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Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW023270S
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00:17 ♪[music ends]♪♪
00:21 >>John Bradshaw: This is "It Is Written." 00:23 I'm John Bradshaw. Thanks for joining me. 00:25 They are incredible things. 00:28 Basically, everything that grows began as one of these 00:32 or maybe as one of these 00:35 or could be as one of these. 00:38 They can be very small. They can be very large. 00:42 They're as old as time itself. 00:45 They show up for the first time in the Bible 00:48 on the first page of the Bible. 00:50 They were here before humans, before animals and birds. 00:54 They were here before the sun. 00:57 Genesis, chapter 1 says, 00:59 "God said, 'Let the earth bring forth grass, 01:02 "'the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields 01:05 "'fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, 01:09 "on the earth'; and it was so. 01:11 "And the earth brought forth grass, 01:12 "the herb that yields seed according to its kind, 01:15 "and the tree that yields fruit, 01:17 "whose seed is in itself according to its kind. 01:20 And God saw that it was good." 01:23 Seeds--they're absolutely vital to life itself. 01:27 No seeds? No crops. 01:29 No crops? No harvest. 01:31 No harvest? No food. 01:33 No food? No life. 01:35 So, in each one of these little miracles is potentially life. 01:41 It's not an exaggeration to say that you owe your life to them. 01:45 Take them away and the human race is done. 01:49 There's no lab on the planet that has figured out 01:52 how to preserve life without seeds. 01:55 This one grows wheat, from which we derive flour, 01:59 out of which we produce bread and tortillas and pasta 02:04 and cookies and cakes and pies and pancakes. 02:08 That's just from this. 02:11 This one? Corn. 02:13 Of course, you could just eat corn on the cob or creamed corn 02:16 or corn on a salad of some kind. 02:19 But corn becomes tortillas and cornbread and popcorn 02:23 and grits--I'm in the South, remember. 02:25 There's corn starch, masa, mealie meal in Africa. 02:29 Now, somewhere here you might start to differentiate 02:32 between corn and maize, but they are essentially the same thing. 02:36 And then there's corn chips and nachos and tacos 02:39 and quesadilla, and there's corn dogs and hushpuppies-- 02:43 and corn flakes and so many other breakfast cereals. 02:47 And then you've got corn syrup and corn oil. 02:50 And as well as feeding corn to humans and animals, 02:53 as corn is a staple in animal feed, it's also fed to vehicles. 02:59 This seed can end up being used to produce ethanol-- 03:03 ethyl alcohol, a biofuel. 03:06 In many parts of the United States you'll see signs 03:08 at gas stations telling you that the fuel you're putting 03:10 in your vehicle is 10 percent ethanol. 03:14 Now, that's all from this one seed. 03:18 Now, there's one more I have to show you: this one. 03:20 When harvested, it can be boiled or fried. 03:25 You can eat it brown or white, the difference being 03:27 that white rice has had the bran and the germ removed. 03:31 It's incredibly versatile. 03:33 It can be made into milk, noodles, pasta, bread, 03:38 meaning that, like corn, it's often a go-to for those 03:40 who are gluten free. 03:42 It's a staple for half the population of the world. 03:46 It might become nasi goreng in Indonesia, 03:49 or nasi lemak in Malaysia, 03:51 or pilaf in the Middle East or Europe, 03:54 or sushi in Japan, 03:55 or bibimbap in South Korea, 03:57 or jambalaya in Louisiana, 04:00 or biryani in India. 04:02 And if we were to discuss beans, same thing, 04:06 they're incredibly versatile, enjoyed the world over, 04:10 incredibly good for you, better than most people realize. 04:13 They're inexpensive and grown from a seed. 04:18 Or to make it even more interesting, 04:19 the bean itself is a seed. 04:23 Now, there's a lot we can learn from seeds. 04:26 Jesus Himself used the humble seed 04:29 as an important teaching tool. 04:31 In fact, in one chapter alone, 04:33 Jesus taught three different parables 04:36 using seeds as His teaching aid. 04:38 That chapter is Matthew, chapter 13: 04:41 "On the same day Jesus went out of the house 04:43 and sat by the sea." 04:45 Jesus is at the north end of the Sea of Galilee 04:47 in Capernaum or, or very close to it. 04:49 "And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, 04:52 "so that He got into a boat and sat; 04:55 "and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 04:58 "Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, 05:03 'Behold, a sower went out to sow.'" 05:06 Even today you can look up from where Jesus would have been; 05:09 you can see plants or crops being grown on the hills 05:12 just beyond the sea itself. 05:14 You can imagine Jesus motioning towards a farmer of some kind, 05:18 a man growing crops, a man sowing seeds. 05:21 The seed would land in the earth, and so would begin 05:24 that remarkable process of germination and growth 05:28 and then the tending of the crop and the production of the crop 05:31 and ultimately harvest-- 05:33 and an income or food stored for the use of the family. 05:38 Now, this is the parable where Jesus speaks of seed 05:41 falling into different soil 05:43 and how that affected the viability of the plant. 05:46 Jesus talks of seed falling "by the wayside" 05:49 and being eaten by birds. 05:51 "Some fell on stony places, 05:53 "where they did not have much earth; 05:55 "and they immediately sprang up 05:57 "because they had no depth of earth. 05:59 "But when the sun was up they were scorched, 06:02 and because they had no root they withered away." 06:05 Some of the seed landed where there were thorns, 06:07 and those thorns grew up and choked the plants, 06:09 and they had no future. 06:11 "But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: 06:15 some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." 06:19 And you'll notice Jesus says, 06:21 "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" 06:25 This was an important lesson, one that impacted eternal life. 06:30 And Jesus elected the humble seed to be His object lesson. 06:35 Then later in the chapter, Jesus again talks about seeds. 06:38 "Another parable He put forth to them, saying: 06:41 "'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, 06:44 "'which a man took and sowed in his field, 06:47 "'which indeed is the least of all...seeds; 06:50 "'but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs 06:53 "'and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air 06:57 come and nest in its branches.'" 06:59 The kingdom of heaven, the principles of heaven, 07:02 the way God works in your life, the way of spiritual growth, 07:06 it's like a tiny seed that grows to become a tree 07:10 so large that birds build nests in its branches. 07:14 A profound lesson. 07:16 ♪[soft music]♪ 07:17 Now, this here is a pumpkin seed. 07:21 You couldn't know just by looking at it 07:24 that this little thing would develop into something 07:27 so incredibly productive. 07:32 In the same chapter, there's another parable dealing 07:35 with seeds that will absolutely impact your eternal destiny. 07:39 We're going to take a look at that, and I'll speak 07:42 with an expert to find out how seeds actually work. 07:47 I'll be right back. [bird twittering] 07:48 ♪[upbeat music swells and ends]♪♪ 07:57 >>Announcer: Today's free offer 07:59 is "Victorious: Living a New Life in Jesus." 08:02 You'll learn how to move beyond the mistakes of yesterday 08:04 to experience victory today. 08:06 To receive "Victorious: Living a New Life in Jesus," 08:08 call 800-253-3000 right now. 08:12 That's 800-253-3000 08:14 or visit us online at iiwoffer.com. 08:17 Get this free resource now 08:19 and enter into the life of victory God wants for you. 08:22 800-253-3000 or iiwoffer.com. 08:28 >>John Bradshaw: Thanks for joining me on "It Is Written." 08:31 Jesus considered seeds so important that He built 08:35 some of His most memorable lessons around them. 08:38 So, to find out something about seeds, 08:40 I traveled to the Show-me State. 08:43 I spoke with Weston Adams, who works with seeds 08:46 at Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company 08:49 just outside Mansfield, Missouri. 08:52 I figured if anyone could help me with seeds, 08:55 Weston was my man. 08:57 So tell me how long you've been hanging around seeds? 09:00 >>Weston Adams: I've been growing seeds 09:02 since I was a little guy. 09:04 One of the things I used to do as a youngster 09:05 is I'd go to the store and, and pull beans off the shelf, 09:09 dry beans, and I'd go plant them. 09:12 I'd plant them and grow them out, 09:13 and that was the greatest fun to me. 09:15 >>John: So what is it about seeds 09:16 that you find so fascinating? 09:19 >>Weston: Well, seeds, 09:21 seeds are a little package of life. 09:23 They have a little baby plant. 09:26 If you break open a bean seed, 09:28 you can even see the little plant. 09:30 And then they have the food that that plant needs. 09:34 So when we eat beans, we're actually eating the food 09:36 that it stored for the plant. 09:38 That, that embryo is just sitting in there waiting, 09:43 and if you plant that, it will use the food 09:46 that's stored in the bean to start a new plant. 09:50 >>John: That's like a little miracle, isn't it? 09:52 >>Weston: It is; it's amazing. 09:53 >>John: What happens that makes this thing come alive? 09:58 >>Weston: Well, the conditions, 09:59 the conditions trigger that plant to break dormancy. 10:04 It's, there's a little dormant plant in there, 10:05 and when it's in the seed state, 10:07 it's resistant to a lot of conditions. 10:09 You can freeze most seeds, doesn't hurt them. 10:11 You can dry them out, doesn't hurt them. 10:14 But when they get the right conditions, 10:17 they've been made that they, they spring to life 10:19 at that point, and they use the food that's stored in the seed. 10:22 Like in a, in a bean, they, they use the food 10:24 that's stored in that seed to break through the soil. 10:28 Because that plant, it can't make food until it has light. 10:32 So if it's buried an inch under the ground, 10:34 it has to have some food to get up to the top of the ground 10:38 when it can start making its own. 10:40 >>John: So, when I grow seeds, I'm planting 10, 10:44 and I'm getting three or five or six. What's going wrong? 10:49 >>Weston: There are so many things that can happen. 10:51 You can have seed issues. 10:54 But, aside from seed issues, 10:55 there's all kinds of environmental things. 10:58 Um, it may be a water issue. 10:59 If seeds don't have enough water, 11:01 they're not going to germinate. 11:02 They need to, they need to absorb that water 11:04 in order to trigger them to break dormancy. 11:06 Um, it could be mold issues, too much water. 11:08 Too much water will make a seed rot in the ground. 11:11 Could be temperature, 11:12 when we start seeds, we start them on a heat mat 11:15 to keep them at the right temperature. 11:16 If you start them in a cool environment, 11:17 a lot of seeds will rot. 11:19 So, there's so many things, so many factors 11:22 that can influence that kind of thing. 11:24 ♪[soft instrumental music]♪ 11:25 >>John: And that's the big difference. 11:27 Sometimes you'll get seed from a packet like this, 11:29 and that seed will grow, or maybe it won't. 11:32 And when it doesn't, it's either because of what you've done 11:35 as a grower or because the seed just failed. 11:39 But there's one seed that always, 11:43 always grows and produces in your life. 11:46 And that's the Word of God. 11:49 Peter said in 1 Peter 1, verse 23, 11:51 "Having been born again, 11:53 "not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, 11:57 through the word of God which lives and abides forever." 12:01 Peter knew what it was to need to be born again. 12:05 You remember he denied Jesus three times, 12:08 but he knew that what you need 12:11 to right the sinking ship of your life is the Word of God. 12:15 And he likened it to a seed. 12:18 Plant it in your heart. Get it in your mind. 12:21 But one of the challenges that many people face 12:24 is they're not planting the seed 12:26 of the Word of God in their lives. 12:29 In fact, they're planting in their lives 12:31 that which militates against the effectiveness 12:34 of the Word of God, 12:35 that undermines what God is trying to do in your experience. 12:40 ♪[reflective music]♪ 12:42 There are a lot of spiritual lessons that can be learned 12:46 from seed-sowing. 12:47 To find out more, I sat down with Jere Gettle, 12:51 the founder of Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company. 12:54 >>John: So you've been selling seeds 12:56 for more than a quarter of a century. Who's buying them? 12:58 >>Jere Gettle: Definitely a, a lot of people 12:59 from all different generations and cultures are growing food. 13:02 We've definitely seen a lot more minorities getting back 13:04 into growing their own food. 13:06 We're also seeing a, a huge trend in, like, 13:08 the 24- to 35-year-olds. 13:10 That's one of our biggest groups. 13:12 Probably our two biggest groups are like that, 13:14 24-35 and then also the, like, 54-65, 13:18 that early retirement area. >>John: That's surprising. 13:20 >>Jere: People just starting their homes, their families 13:22 or getting out on their own, basically, 13:24 and that's a big push. 13:26 And then the second biggest group is that 13:27 "I'm just getting ready to retire, I've just retired, 13:29 and I want to grow my own food." 13:31 But a lot more gardeners are starting gardening 13:34 maybe not as big of gardens as in the past. 13:36 But a lot of people want some of their own food, 13:38 some of their own herbs, some of their own flowers. 13:40 You know, they want to have a backyard 13:41 that's full of bees and butterflies, 13:42 and, you know-- >>John: Yeah, yeah. 13:44 >>Jere: ...they want that kind of connection to nature. 13:46 >>John: So if somebody wants to plant something, uh, 13:49 doesn't matter to me whether they have a farm 13:51 or a, a balcony at an apartment, 13:53 what can somebody do to, to get started? 13:55 Or what can somebody do to, to grow their little home operation 13:59 and, uh, become more expansive? What would you recommend? 14:02 >>Jere: I guess the first thing is trying different things. 14:04 You know, a lot of people think, 14:05 "Oh, I just want to grow tomatoes." 14:06 So they just try tomatoes. But the biggest thing 14:08 is to try different things and also talk to your neighbors, 14:11 talk to your family, talk to your friends that are gardening. 14:13 That's the biggest help, is talk to those right around you. 14:15 Go talk to the older ladies at the garden club. 14:18 They have, you know, 14:19 a lot of times they have, like, 80 years of knowledge. 14:21 So it's, you know, a great place to start. 14:23 If you're short on space, try something in a bucket or a box 14:26 or a, you know, you can use almost anything to grow stuff-- 14:28 in a, a storage tub or a barrel or whatever, 14:32 wherever you're at, if you don't have soil. 14:34 Or you can also look for a neighbor or a friend 14:36 or a community garden. There's plenty of places 14:38 where you can get a little piece of ground to grow on. 14:40 >>John: So what are some of the biblical lessons that have, 14:43 have struck you over the years as you've worked with seeds? 14:48 >>Jere: Yeah, and that's a good question. 14:49 I mean, I think, first off, you know, 14:51 it's where God originally put us. 14:52 I mean, He put us in a garden. Um, when you're in the garden, 14:56 it just--how to keep, to think more about your life, 14:59 it takes you away from the rat race. 15:01 And it makes you think about how God made that little, 15:03 tiny piece of dust, and you sit there and watch it transform 15:07 into something, and you're like, you know, it's, 15:10 it's unbelievable. 15:11 It's like, you know, it's like, uh, nothing growing into-- 15:15 it seems like nothing; it's actually a, you know, 15:17 an amazing little package growing into this big, 15:19 you know--and I guess that's the same way God works 15:22 with, you know, people and, uh, life in general. 15:25 It's, you know, little, tiny things, you know, matter. 15:28 Little, tiny, you know, thoughts or, uh, deeds 15:31 or, whatever we do, it's like these little, tiny things 15:34 are oftentimes the most important. 15:35 ♪[reflective music]♪ 15:39 >>John: So, if I were to plant one of these, what would grow? 15:44 >>Jere: A squash or a pumpkin, the same thing. 15:46 But, yeah, that's definitely what you would get. 15:49 >>John: If I were to plant one of these, 15:54 what am I going to get? 15:55 >>Jere: A hard-shell gourd, a big old gourd. 15:57 >>John: Not a pumpkin? >>Jere: No. 15:58 Yeah, big old green gourd. 16:00 >>John: Not a squash? >>Jere: No. 16:01 >>John: If I were to plant this? 16:05 >>Jere: Maize or corn. >>John: Not a cucumber? 16:07 >>Jere: Wouldn't get a cucumber or anything else. 16:10 >>John: Maize or corn? >>Jere: Yeah. 16:11 >>John: Every time? >>Jere: Every time. 16:13 >>John: Without exception? >>Jere: Correct. 16:15 >>John: Okay. So why is that? 16:17 >>Jere: Because you reap what you sow. 16:21 >>John: That's an interesting one, isn't it? 16:23 You reap what you sow. That's a biblical principle. 16:27 We'll look at it further in just a moment. 16:30 ♪[upbeat music swells and ends]♪♪ 16:38 >>John: Thank you for remembering that It Is Written 16:40 exists because of the kindness of people just like you. 16:44 To support this international life-changing ministry, 16:47 please call us now at 800-253-3000. 16:51 You can send your tax-deductible gift 16:53 to the address on your screen, 16:54 or you can visit online at itiswritten.com. 16:58 Thank you for your prayers and for your financial support. 17:01 Our number again is 800-253-3000, 17:05 or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com. 17:09 ♪[music]♪ 17:10 >>John: There are some things you don't want to forget, 17:13 and there are some things 17:14 God specifically tells us to remember. 17:17 At the dawn of time, the Creator of the universe 17:20 gifted to the human family a divine prescription 17:24 for combating stress, busyness, and the pressures of daily life, 17:28 a regular blessing of time spent in the heart of God. 17:32 Don't miss "A Day to Remember." 17:35 We'll travel to the largest Ten Commandments in the world 17:38 and rediscover heaven's purpose for your life: 17:41 "A Day to Remember," 17:43 a personal God seeking a meaningful connection 17:45 with His children, a way forward for spiritual renewal. 17:50 We'll open the Bible together 17:51 and learn that God has blessings for His children 17:55 that have been overlooked and neglected. 17:57 Get more from God. Go deeper in your faith. 18:01 "A Day to Remember," 18:02 watch now on It Is Written TV. 18:05 ♪[music ends]♪♪ 18:10 ♪[soft reflective music]♪ 18:18 >>John: The apostle Paul wrote about horticultural principles. 18:22 Writing to the church of Galatia, 18:23 which was located in a fertile region 18:26 towards the northwest of Turkey, 18:28 Paul said, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; 18:33 "for whatever a man sows, that [will he] also reap. 18:38 "For he who sows to his flesh 18:40 "will of the flesh reap corruption, 18:43 "but he who sows to the Spirit 18:45 will of the Spirit reap everlasting life." 18:48 That's Galatians, chapter 6, verses 7 and 8. 18:51 You reap what you sow. 18:53 Put a carrot seed in the ground, sow carrot seeds, 18:57 and you'll harvest carrots. 18:59 You know that. 19:00 Plant a pumpkin seed; harvest pumpkins. 19:03 No one ever planted lima beans and got arugula. 19:07 No one ever planted celery and got cabbage. 19:10 You reap what you sow. 19:12 So, if you're going around all day angry at the world, 19:17 you're going to reap what? 19:19 It's pretty simple, isn't it? 19:21 But if you're sowing joy, happiness, 19:24 what can you expect to echo in your life? 19:27 You know it's true. 19:28 If you're sowing selfishness, 19:30 you're going to reap selfishness. 19:31 If you sow generosity, on the other hand, 19:34 you're going to reap generosity, or plenty, in your life. 19:37 Now, this is not the power of positive thinking 19:40 or name-it-and-claim-it. 19:42 It's God who rules the universe, not you and me. 19:45 But an unalterable law of the universe 19:47 is that if you sow faith, you reap blessing. 19:52 If you sow obedience, you reap God's favor. 19:56 You reap what you sow. 19:58 There's an old story I heard years ago. 20:00 I don't think it's meant to be documentary. 20:03 A family was moving to a new town and stopped for gas 20:06 not too far from their destination. 20:08 They said to the gas station attendant, 20:10 "We're moving to the next town over. 20:12 What are the people like there?" 20:14 The person said, "Well, what were the people like 20:16 where you just moved from?" 20:18 "Wonderful," they said. 20:19 Person said, "Well, I reckon you'll find 20:21 the people where you're moving just the same." 20:24 Later a man stops and tells the gas station attendant 20:27 the same story: "I'm moving to the town just north of here. 20:30 What are the people like?" 20:31 Same question: "What were they like where you've been living?" 20:34 "Terrible," he said. "I couldn't stand them." 20:37 "Hmm. I reckon you'll find the people where you're moving 20:41 pretty much the same." 20:43 You know, you reap what you sow 20:45 when it comes to the way you treat others. 20:48 There's all kinds of people who aren't enjoying life 20:51 because, for whatever reason, 20:52 they're not sowing the right kind of seed. 20:55 They're not investing in others 20:57 or maybe even in themselves. 21:00 If you're not investing in yourself, 21:02 your health is going to go down the drain. 21:04 It takes some effort to keep weight off, 21:06 to eat better, to exercise. 21:08 You are sowing when you take care of those things. 21:11 You're sowing when you walk or ride a bicycle 21:14 instead of driving. 21:15 When you think to eat fruits and veggies 21:17 and cut back on fried food, you're sowing; 21:20 you're investing in yourself. 21:23 You're going to reap fewer health problems. 21:25 You're going to reap better health. 21:28 When you go to church and get involved at church 21:32 and look for ways to be of service, you are sowing. 21:37 You could sit on the couch and drink soda and eat potato chips. 21:40 You could aimlessly scroll through online videos. 21:44 Or you could go to that Bible study or that midweek service 21:48 and grow spiritually. 21:49 You could lie in bed or get out of bed 21:52 and spend devotional time with God, 21:55 reading your Bible, and praying. 21:58 That's sowing. 22:00 Do the opposite? Okay, you get more time in bed, 22:02 but go to bed a little earlier 22:04 or don't waste time on social media, 22:06 and then you won't need that extra sleep time. 22:09 That extra time in bed comes with a heavy price tag: 22:12 not feeding yourself spiritually, 22:15 not growing in your walk with God, 22:17 shriveling up instead and never becoming all you could be 22:22 as a disciple of Jesus. 22:24 And speaking of sowing and reaping, 22:26 look at Romans 6, verses 5 and 6 with me: 22:29 "For if we have been planted together 22:31 "in the likeness of His death, 22:33 "we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: 22:37 "knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, 22:42 "that the body of sin might be destroyed, 22:45 that henceforth we should not serve sin." 22:49 "Planted together in the likeness of His death." 22:52 Right before this, Paul has written about baptism. 22:56 Now, the old you is being put to death, crucified, 23:00 same idea as baptism, which is the burial of the old, 23:05 unconverted, unborn-again you in a watery grave. 23:10 The old you is planted, as it were, and new life 23:14 springs forth from where that old you once was. 23:19 This expands the idea to take on the concept 23:22 of sowing your life in Christ and reaping everlasting life. 23:28 Now, there's something else to watch for. 23:31 Back in Matthew 13 there's another seed-based parable, 23:35 the parable of the wheat and the tares, 23:37 or the wheat and the weeds. 23:40 In this parable, Jesus says, 23:42 "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed 23:47 "in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came 23:51 and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way." 23:56 Now, this was a nasty thing to do. 23:57 But it would happen in that day. You could ruin someone's crop. 24:00 You could ruin somebody's livelihood that way. 24:04 The man's grain sprouted and grew, 24:06 and the weeds grew up among the grain. 24:09 In that area at that time, there was a darnel 24:11 that looked so much like wheat 24:13 you couldn't tell them apart until they'd matured, 24:16 and by then, you had havoc in your field. 24:20 The owner of the field said, "An enemy has done this." 24:24 So it's possible, it seems, for others to sow in your field, 24:28 to sow negativity in your life. 24:31 And, of course, we know that the enemy in this story 24:33 is the devil. 24:35 The devil will sow doubt, unbelief, lack of faith, 24:40 discouragement. 24:41 ♪[soft music]♪ 24:42 You don't want to let that happen, and you don't have to. 24:46 When you've made a decision that Jesus has your life, 24:50 your heart, your loyalty, 24:53 and if you'll renew that decision every day, 24:56 you'll keep the enemy from sowing damaging seeds 24:59 in your field. Sure, things will happen. 25:01 This is life we're living, not a game we're playing. 25:05 But in all of life's ups and downs, 25:07 you can choose to trust God, to stay grounded in the Word, 25:11 and to keep up your connection with God. 25:13 There'll be efforts made to derail your faith. 25:16 An enemy has done this. 25:18 Sometimes it'll be a person having a bad day, 25:21 and you're bearing the brunt of that. 25:23 An enemy has done this. 25:25 Illness, grief, loss, disappointment-- 25:30 an enemy has done this. 25:32 But even in the midst of that, 25:35 God will give you "beauty for ashes, 25:38 "the oil of joy for mourning, 25:41 "the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; 25:44 "[so] that [you] might be called trees of righteousness, 25:48 the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified." 25:53 Remember, you reap what you sow. 25:57 Sow to the flesh, and you reap corruption. 26:01 Sow to the Spirit, 26:02 and of the Spirit you'll reap everlasting life. 26:06 ♪[music ends]♪♪ 26:08 >>Announcer: Today's free offer 26:10 is "Victorious: Living a New Life in Jesus." 26:13 You'll learn how to move beyond the mistakes of yesterday 26:15 to experience victory today. 26:17 To receive "Victorious: Living a New Life in Jesus," 26:19 call 800-253-3000 right now. 26:22 That's 800-253-3000 26:25 or visit us online at iiwoffer.com. 26:28 Get this free resource now 26:30 and enter into the life of victory God wants for you. 26:33 800-253-3000 or iiwoffer.com. 26:39 >>John: Let me pray for you now. Let's pray together. 26:42 Our Father in heaven, in Jesus' name we come to You, 26:45 thanking You that we might reap what we sow. 26:48 We're grateful that as we sow Your Word in our lives 26:51 and sow through prayer and worship and fellowship 26:55 and service, that we can expect Your presence, 26:59 and we can expect Your blessing. 27:01 Now, give us grace, Lord, because far too often 27:03 we sow negativity; we sow unhappiness; 27:07 we sow discouragement; we sow hostility. 27:11 Really, we don't want that. 27:12 We are asking that Jesus would live His life in us, 27:16 that we would be filled with Your Holy Spirit, 27:18 that Your will would be done, 27:20 and we could sow into this world the character of Jesus. 27:24 We thank You for Your Word. 27:26 Let it take deep root in our heart and bear much fruit 27:29 for Your glory, we pray, in Jesus' name. 27:33 Amen. 27:35 Thanks so much for joining me. 27:36 Looking forward to seeing you again next time. 27:38 Until then, remember: 27:40 "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, 27:44 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 27:48 ♪[dramatic, triumphant theme music]♪ 28:26 ♪[music ends]♪♪ |
Revised 2024-01-11