters to the church, those who claimed to believe in Jesus.

I encourage everyone to examine yourselves. Be certain of your salvation. You cannot become a disciple of Christ until you have actually accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Do you want to see this community, state, and nation changed? Evangelize. Are you telling others about Jesus? But I don’t know how to witness. Really? Have you accepted Christ? What did you do to accept Christ? Tell them that! It doesn’t have to be an approved LifeWay evangelism curriculum method. Tell them your story.

Are you purposely building relationships with the lost so that you can earn the right to tell them your story? As Christians our story will always lead others to His story. Don’t condemn the world for acting like non-Christians. Instead, love them in words and deeds so that they can see Jesus through you.

The second thing that Paul and Barnabas did was to disciple those who accepted their message. One of the main reasons that people drop out of church is that they were never really discipled. Discipling does not take place within the confines of the church. Jesus did not ask His followers to meet Him at the Temple one day a week so that He could disciple them. He did life with them. They ate together, they laughed together, they spent time together outside of the Temple.

If you want your church to grow you must start spending time with young Christians outside of these walls. Show them the things that you have learned about God. Teach them the commands of God. If you are not sure where to begin, open a Bible to Romans 12 and together learn how to follow everything in there. Don’t wait for a new discipleship program to come out before you start making disciples.

Parents, have you discipled your children or have you left it up to the church to do the work for you? The Bible tells us that it is your job to teach them about God. Sunday School teachers, do you make it a point to spend time with your class members outside of Sunday morning? Spending time with people is the difference between being a teacher and a discipler. Deacons, elders, leaders of the church, are you more caught up in your duties at church than you are in teaching others how to live like Christ? The church will function better, and with more volunteers, if you are spending more time making disciples then in operating the church.

Pastors say this all the time, “The church is not a building, it is the people.” So let the church start doing the work of planting for the future. It won’t be easy. It never is. It won’t happen overnight. It never does. You must get your hands dirty, start telling others about Jesus, and then teach them to become disciples of Christ. Are you willing to trust that God’s plan is better than your’s?