"For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations."
Isaiah 61:11
There are principles of sowing and reaping revealed in Scripture from beginning to end: The seed is in the fruit; a sower went out to sow; the seed is the word; you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.
The seed of the saving Word of the Gospel is in the fruit of the Spirit. Where the fruit is found, the Word will be sown in people’s hearts and allowed to grow.
When the seed of the Gospel finds a place to grow roots in a heart, it produces the fruit of righteous living and praise to God. And that fruit then carries that seed to more hearts and so the Kingdom grows.
Always remember: the seed is in the fruit. Where the fruit of the Spirit is seen in our lives, there will be an opportunity for God’s Word to enter. When other people meet a someone who is truly living close to Jesus so that it shows in his words and attitudes, the seed of the Gospel can be planted in their hearts. It flows naturally from fruit that contains the seed to seed that produces the fruit.
Lord Jesus, let my life be a fruit-stand where your personal character traits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentle humility, self-control and faith are offered, so that the precious seed of the saving Gospel can find entrance into people’s hearts. Let righteousness and praise sprout up before all the nations, as You promised it would. Let it begin in me. Amen.
Pastor Dan Giles