But
grow in the grace and knowledge of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ....
II
Pt. 3:18
Following are the notes for a teaching delivered
at a home fellowship in August, 1991. This
teaching outlines the process of salvation from
the perspective of a growing seed including the
roles of the various elements affecting seed
growth as found throughout scripture.
This outline is especially
commended to overseas
pastors seeking the simplest illustrations in
nature and scripture for communicating all the
essential elements of salvation to new converts to
the faith!
Parables and illustrations from farming are one of
Jesus' chief methods of teaching the complete
nature of salvation.
Major Parables:
Parable
of
the Farmer Mk.4:26-29
Parable
of
the Sower Mt. 13 (Mk. 4; Lk. 8)
General References to
“Plantings of the Lord”
Is.
60:21;
61:3 Mt.
15:13 I
Cor. 3:6-9
Checklist:
Elements-
1,
Ground,
earth, soil
=
human body/heart Gen. 2:7; 3:19
Ps. 103:14
4
Types: (Mt. 13)
-
wayside (hard) 13:4,19
-
stony, thin 13:5,20-21
-
thorny (cares of the world) 13:7,22
-
good (honest)
13:8,23
Lk. 8:15
2.
Seed
=
Word of God
Mt. 13
Lk. 8:11
I Pt. 1:23
(Jms. 1:21)
Includes:
- seed of Christ-in-you,
- scripture,
- body prophecy/ministry, and
- personal revelation
3.
Sun
=
tribulation and persecution through opposition Mt.
13:6,21
testing,
isolation, desert (heat of any kind) - fire I Pt.
1:7; Is. 43:2 "Can you take the heat?"
4.
Rain
=
anointing of the Holy Spirit
Ho. 6:3 Joel 2:23
Ac. 2:17
James 5:7
falls
on
just and unjust
Mt 5:45;— Mt. 7:21-23
reveals thorns
Heb. 6:7
5.
River (Underground Water Source)
Jer. 17:8
Ps. 1:3
= entrance into
internal abiding Presence of God within the heart
Jn. 7:38-39 "well-spring", quenching of thirst Jn. 4:14 Rev.
7:16-17
-
a dimension of Holy Spirit distinct from rainfall
(anointing).
Ministers to internal root system
producing stability of personality accessed
through piercing deed layers of bedrock, shale,
etc. (Strongholds)
Growing Factors
6.
Plowing, digging, hoeing Lk. 13:8 Jer. 4:3-4 Ps.
129:3
= preparing the ground
(heart) through repentance and the cutting work of
the cross (inner suffering) It is sense of need
that makes us able to receive the word
7.
Death of Seed
Jn. 12:24-25
=
failure of natural expectations surrounding the
word's fulfilment
(see first failures of Joseph and Moses concerning
their words)
8.
Pulling of weeds and thorns
Mt. 13:22
Jer. 4:3
Heb. 6:8
=
dealing with character flaws, lusts, etc revealed
by rainfall
(Spirit anointing)
9.
Fertilizing using dung
Lk. 13:8
Phil. 3:4-8
=
learning from the mistakes/dead works of yourself
and others
(dung=dead works) a smelly business!
10.
Pruning bad branches
Jn. 15:2
=
inevitability and necessity of division as
fruitless is separated from the fruitful
Rom. 11:17-22
I Cor. 11:19
11.
Timing and seasons
Mk. 4:27
=
learning how to wait (patience) Jms. 5:7-8
-
"day and night" Mk. 4:27
day
= times of laboring
Jn. 9:4
night = times of rest
Heb. 4:11
-
"seasons" Eccl.
3:1
Harvest Mt.
13:30,39 Mk.
4:29 Rev. 14:15-16 Mt. 9:37-38 Jn. 4:35
=
Separating Fruit from Chaff (-hidden work within
the visible work Rom. 9:6)
Fruit Mt.13:8,23 Jn.
15:1-16
Rom. 6:22;7:4
Gal. 5:22
Eph. 5:9
Phil
4:17 Col.
1:6 Heb.
12:11 Jms.
3:18; 5:7-8
=
the bringing forth of all the promises of God
through the revelation of Jesus Christ through the
character of His People
Chaff Mt.
3:12 Hos.13:3 Job 21:17-18 Ps. 1:4;35:5 Is. 5:24
(Rev 14:17-20)
= all that remains at harvest which falls short of
the glory of God and is unredeemed, all fleshly
encasement of the living word, all that is of
"self" (including everything from personal works
to groups of unredeemed people.)
-
destined for final burning Mt. 3:12 Jn. 15:6 I
Cor. 3:13-15
Notes:
To
be found ripe and fruitful at harvest, we must
benefit from all 11 elements and factors
according to supervisory direction of the Father
(-The Husbandman, Jn. 15)
This
process applies across the entire spectrum of
God's work in people:
-
personally (including specific parts of our life
as well as the whole of it)
-
corporately (local bodies and parts of bodies like
home fellowships)
-
trans-locally (different bodies in different
places)
-
trans-temporarily (generations and church eras of
history)
Some
individuals,
bodies, and eras of church history are noted for
particular strengths in some elements while
resistant to other factors. Examples:
-
Fundamentalists very "seed" oriented, but
deny need for "rainfall, plowing, and underground
water."
Ground tends to hardness.
-
Charismatics very "rain" oriented, but
resistant to "sunshine, plowing." (much "rain
dancing" here.)
Ground generally unplowed, lacking underground
water source.
-
Holiness bodies very "plowing, death of
seed" oriented, but weak on "seed" and "rain."
-
Deeper-Life bodies very "river, underground
water" oriented, but weak on "seed", deny need for
"rain." Good root system, but stunted upper
growth.