Sowing and Reaping

Here is the teaching I gave to leadership after we studied the bible on Sowing. I felt like God wanted us to get this and me to pass it on to them.
Enjoy!


Staff Bible Study
September 2011
Nichole Marcell


*According to Jesus in Mark 4 (NLT)- He gives such importance to understanding this parable that He says “how will you understand any other parable if you don’t understand this one”?

Today we will deal with part of this parable:


Mark 4
The Story of the Scattered Seed
1-2 He went back to teaching by the sea. A crowd built up to such a great size that he had to get into an offshore boat, using the boat as a pulpit as the people pushed to the water's edge. He taught by using stories, many stories.
3-8"Listen. What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled among the weeds and nothing came of it. Some fell on good earth and came up with a flourish, producing a harvest exceeding his wildest dreams.
9"Are you listening to this? Really listening?"
10-12When they were off by themselves, those who were close to him, along with the Twelve, asked about the stories. He told them, "You've been given insight into God's kingdom—you know how it works. But to those who can't see it yet, everything comes in stories, creating readiness, nudging them toward receptive insight. These are people— Whose eyes are open but don't see a thing, Whose ears are open but don't understand a word, Who avoid making an about-face and getting forgiven."
13He continued, "Do you see how this story works? All my stories work this way.
14-15"The farmer plants the Word. Some people are like the seed that falls on the hardened soil of the road. No sooner do they hear the Word than Satan snatches away what has been planted in them.
16-17"And some are like the seed that lands in the gravel. When they first hear the Word, they respond with great enthusiasm. But there is such shallow soil of character that when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.
18-19"The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it.
20"But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams."
Giving, Not Getting
21-22Jesus went on: "Does anyone bring a lamp home and put it under a washtub or beneath the bed? Don't you put it up on a table or on the mantel? We're not keeping secrets, we're telling them; we're not hiding things, we're bringing them out into the open.
23"Are you listening to this? Really listening?
24-25"Listen carefully to what I am saying—and be wary of the shrewd advice that tells you how to get ahead in the world on your own. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity. Stinginess impoverishes."
Never Without a Story
26-29Then Jesus said, "God's kingdom is like seed thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and forgets about it. The seed sprouts and grows—he has no idea how it happens. The earth does it all without his help: first a green stem of grass, then a bud, then the ripened grain. When the grain is fully formed, he reaps—harvest time!
30-32"How can we picture God's kingdom? What kind of story can we use? It's like a pine nut. When it lands on the ground it is quite small as seeds go, yet once it is planted it grows into a huge pine tree with thick branches. Eagles nest in it."
33-34With many stories like these, he presented his message to them, fitting the stories to their experience and maturity. He was never without a story when he spoke. When he was alone with his disciples, he went over everything, sorting out the tangles, untying the knots.
The Wind Ran Out of Breath
35-38Late that day he said to them, "Let's go across to the other side." They took him in the boat as he was. Other boats came along. A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him, saying, "Teacher, is it nothing to you that we're going down?"
39-40Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, "Quiet! Settle down!" The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples: "Why are you such cowards? Don't you have any faith at all?"
41They were in absolute awe, staggered. "Who is this, anyway?" they asked. "Wind and sea at his beck and call!"



___________________

We are farmers (leaders)/sowers:

That means that what we do will eventually bring about a particular result.

You plant something every day!
What are you planting today?


What are you planting in the lives of students?
Are you planting something that is eternal or something that is natural?


Students:
Some of the students may be hardened like in this parable.
Utterly fixed in a habit or way of life that is bad.

Some of the students may be marked by hype, easy to excite but shallow in their depth.

Some of the students may be doubtful and full of lust. Overwhelmed by worries and consumed by things they want to get that they don’t have.


But your job is to SOW:

[Breaking up our ground, our soil, is personal responsibility. ????]
Hosea 10:12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
Reap in mercy;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the LORD,
Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.


Questions to ask yourself as a planter:


[1] We must sow the WORD .
What are you sharing with students?
What is your advice rooted in?

[2] How do you WATER the seed you have planted?

Matthew 24:45-51
The Message (MSG)45-47"Who here qualifies for the job of overseeing the kitchen? A person the Master can depend on to feed the workers on time EACH day. Someone the Master can drop in on unannounced and always find him doing his job. A God-blessed man or woman, I tell you. It won't be long before the Master will put this person in charge of the whole operation.
48-51"But if that person only looks out for himself, and the minute the Master is away does what he pleases—abusing the help and throwing drunken parties for his friends—the Master is going to show up when he least expects it and make hash of him. He'll end up in the dump with the hypocrites, out in the cold shivering, teeth chattering."

Ex: Gardens need daily water!


*We are not responsible for growth!

1 Corinthians 3:5-9
The Message (MSG)
5-9Who do you think Paul is, anyway? Or Apollos, for that matter? Servants, both of us—servants who waited on you as you gradually learned to entrust your lives to our mutual Master. We each carried out our servant assignment. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. It's not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God's field in which we are working.


[3] Are you collecting the harvest?
Are you gathering?
Are you bringing together from scattered places?
Are you helping to connect the dots?
Are you summoning up for a purpose?

Are you calling to mind, calling forth, the things that God has done and is doing?


[4] Re-planting?
Are you giving them something they can re-plant?
Will they have true seed to re-plant somewhere else or will they just have a bunch of good ideas and opinions?

September Featured Blog: Anna Hanson

<Anna Hansen, first year student, submitted this spoken word poetry that she performed just moments after writing it at a XMC open mic. Her demeanor was purposely bold, and her presentation powerful. That is why she has been selected as our featured XMC student blog of the month. Anna will receive a 15$ gift card of her choice. Staff, Students and Alumni can submit blogs to xmc_media@mycrossroads.org Enjoy the blog! >

Life is good... Doing me, living to see MY dreams come true.

I mean, is it wrong to want to make it one day?

That was my attitude towards everything, what was black & white to me, became gray.

Living so self-satisfied that I couldn't even hear the Lord say:

"Don't go down that road! There are dangers ahead of you!

Call out to me!” He said. "I want to save you, from you!"

Convictions I once had were just faded memories

So caught up in complacency, I couldn't see the waste in me.

Complacency had me so bound.

I was so unaware of the blinders on my eyes.

The devil was always lurking around

Trying to be "my master" in disguise.

Feeding me lies, so in time my passion for God would die.

He crept in the first chance he could get.

My first heartbreak: age 16, left me with so much regret.

Deceived by the enemy into believing that a guy was the best thing yet.

Heartbreak wasn't the only thing he left

A complacent spirit I began to have.

I wanted what I wanted when I wanted it.

Sadly I didn't even know the half of

The fact that God knows my other half

And the fact that my will isn't better than His.

The fact that I was trying to live for me was a dis

To the fact that He is the almighty God!

He formed me in my mother’s womb

Saved me from eternal doom

I felt so lost in my complacency

But to my amazement, He... picked me up &

Wrapped me in His arms.

Whispered in my ear, “You are mine.

And for you, I sent my son to die.

I was there when your heart broke for the first time.

I was there even when you were being selfish & doing things on your own time.

I was there, just like I'm here now.”

Pastor Benji Aymond (XMC Alumni): "iLife"

Check out XMC Alumni Benji Aymond's Blog by clicking HERE

What is the iLife? It is the life that you live that screams "It is all about me, myself, and I." The iLife is only concerned about itself and completely disregards others. The iLife is about self absorption, pride, arrogance, and self indulgence. I believe in our western culture that there are many people living the iLife. We are taught we can be whatever we want or who ever we want and it doesn't matter who we have to step on to get there. This is completely counter to New Testament Christianity. Jesus taught about putting others before you. He demonstrated how humility is powerful. Jesus even said to treat people as you would treat your own self. Why don't we see more of this in Christian circles?

In fact I think the opposite happens more times than not. I mean just think of how most Christians treat those who don't believe as they do. Nine out of ten times we are more likely to demonize those people than to see them as the one sheep who strayed from the other ninety-nine. Why? Because we want it to be completely about us. In the book of Philippians Paul the Apostle even talks about people preaching Christ for their own selfish gain. I mean... where are we in our relationship with Christ when we begin to use the gospel for our selfish ambition?

This is the iLife that is prevalent in Christians.

Pastors are leading churches and losing sight of the cross while grabbing tightly a hold to fame, money, and political power. Christians are more concerned with how their actions will be held in the sight of others rather than in the sight of God. David sang in Psalms, "turn my heart toward Your statutes and not toward selfish gain."

We live the iLife when we become more concerned with what comes IN to US than what goes OUT to GOD.

I remember riding in my 1997 Toyota Corolla with my pal Jacob Mcmanus. I was 19 years old when God brought to my attention my wrong doing in my "good works". Jacob turned to me and said, "You know Benji, we have a problem with pride. We become so prideful of the good things we do that we do those good things for the wrong reasons." There is an episode on the TV series "Scrubs" in which one of the main characters, Christopher Turk, as a young surgeon, saves a man's life at a vendor stand. Dr. Cox, the main bad guy pseudo mentor, touches upon the condition of the human heart to desire being awarded for the good it does. Dr. Cox makes a bet with Turk, that the young doctor will not be able to keep his heroic act a secret, but would rather sell out to recieve the honor and fame for his deed. At the end of the show others are claiming credit, especially Dr. Cox, for the rescue of the man's life. No longer able to stand it, Turk bursts out proclaiming that he was the one who saved the man's life and deserved the attention for it.

I don't know about you, but I have a problem with not receiving honor for my good works here, and it reflects my selfish ambitions.

Jesus, while teaching his disciples about prayer, tells them not be like the hypocrites who pray loud and with many words on the street corners. They receive their reward from the praise they get from men, but rather that His disciples should pray in the secret, so that God will hear them and reward them. What is Jesus essentially talking about here? He is talking about not doing good for others in order to receive a reward from men. Try doing something good for someone and making sure NO ONE ever finds out about it. It is extremely hard to do!

We live the iLife when we do good to others, not for their sake, but for our own.

But didn't Jesus say to let our good works shine before men so that they may praise our Father in Heaven? YES! But we MUST do it with selflessness and always point people to Christ in our good works, never for our own selfish ambition. The Bible says to give honor where honor is due as well. Giving someone honor who deserves it is a biblical thing to do, it is in the receiver's hands though, how they handle the honor and who they pass it on to!

I'm so glad that Jesus was not selfish. Jesus did not live the iLife. Jesus even sent a "rich young ruler" away because he was too concerned about the iLife than he was about the ABUNDANT LIFE Jesus was offering him. Jesus selflessly laid down His life, endured the cross, the humility, and the shame for us!

So may it become clear to you the areas in your life in which you are living the iLife, and may you give that selfishness up to take upon the selflessness of Christ's teaching.

Lost about life’s decisions? No peace? Ready to move on? Read this!

This is a blog from XMC staff Jared O'Kelley. Check out his blog HERE

Be still! If God didn't give you peace about the next move, then he doesn't want you to leave where you are. If you got where you are despite God, then you would have a peace about moving on. If you have no direction, then stay where you are!
First, I evaluate how I felt when God pointed me to the most recent stage of my life. Usually I felt excited, empowered, anointed, and used by God. Then I evaluate what are the things that made me feel different about the most recent stage now.
If the answers are boredom, frustration with someone you don't agree with, anticipation that your life is not progressing as fast as your peers seem to be, then usually I pray and remind myself of God's timing, and ask him to help me to cope and get over it. Then I count my blessings.(Notice I speak of feeling, which fleets and fades, comes and goes. God gave us emotion to weigh in on things that matter most, but often they can create a fog that clutters our minds with trivial matters.)

If the answer is: this is stopping me from my God given dream, or this is unbiblical, or this is hindering me from growing, then ask God what’s next, and wait. (What’s funny is that we consult God asking him if something that will make us grow spiritually is the right decision, but we jump into everything else so willingly, like relationships and careers, and wonder why we get miserable.) Waiting doesn't mean being lazy; it means work really hard at the last sure thing you know beyond emotion God pointed you to.

With all that said, let me offer a balance to the equation. Remember my life motto: "There are 365 days in a year, and 1 great commission."
It means this: We put a lot of weight into asking God to micro manage decisions in our life that the bible and the holy spirit already give us clearance for. We do this sometimes so much so that we slow the progress of life.
I know God called me to art my whole life, especially music. I know that God gave me this gift to give him glory. Now, say I write a song about cars, and sell it to be used for a car commercial. I just used my God given gift to bless my life with resources I need to live and continue to give God praise. I also want to write and illustrate children’s books. Say I create one about kids dealing with bullies, or everyone pooping, and it gets really successful, did I commit a great sin? No! God gave me this gift to live my life!

If you want to do something to better your life, and its not unbiblical, then go get it! If its a game changing decision, then consult God... but if you’re lost on something and you’re miserable, and you have no spiritual lesson to learn or you're not contractually tied to it spiritually (i.e. marriage or your covenant with God) then better your self and move on.
Sometimes we expect our life to be that of a bible character or a great evangelist. But we forget that their stories are told in cliff notes. They had to live the daily grind we do too! They were lost, confused, and seeking God’s direction all the time just like we are sometimes. Imagine being told that you’re going to be king of a nation, then sent back in a field to write songs and count sheep. I’m sure there were days that dude felt lost!

There is 365 and 1 commission. If you’re faithful to share the gospel, and you’re obedient when God calls, then the other days of the year are yours to live. It’s your life! You can't get lost if you’re pioneering a trail for the one thing that is truly yours. This is especially true if you give the one thing that is yours to a God who owns all things. Do this under a life of discipline, submission, the leading of the holy spirit, and held to the light of God’s word, then take it day by day… you’ll do fine champ! I know it!

Hope this helps as you face life’s decisions and run the race!
Be blessed
-jok

XMC Staff: Pastor Nichole Marcell on XMC women

Here is an exert from Pastor Nichole's blog "a mosaic of moments". Read the Blog in it's entirety by clicking HERE

This has been an incredibly busy month. I had an emergency appendectomy, went to our annual End of the Year Beach Retreat, hosted XMC Experience Week for over 40 young men and women from around the nation, and now we are preparing for XMC Graduation this weekend.

I have to be honest, this is a bitter-sweet time. I love this class. I'm happy they are transitioning into a new season of life, but I've ...

Kari Campbell on Experience Week.

The following exert is from Kari Campbell's Blog. You can read more from Kari by clicking HERE

Click PLAY on the on the video while you read.

Experience Week is officially over.

Tonight was the final chapel. Worship was incredible. There was no easing into God's presence. We just jumped right in. Ready and open to give our praise and adoration to our Creator, and receive what He wanted to pour into us.

It was phenomenal.

This group of students has such a hunger and expectancy for God. Ready to do His will, whatever the cost may be.

This is the song that we introduced in Ntense (youth) Wednesday night. It sort of became an anthem for this week. It's called "Commission My Soul" by Citipointe.

And it's just the beginning of what God is going to do in and through both the students that came to XPWeek, and our XMC students.

And in us.

Are you ready?

Gulf Coast Tour update: Paul Jaqua

At the Covington Georgia service we had an amazing altar call where about 30 teenagers responded. The lead pastor of the church was so impacted with what we did that the next day he called pastor Adam Farley (the youth pastor) into his office to ask if we would do some drama for Sunday morning! The lead pastor changed his message Sunday night to talk about “Faith, Hope, Love, and Justice”. After Sunday night service Pastor Adam shared with us from his heart and said something to our students that was pretty amazing:

“You have won my heart as one of the greatest Master’s Commissions! The church has brought in a lot of groups including ***** *****’s church and other Master’s Commissions, but year after year you guys make the most impact on our church not just because of the quality of performance you did, but because the way y’all love and build relationships with people!”

We also did a chapel for some kids; kind of like what we do at cross-town, except they were ages 12-16. It was powerful! Aaron Harrington spoke on the story of Gideon, and Anthony and Matt gave their testimony. It was a cool experience for all three of them, but Anthony Reale got the most out it. It was his first time giving his testimony to group of young people since he has been saved. He spoke about where he was in his life and how he was living when he got stabbed. He talked about the impact of reality he faced after he came to; that he was still alive knowing that if he had died he would be in hell. It was a touching moment! Then he explained how we all have to choose to live for God and make an impact in this world.

Other notable things was Tyler Adams got to give a challenge during worship which he talked about Ephesians 3:12-15. It’s about Paul being in prison and still worshipping God. Tyler challenged his home youth group to stay faithful to God, and God will get you through your situations in life just, like he did Paul! The reason this was so powerful is because before service he shared with the whole group that he grew at that church, and that he knew that the youth culture there tend to live for God only part-time.

So far we have 12 students interested in experience week from Georgia, and have seen about 60 salvations
We have built a lot of solid relationships in Covington to where they were sad to see us leave.
We have two more services to do! One tonight and one Friday!